The Kentucky Cowboy's Baby

by Heidi Hormel

  “Good,” Danny said. “Sit.”

  “No. You’re busy—”

  “We were waiting for you.”

  AJ looked hard at his friend, trying to understand what he wanted and why he was involving him. The plan was already in motion. He’d meet Nevin, see the papers, then go back to Kentucky with EllaJayne.

  “AJ, sit. This might take a little while,” Pepper said. He couldn’t look at her because he might just break down. He kept his gaze on Danny and sat.

  “What did you two want?” AJ asked.

  Danny gave a politician’s smile. It looked as genuine as Dolly Parton’s...hair. “Pepper and I spoke with Spencer...my sister’s brother-in-law. He’s a good attorney. He and Lavonda actually came up with this. I hate to say that my sister had a good idea, but there it is.”

  “You going to get to the point sometime this century?” Sitting this close to Pepper had AJ thinking about those few precious nights together and how giving up on ever being with her like that again was like breathing underwater. Impossible.

  “I want you to understand that this isn’t an off-the-cuff idea, you blockhead. We only had two days, but we’ve made it work. So when you go see Nevin this afternoon...yes, everyone knows you’re meeting with him...you can present him with this, and the chief will go with you. Yes. He will because he doesn’t want any trouble. And I know you, AJ. There could be trouble when your Kentucky cousins are involved. They’re like a pack of jackals.”

  “Get to the point, Danforth,” AJ said, glaring at the man who used to be his pal. The lemon and clove scent of Pepper surrounded him, weaving its way through his scrambled brain.

  “Danforth?” Pepper asked. “Really?”

  “Family name,” Danny said with another politician’s smile. “I want to make sure you understand, AJ. All of Angel Crossing helped with this plan and will benefit from it, including Pepper and Faye. We take this very seriously. You understand?”

  Did he? He didn’t really believe that the town had adopted him. He’d never felt like that before. He’d lived in Pinetown his entire life and people wouldn’t spit on him if he were on fire.

  “I’ll take the silence as understanding,” Danny said. “We have a grant from the state that is earmarked for the Angel Crossing Community Garden Project.”

  AJ finally turned to Pepper. “You got the money. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You’re leaving.”

  That about said it all. She didn’t look like she cared for him. Danny had been wrong. “Congratulations.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hooray,” Danny said. “What that means is that we have money, which Angel Crossing never has.”

  None of this mattered. AJ was leaving. He had to clear up things in Kentucky, which he guessed, knowing his luck, would go as smoothly as concrete through a straw. It was just he’d changed so much in such a short time, it was hard to remember that AJ. Knowing about his little girl and then seeing her for the first time...he’d known right then life would never be the same. Exactly like when he’d seen Pepper in the flesh.

  “Put us both out of our misery,” she said. AJ turned to her and saw the pain on her face. He wanted to pull her into his arms. He stood up and leaned across Danny’s desk.

  “Stop beating around the damned bush and just tell us.”

  “Sit down, AJ. I’m getting there. I’m not dragging this out. I really need both of you to understand what’s at stake.”

  “Are you saying there’s a chance that the grant will go away?” Pepper asked. “What’s that got to do with AJ?”

  “Fine. I spent at least fifteen minutes on my speech but you two are ruining it. The council and I met. Then the ladies from Devil’s Food talked with me. You know who I mean, Pepper.” AJ was surprised when she blushed. “We believe the best use for the grant is not to buy equipment and the empty lots in town. The grant will be a down payment, along with the collection that came together from Angel Crossing, to buy Santa Faye Ranch from AJ.”

  AJ looked at Pepper to gauge her reaction to her grant being hijacked by him and his problems. She looked...happy. She smiled at him, tears shining in her eyes and her smile wobbly at the corners. “Why didn’t they tell me? This is a great solution.”

  “Good thing you think so because it’s a done deal. We didn’t want to wait. Afraid if Nevin got wind of this, he’d find some way to mess it up. He’s smart like a fox.”

