The Kentucky Cowboy's Baby

by Heidi Hormel

  Pepper’s breath clogged her lungs as she ran over the words again in her head. They didn’t make any sense.

  “He left me the ranch?” AJ asked. He didn’t sound like a man who’d just hit the jackpot.

  “You’ve got the wrong will,” Pepper told the attorney. Well, maybe more like accused him of gross incompetence.

  “Now...” Chief Rudy started.

  “It’s wrong,” she said. It’s got to be. She’d used the inheritance she’d been sure she and her mother would get on the grant application to get the Angel Crossing Community Garden Project started. “Daddy Gene always said... I used the property—”

  “How could I have forgotten,” Faye said with something like regret and worry, two emotions she rarely acknowledged. “You told that agency you would use the value of the ranch as the matching money.”

  “You did what?” AJ’s storm-gray gaze locked on her. No chance that she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. “There’s a lien on the property?”

  “Not exactly,” she said.

  He hitched up his sleeping daughter so her head fit more firmly on his shoulder. “You. Me. The attorney. We need to talk now.”

  “What are you, a caveman? I already told you there’s some mistake.” She moved closer to whisper what needed to be said so no one—especially not her mother—could hear. “You didn’t even visit. When he was...when the doctors said that he...you didn’t visit. Why would he leave this to you? Did you call him? Talk to the attorney?”

  “Are you saying that I scammed Gene? My God, he was kin. He watched out for me when I first started riding bulls.”

  “What other reason could there be?”

  Bobby Ames pretended to clear his throat.

  Pepper moved around the room restlessly as the silence stretched. Not only was her plan on the line, her mother’s future was, too. The ranch would have been plenty to keep Faye in yogurt and tofu. One good thing about her mother was that she didn’t need a lot of cash to get along. That’s why Pepper had been so sure the community garden plan would work.

  “Now, we need to discuss this frankly,” Bobby Ames said, still using his TV-attorney voice. “There’ll be no more talk about this will not being legal. It is. Faye and the chief looked everywhere for another one. There was nothing at the house. I called around to other attorneys and there was nothing. This is his will.”

  Pepper wanted to say no. She wanted to scream no, but she was nothing if not a realist. She left the dreaming to her mother.

  “Why me?” AJ asked.

  Yeah, she wanted to know that, too.

  Bobby Ames adjusted his glasses. “Could be that it’s an old will and you were his cousin? Or maybe because you saved his life.”

  “I’m not sure I saved him,” AJ said, moving his daughter to his other shoulder.

  “The way Gene told it was that if you hadn’t run into the arena and grabbed him, he’d have been stomped to death. He said the clowns had gotten tangled up with a loose calf and you were the first one to him. He said you took a good kick to the ribs.” AJ’s hand went to his side. “I believe you nearly lost your spleen.”

  “He thanked me plenty,” AJ said. “I never expected—”

  “You don’t need to make any decisions today,” Bobby Ames said, “except this thing with Pepper and the grant. What did Faye mean?”

  Pepper searched for a way to understand the new lay of the land. She’d never imagined Daddy Gene wouldn’t leave the ranch to Faye. She’d never asked him about it in those last weeks. They’d all known he was dying but they’d still tried to deny it until the very end.

  No one spoke and the silence stretched out long enough that she could hear the deep breathing of the baby. Come clean, girlie girl, Daddy Gene’s voice said in her head. Dear Lord. What would they do? What would the state office where she’d filed her paperwork say?

  Pepper said, “Daddy Gene loved Faye, you all know that. You know what he would do.” Her voice squeaked to a stop. Her chest hurt from holding back the tears. She had to get through this next bit, then she could fall to pieces. She needed to protect Faye’s future and her own plans for the garden, her patients and the town. Pepper breathed deeply as she’d seen her mother do before a big announcement. “I’m planning the Angel Crossing Community Garden here at the ranch and we needed a grant for the equipment. Faye agreed I could use the value of the ranch’s land and outbuildings to match the money the state would grant us. It was the only way to get the money, so I put that on my application. I’ve already set up the greenhouse using my own savings and promised loans to my farmers. I told you all about it, chief. Remember? There would be fresh food for those who worked the ground and plots where others could grow specialty plants that they’d then sell and pay me land rent. It would be run by a nonprofit and support small businesses as well as senior and children’s health. The mayor even agreed it was a good idea.”

