On Common Ground

by Jansen Schmidt

  Trevor reached over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up. I don’t think anyone expected this kind of storm. Nobody got hurt. The hard part’s behind us now.”

  Lee nodded. “How’s the kid?”

  “I think he’s okay. Just embarrassed. He’s probably a little scared, but he’ll never admit it.”

  “Damn fool should’ve let that calf run off instead of risking his neck.”

  Trevor frowned. A memory from his youth invaded his mind. Another young man, eager to prove his worth. Feeling invincible amidst a band of seasoned veterans. From a dozen years ago, Trevor remembered it like it happened yesterday.

  “Well, he’s green and trying to make a good impression.”

  “He’s lucky we didn’t have to put his horse down. Took a pretty hard fall.”

  Trevor shot a glance at the riders in the distance. “He made a mistake. He knows it. But, I’ll talk to him if you think it’ll make a difference.”

  “He’s your man, not mine. I’d fire his ass for taking a stupid risk like that and endangering a good horse.”

  His mouth suddenly dry, Trevor swallowed. His dad had had such high hopes for him, too. But he’d blown it. Big time. He’d insisted on riding a young horse, barely saddle broke, unaccustomed to the sights, sounds and smells of a cattle drive. The first time his younger self had cracked his whip to move the cattle forward, that horse reared. It bucked and charged into the other horses, causing a stampede. It had taken three days for the crew to round up the scattered herd and another week for his father to speak to him again.

  Trevor cleared his throat. “Well, like I said, he’s green. I’m pretty sure, if given the same set of circumstances, he’d go about it in a different way.”

  “Damn stupid kids.” Lee nudged his horse toward the shelter where Silas had tents set up and a fire blazing.

  Knowing the remark was directed partly at him, Trevor followed, hoping hot coffee or maybe some whiskey waited. The other riders also made their way toward camp. Lee had unsaddled his gelding and purloined coffee by the time Trevor dismounted. In the distance, Trik sat atop his gelding, head hanging forward. Water poured off his hat onto the horse’s mane.

  “He coming in?” Trevor asked Cullen, the last to reach the corral.

  “When he’s hungry enough he will.”

  Sighing, Trevor remounted and rode toward Trik. The last thing he needed tonight was an abundance of worry over an embarrassed greenhorn cowboy. God only knows what stupid ass thing the kid might try to do to prove himself. In an infernal deluge at that. As he neared the moping cowboy, the already spooked horse shied, rousing Trik from his gloom.

  “You gonna sit out here all night and have a pity party? Or are you gonna come up and dry out and have something hot to drink?”

  “I deserve whatever you’re gonna say. That was dumb. I thought my horse was more surefooted than that.”

  “I wouldn’t blame my horse. It was a rookie mistake that’s all. Let’s get out of the rain.”

  “They’re going to rip me a new one.”

  “Yep. But, they’ll say worse things, and won’t respect you at all, if you just sit out here and feel sorry for yourself like a big baby.”

  Trik looked Trevor directly in the eye. “Sorry, boss. I let you down.”

  “Did you learn anything?” When Trik nodded, Trevor continued, “Then you didn’t let me down. Now come on.” He kicked his horse and loped up the hillside toward the tents.

  Trik followed. Together they unsaddled their wet mounts and placed grain bags around their necks. The other men sat around the campfire, full plates of food on their laps.

  Trevor approached Silas at the food table. “Rocky make it home?”

  “He said he did. Had to stop and fix a flat on the trailer though. I guess a sheriff’s deputy showed up with Brooks in tow earlier this morning. Don’t know what that was all about, but Ketra was pretty shook up about it.”

  His shoulders bunched, and a heaviness pressed against his chest. He reached for the phone in his jacket pocket. He couldn’t explain it, but he harbored an urgent need to protect Ketra. “What’d he want?”

  “Rocky didn’t say. I hope nothing happened over at Sadie’s.”

  Trevor walked away from the group to check his voicemail and text messages. As expected, there was no signal. “Shit.”

