Aidan: Loyal Cowboy: Aidan: Loyal CowboyThe Family Plan

by Cathy McDavid

  “You didn’t see his face. It wasn’t that of a doctor who suspected harmless abnormalities.”

  “He’s simply being cautious.” Jolyn had plenty of experience with doctors and knew them to be reserved when offering opinions. Placing a hand atop her mother’s, something she was doing a lot of since yesterday, she said, “I really need to get to work. We’ll talk more tonight when I get home.”

  She’d been ignoring the hundred and one tasks awaiting her at Chase’s and Cutter’s Market. There were times when family came first, and this was definitely one of them. But that didn’t eliminate her other responsibilities.

  Mike had recently taken on some superintendent duties, and she hoped like heck he could handle work on the clinic until she arrived, which, at the rate her morning was progressing, would be nine-thirty or ten. She made a mental note to call him the second she got into her truck.

  “Please think about what I’ve said,” her mother implored. “And try to see my side.”

  “I will.” She’d find it hard to think of anything else.

  In the next second, the kitchen phone rang.

  Her mother jumped out of her chair, then purposefully slowed her steps as she strode to the counter where the portable phone lay. “Probably one of my students’ mothers.”

  It was clear from Dottie’s white-knuckled grip on the receiver she wasn’t talking to a student’s mother. Jolyn’s insides turned to ice.

  “That was my doctor’s office.” With shaking hands, her mother set down the phone and pulled the flaps of her robe tight, wrapping herself in a flannel cocoon. “He wants to see me for a consultation right away. Monday, if possible.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Well, there you are.” Mrs. Cutter squeezed into the market’s minuscule restroom where Jolyn sat on the closed toilet lid facing backward, her arm inside the tank. Spread out on the floor beside her feet was a pile of parts, both old and new. “Everybody’s been looking for you today.”

  “Who’s everybody?”

  “The Buchanans came by about a half hour ago.”

  “Don’t think I know them.” Jolyn only half listened. Her mind was still on her mother and the call from her doctor’s office.

  “Weekenders. They moved here two summers back. Nice enough people, I reckon.” In Mrs.-Cutter-speak, “nice enough” was a high compliment. “They’re wantin’ to enclose their back porch.” She switched the plastic straw she habitually chewed on to the opposite side of her mouth and rolled her eyes. “Build one of them solariums with plants and skylights.”

  “Really?”

  “I gave ’em your flyer. They asked me to have you call ’em.”

  Enclosing a porch and building a solarium wasn’t on the same scale as a vet clinic and office, but at this stage in her business, Jolyn couldn’t afford to be picky.

  “Did you get their phone number?” she asked.

  “Do I look like your secretary?”

  “No.” Jolyn flushed the toilet, glad to see the tank empty of water with a sloshy gurgle and not overflow as it had been doing.

  “’Course I got their phone number.” Mrs. Cutter stood behind Jolyn, peering over her shoulder. She grunted with satisfaction when the tank began to quickly refill. “It’s up at the register.”

  “Thank you. I’ll come get it when I’m done with the repairs.”

  “Chase was in here looking for you earlier, too. I didn’t get his phone number. Reckon you already have it.”

  Jolyn chided herself for not calling and letting him know she was running late. So much for promoting customer relations.

  “Had some young gal with him.”

  “Oh?”

  By “young gal,” Mrs. Cutter meant a stranger. In a small town like Blue Ridge, new people gathered a lot of attention.

  “Told me he was considering hiring her as his assistant.”

  Jolyn swung around to face forward and began collecting the old, worn-out toilet parts. She stuffed them into the same plastic sack the new parts had come in and shut the lid on her toolbox.

  “That’s good. He needs an assistant.”

  “This one didn’t look like she’d even graduated kindergarten yet. Old Mrs. Shaughnessy will tear her teeny tiny hide in two.”

  “Is that where they were heading? Up to the Double S?”

  “Yep. Just leave that.” Mrs. Cutter shooed Jolyn aside when she attempted to wipe up the floor where water had spilled. “I’ll get it.”

  “You sure?”

  “I know you got work to do. Paying work. Get after it.” She preceded Jolyn out of the restroom and into the crowded, twisting hall with its towers of boxes, crates and cartons. “When you gonna put that poor boy outta his misery?”

  “What poor boy?”

  Jolyn’s feigned naivety earned her yet another eye roll from Mrs. Cutter. “Gawd bless. Chase, ’a course. He’s got it bad for you.”

  “We’re just friends.” Jolyn wondered how often she would repeat that phrase today.

  “Friends don’t wear no kicked-puppy sad faces when their girl ain’t where they expect her to be.”

  Mrs. Cutter must not have noticed that Jolyn stopped cold in her tracks. She went through the door and into the store, leaving Jolyn alone.

  Chase really was interested in her. Romantically, sexually, and… Wow! Yes, there had been the kiss and the discussion about timing not being right, but Jolyn had so far only thought about their evolving relationship from her own perspective.

  What now? Go to him? No, he was at the Double S Ranch. Wait for him, then, at his house?

