by Robin Deeter
Daniel smiled. “I have something for you.”
“Uh oh. Something tells me you’re up to no good.”
“Your great detecting skills have deduced the truth once again,” Daniel said mischievously. “Stay here and close your eyes.”
Cy did and tried to be patient as he thought about all of the work that waited for him at home. His mind shifted to the murder victim he’d dealt with that morning.
“Ok, open your eyes,” Daniel said, coming back out onto the porch.
Cy did and saw Daniel holding a fuzzy puppy that he instantly recognized as being a Collie. His eyes widened. “You didn’t.”
“As you can see, I did,” Daniel said. “Happy birthday.” He handed the puppy to Cy, who cuddled it against his chest. “I know your birthday isn’t until next week, but I couldn’t wait that long to give her to you. Besides, she was driving Ma crazy with her whining at night.”
Cy smiled. “I’m sure that Aunt Bonnie will be glad to be rid of her then.” He held the puppy aloft. “What am I gonna name you, huh? What’s your name?”
His dogs crowded around, curious about the puppy. Pudge panted excitedly and yapped a couple of times.
“Be nice,” Cy told the adult dogs firmly as he put the puppy down on the porch.
Pudge was the smallest dog, but he bullied the big dogs, and now was no exception. He snapped at Slink and Burt, keeping them away from the puppy, who cowered against Cy’s legs. Then the pug sniffed the puppy, making loud snuffling sounds as he thoroughly went over the younger canine, who was about the same size as him. His curly tail wagged the whole time.
Deciding that the Collie passed muster, Pudge yipped his approval and let the big dogs come forward to meet the puppy. They inspected the other canine. When the puppy put her little paw on Burt’s muzzle, Burt growled. It was the wrong thing to do.
Pudge flew at him, jumping up to bite his neck and then his leg. Burt yelped and danced away. Pudge growled and then sneezed as if to say, “That’ll teach you!” Pudge pranced back to the puppy and licked her face a couple of times. Slink had backed away from the puppy, unwilling to be another target of Pudge’s anger.
Daniel burst into laughter. “It always amazes me how afraid they are of Pudge. They could eat him for lunch, but they don’t seem to realize it.”
“Don’t let Pudge’s size fool you. He’s solid muscle and his jaws are strong. Pugs are almost fearless and don’t back down easily. He has no idea that he’s little. In his mind, he’s as big as a grizzly bear and just as fierce,” Cy said. “It looks like he approves of the pup. I just gotta think of a name. One will come to me.”
“It usually does. You’re the best person at naming an animal I’ve ever seen,” Daniel said.
Cy said, “Thanks. Well, I gotta go get a tree out of my barn. The storms last night did some damage. Johnny started it, but I’m not sure how far he’s gotten. And quit keeping him up till all hours. He’s worthless the next day.”
Daniel grinned. “Sorry. Do you want help with the tree? I can come over.”
“I won’t refuse the offer. You better put on more than that, though. You don’t want to get all scratched up,” Cy said.
Daniel snorted. “I think I can handle it. I’ll go tell Pa where I’m going. Be right back.”
* * *
Daphne closed her eyes in dismay when she saw the puppy. “Not another dog! Daniel, why did you buy him another one?”
“Sorry, cousin, but I thought he could use a dog to help herd the cattle,” Daniel said. “It’ll actually be useful, unlike these other mangy mutts.”
“Hey!” Cy objected. “They’re useful, just not for ranch work.”
“Sort of like you,” Daniel said.
Cy’s scowl deepened. “I do just fine.”
Daphne turned her head to hide her smile, but not in time for Cy to miss it. Daniel saw it, too, and grinned.
Cy bristled. “I do a heck of a lot better than Johnny. Besides, until six months ago, I hadn’t done ranch work for almost ten years.”
“And as I recall, you didn’t do it all that well then, either,” Daniel said.
Cy glared at him before lowering the puppy to the floor so she could explore the kitchen. “Why do you think I left?”
Daphne replied, “Because you wanted to do something more exciting than ranching.”
“And because you stunk at it,” Daniel chimed in.