  “It is a good idea,” Chief Rudy said, cutting off AJ when he started to protest, “but you didn’t tell any of us that you basically were promising money you don’t have or that the plan had been put together with a spit and a prayer.”

  Finally, AJ spoke, his voice low but no less angry. “So you’ve used my ranch and now there’s a lien and I won’t be able to sell.”

  “It seems that you’ve gone awfully quick from ‘I can’t believe this is mine’ to ordering us all around because you inherited some land,” Pepper said, facing him and forcing her voice to be steady. “There isn’t a lien on the property. I’ve only just put in the paperwork. I’m sure I can explain things and rescind the application...if I have to, which I’m not convinced I’ll have to.”

  “It’s the Spring Equinox right now,” Faye said out of nowhere, as she sometimes did. “This was always Gene’s favorite time of year. He said spring was when anything was possible.”

  Chapter Three

  Butch, the Australian shepherd, sat happily in the front seat of Pepper’s small SUV. The one her mother had insisted Daddy Gene buy and then paint an eye-searing purple. On the plus side, Pepper was easily recognizable. It meant when she went to homes up in the mountains, her patients immediately recognized her. Faye may have known what she was doing. Maybe. Pepper pushed away the panic and flexed her hands on the steering wheel. “Butch, we’re in a lot of trouble, and I don’t mean because you sat in Dr. Cortez’s chair. I used a ranch I didn’t own to try and get money from the government. It’s not like they gave me any money or that I lied. I really, really thought the ranch was ours. It was just two weeks after Daddy Gene died. I might not have been at my best, but there was a deadline.” The black, brown and white dog with mismatched eyes turned and gave her one of his smiles. Butch had been picked out of a litter of wriggling puppies to herd Faye’s Beauties—her alpacas and llamas. She’d talked Daddy Gene into getting the animals about a year ago, about the same time as the ranch that had rented most of Santa Faye Ranch had closed its gates and broken its lease. Faye insisted the fleece from the animals, which she planned to spin and weave, would make up for the lost revenue. Not long after the animals arrived, Daddy Gene had gotten very sick again. Faye had been more worried about him than about making her spinning and weaving venture profitable, even though she loved her Beauties. Butch, who acted like a poodle in a hairy shepherd body, had worked hard with her to earn his good citizen certificate and therapy training. He visited the office on the days it was just her and Claudette. Dr. Cortez, who came to the clinic twice a week, didn’t like Butch or believe any animal could help calm patients. Butch actually did a good job with people facing needles—kids and adults alike.

  Only two minutes from the ranch, Pepper needed to come up with her talking points fast. She’d avoided AJ and Faye this morning. She had, however, called an attorney—not Bobby Ames—for advice that wasn’t free. He’d said she might have a case for overturning the
will, and he didn’t think she’d end up in jail, probably, for using the ranch to try to get the grant. He’d advised withdrawing the application immediately, but not explaining why unless she was forced to. The goal was to not look like a liar and a cheat to the agency. Pepper understood what he wasn’t saying. If she ever wanted Angel Crossing or herself to get another grant from the state or anyone else, she had to clear up this problem quickly and quietly. She’d already started and so far so good.

  Pepper parked next to AJ’s king-cab pickup, dusty and dented. “Come on, Butch,” she said unnecessarily. The dog was already at the front door waiting for her. She gripped her tote tighter and went in.

  Butch raced from her side, yipping with excitement. He disappeared into the kitchen. Pepper took papers to review later that night out of her tote, then hung the bag on its hook. She toed off her clogs and slipped her feet into sandals. A place for everything and everything in its place. One of those sayings from kindergarten that had more than a little ring of truth.

