Stepbrother Cowboy: A Western Romance (10 page)

“What’s so funny?” Alison asked me, with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Nothing,” I managed to slow the humor in my voice.

“Don’t worry; I hear it all the time,” Barney told me, a smile on his face.

“What?” She was still confused.

“I’m sorry,” to Barney, “I’ll tell you later.” I told Alison.

I walked over to the shelf and found something that I thought would be perfect. When Barney (snicker) pulled the Gold Cup from the glass case, it slid in without an issue. A perfect fit. I was smiling and Barney gave me a nod and went to the cash register.

“Give me a second to put all this into the computer. You paying cash?”

“No, debit.”

“You call your bank ahead of time?”

“No…?”

“You just got back from overseas?”

“Yeah. I’ve been gone for seven years.”

“Ok, call your bank and make sure they approve this much of a charge. Things got funny a few years back and most places put a cap on one time purchases to protect folks from fraud. I want to catch up with Ms. Masterson a moment, you don’t mind do you?”

Did I mind? My guts clenched, but I just shrugged.

I wandered to the front of the store, calling the bank from my new phone. It was the same bank I had when I first went overseas, the one here in town. I explained who I was, confirmed my social security number and told them the amount. They put me on hold to do some computer magic and my gaze drifted out the window. The weasel dick from the hospital… James perhaps? He was walking down the street. He was talking into a phone. I followed his progress and saw a brown sheriff’s SUV pull over, and he climbed in the front seat. I strained to see who the driver was, but it wasn’t Tyler. That was when the lady from the bank came back online and told me my card would be ready for the purchase. I thanked her and hung up. No more fooling myself, I always knew I was coming home, hell, I was already here.

“I’m ready,” I told Barney, putting my card on the counter. He just nodded and hesitated before swiping the card.

“Is that enough ammo?” He asked Alison and me.

“I’m sure there’s more in the ranch’s gun safe if we ever get over-run by Indians,” I joked.

“Yeah, we probably have all of these calibers. Daddy has a ton of toys be bought from you,” she told Barney, and I sighed. Now I knew the connection that had worried me for half a second. I really had to get over this. It just felt so raw, so new. Love.

“Good,” I undid my belt and put the holster through it. “You don’t mind do you?” I asked Barney and he shook his head no.

The credit card receipt was printing when I started loading the magazine for the Gold Cup. I finished loading the fine pistol, and put the safety on before holstering it. I signed for it and Alison looked disappointed when I put hers in the box instead of on her belt.

“You don’t have a CPL.”

“It’s an open carry state!” She was pissed.

“In a car ma’am,” Barney said, “You need a CPL to have a loaded gun within reach.”

“Oh, I thought it was some misogynistic thing.”

“Hon, if that was the case, you would have shot me by now,” I teased her, and she promptly stuck out her tongue.

“I’m guessing you’re qualified to teach her about the gun that you bought for yourself, but are going to let her try out once in a while?” I almost had to think hard for a moment there, but yes, I bought the gun and he never asked for her credentials even though it was obvious I was buying it for her.

“Yeah, I was an E-7, with a B4 ASI,” I told him with a grin, thinking if he was a squid he wouldn’t understand what I was saying, but he just nodded.

“Good to know there’s another SF dude in town. We had some of you guys on the teams.”

I had to stop short there. I thought he was Special Forces, but this lanky Barney Fife biker look alike was a Seal.

“Did we ever meet before?”

“No, I bought the shop here three years back. Don’t think we’ve ever met, but if you want to split a case of Budweiser some night and talk war stories, just let me know.”

“I’d like that, I really would,” I said holding my hand out, smiling like an idiot. He returned the smile and handshake.

“Just one question, why not a Remington 700 system like the M24?”

“Extra firepower and the coyotes can’t hit a target 3000 feet out like I can with this little puppy.” I said patting the AR that was now in a cloth case for transport, compliments of the Emporium. “Besides, I upgraded my own system. Lost it in an IED setup and mortar attack. I want a new baby.”

“Sad.”

“I almost cried a week.”