  Tendrils of apprehension scuttled through his veins. Since the sheriff had shown up with Brooks, he most likely wasn’t inquiring about the mess in Phoenix. That worry dissipated. However, he argued with himself over the issue of Ketra’s safety.

  Rocky’s home. She isn’t alone. He scraped a fingernail with his teeth, wishing he could see for himself that she was okay. One look at her beautiful face and he’d know her mood.

  “Damn.” He leaned his butt against a granite boulder and rested his hands on his knees. An intense desperation, so overpowering it frightened him, caught him off guard. How had she managed to crawl under his skin in such a short period of time? And where had the hundred pounds of resolve he’d arrived at the ranch with disappeared to? He pondered heading down the hill, if for no other reason than to squelch the ache in his chest. Several minutes passed. His stomach rumbled. Ketra’s not my responsibility.

  He sighed before re-joining the group for hot coffee and food. He’d dwell more on his feelings tomorrow, when he was back in his warm dry house, the house next door to hers, where he could keep an eye on her. And revisit his resolve to stay away from women.

  Oh, who was he kidding? Ever since he’d seen her in the shower, all he could think about was having her naked in his bed. A long dreadful night awaited.

  Chapter Twenty

  For an hour Ketra paced. Even with the pouring rain, Rocky should’ve been home by now. She needed to be working with the horses, but the idea of being alone in the barn made her queasy. Deputy Atkins returned Brooks to Sadie’s, but he’d no doubt make his way back to the ranch again. It would make sense in his simple mind, because this was where he lived.

  She shuddered and looked out the window, wondering if she should press charges against him. Her heart hammered in her chest. The thought of Brooks behind bars brought tears to her eyes. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. She turned on the TV, hoping to find something engaging to watch. Something to replace the constant worry occupying her mind.

  When the phone rang, she leaped off the couch, grabbing it before the second ring.

  “Hey, Kettie girl it’s me.”

  “What happened? You should’ve been home by now.”

  “I had to fix a flat on this old trailer. This poor old rig needs some new tires. You sound worried. Everything all right?”

  “No, not really. Where are you? When will you be home?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What if Brooks comes back?”

  “I’ll stop by Sadie’s on my way home. I’m almost to her place now.”

  “Okay.” She hung up and leaned against the wall, still wondering what to do about Brooks. Her uncle had promised Tandie he’d keep an eye on Brooks. But he couldn’t condone Brooks’ behavior because of it. Could he? And where else could Brooks go?

  After adding wood to the fire in the fireplace, she returned to the couch. She curled her feet underneath her. Her brain worked overtime coming up with possible options for Brooks. Rocky would never go back on his word if he could help it. That placed him in the horrible position of having to choose his family over a promise to a friend.

  Had anyone tried to explain to Brooks that what he did was wrong? It was no secret that he adored her. But she had no idea his affections ran so deep. She assumed his feelings were more like a little boy with his first crush. She’d let her guard down, finding his bashfulness kind of cute. She couldn’t remember ever discouraging or trying to dissuade him from befriending her.

  I’ve never disc
ouraged him! She sprang to her feet. Will I be accused of leading him on? Breathing grew more laborious as she clenched and unclenched her fists. The nightmare is happening all over again. Kyle’s friends had blamed her for being coy and flirty with him. They all believed she got what she’d been wishing for.

  She wore a groove in the hardwood floor around her sofa trying to remember every occasion that she and Brooks had spent together. She couldn’t recollect one incident where she’d ever been more than congenial toward him. In Brooks’ simple mind, however, that may’ve been all the encouragement he needed. Since people so seldom treated him with compassion, he might interpret any kind or thoughtful action as something more than an extension of friendship.

  She propped a hip against the arm of the sofa. Does he understand the difference? No one considered him “normal.” The fact that he had ordinary sexual urges had never crossed anyone’s mind. Even she’d assumed, albeit on a subconscious level, that his disability precluded him from having common male desires. So what have I done to arouse him? Of course she hadn’t done anything sexual to arouse Kyle either, but that hadn’t stopped him.