  Butch ran back to her, his doggy smile stretching across his face. No more stalling, Pepper. Butch sprinted ahead of her again. She strained to hear voices.

  “Faye, I’m home.” That was stupid. Of course she was home. Silence.

  Butch trotted into the kitchen and then looked over his shoulder at her. That was his open-the-back-door look. That must be where they were. Pepper sniffed the air. Someone had been cooking. She almost felt sorry for AJ because she knew that smell. Faye had made scrambled tofu, which was okay, but she’d added kimchi, fish sauce and...dear Lord. She smelled the cheese Faye insisted on making—the kind that tasted like dirty socks. Maybe Faye’s cooking would convince AJ to move along, except no one would walk away from a ranch.

  Butch sat on her foot and leaned against her leg. He really was a remarkable therapy dog. He always knew when anyone was in distress. She patted his warm furry head before making herself a little taller than her five feet seven so she could more easily face the people on the patio. Specifically, the tall, lean AJ.

  Faye in Earth Mother mode held EllaJayne as she danced her around the patio. Pepper didn’t see AJ, though.

  “Faye, where’s that child’s father? Did you kill him with the kimchi?” Faye’s Korean-style sauerkraut had peppers hot enough to singe nose hairs. Pepper didn’t eat the kimchi or anything else with peppers—hot or sweet. One of life’s little ironies.

  “EllaJayne and I are enjoying the rebirth of the world since it’s spring. Aren’t we? You’re an old soul, aren’t you, little one?”

  “Faye,” Pepper said with patience.

  “You’re thirsty. I can hear it in your voice. Go get a drink.” Her mother danced another three steps. “This will all work out for the best.”

  “Good to know.”

  “No need for sarcasm, that’s the work of a small soul.”

  “Sorry. It’s just that today has been—”

  “I know, dear,” Faye said, taking the little girl’s arm and waving. “There’s your daddy.”

  AJ was a cowboy, from his hip-rolling walk to his well-used boots and frayed-at-the-seams jeans. Pepper couldn’t read what he might be thinking. She could guess, though. Don’t borrow from the bank of trouble, she heard Daddy Gene’s voice in her ear. She wanted to snap back at him that she wouldn’t need to borrow if he’d just left the ranch to Faye. But he wasn’t here. She needed to leave that go.

  “You and I need to talk,” AJ said in a soft drawling voice that didn’t have a hint of friendly.

  “Absolutely,” Pepper said. Acting confident—even when she wasn’t—convinced people that she knew what she was doing. “We can talk in my office.”

  “No, darling,” Faye said. “You should take advantage of the energy of spring and the outdoors.” Her mother took the child and walked inside.

  “I made some calls,” AJ said.

  “Okay.” She would let him talk so she could figure out what he knew and wanted. She watched him pace around the patio. He definitely was handsome—she had to be honest.

  “I spoke with Danny Leigh.”

  Did he think being the mayor’s friend was a big deal? Like she should be impressed? Everybody knew the mayor. This was a small town.

  “Telling a state agency you owned land you didn’t could end up getting you and the town—including Danny and others who signed the papers—into a lot of trouble.”

  “Daddy Gene meant for Faye to have the ranch. Everyone in town knew that was his plan.” She plowed on, pushing back the tears. “Faye agreed with me about the garden because it would provide food and a chance to earn extra money for anyone who needs help in Angel Crossing. How can you take that from them?”

  “This is about what’s legal and fair.”

  “Fair? I’ll tell you what’s fair. Giving my patients a fighting chance to get healthy with fresh fruits and vegetables. Helping kids understand where what’s on their plate comes from and what real food is. What about the entrepreneurs? Liddy already has her name in for a loan to make soaps and salves from the herbs she’ll grow. With that money, she can go to the community college, get a degree and earn enough so she can rent a bigger place and be allowed to have her kids back.”