“Thanks,” Cy said sardonically.
They were right, though. He’d never been all that good at doing the mundane ranch work like fixing fences and branding cattle, not because he wasn’t capable, but because he had no interest in it. Hence the reason he’d hightailed it to Chicago as soon as he’d been old enough and had joined Pinkerton’s organization. He’d loved his job, and he’d still be doing it if it hadn’t been for…no best not to go into that.
Daphne hated the pain that flickered in Cy’s eyes for a moment. “Cy, you’re doing the best you can now. We’re just teasing you.”
“I know,” he said, smiling tightly. “Don’t worry about it. Well, let’s get to it. Will you watch the puppy?”
Daphne said, “Yes, of course.” She pointed at Daniel. “Don’t buy him any more dogs!”
Daniel merely smiled, making no promises, before heading outside.
“Cy, hang on a minute,” Daphne said.
“I’ll be right there, Daniel,” Cy called through the open door.
He shut it again so the pup didn’t follow Daniel. “What’s wrong?”
Daphne chewed the inside of her bottom lip a moment, then said, “It’s about our finances. We need to make out good on the cattle sale next week. How are they looking?”
Cy’s jaw clenched. “I don’t know. I guess they’re all right. They’re not skinny, but they could be a little fatter. It’s the dang drought. The grazing isn’t real good and I don’t know enough about irrigating to improve it, either.”
“Maybe we should hire a ranch foreman who knows about things like that?” Daphne suggested.
Cy said, “It doesn’t sound like we have the money.”
Daphne didn’t want to hurt Cy’s feelings. “I know, but we need someone who knows what they’re doing. With Ma and Pa gone now and our last foreman moving to California, we’re stuck.”
Cy hated to agree with her, but he was a realist. “You’re right. Do you think we have a little wiggle room in the budget at all?”
“I don’t know. Let’s take a look at it tonight after supper, all right?” Daphne suggested.
“Yeah, that sounds good.” Cy rubbed his forehead. “For now, I’ve got a tree to cut up and a barn to fix. See ya after a bit.”
Daphne nodded. “I’ll fix a nice lunch.”
Cy gave her a slight smile and left the house.
* * *
That evening as Cy entered Big Benny’s, one of his favorite two saloons, he was greeted by the owner himself, Benny McFarland. Benny’s green eyes glittered with good humor as he smiled at Cy.
“Well, look what the cat drug in,” he said. “Been a while.”
Cy sat on a stool at the bar. “Yeah. I needed to dry out a little. I tried, but I just couldn’t quite drown all my sorrows in booze.”
Benny sobered. He was one of the few people who knew Cy’s whole tale of woe. “Things any better in that department?”
With a shrug, Cy said, “Some, I guess. It helps when I keep busy.”
“I’m sorry,” Benny said, running a big hand through his fiery red hair that he wore in a short brush cut.
“Don’t be,” Cy said. “I’m fine. So what’s new in your world?”
Benny said, “Nothing. Same old, same old. I heard you got a case.”
Cy shook his head. “Nah. I just got them started on the right path, that’s all. I got too much to do at home. Our barn was damaged by the storm and I don’t know how much we’ll get for our steer at the sale next month. All that rain didn’t seem to help the grazing much. We need a lot more for it to make a
difference.”
Benny felt bad for the ranchers and farmers in the area. The drought had affected them all no matter what sort of crop they were growing. “You could always sell.”
Cy shook his head. “Nope. Promised Ma and Pa that we wouldn’t. Our family’s lived on that property for a long time. Gotta find some way to make a profit.”
Benny sat a beer in front of him. “Why don’t you take Rob up on his offer? You could bring in money that way and use it to keep the ranch afloat.”
Cy pinched the bridge of his nose. “No. I gave up that life. It’s behind me now and that’s the way I want to keep it.”
As he wiped down the bar, Benny let out a snort. “Yeah, sure it is. Rob is gonna get you one way or another and you know it’s what you were born to do, Cy.”
Cy gave the big man a hard look. “Not anymore. I just want to work the ranch and have a quiet life. Is that too much to ask?”
