The Cowboy Code

by Christine Wenger

  “Should I ask why?”

  She grinned. “Because I have a scathingly brilliant idea. I think I know how to turn Brandon Avery into a leader.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Tell me about your plan, Maggie.”

  “You should hear Brandon sing, Joe. The kid has talent. He told me that he could play the guitar, so I’m going to ask Cookie if we can borrow his. I want to see what Brandon can do. I think that using his talent would help him. With something positive in his life, maybe he won’t need to act out so much.”

  “That’s good thinking, Maggie. I like it a lot, and I think it’s great that you’re taking such interest in him.” Joe looked at her and tilted his head.

  “But you haven’t heard the best part. I think we should put on a talent show. Nothing big, just for us. Maybe one night around the campfire.”

  “And you’re going to get Brandon to sing and play the guitar?”

  “I am. I’ve taught kids in the past, and I’ve done a good job if I say so myself. Maybe I can help him polish his performance.”

  He nodded. “Go for it. I’m for anything that would give Brandon a positive experience. I thought it’d be Cowboy Quest, but he wants out, and you and the kids voted him out. I have to respect that.”

  “But there’s no deadline on when he has to leave, right? So until then, you’re not giving up on him, are you?”

  “Not by a long shot.”

  They walked their horses toward the others. “How are you and Danny doing?” Joe asked.

  “We had another nice conversation going before the stampede. He’s opening up more and more.”

  “Excellent.” She thought he was about to take her hand, but he seemed to change his mind. As much as she wanted him to, they were too close and everyone could see. And Joe had made it clear that they weren’t going to be a couple, and that was fine with her. She had too many things on her mind.

  Still, she couldn’t help but feel as though she’d lost something special.

  She looked over at Brandon, sitting by himself for dinner. She felt sorry for the boy. Brandon was acting like he didn’t care, but that was a façade, the same defense mechanism that Danny always used.

  She wanted to help Joe help the boy. And she felt that the talent show would give all the kids the confidence boost they needed.

  As they walked, she could see Danny, Rick and Jeff working hard, cleaning up after the horses. Danny was laughing, and it didn’t appear that his punishment was that much of a hardship at all. She smiled. Joe had promised hard work, and he’d lived up to his promise.

  She felt his hand at the small of her back. “The talent show is an excellent idea, Maggie. Whatever you need, let me know.”

  The boys are getting restless, Maggie thought. Several days of riding were taking their toll. Joe must have sensed it, too, because he soon suggested a cowboy triathlon for the kids.

  When he announced that the triathlon would consist of a horseshoe tournament, a roping match and a contest as to who could bridle and saddle his horse the fastest, the boys were thrilled. When he announced that there would be prizes, a cheer went up from the group.

  “Maggie, unless you want to participate, would you mind assisting me in keeping score?” Joe asked.

  Maggie waited for Danny’s reaction to Joe’s request, but he just smiled. She didn’t know if he was simply happy to participate in sporting events for prizes, or if he was getting over the fact that Joe was singling her out.

  “I’d be happy to keep score,” she said. “Let me get some paper and a pen.”

  She knew that Cookie would have what she needed, so she headed for the chuck wagon.

  When Maggie returned, she couldn’t help but observe Joe. He was in his element, giving instructions, dividing the group into teams. She watched how his muscles moved under his blue-striped shirt, and the way his features changed from intense concentration to hearty laughter and twinkling eyes.

  When the horseshoe tournament was under way, the boys cheered for everyone, not only their team. Maggie could see that it was Joe who slanted that result by cheering for each individual and the boys followed his lead.

  After Team B won the tournament, Joe promised them all their own rope. Team A was visibly disappointed.

  “Hang in there, Team A. We have two more events,” he said.

  He looked over at Maggie and winked. She winked back. She knew that Joe would see to it that everyone would receive a prize.

