Rocky Mountain Cowboy

by Tina Radcliffe

  “Too late for most of the men in town. Look at Jake MacLaughlin. Bitsy is not only his stepmother, but her machinations got him and his wife together.”

  “Bitsy didn’t have to do much. That man fell pretty hard.”

  “Doesn’t look too unhappy about it, either,” Joe observed.

  “There’s only a few of us left. You, me, Deke Andrews, Duffy McKenna. We’re a dying breed.”

  “Ever occur to you that maybe we’re just dinosaurs, Sam?”

  “No. I like my life the way it is. Content. That’s what I am.”

  “Content my boots! If you’re content, it’s because the sorry life you have is less frightening than taking a chance on you-know-what.”

  Sam cocked his head and nodded. “I won’t rule out the possibility that you’re right. Then again, I’ll deny it if you tell anyone we even had this conversation.” He pointed to the door. “And don’t even let Bitsy get wind of it.”

  All Joe could do was laugh.

  * * *

  Joe pulled up the ten-day forecast on his laptop and released the breath he was holding. Finally things were looking good. Sunshine promised for the Fourth of July holiday and into all of next week.

  “Thank You, Lord. If I don’t say it enough times, thank You.”

  The hay would dry out, and then he’d be able to move the windrower through. A few days of drying, raking and he’d be able to bale.

  Joe pulled up the number of Shady Malone, a friend who had helped him and Dan in the past. Shady and a couple of his friends did extra work on the local ranches in the Four Corners area.

  “Shady, it’s Joe Gallagher.”

  “Joe! How’s it going?”

  “Fine. Fine. I haven’t heard back from you. Did you get my messages? Can I count on you this year? I’m looking at next week. The weather looks like it’s finally going to cooperate.”

  “I’d like to help you Joe, ’cept me and the boys have contracted elsewhere.”

  “Really? You usually manage to juggle a couple of jobs at once, what with the time between cutting and baling.”

  The line was silent. “Joe, I like you. Gallagher Ranch has treated me well over the years. I’m not going to play games. The honest truth is that I’m being paid not to help you. Good money, too. Real good money.”

  Joe sat up in his chair, not believing what he was hearing. “Whoa. Whoa. You’re kidding, right?”

  “I wish I was. If I don’t play ball, I’m going to be blackballed in the valley.”

  “Judge Brown?”

  “Don’t know about that. I was contacted by an attorney. All legal and such. Made me sign papers. I’m not actually sure where the money is coming from. I may not be the brightest cowboy in the saddle, but I’m smart enough not to ask.”

  The line was silent for a moment.

  “I’m sorry, Joe. Real sorry. You can see the position this puts me in. I’ve got a family to consider, as well.”

  “Sure, I get it, Shady. Don’t like it much, but I get it.”

  Joe stared at the screen. Money and power. This was what you could do with enough of each. If that was the case, he’d rather remain a struggling rancher. Maybe it was time to talk to Virginia Simpson.

  When the front doorbell rang, Joe realized he’d been sitting and staring at the screen saver on his monitor for almost ten minutes. Nothing to be accomplished by that.

  Yep, he had a problem. That was the beauty of ranch life. No day was ever the same. Pray, then put one foot in front of the other. Deal with it and move on. He closed the laptop and got up to answer the door.

  Becca was on his front step with a smile on her face. She’d taken care to conceal her scar and her sutures with a long-sleeve T-shirt.

  “Well, look at you,” Joe said. “If you didn’t have that purple bruise in the middle of your forehead, no one would even guess you got tossed from a horse and scared the life out of me.”

  “That wasn’t exactly my plan for Monday.”

  “Good to know. So, how do you feel?”

  “Oh, I have the expected aches and pains. But I finally figured out how to cover my stitches well enough to wash my hair. I feel one hundred percent better.”

  “You look good,” he said. And she did. Joe itched to reach out and touch the dark hair that flowed around her shoulders.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re not having any headaches or blurred vision?”

  “None.”

  Joe held up his residual limb. The sleeve was folded up and empty. He’d taken off the prosthesis when he came in from the pasture and showered. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

  “That’s not funny,” she said with a frown. “Not one bit.”

  “Oh, sure it is. If I can’t laugh at my own expense, then what’s the point? I keep telling you to lighten up, Becca.”

  “Moving right along.” She shook her head. “Abi said you stopped by to talk to me?”

  “Yeah. Do you have a minute?”

  “Considering that I’ve done nothing at all but rest today, I’ve got more than a minute.”

  “I hate to break it to you,” he said with a glance at his watch, “but it’s only barely nine a.m. You’ve only been resting a couple of hours.”

  “Really? Seems like all day to me. I guess that’s because even though you grounded me, I still wake up at three a.m.”

  Joe chuckled. “Come on in.”

  “You’re all cleaned up on a workday,” she noted.

  “I had to run some errands in town.”

  He closed the front door. “Come on down to my office.”

  “Wait. Let me take off my boots first.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I’m not messing up your shiny hardwood floors.” She glanced down at the floor and stepped carefully to the side of the entry rug. “Goodness, who cleans this place? You?”

