A Cowboy to Keep

by Karen Rock

  “Cool! A snake!” Dakota’s exclamation behind her was followed by a horse’s whinny. In a flash of dark brown, Tiny bolted, spooked by the same stick that’d frightened Storm, taking the boy with him. They disappeared down a steep ravine. She hadn’t even known the drop-off existed this close to the seldom-used trail. Her heart leaped in her throat.

  A loud “Hyah!” sounded and Jack sped by, leaning low, his head against Pokey’s neck. They flew down the embankment and vanished.

  “Dakota!” Mrs. Clark cried, twisting in her saddle. “Dakota!”

  The horses sidestepped, still spooked by the noise, and Dani jumped off Storm and moved between the animals, making reassuring sounds, settling them before they had another runaway.

  “Jack will get him,” she said over the loud heartbeat drumming in her ears, feeling that it was true. Something about his steady, quiet confidence, his skill with animals and people, the way he made her feel safe, filled her with certainty that he’d protect the boy. “No harm will come to him.”

  Mr. Clark turned the shade of a newly unearthed beet. “And if anything does, I’ll sue...”

  His wife collapsed in his arms. “Dakota,” she sobbed.

  Cheyenne turned in a circle and looked lost until Dani put an arm around her and pulled her close. “Is Dakota going to be okay?”

  “Yes. Jack will get him.”

  And her words seemed to summon the bounty hunter, who emerged trotting Pokey over the ridge line, leading Tiny, Dakota pale and shaken in his arms but otherwise unharmed.

  After a flurry of hugs and scolding from the Clarks, Dakota turned to Jack, his eyes shining. “See? I knew you were a good guy.”

  Jack ruffled the kid’s hair and she looked up at the warmth in his face and smiled at him.

  Her midnight cowboy was a very good guy.

  Did she dare give in to the feelings? Trust in her wiser—she hoped—instincts after all?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  DANI KNOCKED ON Tanya’s front door a few hours later. Again. Worry rose in her past the high-water mark.

  Tanya could not fall prey to the same kind of guy Dani had, or make poor decisions that’d haunt her the rest of her life. Dani had been so determined not to think about her past, about Kevin, that maybe she’d missed the signs that her friend was in a similar situation.

  Jack’s heroic actions had inspired her, and she understood she needed to make up for her mistakes. And that included helping Tanya.

  Please. Answer the door...

  “Tanya? It’s Dani. Can I come in?” She raised her hand a fourth time, then lowered it when her friend appeared in the entrance. Her dark hair tumbled in messy waves around her flushed cheeks and smudges of mascara rimmed her lower eyelids. In an instant, relief rushed through Dani. Tanya was okay. Safe.

  “Hey, Dani.” Tanya lips twitched into a scant smile. “How are you?”

  “Good, but I’m worried about you, girl.” She touched Tanya’s cold wrist.

  “How’s everything?” Tanya repeated, louder and her eyelid twitched.

  “Good,” Dani repeated, and this time Tanya nodded, though her eyes darted every which way. “I didn’t see you at work or at the square dance.” Dani’s voice was breathy. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering herself. “Heard you were under the weather.”

  A coughing fit erupted behind Tanya. She glanced over her shoulder and Dani peeked, too, spying a familiar, fair-haired, mustached man, seated on the couch, waving cigar smoke from his face.

  Smiley!

  Emotions twisted through her. Elation at seeing her old friend okay and well. Anger that he’d been hiding out and forced Tanya to lie for him. Fear—she had to admit it—that maybe he was caught up in something bigger than a drug bust. She couldn’t wrap her head around a double homicide.

  “Hey, Smiley!”

  He pressed his hand on the plump cushions and leveraged himself to his feet, moving like every bone in his body ached. “Come on in, Dani. Shut the door behind her, darlin’.” He clamped a cigar in his mouth and waved Dani closer.

  Tanya hustled to obey. The curtains were closed against the bright daylight while a weatherman warned about a band of storms ahead this week. A coffeemaker sputtered in the kitchen.

