Cowboy Seeks Bride (12 page)

The sun was out when they turned the cows and Eeyore out of the corral and started north again. Haley intended to act like the night never happened, but she couldn’t keep the crazy grin off her face. Dewar did a much better job, but maybe she hadn’t made him as hot as he did her.

“Well, that must have been a mean thought,” Coosie said.

“What?” Her neck popped when she twisted it too fast to look at him. She hadn’t even realized that she’d ridden up beside the wagon and wasn’t riding behind it anymore.

“You were all smiles and your eyes were sparkly at whatever you were thinking about and then boom! Everything in your expression went black as sin. Looked like an angel that got kicked off a big old fluffy cloud in heaven and landed smack on the devil’s pitchfork.”

Haley smiled at the description. “That bad, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, must’ve been a terrible thought.”

“It was, but it’s gone now. Talk to me,” she changed the subject.

“About what?” Coosie asked.

“Tell me about Dewar’s brothers.”

Coosie shook his head. “You want to know about Dewar’s family, you ask him, not me. Or better yet, ask them.”

“They aren’t here right now,” Haley said.

“Then you’d better talk to him about them.”

“Please! Tell me about Rye. He’s the oldest one in the family, right?”

Coosie nodded.

“And his wife is?”

“Her name is Austin and they have two kids. Rachel and Eddie Cash.”

“So is she from Ringgold?”

“No.”

Lord, getting Coosie to talk about the O’Donnells was worse than trying to pull hens’ teeth, as Granny McKay used to say.

“And Dewar’s momma and daddy raise horses?” she asked.

Any minute now he was going to get started and keep her entertained all the way up to dinnertime.

“That’s right.”

It damn sure wasn’t that minute.

“If you want to know about Dewar, ask him, child,” Coosie said.

“I’m not a child.”

“You’re acting like one. You want me to tell you all about his family when it ain’t my place.”

“That don’t make me a child.”

Coosie laughed. “No, it makes you a manipulative woman. And it doesn’t become you. Let’s talk about cows or donkeys or even what I’m cooking for supper because I’m not going to tell you the O’Donnell family stories.”

“You are mean.”

“Yep, I am.” He chuckled. “I will tell you that when Rye went all love drunk over Austin that we all knew it before he did. Happens that way sometimes.”

“Love drunk?” She frowned.

“That means that he couldn’t think of another thing but her.”

“Oh,” Haley said flatly.

Was she love drunk? Did one fantastic night of sex in a hayloft with rain beating down on the tin roof make a person moonstruck? Was there a cure for it? Was Coosie telling her that he saw something between her and Dewar that morning?

Before Coosie could say anything else, Dewar rode up and motioned for Coosie to pull up reins. “We’ve got a railroad track up ahead about a quarter of a mile. I’m going to get the cattle across and then send Finn and Buddy back to help you with the wagon. Might need some muscle to get the wheels over the tracks.”

“Guess we’ll have a late dinner because you’ll want to get the cattle a mile or so down the road from the track before we stop, right?”

“Why?” Haley asked.

“Because if a train comes past, the noise could spook them into a stampede.” Dewar turned the horse around and rode away. His back reminded her of where her legs had been the night before and how broad and muscular it had been when she raked her nails down across his shoulders.

Dewar rode back toward the front of the herd without so much as a wink or a word.

“Austin makes watermelon wine,” Coosie said out of the clear blue.

Finally! A statement without her having to pry it from his lips.

“Watermelon wine?”

“Yep, Austin uses her granny’s recipes and has a pretty damn good business with her wine making.”

“Is it good? I’ve never had watermelon wine before.”

“You’ll have to ask her to let you sample it sometime.”

He didn’t venture forth with anything else and she couldn’t think of another question that he would answer, so she dropped back behind the wagon and herded a heifer that was trying to veer off to the west back into the herd. When they finally reached the train tracks, she pulled up reins and watched the process. Coosie crawled down off the buckboard and gave the reins to Finn, who led the horses from the front. Then Buddy and Coosie eased the front wheels over the first rails. Finn clucked his tongue and the horses moved a few feet. Coosie and Buddy pushed the wheels over the second rail and the back ones bumped up over the first one. It looked easy but that wagon was loaded and heavy. Haley had a whole new respect for both Coosie and Buddy by the time Coosie was back in the seat and they were rolling along again.