Benny grinned, twin dimples flashing. “Cy, you need to face the fact that your life will never be quiet. You attract trouble no matter where you go. You always have.”
Since he was unable to refute that, Cy just took a swig of beer. “I need a ranch foreman, but I can’t afford one. It’s not like I can go around asking for ranching advice, either.”
Benny’s big arm muscles rolled and bunched as he dried glasses. The man always seemed to be in motion. “Yeah. I hear ya. Sorry about that. Of course, the Thunder Twins don’t help matters.”
Cy grunted. “I know.”
His cousins refused to keep their heads down or to back down from a fight. They didn’t start them, but they didn’t run away from them, either. Cy, Daniel and his twin, Sly, had all participated in their fair share of fights growing up.
Cy had dealt with racism after he’d left home, too, but many times, he’d been able to pass for Italian or Spanish. He’d neither hidden nor admitted his Comanche heritage when on the job. He’d become whatever was required at the time.
But Daniel and Sly were antagonized on a regular basis, and, since both of them had smart mouths on them, they didn’t endear themselves to many people. They also didn’t much care what people thought about them, which only added to their bad reputations. People called them the Thunder Twins because they shook things up in spectacular fashion wherever they went.
As a result, Cy wasn’t liked much better than they were, so asking any of the ranchers for help wouldn’t get him anywhere. Even if one of them had been inclined to show kindness, they wouldn’t for fear that it would get around and they would be ostracized, too. No, Cy and Daphne were on their own.
A devil sat on Benny’s shoulder as he eyed Cy’s tense posture. “You need a woman.”
His statement startled Cy out of his thoughts. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Benny leaned towards him and lowered his voice. “I mean that maybe a good roll in the hay will set your mind right.”
Cy laughed.
Benny grinned. “What did you think I meant? That you get married?”
“You’re lucky you didn’t suggest it,” Cy said. “I don’t want to get married. Besides, no one around here would marry me once they know I’m part Comanche. No, I need a ranch foreman, not a wife.”
“You said that you can’t afford one.”
“That’s right,” Cy said.
Benny felt that devil sit right back down on one of his big shoulders. “So marry a ranch foreman.”
Cy’s eyes widened. “What are you talkin’ about? I’m no Nancy.”
Laughter bubbled up in Benny’s broad chest and erupted over the shocked look on Cy’s face. “I didn’t mean you were.” It took a few moments for his laughter to abate. “I’m saying that you should find some woman who knows about taking care of stock and stuff like that and marry her. Just a business arrangement with some other benefits.”
Cy laughed at Benny’s sly wink. “Even if one of those did exist around here, like I said, she ain’t gonna marry me.”
“Then get Connie Burns to put an ad in the Groom’s Gazette. It sells all over the country, from what I understand,” Benny said. “You just go tell Connie what you’re after and she’ll reach out. I’m sure you can find a woman somewhere who would be able to run the ranch for you. Then you’d have a foreman—forewoman—and you wouldn’t have to pay her.”
It was an outrageous idea, but Cy was a calculated risk taker. Could something like that work? Was there a woman out there who could be the answer to his problems? Benny was right; if he married a woman with the kind of knowledge needed to turn the ranch around, he’d be willing to sacrifice some freedom in order to make that happen.
Besides, he’d make sure she understood upfront that it was purely business. Well, not purely. He’d like kids someday, so they’d have to be intimate, and if she was pretty enough, that wouldn’t be a problem. As he drank his beer, Cy thought that just maybe Benny had hit on the solution to his troubles.
Chapter 3
Bernard Tandy walked into his boss, Elizabeth Miller’s, office and smiled a little at the preoccupied expression on her lovely face. He thought she was the most beautiful woman God had ever created.
“What troubles you, Elizabeth?”
She smiled up at him. “You know me so well.”
Sitting down in a chair on the other side of her desk, he said, “I guess I should by now, don’t you think?”
Her eyes narrowed a little in response to his sarcasm, but then her smile returned. “I received a rather odd letter from Connie Burns in Chance City, Oklahoma.”
