Lily's Cowboys (4 page)

Lily laughed at the idea of the mischief the boys had gotten into. She could just imagine them horsing around. She couldn’t wait to meet all three of them and wondered if they still had some of that mischievous behavior left in them.

“
Let me show you around. The kitchen is this way.” Lily followed Maggie around for the next hour learning where everything was and how everything was set up. Maggie told her the boys usually ate breakfast around five thirty every morning and she would pack a lunch for them if they weren’t able to make it back during the day. Dinner was usually around six o’clock. Allen hadn’t been eating much since he came home and Maggie was concerned about his health.

“
Allen was in the military. He was in South America on some mission and it went bad. He was captured and tortured. By the time they got him out he was almost dead. He’s been home for six months now and hardly ever leaves the downstairs bedroom. All his meals are taken to him and left.”

“
Why hasn’t he left his room?” Lily asked curiously her heart going out to a man she hadn’t even met yet.

“
His legs were broken pretty bad. The doc’s were able to patch him back up and he can walk now but it wasn’t always easy for him, especially when he was tired. He refused to work with the physical therapist so it has been a little harder on him. He’s better now physically but mentally. Now that’s another story.”

“
Why did he refuse the help from the physical therapist?” Lily asked wondering if there was something she was missing.

“
Allen wasn’t the only one captured. Two of his buddies were captured as well. They were beaten and tortured too. They weren’t as lucky as Allen. They didn’t make it out alive.” Maggie said sadly. “One of the boys was from here. He went in the military at the same time as Allen. Allen feels responsible for his death. He feels like he was the one who talked him into joining. Now, he just drinks to forget. He still has nightmares at night.”

“
Hasn’t anyone tried to help him? Surely the military has someone who can help him deal with the grief and anger he is feeling.” Lily couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to watch two friends die in such a horrible way.

“
He won’t let anyone in. Everyone they’ve sent has walked out. I don’t know what else to do and neither does his brothers. We’ve all tried to help but nothing seems to work.” Maggie wiped a tear away as it coursed down her withered cheek. “I’m hoping maybe you can help him, help his brothers, learn to live again but I’m afraid he will just drive you away too.”

Lily stared out the windows at the mountains for a moment before replying, “Sometimes you have to face death before you can appreciate what it means to live.” Turning to look at Maggie, Lily gazed into the older woman’s eyes and said quietly, “He just needs someone to show him the way. Maybe he just needs to realize his brothers need him as much as he needs them.”

Maggie grabbed Lily’s hands and squeezed them gently, “If anyone can help those boys learn to live and love again, it’s you. They need you Lily. I don’t understand how I know, I just do. They need you.”

Lily smiled sadly at Maggie and nodded. She knew what her mission was here. She needed to help the three brothers understand that no matter what life throws at them, if they stick together they can overcome any obstacle. It would take time, patience, and a gentle push to get them heading in the right direction but at least she knew what needed to be done. That was the first step in the right direction.

Early the next morning, Lily hummed as she finished cleaning the living room area. Maggie had done her best but the house had been neglected for quite some time. Now, a lovely warm fire burned in the hearth with a neat stack of wood next to it. Lily had gone out at first light to explore the barn area and had met some of the men who worked on the ranch. Introducing herself as the new housekeeper, she had invited the men inside to enjoy some biscuits and sausage gravy and coffee. Brad Edwards, Harold Baker, Clive Simmons, and Ed Hammond had all worked at the ranch for the past ten years or more. Brad and Harold worked with the horses, while Clive was the ranch foreman and Ed worked on the equipment. Lily listened as the men talked about the day to day activities on the ranch. They normally ate in the kitchen connected to the bunkhouse although Ed and Clive each had a small cabin of their own nearby. Clive was married. Ed had never married and both Brad and Harold volunteered to marry Lily right then and there after tasting her biscuits and gravy and coffee. Lily blushed at the two younger men’s flirting.