  Her heart gave a small leap at the thought of seeing him, followed closely by a wave of insecurity. What should she say to him?

  Her shoulders sagged. She’d say nothing for now, not until her mother visited her doctor.

  What a fix to find herself in. The guy she’d secretly carried a torch for all through high school was finally free to date her, finally returning her feelings, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

  “Where’d you go?” Mrs. Cutter stuck her head around the corner.

  Jolyn straightened. “Sorry.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” She walked toward the door, trying to act as if her world was all roses and sunshine. “Just thinking about work.”

  “Everything okay at home?” Mrs. Cutter’s usual scratchiness gave way to thoughtful concern.

  “Fine,” Jolyn said, perhaps a tad too quickly.

  “I only ask cuz when I went by the post office this morning, your dad said the same thing when I caught him standing with his back holding up the wall.”

  “Leaky kitchen faucet kept us up last night.”

  Mrs. Cutter’s eagle-eye gaze narrowed into one of suspicion. “You’d think a person handy with a wrench like you are wouldn’t let that happen.”

  “You’d think.”

  Great, Jolyn grumbled to herself and shuffled through the door, balancing her heavy toolbox. If Mrs. Cutter, owner of gossip central, had figured out something was amiss in the Sutherland family, it wouldn’t be long before everyone in Blue Ridge knew it, too.

  * * *

  DESPITE HIS EARLIER determination, three days came and went without Chase having a chance to talk to Jolyn. Usually, they were surrounded by workers. Once he’d caught her alone, but her mood was a bit off, as if she were preoccupied, so he kept quiet. Before he knew it, the weekend had arrived—one with no scheduled calls, thanks to Anita.
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br />   Since spending more time with his daughter was Chase’s goal, he suggested an early Saturday morning ride, promising they would return well before her eleven o’clock dance lesson. Clearly, spending time together wasn’t as important to Mandy as it was to him. She asked if her friend Elizabeth could go with them. He agreed, mostly because it pleased him to see his daughter happy and not moping over SherryAnne canceling her upcoming birthday visit.

  Cinnamon, Mandy’s exceedingly gentle, pint-sized horse, waited patiently for Chase to finish saddling her. The same couldn’t be said for the girls. They giggled and played as they packed a picnic snack of juice boxes and homemade brownies into the saddlebags on Elizabeth’s horse, a slightly larger, much older version of Cinnamon.

  For once, the driveway was empty of construction vehicles. Jolyn had evidently taken the morning off, too, or was working at another job. Chase hoped the former. She worked too hard, and he worried about her. He hoped their kiss the other night hadn’t added to her stress, which was why he wanted to talk to her.

  “You two ready?”

  “Almost.” Mandy finished boosting Elizabeth up onto her horse.

  “Don’t forget to put the dogs in the garage.”

  Mandy scampered off, Buzz and Lickety in hot pursuit.

  Chase gathered Cinnamon’s reins and those of his mount, Matilda, a four-year-old Dutch warmblood mare and his current favorite. She stood nearly seventeen hands tall and had a rich chestnut coat the texture of satin.

  No other horse could beat her on the trail. Strong and muscular, with boundless energy, she scaled steep, rocky slopes as if they were backyard dirt piles. Only a mile-wide stubborn streak kept her from being the best damn horse he’d ever owned.

  Chase led Matilda and Cinnamon toward the house. Elizabeth brought up the rear, pushing her old gelding for a speed he didn’t have in him anymore. Which was just fine with Chase. He’d have his hands full with Matilda and didn’t need to be worried about the girls.

  Once he and Mandy joined Elizabeth in the saddle, they headed down the driveway. At the road, Chase pulled Matilda to a stop. “Which way, ladies? Neglian Creek crossing or Uncle Joseph’s and Aunt Susan’s ranch?”

  “Neglian Creek,” both girls answered, and turned their horses to the right.

  Chase had to maintain a short rein on Matilda, who, given her head, would have charged out in front of the girls. The creek, however, would be a different story. Matilda didn’t like water and getting her to cross it, even when it was only a few inches deep, inevitably resulted in a test of wills.

  It wasn’t long before Chase changed his mind and was glad the girls had chosen the Neglian Creek crossing. Not a quarter mile from the trailhead, the back end of a familiar paint horse came into view between the sprawling mixture of oak and pine trees.

  Sinbad. And sitting astride him, Jolyn. She’d evidently stopped for a break where the trail split into two branches, one leading to the creek and the other up the mountain to the old Ladderback mine.

  A slow smile spread across Chase’s face as he watched her lift a canteen to her mouth and take a long drink. Morning sun filtered through the leafy tree branches, bathing her in alternating patches of shadow and light. The stunning combination of woman, horse and nature came together perfectly for one tiny instant.

  “Look, Dad,” Mandy cried. “It’s Jolyn.”

  “So I see.”

  “Jolyn, Jolyn.” Mandy waved and nudged Cinnamon into a trot.

  “Hello.” Jolyn hung her canteen over her saddle horn and waved back, her hazel eyes shining with welcome.

  Chase’s smile widened. Not that he hadn’t been enjoying himself with his daughter and her friend, but suddenly their ride promised to be much more fun.