  “It’s the law. The will is clear. The ranch goes to me.” He turned his back to her and his shoulders—his wide and muscled shoulders—lifted with a deep breath. “I have plans, too, and they all have to do with giving my little girl the best. Bobby Ames said that it will take months to settle the estate and that’s if there are no challenges or issues.” He turned and glared at her. “I was going to go to California but it seems that we have a place here. Plus, I need to make sure you don’t do anything else with the property that will make it less attractive to a buyer.”

  She whispered, because that was all the air she had, “You’re selling the ranch?”

  * * *

  LOOKING AT PEPPER’S horrified face nearly made him take back the truth.

  “I can fix this so you don’t have to sell. Or—” Her voice trailed off as her shoulders drooped.

  He couldn’t weaken now. Not only did his future ride on this ranch but his daughter’s did, too. For the first time in his life, he had something to lose. “Promises won’t put food in me and my daughter’s bellies.” Good Lord, he heard his daddy in those hard words. He couldn’t stop now even if he really believed that he could make this work out for all of them...somehow. “And what will keep me out of trouble if the state doesn’t like that you lied on the grant, huh?”

  Her gaze dropped. “I’ve already started withdrawing the application. You don’t need to worry.”

  Good thing for him she’d given in. He’d had about another ten seconds of meanness before he’d have caved. “My original plan had been to stop to pay my respects before heading to California to work on a dude ranch for a buddy of mine. Since the estate might not be settled for months—and it looks like there are a few things to take care of in preparation for a sale and to make sure you don’t try anything else with the property—that means EllaJayne and I will need to stay on here, in what’s technically my house...or will be. I mean, Bobby Ames explained that until everything is settled, you and Faye don’t have to let me stay. But hotels get mighty expensive, and there’s the attorney to pay, as well as food and diapers and such for EllaJayne. Faye already agreed and you wouldn’t put out a little girl. Also, I’ll have to look for work, which leads to my next problem. I need someone to look after EllaJayne, from time to time. She likes your mama and since you’re a nurse—”

  “Physician’s assistant,” she corrected.

  He’d better hurry because she was recovering her spit and vinegar. “Physician’s assistant. Danny Leigh vouched for you, too. You and your mama could do in a pinch, but I need to have something steadier, more permanent. So, here’s the deal. In addition to staying here, I need your help in
tracking down someone to care for my daughter. You’ve got to know who’s good at that sort of thing. Does Angel Crossing have a day care? Either way. I want good care at a reasonable price.”

  “I’m sure I can give you care recommendations. But I’m a little confused as to why I should be helping you? What do I get out of the deal?”

  He worked to not admire her backbone. Up against a wall and she wasn’t afraid to negotiate. “What’s your counteroffer?”

  “Since Faye said you can stay, then you should care for Faye’s Beauties.”

  “Her Beauties?”

  “The llamas and alpacas. Faye does most of the work but she needs help.”

  “Seems fair.”

  Her face had relaxed into a smile. He liked that smile. It shouldn’t matter if he liked it or not. His only goal here was getting the ranch free and clear, selling it and moving on. He’d considered staying but he couldn’t do that and raise a daughter. Plus he’d never even worked on a ranch. He’d helped with animals at the rodeo but that wasn’t the same thing.

  “I could write everything up in a contract,” he went on, “but I’d like to think we could do this on a shake of the hand?” Despite her hippie mama and using a ranch she didn’t own, Pepper was practical and trustworthy, he thought. He’d gotten that impression, anyway, from everything Danny and Bobby Ames had said to him.

  Her stiff shoulders and etched-in-stone chin told him she wasn’t giving up or giving in without a little more fight. She might have been down, but she wasn’t out. “Since you already settled the housing with Faye, I don’t see that I can take issue with that. I’m sure I can find your daughter care. She’s a sweet baby. I need some assurance you won’t sell out from under me and I want a chance to buy Santa Faye Ranch before it goes on the market.”

  “If that’s legal, sure, why not.” He didn’t care who bought the property. He just needed the money. “When everything’s settled and I’m ready to sell, I’ll let you know.”