Andrew got quiet.
“You boys stay still,” Chet said. “Willow, I want you to hand that light to Shorty and then work your way to the truck and pull those keys.”
Willow followed her dad’s instructions and slowly made her way to the truck.
Chet kept his eyes trained on the two boys and the gun against his shoulder. “I don’t want to see either one of you twitch an eyelash in my girl’s direction. Do you hear?”
“Yes, sir,” Andrew said. His voice quavered.
Josh stood churlish and surly against the trailer while Willow turned off the truck and pocketed the keys.
Willow glanced at Andrew, who stood apart from his brother, his hands by his side, shoulders slumped, and his eyes wide with fear and regret.
A tinge of nostalgic heartache pulsed through Willow. She and Andrew had been loose friends back in high school. They were the same age, and Andrew always acted like he wanted to be a part of their tight little group. Although Willow and her friends never outright rejected him, they never welcomed him either. Even as kids, she and her friends didn’t trust Andrew’s brother, and Willow always suspected that Andrew and Joshua were a package deal. Now, looking at Andrew steeped in shame and anguish, Willow felt a throb of regret.
For twenty minutes the five of them stood surrounded by cows in the middle of the cold Montana night, until the sheriff pulled up with flashing lights but no siren.
No one moved to greet the sheriff, but when he arrived, Chet put down his firearm while Shorty kept his aimed.
“I see you caught these two red-handed,” Sheriff Bowen stated.
“Thefts all around the county,” Chet said. “Sometimes just one or two cows. Sometimes as many as five or six. Hard to know if it’s wolves dragging them off or these two. I guess we know now.”
Sheriff nodded as he moved toward the McPherson brothers. He handcuffed Josh first and then Andrew, who started to cry.
“Quit your sniveling,” Josh said. “We haven’t done anything wrong. Mr. Simmons here hired us to work his cows.”
Sheriff Bowen snorted. “Did he hire you to cut that chain and pull this truck into his pasture in the middle of the night?”
“I hired you three years ago, Josh,” Chet said. “And I fired you the minute two of my best heifers went missing.”
“We never stole from you!” Josh yelled. “We’re just getting our due, since you never paid us.”
“Get them out of here,” Chet snarled.
Sheriff Bowen put both boys in the back of his squad car before taking a statement from Chet, Willow, and Shorty. He was gone within a few minutes, and Willow and Chet said a quick goodnight to Shorty.
Pilot was by the door when Willow and her dad walked into the house. Willow gave him a pat, and he pushed his face into her hands, licking her fingers. “It’s all right, boy,” she said. “Everything is fine. You’re such a good boy,” she crooned.
Willow stood and looked at her father. He looked older than ever before. The lines etched in his face had deepened just within the last few minutes, and his eyes were tired and sad. She tried to find something encouraging to say. “You and Shorty will get those cows to market tomorrow, Dad, and with the McPhersons in jail, we won’t have to worry.”
“I know,” her father said as he sat in the kitchen chair. “But gosh, I’m tired these days. This kind of thing takes the stuffing right out of me.”
A flame of anger kindled in Willow’s heart as her earlier sentimental regret around Andrew fled. The McPhersons needed to stay away from her family. Her dad didn’t need this kind of stress.
Her father continued, “It’ll be nice when Curtis comes home. Ranching is a young man’s work.”
“Oh, c’mon now, Dad. You’re still young. You’re barely sixty.”
Her father gave her a wan smile. “I need to get back to bed, or sixty-one will come sooner than my birthday.” He gave Willow an affectionate smile as he rose from the chair, unloaded the shotgun, and made his way back down the hall. Willow heard him close his bedroom door.
Loneliness snaked into her heart as silence crept into the house. Maybe her dad was right. Maybe it would be good when Curtis came home. She sighed and doodled on a notepad as thoughts of Mick crowded into that empty space made hollow by longing.
There were moments when Mick’s pride got the better of him. She could see it flash in his eyes. But then another look would surface, and he softened.