“Tell me about Dewar,” she said. If she could catch him off guard, he might talk for a couple of hours.

“He’s a real cowboy. Not a fake one. But I think you know that, Haley. You been lookin’ at him like you could eat him up ever since that first day.”

“I have not!” she declared.

Coosie chuckled down deep in his chest. “I see the cowboys are letting the cattle have a drink out of that farm pond up ahead. I reckon that’s where we’ll be stopping for dinner.”

She carried her dinner to a fairly large-sized scrub oak beside the pond and sat down with her back to the tree bark. Haley had turned thirty the previous January. Her mother kept telling her that her clock was ticking loudly, but she hadn’t even made up her mind to have children. That had been a very small part of the problem with Joel. He wanted one child to carry on the name and inherit all of the Anderson oil money but no more. Haley had wanted either two or none. Being raised alone was no fun.

Dewar sat down beside her. “Penny for your thoughts.”

“They’d cost you far more than a penny.”

“Dollar for your thoughts.”

“I was thinking about babies.”

Dewar choked on a sip of black coffee and sputtered until he finally got control. “You are on birth control, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

He exhaled loudly. “I didn’t even think to ask last night and I damn sure didn’t bring condoms. I wasn’t planning on…”

She giggled. “I hope not.”

He cut his eyes around to glare at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look around you, Dewar. If you’d been plannin’ on sex, it wouldn’t have been with a woman. I’m glad you are straight.”

Dewar chuckled. “Okay. But why were you thinking about babies?”

“I’m thirty and I’m trying to decide if I want any.”

“I thought all women wanted kids.”

“I’m not all women and I haven’t made up my mind.”

“Well, I want half a dozen. I don’t care if they’re boys, girls, or a mixture. I love my nieces and nephews and all my friends’ kids and I want some of my own to love and spoil,” Dewar said.

“And what happens when you find the right woman, fall in love, and can’t live without her? She just wants to be in love with you and have this amazing life with you without kids,” Haley asked.

Dewar didn’t answer for five minutes. “I wouldn’t fall in love with a woman like that.”

“Why?”

“When I’m an old man, I want to put my grandchildren or even my great-grandchildren in the wheelbarrow and give them a ride out to the horse stable. I want to put them on their pony and lead them around the corral before they’re old enough to ride a big horse. And I want to see my wife’s smile, her pretty eyes, or maybe her attitude in those kids. To know that she lives on and on in the children that our love produced and the life that we shared. That’s why I want children.”

One of those sentimental tears formed and found its way down her cheek. She wiped it away in the ruse of swiping at sweat. What Dewar said was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard and touched her heart deeper than the most elegant poem in the world.

“So why don’t you want children?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want them. I just said I didn’t know if I did.”

Coosie yelled across the campsite, “Y’all about through jawin’ over there? It’s time to wash up your plates, and get a move on it if we’re going to have supper at a decent time tonight.”

Dewar stood up and held out a hand. She slipped hers in his and he pulled her up to her feet. For a minute, she thought he’d kiss her, but he just winked and walked away.

Haley had looked forward to a bath all day. Not just a pan of water, her washcloth, and soap, but a flowing creek where the water was at least semi-warm that she could sit down in and it would come up to her waist. Where she could wash her hair and shave her legs and wash out her dirty clothing.

But Kingfisher Creek was barely deep enough to water the cattle and entirely too muddy to take a bath in. Apache was unsaddled, brushed, and let loose with the cattle to graze on the spring grass in the pasture where they were camped. Coosie was fussing about with a pot of something that smelled wonderful. The rest of the crew had already unfurled their bedrolls and were stretched out with their hats over their eyes blocking the evening sun as it set in a glorious array of colors.