“Oh my god. Can we go now?” Alison moaned, bored with us.

She was right. I could probably talk to Barney all day and throw around terms she didn’t recognize. I wasn’t out of the military that long and was already finding kindred souls. Dade and now Barney. Maybe life here wouldn’t be so bad once things settled down. Almost an afterthought, I sent another mental prayer up for Tim and his mother. Carl was still an ass in my mind for calling Ali a cunt, but over time, I’d forgive him too.

“Sure babe. Nice talking to you Barney,” I waved as we loaded up our loot, the ammo almost breaking the bottoms out of the bags.

Barney just waved back. I put the rest of the guns in the back behind the back jump seats and headed the Jeep back to the ranch.

“Who did that guy remind you of?” She asked me.

“You remember the old Andy Griffith Show?” I asked her.

“Yeah…?”

“The crazy deputy… Barney Fife, but imagine him with tattoos and piercings…”

She was silent for a moment, her brow furrowed. I turned to pay attention to the road again and missed the moment she remembered and she started laughing and beating on the dashboard. After a moment, I joined her too.

“It was just too perfect,” I told her.

“Yes, it was.”

I pulled right up to the cabin. Alison grabbed my cell phone, so she could put numbers in it like Mom and Dad’s, Jackson’s and anybody else who’d be helpful to me. I carried in the guns. I knew I was going to have to tear down and sight in the new monster, before zeroing the scope but jet lag and switching time zones had me wiped out again. I loaded the magazine for the Beretta and brought it out to Ali who put it in her holster and went back inside and lay on the couch to rest my eyes for a moment. I was drifting off to sleep when Alison wedged herself partly on top of me, her back to the couch. She lazily rubbed her hands through my hair and I was out like a light after that.

The smells of cooking were what had woke me up. A soft murmuring of voices came from the kitchen and I recognized Jackson and Sandy’s voice along with Alison’s. All were being quiet, almost whispering.

“…Came out good so far.” Jackson

“..If it... Stable…”

“I’m awake,” I holler up, but not too loud, the cabin isn’t that big of a place.

“Oh good. Whispering sucks.”

“Boy, why are you always napping whenever company comes around? A person might think you aren’t a hospitable type of person,” Jackson’s voice said coming close. I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

“Still getting over the time change.”

“And two solid days of flight and jet lag and walking into a modern day range war and…”

“I get it, I get it.” I held up my hands in surrender.

Jackson sat down next to me, and eyed the AR on the coffee table next to me. He held it up lovingly and looked at me. I nodded permission and he pulled the bolt back, then dropped the magazine, put it back in.

“This is some kind of gun. What does it shoot?”

“A .308 or a 7.62 Nato round,” I yawned the last word out.

“A better varmint killer huh?”

“Yeah, once I get it zeroed in, you can have your lizard killer back.”

“Much appreciated,” he said.

“You know… I saw this movie, and I swear to god it was you in it.”

“What kind of crazy talk is this? You still dreaming?”

“Not crazy, it’s a western to boot.”

“Ok, that’s not all that crazy then. What is it?”

“You’re Mitchell, from an
Unfinished Life
, except you’ve never met a bear you couldn’t kill.”

“Is that the one where Morgan Freeman plays a cowboy?”

“Yeah. That’s the one.”

“Good, it’s Sandy’s favorite one too. She about broke my hips after watching it, she kind of favors…”

Gross!

“Stop, stop man,” I laughed and held my hands up in surrender again.

“What made you think of that?”

“We couldn’t get many movies to watch in our downtime. Westerns were always a safe bet. It was one that we wore out the disc on. Just dreaming of old times.”

“Ok. So, how long have you been awake?”

“Just when I hollered up. You all were being quiet.”

“Girls are finishing dinner, but Sandy and I just got here.”

“What’s cooking?”

“Some kind of pot roast and potatoes.”

“God, I must have been out a while.”

“Yeah, it’s almost 10 p.m.”

“Really?”

“Wow, you’re really out of it, aren’t you?”

“I must be. Damn, now I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight. Any word on Tim?”

