Bull riding was the one rodeo sport their dad, Randolph, didn’t allow at Sunrise Ranch. Tucker and Rowdy both knew you didn’t just walk on to a college team without prior experience. No one had talked about it much last year, but they’d all suspected that Wes had been riding on weekends and not saying anything about it. This was proof. Randolph didn’t allow bull riding on the ranch, but he’d never specifically forbidden it away from the ranch. It was that gray area Wes had operated under. Just as Tucker and his brothers had growing up, the older boys had use of trucks and the rights to spend time off the ranch with their friends.
Tucker knew there had been something inside of Wes that drew him to bull riding. Though good-natured, he had been pulled to anything that had an edge to it. Tucker had been a lot like that as a kid. But instead of bulls, he’d been fascinated by the marines. Gordon had been the same way. When a man truly wanted to do something, there was no stopping him. Tucker recognized that in Wes and hadn’t butted in when he’d suspected he was riding.
“He’ll be all right,” he said. “If he rides a bull half as well as he rides a horse, then he’ll be at the National Finals Rodeo before you know it. I better get to town—if y’all can haul them to the ranch that’d be great. We’ll get the boys and go over to Chili’s this weekend to ride his fence line. We’ve got to find out how these misfits are getting out before someone gets hurt.”
“Will do,” Rowdy said. He watched Tony head toward the driver’s seat of the truck. “That boy can’t get enough of driving,” he added. “If Chili spent a little more time ranching instead of sitting in town whittling, these donkeys wouldn’t be such troublemakers.”
“That’s the truth.” Tucker started toward his SUV, remembering the painful walk to it the last time they’d dealt with the donkeys. He was thankful an ice pack had fixed him up. He’d made certain to stay out of their way this time.
“You sure you’re all right?”
Tucker knew what Rowdy was asking. Rowdy knew the weight of his guilt. Anyone who knew him, and understood the code that drove him, knew that he’d taken full responsibility for their friend—their brother’s—death.
“I’m making it,” he offered. “I can’t let them down, Rowdy.”
Rowdy’s eyes narrowed. “You won’t, bro. You’ve never let anyone down. Gordon was a marine, same as you. If you hadn’t been shot, you would have been the one to draw fire—you’d done it before. Gordon was no different and you know that. You have to accept it.”
“Yeah, well, that doesn’t make it any easier. I have to do right by his son. By his wife.”
Rowdy clamped him on the shoulder. “You will.”
“Thanks for the confidence. Tony didn’t happen to say anything about the fight between Abe and Jake this morning, did he?”
“Nope. If any of them know what happened between those two, they aren’t saying.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Talk to you later. Duty calls.”
He was almost to his truck when Rowdy’s words stopped him. “You like her, don’t you?”
Tucker hadn’t expected Rowdy’s question. He scowled. “You better go. Your driver will leave you.”
“Yup. Just what I thought.”
“Now, Rowdy, don’t get any ideas. Yeah, I like her. But nothing could ever come of that. Nothing.”
“And why not?”
“That’s a crazy question. You know why. She would never be able to look at me and not think of Gordon. And as much as I like to look at her, he is always on my mind, too.”
“That’s some tough stuff,” Rowdy said. “I don’t like it, but I get it. And if that’s how you really feel then I would be extra careful. Don’t get in too deep.”
“Hey, you don’t need to be worrying about me. You have a wedding in two weeks.”
Rowdy grinned. “Don’t worry, Tuck. Thinking about that beautiful lady walking down the aisle wins every time.”
Tucker slapped his brother on the back as he turned to head toward his truck.
Don’t get in too deep. Tucker thought about that advice for the rest of the day. He hoped it was that easy, but he had a bad feeling he’d already dug a hole he was going to have a hard time crawling out of.
Chapter Seven
Breakfast in the chow hall was just getting finished when Suzie saw the trailer filled with renegade donkeys wheel into the yard. Tony was driving and waved as he and Rowdy passed by.
Suzie walked to her car, watching as he backed the trailer up to the unloading pen at the far end of the arena. The beasts were staying here, it seemed.
Seconds later, the boys came flooding out of the chow hall to see what was going on. Obviously they’d known Tony had gone to help Rowdy load the animals, since he wasn’t at breakfast. She had helped in the kitchen today, reluctant about leaving Abe. He’d remained closemouthed about the fight and had hardly spoken at all last night.
Whoops went up as the boys gathered around the trailer, watching Tony herd the donkeys into the pen. Abe jumped onto the fence, his excitement evident from the way he scrambled to the top to lean out and watch the animals. Rowdy had emerged from the passenger’s side of the truck and looked as if he was joking around with the guys.
She wondered where Tucker was. She assumed he’d been involved. Not that it was her business where he was, she reminded herself. Taking one more glance at Abe, she forced herself to get into her car and drive to the shop. If he got into another fight she was confident that Randolph would handle it wisely. She hadn’t slept much, thinking about the spray can and what it meant.
It had been nearly nine-thirty when Abe had come into the house, and though he left his boots on the porch, he still smelled like a barn. Mucking that many stalls with only one other person to help was a huge job. Tired, stinky and quiet, he’d disappeared into the hall bathroom. She’d been in her room ordering business supplies for the shop when she’d heard him exit the shower and pad down the hall to his room.