Haley’s bedroll could wait until later. She pulled a few sheets from her diminishing roll of toilet paper and headed for the trees lining the creek with Eeyore trotting along beside her.

“Not just every man on the trail gets to go to the bathroom with me,” she said to the donkey as she looked for a secluded spot and checked for spiders and snakes before she dropped her jeans.

Eeyore stood watch ten feet from her. The creek barely moved. Cows lined the edge with some wandering right out into the ankle-deep water.

Haley finished and joined Eeyore, slung an arm around his gray neck, and hugged him. “I wanted a bath tonight, but look at that water. Evidently they didn’t get the rain we did or the creek would be running beautiful.”

She sighed and scratched the donkey’s ears before going back to camp. When she emerged from the trees the cowboys were gathering around the supper pot, plates in hand.

“What smells so good?” she asked.

“Quail that Rhett shot today with some dumplings and potatoes thrown in the pot,” Coosie said. “We’re gettin’ thin on supplies so I’m going make a trip into Kingfisher soon as we eat. That’s why I didn’t unhitch the horses yet. Way I figure it is we’re only about a mile from town and Walmart shouldn’t be far from any place I come out on the road. If anyone is in need of something, make me a list.”

Haley dipped up a plate full of food and sat down on her bed. “Thank you to whoever fixed my bedroll.”

“That would be Dewar. That old donkey follows you around like a dog,” Finn said with a motion toward the herd.

Eeyore hung back with the cows, but he kept a steady eye on Haley.

“Never had a dog, so I wouldn’t know,” she said.

“Never?” Sawyer asked.

“No, or cat or anything that had fur. Only time I got to play with kittens or puppies was when Momma took me to Louisiana to visit our relatives,” Haley said between bites.

“Why?” Sawyer asked.

“Daddy is allergic to dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, and any fur-bearing animal like horses and cows. He never went to Louisiana with us because all Momma’s folks have animals. They live out of town near the bayou and there’s dogs and cats everywhere on the sugar plantation.”

Coosie hefted himself up into the buckboard. “Anyone got a list? I’m leavin’ in two minutes. Soon as I get this rig turned around and headed west.”

“I need a roll of toilet paper,” Haley said.

Coosie was gracious enough not to chuckle.

“I want a big old fat chocolate candy bar. I’m not even particular about what kind. I didn’t realize I was addicted to a candy bar in the middle of the afternoon until we started this trail run. Lord, I miss ’em,” Rhett said.

Buddy raised his hand. “M-m-me too. I want a candy bar.”

Coosie pulled a piece of paper from his pocket along with the stub of a pencil and wrote down those items. “TP for Haley. Candy for Rhett and Buddy. Anything else? Speak up or hold your peace because this is the last trip I’ll make for a whole week.”

Finn held up a hand like a little boy in kindergarten and said, “Twenty-two shorts. One box will do fine.”

Coosie looked at Sawyer and then at Dewar.

“Beer. I want a beer. If you got two six-packs we could all have one and draw straws as to who got the others,” Sawyer said.

Dewar wanted lots of things but they all had to do with Haley. A dozen bright red roses would be a good starter. “I expect you’d best just buy us all a candy bar and maybe toss in a big bag of pretzels or peanuts to go with the beer.”

Coosie added that to his list and flicked the reins against the horses, turning the wagon toward the west and the road leading into Kingfisher.

“Why is he taking the wagon? Couldn’t he bring back what he needs on a packhorse?” Haley asked.

“It would take three or more packhorses. He might as well take the wagon and load it up to suit himself,” Dewar explained.

Haley looked around at the five cowboys left. “Are y’all in agreement that you aren’t running me off after ten days has passed?”

Dewar cut his dark green eyes around at her. “Why are you asking that?”

“Well, if I’ve proved up my ability to keep up then I’d like to get to know y’all better. I thought maybe we could swap stories.”

“What if we ain’t got stories?” Finn asked.

