His Small-Town Girl

by Lacy Williams

  "That dog know anything about cattle?"

  Molly shrugged. "I guess I'm going to find out."

  The other woman nodded toward the cow meandering even further up the road. "I'll fetch your runaway."

  "Thanks."

  Molly left Iris to pull a three-point turn and focused on rounding up the two heifers. They were laid back, if a little skittish.

  The two cows were mildly cooperative, and it didn't take long to drive them back through the gate.

  There was no sign of Cord or more of his cattle. And with the fence knocked down, chances were good that the animals would just escape again.

  She wasn't much use rounding up the cattle without a vehicle, but she did know how to mend fence. She headed for the barn, hoping he had the right tools.

  4

  Iris Tatum was pushing Cord’s cattle. She'd parked her truck across the road to block them from heading north and was out of the truck, out in the pelting ice, waving her hat and shouting them through the gate and onto his property as he drove them slowly in her direction.

  It'd been ten years since he'd last seen her a couple weeks after graduation.

  Even now, with him in his truck and her standing out in the ice, her presence hit him like a physical blow.

  Maybe she'd leave.

  Of course she didn't.

  After he'd followed the cattle in, he watched in his rearview as she loaded up in her truck and followed him up the drive.

  Just great.

  Maybe he could get rid of her while he fixed the fence. The weather was spitting nasty, and she wouldn't want to stand out there and watch while he fixed it.

  Except when he'd secured the gate behind the cattle and got back in his truck, he found Molly wrenching the wire with a stretcher. All three lines of rusted barbed wire had been strung tight.

  She was wearing the same denim jacket from yesterday and was bareheaded. Was she trying to catch hypothermia?

  He jumped out of the truck and stalked up to her.

  "What're you doing?"

  She gave him a wide grin, a flash of white teeth against her skin. "I told you I'm good at fixing things."

  He wanted to shake her. He shouldered in beside her, and she surrendered the tool—not that there was much left to do. A couple of clicks, and he was done. He didn't want to snap the rusty old lines.

  "Get in the truck," he said. "You're shivering."

  She didn't lose her grin. "Didn't have time to fetch my hat. I've got ice all down the collar of my coat."

  To his consternation, she didn't go immediately to his truck, even though he'd left it running. She sauntered over to Iris's truck where she'd pulled up behind him.

  Iris rolled down the driver's side window.

  And their voices carried, bringing him their conversation even without him turning his head.

  "Thanks for your help," Molly said.

  "Nice job," Iris returned.

  "Come up to the house and have a cup of coffee," Molly said. "Cord would love a chance to thank you in person."

  He grunted, pinching his thumb in the wire as he disengaged the tool from the fencing. He had a clear view of Iris looking at him over the top of Molly's head.

  They both knew exactly how he felt about catching up.

  One corner of his former friend's mouth kicked up. "Sure," she said.

  Molly was beaming as she trudged to his truck. He met her there. "What do you think you're doing?" he muttered as he pulled open the door.

  "Being neighborly." She didn't round the truck, just got in on his side and slid through to the passenger seat. She took off her leather gloves, holding her hands in front of the heating vent. "She saved you at least an hour of tracking down and herding your cattle back down the road."

  Molly was right, but his gut was still churning.

  * * *

  Molly thought the rancher would've been happier that they'd gotten the cattle back with little fuss. And that the fence was patched.

  But he had a burr under his saddle as he stomped into the ranch house, all the way through the kitchen, and up the stairs. She heard his cell phone ring, and then his voice rumbled in conversation, though she couldn't make anything out with the ceiling between them.

  Well.

  She couldn't force the man to be sociable. The coffee in the pot was cold, so she dumped it and put a new pot on to brew, then pushed open the back door for Iris.

  The other woman brushed past her, and Molly gave a quick whistle to the dog, who'd been left on the porch.

