She tried to get in a mouthful of eggs, but her hand was shaking.
Bob looked at her sympathetically. “What are your plans for after August? You going straight home?”
“Ummm. No, actually. I have a while before I have to be back in New York so I booked Yellowstone several months ago and then I’m going to head on to Cody for a few days before coming back to Jackson. The museum in Cody has archives I’m going to look into, and the Jackson museum has a load of stuff as well. It’s about a week before I fly out.”
Bob got up and put his plates back on his tray to clear. “Well,” he said, patting her shoulder. “It’s certainly been a pleasure having you here, K.C. If you ever want to work here again….” His voice trailed off, probably realizing seeing Chay next year might not be high on K.C.’s most wanted job list.
“Yeah,” she managed to mutter. “Thanks, Bob, for the offer. I’ll keep that in mind.”
As the boss left, Dakota leaned over and patted her hand. “You’re doing well.”
“I feel like shit.”
“Well, I’m afraid you’re about to feel even shittier. Don’t turn around, Chay’s just walked in. And he’s looking pretty cozy with the Wexler woman.”
* * *
“So, I’m really sorry about the mix-up. Totally my fault—I’m afraid I’ve had my mind on other things this week.” Chay thought he was going to gag on the smell of Irene Wexler’s perfume. How could a woman go around stinking like that?
“So I hear,” she retorted, managing to lift one side of her frozen face. “Maybe it’s been for the best?”
Did even the guests know about K.C. and him? And was this plastic fashion model making a play for him? He managed to stretch his face into something he hoped resembled a smile, but the effort was too great. Just try not to insult the dumb bitch until her tip is in your hands. “Yeahhhh, maybe,” he finally sputtered. “So, Star next ride for sure. You have my word on it.”
“I’ll look forward to it. What ride are you next taking out?”
“Uh, to be perfectly honest, I don’t have my schedule as yet. That’s Dakota’s department; you can probably find out from her what rides are going where and who’s taking them.” He cast around for Dakota and–shit—there she was with K.C. “Uh, Dakota’s right over there if you want to ask her.”
Irene glanced in the direction he pointed. “Would you like to come over and find out?” she smirked.
Chay’s hands found his hips as he looked back down at Irene Wexler, his own smirk contorting his face. “I don’t think that will be necessary. She leaves a list up in the barn, thanks.” He tapped the brim of his hat as he spun away, only to bump straight into an out-of-breath Bob, still holding the screen door open.
“Chay,” he said. “There’s an urgent call for you in the office. I think you better come.”
Chapter Twelve
“How could you not tell me, Dakota? How could you keep this from me for so long? How has everyone avoided telling me Chay’s father died? You must have known I would want to know that. How has everyone kept silent on this around me?” K.C.’s anger flared as she threw another item into her suitcase. “Breezy. Bob. You. The rest of the staff. Were you all sworn to secrecy?”
“Oh, no, of course not, K.C. The last week is always very busy with preparations to close down for the winter; probably no one gave it a second thought. And I was out on that pack trip, and when I got back I thought…I thought you knew. And then, when you just mentioned you hadn’t seen Chay for quite some time, it became obvious. I thought you’d heard and just didn’t want to talk about it or something. I mean, after all, you two had broken up. Maybe you didn’t care. Does it change anything? Do you think he’ll change his mind now? When there’s so much on his plate?”
“No, it won’t change anything; he made it clear enough he didn’t want to go to New York, and he only saw me as some summer affair. But that’s not the point! It’s just…it would just be decent of me to at least acknowledge his loss and see him, tell him how sorry I am, that sort of thing. Geesh. Was there a funeral?”
Dakota squirmed on the bed and shoved K.C.’s suitcase a little. “Of course, there was a funeral.”
“And was everyone else invited or asked to go except me?”
“Of course not! The ranch couldn’t have managed. Not even Bob or Breezy were asked to go. Chay apparently wanted only family. I think he had an uncle and cousins or something come over from Dubois, and that was about it. Apparently, it was very low key.”