Haley looked him right in the blue eyes without blinking. “You are the quietest one of the bunch. You were in the army and you were a sniper. Your smile is tight and I wouldn’t play poker with you. I’d say you’ve got stories.”

Finn set his plate down. A grin turned up the corners of his mouth but just slightly. “You are driven by your job and demand the same dedication that you give. You’ve had a recent upset in your personal life that bleeds over into your business life and that confuses you.”

Haley sputtered, “How did you know that?”

Finn shrugged. “I can read people too. And FYI, I wouldn’t play poker with you, either.”

“Speaking of playing poker,” Sawyer said.

Haley threw up a hand. “Whoa! I want more out of psychoanalyst Finn here.”

Finn finished his coffee and tossed the grounds left at the bottom onto the ground. “You’re proving something to your father, probably that you can do this job even though he should have sent one of the men from the reality committee. You are mad at him for letting someone else sway his thinking. The only thing that would put a wedge between you two is something personal and it’s got you in a twist. Which means it’s probably got to do with a marriage, a divorce, or an engagement. How close am I? You’ve mentioned your mother being a force to deal with so it could be that your father had an affair and/or is thinking of leaving your mother. If you take her side then you could be without a job so you have to prove that you are mean and tough.”

Haley’s laughter echoed out through the flatlands and Eeyore trotted over to the edge of the campsite to make sure she was all right.

“So?” Dewar asked.

Using the back of her hand, she wiped at the tears, glad that she wasn’t wearing her usual mascara and eyeliner. “Part right. Mostly wrong.”

“Explain?” Dewar’s eyebrows shot up.

“Okay, you did real well right up to the time you brought Momma into the picture, Finn. I was engaged to Joel, who wormed his way from a minor player in a Hollywood television station to my father’s right-hand man. I thought I loved him and then one day about six months ago I woke up to realize that I didn’t. So I ended it. Daddy did not like it one bit. I think Joel was relieved and had come to the same conclusion I had, so it was a friendly breakup, but he played up the part of the hurt ex to Daddy and now they are big buddies and I’m the one sleeping on the ground and taking baths in creeks.”

Sawyer smiled. “And your momma?”

“She told me to follow my heart and not think I had to marry Joel to please my father. And honey, if Daddy ever cheats on Momma, he’d best get ready to like the feel of swamp water all around him. She’s Cajun and she wouldn’t bat an eye at giving him a water burial and putting a curse on his soul for all eternity to boot,” Haley said.

“So which one are you like?” Sawyer asked.

“My mother,” Haley said without a moment’s hesitation.

“But you went into the media business like your father?”

“I like what I do. At least I did until Daddy hired Joel.”

Dewar raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“He’s egotistical, thinks his way is the only way, and since he lived in Holly-damn-wood, he thinks he knows all about the film industry and I’m just a country bumpkin.”

“That man ever seen you run off a bunch of cattle rustlers single-handed?” Finn asked.

Dewar chuckled.

She pointed a long, slender finger at him. “Don’t you laugh at me. Wait until you meet him. You’ll think I was being nice.”

“What does your mother do?” Sawyer asked.

“My mother is the head of the accounting department for the whole conglomerate. She has a staff of dozens and her word is the law. If she says we don’t buy out this company, Daddy listens to her. She’s got a head for business. He’s got a head for making a business work. They are a team.”

“Hey, your donkey must’ve decided we weren’t killing you. He’s gone back to the cows.” Sawyer pointed in that direction.

“You see what he did to that coyote? You’d better think twice before you attempt to kill me.” She laughed. “Now it’s your turn to get under the spotlight, Finn. What made you decide to be a sniper?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then who did?”

He sighed. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

Sawyer poked him on the arm. “It might do you some good.”

“Okay,” he inhaled deeply and started, “I’ve always been good with a gun.” He hesitated for a full minute before he went on. “I went into the army right after high school to get away from the ranch. Swore when I saw the place in my rearview mirror that it was the last time I’d feed cattle in the cold winter or bale hay in the hot summertime. First time on the shooting range they thought I’d cheated some way so they pulled me out of my bunk in the middle of the night, gave me night vision glasses, and made me shoot again. I did even better and with that many soldiers surrounding me, they knew I didn’t cheat.”

