Cowboy at the Crossroads

by Linda Warren

  “I’m not sure everyone will show up. I’m just hoping,” she added.

  He hurried for the stairs. They’d better show up, he thought, or he was personally dragging them down to dinner. Becca had gone to a lot of trouble and he wasn’t having her disappointed.

  He showered and dressed in starched jeans and a white shirt. The grandfather clock chimed six as he entered the den. Gus was fixing a drink. With his weathered skin and legs bowed from spending years in the saddle, he looked out of place among the elegant furniture and the beautifully set table. Gus was a cowboy to the core.

  “Hey, Gus,” he said.

  Gus took a swallow of whiskey. “Wondered where you were. If I have to be at this shindig, so do you. Don’t know why I let that little filly talk me into this. I just came by this morning to tell Della something, and she introduced me to the doc. Nice woman—and man, can she talk. Before I knew it, I was agreeing to have dinner with the family.” He shook his head.

  “Becca’s very persuasive.”

  “I’ll say, and I hate these ironed clothes. I feel like I’ve been rode hard and put up wet.”

  “You’ll survive.”

  Gus tipped his glass. “Not too sure about that. Having dinner with Blanche could be about as much fun as putting panty hose on a bobcat.”

  “Remember, no scenes tonight. I want this to be perfect for Nicki.” And Becca.

  Becca and Nicki came in at that moment. “I guess we might as well sit down,” Becca said in a resigned voice.

  Cord knew Edie was upstairs, and if she’d said she was eating with them, then she was. “I’ll check on Edie,” he said, but before he could make an exit, Edie walked in.

  “I’m sorry. I’m running a little late.”

  “That’s okay,” Becca told her. “We’re just glad you joined us.”

  “Hi, Edie,” Nicki said.

  “Hi, and don’t you look pretty.”

  “Becca fixed my hair.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Want me to show you where to sit? I know where everyone sits.”

  “Yes, I’d like that.”

  “Okay.” She took Edie’s hand.

  Becca glanced at the clock. Six-fifteen. Blanche wasn’t coming. At least Becca had tried.

  But as they filed into the dining room, Blanche breezed in wearing a cream silk dress with a silver belt fitted over her hips.

  “You’re not gonna eat without me, are you, sugar?”

  “We were just taking our seats,” Becca said. She should’ve known that Blanche would have to make a grand entrance.

  “And I know where everyone sits,” Nicki put in.

  “Aren’t you smart?” Blanche responded in a condescending tone.

  “Yeah,” Nicki answered, not noticing the condescension. “Daddy sits at the head of the table and you sit at the other end. Edie is next to Daddy, then Gus and Della. And me and Becca are by Daddy on this side.”

  “How sweet,” Blanche said in the same tone as she took her seat. “Let me get this straight. Della and Gus are eating with us?”

  “Yes, I invited them,” Becca told her, trusting Blanche wasn’t going to make an issue of it.

  “I’m glad I was consulted.”

  Before Becca could reply, Cord spoke up. “If you were home more and took an interest in the family, maybe you would be. But we’re not talking about that right now. We’re going to enjoy this wonderful meal that Della and Becca have prepared.”

  “And me, too, Daddy,” Nicki reminded him. “I helped.”

  “And you, too, baby.” Cord smiled at his daughter, then stared at Blanche, warning her not to say one more insulting word.

  Della brought out the prime rib, and conversation stopped while all the food was put on the table, then Della took her seat.

  “Would you like to say a prayer?” Becca asked Nicki. They had talked about this earlier and Nicki had said she wanted to.

  Nicki folded her hands and bowed her head. “Thank you for the food and everyone here. Amen.”

  “That was very nice, Nicki,” Edie said.

  “Yeah, kid, you heard that from the mouth of a—”

  “Cord would you slice the prime rib, please?” Becca intervened before Blanche could say something hateful.

  Cord spared Blanche a glance before he stood to carve the roast. Becca filled Nicki’s plate—cutting up her meat, buttering her roll and mashing her potatoes.

  “You’re just a regular little mother, aren’t you, sugar?” Blanche remarked.

  “Thank you,” Becca said, not reacting to the obvious insult.