He wasn’t shy about sharing his lack of knowledge of her world, and for Willow, it was refreshing to be considered the expert. No one considered her very knowledgeable. Well, that wasn’t true. Her dad recognized her ability to work the ranch. But Curtis always thought he knew a better way. It chafed at her.
Willow put the pen down. It wouldn’t do any good to think of Mick. His car was getting fixed, and he surely would be leaving town in a day or two. One last dinner date with the family, and then he’d be heading toward Seattle. It was best that way. They really were from two different worlds. City. Country. East. West. Their differences didn’t get any simpler, and that afforded no possibilities, even if some deep well within her wanted it to be so. Her potential was in trying to make her relationship with Curtis work, and what they could do together for their families’ ranches. Tonight’s events made that perfectly clear, as did the fatigue on her father’s face.
In spite of her desire to deny it, there would come a time when her father would need to turn the ranch over to her, and although she believed she could run the ranch on her own, a partner who didn’t just know ranching but understood the families of this valley would be preferred.
Curtis had grown up alongside her with Joshua and Andrew. He understood that Joshua was a bully while Andrew seemed to be pulled into the vortex of his brother. Once again, Willow considered her shared history with Curtis. Maybe it wasn’t finished. Her and Curtis’s pasts were not just entwined with one another, but with Sunrise Creek too.
Letting out a sigh, Willow allowed the adrenaline to seep from her as she made her way toward her own bedroom, leaving her thoughts of Mick at the kitchen table. Instead she focused on Pilot, who walked at her heels. “Good boy,” she whispered as she leaned over and patted him on the head. “Very good boy.”
Chapter 15
Willow rolled over and checked the clock with one eye. Eight in the morning. After last night’s unexpected date with the McPherson brothers, she and Pilot had fallen into a fast slumber. Her dad must’ve decided to let her sleep. He and Shorty would’ve been on the road a couple of hours ago.
Falling back onto her bed, Willow closed her eyes while sleep tugged at her. Her dad would’ve taken care of all the feeding before leaving. It might be nice to sleep in.
The phone on the side of the bed jangled. Propping herself up, she checked the caller ID. Curtis. What would prompt him to call this morning? Didn’t he have class?
“Hello?” Willow’s voice sounded sleepy.
“Hey, baby.”
Willow bit her tongue, but she let go of the irritation around the endearment as she sat up straight. “Hey, Curtis. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” he said. “But I heard from your dad this morning, and he told me about the McPherson boys getting into the pasture. He was pretty upset.”
Willow fell into the easy pattern of her and Curtis’s conversation. “You should’ve seen him last night. I swear he would’ve shot one of them if they had so much as twitched.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. It’s hard to believe we went to high school with those two,” Curtis said. “They were always running with the wrong crowd.”
“True,” Willow agreed. “Well, kinda true. We both know that Andrew was bullied by Josh, and he was always hanging around us, hoping to be our friend. Last night, he looked as if he wanted to crawl under the truck. I felt bad for him.”
“Don’t be taking on his responsibilities, Willow. Andrew is a grown man and needs to make his own decisions. If he still lets his brother boss
him around, he deserves to be in jail with him.”
Willow didn’t blame Curtis for his feelings toward Andrew. She was angry, too. Josh and Andrew had caused her father fatigue and frustration on the night before a difficult trip, and neither one of them needed the burden of the McPhersons’ theft. But Willow’s earlier regret was stubborn, and it clung to her like a spider web. She wouldn’t speak to Curtis about it anymore.
She cleared her throat. “Well, there’s nothing to worry about now. The sheriff hauled them off to jail last night, and Dad took the cows to the feedlots. I doubt we’ll have any more trouble.”
“I’m not so sure.” Curtis hesitated. “Josh and Andrew are going to make bail first thing this morning. They’ll be out by noon. Their parents bankroll everything the minute they get into trouble.”
The news sent a jolt through Willow. She hadn’t considered that possibility.