Still feeling conflicted about what to say, she’d given him a few minutes and then knocked lightly on his door. When there was no answer, she’d opened the door. He was already asleep in the dark room. At first, she’d thought he might be pretending in order to avoid talking to her, but there was no faking the soft snores.
Which was a good thing, she’d decided, heading back to her room. Maybe he’d be too tired to get into any more trouble.
Maybe that was another motive behind Randolph’s plan.
Too bad some of that sleep hadn’t rubbed off on her, she’d thought later as she lay in bed staring up at the ceiling fan. Despite the fact that it had been a long, hectic two days, it seemed she was doomed to let the events roll around in her head with no peace. She’d come here to get help resolving Abe’s issues. She hadn’t realized when she’d come to Sunrise Ranch that she would also be coming to terms with issues of her own.
Issues she had no idea how to react to.
When she’d finally drifted off to a restless sleep, it was with Tucker’s laughing, paint-dotted face squarely in the center of her thoughts.
* * *
Tucker gathered the boys up late the evening after picking up the donkeys and ferried them to Chili’s ranch to check fence lines. He’d had another crazy day. Though it hadn’t involved paint, it had had its own unusual set of odd circumstances—lots of them. A semi driver had fallen asleep and flipped his rig out on the interstate. He’d been carried off to the hospital with minor injuries. Tucker was left to clean up the mess—clean up the chickens, to be exact.
Thousands of squawking chickens! Running, hopping, crazy chickens scattered everywhere—it was bad. He’d had to call all his deputies in to help deal with the traffic and the poultry. The only good thing he had to say about it was that he was wearing a clean, dry uniform.
By the time he and the boys arrived at Ch
ili’s place, they were practically rolling on the floorboards laughing at his tale of woe.
They agreed that looking for the donkey escape route was a breeze compared to chasing chickens. Even Abe, though quiet, hadn’t been able to hold back a few chuckles. Of course, the kid had been mucking out stalls for two days with twelve more to go. Compared to that, chicken chasing might appeal.
Same with Jake, who seemed fine but stayed clear of Abe. Tucker had brought only the older fellas along, wanting time to observe the two and see if anything came out into the open.
“Welcome, boys,” Chili greeted them when they arrived. “Thanks for coming out to look for holes in my fence.” He’d driven his truck and trailer out behind Tucker and the boys to the area that ran along the road.
“If we can’t find the break, then tomorrow after we work cows, we’ll bring the whole crew. The younger boys are wearing their lips on the ground, they were so disappointed that I didn’t let them come. I promised them Saturday was their day to ride roughshod on your place if nothing showed up this afternoon.”
Chili chuckled. “Them boys are a hoot and a half. Bring ’em on over here. They ain’t gonna tear up nothin’.”
They got the horses unloaded and everyone saddled up. Though Abe wasn’t great on a horse, he was fair. Time in the saddle would improve that naturally.
Chili grunted as he climbed up into the saddle. “I don’t saddle up as easy as I used to, with these old creaky bones of mine. But let’s ride, boys. If we see something worth looking at it’ll be nice to watch all you young ’uns check it out for me.
“I don’t recognize you, son,” Chili continued, his gaze stalling on Abe. “You must be Suzie’s boy. We met her the other day at the shop.”
Tucker saw a flash of something volatile in his eyes.
“She’s my mom.”
“Nice lady. What’s your name?”
“Abe.” It was more of a grunt.
Tucker didn’t like his attitude. “Abe, you’re going to ride with me. The others will go with Chili. That way we can split up. That okay with you, Chili?”
“You’re the boss,” Chili said, shooting Tucker a sharp-eyed look that told him that the older man hadn’t missed the bad attitude.
The others had mounted up and within moments they were riding across Chili’s pasture. The boys loved this. They smiled and leaned forward in their saddles. Tucker knew that, if they could, they’d be galloping across the pastures. Instead, he held them back, talking to them about what he wanted them to do when they got there. When they arrived at the fence that ran beside the road, they split up into west or east groups.
“Watch for tracks or anything that alerts you to many donkeys tramping around,” he said, as they started out in silence. Abe looked sullen and uninterested.
The sun was out and bright in their eyes. Tucker squinted from beneath his hat at Abe. “So how’s it going?” he finally asked.
Abe hiked a shoulder. “It’s going.”
“You like the boys?”
“Sure. Most of them are okay.”
Obviously, Abe was fond of the word okay. “You seemed bothered a minute ago. Want to share what that was about?”
He studied the fence intently. “He called me son. I didn’t like it.”
“I thought that might have bothered you.”
Abe frowned. “I’m no man’s son anymore.”
“You will always be Gordon’s son.”
He shrugged. After a moment he asked, “Did he talk about me much?”
The question shocked Tucker. “He talked about you all the time, Abe. He was proud of you and loved you so much. You and your mother. He showed us pictures all the time. And he said y’all were the best things that ever happened to him.”