  Questions continued to swirl in her brain as fast and furious as the rain beat down on the roof. Unable to sit still any longer in the confines of her house, she pulled on her boots and coat and sat on her porch. She leaned against the railing, inhaling the cold crispness of damp earth. Her insides mimicked the low-hanging clouds in the distance, tumultuous and heavy with moisture, colliding against the high peaks.

  The rattle of a diesel engine on the highway alerted her to Rocky’s return. He slowed as he approached the gravel road leading to the ranch. Next to the barn, he backed the trailer around to its usual parking spot. He waved as he got out of the truck. When the trailer was unhitched and the wheels blocked, he jogged to her house.

  “Let’s go in out of the cold,” he said. “I would love to stand in front of your fire for a little while to take the chill off.”

  Ketra preceded her uncle into the warm house and helped him shrug out of his wet slicker. He hung his dripping hat on a peg by the door, headed for the fireplace and added another piece of wood. As sparks danced upward, he rubbed his hands in front of the iridescent orange flames.

  “So, what happened with Atkins?”

  Ketra relayed her conversation with the deputy. “I know you promised Tandie that you’d look after him, but I don’t think I can handle having him back here. And, I don’t have any place else to go.”

  Rocky turned from the fire to face her. “You’re not going anywhere. This is your home. For as long as you want to stay. I talked to Sadie. She corroborated your story. She’ll keep a constant eye on Brooks. If he wanders off again, she’ll call me.”

  “Well, he can’t stay there forever.”

  “I have a couple of ideas, but I need to talk to Trevor and some other folks first.”

  “Trevor?”

  “Yeah. His dad owns a big spread near Sedona. Maybe he can use some extra help for a while. That’s too far away for him to get back here, but close enough that I could get there if there’s a problem. Or if Tandie needs him.”

  “Speaking of Trevor…is he a cop?”

  Rocky perched a hip on the arm of the sofa and rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, my God! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Ketra—”

  “What’s he doing here?” She paced in front of the door.

  Rocky grasped her slender shoulders in his big hands. “Listen to me. I’m not at liberty to talk about his situation. Same as I’m not at liberty to discuss yours. He’s a good man and he really is here as Dominic’s replacement. If you want to know anything else, you’ll have to ask him.”

  She sat on the couch and cradled her face in her hands. The fire crackled, mimicking the tension building inside her body.

  Sitting beside her, Rocky placed an arm around her shoulders. “He likes you. Don’t lie and tell me you’re not attracted to him. I see how he looks at you. And, I see how you act when he’s around. You act just like your mother did.”

  Ketra’s head snapped sideways. “My mother?”

  “That’s right. Your mom and Trevor’s dad acted the same way you two are acting. And they ended up engaged.”

  Ketra gaped at him, blinking several times in astonishment.

  “Ask her.”

  “What happened?” Ketra managed to ask.

  Rocky rose and tossed another piece of wood into the glowing coals then repeated the story of Mary Jo and Mike’s romance.

  “She never mentioned that. Not once. Not even when she drove me out here and told me stories about what she used to do when she lived here as a girl.”

  “Well, I don’t guess anybody likes to tell their kids about their childhood indiscretions. Wouldn’t be right to look human in front of your offspring now would it?”

  Ketra smiled then sobered. “Does he know?”

  “I told him the same story a couple of days ago. He had no idea either.”

  “Why’d you tell him?”

  Rocky grinned. “He was asking about you. Much the same way you just asked about him. I thought it was simple curiosity, but then I noticed that same lovesick attitude his dad had all those years ago over Mary Jo. And you’re acting like your momma did whenever Mike was around. So, my guess? It’s more than just simple curiosity for both of you.”

  “He’s a royal pain in the ass.” She notched her chin a little higher and raised her brows when Rocky smiled at her. “I’m not my mother,” she said with grim determination.

