Best of Cowboys Bundle

by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Barbara White Daille, Judy Christenberry, Christine Wenger, Shirley Rogers, Crystal Green, Nina Bruhns, Candance Schuler, Carole Mortimer

  Looking over Nick’s shoulder, Dana saw a girl sitting on a sofa. It was easy to see that they had recently made love.

  Nick braced a shoulder against the doorjamb. “Yeah, what do you want?”

  “I’m looking for Ashley.”

  “She ain’t here.”

  “I can see that,” Chay said brusquely. “Do you know where she is?”

  “She called a few hours ago. Sounded like she was cryin’. She asked me to drive her to the airport. Said she was gonna go see her old lady.”

  “And you took her?”

  “Hey, she wanted to go. What was I supposed to do?”

  “Do you know what time her flight was leaving?”

  Nick shrugged. “I don’t know. Six, six-thirty.”

  “And you left her at the airport, alone?”

  Nick took a step backward, obviously threatened by the menacing tone in Chay’s voice.

  “She said she was gonna get a room at the hotel across the street.”

  Chay clenched his hands into fists. For a moment Dana thought he was going to give Nick a much-needed punch in the nose. Instead, he turned away from the door. Dana followed him down the stairs.

  “Looks like you called it,” Chay said when they were back inside the truck.

  “Lucky guess. Now what?”

  “I’m going after her.” He started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “Do you want to go along?”

  “Sure.”

  “If we don’t get there in time to stop her, I’ll be going on to Salt Lake.”

  Dana smiled. “Sounds like this might turn into quite an adventure.”

  “Yeah,” he said dryly. “An adventure.”

  They drove in silence for a time. Dana looked out the window, her mind on Ashley. It amazed her that the girl had the nerve to run away in the middle of the night and ask Nick to take her to the airport.

  She slid a glance at Chay. He was watching the road, both hands clenched on the wheel. She wondered again at his devotion to Ashley Wardman, especially in view of his obvious dislike for Ashley’s father. While she found it odd, she also found it strangely appealing that Chay was so concerned for Ashley’s welfare. It boded well for the kind of father he would be when he had children of his own…beautiful children, no doubt, with dusky skin and black hair.

  She couldn’t help but envy the woman who would give him those children…. She shook the thought aside, annoyed by the surge of jealousy that rushed through her at the thought of Chay holding another woman, kissing her, making love to her. Again, she wondered how she had come to care so much in such a short time, and what she would do when it was time to go back home.

  “I would never have had the nerve to run away like this when I was Ashley’s age,” Dana remarked.

  “She’s not afraid of much,” Chay replied. “She goes to see her mother a couple times a year, so she’s used to flying and she knows how to make reservations.”

  “Where did she get the money?”

  Chay grunted softly. “She’s got more money in the bank than a lot of men I know, including me. The old man’s always giving her cash. He gives her money when she gets good grades and money when he misses a school event, which is most of them. He gives her money for her birthday and Christmas and whenever his conscience starts to bother him. The sad thing is, she’d rather have his attention than the money.”

  Dana nodded. All girls wanted and needed their father’s attention and approval.

  Bright lights signaled they were approaching the airport. Chay parked the truck. Minutes later, they were checking departure flights to Salt Lake City. There was a flight at 6:05. The next flight was at one o’clock in the afternoon.

  Dana checked her watch. It was a quarter after five.

  “Let’s go,” Chay said. “If we hurry, we should be able to catch her.”

  As luck would have it, the passengers hadn’t boarded yet.

  Chay spotted Ashley immediately and struck out in her direction.

  The girl didn’t look at all happy, Dana thought as she hurried after Chay. Ashley was sitting in a corner by herself, her arms crossed over her chest, looking as lost and alone as only a teenage girl can.

  Ashley looked up, obviously startled to see Chay standing in front of her.

  In the next instant, the little-girl-lost evaporated, to be replaced by a look of bored indifference. “What are you doing here?”

