One Smart Cowboy

by Misty Malone

  To make it more difficult for Clay, he had a lot on his mind. Lynelle had had another temper tantrum last night, and he was thinking about his dad’s words. Maybe a spanking would get her attention. Talking to her certainly hadn’t. He could tell she wasn’t taking him seriously, just telling him to lighten up a bit.

  On top of that, they’d gotten a phone call last evening from Sam’s sister. Her husband died, and she wasn’t handling it well. Sam was thinking about going to stay with her for a couple weeks or so to help her through the funeral and make sure she could handle living on her own. Her husband had done all of the bill paying and maintenance on the house, and she was going to have a hard time adjusting. Clay was also still concerned about Cheyenne, who was getting moodier by the day.

  He was trying to put all of that out of his mind and concentrate on the bucking horse beneath him, but he was having trouble doing that. That is, until he was still leaning to the right and the horse bucked to the left. Clay flew through the air and landed on his butt beside the fence. Ty was there immediately to be sure he was okay and that the horse went in the opposite direction.

  “You okay, boss?”

  Clay assured his good friend, “Yeah, I’m fine, all except for my pride. It’s a bit damaged.” Clay pulled himself up, brushed his hat off and shoved it back on his head.

  “Clay, I’m going to get back on that horse for a bit so it doesn’t think it won the battle, but then I think we should quit until tomorrow. Maybe by then you will have worked through whatever’s on your mind. It’s too dangerous breaking horses to do it when you’re not concentrating completely.” He turned toward the ornery horse, but stopped to say, “If you want to talk about it, I’ll do what I can to help.”

  “I know, Ty. Thanks.” He leaned against the fence and watched as Ty went to the horse and grabbed hold of the reigns. He led the horse again a few minutes, before Clay went out to hold the reins while Ty climbed on his back again. Once he was on and ready, Clay handed him the reins and went back and got on his own horse. He stayed close to the new horse, while Ty concentrated on staying on the horse’s back. When it finally settled down and quit bucking, Ty rode it around the arena a few times, then called it a day. He carefully got down and led the horse to a stall.

  “Great job, Ty. Thanks,” Clay told his foreman sincerely.

  “You already had him worn down, buddy. It took a lot out of him to throw you that far, you know. You sure you’re okay?”

  “Ha ha. Yes, I’m okay. A bit sore, but I’ll be fine.”

  At supper that evening, Sam addressed the three of them. “I’m leaving in the morning to go to Lucy’s. Will you three be okay if I end up staying a month or so?”

  Clay looked over at his dad. “A month?”

  “I hope not, but it could be, yes. I found out that her husband wasn’t able to maintain the place the last couple years, so there’s some things that really need taken care of. There’s also a lot of things she doesn’t know how to do. I’ll have to teach her how to do those, so it may take longer than I originally thought before she’s ready to live alone.”

  Cheyenne tried to assure her father. “We’ll be fine, Dad. Send our love to Aunt Lucy.”

  Clay agreed. “Ty and I can take care of the ranch while you’re gone, Dad.”

  Sam looked at his son, wondering about his choice of words, before responding slowly. “I’m not as worried about the ranch as I am the house.”

  Cheyenne looked indignant. “The house? What do you mean?”

  He met her eyes and held them. “Cheyenne, you’ve had a heck of an attitude lately. The boys will have their hands full with the ranch. Can I count on you to make sure you have their meals ready on time, and don’t give Clay a hard time?”

  “Dad, I told you I’d do the cooking, and I have. Have I ever not had a meal ready on time?”

  “No, and I appreciate your efforts, honey. Lately, though, you’ve seemed angry about something, but you won’t talk to me about it. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and I can count on you.”

  “We’ll be fine, Dad. Don’t worry about us.”

  “I hope so, Cheyenne. While I’m gone, Clay’s in charge. Listen to him, and work with him, not against him.”

  “Like I said, Dad, we’ll be fine.”

  He noticed the look on Clay’s face. He didn’t seem to be quite as convinced.