  “Hardly. Someone comes in once a week. When I come home it’s clean. I write a check and say thank you.”

  Suddenly Becca’s arm flailed in an effort to steady herself. Joe grabbed her hand. The skin was soft to his touch, and an intoxicating whiff of lavender drifted to him.

  “Um, thanks,” Becca said as she pulled off first one and then the other boot.

  He nodded and released her hand.

  “Did you get the rest of the cows moved?” she asked as she padded behind him in her stocking feet.

  “Cows are safe and sound and grazing happily.”

  “Good. Good. Oh, and thank you for all you did Monday. Contacting my mother and everything.” She hesitated. “I, um, I hope that our talk about, you know... I hope it can remain confidential.”

  “You don’t have to worry. That conversation is on the back burner.” He turned and met her gaze. Her brown eyes pleaded with him.

  “For the moment,” he added.

  “Thank you.” She breathed the words softly, but there was no mistaking the relief in her voice.

  Joe led her into his bookshelf-lined office. He pulled out a chair from the set of sturdy oak chairs that sat on the other side of the desk. “Have a seat.”

  “It’s so tidy in here. It even smells like furniture polish.” Her gaze took in the bookshelves that lined several walls, his massive desk and the view of the pasture from the bay window.

  “My father’s desk used to be piled high with paperwork. I was nearly afraid to go in there.”

  He tapped his laptop. “It’s all in here. If the place seems clean, well, that’s because I’m never in here.” He pointed out the window. “I’m always out there.”

  Joe moved to his desk chair. The more distance from Becca the better.

  “You wear glasses?” She smiled, her gaze landing on the black frames on his desk.
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  “Um, yeah.” He picked up the glasses and put them away in his drawer. “Paperwork. It makes my eyes cross.”

  “Sort of Clark Kent, aren’t they?”

  “Not if you’re calling me Superman.”

  She smiled again, as though the thought amused her.

  Joe wished she wouldn’t be so perky and bright. Like a candle, she lit up every room she entered.

  And here he was, about to throw water on her flame.

  She folded her hands in her lap and gave him her full attention. “So what did you want to talk about? You seem a little tense. Is everything all right?”

  “No, it’s not. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

  “Oh, is something wrong?” Becca swallowed nervously, sat up straight and scooted to the edge of the chair.

  “I’ve decided to send them back to Denver,” he announced.

  Becca blinked. “Send who? Wh-what?” she sputtered.

  “The team from OrthoBorne. This was a crazy idea to start with. One that I take full responsibility for. After all, I’m the one who said yes to this whole thing.”

  When Becca said nothing, he continued. “You have to admit that it’s been nothing short of a domino of disasters. One after another. You getting hurt, well, that was the end of the line for me. I was awake most of last night thinking about this.”

  “What about certification?” she finally blurted out, her hands gripping the arms of the chair. “You have a contract.”

  “I’ll break it. It’s not worth the headache.”

  “You can’t do that. Your prosthesis, you’ve come so far. Joe, you’ve actually taught me a few things about using the myoelectric arm. You’re going to give up? Now?”

  “No. Not at all. I’m not giving up on the arm. You’re right. OrthoBorne has given me back much of my freedom, and I’m selfish enough to want to keep it.”

  “If I can be so bold as to ask, how will you finance the prosthesis?”

  “Hollis Elliott,” he answered.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Hollis is interested in a parcel of land that borders his ranch. The man has been nagging me about it for years. I’m going to sell the land to him.”

  “Gallagher land? Land that’s been in your family for, what? Four generations? What will your mother say?”

  “My mother only owns a fourth of the ranch. I’m the majority shareholder. I make the decisions, handle the books, and I have since Dad died. She’ll see things my way.”

  Becca shook her head, obviously stunned by the news. “Apparently you’ve made your decision. I guess there’s nothing more to discuss, is there?”

  “Not really.”

  Becca looked past him, her brown eyes glassy. Her gaze was somewhere out the window, far away from the room where they were sitting.

  She wiped her palms on her jeans and gave a resigned nod. “I’ll break it to the team right away, and we’ll clear out. Casey and I will be out of the cottage this weekend.”

  This time it was Joe who was speechless. “Whoa. No,” he finally said. “You and Casey don’t have to leave.”

  “Yes, Joe. We do. I’m part of the certification process, and if you are letting Rod, Julian and Abi go, then naturally, I’ll be leaving with the team.”

  His mind raced. This was not going the way he’d planned. The saddle was definitely being yanked from under him, and he was about to land boots up. It wasn’t going to be a pretty sight, either.

  “Where will you go?”

  “That’s not your problem,” she said. The words were a slap to his face.

  “Call OrthoBorne and see if you can stay.”

  “Joe, it doesn’t work like that. I’m managing your case, and if you are dismissing OrthoBorne, then you are dismissing me, as well.”

  “I guess I didn’t realize...”

  “I don’t think you’ve thought any of this through,” she said. Becca took a deep breath. Her eyes sparked with unspoken frustration. “You’re giving up your land...a couple hundred years of Gallagher land, when you could have everything finished up in a few days if we all worked together. Why, pretty much all that’s left is for Abi to do her interview. The guys probably have almost enough to finish, as well.”