  She left the mudroom door open, the dog's padded blanket right in the doorway, and gave the animal some serious eye contact to know she meant business. The dog lay on the cushion with its head on its paws.

  When she turned back to the kitchen, Iris was watching her with raised brows.

  "It's cold out." Sure, it wasn't her house or her dog, but Cord wasn't a monster. He'd see that the dog should be inside.

  "Mackie never let the dog in," Iris said. "Even when Cord and West were boys." The woman's gaze flicked around the room, lingered on the tree just visible in the living room. "This place hasn't changed at all."

  Molly had found it strange that there were no pictures in the living areas. Not high school graduation or school pictures or even a family portrait. Nothing.

  When she'd rushed out after Cord, she'd left her plate of eggs and bacon on the back of the stove. Not warm, but not gross.

  "I didn't finish breakfast before the cattle got out," Molly said. "I can reheat this. Happy to share."

  "I can always eat," Iris said.

  Iris was maybe a little too thin. The fine lines around her eyes could've been from exhaustion or being in the sun too much. But her eyes were kind.

  Molly reassembled the eggs and bacon on tortillas and stuck them in the microwave.

  "So are you... Cord's girlfriend?"

  There was no veil to Iris's curiosity in the question.

  Molly glanced at the other woman, and when she saw the smile twitching at the corners of her mouth, Molly let her own smile spread. "No. How'd you know? Too young?"

  Iris's smile grew. "Too chipper."

  Footsteps hit the stairs, and Molly released a sigh she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He was coming back.

  Through the door, she saw he'd changed his shirt, now wore a knit sweater with his jeans and sock feet.

  For a moment, she flashed back to the seconds when he'd rushed downstairs with his chest bare.

  That she'd had such a visceral reaction at all shocked her. She'd flushed hot and cold and was having a minor reaction now, seeing his shoulders beneath that shirt and remembering this morning.

  After everything she'd been through, she'd thought she was too shaken to react so viscerally to a man. Maybe her body was a traitor, reminding her of what she shouldn't want.

  He caught her looking, and she quickly turned to the microwave just as it began to beep.

  Iris hadn't noticed him. "So if you aren't dating Cord, are you...?"

  Molly reached to take the plates from the microwave. Her face burned a little. "I answered a 'help wanted' flyer, which apparently Cord didn't post."

  Cord entered the room, and, for a moment that stretched long, he and Iris stared at each other.

  Iris's smile had disappeared. "Asking for help isn't Cord's style."

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. "You posted that flyer?"

  Iris shrugged. "I knew you wouldn't. And this place is a mess." She didn't even wear a guilty expression.

  Molly set the plate of breakfast burritos in the middle of the table. Neither Cord nor Iris made a move toward the chairs.

  "You're welcome for this morning," Iris said.

  Cord ran one hand through his hair.

  Molly just stared.

  He laughed, and it sounded both sheepish and a little desperate. "Iris. It's been a long time."

  But Cord's tone clearly said it hasn't been long enough.

  "About ten years." Iris wasn't fro
wning, not exactly, but some fine tension had entered her expression. Disappointment?

  Molly poured the coffee into three mugs. She handed one to Cord and gave another to Iris before returning to the counter to pick up her own.

  Iris sipped. "This is good. Cinnamon?"

  Molly nodded. "Cord's not a fan."

  "I'm not surprised," Iris murmured into her mug.

  Molly shot him a look, but his brows were drawn, expression fierce as he stared into his mug. Not the time for teasing. Got it.

  "How's your sister?" he asked.

  Iris’s entire expression went blank, as if she'd flipped a switch. Her mug hit the table with a clunk. "She's fine." But there was an undercurrent to the words. "How's your brother?"

  Cord gave her the same shuttered expression. "West is fine, too. He's stationed overseas."

  Iris and Cord stared at each other for another silent minute, saying too much without saying anything at all.

  Cord's eyes were shadowed as he watched Iris stand and take her coat from the back of the chair. "I've got to get home. Plenty to do, and the storm isn't going to clear up. At least that's what they're saying."