“Go on,” Sawyer said.

“So they put me through the psych evaluation and I passed that with no red flags. They put me with a spotter and trained us, sent us over there, and we did our jobs. Trouble is when you come home, it’s still there and it’s not easy to forget.”

“Kind of like Haley having to work with Joel, right? When she goes back to Dallas, Joel will be there,” Sawyer said.

“Little more intense,” Finn said.

Haley refilled her coffee cup. “I’d say a hell of a lot more intense. What you’re going through makes my situation look like a drop of rainwater in the ocean.”

“Thank you,” Finn said. “They gave us a target and we worked well together. We had a ninety-eight percent effective rate and they offered both of us the moon and half the stars to reenlist.”

“What was his name?” Haley asked.

“Who? My spotter?”

“Yes, what was his name? Do you ever go see him and talk about what all went on?”

“No, and it wasn’t a him. It was a her and her name is Callie.”

“A girl?” Sawyer’s eyes popped wide open.

Finn looked his way. “A pretty woman with black hair and dark brown eyes.”

“Go on,” Sawyer said.

“Nothing there. I was in love over there but not with her.”

Dewar inched over closer to Haley and whispered, “Want to take a walk down to the river?”

“Not now. Finn needs to talk.”

“Might as well tell the whole story,” Dewar said.

Finn opened up and told them about the young woman he’d been in love with and how she’d refused to come to the States with him. “And then she was killed,” he ended his story.

“I’m so sorry,” Haley said sincerely.

Sawyer patted his shoulder. “Man, that’s a tough break.”

“Too bad, m-m-man,” Buddy stammered.

Rhett slowly shook his head from side to side. “I’m sorry, Finn. That’s just not right. Us O’Donnells are a passionate lot and when we fall, we fall hard and usually only one time in our life, so that’s plain old wrong.”

Finn’s smile was still tight but his blue eyes weren’t as haunted. “You know, it does help to talk about it.”

“I want to know why you came back to ranching.” Haley said.

“I needed peace,” Finn told her.

They heard Coosie fussing at the horses and saw the light bobbing up and down from the dangling kerosene lantern long before the wagon pulled into the center of the campsite. Buddy jumped up to help Coosie unhitch the horses, brush them down, and turn them out to the thick green pasture.

Haley could hardly believe that more than two hours had passed since he left or that her heart felt lighter than it had in months. She wondered if talking lifted a brick from Finn’s heart too. Did the cowboy group session do him as much good as it had done her? She hurried back to her bed, found her notebook, and started writing. The contestants should have one evening when they all bare their souls.

Dewar sat down beside her. “What are you doing?”

“I got an idea for the show.”

“Is that all you think about?” he asked grumpily.

“Right now it’s what I’m thinking about.” She kept writing.

He got up and went over to the wagon where Coosie was untying the flap on one side. She should say something, but she had to get this brilliant idea on paper. It was one that she’d fight for when they started putting the details into the day-by-day planning for the show. Every contestant should keep one thing about themselves a total secret until the night they told all. Maybe at the halfway mark into the season would be a good time, so it would be a great teaser for all the viewers.

She looked up when she closed her book to find Buddy leaning on a tree only a few feet away.

“D-d-dewar likes you,” Buddy said softly.

“I like him too. I like all of you. I didn’t at first. I only liked you, Buddy, but now I do.” She smiled.

“But D-d-dewar likes you m-m-more than that,” he spit out in a hurry.

“What makes you think that?”

She’d gladly sit through the stammering for an answer.

“I just know,” he said and walked away.

All of the cowboys, including Dewar, had gathered around the wagon. Coosie handed Sawyer a bag and Dewar a six-pack of beer. He pulled one free of the plastic tab and handed it to Rhett and kept on until there were only two left. Sawyer gave Dewar two candy bars from the bag and he tucked them into his shirt pocket.