  “You outdid yourself, Della girl,” Gus said. “This meat is succulent.”

  “It sure is,” Cord agreed.

  After that, conversation was mundane and the tension seemed to ease, until Blanche asked, “What did you do today, kiddo?”

  “I played, and Becca and me picked flowers and fixed ’em for the table.”

  “Becca’s a jack-of-all-trades, isn’t she?”

  Nicki frowned. “What’s that?”

  There was silence for a moment, then Cord answered, “That’s a person who can do anything.”

  “Yeah, Becca can do anything,” Nicki said, nodding vigorously.

  Gus laid his napkin on the table and smiled at Nicki. “Well, little bit, Half Pint’s been awful lonely in that pasture. She sure needs riding.”

  A change came over Nicki and she leaned back in her chair with a sullen expression. “Don’t want to.”

  “But you love to ride, baby,” Cord said.

  “No, I don’t. I wanna go to my room.”

  Becca was shocked. The child hadn’t said that in days. She turned to her. “Nicki…”

  “I wanna go to my room,” Nicki repeated, and before Becca could stop her, she jumped out of her chair and ran for the stairs.

  Blanche stood. “Well, sugar, looks like you’ve got a lot more work to do. This has been more fun than I really needed. Now I’ve got to get to a party at the club.”

  “To a man, you mean,” Edie slipped in.

  “Shut your trap,” Blanche snapped.

  Edie glared at her. “I can say what I want in this house.”

  “You dried-up old bitch.” Blanche went on. “I should’ve kicked you out the day Claybourne died.”

  Cord threw his napkin on the table. “Enough! This dinner is over. Just get out of my sight.” With that, he headed for the stairs, and Becca followed.

  “Cord,” Gus called. He looked back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned the horse. I didn’t know she’d react like that.”

  “It’s all right, Gus. She’s still dealing with a lot of pain.”

  Not a word was said as they walked up the stairs and into Nicki’s room. Nicki was sitting in the rocker with her arms around Dolly. She rarely clung to Dolly these days. Something had triggered a major upset and Becca had to find out what. She hitched up her skirt and sat on the floor in front of Nicki.

  “What’s the matter, sweetie?” she asked softly.

  “Nothin’,” Nicki muttered.

  “Yes, it is, ’cause you’re so sad and when you’re sad, I’m sad and so is Daddy.”

  Nicki didn’t say anything.

  “Look at me, Nicki.”

  Nicki raised her head. “I don’t want you to be sad, Becca,” she cried, and threw herself into Becca’s arms.

  Becca held her tight, smoothing her curls. “Then, tell me what’s hurting you.”

  Needing to be near them, Cord sat on the floor beside Becca. Nicki made a dive for him, locking her arms around his neck. “What is it, baby—?” His voice cracked, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Mommy said…Mommy said…”

  Cord’s chest tightened. “What did Mommy say?”

  “Mommy said she didn’t want me to ride. It’s not ladylike.”

  “Oh, baby.” Cord held her close, trying to find the right words. “Mommy was scared of horses. You’re not. You remember that book we read about Annie O
akley? She rode a horse. And you’ve seen those old westerns Gus likes. Even in those days, ladies rode horses. There was Dale Evans, and she was a grand lady.”

  “Then, it’s okay to ride a horse?”

  “You betcha.” He kissed her nose.

  “And Mommy won’t be mad at me?”

  Cord swallowed. “No, baby. Mommy loved you and she could never be mad at you.”

  “Oh.” Nicki thought about it for a second, then she went back to Becca. “Mommy’s not mad at me,” she told her.

  Becca stroked her face and kissed her. “No, Mommy’s not mad at you.”

  She settled back on Becca’s lap. “Becca?”

  “What, sweetie?”

  “Can you…can you…”

  “Can I what?”

  “Can you ride?”

  “No, I’ve never been on a horse, but I’d like to try.”

  “Daddy can teach you and…and…you can ride with me.”

  “I’d like that.”

  And Daddy would, too, Cord thought.

  “Now, would you like to go have dessert?”

