Cowboy Up

by Stacy Finz

  She pushed the ice cream away and fisted her hands in her lap. “My mom must’ve known you wouldn’t have wanted me.” Her voice started to tremble and she swiped her eyes with her arm.

  He handed her a napkin but didn’t say anything. She was happy he didn’t because she hated him. She hated everything about him.

  “I didn’t abandon you, Ellie.”

  “My mom must’ve thought you were really bad to keep me from you.” She threw her ice cream bowl on the floor and ran to her room.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Cash asked Sawyer to sit with Ellie while he drove to Dry Creek to fix Aubrey’s car. He’d promised to take Ellie riding, but after the way their discussion had turned out, he thought she might need a little time alone.

  All night he’d gone over the conversation, wondering if he’d done the right thing by telling her. In essence, he’d thrown Marie under the bus. But what was he supposed to do, let his daughter forever think he’d ignored her for twelve years because she was too inconvenient?

  He blew out a breath and played with the air-conditioner, trying to find the perfect temperature. Maybe he should have talked to a child counselor first, or called his mother. But the bottom line, whether it was selfish or not, was that Cash wanted to be straight with her. He didn’t see how their relationship could move forward if he wasn’t.

  She’d always feel unwanted by him and he’d always feel like a martyr who had ruined his chance at having a meaningful bond with his daughter for a dead woman who hadn’t given one thought to his feelings until she was dying.

  But the implications of what he’d told Ellie were a lot for a kid to chew on. He knew that. And although he hadn’t expected Ellie to immediately embrace him, he’d hoped the conversation would’ve gone better.

  He pulled up to a stop sign on his way to town. Jace nosed in behind him and turned on his light bar.

  “Ah, for Christ’s sake,” Cash muttered under his breath.

  Jace stuck his arm out of the window and pointed to the shoulder. Cash shook his head but turned his SUV onto the narrow swath of gravel that joined an open field anyway. A few minutes later, Jace came up to the passenger side and motioned for Cash to roll down his window.

  “License and registration, please.”

  “How about this instead?” Cash flipped Jace the bird.

  “You see that over there?” Jace pointed to the stop sign and Cash snorted. “You know what you did when you saw it? The old California roll, which means you’re in violation of CVC 22450.”

  Cash reached through the window and covered Jace’s ticket book with the palm of his hand. “I don’t have time for this, Jace.”

  “Where’s the fire, Cash?”

  “Aubrey’s car broke down and I’m on my way to fix it.” Cash pulled his hand back in and started to roll up the window.

  “Where’s her car? I’ll come with you.” Clearly, the sheriff was bored, not to mention that the idea of him tagging along was a terrible idea. Jace working on Aubrey’s car in the very public parking lot of the only grocery store in town would only add to the gossip.

  “Bad plan,” Cash said.

  Jace stuck his ticket book in his back pocket and furrowed his brow. “Where is it?”

  That was Jace. Instead of letting the rumors die down, he had to be contrary just for the sake of it.

  “You’re an idiot. You know that, right?” Cash shook his head. “It’s at the Dry Creek Market.”

  “See you there.” Jace hopped inside his sheriff’s SUV and tailed Cash to the grocery store.

  Cash parked behind a delivery truck, got out, and walked up to Jace’s vehicle while it idled.

  “Where is it?” Jace asked.

  Cash threw his arms in the air. “It was here yesterday afternoon.” He fished his phone out of his pocket. “What’s Aubrey’s number? Maybe she called a tow truck after all.” He didn’t know why she would’ve after they’d agreed he’d fix it if he could.

  Jace gave him the number and Cash plugged it into his phone, saving it to his contacts. Aubrey picked up on the third ring, sounding like she’d just woken up. Cash checked his watch. Seven.

  “Your car’s not here,” he told her. “Did you have someone pick it up?”

  “What? No. Hang on a sec.”

  Cash heard rustling in the background, probably Aubrey getting out of bed. A vision of her in her sleep shorts flashed in his head and he could feel the blood rush to his groin.