  He stared at her. He’d blinked, and the tables had turned.

  “It’s Thursday night. The sun was shining all day today. That should help your precious hay, right?”

  Joe offered a cautious nod, not sure where she was going with the conversation, and he was in too deep to stop now.

  “Tomorrow is the Elliott Ranch’s Fourth of July barbecue. I’ll get them an invitation and send the team to the party. It will keep them off your ranch. They’ll have the weekend in town. Come Monday, I’ll ride herd on them and get things finished up. They’ll be done in twenty-four hours. You have my guarantee.”

  “I don’t know...” Joe hesitated.

  “Please, all I’m asking for is the chance to fix this. I’ve never in my entire life walked away without finishing what I started.”

  “This isn’t about you, Becca.”

  “Maybe you don’t understand what I’m saying. This is very much about me. My reputation is on the line here. I let you down. I let OrthoBorne down. I’m asking... I’m begging for a second chance.”

  “If I say yes, what about you? What about certification?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry, but you know that it will take a bit more time for us to finish. Not much more. You have a DVD to watch and more paperwork. But really, I think we’ve covered most of the things in the program. I’ve been going slowly as a courtesy, but I can see that was the wrong approach. I’ll speed things up, though I can promise you that I won’t disrupt your work. You won’t even know I’m around.”

  “Becca—”

  “Hear me out, Joe. You’ve been angry since I arrived. I understand why. I treated you very badly by walking away without taking the time to talk to you. I was young and so immature. I’m sorry. This is the second time I’ve apologized, and I won’t do it again. I’ve paid dearly for my choices. Believe me.”

  “Becca, I keep telling you that you are not the problem.”

  “Still, I recognize that what you really want is for things to go back to the way they were before. You want normal again.”

  “Is that what I want?” he murmured, shaking his head.

  “Yes, Joe. You’ve made that abundantly clear in all you say and do. I hardly blame you. It’s been disruption after disruption since we arrived. You’re right.” She nodded. “All I can do is apologize. My job was to liaise, and I’ve failed miserably.”

  “No, you haven’t.” He rubbed his jaw and met her gaze.

  “Yes. I have.”

  “Look, I don’t want to argue.”

  “We aren’t arguing. We’re discussing,” she said.

  “Either way. Looks like you have a deal.”

  “I do?” She turned to meet his gaze, eyes wide.

  “Yeah. Let’s see where we stand on Monday.”

  “Thank you,” she breathed.

  He nodded, more confused than ever.

  When Becca stood and walked to the door of his office, he got up from his chair.

  She raised a hand and offered him a quick tight smile. “No, don’t get up. I can see myself out.” Her gaze met his. “You won’t regret this. I promise.”

  So the team would finish up and life would return to normal by as early as Monday night. And that’s what he wanted, right?

  All along, that was exactly what he’d been saying.

  He wanted things to go back to the way they were before the accident.

  Joe stared down at his empty sleeve.

  Maybe life hadn’t been so great before the accident. Maybe the Lord had turned t
he tragedy of his accident into a blessing. It had brought Becca back into his life, hadn’t it?

  Joe sat down and leaned back in his chair. Becca back in his life was truly nothing short of a blessing. He liked seeing her smile, especially at four a.m. when he didn’t have to share her with anyone but Gil and Wishbone, and the rising sun. He’d grown used to doing chores around the ranch and having someone to talk to besides Blackie. Someone who really understood ranch life. Understood that being a cowboy was only part of it. Being a good stockman and farmer, that was the whole picture.

  And what about those snacks? She made something every night since she moved into the cottage—muffins, cookies, whatever—and they’d mysteriously appear in her saddlebag, ready to eat in the middle of the morning when his stomach was rumbling and they were too far from the barn to go back.

  Suddenly the way things used to be wasn’t half as appealing as the way they were now.

  In fact, it was pretty alarming when he thought about it. Life without Becca wasn’t much of a life at all.

  Chapter Eleven

  Abi lifted her fingers from her laptop. Both she and Rod turned from the makeshift worktable in the utility garage to look at Rebecca.

  “Did you say we have the rest of the day off?” Rod asked.

  “After all the time we lost with the rain, your concussion and the whole Julian cattle fiasco, you’re giving us the day off?” Abi asked.

  Rebecca smiled. “No, I said you have the rest of the day off and you’ve been invited to the Elliott Ranch annual Fourth of July barbecue.”

  “Well, that’s different. That means sleeping in tomorrow.” Rod offered a thumbs-up.

  “Must be nice,” Rebecca said. “There’s a rooster in this part of town. No one sleeps in around here.”

  “I’m sorry,” Abi said.

  “Tell us about this barbecue, Rebecca,” Rod said as he cleaned his camera lens.

  “Sounds like one of those fun small-town events,” Abi added.

  “Actually,” Rebecca said, “it’s a pretty big deal around here. Hollis Elliott isn’t called the Bison King of Paradise Valley for nothing. Pretty much everyone is on the invitation list, including his cattle and bison cronies. He’s been putting on this event at his ranch for as long as I can remember.”