“Even so. I should have seen him. I should go. I should—”
“He asked Bob for time off to clear out his father’s belongings, apparently, and then went over to Dubois with his uncle for a bit.”
K.C. twisted the shirt she was holding in her hands, then used it to wipe her face. “Oh, shit, why is life so frigging complicated? My friend is flying in tonight, and we’re supposed to head up to Yellowstone tomorrow!”
“Maybe you can see him on the way back. Is your friend staying with you the whole time?”
“No, she’s flying out of Cody while I do research there. Ugh. I have to think.” She collapsed on the bed beside her case, glaring at Dakota across the haphazardly packed pile of clothes. “I can’t believe you did this to me, Dakota. Really. You and the others. To think Breezy never even said a word.”
Dakota got up, bumping her head on the top bunk. “No one did this to you, K.C. It wasn’t a plot to leave you out or keep you in the dark. It’s just…no one thought about it. No one wanted to go up to you and say, ‘have you heard about Chay’s dad?’ It would be like rubbing salt into a wound. And you’re in the office all day and weren’t going into town. I just thought you being quiet was simply a wish not to discuss it. That’s all. Please don’t blame me.”
K.C. sighed. “I’m not blaming you; I’m not blaming anyone. It’s just…how could I have missed this? I thought it was strange I didn’t see Chay at all for so long but I thought he was trying to avoid me as much as I was trying to avoid him.” She bit her thumbnail, thinking. “I have to at least leave him a note. That’s what I have to do.”
“You can give it to me, and I’ll pass it along.”
“No. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I’d rather drive out to the ranch and leave it for him to find there. If I leave it here, he may just rip it up to make a show of ‘not caring’ in front of everyone. No. I’ll ask Bob if I can borrow the truck and go out before saying my good-byes here.” She got up and gave Dakota a warm hug.
“Things always work out for the best, K.C. Remember that. And you had better keep in touch!”
* * *
Chay sat in his truck, mindless of time, watching the sky darken in shades of mauve and indigo. In the distance, the mountains held the last remaining glimmers of day, an artist’s palette of streaks across the sky. This was his now, this ranch where he’d grown up. His uncle was his father’s executor and would see remaining medical bills were settled out of the rents, and Chay could…do what? Buy a little livestock at a time, fix a little at a time, build it up again. Time seemed to be something he had plenty of now. At twenty-four, he had his life ahead of him as his uncle had pointed out, a property free from mortgage, plus land, and income. He could make something of it.
But somehow, it was as if his compass was lost. The father he had loved and looked after for so many years was gone. The house was going to bear every sign of that man; his favorite chair would still have the stack of reading matter next to it, the oxygen tank was still there, his remaining clothes needed to be sorted and given or thrown away. What secret life would Chay find in the closets and cupboards of his father’s room? What ghosts would walk that hall? And who would share this new life, now he had let K.C. go?
“Going, going, gone,” he said to himself as he swung out of the cab, pulling his jacket closer about him against the September evening chill. “Stupid fool.” He slapped the car door shut and started up the path, head bent against the wind, chapped hands reachi
ng for the doorknob. As he turned the knob, something white fluttered to the ground. Chay stomped on it with his boot before it could get blown away, and crouched to pick it up. He sensed what it would be, a small flame lighting his heart as if a match had been struck.
Opening the door and groping for the light switch, he leaned back to close it behind him. On the outside of the folded paper was scrawled, “Nice you can leave your doors unlocked in WY. I didn’t go in.” He unfolded the paper, holding it out, before tossing his hat aside and slumping into a kitchen chair. Pushing his hair back off his face, he read:
“Chay, I don’t know what to say. I was so sorry to hear about your father, as I know how much you loved him and what a huge part of your life he was. I guess I never really got to know him too well, but when a person is ill like that they’re never really themselves, are they? And for you to care so very much about him, he must’ve been a great dad, shared lots of wonderful years with you there on that beautiful ranch.