  Aubrey came back on the line. “Are you sure it’s gone?”

  “I’m standing here in the middle of the lot. The only other vehicles here are mine, Jace’s, and a few delivery vans.”

  “You think someone stole it?”

  No, not too many folks in the market for a used Volvo that was probably older than he was. “I’ll have Jace look into it, but I think it’s more likely it was towed.”

  She was moving around, and Cash heard a whirring sound. Her coffee maker. For a second, he let his thoughts return to her sleepwear. If not the little shorts she’d been wearing the morning she’d complained about his target practice, a teeny nightie? A man could dream.

  “Why would anyone tow me?” she asked, shaking him out of his daydream. “I’ll call Marsh and phone you right back.”

  He leaned against Jace’s SUV and waited. Jace got out, shaded his eyes, and scanned the lot. It wasn’t large, maybe twenty parking spaces max.

  “What spot was it in?”

  “Over there.” Cash pointed to the only tree in the lot.

  Jace reached into his glove box and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, then made a call on his cell. “You wouldn’t happen to know Aubrey’s license plate number, would you?”

  Cash made a get-real face. Jace moved to the other side of his vehicle to stand in the shade and described Aubrey’s Volvo to whoever was on the other end of the call.

  There was some back and forth on the phone before Jace finally called over the roof, “It’s at the impound lot in Chesterville.”

  Great; either Stu or Marsh had had it towed. In San Francisco, between the tow truck and storage cost, it was something like three hundred bucks to free your car after the first day of having it impounded. Cash had no idea how much it would cost in Mill County, but it couldn’t be cheap.

  A few minutes later, Cash’s phone rang. Aubrey. He answered, ready to deliver the bad news.

  “Stu had my car towed,” she blurted out, beating him to the punch. “I can’t freaking believe it! My mother wheeled me around in a Dry Creek Market shopping cart before I was old enough to walk and that asshole had my car impounded. Now I have to figure out where the lot is before it costs me a fortune to bail out my car. I ought to sue Stu.”

  Cash didn’t have the heart to tell her that it was private property and the owners could have anyone towed after two hours. There were signs in the parking lot that said exactly that, though he suspected Stu and Marsh had only done it a handful of times, if ever. The brothers appeared to be sticklers for the rules only when Aubrey was concerned.

  “Did he tell you why?” Cash asked, but he already knew the answer.

  Silence on the other end. Bingo. Mitch Reynolds certainly had a lot of pull in this town. Cash was beginning to think the guy needed a good whupping after all.

  “I’ll take you to get the car. It’s in Chesterville,” he said. Technically, he should be spending the day with Ellie. But it wouldn’t take long to drive to Chesterville and back. It was only ten miles away and traffic free, if you didn’t get stuck behind a livestock or farm truck.

  “You’re the best. I just have to jump in the shower. Give me fifteen minutes.”

  He signed off and found Jace staring at him. “What?”

  “You and Aubrey have certainly gotten cozy.”

  “We’re neighbors and she’s decorating Ellie’s ro
om for practically nothing.” But yeah, they’d gotten cozier than Cash was comfortable with, if you counted the kiss.

  “Right,” Jace said, a smart-ass grin on his face.

  “Think what you want,” Cash responded lamely, because Jace wasn’t an idiot. “Or maybe you have a problem with Aubrey’s and my friendship.”

  “Nope.” Jace continued to smile like a loon. “She’s my pal and you’re my favorite cousin, except, of course, for Sawyer. Mazel tov!” He winked, and Cash returned a one-finger salute.

  “As much as I like standing around supermarket parking lots with you, I’ve gotta go.” Cash clicked the fob to unlock his Ford.

  “You give anymore thought to that job I told you about?” Jace came around the side of his SUV and followed Cash to his vehicle.

  “Cow cop?” Cash kicked a pebble with the toe of his boot. “Still not happening, Jace.”

  “What are you planning to do career-wise?”

  “Don’t know yet. Have you given anymore thought to selling? Maybe we could somehow split the property so you and the boys can keep the ranch house.”