Bernard asked, “Isn’t she one of the newer Matchmakers?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What’s so strange about the letter?” Bernard asked, brushing a speck of something from his suit pants.
His fastidiousness amused Elizabeth, but she refrained from mentioning it. “Well, the gentleman in question used to work for Pinkerton—”
Bernard’s head snapped up. “Pinkerton? What’s his name?”
Elizabeth felt a little shiver run down her spine at the way his posture changed from fairly relaxed to alert and tense in a matter of seconds. It was yet another reminder that although there hadn’t been any incidents lately, danger could lurk around any corner.
Shaking off her apprehension, Elizabeth said, “Cyrus Decker. He’s twenty-seven and he’s looking for a woman who knows how to run a ranch to marry him.”
One of Bernard’s blond brows lifted. “A man is looking for a woman to run his ranch?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I told you it was odd. I’ve never had a letter like that come through before.”
“A former Pinkerton man who wants a woman to run his ranch. What’s wrong with him?” Bernard asked. “Something sounds off about him.”
“Well, I’m not sure whether you could consider this wrong per se, but he’s part Comanche,” Elizabeth replied. “It’s one of the reasons he’s been having trouble finding a wife. He admits that he doesn’t know enough about ranching to make it a success since he left home when he was eighteen. He has a sister, but she handles the domestic side of things, so she has no practical knowledge of running the cattle operation.”
Bernard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose that makes sense. I’m still going to thoroughly investigate him to make sure that he’s suitable for one of our ladies to marry.”
Elizabeth gave him a knowing grin. “You’re going to Chance City, aren’t you?”
Bernard chuckled. “You know me well. Yes. I think it’s prudent under the circumstances.”
Her smile widened. “You just want to meet another Pinkerton man.”
Feigning offense, Bernard said, “My duty always comes first, Elizabeth.” He couldn’t resist smiling then. “But I am curious about him and it would be nice to talk to someone who used to be in the business.”
Although she always missed Bernard whenever he went away, she admired his dedication to her enterprise. She loved how concerned he was about the safety of others. “When will you leave
?” she asked.
“In two days. I’ll do some long distance investigating, contact the Chance City sheriff about this Cyrus Decker and that sort of thing,” Bernard replied. “I’ll get started right away.”
He gave her a nod before leaving the room. Elizabeth looked after him wistfully before going back to sorting through more correspondence.
* * *
A couple of weeks later, Cy hammered nails into the board he held against the support beam with quick, efficient movements. Johnny worked a short distance from him, nails sticking out of his mouth. He reminded Cy of some sort of rabid dog and supposed that he must look the same way.
Hearing horse hooves on the lane, he backed up until he could see the drive. He let out a quiet groan as Rob rode over to him and Johnny.
“Cy, Johnny,” the sheriff greeted them.
Johnny grinned at him. “You here for Cy?”
“That’s right. Can I talk to you privately?” Rob asked.
“I’m busy right now,” Cy said, indicating the damaged barn.
Rob gave a curt nod. “I see that, but it won’t take long.” His eyes moved to Johnny and then back to Cy.
“Johnny, why don’t you go get us something to drink? I’ll take care of this, and we’ll get back at it,” Cy said.
“Sure. Good to see you, Sheriff,” Johnny said.
“You, too, son,” Rob said. Once the younger man was out of earshot, Rob asked, “Do you know why someone would be investigating you?”
Cy’s brows drew together. “No. No one should be interested in me. Who’s asking questions about me?”
“Fella by the name of Bernard Tandy from Beckham. You know him?”
“No. What’s he want to know?”
Rob said, “Just whether you’ve ever beaten a woman or if you have a criminal record. That sort of thing.”
Cy’s left eyebrow lifted. “Beaten a woman? That’s specific. I have no idea why someone would be asking that sort of—”
He broke off as something came to him. “I’ll bet it’s the guy from the mail order bride service who Connie says checks out all of the potential grooms. I think it’s a great idea. A woman can never be too careful, especially when she’s coming to a completely new place.”