  “Nice to see you took the day off work,” he said once they were in talking distance. “You needed it.”

  “Only for a couple of hours.” She patted Sinbad’s neck. “This big fellow hasn’t been ridden in a week and was ready to break down the fence. But after lunch, it’s back to the grindstone.”

  “Your leg must be feeling better.”

  “It is. I started physical therapy with Aubrey, and it seems to be helping.” She absently rubbed her knee.

  Chase was reminded of the other night when he’d done the same thing. Something inside him stirred. As if sensing his changing mood, she abruptly stopped and adjusted her cowboy hat to fit more snugly on her head.

  “Where you going?”

  “Neglian Creek crossing,” Mandy chimed in.

  Chase hadn’t seen Jolyn in anything but a ball cap since she’d come home. The cowboy hat made her look like a teenager again and much like the Jolyn he remembered. How could he have failed to notice her fresh-faced beauty all those years ago?

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “I was thinking of checking out the old mine.”

  “Why don’t you come with us?” Mandy issued the invitation a split second ahead of Chase.

  “We can’t stay long,” he added. “Mandy has to be back for her dance lesson.”

  “Thank you,” Jolyn said softly.

  “You’re doing me a favor. The girls were already getting tired of my company.” As if to prove his point, Mandy and Elizabeth rode ahead a bit to look at the clusters of colorful wildflowers.

  “Not for that.”

  He gave Jolyn a quizzical look. “What, then?”

  “For letting Mandy continue with her lessons. You have every reason to pull her out.”

  “She loves dance class. And as long as your mom keeps her end of the bargain,” Chase said quietly, “Mandy will continue going to class.” He applied a slight pressure to Matilda’s flanks and in a louder voice, said, “Let’s go.”

  With the girls behind him and Jolyn beside him, they headed down the trail at a leisurely walk. The rhythmic clip-clop of hooves on hard-packed dirt was the only sound for several minutes.

  Chase was hesitant to break the companionable lull, but he did. “I hired an assistant.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s because of her I have today off.”

  “Her?” Jolyn’s eyebrows lifted. “Not him? You’re really turning this town on its ears.”

  “Yeah. I figure, why break my streak? The last woman I hired seems to be working out okay. Don’t you agree?”

  Her smile lost its luster. Chase thought he knew why.

  “About the other night… I owe you an apology.”

  “No, you don’t,” she argued.

  “You are not to blame, you hear me? Don’t even think it.”

  “I’m not. Because there’s no blame to give or take.” She looked him straight in the face. “I don’t regret what happened.”

  A jolt of sexual energy ripped through Chase, hot and fierce and unlike any he’d previously experienced. “Me, neither. And I’m damn sure not averse to it happening again.”

  With a swiftness that surprised him, he reached across the short distance separating them to take Jolyn’s hand. The horses cooperated by walking quietly, shoulder to shoulder.

  She stared at their joined hands, and he felt her fingers tense.

  “Not now,” he said, and eased his grip. “Later. When the clinic is finished. I promise not to kiss you again until then.” But kiss her he would, the very day the last nail was hammered in place.

  “Chase, I…”

  The same preoccupation he’d noticed in her before returned. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He massaged the
inside of her wrist with the pad of his thumb.

  “Nothing.” She offered him an unconvincing smile.

  At least she didn’t pull away, even when Elizabeth started giggling.

  He’d have liked to question Jolyn further, hold on to her longer, but his cell phone rang. Hoping it wasn’t an emergency call, he pulled the phone from the clip on his belt.

  “You get reception clear out here?” she asked incredulously.

  “Radio phone with a booster antenna.” Chase checked the caller ID, and his pulse instantly accelerated. “Hold up, girls.”

  He pulled on the reins, and Matilda obediently stopped. Jolyn and Sinbad did likewise.

  Few calls would be important enough to take him away from a morning ride with his daughter and Jolyn. This was one of them.

  “Yeah, Chuck.”

  He listened intently, committing the details of where and when to meet to memory as he didn’t have a pen and paper handy. Jolyn watched him intently, openly curious.

  “That didn’t sound like an animal emergency,” she said when he disconnected and replaced his phone.

  “Chuck’s my platoon leader.”

  “Like in the army?”

  “Law enforcement. I’m a member of the Blue Ridge mounted sheriff’s posse. We’ve been called on a search and rescue.”

  “For what?”

  “Not what. Who. An eighteen-year-old boy. He and his buddies were hiking up near Saddle Horn Butte yesterday. The other boys made it back this morning. He got separated last night and is still missing.”

  “Oh, my God! That’s terrible.”

  “I have to meet up with my platoon at the base of the mountain in two hours.” He swung Matilda around and pointed her back the way they came. “Girls.” He beckoned them with a wave. “We have to go home.”

  “Why?” Mandy complained with a pout.

  Elizabeth appeared equally crestfallen.

  “Not now, sweetie.” Chase’s tone was firm. “I don’t have the time.”

  “How ’bout I take the girls to Neglian Creek crossing?” Jolyn said. “I’ll make sure Mandy gets to her dance lesson on time.”