“He’s in recovery. He’s still in a coma.”

“Coma? An induced one right?”

“Yeah. It was touch and go. Tyler had to leave for some business, but he came back for the news. Poor Cass almost broke down. Doc had to give her a sedative. Carl just sat there. I don’t want to be in their shoes. Not one bit.”

“How long are they going to keep him under?”

“A few days. We won’t know anything until Friday or so at the earliest.”

“I hope he gets better. That’s a lot for a family to deal with.”

“Yeah, it is. You coming to eat, or you going to play with your new toys now?” he pointed at the Colt on my hip that I forgot to take off when I was napping. I yawned and held it out after dropping the mag and racking the slide, catching the free shell and reloading it.

“Nice. You like the fancy stuff, don’t you?”

“Sort of. The base model of this gun has been used by the military for almost 100 years. This is one of the fanciest race guns I could get my hands on in the Army; it’s what I used to shoot dirt competitions with.”

“Competitions?”

“We were bored. Guns were tools, and the better with them we were, the longer we lived as long as we didn’t get hit by a jihadist with a suicide vest or an IED…”

“So you shot.”

“A lot.”

“You any good?” He asked me, his voice quiet but sincere in his question.

“Yeah. Too good sometimes. Nightmares.”

“Yeah, I hear you. Maybe that’s the reason you’re tired all of a sudden. You’re catching up on all the sleep you missed while saving the world for my old black ass…”

“You kind of are an ass, aren’t you Jackson?”

I didn’t see the swat coming, but his hat smacked my lips and I sputtered, and then laughed. I got my pistol back, holstered it and went into the kitchenette. The ladies were finishing spooning out some potatoes and onions around a hunk of roast into four big bowls.

“Oh, and Jackson brought you a present. We sort of forgot to stop and get some beer” Alison pulled out a six pack of Shiner from the fridge.

“I didn’t forget, I was distracted,” I joked.

“Oh you two. Buying rings already?” Sandy asked and we both sobered up in a heartbeat.

“That’s a mood killer,” Jackson said and smiled at our sour expressions.

We ate a really late supper and Jackson polished off a beer and Sandy and I drank the rest. It was funny to watch Alison realize that Sandy could be as salty as any cowpoke here at the ranch, and by Sandy’s third beer she was letting words fly that had Ali snickering, but only made me smile. This was how I remembered things. I would have a couple nights a week like this; the rest were spent hiding from the way things had been, mostly the way they seemed in my mind. Sandy had been right earlier, I had run away to hide from things.

“So what’s with the guns?” Sandy asked me at last, nodding towards the living room.

“Wanted to have my own. I’m hoping with Tim fixed, things will be…”

“Normal?” Alison asked me. I nodded without looking up.

“The issue with the water still bugs me. I’m thinking of spending a couple days on the trail, maybe even hunting down those coyotes. I have a good lead on where to find a spot to back track them.”

“Yeah, I spent some time talking to Carl about ranch business. What the engineers did shouldn’t have been able to change the course of the river like it did. I believed him,” Jackson said, his words blunt.

“Yeah, I got the same feeling too. The problem I have is there’s too much land and most of it you can’t get to without a horse, it makes things really difficult.”

“What about the quads?” Alison asked.

“What?” I was confused.

“A quad can go where the horses can, but they take a ton of gas.”

“They’re noisy but-”

“You could probably run the whole fence line in a day with one,” Jackson mused, rubbing the white stubble on his chin, making a rasping sandpaper sound.

“I don’t think anybody’s done that before,” Sandy said in awe.

“On a quad?” I asked, knowing we must have a dozen around here for various small chores, hell I used one as a kid just for hauling garden produce.

“Yeah. Use the front storage racks, tie a couple Jerry cans to the back rack and go do your hunt thing. You don’t have to be gone two or three days,” Alison said, a triumphant note in her voice.

“Why didn’t we think of using quads?” Jackson asked to no one in particular.

“Probably because they are noisy and would scare the cows,” Sandy told him.

“Probably because he’s tall dark and ugly.”

“Shut up.” The three of them replied.
Dammit!