  “Taking you back home where you belong.”

  Ashley shook her head. “I’m going to see my mom.”

  “If you wanted to worry the old man, you’ve done it. He had some kind of attack when he found out you were missing.”

  Ashley made a sound of mingled disgust and disbelief.

  “It’s true,” Chay insisted. “The doc was at the ranch when I left or I’d have been here sooner.”

  Dana looked at Chay in surprise. Why hadn’t he told her that? What other secrets was he keeping from her? Of course, it wasn’t really a secret, but why hadn’t he told her? Why was he so reluctant to share things with her?

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Dana asked.

  He shrugged. “I was worried about finding Ashley. Nothing else seemed important.”

  “Is he going to be all right?” Ashley asked anxiously.

  “Sure. He’s too mean to die.” Chay held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Ashley hesitated a moment, then put her hand in Chay’s and let him pull her to her feet.

  “Do you have any luggage?”

  “Just my carry-on.”

  He picked up her bag and they headed for the exit, the silence between them thick enough to cut with a knife.

  When they reached the truck, Chay tossed Ashley’s bag into the back, then unlocked the doors. Dana got in first and Ashley climbed in after her. Chay shut the door behind them; a little harder than Dana thought was necessary.

  Sliding behind the wheel, he put the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

  Dana sat between the two of them. The tension in the cab was so thick, it fairly crackled. Ashley stared out the window, her whole body rigid, anger radiating off her like heat from a forest fire. Chay had a stranglehold on the wheel.

  “Why’d you run away?” he asked at length.

  Ashley didn’t answer, only continued to stare out the window. Just when Dana was sure she wasn’t going to reply, Ashley said, “I wanted to be with someone who has time for me. Someone who’ll listen to me. Someone who loves me.”

  “I love you,” Chay said quietly.

  Ashley turned away from the window and looked at him. “Do you, Chay?” she asked, and Dana heard the hopeful note in the girl’s voice.

  “Of course I do,” Chay said. “Like a brother.”

  “You’ve always been there for me, just like a big brother, and I love you for it, but…I wanted to be with my mom, with family that loves me.”

  “The old man’s your family and he loves you,” Chay said.

  “No, he doesn’t!” Ashley retorted, her eyes flashing. “He’s not worried about me. All he cares about is what people think. He wants everyone to believe he’s the perfect father. Well, he’s not! He’s mean and—”

  “Don’t say something you’ll regret later,” Chay warned.

  The fire went out of Ashley. Shoulders hunched, she stared out the window again.

  After a time, the silence got to Dana and she turned on the radio, flipping through the stations until she found one playing country music.

  They were nearing town when Chay said, “Do you mind if I drop Ashley off before I take you home? It might do the old man some good to know she’s all right.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  A short time later, Chay pulled up in front of the Wardman ranch house. Ashley got out of the truck and ran up the stairs and into the house.

  Chay let out a sigh. “I’m tired and I’m hungry,” he said. “Do you want to come in and have some breakfast before I take you home?”

&nbs
p; He looked tired, she thought. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he looked just plain beat. She was pretty sure most of it came from worrying about Ashley. “Sounds good.”

  She followed him up the porch steps and into the house, which was eerily silent.

  Chay removed his hat and hung it on the rack inside the front door. He glanced up at the second floor, wondering how Big John was doing. Wondering why he cared.

  “Come on,” he said, and she followed him down a long narrow hallway into a spacious kitchen.

  There was a woman standing at the stove. She was short and plump with a knot of gray hair. She turned when they entered the room. A broad smile lit her face when she saw Chay.

  “’Mornin’, Mr. Chay. Can I fix you and your friend some breakfast?”

  “Sounds good, Anna Mae,” he said. “Dana, this is Anna Mae Waters, the best cook this side of the Mississippi. Anna Mae, this is Dana Westlake.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Anna Mae,” Dana said.

