Learnin' The Ropes (10 page)

Setting down the drawer full of parts, he smoothed out the envelope. He noticed a scrawling hand had written “Lexi Jo” across the front. Hastily unfastening his coveralls, he stuffed the envelope into his pocket, refastened the coveralls and got back to work, wondering if the letter was from Lexi’s dad.

Hours later, he glanced at the clock and jerked off his coveralls, running to the bunkhouse with Baby hot on his heels. It was his turn to make dinner and he forgot about it. He had less than an hour until everyone showed up, ready to eat.

Lexi had hired two housekeepers in the past few weeks. One lasted almost a week while the other one only made it until noon her second day. She might have lasted longer except Baby scared her half to death when she opened the kitchen door and ran in barking.

 For now, they were back to cooking and cleaning for themselves.

Ty grabbed steaks out of the freezer and stuck them in the microwave. While they thawed, he ran outside and fired up the gas barbecue, then hustled back in, washing a bunch of potatoes.  In no time, he’d cut them into chunks, and dropped them in a bowl with a little olive oil and spices. When he removed the steaks from the microwave, he stuck the potatoes in.  He hit the preheat button on the oven, then opened cans of green beans and dumped them in a skillet with crumbled pieces of bacon left over from breakfast.

He popped three cans of biscuits and placed them in a greased pan then stuck them in the oven.

After seasoning the meat, he took the steaks outside to the grill, put them on low and hustled back inside. A thorough search of the pantry turned up instant cookies and a handful of leftover butter cookies. He made the pudding, pouring it in individual bowls then sprinkled crushed cookies on top.

Working with one eye on the clock, he removed the potatoes from the microwave and smashed them, stirring in grated cheese, sour cream and more of the bacon, along with a little ranch dressing before dumping the mixture onto a foil-lined cookie sheet. He stuck it in the oven with the biscuits, hurried to set the table, and mixed up a gallon of lemonade.

While he frantically pulled dinner together, Baby sat by the door watching him run in and out. When he talked to her, asking her why she didn’t remind him it was his turn to cook, she lifted her head at him and barked once, as if to say it wasn’t her fault he forgot.

As the sounds of boots thudded outside, Ty placed golden biscuits hot from the oven into a breadbasket.

“Whooee! Thet meat sure does smell good,” Swede said as he walked inside and went to the closest bathroom to wash up.

The rest of the crew ambled in, hanging up their hats and washing their hands.

Ty was outside with a platter taking the steaks off the barbecue when Lexi strolled down the walk.

“Hey, Ty. Mind if I join you for dinner? Those steaks smelled so good, they were tempting me when I came in from the field.” She took the platter from him as he put the steaks on it and turned off the grill.

“It would be our pleasure to have you join us, ma’am.” Ty grinned and winked at her.

Lexi nearly dropped the platter as heat flooded her insides and her arms and legs morphed into a weak, rubbery substance.

Ty took the steaks from her and hurried to hold the door open with his other hand.

“Look who’s joining us for dinner, boys,” Ty called as she walked up the steps, hoping his message would warn the rest of the men inside to not come to the table half dressed or otherwise indecent.

Warmly greeted by her men, Lexi was given a place to sit at the end of the table opposite Swede. Secretly pleased, she found Ty sitting beside her. When everyone was seated, Swede asked the blessing and the food was passed around the table.

Despite the teasing, it was obvious everyone enjoyed the meal Ty prepared. From the compliments thrown his direction when he brought out the bowls of pudding for dessert, he was afraid he might get cooking duty every night.

Ty tried to pry his eyes away from Lexi’s lips as she licked pudding off her spoon. He started at their rosy fullness, wondering if they would taste as warm and sweet as they looked.

When her leg accidentally bumped his under the table, it was all he could do not to jerk away from the connection that felt like an electrical jolt.

“For a city dude, you sure know how to grill a good steak,” Cal said, slapping him on the back. Ty finally learned Keith had the mole on his cheek and Cal was the more talkative of the two. It was the only way to tell the twins apart.

“Thanks,” Ty said, drawing his gaze away from Lexi to his own half-eaten bowl of pudding. “My Mom worked at a steakhouse for a while when I was a kid. I learned a lot about cooking meat when I hung out there after school.”

“It was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, Ty. No kidding,” Lexi said, nursing her glass of lemonade. “Thanks for letting me eat with you.”

“It’s your steak, you can eat wherever you like,” Jimmy teased.

“True,” Lexi said. Her cheeky grin caused Ty’s temperature to spike.

In need of a distraction, he got up and started doing the dishes. He turned to finish clearing the table only to run right into Lexi as she carried dirty dishes to the counter. Hastily grabbing her arms to keep from knocking her down, he gentled his grip, but he didn’t want to let go.

What he wanted was to pull her into his arms and kiss her with a depth and intensity he’d never before shared with a woman.

Lexi’s arms went limp at Ty’s touch. She quickly moved to set the plates down before she dropped them. How could a simple touch from him set her nerve endings on fire and make her wish for things she’d long ago given up dreaming were possible? Desperate to put some space between her and the good-looking mechanic, she offered a hasty word of thanks for dinner and turned toward the door.

Before she could escape, Ty placed a crumpled envelope in her hand.

“I found that in the shop today.” He spoke quietly as Lexi looked at the writing and tears formed in her eyes.

With a brief nod, she hurried from the bunkhouse, running back to the security of her home. In the family room, she sank onto the couch, wishing she had someone she could talk to about her feelings for Ty, about the things her father had done.

The idea that she could be falling in love with Ty was insane. The smart thing to do was to forget about him. To ignore the way being near him made her heart pound and her palms grow clammy. To block out the dreams of his big, strong arms holding her tight and those tempting lips caressing her own.