“Ok ok, maybe because cowboys usually ride horses?” I offered in peace.

“Fair enough. I’ll have things ready for you in the morning.”

“Still have to sight in my gun first,” I told him.

“I’m sure you’ll take good care of it,” Sandy said, smiling.

We polished off dinner, and the girls worked on the dishes together. I went outside with Jackson, standing under the moonlight, the glow reflecting off the snow high in the mountains. For a place to live, work and die, I may have found heaven, despite the neighbors.

“Bill called while you were sleeping.”

“Oh?”

“I filled him in on the doings around here. He told me you could handle things.”

“Why me?”

“You’re his son I guess. He seems to think pretty highly of you.” My heart lurched at hearing that. He knew?

“Yeah, I’m learning all kinds of things lately.”

“You already knew them; you just needed a kick in the ass to open your eyes up.”

“Thanks for the boot.”

“Shit… It wasn’t me, it was your… I mean, it was Ali. You never listened to me.”

“Yeah I did, I just didn’t let it show.”

“Well, you were good at that.”

“Do you think the idea of the quads…?”

“Genius. I don’t know why we never thought of doing it before for riding fence. The cattle will move away from the edges into the middle. Guess I’m getting too old for this job.”

“Naw, don’t say that. There weren’t even cars when you were a kid. I heard you had to rope dinosaurs to get a lift into town.”

“Now you’re just being ugly,” He said, but in an amused tone.

“Seriously, I never thought of it either.”

“Well, your girl still had a good idea,” he told me.

“Yeah, she did.”

“Oh, so you admit it now?” He was poking at me verbally, but I knew he meant Alison. It had been a short period of time, but it must have been obvious to all.

“Don’t bust my ass man; it’s been a long week, but yeah.  My girl.”

“True. We may not be out of the woods yet, but once we get the water situation fixed, maybe we’ll have everything squared away.”

“Can you pull up county records, find out about the permit the engineers used for the waterway, and any zoning or development contracts for the back end of the Bart Property?”

“You’re thinking there may have been something more than just cut fences from Tim? Some sort of big conspiracy?” He said, waving his hat from left to right.

I felt like an idiot but I nodded. That was exactly what I was thinking. There was too much land and not enough eyes. I had a horrible feeling that there was a lot more going on here than we’d seen and Dade had been right. It was somehow an issue related to a woman. That kiss with Karen would be problems enough, and I thought it a small miracle that Tyler wasn’t pissed when he saw me today at the hospital when half the town saw Karen try to kiss me. The entire thing stank.

“Well, let’s hope our problems have ended with Tim.”

“We can always pray.”

“I’m going to pack tonight, but I may be gone two to three days even with the quad.”

“What are you going to do that’ll take that long?”

“I’ll be laying low. Maybe kill some coyotes and watch for things around the old riverbed.”

“Well… You’re welcome to grab any camo gear you’d need from my place, but don’t be waking me up at 4 a.m.”

“No, actually I think I’ll be gone by then. If you don’t mind, I’ll grab one on my way out tonight.”

“What about sighting in your fancy toys?”

“I’ll do it on the trail. It’ll probably be a boring camping trip to be honest, sit in the dust and sun, scoping things out and sweating buckets.”

“You better bring a ton of that too.”

“I know where’s there’s a couple sinks in the ground now, that were full when Ali and I rode the fences. Watered the horses there, so I’ll just refill a canteen or three when I need it.”

“Well, then I’ll put a quad by the hay barn with a couple Jerry cans then. I expect Ms. Alison can get you squared away with the rest of the gear from Bill’s collection?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“By the way,” Jackson asked, “Where were those sink holes with the water?”

“Half a day’s ride down the shared fence line with Carl and ten minutes to the East, why?”

“I don’t remember there being anything like that, it’d be nice if it was oil now wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’d be nice,” I laughed, yeah; oil would fix the money problems at least.

“Keep your phone on you; I’ll get in touch when I find out what I can in town when I get up in the morning.”

“Thanks Boss,” I joked and finally anticipated the swipe of his hat.