  She donned her coat and picked up the hat she'd put on the chair next to her. "Molly. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the coffee." She waved her hat in Cord's direction.

  "Wait," he said when she was about to step over the dog and go out the back door.

  The little hairs at the back of Molly's neck went on alert at the rough tone of his voice.

  "How is he?"

  Iris looked back over her shoulder. "About how you'd expect."

  She left. After a few moments, Molly heard the rumble of her truck starting and then heading slowly up the drive.

  The breakfast burritos had gone cold again.

  And Molly had lost her appetite.

  She started cleaning.

  Cord seemed frozen, staring into the space where Iris had disappeared.

  "Who were you talking about?" she asked as she turned the tap water on hot to fill the sink again. "A friend?"

  "Not anymore." Cord left his half-full coffee mug on the counter and disappeared into the living room. "Ten minutes and we're heading to town."

  5

  "So, you left town after high school?"

  Cord swallowed a groan. Apparently, Molly couldn't handle silence, because they'd barely made it out of the driveway before she asked the question.

  She was still wrapped in that stupid jean jacket, but at least she'd pulled a toboggan hat down over her ears. Her feet were extended all the way under the dash, soaking up what the heater was blowing out.

  He grunted.

  He didn't owe her anything, not even an answer. He was still reeling after taking a call from the bank manager in town, who'd informed him that Mackie had been almost six months delinquent on the ranch's mortgage.

  He felt so stupid. He'd spent three days cataloging everything that needed to be fixed on the ranch. He hadn't even looked at the pile of junk mail that had taken up the kitchen table.

  What other unpleasant surprises was he going to find when he started going through the mail?

  He'd thought spending a couple of weeks doing repairs on the ranch was going to reward him with a profit, one he could sink into his business.

  He knew West had a nice nest egg in his bank account. He was stationed overseas and didn't have an apartment stateside. Whereas Cord had scrounged for years to start his own business.

  He could ask his brother for a loan.

  Except for the pride burning bright and hot in his chest. No way. He wasn’t calling West. He would take care of the No Name himself.

  If he wasn't able to make a profit on Mackie's place, was he wasting his time?

  He didn't know, and right now, he needed to get rid of his unexpected houseguest.

  Who was staring out the window pensively. "All I wanted was to go away to college, but now I can't remember why. Look at how pretty it is, everything covered in ice."

  Since he was rolling to a stop at an empty intersection, he let his gaze wander out her window to the ice-covered vista. The barbed-wire fence was forming little icicles. Scrub oaks in the distance were rattling icy branches, and a green cedar's branches were drooping from the weight.

  It would've been beautiful if they weren't out in it.

  He went back to her last statement. He'd pegged her at eighteen. "How old are you, anyway?"

  A pause. "Twenty-one."

  Not as young as he'd thought. He still had seven years on her, but the difference wasn't insurmountable.

  And those kind of thoughts weren't helpful.

  "Where'd you grow up?" he asked.

  The pause this time was even longer. "On a ranch like the No Name. Bigger."

  "Nearby?"

  She only shook her head, now with pinched lips. She kept her face averted, looking out the passenger window. And then, as if she'd steeled herself, she turned to him. "What'd you do after high school? College? Let me guess, you were a football player? We're in Texas, after all."

  The hit was sharp and deep. It made his voice sharp when he answered. "I didn't go to college."

  He'd lost his scholarship because of the accident. When Mackie had insisted he get out of her house, he'd had no money for an apartment, much less tuition.

  "I started working construction for a company that did home renos. I have my own company now."

  Saying the words filled him with a pride that never got old. He'd made something of himself even after Mackie had doubted him. After the mess he'd made of his life.

  "Are you going to keep doing that?"

  Her question didn't make sense. He shot her a look that said so.

  "Do renovations part time while you run the ranch?"

  He snorted. "I won't be running the ranch."