  Her eyes swerved between Tanya, who fidgeted with her leather bracelets, and Smiley, who leaned on one leg, then the other, grimacing.

  A strange feeling of disorientation took hold, as if she’d landed in some alternate universe with complete strangers who only resembled her friends.

  “You are a sight for sore eyes, Dani. How’ve you been?” Mittens and a cloud of cherry-scented cigar smoke trailed Smiley as he came in for a hug then guided her to an armchair.

  A part of her recoiled at his touch, but another part, the one that knew him as her friend, hugged him back. Who was he? Drug dealer? Murderer? Neither? She felt the same stomach-dropping sensation she got whenever she rode the county fair’s Freefall ride. She itched to grab the cell phone in her pocket and call Jack but didn’t want to make any suspicious moves.

  She raised her chin, met Smiley’s stare head-on. Smiled. Or made her best attempt. “It’s good to see you, Smiley. Been wondering where you were at.”

  He stepped back and cocked his head. It was a shade too big for his narrow shoulders, Dani had always thought, his eyes a smidge too small for his nose. “I’ve been around.”

  She forced a confused expression, which wasn’t exactly hard to do, considering... “Huh. Well. Then Larry and Diane were right not to fill your position yet. They said there must have been a mix-up.” She nearly bit her lying tongue in half.

  Smiley and Tanya exchanged a long look and her breath caught. Had she poured it on too thick? Tanya knew her better than anyone.

  Still. This was for Tanya. She had to make sure her friend was okay.

  A tense moment passed as the coffee machine dripped into silence. “How about a cup of joe?” he suggested. Then, before she could answer, he said, “Tanya, will you fix us up?”

  Her friend scurried into the kitchen, leaving them alone.

  Smiley grabbed hold of the back of the couch and lowered himself, wincing. Had he gotten beaten up by the guy who’d been looking for him? Searching for “it,” whatever that was...

  “So. You haven’t heard anything?”

  She assumed her most concerned look, which, again, wasn’t hard to do since she was worried. Truth time. Or some of it. “About your arrest? Oh. Thank you, sweetie.” She accepted the offered mug and blew on the rising steam before sipping. Half coffee, half cream. No sugar. Tanya remembered.

  The color had leached out of Smiley’s cheeks, leaving him a putty color. “That’s a miscarriage of justice right there.”

  She set down her mug. Leaned forward. Went for her Daytime Emmy award. “Well, of course it is. You? Drugs?”

  She’d never suspected Kevin capable of robbery, either.

  Smiley ran a hand over his fair hair, the shade so light it made him look bald. “Glad you see it that way. So Larry and Diane understand?”

  “I’m sure they’d like to hear your side of things.” She crossed her ankles beneath the coffee table and nearly felt her nose to see if it was growing.

  “That’s why I’ve been hiding out. Been too embarrassed to see them since I didn’t think they’d believe me.” His wet brown eyes rose, and the deep sadness in them made her question the situation all over again, her stomach sick over the twists and turns her mind took.

  “When’s your trial?”

  His cigar trembled as he brought it to his mouth. After a couple of puffs, he said, “A month ago.”

  A crash sounded and Dani glanced over to see Tanya staring at a decorative table she’d knocked over, a yellow vase in pieces on the floor. A jar candle rolled away.


  “I’ve been telling him to turn himself in,” Tanya insisted as she rushed into the kitchen.

  “And why haven’t you?” If Smiley wasn’t guilty or caught up in a bigger crime, then there had to be a good explanation.

  “Because I did have the drugs.”

  “What?” Dani gasped. Did a guilty man confess to his crimes voluntarily?

  And you haven’t confessed, either, or turned yourself in, piped up the small voice that been growing louder with Jack around. Surely if she settled Smiley and Tanya’s situation, she would have repaid her karmic debt.

  “I know. I know,” Tanya said, returning with a broom and dustpan. “How many times have I told you not to do your cousin any favors, Smiley...huh?” She swept the shattered pottery with quick whisks.