I’m headed up to Yellowstone and Cody now before flying back to NYC. Wyoming is so very beautiful, I don’t know how I’ll settle back into NY, but I do know I want that Master’s degree, and then I’ll see where life takes me. Whatever happened between us, you’ll always be my first real love. I was hoping, of course, you’d also be my last love, but at least I have very happy memories to take with me.
I often wondered why, when you left me those flowers after we first met, there was a single thistle among them. Knowing you, I thought it must have some meaning so I looked it up. A thistle stands for surviving where others don’t. Well, maybe I was just like the others in the end, another summer romance for you, and didn’t quite survive. But let me metaphorically pass back that thistle and say, as hard as it seems now, you’ll survive this loss, this part of your life. And, where others have faltered, you’ll make a go of the ranch, one day soon. I know you will….
All my love, always,
K.C.”
The kitchen light seemed suddenly glaring, intrusive, and Chay realized his face was wet. Tears. Damn fool crying. Damn fool. What have you done?
* * *
K.C. sat a while in the rental car, the motor running. She had to have one last look at Chay’s ranch. No sign of life, his truck not there, he was probably still with his uncle in Dubois. So many memories here, though. That bunkhouse where they had made love so many times. The days visiting Chay’s poor dad. And the times they shared walking the pastures together, breathing the mountain air, enjoying the scenery. She might have lived here; she might have spent the rest of her life here with him, but it wasn’t to be. She considered stopping once more at the Lazy S but dismissed it. Dakota was gone as well, and as for Bob and Breezy and the other full time staff, she had said her good-byes. Once was enough. So, one night in Jackson and she was off.
And where was Chay? Yes, indeed, where was Chay?
One last look. And she headed into Jackson.
* * *
“Well, Chay Ridgway, you have no more sense than a horse’s patoot.”
“Sorry?”
“You heard me.” Breezy whipped off her apron and stared the young man in the eye. “You are one of the biggest durn jackasses I have yet to meet.”
“And that would be because…?”
“You let that girl go! You let someone you really loved—never mind the fact she was head over heels in love with you, you big horse’s ass—you let her go!”
“I thought I was a jackass; now I’m a horse’s ass?”
“And a lot else besides! What the hell were you thinking? What the…hell was in your mind when you broke up with K.C. Daniels?”
“Uhhh. That she was going back to New York and I had my father to look after here? That long distance relationships never work? Uh, maybe that I was going to ruin her life—”
“Ruin her life? Well, you sure as hell did that, sonny boy.”
“I didn’t ruin her life, Breezy. If anything, she’s now ruined mine—”
“Ruined yours? Ruined yours?” Breezy perched on a stool by the ranch kitchen counter. “And just how the hell did she manage to do that?”
“Well. Because I’m in love with her and she’s gone, and I have no freaking way of getting her back.” Chay took a deep breath, the sudden realization hitting him like a sucker punch to the gut—he’d do just about anything to get her back.
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong—”
“And I don’t expect she’ll want a high school drop-out for a boyfriend while she goes ahead and does her Master’s degree.” The word, ‘Master’s’ stuck in his craw a bit. He sank on a stool opposite Breezy.
“Well, she doesn’t have to have a high school drop-out. You go out there, and you study for your equivalency while getting some job—”
“You think they need cowboys in New York?”
“Well.” Breezy squirmed on her seat. She studied her hands very closely for a moment. “They may not need cowboys, no, but do you think you might find something else to do for just two years?”
“Like…be a banker?”
“Now, don’t you go being a smartass with me, young man. Do you love her, and do you want to be with her, or not?”
“She’s gone, Breezy.” He thought for a minute. Of course, he had her cell phone number and could call her…. “And then there’s the small question of the ranch and its bills.”
“Well. I thought of that.”
“And I suppose you have an answer for that, too—maybe don’t pay the taxes? Sell it? Give it away? Hmmmm?”