She learned a lot from the men about the Cunnings. They were known for being hard working and honest. Most of the men on the ranch had been with them five years or longer because they enjoyed working for them and respected them. Although Allen had been gone a lot over the past eight years, he had come home frequently and worked side by side no matter what the job with the other men. Ethan was known for helping out the men and town’s people. Clive talked about how one of his sons had gotten into trouble with some drugs and needed help. Ethan had made sure the boy had gotten into a clinic to help sober him up and gave him a job on the ranch during the summers when he was out of school. Caleb worked as hard as any of the men. He had saved one of the ranch hands last summer from drowning after the man’s truck had swerved to miss a deer. Caleb had come upon him right after the accident. The man had been trapped by the steering wheel and the truck cab had been filling with water. Caleb had broken through the windshield and was able to pull the steering wheel back far enough for the man to get free. It wasn’t so much the big things the men said that gave Lily a better understanding of the men they worked for, it was the way they talked about them. She could tell they cared for and respected each of the men.

Lily worked most of the morning on the downstairs rooms. She avoided Allen’s room for now. She still wasn’t quite sure how she was going to handle him. So far there hadn’t been any sound out of the room. In the early afternoon she planned to strip all the beds upstairs and play with the laundry chute. She was going to have fun with it and couldn’t wait to see how the dumb waiter worked. Opening the curtains in the den, she gasped as she saw the floor to ceiling bookshelves lining the wall. She immediately fell in love with the room and knew this would become her favorite place to hide. Smiling, she walked around the room staring at the pictures on the antique tables and running her hands over the bindings of many of the books. There was one wall with windows set on each side of a set of French doors leading out onto the covered back porch area. If she was still there during the spring and summer she would have to sit outside on the porch and read. She worked in the room for almost an hour when she heard a noise against the wall. Recognizing it as the water turning on Lily smiled wickedly. Now would be a good time to check out Allen’s room while he was in the shower. If she was lucky, she could clean most of the room before he finished.

Lily hurried down the hallway and stood outside Allen’s door for a moment with her ear pressed against the door. Knocking softly, she cautiously opened the door to peek in when she didn’t get an answer. Sure enough she saw a light under the door to what had to be the bathroom. Hurrying inside the dark room, she left the door open to the hallway so she could start throwing things out. The first thing she noticed was the smell. The room definitely had a male odor that needed airing out. Lily hurried toward the windows and despite the frigid temperature outside threw open the windows on each side of the bed. Pulling the heavy curtains to one side she knew they would have to go. No more hiding. Twirling around, Lily moved like a woman possessed as she stripped the bed of all its linens and threw them out into the hallway. She grabbed one of the pillowcases and began filling it with empty whiskey bottles. The pillowcase landed with a thump on top of the linens she had thrown out. Next, she gathered up all the old dishes and piled them outside the door. She grabbed, yanked, and dragged everything she could get her hands on out the door as fast as she could. Close to an hour later she figured she had less than five minutes left to get as much as she could out of the room before Allen came out judging from the sounds coming from the bathroom. She planned on charging into the bathroom as soon as he was out and locking herself in it to give herself time to clean it. Then, she would move everything out of the hall and wash, dry, and toss. She had just finished closing the door to the hallway when she heard him moving. She raced to stand just to the left of the door so he wouldn’t see her right away. Holding her breath she waited trembling.

Allen felt bad about the way he had treated Maggie. He knew he needed to apologize to her; he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. He felt like hell. He had woken up with a hangover and was nauseated by his own body odor. He thought the least he could do was get cleaned up before he faced his aunt. Groaning as he rolled over, he sat up and grabbed his aching head. He sat for a moment until the room quit spinning. Once the room was still he waited a moment more until he could focus his eyes on the door to the bathroom. It was going to be a long trip. If he could make it there without throwing up he might make it through the day after all. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he grabbed the crutches next to the bed. He used them mostly to help him stay upright. Wobbling as he headed for the door, he let out a loud expletive when he ran into the door frame. Dropping the crutches, he staggered to the counter slamming the door to the bathroom closed with one hand and clutching the sink counter with the other.