  Smiley bowed his head and spoke to the hands clasped on his jittering knees. “I should never have agreed to deliver that package without checking.”

  “Your cousin’s trouble.” Tanya frowned at Smiley and headed back to the kitchen. She hunched so that the vertebrae in her back poked through her thin T-shirt.

  “What’s his name?” Dani set down her mug before she dropped it. “Have I met him?”

  “He’s been in and out of juvie and jail since we were kids. My parents didn’t want me hanging around that side of the family so they sent me up here for the summers. I never believed them, but I do now.” Smiley puffed his cigar, blowing rings.

  Doubt seeded itself in her mind. Spread its roots. Much of his story matched Nan’s account of Smiley’s childhood spent here at the ranch. Could this all be a mix-up?

  “Told you to stay away from him,” Tanya hollered, then returned with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

  Smiley picked up a treat, studied it, then set it down again. He reached over and rubbed Tanya’s knee. “They look good, darlin’, but I ain’t hungry.”

  “You’ve hardly eaten.” Tanya’s voice rose and she handed him back the cookie. “You’re making yourself sick over this.”

  Obliging, Smiley bit into the cookie and chewed as if he’d bitten into wood. “Can’t sleep, either.” His eyes appealed to Dani and a flutter of sympathy went out to him. She knew what it was like to be framed. Hadn’t she felt justified in running? If Smiley was telling the truth, then he wasn’t any worse than she was. The only difference: he’d been caught.

  Did that make a difference?

  “I’m so sorry, Smiley.” Dani got to her feet, eager to find Jack so he could make sense of this. “What are you going to do?”

  “He’s going to turn himself in. Tonight.”

  A stream of smoke curled from his nose and mouth. He set the cigar in the ashtray. “Or first thing in the morning. Tanya’s finally talked sense into me. Guess I just panicked.”

  Impulsively, Dani leaned down and kissed his cheek, then Tanya’s. “You’re doing the right thing and this will all get straightened out. I’m here if you need me, okay?”

  Hypocrite. Hypocrite. Hypocrite.

  She’d never been brave enough to face the music head-on and, strangely, a part of her envied Smiley. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have jail time once he explained everything and would be a free man without jumping at shadows as she had all these years.

  “Thanks, Dani.” Smiley picked up the remote and clicked to a baseball game. “Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”

  Tanya walked her down the front steps then stopped. Her thin eyebrows met over her nose. “He’s a good man, Dani. I would have told you about this before, but...well. Please forgive me.”

  A maintenance man peering under a nearby gator’s hood caught Dani’s eye. She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “It’s not for me to forgive. But you shouldn’t have been hiding him. I don’t want you getting into trouble.”

  Tanya nodded, but her mouth wobbled. She’d chewed off most of her lipstick, Dani noticed. “I love him, Dani. When he showed up looking wild, said he’d been sleeping outside for fear of getting caught, my heart went out to him. Then that cousin of his started calling.” Tanya gripped Dani’s elbow. “Once he turns himself in, we’ll set it to rights.”

  Dani pulled Tanya in for a hug and sighed at her softie of a friend. “Yes. And you know I’m here for you.”

  “Thank you, Dani,” Tanya whispered. “I’ll find you when I get back from turning him in and let you know how it went.”

  They pulled back, squeezed each other’s hands, then let them drop. “Sounds good. Hang in there, sweetie.”

  Tanya climbed the stairs and turned. “Don’t have a choice, now, do I?”

  Dani stared at the shut door for a moment, her faith in her friends fading slightly, doubts returning.

  Tanya said Smiley was reporting tonight or in the morning.

  But what if he didn’t? He could be leading a double life—like she was—and hurting Tanya in the process.

  There was only one thing to do.

  Traitor.

  Squashing her guilt, she pulled out her cell phone once she’d walked out of sight. A frustrated noise escaped her when she failed to get a signal.

  Jack.

  He had to grab Smiley in case he changed his mind.