Curtis continued, “With your dad and Shorty gone, they may feel this is the perfect time to try to steal a few more head.”
Willow sighed. “Dad did say he wanted to get a surveillance camera to watch some of the property. That’s probably a good idea.”
“But in the meantime, I’m coming home.”
Willow swung her legs out of bed and sat on the edge, a knot tightening in her stomach. “What?! I don’t think there’s any call for that,” she said. “You won’t be here any sooner than the two of them. And I can handle myself with these cows and the McPherson boys.”
“I’m sure you can.”
Willow gritted her teeth. She hated that placating tone. “Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot, Curtis,” she spit out. “I’ll be fine.”
“I thought you’d be happy to have me come home for a few days. Actually, it’s more than a few days. I’ve spoken to my professors, and they’re letting me come home for the semester. I’ll lose a ton of points for missing class, but they were willing to send me class lectures and notes via email. One class is a hybrid, so they’re actually going to see how this works long-distance, and I’m determined to make it work. I’ll have to drive down once between now and Thanksgiving and Christmas before coming back for the Christmas holiday. Then, I can come back to Texas for the final semester starting in January.”
“Why are they letting you do this?”
“It’s a postgrad ag major, Willow. They understand that sometimes agriculture means you need to be with the land.”
Willow didn’t appreciate Curtis’s impatient tone. “And you came to this conclusion just this morning before this phone call at eight o’clock in the morning?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve been thinking I need to come home anyway. The McPhersons’ attempted theft was just the final push.”
Willow let the silence hang. Curtis couldn’t stand an awkward pause. He would need to fill it.
He continued, “After talking to your dad, I figured I needed to be there. He sounds tired, Willow.”
Willow sucked in her breath while her heart softened. The vision of her father’s face from last night, etched in lines of fatigue, came to her mind. Curtis was right. Shorty helped out in more ways than just cooking, but that didn’t take care of the responsibility her dad wore like a ragged pair of boots that needed to be replaced.
Still, a stubborn smudge of resistance blackened Willow’s desire to see Curtis, but she couldn’t place its origin. Maybe she was just angry for all the years he’d made her wait for what everyone else assumed was a sure thing. Was it too late for them to build on the foundation of their common past? She tightened her grip on the phone while Pilot looked up at her from his bed. She settled her thoughts with a deep breath. Curtis was coming home.
There were plenty of folks in town who would be glad to see him. In fact, most of the town would be glad to see him.
Curtis continued, “Uncle Bert says you’ve taken up with that stranger from New York City. At first, I laughed. I mean, my girl, my Willow? I couldn’t believe some cook from New York could turn your head. But he said you’re over at his place all the time.”
A blaze of anger rose from within Willow’s belly. “He’s not a stranger, and he doesn’t have a ‘place,’ Curtis. He’s staying at Bev’s motel until your uncle can get his car fixed so he can head out to Seattle. And I haven’t taken up with him, but I’d like to think I can be friendly with anyone, including someone from New York City. I hope when you get here, you’ll be kind to him. He’s had a rough go, and he doesn’t need any grief from you.”
“Whew! That sounds defensive.”
“And your argument is childish. I appreciate your desire to come home, Curtis, but if this is really what’s motivating your decision, you’re wasting your time and your grade.”
“Seeing you is never a waste,” Curtis said softly. “I miss you, Willow, and I’m worried about your dad. I just want to come home, okay?”
Shame and sorrow engulfed Willow. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Of course you need to come home. Bert just sets my teeth on edge, that’s all. He gossips about everybody but manages to get his facts wrong about half the time, and this is that half.”
Curtis’s voice was soft. “I’m glad to hear he’s wrong, Willow. The truth is, I have been neglectful. I’ve let my studies and my life in Texas put more than just miles between us. When Uncle Bert called, it made me realize how inattentive I’ve been.”
“Well, you’ve got a point there,” she said. “We don’t talk that often.” She hoped her tone didn’t sound accusatory.
“I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”
“When do you expect to get here?”