  They spent the rest of the meal making plans and going over what needed to be done on the ranch. After supper Sam turned to his son. “Clay, I’d like to talk to you just a minute in my office sometime this evening, make sure you know where to find all the phone numbers you may need for the ranch.”

  “Okay, Dad. Let’s go do that now. I might go over to see Lynelle a few minutes this evening.”

  Sam led the way into his office. “Close the door, Clay.” Once they had privacy, he told his son what was on his mind. “Clay, I know you’re concerned about your sister, and I understand that. I’m sorry, I know I’m leaving you with a lot on your shoulders right now. I just wanted to let you know, if she gives you a problem and you still think a spanking will settle her down, you have my blessing, and you can tell her that.”

  “Me?”

  “I thought she was going to be okay after that second talk I had with her. She started doing the cooking and was doing good. But lately she’s developed an attitude again. I won’t be here the next little while, but if her attitude doesn’t improve, it will have to be addressed. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I think you may be right. That always settled her down before, and nothing else has yet, so I’ll let it up to you. Use your best judgment.”

  Clay ran his hand through his hair. “Thanks, Dad, but I sure hope I don’t have to.”

  “Me, too, Son. Me, too.”

  Chapter Three

  Clay and Cheyenne saw Sam off the next day, right after they finished breakfast. After he was out the lane, Cheyenne turned to go back into the house, while Clay went to the barn, hoping things went smoothly.

  He was happy to see Cheyenne had lunch ready when he and Ty went in for their noon meal, and happier yet that she seemed to be in a good mood. Lunch went well, and he heaved a sigh of relief as he headed back out to the barn.

  His luck didn’t hold out long, though. Supper was ready, but she was in a testy mood. She snapped at both Clay and Ty, making it an unpleasant meal. He tried to make small talk with her later that evening, trying to cheer her up a bit, but she was having none of it. She went to her bedroom, saying she was tired.

  The next couple days were no better. Cheyenne had all their meals ready on time, but seemed angry and moped around the house most of the day, although she had taken to teasing the ranch hands again, waving at them suggestively in her short shorts, but ignoring their advances afterward. Clay had had about as much of it as he could take.

  ***

  Cheyenne was getting angrier and more bored by the day, but she was clueless as to what to do about it. She decided to take a four wheeler and go for a ride. Maybe a good brisk ride would cheer her up a bit. After breakfast, she put something in the crock pot and made some potato salad and a chocolate cake to finish off supper, then made some lunch.

  Clay and Ty came in and they all ate lunch. She quickly cleaned the kitchen, checked the crock pot, and went out to the shed the four wheelers were stored in. They had several, as the hands sometimes used them for checking on the cattle or fixing fences. She jumped on the first one she saw, checked to be sure there was gas in it, and started it up.

  She barely got outside on it when she saw Ty walking over toward her. She assumed he was going somewhere else and started toward the back lane, but Ty started waving his arms, obviously wanting to talk to her, so she pulled up beside him and stopped.

  He smiled as he greeted her. “Cheyenne, are you going out somewhere in particular, or just out riding?”

  She frowned at him, perturbed. “I don’t see that it’s any of your business, but I’m just going out riding.”
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br />   “You need to get a helmet. Let me show you where they are and help you find one that fits.” He started back toward the building she just came out of, but she stayed there.

  “No, I’m good without one. It’s okay for you guys, but helmets do awful things to a woman’s hair.”

  “Cheyenne, you can comb your hair out after you take it off, but if you’re going out riding, you need to put a helmet on.”

  “No, I don’t. I’ll be fine.”

  Ty quickly reached over and turned the machine off, taking the key. “When you have a helmet on, I’ll give you back the key.”

  “Who the hell do you think you are? Give me that damn key back.”

  Ty’s eyebrows shot up, but he kept his patience. “Cheyenne, calm down. Don’t let your brother hear you talking like that. I’ll be happy to give you the key when we get you a helmet. Your dad and brother have a rule on this ranch; safety first. They always insist the men wear helmets if they’re on a four wheeler.”