  Nicki clamped a hand over her mouth. “I forgot.” She glanced at Cord. “We fixed a special dessert.”

  “I’ll bet it has something to do with chocolate.”

  Becca made a face at him. “Actually, it’s cheesecake,” she said, then added with a grin, “but it’s got a caramel-chocolate topping.”

  Cord got to his feet. “Somehow I knew chocolate would not be left out.” He swung Nicki into his arms and reached out a hand to Becca. She placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet. Her touch was soft, tempting, blocking out everything but the feeling in his heart.

  Together they went downstairs. Edie, Della and Gus were in the kitchen eating cheesecake; Blanche had evidently left. Nicki immediately ran to Gus.

  “I can ride Half Pint, Gus. Let’s go now.”

  Gus gave Cord a puzzled look.

  “Baby, it’s dark outside. We have to wait until tomorrow.”

  She turned back to Gus. “And Daddy’s gonna teach Becca how to ride, so she can ride with me.”

  “Now, ain’t that somethin’.”

  “I’ll ride with you until Becca learns,” Edie offered.

  “’Kay, but I ride fast. Can you ride fast?”

  “At my age, I don’t do anything fast, but I’ll try to keep up.”

  After that, they sat around the table and ate cheesecake and talked. Eventually Nicki started to nod, and Cord took her upstairs and put her to bed.

  The evening hadn’t turned out exactly as Becca had planned, but she couldn’t help feeling Anette’s ghost had finally been put to rest for Nicki. After her shower, she slipped on a big T-shirt and started to get into bed, but the cheesecake had made her thirsty so she went downstairs to get a glass of ice water.

  Heading back to the stairs, she thought she saw someone in the den. She strolled in to see Cord sitting on the sofa, his head buried in his hands. There was no light on, but the moonlight streaming in through the large French windows illuminated him clearly.

  She walked closer. “Cord, are you all right?”

  His head jerked up. “Becca. I didn’t realize you were still awake.”

  “I just came down to get some ice water.”

  His shirt was pulled from his jeans and open down the front. His boots were lying on the floor. She felt as though someone had punched her in her stomach, and she had a hard time breathing.

  She sat on the coffee table facing him, setting the glass beside her. “She’s fine,” she said, knowing exactly what was bothering him.

  “Is she?” he asked in an angry tone. “Anette put so much garbage in her head, and it makes me angry that I allowed it. I never did anything to control her phobias and insecurities. I should’ve made her get more treatment, for that and the depression. She always resisted….”

  “But she loved Nicki. That’s very obvious from the inscriptions in all the books.”

  “Do you think that’s normal?”

  “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it, but I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

  “It seems weird to me, but Anette wanted Nicki to know how much she loved her. I guess it’s exactly what she’d do. You see, her mother died when she was a teenager and her father married a woman Anette didn’t like. There were arguments all the time, and Anette left to live with an aunt. I met her in Fort Worth when I was there for a cattleman’s convention. She was the manager of the hotel where I stayed. It was a wham-bam affair, and I found myself going back on weekends, which I got tired of so we decided to get married. She had no problem giving up her job at the time, but I heard plenty about it later. Anette was looking for a family, and when she found out the Prescotts weren’t the ideal American family she became depressed, and then obsessed with having a baby. God, I hated all those tests, but I did everything because I thought it would make her happy. Nothing did, though, not even Nicki’s birth.”

  There was silence for a while. He couldn’t believe he was talking so much. “Go to bed, Becca. I’m not in a very good mood.”

  She knew that. Still, she was reluctant to leave him. “What kind of relationship did Anette have with Blanche?”

  “Tense—just like Blanche has with everyone. Why?”

  She started to tell him what Blanche had said, but decided he didn’t need any more problems. “Just that living here couldn’t have been easy for Anette.”

  “No, but it’s not a reason to kill yourself, especially when you have a four-year-old daughter.” His voice was full of pain. “God, I just can’t get past that. I—”

  Becca moved to sit next to him and, unable to resist, she put her arms around him. His reaction was instant and urgent. He pulled her to him and held her tight. For a moment it was just comfort, but slowly other emotions began to take over. His breath on her hair and his hands on her body awakened a deep need in her. One hand stroked the hair at his nape while her other slid to his bare chest.