“I’m on my way now,” Curtis said. “I should be there sometime tomorrow night.”
“I hope you’ll stop to sleep,” Willow said. “It’s a long drive.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll rest along the way. In the meantime, keep that shotgun close in case those two hoodlums decide to come back.”
“I’ll be fine. They’d be stupid to try to make another run here. The McPherson boys may be many things, but they’re not stupid.”
After a few more minutes of talk, Willow hung up the phone and looked over at Pilot. Even though she’d had plenty of sleep, fatigue stung her eyes and made her thoughts bleary. “Curtis is coming home.” Her delivery was listless.
The dog appeared unimpressed.
Rising from her bed, Willow pulled on the same sweats she had worn last night and opened the curtains to find the blinding light of a heavy snowfall. A foot of new snow already lay on the ground, and it looked as if it didn’t have any intention of stopping.
Willow’s immediate thought flew to her father and Shorty, who were driving with a load of cows. She calmed her trouble thoughts. They did this kind of work and driving all the time. Dad and Shorty would be fine. They had the long-haul truck, and it was heavy enough to plow through snow if they took things slow.
Curtis would also be safe. His truck was an older-model Ford, but he kept it in good repair and his driving skills were superb. He would be all right, as long as he made an effort to rest. Grabbing her cell phone, she texted Curtis to let him know of the current local weather condition. Was it just a few days ago she was riding Topper in the sunshine with Mick and Michigan beside her?
Mick. If it was snowing like this in the valley, the mountains would not be passable for a car like the Jaguar. Willow leaned against the window frame. She thought about her men, all of them on the move, and the one man who wasn’t hers and wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter 16
Mick noticed the light in his room was different the minute he opened his eyes, but it was the knock on the door that jerked him out of his fuzzy morning sleep. What time was it? Had he overslept? Maybe he’d misunderstood Bev when he thought it was his day off. Scrambling out of bed, he pulled on his jeans along with a sweatshirt. The knock came again, with more urgency.
“Coming!” Mick yelled as buttoned his jeans.
An apology for Bev was already on his lips when he opened the
door to find Simone standing there in a pair of red-and-black-striped leggings, black stiletto boots, and a red leather jacket. Her jet-black hair was teased and sprayed with small snowflakes clinging to the strands, and the familiar diamond stud winked at him from the side of her nose.
Mick didn’t know what to marvel at first: the sudden change in the weather and all the snow that was piled everywhere, or Simone’s stark contrast to the country white. The juxtaposition jarred him, and his heart sank to his stomach, making him light-headed. He gripped the door as Simone stepped around him and into the motel room.
“Hey, love,” she purred. “I’ve been trying to find you since forever.” She gazed at him, and then her brow furrowed. “What in the world happened to you?” She sat down on Mick’s unmade bed before continuing, “Did the Jag conk out? I was afraid of that.”
“How did you know where to find me?” Mick asked as he shut the door on the cold that tried to seep in to every crevice of his room and heart.
“Oh, the wonders of technology.” Simone held up her phone. “GPS, remember? Your phone stopped here, and it never budged. That worried me.” She jerked her head in the direction of Bert’s garage. “Same as the Jag, I guess.” She patted the bed beside her, an invitation for Mick to sit close. “I’ve texted and even called, but I haven’t heard back. I got a little worried.”
“I got one text. That’s all. What are you doing here?” Mick continued to stand as he folded his arms.
“I’m here to take you to Seattle, love,” she said. “Someone’s got to save your skin from this gosh-awful place.”
“Simone, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s at least a foot of snow out there, and even when the Jag does get fixed, it’s not going to make it over these mountains. It’s not going anywhere.” The earlier cold gripped him, but he couldn’t place why.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t go.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out two airline tickets and a rental car receipt. “I flew into Missoula last night and drove through this stupid blinding blizzard this morning to rescue you from Hick Town, USA. I know your credit card was about maxed out, so I put it on mine. You can pay me back later.”
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