  “Why, it’s right nice to meet you, too, Miss Westlake. What can I fix for you?”

  Dana lifted her hand and let it fall. “Oh, I don’t know. Anything is fine with me, really.”

  “I’ll have pancakes and bacon,” Chay said. “And a cup of black coffee.”

  “I’ll bet you want that coffee now,” Anna Mae said.

  “You’re an angel.”

  She beamed at him. “Coming right up. Pancakes and bacon all right with you, Miss Westlake?”

  “Sure.”

  “All right, skedaddle,” Anna Mae said, making a shooing motion with her hands. “You know I don’t like anybody in my kitchen when I’m cooking.”

  With a grin, Chay held the door open for Dana, then followed her into the dining room.

  He gestured at a chair covered in a deep wine-colored velvet. “Make yourself at home.”

  They had no sooner sat down than Anna Mae came in carrying a coffeepot and two large mugs. She poured them each a cup, then looked at Dana. “Do you take cream and sugar?”

  “No, black is fine.”

  With a nod, Anna Mae returned to the kitchen.

  Dana picked up her mug and took a sip. It was, she thought, the best coffee she had ever tasted.

  She studied Chay over the rim of her cup. She noticed again how tired he looked, but what she saw was more than just weariness. Worry took a heavy toll on a man, she thought as she glanced around the room. Like the rest of the house, it was lavishly appointed. The table at which she sat probably cost more than her whole house and everything in it. Twelve chairs ringed the table. There was a matching breakfront filled with crystal and silver. A painting of a buffalo stampede hung on one wall.

  She wondered if all of Big John’s hired hands were welcome in the house and if Anna Mae cooked breakfast for them, too. Sometimes it seemed like Chay was almost part of the family.

  She stared at Chay. She had been wondering for days who Chay reminded her of and now she knew. It was Big John. There was nothing as obvious as the two of them having the same color hair or build, but they had the same eyes, the same strong stubborn chin, the same way of walking, as though they owned the world and everything in it.

  The thought had no sooner crossed her mind than she remembered thinking that Ashley bore a strong resemblance to Chay….

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Chay asked, frowning.

  She shook her head. “No reason.”

  Before he could question her further, Anna Mae entered the room carrying a large covered tray. In moments, a feast was spread before them: golden-brown pancakes dripping butter, strips of lean perfectly cooked bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, bran muffins warm from the oven and a pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice.

  Dana shook her head. “Is this just for the two of us?” she asked Chay when Anna Mae left the room, “or are you expecting company like, say, the whole town?”

  Chay forked three pancakes onto his plate. “Anna Mae believes breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

  “It looks to me like she thinks it’s the only meal of the day.”

  Chay grinned at her, then filled his plate with bacon and eggs. “Best dig in before it’s gone.”

  Dana helped herself to a couple of pancakes, a strip of bacon and a spoonful of eggs.

  “Is that all you’re gonna eat?” Chay asked. “You’ll hurt Anna Mae’s feelings.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to do that.” Dana picked up a bran muffin and cut it in half. She slathered it with butter and took a bite. It was so light, it practically melted in her mouth. The rest of the food was just as good, everything cooked and seasoned to perfection.

  “No wonder you don’t want to leave here,” Dana remarked.

  She glanced upward, her attention drawn by the sound of Ashley’s voice.

  “…see him anytime I want and if you don’t like it, well, I just don’t care!” The girl’s voice rose with every word. A door slammed and then Dana heard the sound of feet running down the stairs.

  A moment later, Ashley burst into the room, her eyes red and swollen. She looked at Dana, then threw herself in Chay’s arms. “He’s so mean! Why won’t he let me go to Mom’s? He won’t even know I’m gone!”

  Chay stroked Ashley’s back. “You’re his daughter,” he said quietly. “He may not know how to show you that he loves you, but he does.”

  “Oh, stop defending him. You don’t like him and everybody knows it!”