Abe’s Adam’s apple bobbed and his nostrils flared, but no tears came. When he looked at Tucker, his eyes were eerily dry. “Do you feel weird being alive and my dad being dead?”
Leave it to kids to cut to the point. “Yes, I do. And I’ll never get over feeling like it should have been me and not your dad.” Tucker prayed for words that could help this boy. He felt powerless, even more so than he had felt with Suzie. “This may sound stupid and might not be something you want to hear, but God does have a plan. He can make good from bad. Even something this bad.”
“Nothing is gonna bring him back. And now I’m riding a fence with you and not my dad.”
The blow hit Tucker in the chest. “I’m not going to lie to you. I can apologize till I’m blue in the face and it won’t change a thing. But you have a wonderful mom who loves you and a whole support group at the ranch who care for you, me included. And I can promise you that I’ll honor your dad by being here for you and your mom till the day I die. I promise you that, even if it doesn’t mean much to you now.”
Abe stared at him for a long time as the horses moved slowly forward beneath them. This was what riding the range was good for—Tucker and his dad had ridden many a fence line together after his mother’s death.
Abe just nodded and went back to studying the fence.
“I’m hoping you’ll let go of this anger you’re holding in, Abe. It’s only going to hurt you,” Tucker added.
With the fighting incident, it was time to do something. He needed Abe to be comfortable with him, so he could build a bridge of trust.
“So?”
Tucker hated his sullenness. Sometimes hurt seemed all there was. “Well, I’m here if you need me. And I’m here to keep you out of trouble, too, standing in for your dad, so remember that.”
His shoulders stiff, Abe rode ahead, leaving Tucker a few yards behind. It was going to be another long afternoon. But this was a complicated puzzle of the heart—a child’s heart—and Tucker planned to tread very carefully.
* * *
Two weeks after she’d arrived in town, Suzie opened her shop. It was both nerve-racking and exciting at the same time. To her surprise, everyone came to wish her well, creating a grand opening that she would never forget.
She had planned on getting opened and then, after settling in and getting some orders under her belt, she would have an open house or something, but on the Saturday morning she was actually going to start business, in walked Mabel, Ms. Jo and Nana with trays of refreshments and decorations.
“Good morning!” Mabel exclaimed, first in the door. “We are here to party! And help out any way we can.”
“Oh, what? Why?” Suzie stumbled over her words as they marched through the door and took over.
“You just go about your business,” Ms. Jo said. “We’ve got this under control.”
“That’s right,” Nana said. “By eleven, this place will be a regular Grand Central station.”
Flustered and touched, Suzie hugged each of them and went back to arranging her very first preordered flower arrangement. Chili had looked a little green around the collar when she’d asked him if he still wanted it, and she’d thought he was going to back out. Then Drewbaker had grinned as if knowing he’d planned to back out all along, and Chili had staunchly reiterated that he did, indeed, want the order.
So here she was working on a bouquet of sunflowers. She had to admit she was curious about who they were for. When she’d asked Chili what he wanted in the bouquet he’d been specific: sunflowers and magenta zinnias. As she was putting the arrangement together, she couldn’t help but wonder if Chili had any idea what the meaning of these flowers were.
Surely not. He was an old rancher who barely set foot in a florist’s and had admitted such. True, the colors complemented each other, but then, any deep rose-colored flower could have done the same.
Sunflowers and magenta zinnias: adoration and lasting affection.
Who, Suzie wanted to know, did Chili adore with lasting affection?
“That is beautiful,” Nan
a said, coming to stand beside her. “I adore sunflowers, don’t you?”
“Very much so.” Suzie’s radar went up—could it be? “Nana, can I ask about your husband?”
Nana got a gentle look in her eye. “I’m seventy-two and he’s been gone nearly thirty years now, but not a day goes by that I don’t think of Harrison Randolph McDermott. When you’ve been loved by and loved a man like my Harry, you never forget. Oops, I left the plates in the truck. I better run and get them.”
Suzie watched her go. She didn’t know what had happened to Nana’s Harry, but Nana had been somewhere near fifty when he’d died. And she was strong, independent, and had done amazing things with this ranch and these boys.
She inspired Suzie to require more of herself than she had, so far. A person had to move past grief. Past anger.
A person had to move forward.
Taking in her shop with the colorful gift items and the silk arrangements and colorful vases, she felt a flicker of joy ignite inside of her.
She smiled.
If she could feel this, surely Abe would feel it someday soon.
There was movement outside the window as cars and trucks began pulling into the parking spaces. Within moments, the grand opening was in full swing.
Tucker came in, right behind Chili and Drewbaker. And by that time, there was hardly room to move around in the small front space. “Congratulations,” he said, over the laughter and hum of conversation. “It looks great in here, and I assume there isn’t any evidence in the back room of any heinous crimes being committed.”
She laughed. “No, there isn’t. All the evidence of the terrible crime I committed has been destroyed. How is your shirt?”
“I’m afraid it didn’t survive.”
“I was afraid of that.” She sighed. “But I’d be glad to replace it.”
“Thanks, but no need for that. I have a closetful. Those are pretty,” he said, nodding toward the arrangement.
“Yes. My first order.”
“Are those the ones from Chili?”
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