Abruptly sitting up, she pushed thoughts of Ty from her head and looked at the envelope in her hand. After months of searching and wondering, would this finally give her some idea of where her dad hid the money, what he’d been thinking?

Carefully slitting the envelope with her fingernail, she pulled out thick folded sheets of paper. 

The smell of her dad’s aftershave drifted around her, making her heart catch. She missed him so much.

Slowly unfolding the letter, she took a deep breath before reading the words he’d written.

My darling Lexi Jo,

If you are reading this then I’m either dead or nearly so. I know I should have told you much sooner about the cancer, but I didn’t want you to worry. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to come home.

You’ve built a great life for yourself in Portland and I’m so proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you, even if we didn’t always see eye to eye.

You are every bit as beautiful as your beloved mother. I’m so glad all her lessons in how to be a lady weren’t wasted. She would be so pleased to see the wonderful woman you’ve become. Although you look so much like her and your Grandma Sunny, I know you inherited your ol’ dad’s stubbornness, sense of humor, and love of cars if that sporty little thing you drove home last time you came is any indication.

I feel confident leaving the ranch in your very capable hands, Lexi. You know and love every inch of this place. If, at some point, you decide you’d rather sell it than live here, do it with my blessing. I only want you to be happy.

From what the doc tells me, my mind won’t be my own when this thing ends so in the event I do something completely crazy before anyone can stop me, I’m leaving you some money that won’t be in a bank account.

I could draw you a treasure map and turn you loose, but I want you to work for it a little. My pop always said the harder we work for something, the more we appreciate it.

You’ve been good about appreciating all your many blessings, Lex.  Always be that sweet girl and know I love you.

Dad

P.S. Your first clue… The Raven

Lexi stared at the letter in her hand, swiping at her tears before they dripped on the page and smeared her father’s precious words. She needed so badly to have his approval, to feel his love. Tonight it was there, wrapping around her as comfortingly as the blanket draped across the back of the couch.

She’d worry about the money and clue tomorrow. For now, she just wanted to remember all the wonderful things she loved about her dad.

Saturday was a bright and beautiful day with unusually warm temperatures.

As Ty walked toward the shop that morning, he listened to cattle mooing, horses whinnying, birds chirping. He stopped a moment to absorb the sounds.

Without much effort, he had grown accustomed to country living. Although he was usually so busy he thought weariness might overtake him before he finally dragged himself to bed, life moved at a slower, less hectic pace. For the first time in his life, Ty took time to notice the smells, sounds, sights and tastes that encompassed his days. He loved living on the ranch.

The other thing he loved, all too much, was watching Lexi. She could ride the hands into the ground, wrestle animals into submission, and still look lovelier than any other woman he’d ever met.

Ty had yet to see her dressed in anything but boots, jeans and work shirts, other than the night he saw her in a tank top when he helped pull the calf. Lexi made whatever she wore look good.

Way too good.

He cast a quick glance at the big ranch house. Surprise melted into delight at the sight of Lexi’s perfect posterior sticking out of Baby’s doghouse. Although the dog rarely used it, she did have a nice doghouse in a corner of the backyard.

Mindful he should get to work in the shop, Ty instead made a beeline for the doghouse. Entranced by the view as Lexi’s fanny wiggled back and forth while she dug around in Baby’s domain, he was in no hurry to announce his presence.

“Have a craving for a well-chewed bone?” Ty finally asked.

Caught off guard, she smacked her head on the doghouse. She scooted out and sat on her heels, rubbing her head. “Hey,” she said, giving him a narrowed glare. “You startled me.”

“Sorry about that,” he said, offering her his hand so she could rise to her feet. “Did you lose something in there?”

“Not exactly,” Lexi said, still rubbing her head. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Ty the truth, but decided he’d more than proven himself trustworthy. The clue about the raven her dad left behind led her to his collection of literature where another clue was stuck in a book of Edgar Allen Poe’s poems.

My Baby

Assuming her dad referred to the dog, Lexi decided to look through the doghouse first. The doghouse, unlike many slapped together projects, had siding painted the same buttery shade of yellow as the house with green and white trim. It also boasted a wood floor. Baby had a big pillow on top of an old blanket to snuggling into when she chose to stay in her abode.

“Need any help?” Ty asked, holding on to Lexi’s fingers while she rubbed her head with her other hand.

“Maybe.” She released a deep breath and Ty’s hand. “My dad, he …um… well, he wasn’t himself for a while before he died and he hid some money somewhere on the ranch. That letter you gave me the other day confirmed my suspicions of what he’d done. Instead of telling me where it is, he made a series of clues I’m supposed to find and decipher. No one else knows about this, even Swede, and I’d really like to keep it that way.”

“Sure, Lexi, I understand,” Ty said, and he did. The thought of finding buried treasure could bring out the worst in some people as greed overrode sense. “One of the clues brought you out to Baby’s house?”

“Yeah. The first one was ‘The Raven,’ which led me to dad’s book of Poe’s poetry. The clue I found there said, ‘My Baby.’ I assume he’s referring to the dog,” Lexi said, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake in trusting Ty.

He squatted down and removed everything from the dog’s house including chewed up toys, bones and things he didn’t want identified. There wasn’t any place inside Lex could have hidden a clue. When he realized the doghouse was moveable, Ty tipped it up while Lexi looked beneath it, but didn’t find anything. He ran his hands under the edges of the frame and still found nothing.

Lost in thought, he stared at the doghouse for a while. Finally, he turned to Lexi with a knowing smile. “Did your dad have a favorite photo of you?”