  His words fell into the sudden silence. He glanced at her. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

  "You're selling?"

  "I live in Houston. My business is there." All that was left for him on the No Name were memories that haunted him.

  * * *

  He was selling the ranch?

  Cord's words raced in circles around the inside of Molly's brain as he slowly crawled down Main Street. Sutter's Hollow was just as small as the town she'd grown up in. One stoplight. A tiny grocery store across from the single bank. Elementary school and library.

  Cord pulled his truck into an empty space in front of the hardware-slash-auto parts store.

  Why did it matter? It wasn't as if she were staying on the No Name anyway. He hadn't asked her to stay. He'd told her from the beginning that he didn't have a job for her. But she’d refused to believe. Maybe there was a part of her that'd seen the help wanted ad and dreamed about a safe place to land.

  Ridiculous. She'd only spent one night there.

  So what if he had a sweetheart of a dog? The man was a porcupine in a human body.

  She shrugged her backpack over her shoulder and got out of the car. A glance both directions down the street showed that she and Cord were the only crazy ones out in this weather. Nothing to worry about.

  And he'd done what he'd promised. Dropped her off at the parts store. He didn't even get out.

  She nodded her thanks through the windshield.

  He was still frowning. Probably his normal expression. The man was miserable. She felt sorry for him.

  She was passing in front of his truck, moving slowly on the icy sidewalk, when she heard his phone ring from inside the cab. She glanced around again before she ducked into the parts store.

  Her nerves were jangling, which was silly. She hadn't seen a trace of Toby since the night she'd run.

  "Help you?" the good 'ol boy-turned-man behind the counter reminded her of a friendly face from home. He was roughly her dad's age, with thinning hair and wearing a pair of coveralls that had seen better days. His warm greeting gave her the courage to sidle up to the counter. His name tag read RICK.

  "I need an alternator for my
truck."

  A couple of hours under the hood, and she could replace the alternator. Too bad she couldn't replace what Toby had taken from her that easily.

  Rick punched in her truck's information on his computer and then disappeared into the floor-to-ceiling rows of shelves at the back of the shop. She was left to look at a flyer taped to the countertop. An advertisement for an upcoming town-wide swap meet or some sort of festival. The marketing was horrible, so she couldn't quite tell.

  It was something she would've seen back at home. Nostalgia closed off her throat.

  Where was she going to go? Sutter's Hollow was the first place she'd felt safe.

  So, another small town, then? Somewhere she could see for miles, hear the rattle of an unfamiliar vehicle. Somewhere everyone knew everyone else's name.

  The bell over the door jangled, and she jumped, whirling that direction.

  It was Cord. He had his phone to his ear, and his voice was fierce as he spoke into the receiver. "I never signed any papers. I don't remember that."

  Rick cleared his throat, and she jumped again. She'd been staring at Cord and hadn't realized he'd returned behind the counter.

  "Sorry," she said.

  "I'll have to order your alternator. Should arrive in about two days. Maybe three, if this storm holds."

  She glanced out the window at the pure ice still falling from the sky. Snot nuggets. What was she going to do?

  She passed her credit card across the desk for him to swipe. A couple hundred bucks would put her close to her credit limit, but it couldn't be helped.

  She signed the credit slip and was turning away from the counter when she had a thought.

  She turned back. "Do you know anybody who buys antique tractors?" She opened the photos app on her burner phone and showed him the few pictures of Cord's tractors. She'd snuck outside in that last ten minutes on the ranch and snapped them.

  "Callie Rae in Honey Bend—that's the next town to the west—buys and sells tractors like those. She makes a pretty penny when they're fixed up real nice."

  Molly glanced over her shoulder to find Cord was still on the phone, sounding furious now. She turned back to Rick and smiled. "Would you do me a favor? When he"—she threw her thumb to indicate Cord—"comes up here, will you tell him about Callie Rae? He's selling his ranch, and I'm sure he could use the money."