  AJ wasn’t listening to Danny. His gaze hadn’t left Pepper’s face. Dear Lord. She did love him. He could see it in her eyes. He pulled her from the chair and into his embrace. “Thank you. Thank you. I didn’t think I could love you more than I did, but now I do.”

  “You love me?” she asked with wonder, leaning back enough to look directly into his eyes. “Thank God. You love me. I love you, too. I love you enough to...well, I would have let you go if that was the best thing. You know that whole ‘if you love something, leave it go’ nonsense.”

  He pulled her close again and said into her ear. “I’m never leaving you go.”

  “But you don’t want to stay in Arizona. You said that—”

  He kissed her and she kissed him back with her whole heart.

  * * *

  “YOU’RE THINKING TOO LOUDLY,” AJ said as he squeezed Pepper’s hand where it lay between them on the bench seat of his pickup. “It will all work out.”

  “Later I want to talk with you about what Nevin threatened me with and you not telling me. Right now, I’m just trying to take in the fact that you aren’t on your way out of town. I had prepared myself for that. Instead we’re... What are we?”

  “Not sure. Not worried.”

  He was right. What did it matter? They knew they loved each other. They’d said it right there in the mayor’s office. About as official as you could get. Now, they were going to save AJ and his little girl. And then what?

  “You’re doing it again. We’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

  “That sounds like something from a fortune cookie. What if this—” she waved her hand at them “—is just physical?”

  “You really believe that?” he glanced away from the road and smiled that special cowboy grin.

  “It could be.”

  “I don’t think so. I pulled weeds for you. I haven’t done that since my mama threatened me with no dinner.”

  “You were just trying to get me horizontal by impressing me with your green thumb.”

  “Could be. But I want to stay here and keep pulling weeds and plowing and growing good food for good people.”

  Her chest tightened and her eyes stung. He got it. Got her. “I love you.”

  “Well, duh,” he said and laughed, before pulling her hand to his mouth and gently kissing the knuckles. “Now, stop distracting me. You don’t want me to drive into a ditch.”

  She allowed herself to float in the sparkly bright love. The next few hours wouldn’t be so sparkly bright. She was going to enjoy this little bit of time alone. They were driving to the ranch to meet up with Nevin, as well as Danny, half of the town council, and half of the women from the Devil’s Food Diner Back Room Mafia—a name invented by Chief Rudy. Faye said that once everyone heard what would be happening between AJ and his cousin, they insisted on coming out as witnesses, moral support or muscle, in the case of one or two of her cowboy patients. They were going to get Nevin to sign the paper or else. Taking care of people didn’t mean she had to do it all herself. When had she thought it was her exclusive job to save the world? And when had she become so arrogant she thought she could?

  “You’re doing it again. Tell me what you want to plant and what kind of chickens you fancy?”

  She pulled in a breath and turned her brain to the question, allowing herself to think about the new life that would be hers. Not exactly the one she’d planned, but that was good, t
oo. She wouldn’t be alone to face her problems. There was everyone from Angel Crossing and even Faye. She turned to smile at AJ. He’d be there today, and she was pretty sure that might be all she needed for the rest of her life.

  * * *

  “WHAT THE HELL is this?” AJ’s cousin Nevin asked after strolling potbelly first from his pickup with Kentucky plates and twenty years of dirt and rust. “Do they know what you done?”

  AJ moved forward, and Pepper stayed glued to his side. Chief Rudy stepped in. “This is Angel Crossing, and we look after our own. These are our own.”

  Nevin’s washed-out blue eyes were nearly hidden by bangs of thinning dirty-blond hair. “I’m here to settle personal business with my cousin.”

  The chief spoke before Pepper or AJ could open their mouths. “Whatever business you have to transact with AJ, you’ll do here in the open.”

  “Fine. Then you can all hear what kind of man he is, stealing that there baby from its mama.”