  “Oh, but sweetheart, you are so like her. And you’ve got it as bad for Trevor as he does for you.”

  “He does not!”

  Rocky chuckled. “Okay, whatever you say.”

  “I haven’t done anything to make him like me.”

  He grinned, “Apparently you don’t have to. That’s what makes it so funny.”

  “Funny?”

  Rocky tried to stifle a laugh, but failed, “Yeah, funny. You’re as nasty as can be to him and he’s still smitten with you. That’s funny.”

  Ketra hung her head and groaned.

  Rocky patted her hand.

  “I should have shot him when I had the chance,” she muttered.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It rained all night. As the cattle neared the ranch the next morning, the heavens continued to show no mercy. Silas and Rocky greeted the bedraggled cowboys at the upper pasture with gates flung wide open. Each man made a beeline for the bunk houses where dry clothes and hot coffee awaited.

  The only good thing about the rain was that for two days they hadn’t had to eat dust. Trevor would have preferred dust. He rode into the pasture and waited with Rocky and Silas for the remaining men to reach the gates. Clint and Milo rode through last. Silas closed the gates, enclosing the cattle in their winter feeding ground.

  “We’re going to gather at the barn and talk about separating our animals,” Rocky said to Clint and Milo. Lee and Stucky were already headed for the barn. Trevor dismounted and followed Rocky and Silas on foot.

  When they arrived at the small barn, Rocky thanked the Fargos and Chisholms for joining the drive. He suggested they postpone sorting the herd and branding until the rain let up. Lee and Stucky agreed and wasted no time loading their horses into their trailer. Clint said he and Milo would return the next day to round up their cattle even if it was still raining. Clint’s son was getting married in Seattle in early October and he wanted to enjoy some time with his family without the pressures of the ranch hanging over his head. Rocky agreed to provide the necessary help tomorrow, rain or shine.

  The Fargos left to load their weary horses into their trailer, leaving Rocky and Trevor alone in the barn.

  “Silas told me about the flash flood up there,” Rocky said.

  “All’s
well that ends well,” Trevor replied.

  “Trik and his horse okay?”

  Trevor nodded. “Kid was embarrassed as hell. I asked him if he learned anything. He said he did. I let it go at that. I figure, he feels bad enough as it is so there’s no sense rubbing salt in the wound.”

  “All right. I’ll let it go then.”

  “I heard there was some excitement around here, too.”

  Rocky raised questioning brows. Trevor held his gaze. He was pretty sure the older man knew what he was talking about.

  “Put your horse away and get into some dry clothes. I need to talk to you about an idea I’ve been toying with. Come to the house when you’re ready. I’ll make lunch.”

  Pulling his hat down, Rocky hunched his shoulders and headed into the rain. Lightning forked below the thick, black clouds hugging the mountain tops. Anxious to be out of his soggy clothes, he unsaddled and rubbed down the buckskin then tossed some hay into the stall. He ran through the rain, pausing for a moment in front of Ketra’s house. He contemplated knocking on her door, but the need for dry clothes and hot food won out. He’d chat with Rocky first then see Ketra. Like as not, she was at the indoor arena anyway.

  Twenty minutes later Trevor sat in Rocky’s comfortable leather sofa, sipping hot coffee laced with brandy. Rocky brought sandwiches and a bag of potato chips from the kitchen. They each bit into a thick roast beef sandwich before conversing.

  “I guess Brooks wanted to come home,” Rocky said when he’d swallowed his first bite. “Deputy Atkins, who patrols out this way, found him walking along Highway 66 yesterday morning. Brooks told him he was headed home so Atkins gave him a lift. Thought he was helping out. Until he got here and Ketra freaked out.” Rocky leaned back in his chair, wiped his mouth with a napkin and took a drink of the fortified coffee.

  “I called Atkins last night,” he continued. “Told him Sadie needed some help at her place and Brooks was the only guy I could spare during round up. He wanted to know why Kettie was so upset when he showed up with Brooks.”