  That fact warmed her all over. When he stood close to her during the roping event, she could smell the aftershave that he used. It reminded her of their kiss, and butterflies settled in her stomach. Her glow faded when she remembered that the clock was ticking, and soon Cowboy Quest would be over.

  Could she handle not seeing Joe again?

  As luck would have it, Team A won the roping event, and they all would receive their own rope, too.

  The bridling and saddling of the horses would be the tiebreaker. Joe timed each individual and told her the results. As she totaled up each column, she noticed that he managed to make the results come out even.

  He announced that both teams would receive Western shirts as prizes, and there were cheers all around. But Joe had something up his sleeve.

  “To break the tie, I’d like the individuals with the lowest scores from the saddle-and-bridle event to run through the triathlon again,” he announced. “The two individuals would be… Maggie, who had the lowest scores?”

  Her heart did a leap in her chest. Danny was one. Then she ran her finger down the other column. Brandon was the other.

  When she told Joe this fact, he didn’t seem surprised. He’d planned this.

  She tried not to cheer too loudly for Danny, but was thrilled when Danny won the horseshoe event. Brandon won in roping.

  She doubted that Joe could pull off another believable tie, and she found herself holding her breath during the last event.

  Since it took Danny two tries to swing the saddle up on Thunderbolt, Brandon won easily.

  “Brandon, you are the all-around champion of the Cowboy Triathlon. You are the grand-prize winner of a gold buckle.”

  Everyone cheered. Brandon smiled and accepted pats on the back from all the boys. Then when the excitement died down, he turned to Joe.

  “I can’t accept the gold buckle, Mr. Watley,” Brandon said, his eyes meeting Joe’s. “I’m not part of the program anymore, and I shouldn’t have competed.”

  Maggie’s heart melted. This certainly was a change in the boy.

  “I appreciate that you feel that way, but why don’t we ask the other members of Cowboy Quest to render a decision? If it is decided to disqualify you, then Danny wins the gold buckle.”

  She looked at Danny. His eyes lit up, but he tried not to react. She could tell that he wanted that buckle.

  Joe turned to her. “You need to participate in the vote, too, Maggie. You’re part of Cowboy Quest. Dan, you’ll sit it out, since this vote directly affects you, too.”

  “But—” Maggie began. How could she tell Joe that she wasn’t comfortable participating in this verdict? But after an encouraging nod from him, she joined the group at the chuck wagon.

  The discussion began all at once.

  “Brandon won fair and square.”

  “But he’s right. He shouldn’t have competed.”

  “He’s changed. He’s not like before.”

  “I think he should keep the gold buckle.”

  “But what would Danny get?”

  “Nothing, I guess.”

  “That ain’t fair.”

  Maggie didn’t say anything until someone asked her point-blank.

  “This is a tough one,” Maggie said, looking at the serious boys. “But Joe didn’t disqualify Brandon from participating in the triathlon, so he competed fair and square.”

  “Yeah. Maggie’s right.”

  “Let’s take a vote!”

  In the end, it was voted that Brandon keep his prize. The b
oy looked like he was about to cry or bolt, and Maggie didn’t want him to do either.

  “Thanks guys…and you, too, Maggie,” he said humbly. “I never won anything before.”

  There were more cheers and clapping.

  She smiled at Brandon and patted his shoulder. “Congratulations.”

  Maggie was proud of Danny for shaking Brandon’s hand and cheering as loudly as the others.

  Joe waited until the excitement died down, then he held his hands up for quiet. “The second-place prize, which is a saddle, goes to Dan Turner.”

  Danny looked like Joe just handed him a million bucks. When the boys were busy cheering, he made eye contact with her. This time, she winked first.

  His head tipped back, and he laughed. He moved next to her and their hands touched. She wanted to hold his hand, kiss him and never let him go. But she didn’t dare do either.

  Maggie looked up at him. “Join me for dinner, cowboy?”

  “Do you think it’s okay?”