  “He did not,” Pepper said, surprising herself with her own vehemence. “He saved that baby. He sacrificed—”

  “Nevin,” AJ broke in and walked around the chief to stand squarely in front of his cousin. There was no resemblance at all, even with both of them in jeans, boots and T-shirts. “You and Suzy want money. I’ve got money. You just need to sign this.” AJ whipped out the paperwork and the assistant for the police department came forward. She would notarize the document on the spot. They weren’t leaving anything to chance. There was at least one smartphone filming the entire exchange.

  Nevin looked down at the papers. “That’s not enough. I talked to people who know what our cousin Gene left you.”

  “This is all you and Suzy will get. I think the courts frown on blackmail. Don’t they, chief?” AJ didn’t take his eyes from Nevin.

  “That’s right. We take threats like that very seriously.”

  “Do ya now?” Nevin asked, looking around the crowd before his nasty gaze landed on Pepper. “You’re his piece, huh?”

  AJ reached forward and grabbed the front of his cousin’s Hell Raiser, Hay Maker T-shirt, bunching it in his fist. “Shut up and sign the paper.”

  She waited for Chief Rudy to step forward and stop AJ. When the chief didn’t move a muscle, Pepper started toward the men. Her mother held tight to her, whispering in her ear, “You’ve got to let your man be a man.”

  What did that mean? She couldn’t let him get beat up, not for her, not for the ranch. Except this wasn’t her fight. This was AJ’s. This was about his baby. For EllaJayne she would do the same thing. She didn’t struggle, carefully sizing up Nevin. AJ could definitely take him in a fair fight but fair didn’t seem to be in his cousin’s vocabulary.

  “Don’t you see what he’s doing?” Nevin squealed. “Arrest him.”

  Chief Rudy turned away.

  “Sign the damned paper,” AJ said again, his voice low and menacing.

  “It’s not enough, cuz. We’ve got expenses.”

  “Sign the paper. What’s in there—that’s all you’re ever getting from me.” AJ’s fist tightened in the thin T-shirt material while sweat beaded Nevin’s pasty face.

  In the silence, Nevin’s breathing rasped. Heat beat down on Pepper’s head. No one moved. Every eye was on the men.

  “Boot,” EllaJayne yelled from the house as the dog bolted across the yard and into the crowd. The toddler followed on his heels, snatched up by Faye. Butch stopped at AJ’s side and growled at Nevin, hackles raised. Pepper gaped at her poodle of a shepherd. She’d never heard that noise before, low and threatening.

  “Get that dog away,” Nevin said, kicking out his foot and hitting Butch squarely on the nose, knocking him to the ground where the dog lay stunned. Pepper raced forward and saw Nevin’s feet leave the ground as the crowd yelled.

  “That’s it,” Chief Rudy said. “We’ve given you a chance to be a man about this, but kicking a dog...what kind of man does that? No man at all. Let him go, AJ, he’s under arrest for animal cruelty.”

  A murmur of approval went through the group as Nevin protested and Butch stood, shaking his head a little in confusion. His butt started wagging and he took three steps and sat on AJ’s feet.

  Pepper looked at her cowboy, his face stiff with disgust and anger. His storm-gray gaze stayed on his cousin and his grip didn’t loosen. She went to him.

  “You can release him now. The chief will arrest him, and Butch is fine. We’re fine. He’ll sign. We’re giving them money, and it’s more than they deserve. How can he and Suzy refuse? They should just take the money and run.” She turned to Nevin using the same stare she used on cowboys when they came to the clinic. “He knows what the score is. It’s like the sheriff said: Angel Crossing looks after its own, and we’re its own.”

  “He and Suzy don’t deserve a dime,” AJ ground out.

  “Maybe not, but if it makes sure EllaJayne is yours forever, without strings and without a mama who only sees dollar signs, then it’s money more than well spent. Plus, you don’t have a choice,” she said and then rose on her toes to speak directly in his ear, “We all decided to spend our money this way. If you don’t sign, what will that mean to Angel Crossing Community Garden?”

  He turned and his face relaxed a tiny bit. “I should have known this was about your veggies.” His hand loosened. “He’s all yours, chief.”