“Not at all. Something that’s long overdue. You’re going to fix it up and rent it out.”
“Oh, yeah.” Chay took off his Stetson and swung it across the room like a frisbee. “Fantastic idea. That’ll only cost me about twenty, thirty thousand dollars I haven’t got.” He got up and strolled over to the hat that had landed on the floor. “Any other bright ideas?”
“You know that Jarrod Garner?”
“Yeah. We were in school together.”
“Well, you work something out with him. He’s gone into the home repair business. Maybe he has some good ideas on how to make it look better without spending too much, and then you put it up on one of those Internet rental things-”
“You mean like Air BnB?”
“I don’t know what they’re called, Chay. Golly, I’m old enough to remember when we used to get letters asking for reservations. Then suddenly people spent the money to phone for a reservation. And now it’s all done over the Internet.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Time goes so quickly, Charles Ridgway. Don’t you waste it. Well,” she said slightly brighter. “Folks coming out here for the parks are going to love renting a real live ranch with cattle all around. A real homestead. A touch of the old west. It’ll rent like hot cakes.”
Chay set his hat back on his head and looked at Breezy. “So. Go to New York for two years. Manage the ranch via Internet….”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help. Greet tenants if I must. And I know your uncle will help. Heck, it’s time I had something else to interest me other than whether folks want eggs or pancakes.”
Chay pulled his phone from his back pocket and looked at it as if it contained plutonium. He jumped in surprise as Breezy’s hand came out and snatched it.
“No, don’t do that. I already made you a reservation on the same flight as K.C. You can pay me back when—”
“You what?”
Breezy pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to Chay. “Just don’t forget that Internet check-in business. She didn’t leave me her seat numbers, of course—I only told her best to leave me the flights just so’s we knew when she was off. Actually, I was planning on visiting my sister in Santa Fe one day but, you know, we never really got on and—” She gasped as Chay jumped up from the stool.
“Shit! Shit, shit, shit. Tomorrow mid-day? I better pack. I better…look, here’s the key to the house. I don’t usually lock up but you better have it for these imaginary guests
I’m going to rent to. He started walking backwards to the door as he spoke. “And you have my uncle’s number, don’t you? And you have my number….”
“Don’t I even get a kiss as thanks for this?” Breezy stood, her wizened hands sitting on her boney hips.
Chay dashed forward, grabbed Breezy and swung her around, planting a kiss on her forehead before she had time to catch her breath. “I love you, you’re the best.” He stumbled over his own feet as he bolted for the door. “And I’ll call you as soon as I can. Well, I love you second best.”
“That’s me,” she replied to his retreating back. “Second best.”
* * *
K.C. stepped on the toes of her brand new cowboy boots and pulled her foot out of the right one, before bending her left leg to yank off the second boot by the heel. She dropped them in the plastic tub along with her jacket, threw her computer in the next tub and followed with its case and her handbag. She strolled through the security screening and waited for the items to come rolling down the conveyor belt before she settled on a chair to get her boots back on and pack everything up again.
Jackson airport lounge was surprisingly comfy, more like a hotel lobby than an airport departure lounge. Outside was a glorious view of the Tetons, corroborating her impression this was the most beautifully situated airport she had ever been in. She strolled down to the café at the far end, past old west photos taken from the local museum. A quick glance around the shop area confirmed her decision to wait for the plane change in Denver before buying anything to eat. A couple of shelves of books to exchange caught her attention, and she knelt in front to read the titles. Mysteries. Romance. Suspense. Nope, she was better off with her biography of Teddy Roosevelt.
She collapsed into one of the cozy single armchairs nearby and opened the book, but it was difficult to concentrate.
She kept thinking of how it could have been, how Chay would love New York, or stand New York, or just be there for her. A measly two years. They could’ve done it, surely…if he had really loved her. She lay the book open, face down, took it back up, flicked the pages, closed it, and sat there with it in her lap.
Bad Boy, Big Heart (Heart of the Boy #1) Page 9