  “Cord,” she whispered.

  He turned his head and kissed her. His lips moved over hers with an expertise that her body recognized and welcomed. She opened her mouth, and then they were lost in the joy of exploring each other. He pushed her gently into the sofa, his hands caressing her body through the T-shirt. Her senses started to spin, and she knew she’d been waiting for this all her life.

  Cord wasn’t thinking. He was only feeling—warm and overpowering emotions he’d thought he’d forgotten. But he didn’t think he’d ever felt exactly like this. Wanting someone so badly that he hurt—someone he couldn’t have. It was hard to remind himself of that when her soft, tempting hands touched his skin. But he had to. Oh God, he had to.

  He tore his mouth away and got to his feet. He ran both hands roughly through his hair. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Becca sat up and straightened her T-shirt. “Why not?” she asked in as steady a voice as she could manage. “We’re both adults and if we want to—”

  “You’re my brother’s girlfriend.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m Colton’s friend. I told you that.” She was tired of having to explain her relationship with Colton, but she had to make Cord understand. “I’ve known Colton for ten years and he’s never kissed me like that.”

  Her words didn’t ring true. “That day you called from your apartment. It was early in the morning and you said he’d just left. Friends don’t sleep together.”

  “We don’t sleep together,” she said patiently. “He stopped by on his way to work. He was there maybe fifteen minutes.”

  Cord was thrown. If Colton hadn’t kissed her like that or slept with her, he was a fool. Why? was his next thought. Had he misread the situation? It didn’t matter; he had no right to kiss her. There were too many issues standing between them.

  “Becca, do you know how old I am?”

  She shook her head.

  “I’m older than Colton. I’m forty-two.”

  “So?�
��

  “I’m too old for you.”

  “Really?” she mused. “Then isn’t Colton too old for me, as well? You’re close to the same age.”

  Her question rattled him. There were only fourteen months between him and Colton, yet he’d never considered Colton too old for her. Why? Maybe it was because he just felt so much older. Or maybe…

  “Age has nothing to do with it,” she said stiffly. “If you regret kissing me, just say so and stop using every excuse you can think of.” She made to walk past him, and he caught her arm.

  “My dad was sixty when he married Blanche. A girl young enough to be his granddaughter. I promised myself I would never be that foolish.”

  “I’m hardly young enough to be your granddaughter or even your daughter. I’ll be twenty-nine on my next birthday, which isn’t far away. I’m a woman who can make up her own mind. I wanted to kiss you and I think you wanted to kiss me.”

  Cord didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. She was getting to him in the worst way, and he had to put a stop to it. “Don’t read too much into my reaction, Becca. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a woman.” With that, he walked briskly to the stairs.

  Her mouth fell open and she quickly closed it. Of all the— She took another deep breath as anger overtook her. I’ll never kiss you again, Cordell Prescott. But before the thought left her mind, she knew she was lying.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THE NEXT MORNING Nicki was so excited, Becca could hardly keep up with her. The little girl wore her boots and jeans and she’d found her cowboy hat. Nicki was going riding, and the whole household felt her enthusiasm. They all went out to the corral to watch the big event. Everyone except Blanche.

  Cord treated Becca coolly—as if they’d never kissed. Well, if that was the way he wanted it, fine, or so she told herself. But she could still feel his mustache on her skin—provocative, tantalizing…. She harnessed her thoughts. She refused to let Cord hurt her, but she was afraid he already had.

  Becca, Della and Edie stood outside the fence as Nicki rode around and around on a black horse Gus had saddled and ready to go. Becca could see why they called the horse Half Pint. She was small and gentle and seemed perfect for Nicki. Cord opened the gate, and Nicki rode out into the pasture. The horse galloped at an alarming speed, and Becca held her breath waiting for Cord to call a halt. But he didn’t. He probably knew what Nicki could and couldn’t handle. She was acting like a nervous city girl. Wincing, she turned toward the house, thinking Nicki was going to hit the ground at any moment. She saw a curtain fall into place. It was Blanche. She was watching but didn’t want anyone to know.