  Pepper pulled AJ into her arms and the cluster of friends and neighbors clapped as she kissed him hard on the mouth.

  * * *

  AJ JUST STOPPED himself from pulling Pepper closer by the butt. “I love you,” he said, not feeling silly or scared. It all felt right. He could barely remember the cowboy he’d been, the one who’d gone from woman to woman looking for...well, for what he had now. Family. Friends. Home. Lordy be, as Pepper said. His eyes burned with tears.

  “Boot, Boot,” EllaJayne yelled. He and Pepper broke apart. He scooped up Baby Girl. His finally. No more Suzy. The mother who didn’t want this gorgeous human. A part of him was sad for that. Another selfish part was grateful because it meant that she was all his. No. Not just his. His and Pepper’s. His chest started to burn along with his eyes. Lordy be.

  He pulled Pepper back to him, squashing his daughter between them and loving all of it, even the scrabbling of Butch’s claws on his leg and his daughter’s screams for her favorite playmate. His little girl needed a brother or a sister...whoa, cowboy. He’d barely gotten a grasp on being a daddy and on knowing he loved Pepper. Now he was imagining new babies. He pulled them all closer before letting them go enough so Pepper could stand beside him as they faced the small crowd. How did he thank this town that had accepted him as one of their own?

  “Wait,” Faye said before he could open his mouth. “Gene would be so proud. So happy.” The tears in her voice were clear, but she smiled.

  AJ tightened his grip on Pepper, knowing mention of Gene would make her a little sad. The wound of his passing, the only father she’d known, had not completely healed.

  “He certainly would be,” AJ said when Faye didn’t continue. “I know he loved this town. I know that because he told me. Gene was the greatest cowboy I knew. Not because he won buckles or was in the money. He was the best because he shared his knowledge and his six-pack, when needed, for purely medicinal purposes, of course.” He paused for the knowing laughter, then went on, “I’m not certain why he left me his ranch, but I will be forever grateful because it got me my daughter and—” He stopped himself, uncertain he was ready to share exactly what he felt for Pepper.

  “Oh, man, just kiss her again,” Danny said.

  The crowd shouted and he did kiss her again. A light promise of more to come.

  “This is just what Gene wanted,” Faye said when things quieted.

  “What do you mean?” Pepper asked, stepping away from AJ and staring down her mother.


  “Sweetie, you know Gene loved you, and he knew he wouldn’t be on this earth forever.” Faye hesitated and her voice quavered when she went on. “He was so sure AJ was the cowboy for you.”

  Now, AJ wondered what exactly Faye was getting at.

  Faye said, “We discussed it. So, Gene decided...sweetie, he just wanted you to be happy. And when I saw AJ and his baby, I knew Gene had been right.”

  “You’re saying he set us up?” Pepper asked sounding as gut-punched shocked as AJ.

  “Why else wouldn’t he leave the ranch to us?”

  “Faye, he didn’t do that. He left it to AJ because he saved Daddy Gene from that bull.”

  “He certainly was grateful but that debt was paid to AJ in the hundreds of ways he helped him over the years at the rodeo and by checking in with him even after he left. This was about you, sweetie. He wanted to make sure you were cared for.”

  AJ could think of a lot of reasons that had nothing to do with matchmaking. The sparks of heat from Pepper told AJ she might be ready to explode with all that anger directed at her mother, which would lead to a lot of words Pepper couldn’t take back and would regret for a long time. “Faye,” he said loudly, catching everyone’s attention. “Gene knew his stuff. But,” he said emphatically because this was important to him, “Pepper can take care of herself and does it with empathy and style. She’s cared for you and for this town because that’s what she does. She didn’t need Gene to find anyone to care for her. But I’m grateful he did because I can’t imagine my life without her.” He finally looked at Pepper and had to look away so the burning in his eyes didn’t turn into tears. “I’m grateful he brought me to Angel Crossing because there’s no place on this earth I’d rather be. Or where there are better folks.”