A Cowboy's Touch (4 page)

He didn’t find her chuckle amusing.

“Thing is, my boyfriend, he’s like from Billings, and he asked me to move in with him. I mean he only asked me Friday night, and I should’ve called you right away, but I spent all day yesterday moving and—” She muffled the phone and spoke to someone else. “Sorry about that. And sorry I didn’t call yesterday. This probably leaves you in a lurch with Marley.”

“Maddy,” he said absently.

“I’m really sorry about quitting last minute, but he—my boyfriend— lined up a job for me at a day care in Billings, and well . . .”

Wade wanted to tell her she was inconsiderate, rude, and irresponsible. Instead he sent up a silent petition for patience, then cleared his throat. “I understand. Don’t suppose you know of another teacher needing a summer job?”

“Sorry . . .”

He could hear the cringe in her tone. Well, so what, he was cringing too. Cringing because he had two days to find someone to keep tabs on his daughter.

He wished Charlotte good luck and hung up the phone. Two days. He glanced out the window and watched Maddy set her boot in the stirrup and swing her leg over her horse’s back.

Maybe she could manage without a nanny. He tried to think back to eleven. He’d made plenty of extra trouble for his parents, he was ashamed to admit.

No, eleven wasn’t old enough. In another summer or two, maybe, but not yet. And he knew better than to ask Greta. He planted his elbows on the desk and scraped his fingers through his hair. Two days to find someone responsible, trustworthy, and available.

Where am I going to find a woman like that in two days, God?

4

A
bigail was on her third set of squats when she heard the noise outside Aunt Lucy’s cottage. She walked to the door and peeked out the half-moon window to see Maddy dismounting a brown horse as easily as Abigail could dismount a bike. The horse neighed, tossing its white-streaked nose. Its hooves danced in the grass, dangerously close to Aunt Lucy’s fake spring blooms. Oh well. Not like she couldn’t just stick them back in the ground.

Abigail opened the door. “Hi, Maddy.”

The girl looped the reins around the porch post. Her sloppy ponytail looked like it had been slept in, and dirt smudged her too-short jeans.

“Want a soda? Aunt Lucy’s taking her Sunday afternoon nap, so we’ll have to keep it down.”

“Sure.”

Abigail let her in, wondering if it was normal around here to let an eleven-year-old girl ride all over creation on a big horse. What if she fell and hit her head or broke her leg?

“Have a seat. You might have to move a couple dolls. Pepsi okay?”

“Sure.”

Abigail went to the kitchen for the soda and a glass of water. She’d been thinking about Maddy’s bike in church. Okay, so she should’ve been listening, but at least she’d gone. That’s more than she’d done in a long time.

“That your horse out there?” Abigail handed Maddy the can.

“His name’s Destiny.”

Ah . . . Destiny
. “I like that.”

“Dad got him for me when we moved here.”

“His hair’s the same color as yours. Do you take care of him? I’ve heard horses are a lot of work.”

The pop of her soda tab sounded loud in the little cabin. Maddy sipped from the can. “I like taking care of him. When school’s out I can ride him all the time.”

“Doesn’t your dad worry?”

She made a face. “I have a nanny in the summer.”

“But he knows you’re riding today?”

“He’s helping the O’Neils today—they’re our neighbors. But Miss Greta knows I’m here.”

“Your housekeeper, right?”

“Yeah.” She pointed to the thin mat on the floor. “What’s that?”

“My exercise mat. I was working out when you got here.”

“Why don’t you just take a walk?” The confused crease between her brows made Abigail laugh.

“Good point. Guess I’m just used to doing it the city way. Plus I’d probably get lost.”

“You could go with me and Destiny if you want. I don’t have to be home for forty-five minutes.”

“It would give us a chance to talk about your bike.” And maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to stay with the girl awhile. At least Abigail would know she was safe.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

After changing into a pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt, Abigail joined Maddy outside where she was stroking Destiny’s nose.

Abigail reached out to touch the mane, wondering at the texture, but drew back at the last moment, suddenly aware of the horse’s size. “Will he mind?”

Maddy shook her head. “Most horses like people. You just have to be careful not to sneak up on them. That might earn you a good, hard kick.”

“Duly noted.” Abigail touched the mahogany mane tenuously at first, then ran her fingers through the coarse hair. The horse tossed his head, and Abigail jumped back.

Maddy laughed. “You really are a city girl.”

“I’ve never even seen a horse up close.”

Maddy untied the horse and they started off, Maddy leading Destiny. “I can teach you to ride sometime if you want.”

“I’ll think about it.” The cool air felt good on Abigail’s heated skin, and her leg muscles were shaky from the intense workout. “Was your dad upset about your bike?”

“Naw, he doesn’t get upset much. I told him you’d help me find it . . .”

Abigail noted the uncertainty in her tone. “You bet I will. In fact, I was thinking about it this morning. Why would someone in a town this size steal that bike? Only a girl would want a pink bike with a white basket. If the thief intended to use it, you’d be bound to see it at some point, unless they painted it and removed the basket.”

“Or sold it somewhere.”

“Possibly. But if that were the case, there’d probably be other stolen bikes, and the sheriff said there hadn’t been any.”

Abigail questioned Maddy about her friends at school. She wasn’t so far removed from childhood that she didn’t remember how petty girls could be.