  “Well, I’m just going riding. I’m not going to be doing whatever you guys do on them, so I don’t need a helmet.”

  “Darlin’, what we do on them is ride them. Very similar to what you’re going to be doing. The ground out there is uneven and it’s easy to tip one before you know what’s happening. Let’s go find you a helmet.”

  Cheyenne scowled at him, but he didn’t back down a bit. She just wanted to get going, so she finally relented. “Okay, fine, let’s get a damn helmet.”

  He put the key in his pocket as he headed back toward the shed, once again casually warning her about her language. “Clay won’t like it if he hears you talking like that.” She glared at him until they got to the shed, but he ignored it. “Okay, why don’t you try this one on for size, and we’ll go from there.”

  “Fine.” She grabbed the helmet out of his hand and put it on, fastening the strap.

  Ty reached over and moved it a bit. “I think a size smaller. Try this one.”

  She sighed, but handed him the first helmet and took the one he was handing her. She put it on and fastened the strap. “Fits great. Thanks, Ty. See you later.” She quickly turned and went back to the four wheeler, only to realize he still had the key.

  She sighed, cursed, and turned around to head back to retrieve the key, but ran into Ty, who was standing there smiling, dangling the key. “Need something?”

  “Oh, just give me the damn key,” she said as she grabbed for it.

  Ty pulled the key back. “You can have the key, Cheyenne, but why are you so upset?”

  “I’m not upset. Just give me the damn key.”

  “Yes, you are upset, or you wouldn’t be cussing like that.”

  “My language is none of your concern,” she said as she reached again for the key.

  “Actually, it is my concern, Cheyenne. Clay’s been concerned about you and your attitude lately. He’s going to get hurt if he doesn’t start concentrating on what he’s doing instead of worrying about his little sister. He’s my friend and I don’t want to see that happen. So you see, that makes it my concern.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just give me the keys and I’ll be on my way. You and Clay will neither one have to worry about me.”

  Ty’s eyes softened a bit. “Cheyenne, I get the impression you need to talk to someone, but sometimes it’s hard to talk to family. If you ever feel like talking to someone, I’ll be happy to listen.”

  “You? Why?”

  “Because I feel like I’ve gotten to know you a little bit lately, and I think you could use a friend. I’d like to be a friend, but I won’t push. You have a nice ride.” He dropped the keys in her hand and walked off toward the barn.

  Cheyenne’s eyes narrowed as she watched him walk away. His words caught her off guard. He seemed like he really cared, and she wasn’t ready for that. He was just a cowboy. They were usually just out for one thing from a woman, and they were certainly not smart enough to say something like that. Whatever. She’d think about that later. Right now she was going for a ride.

  Ty was standing just inside the barn door as Cheyenne raced past him on the four wheeler. He watched until she was out of sight, then turned back to checking supplies. They were going to be pulling some of the cattle out to sell at a couple upcoming auctions and moving the remaining herds to different pastures. The breeding program had been going well and they had too many head in the pastures they had. They’d bought some adjoining pasture land and were moving some of the cattle they were keeping to the new land.

  They were going to be riding a lot, and riding hard at times. They had the men all out on four wheelers today checking fences in the pastures they would be moving the cattle to. That gave Ty the chance to check all the saddles and tack for any needed repairs, and check all the horses for any injuries or shoes that needed replaced.

  He checked the horses first. Once that was done, he headed for the tack room. As he passed the door, he noticed a large cloud of dust in the general direction of a couple large pastures they had large numbers of cattle grazing in. He stopped to watch, and the dust cloud seemed to be growing. He was instantly alarmed. A dust cloud like that, large enough to be seen this far away, generally came from a herd of cattle running scared.

  He called Clay and told him what he saw, then called their ranch hands and sent them to the area, along with an explanation. He assured Clay he’d stay at the barn to handle things from this end.