  “No, I don’t, but that doesn’t matter. He’s your father, and you should respect him.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. He’s not your father.”

  A muscle worked in Chay’s jaw.

  “I wish you were my father!” Ashley said. “At least you listen to me. You don’t treat me like I’m six years old. Well, you do sometimes, but you never—”

  “Your father!” Chay exclaimed, cutting her off. “Hell, it’s hard enough being your brother….”

  Chay closed his mouth with a snap, and silence fell over the room.

  Ashley jumped to her feet. “What did you say?”

  Chay looked up at her, his hands clenched in his lap. “Nothing.”

  “Brother.” Ashley drew the word out, as if she had never heard it before. “You’re my brother?”

  Chay blew out a heavy sigh that seemed to come from the soles of his feet. “Yeah.”

  “I don’t believe you. Why didn’t you tell me before? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

  “Big John made me swear not to tell anyone.”

  “But why?” Ashley asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

  “Why? Because he didn’t want anyone to know he had a half-breed bastard for a son, that’s why.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “It’s true whether you believe it or not.”

  “All this time, and you never told me.” She shook her head. “How could you keep a secret like that? How could he?” She stared at Chay. “I’ve got a brother. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

  Chay pushed his chair away from the table. Rising, he drew Ashley into his arms. “I wanted to tell you,” he said quietly. “You don’t know how many times I started to tell you.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “I wish you had. It sure explains a lot,” she said wryly.

  Chay grinned. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

  “Do we have any other brothers or sisters that I don’t know about?”

  “I hope not.”

  Ashley looked up at Chay. “Can’t you talk to him for me, please? I want to go stay with my mom. I need to be with her for a while, you know? Sometimes a girl needs her mother.”

  “I know, but I don’t think the old man will listen to anything I’ve got to say. He never has. And this really isn’t a good time to upset him.”

  Ashley sighed dramatically. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But you’ll talk to him, won’t you? As soon as he’s better?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks, big brothe
r.” She kissed him on the cheek, then left the room.

  Chay watched her out of sight, then sat down at the table again. He frowned when he saw the expression on Dana’s face.

  “Are you hiding any other secrets?” she asked, her tone icy. “You don’t have a wife and six kids somewhere, do you?”

  A muscle worked in Chay’s jaw. “Of course not. You heard what I told Ashley. I promised Big John I wouldn’t tell anyone. Anyone,” he repeated. “That includes you.” He took a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you, just like I wanted to tell Ashley, but a promise is a promise.”

  “Yes,” Dana said slowly. “I suppose so.”

  “But you think I should have told you anyway?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She pushed away from the table and stood up. “It’s been a long night. I’d like to go home.”

  With a nod, Chay rose from the table.

  She couldn’t think of anything to say on the ride home. Apparently, neither could Chay. Dana stared out the window, annoyed with herself for being angry with him. He was right, a promise was a promise and yet, right or wrong, she felt as though he had lied to her. Maybe it didn’t matter that Big John was his father and Ashley was his sister. Maybe she was making a mountain out of a molehill, but it hadn’t been that long ago that another man had lied to her. She didn’t believe for a minute that Rick had fallen head over heels in love with the blond bombshell in a matter of days. Looking back, Dana was certain he had been dating his secretary while he was engaged to her. Now that she thought of it, there had been too many times when he had canceled a date at the last minute, or made some flimsy excuse to take her home early. Once she had caught the scent of perfume on him that wasn’t hers. When questioned, Rick had said a saleslady spritzed him with perfume by mistake. How could she have been so blind!

  Lost in thought, she didn’t realize they had reached her house until Chay pulled up in front of the porch.

  “Thanks for bringing me home.” She reached for the door handle, hoping he would say something, anything, to stop her.

  But he just looked at her, his dark eyes giving nothing away.

  Fighting back her tears, she got out of the truck and closed the door.

  He didn’t say anything, just looked at her for a long moment, then put the truck in gear and drove away.