The green hills rolled out before them, and Maddy turned off the gravel road, heading up one of them. The spongy ground gave beneath Abigail’s tennis shoes. Their feet swished through the grass, and Destiny’s saddle creaked and clicked with his movements.

“. . . So I guess there are two girls at school who really don’t like me,” Maddy was saying. “I don’t like them much either, but Miss Greta says I have to love everyone because God tells us to—even if they’re stinkers.”

Abigail tugged her ponytail. “They’re probably just jealous.”

Maddy gave a rueful laugh. “Of what?”

“Your beautiful hair and twinkling green eyes.”

Maddy turned a smile on Abigail that warmed her heart, reminding her that the girl didn’t have a mother to tell her such things. She wondered about Maddy’s relationship with her dad. Even as the thought crossed her mind, her foot caught on something and she stumbled. “Whoops.”

Maddy reached out, but Abigail had already recovered.

“The ground’s pretty uneven,” Maddy said.

“I should probably stick to sidewalks.”

“Good luck with that.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Abigail taking care with her steps.

“So, do you think Haley or Olivia might’ve taken my bike just to be mean?”

“Did they know what it looked like?”

Maddy rolled her eyes. “Everybody ’round here knows everything about everybody.”

“Well, I wouldn’t count it out.” Abigail checked her watch. Going on five. “You know where they live? Maybe we could drive by their houses. We could do it now.”

“I have a bunch of chores, and Greta said to be home by supper.”

“Oh, that’s right. Well, tomorrow then?”

“Okay. What should I say at school tomorrow?”

“Don’t even mention your bike.” Last thing they needed was a bunch of drama. “If someone from school took it, we don’t want them aware we’re looking for it.”

Maddy shrugged. “Okay.”

They reached the hill’s crest and stopped. Abigail scanned the miles of green hills that stretched into distant mountains. “It’s so vast. So beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like the view. It’s my favorite. That’s the Absaroka Range, and the river down there is the Yellowstone.”

Abigail stared in silence for a moment, taking in the colors and textures of the land. It looked so much like a painting she wanted to reach out and touch it. Behind her, Destiny whinnied. Abigail checked her watch. “It’s getting close to suppertime.”

“Yeah, I should get back. You want me to take you back to Miss Lucy’s?”

“I think I can find my way.” They turned and headed toward the gravel drive.

When they were halfway down the hill, Maddy darted a shy look at Abigail. “Thanks for helping with my bike.”

She was only doing what was second nature. First nature really. “You bet,” she said.

Wade was doing the bills when Maddy entered the office. In her pink pj’s with her hair hanging in wet strings, she looked like the little girl he rarely got a glimpse of these days.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed, squirt?”

“Do I
have
to go to school tomorrow?”

He planted his elbows on top of the bills. “Maddy.”

“We’ll only clean out our desks. We never do anything the last couple days.”

“Enjoy your friends—you won’t see much of them till fall. Besides, there’s been a glitch with the nanny. Wouldn’t be anyone here to watch you and won’t be all summer if I don’t do some quick thinking.”

“I don’t need a nanny.”

Wade rubbed his wrist where a rope had burned through the skin when he heeled an ornery calf the day before. “Answer’s no, Maddy. To both.” He still had two days. He’d asked his neighbors and folks from church, but their teenaged daughters had already lined up summer jobs.

He might have to resort to an agency. Man, was he that desperate? Could he trust Maddy to a stranger? There was little time to check references. At least an agency would’ve done that already. “I’ll put a call in to an agency in the morning. In the meantime—”

“No, Dad. I’ll wind up with some starchy old lady who makes me stay inside all day. Let me try the summer on my own.
Please?
I’ll be good.” She clasped her hands, begging.

If he’d learned anything about fatherhood, it was that doing the right thing sometimes made you unpopular. “Sorry, Maddy. Mind’s made up.”

His daughter dropped her hands, and her shoulders gave in to gravity.

“If I’d known a few weeks ago, maybe I could’ve found someone around here. But everyone either has a job or doesn’t want—”

Maddy straightened. “Abigail can be my nanny!”

“Abigail . . .”

“Miss Lucy’s niece. Remember, I told you about her, how she’s helping me find my bike, and she’s here for the whole summer and doesn’t have a job!”

“Maybe she doesn’t want a job.” If she was Miss Lucy’s niece, she was probably old enough to be retired, which explained the extended visit.

“It’s worth a try, Dad. I could ask her tomorrow after school ’cause she’s helping me with my bike again. Besides, she really likes me.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her confidence. He saw little enough of that. Maybe he should talk to the niece first, or at least ask Lucy about her. If Lucy thought she’d be interested in a summer job, he’d talk to her then. “You can mention it to her.
Mention
. I don’t want her to feel obliged.”

Maddy’s smile was stunning, and the sparkle in her eyes reminded him of Lizzie in the early years. “I’ll be very subtle.”

He’d seen his daughter in action when she wanted something. Miss Lucy’s niece wouldn’t know what hit her.

5

T
hat’s where she lives.” Maddy pointed down a long dirt lane.

They’d already tried Haley’s house in town; now they were investigating Olivia’s.

The one-story house looked miniscule in front of the mountains. Abigail was sure it was as small as Aunt Lucy’s cabin.

She slowed the VW bug and turned down the lane. Clumps of grass dotted the dirt drive, and when they neared the house, she saw no one had gotten around to mowing in a while. Or painting. The flower bed spawned nothing but hearty weeds, and there were no cars in the drive. No bicycles either.