  Jace looked Cash square in the eye. “It’s not what Grandpa would’ve wanted.”

  “Not what Grandpa would’ve wanted or not what you would want?” Cash was getting tired of Jace and Sawyer throwing Jasper in his face. They all loved their grandfather the same; guilting Cash into keeping the ranch to uphold a romantic legacy wasn’t going to work with him. He was too practical. “How are you planning for us to pay the property tax bill, not to mention the back taxes?”

  “We’ve got a little time on that, I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”

  Come up with something. He didn’t have to tell Jace that the bills weren’t going to pay themselves. “You let me know when you have an idea how.”

  “You’ll be the first to know.” Jace walked back to his SUV and tipped his Stetson.

  Damned cowboy was a dreamer.

  Cash shook his head and climbed in his driver’s seat. He got home to find Sawyer and Ellie eating cereal in front of the TV. He checked to make sure Sawyer hadn’t put on the porn channel and went inside his bedroom to change his shirt into something more acceptable than the holey one he’d put on to fix Aubrey’s station wagon. When he came back out, Ellie was in the kitchen.

  “Morning.” He pulled her in for a little hug and felt her stiffen. They were back to being strangers again. Before their talk, he’d felt like they were getting somewhere. One step forward, two steps back.

  “I talked to your grandparents and they’re planning a trip here this weekend,” he continued. Cash’s mother was champing at the bit to meet her granddaughter. He couldn’t hold her or his father off any longer. After twelve years, it wasn’t right to keep his parents from their grandchild.

  Ellie reacted with her usual indifference. “When are my boxes coming?”

  “I’ll check later. Are you okay here with Sawyer for a little longer? Aubrey’s car got towed and I offered to take her to pick it up.”

  “How come it got towed?”

  “Don’t know,” he said, because it was easier than explaining the situation. “Business owners usually don’t like people to take up their parking spaces unless they’re shopping in their store.”

  “Aubrey bought groceries there.”

  The kid might be lawyer material, he thought with pride. “Yep, but that was yesterday, and today is today.”

  Sawyer overheard the conversation and wandered in. “Stu and Marsh had Aubrey towed? Really?” He shook his head. “And so it begins.”

  Small town, big drama, Cash thought. “Mitch’s got clout around here.”

  “Mitch is a douchebag,” Sawyer said, covering Ellie’s ears, which made her giggle.

  “Who’s Mitch?” she asked.

  “Aubrey’s ex-fiancé,” Cash answered and got a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

  “Aubrey was engaged?”

  “What are you, a reporter?” Sawyer gave her a noogie and she giggled again.

  Uncle Jace. Giggles for Sawyer. Nothing for Cash. He felt like a tool begrudging his cousins Ellie’s affection, but it stung a little.

  “You okay for another hour?” he asked Sawyer.

  “Sure. Me and the little rug rat were thinking of walking over to the barn and petting the horses.”

  “Okay. But don’t take her out on any of them.” He wanted to be the one to show Ellie the ranch on horseback. As a city kid, it had been his wonderland. Acres and acres of open space and blue skies that went on forever. Cash used to explore the hills for hours and swim with his gelding in the creek. In the summers, they’d move the cattle down from the mountains into the valley. It was a four-day adventure, camping out on the range in bedrolls and eating over an open fire. Some of the hands had taught him how to pan for gold and he, Jace, and Sawyer would stand in the creek for hours, hoping to strike it rich.

  “Nope,” Sawyer said and squeezed the back of Cash’s neck. “I’ll save that for you.”

  “Thanks. I’ll hurry so you can get back to writing.” It was good of Sawyer to pull babysitting duties, and Cash wouldn’t make a habit of asking.

  “Take your time.” Sawyer got that pained expression he always did whenever he had writer’s block. “Nice of you to help Aubrey out.”

  You’re not going to start in with that too?

  “She’s giving my kid a whole new bedroom,” he said, trying not to act defensive.