  She looked over at Danny, happier than she’d seen him in a long time. Thinking about their previous talk, Maggie believed that she’d gotten through to Danny, that he finally realized that she’d never shut him out of her life.

  It was time to see if he could be okay with her being with Joe, but she had faith in Danny that he could handle it.

  She smiled at Joe. “I think that it’s perfectly okay.”

  Later, over a dinner of hamburgers and salad, Danny joined them. She didn’t care if he liked it or not, but she gave him a hug then a kiss on the forehead.

  “Aww…” He squirmed.

  She noticed Joe watching her, grinning.

  In spite of the temperature, heat rushed to her cheeks and her stomach tingled. She realized that whenever he looked at her or she thought about him, that same thing happened.

  She was falling in love with Joe.

  That should have made her happy, and it did—in a way. But how on earth could they ever make a long-distance relationship work? Besides, deep down, she knew she was a lot like the ex-fiancée who’d left him for a life in Los Angeles.

  She knew he’d never move to New York. He was a cowboy through and through, and his life was here. Just like her life was in the city.

  An overwhelming sadness settled in her heart.

  How could she ever leave him?

  All too soon it was time for the night watch. To her surprise, she was riding with Joe. True to his word, he’d assigned Brandon to ride in their group, along with Danny.

  Overly tired, she didn’t know how she’d stay awake, but the fact that she was going to talk to Brandon gave her renewed energy.

  She found her opportunity when she heard Brandon singing to the cattle. It was a sad country ballad that she’d heard before, but couldn’t place the artist.

  She slowly rode over to him. “You are really, really good, Brandon. I mean that.”

  When he smiled, the harsh lines disappeared from his face, and he looked younger.

  “Brandon, there’s going to be a little talent show by the campfire at the end of the roundup. Would you be interested? I asked Cookie, and he agreed to lend you his guitar to practice on. What do you say?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “If you’d like, I’ll help you.”

  “You will?” His eyes were as big as one of Joe’s belt buckles.

  “Of course I will.”

  “Cool.”

  “So would you like to be in the talent show?” she pushed.

  “It’s lame, but yeah, I’ll do it.”

  “Terrific.” She lowered her voice. “Brandon, you’d like to stay in Cowboy Quest, wouldn’t you?”

  He didn’t say a word, but just nodded. Then he rode away.

  Feeling higher than the big moon in the sky, Maggie rode over to Danny to spend the rest of the night watch with her nephew.

  Late that night, Maggie gathered up a towel and some clean clothes and quietly slipped out of her tent. She desperately wanted to dunk herself in the sparkling water of the Silver River. She was surprised at how long the river was—it went on for miles, cutting through Joe’s property, ravines, hills and valleys. But right now, she was thinking of the spot that she’d seen earlier—a bend in the river that made a natural whirlpool.

  When she got there, someone else was in her spot.

  Joe.

  He sat in the whirlpool, whistling. She was an intruder to his solitude, a voyeur—who couldn’t move if her life depended on it.

  “Looks like we had the same idea,” he said, spotting her.

  “I should leave.” But her feet felt like they were hardening in cement. “I’m sorry to intrude.”

  “There’s room enough for us both,” he said. “It’s a big river.”

  She couldn’t join him, could she? She couldn’t strip down and walk into the water and be that close to Joe. She’d want to touch him and feel his hard muscles under her fingertips, feel his taut skin under the palms of her hands.

  She was just about to tell him that she couldn’t when he held out his hand to her. “Come here, Maggie.”

  He stood, naked. Water dripped off his hair and into little rivulets that trailed down his strong body.

  As if in a trance, she walked toward him, dispensing with her clothes piece by piece. She slipped off her bra, her panties, and waded into the water as if a camp full of kids and cowboys wasn’t just over the rise behind them.

  Please don’t let anyone see us. Please just give me this one night with Joe.