  As hard as it was to reconcile, the man she called friend might be someone else entirely. A dangerous person.

  Maybe even a murderer.

  * * *

  JACK BREATHED IN the aromatic scent of sagebrush, the thick sugary pine, aware of every breath he took as he headed down a hill to the dude ranch. It was a warm, windless night and the forest was still and lonely. He could taste the sweetness of the spring air on his tongue and the bitterness of fruitless hours spent searching and finding nothing.

  At first he’d been excited to catch the trail left by a guy he’d spotted in the woods earlier, when he’d ridden after Dakota. The man resembled Sam Perkins in size and coloring, but he hadn’t gotten close enough to positively identify him. After the tour, he rode back, hoping it’d lead him to another campsite, or better yet his bounty, but he’d come up empty. The guy’s tracks, similar in size but not the same shape boot as the previous prints, had appeared with someone else’s beside a fishing spot, then vanished again.

  Another false lead when he couldn’t afford even one. He’d already spent more time on this bounty than any other to date and he suspected the cause.

  Dani.

  She teased, irked and challenged, keeping him off-balance. He wanted to stop thinking about her so much, but the more he thought about that, the more he thought about her. A vicious cycle that kept going round and round, too fast for him to jump off.

  While riding on the tour earlier, he’d struggled to keep his focus on the surrounding brush, his eyes straying to her bright face, his ears tuned in to her soft belly laugh that yanked a chuckle out of him every time.

  Enough.

  No more mooning over his charming “partner.” His brother’s killers, and the redemption he sought, could be within his grasp and he needed to let go of Dani if he had any chance of catching it.

  A few more steps and he emerged from the forest onto the back of the Mays’ property. Only the first stars hung faint and distant in the darkening sky, and rose-bottomed clouds on the horizon echoed the recent sunset. The distant sounds of the outdoor barbecue mingled in the smoke-tinged air.

  “Jack?” Larry’s silhouette appeared in the doorway of the main house and he jogged down the front steps. “The sheriff called for you earlier. Said he’s been trying to reach you on your cell.”

  Jack pulled out his phone and scrolled. “It’s not getting a signal. Would you mind if I called him back on your phone?”

  “No, of course not.” Larry smiled broadly and ushered Jack inside. “Heard about what happened on the trail with the Clarks today. Good work saving that boy.”

  “I was in the right plac
e at the right time.” He doffed his hat and followed the older man.

  “Mr. Clark is one of our most demanding clients. And he tends to like causing trouble.” Larry pointed at a strip of wood with a row of hooks. “You can leave your hat there.”

  Jack hung his Stetson and turned. “What kind of trouble?”

  “Heard he throws his weight around in Denver. Has his fingers in lots of pies.”

  “As in illegal activities?” Jack asked. Bella appeared, followed by Beau, and their nails scratched and skittered against the wood floor, tapping out a frantic rhythm in time to their beating tails.

  “There are rumors.”

  They passed through the kitchen and entered a dim hall as Jack turned that over. Hit men had killed the Denver couple, a professional job without a clear motive.

  “He told me he requests Smiley every year.” Bella appeared and swooshed through the entrance ahead of the humans. Jack flicked on the light switch. “So he would have been counting on seeing Smiley.”

  Larry scratched the back of his head and completely ignored the rushing canines, who stuck their noses in potted plants and began digging. “You think he’d planned to meet with Smiley for something beyond fishing?”

  “Not sure what to think, but it’s worth considering.”

  “Suppose it is. You’re a good man to have around, Jack.”

  The weight of Larry’s appreciation was suddenly too much and Jack looked away. Not everyone in his own family would agree with the dude ranch owner’s sentiment. There’d been a time when he’d been less of an asset. Much less.

  “So how are things going?” Larry pulled his pets from the plants and they flopped to the floor, draping themselves over his boots.

  Jack leaned against a filing cabinet.

  “Followed a fellow that resembled Sam Perkins up to Eagle Rock then down to the ravine on the other side. I’d spotted him off trail earlier.”