  Then he remembered Cheyenne. She was headed in the direction the dust cloud was coming from. If something spooked the cattle, he sure hoped she was nowhere near the area. He quickly called Clay to make him aware of her possible presence in the area. He could hear the concern in Clay’s voice. He gave Ty her cell phone number and asked him to keep trying to contact her. Ty promised to let him know if she answered.

  True to his word, Ty attempted to call Cheyenne every couple minutes, but she didn’t answer. He got the binoculars and went to the top floor of the barn and looked out. With the help of the binoculars he saw a four wheeler running level with a running herd of cattle, but on the other side of the fence. As he watched, it did a couple donuts, stirring up dust and scaring the cattle.

  Although it was too far away to tell for sure, the four wheeler looked to him like the one Cheyenne left on. About that time, he saw Clay approaching on his horse from the other direction. The four wheeler must have seen him, as well, and left, going back the way it had come from.

  Looking back toward the cattle, he saw the hands all coming toward Clay on their four wheelers. He talked to them a minute and they soon were able to get around the cattle and were beginning to calm them down.

  He turned his attention back to the four wheeler, who was getting closer to the barn. He was not at all surprised to see that it was indeed Cheyenne, and she was not wearing a helmet. He was furious. He left the barn and went to the shed they keep the four wheelers in. The owner’s daughter and Clay’s sister or not, it was time he had a word or two with her about her behavior.

  Meanwhile, Clay and the hands were getting the cattle settled, finally. When they were grazing again, he praised his hands for the good work. He had two hands stay a while longer and watch them to be sure they had all calmed. He sent the rest back to resume their jobs.

  He headed to the barn. The person on the four wheeler causing all the problems looked like his sister, although he had no idea why she would do that. She’d never been one to do much on the ranch, but she had to know better than to get the cattle spooked and running. If it was her, there was no doubt in his mind what he needed to do. Like it or not, if that was her out there, he saw no other option than to give her a very sore bottom for that stunt.

  He talked to himself the whole way back to the barn, steeling himself for what he knew he had to do. When he tied off his horse and walked into the barn, though, what he heard stopped him short. He heard Cheyenne, but she was pleading. He listened as she yelled, “No, please. Ow! No. Oh, please stop. Oh, it hurts!”

 
Clay was on instant alert. He may be upset about what happened, but he loved his sister and wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her. What if someone was attacking her, or trying to take advantage of her? She was a small lady and would never be able to fight a man off. He quickly followed her voice and was shocked when he rounded the corner and barged into the tack room.

  He found his sister, all right. She was over Ty’s knees, her jeans and panties at her knees, and she was squirming, trying to avoid his hand as it came down time and time again onto her bare bottom. Ty saw Clay and stopped momentarily. “Boss, if you want me to quit my job because of this I will, but I’m finishing this first.”

  Clay had one question for his friend and foreman. “So it was, in fact, her out there then?”

  “It sure was.” He gave her four more good swats before adding, “Without a helmet.”

  Clay sighed. “It looks like you’ve got this under control, Ty. Have at it.”

  Ty looked up at him. “You’re not going to fire me?”

  “Fire you? No. I might have to give you a bonus, though. Keep up the good work.”

  He turned to leave as Cheyenne yelled at him. “Clay, stop him. You can’t leave me here with this Neanderthal.”

  “Cheyenne, I’d say that Neanderthal has the right idea. Maybe he can change the attitude you’ve developed, and you won’t feel the need to act like a fool on a four wheeler and scare our cattle.”

  “Clay, come back here.” He heard her yelling again, but now he also heard the sound of Ty’s hand smacking against her bare bottom. He grinned as he went back out to his horse. He might, in fact, have to give Ty that bonus. He sure was doing him a huge favor.

  As he brushed out his horse, he couldn’t help thinking that was one troublesome female down, one to go. He decided then and there to take Lynelle over his knee the next time she swore or had a temper tantrum. He’d have to talk to Ty after he was done, see if he had any tips he could give him.