  He gathered her up into an embrace. She could feel his hardness, pressing against her, getting harder still. As her heart pounded, he kissed her neck, her forehead, then his mouth took hers in a hungry kiss like no other she’d ever experienced. She felt more alive than she’d felt in years, more alive than she ever felt on the stage.

  She ran her hands over his hard chest, tangled her fingers in his ponytail, traced a tiny stream of water down his chest until it disappeared.

  “I want you, Maggie. I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

  “I’ve wanted you, too, but—”

  “No buts, not tonight.”

  He grabbed at the soap, floating in the water. He scrubbed every inch of her, rubbing, tracing, touching. They played, they splashed, they kissed and when she finally wrapped her legs around him, they were silent for a moment.

  “If you’re going to say no, Maggie, now’s the time.”

  “I’m not.”

  He kissed one nipple, then the other, teasing them with his tongue. She couldn’t stop saying his name.

  And when he entered her, she bit her lip to stop from screaming. He felt so, so good.

  She caught her breath, matched him stroke for stroke, until they moved in a rhythm of their own.

  They fell over the cliff together, free-falling in time and space until they landed back in a small whirlpool somewhere in the middle of Wyoming.

  No matter what, this was a place she’d never forget.

  And she’d never forget Joe Watley.

  Besides, what was the sense in playing “what if”? Her life was fine dining and high-rises; his was wide-open spaces and cowboy coffee. She was designer clothes and car services; he was flannel and horses. She had Danny; he had Cowboy Quest.

  They didn’t stand a chance.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Joe knew he had to remove the silly grin from his face before he walked back into camp.

  The kids weren’t stupid and neither was his staff.

  He’d tried to stay away from her, he really had. But when he’d seen her, bathed in the moonlight, watching him…he’d wanted her.

  It felt so right holding her in his arms, making love with her. He was happy with Maggie. Happier than he’d been in a long, lonely time.

  He even thought that he loved her.

  But happiness took a dive when a picture of Ellen Rogers flashed into his mind. He’d loved Ellen, too, and she’d left for the lure of the big city. And Maggie lived in the
most vibrant city in the world, with a glamorous job to boot. She was a star, for Pete’s sake.

  He’d sworn he wouldn’t risk his heart on a woman like this ever again.

  Too late.

  That wiped the silly grin off his face.

  “Joe, we have a problem.” Ronnie came running up to him. He nodded in Maggie’s direction. If he noticed anything, he didn’t let on.

  Ronnie shook his head. “Danny’s missing. So is Brandon.”

  Joe’s stomach turned. This couldn’t be good.

  “Oh, no!” said Maggie, running to the camp with Ronnie and Joe.

  “What happened?” Joe asked.

  “Seems like they went to the latrine and they never came back,” Ronnie said.

  “Are all the horses here, Ronnie?”

  “Yes. Wherever the boys are, they’re on foot.”

  “What can I do, Joe?” Maggie asked, fear in her voice. “I can’t believe he’d run away again.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “If I lose Danny…”

  He took her by the arms. Her hair was still wet, and he didn’t want her to catch a cold.

  “Don’t think that way,” he said. “Get a coat on, and follow me. Hurry.”

  The cowboys had gathered by the campfire, carrying flashlights and ropes. He assigned three of them to stay with the remaining boys.

  “Maggie, Ronnie and I will head for the ravine. The rest of you fan out in teams of two from here. If you find them, give a yell and use this.” He handed out flare guns.

  He took Maggie’s hand and led her north, toward the ravine, through a dense forest of lodgepole pines and other evergreens and conifers. The thick carpet of needles kept them somewhat out of the mud.

  “Are you okay, Maggie?” That was a stupid question.

  “I’m doing okay, but I’m worried to death.”

  “Of course you are, but we’ll find them.” Joe took a deep breath. There were all kinds of animals in these woods: bears, mountain lions… He touched his gun. He’d hate for the boys to come across any of those.

  “Help!”

  The sound was faint, but he’d heard it. “Stop. Listen.”