  “I saw the paint job. Cute for a young girl.” Sawyer opened the fridge and stuck his head in. “Maybe I should have her take a look at my loft.”

  “She could use the work.” But for some reason, he didn’t like the idea of Aubrey working with Sawyer, which was crazy. He didn’t want a girlfriend, not even a sex partner if it involved any kind of commitment whatsoever. His hands were already full.

  “Make sure if you go out, Ellie wears sunscreen, okay?” She had fair skin, and Cash didn’t want her to burn any more than she had at the pool.

  “Where is it?”

  Cash got the beach bag Ellie had used the other day and handed it to Sawyer. “Seriously, I won’t be more than an hour.

  “Bye, Ellie,” he called to the living room, where she’d gone back to watching TV.

  Not so much as a grunt. Cash sighed, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It was a cliché, but it helped put things between him and Ellie in perspective. He was as much out of his depth as a father as she was being his daughter.

  You’re stuck with me, kiddo, so we better make the best of it.

  True to her word, Aubrey was ready when he got there. The second his SUV pulled up, she came out on the porch in a short skirt and a peasant blouse, her brown hair loose. He liked the outfit. Then again, he liked her in cutoff shorts and an old T-shirt, or a pair of jeans, or a thong. All of it worked for him.

  He leaned over and pushed the passenger door open, and she got in.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” His lips ticked up because he wasn’t going to say it three times. “Maybe on the way to Chesterville we can talk about why your ex is making your and Jace’s life uncomfortable.”

  She didn’t say anything, just leaned forward and turned on the radio.

  Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been any of his business, but she’d involved him in this strange pissing match. And Jace…whatever was going on here could hurt his cousin’s reelection chances. “Aubrey?”

  “Can’t I plead the Fifth?”

  “Why? Is there something that might incriminate you?” What exactly had she done to Mitch to make him so spiteful?

  “No. I just don’t want to talk about it.” She fiddled with the dial until she found a station she liked. “I love this song, don’t you?”

  It was a country-western tune Cash didn’t care fo
r. He was a traditionalist: Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, the stuff his grandfather used to listen to. “I’m a professional interrogator, so if you think you can distract me with music, you’d be mistaken.”

  “Ugh.” Aubrey leaned her head against Cash’s leather seat. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I can’t.”

  “Why? Something wrong with your tongue?” He knew firsthand her tongue worked just fine. Better than fine. The woman’s kisses made him hotter than a four-alarm fire.

  “I made a promise. And unlike Mitch, I keep mine.”

  He wondered if Jace had made a similar promise, because he’d been as reticent as Aubrey to open up about whatever was going on here. “To Jace?”

  “No. Jace, unfortunately, got caught up in this by accident.”

  “Well, whatever it is, you and Jace need to fix it, because impound lots cost money and last I looked, you’re unemployed. And Jace has two sons to support and he needs his sheriff’s job.” He absently put his hand on her knee. She didn’t try to move it away, so he kept it there. Her skin was warm and soft, and if he moved his hand up her thigh, the skirt was short enough that he’d come in contact with her panties. “I don’t know how big or small the infraction was, but Mitch seems loaded for bear, and he appears to have quite a bit of sway in Dry Creek.”

  Small towns could be like snake pits, Cash had learned over the years. Once, Grandpa Dalton had had a dispute with the owner of the local propane company over who had the winning bid for a kid’s 4-H steer at the county fair. For three years, the company refused to deliver the ranch’s propane. Jasper had to use another service in Auburn.

  Jace had required them to invite the entire town to Jasper’s funeral for fear that those left out would hold a grudge and, like the propane company, refuse service.

  “Mitch does free small construction projects for everyone around here,” Aubrey said. “Besides that, he’s the closest thing Dry Creek has to royalty. You know he was a first-draft pick for the Colorado Rockies before he blew out his knee?”

  Cash hadn’t known Mitch had made the major leagues but remembered something about him being a ball player. “Still, I’m guessing you’re pretty popular around here, too.” How could she not be? “And Jace—everyone loves the guy, though there’s no accounting for taste.”