Damn, but he felt like shit. Running a hand over his chin, he grimaced when he saw the shaggy beard covering his face. He rummaged around in the bathroom drawer until he found a pair of scissors. It was too long to just shave it, he would have to cut it first then shave. His hair wasn’t much better. Hanging in matted locks from lying down so long and not washing it, he looked like a homeless man out of the movies. Shuddering at the sight he couldn’t help but wonder what he had become. Maybe it would have been better off if he had been killed in the damn jungle with his friends. Shaking his head fiercely from side to side, he almost landed on his ass as his head protested the movement. He took a deep breath and raising a trembling hand he began cutting off his beard. It took him a good thirty minutes to just shave and his face featured a few new cuts. Pulling away from the mirror, he turned the shower on to the hottest setting and waited as the water warmed up. Stepping in, he flexed his shoulders as the warmth from the shower beat down on his sore muscles. He shampooed his hair twice and had to leave the conditioner on for an additional five minutes before he could even run his fingers through his hair. He didn’t get out of the shower until the water turned so cold he was shivering from the chill of it. He felt marginally better and he was hungry, something he hadn’t been for quite some time. He had lost almost forty pounds since his capture and return. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a comb and worked it through his damp hair. He grinned as he thought of what his brothers would say when they saw his hair down past his shoulders. All three of them had always worn their hair short. He kind of liked having it long and thought he might just keep it that way. Wrapping a towel around his slender waist, he moved slowly for the door. He was still a little shaky from not using his legs in a while. He knew he should be doing the exercises the physical therapist and doctors had prescribed but he had sunk so low he just didn’t give a damn about whether he lived or died, much less whether he ever walked again.

Opening the door to the bedroom his first thought was it was way too bright. Maggie must have come in while he was in the shower and opened the damn blinds again. The second thing he noticed was it was cold as hell in the room. He walked slowly toward one of the windows and noticed it was opened. “Dammit, Maggie!” Allen yelled crossly. “You trying to freeze my ass out of the room now?” He muttered a long list of expletives under his breath. He was so pissed at being cold he didn’t even look as he exited the bathroom. It wasn’t until he heard the door to the bathroom close behind him that he turned. The movement was too much for his under used legs and throbbing head. Allen fell across the bed with a thump and a curse. That’s when he noticed all his bed linens were missing. “God dammit, Maggie. I told you to stay out of my room. Get the hell out of there and make my bed.”

“
Maggie’s not here. You’ll have to wait until I’ve washed the linens before you can lie back down.” A soft voice replied from behind the bathroom door. “Oh, and you better get dressed before I come out. I plan on washing that towel you are wearing whether you are dressed or not.”

Allen stared in stun silence at the door. “Who the hell are you?”

Lily opened the door to peek out. “Lily. I’m your new housekeeper. Now get dressed before you catch your death with a cold. Your room needed to be aired out.” Lily wrinkled up her nose. “It was a bit on the smelly side.” With that, she closed and locked the door to the bathroom again.

Allen couldn’t help but stare at the face peering out from behind his bathroom door. Long, dark brown hair was piled up on top of her heart-shaped face. Dark, dark lashes outlined eyes the color of a Wyoming summer blue sky. His gazed took in the small pert nose and lush full lips. Lips he could almost taste from where he was laying. She was wearing a white sweater with a deep V-neck. It showed off her slim waist and very full breasts. She wasn’t very tall, maybe five foot four, but had curves in all the right places. Her long legs were encased in a pair of faded blue jeans and her feet were bare except for a pair of thick, woolen socks. He couldn’t help but stare at her when she wrinkled up her nose. It reminded him of the witch from the old television series who used to wiggle her nose before she cast a spell. At that moment, Allen felt like he had just been spelled by the most beautiful little witch he had ever set eyes on. For a moment, their eyes met then hers grew larger before her face turned a delicate pink and she shut and locked the bathroom door. It wasn’t until then that Allen realized he had grown hard while looking at her and the towel now stood tented in the front emphasized by him laying sprawled across the bed.