The Wyoming Kid

Anger flashed from his eyes. “That tiny dent does bother me. What bothers me more is unsafe drivers. In my view, you should have your driver’s license revoked.”

“I forgot about the stop sign,” Joy admitted. “And I’ve apologized a dozen times. I don’t mean to be difficult here, but this just seems wrong to me. You’re angry about something else entirely and we both know what that is.”

“You’re wrong. This has nothing to do with you and me. This is about my truck.”

“Who do you think you’re kidding?” she burst out. “You’re angry because I’m a woman with opinions that didn’t happen to agree with yours. You didn’t want a relationship, you wanted someone to flatter your ego and I didn’t fall into line the way other women have.” She’d never met any of those women, but she’d certainly heard about them….

His eyes narrowed. “You’re just a city girl. I’m surprised you stuck around this long. If you figure that arguing will convince me to forget what you did to my truck, you’re dead wrong.” He shook his head as if she’d insulted him.

Joy couldn’t believe he was going to pursue this.

“You owe me for the damage to my vehicle,” he insisted.

“You…you…” she sputtered at the unfairness of it all. “I’m not paying you a dime.” If he wanted to be unreasonable, then she could be, too.

“Would you rather I had my insurance company contact yours?”

“Not really.”

“Then I’d appreciate a check in the amount of two hundred and fifty dollars.”

“That’s practically blackmail!”

“Blackmail?” Lonny spat out the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. “I went to a lot of time and effort to get this estimate. I wanted to be as fair and amicable as possible and this is what I get?” He threw his arms up as if completely disgusted. “You’re lucky I was willing to share the cost with you, which I didn’t have to do.”

“You think you’re being fair?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I only want to be fair,” he said in self-righteous tones.

Joy relaxed. “Then fifty dollars should do it.”

Lonny’s eyes widened. “Fifty dollars won’t even begin to cover the damage.”

“I don’t see you rushing out for estimates on any of the other damage to your truck.” She pointed at a couple of deep gouges on the driver’s door.

“I was responsible for those,” he said. “I’ll get around to taking care of them someday.”

“Apparently someday has arrived and you’re trying to rip me off.”

They were almost nose-to-nose now and tall as he was, Joy didn’t even flinch. This man was a Neanderthal, a knuckle-dragging throwback who didn’t know the first thing about civility or common decency.

“Miss Fuller? Uncle Lonny?”

The small voice of a child drifted through the fog of Joy’s anger. To her horror, she’d been so upset, she’d forgotten all about Cricket.

“You’re yelling,” the little girl said, staring up at them. Her expression was one of uncertainty.

Joy immediately crouched down so she was level with the six-year-old. “Your Uncle Lonny and I let our emotions get the better of us,” she said and laughed as if it was all a joke.

Frowning, Cricket glanced from Joy to her uncle. “Uncle Lonny says when you aren’t teaching school you shrink heads. When I asked Mom about it, she said Uncle Lonny didn’t mean that. You don’t really shrink heads, do you?”

Lonny cleared his throat. “Ah, perhaps it’s time we left, Cricket.” He reached for the little girl’s hand but Cricket resisted.

“Of course I don’t shrink heads,” Joy said, standing upright. Her irritation continued to simmer as she met Lonny’s gaze. “Your uncle was only teasing.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Lonny muttered under his breath.

Joy sighed. “That was mature.”

“I don’t care what you think of me. All I want from you is two hundred and fifty dollars to pay for the damage you did to my truck.”

“My fifty-dollar offer stands any time you’re willing to accept it.”

His fierce glare told her the offer was unacceptable.

“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll go to your insurance company,” he warned.

If it came to that, then so be it. Surely a claims adjustor would agree with her. “You can threaten me all you want. Fifty dollars is my best offer—take it or leave it.”

“I’ll leave it.” This was said emphatically, conviction behind each syllable.

Joy handed him back the written estimate. “That’s perfectly fine by me. You can contact me when you’re prepared to be reasonable.”

“You think I’m the one who’s being unreasonable?” he asked, sounding both shocked and hurt.

She rolled her eyes. Lonny should’ve had a career as a B-movie actor, not a bull-rider or whatever he’d been. Bull something, anyway.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said calmly.

Lonny had the audacity to scowl.

This man was the most outrageous human being she’d ever had the misfortune to meet. Remembering the child’s presence, Joy bit her tongue in an effort to restrain herself from arguing further.

“You haven’t heard the last of me,” he threatened.

“Oh, say it isn’t so,” Joy murmured ever so sweetly. If she never saw the likes of Lonny Ellison again, it would be too soon.

Lonny whirled around and opened the door on the passenger side for his niece.

“Be careful not to scratch this priceless antique,” Joy called out to the little girl.

After helping Cricket inside, Lonny closed the door. “Very funny,” he said. “You won’t be nearly as amused once your insurance people hear from mine.”

Joy was no longer concerned about that. Her agent would take one look at Lonny Ellison’s beaten-up vehicle and might, if the cowpoke was lucky, offer him fifty bucks.

Whatever happened, he wasn’t getting a penny more out of her. She’d rather go to jail.

Chapter Three

“You’ve got a thing for Miss Fuller, don’t you?” Cricket asked as she sat beside Lonny in the cab of his truck. “That’s what my mommy says.”

Lonny made a noncommittal reply. If he announced his true feelings for the teacher, he’d singe his niece’s ears. Joy was right about something, though. His anger was connected to their earlier relationship, if he could even call it that. The first few dates had gone well, and he’d felt encouraged. He’d been impressed with her intelligence and adventuresome spirit. For a time, he’d even thought Joy might be the one. But it became apparent soon enough that she couldn’t take a joke. That was when her uppity, know-it-all, schoolmarm side had come out. She seemed to think his ego was the problem. Not so! He was a kidder and she had no sense of humor. He’d been glad to end it right then and there.

His sister had tried to play the role of matchmaker after she returned to Red Springs and became friends with Joy. Lonny wasn’t interested, since he’d had a private look into the real Joy Fuller, behind all her sweetness and charm.

“Mom says sometimes people who really like each other pretend they don’t, ’cause they’re afraid of their feelings,” Cricket continued, sounding wise beyond her years. He could hear the echo of Letty’s opinions in her daughter’s words.

Leave it to a female to come up with a completely nonsensical notion like that.

“Do you like Miss Fuller the way Mom said?” Cricket asked again.

Lonny shrugged. That was as much of a comment as he cared to make. He was well aware of his sister’s opinions. Letty hoped to marry him off. He was thirty-five now, and the pool of eligible women in Red Springs was quickly evaporating. His romantic sister had set her sights on him and Joy, but as far as he was concerned, hell would freeze over first.

Lonny figured he’d had his share of women on the rodeo circuit and he had no desire for that kind of complication again. Most of those girlfriends had been what you’d call short-term—some of them very short-term. They’d treated him like a hero, which was gratifying, but he’d grown tired of their demands, and even their adulation had become tiresome after a while. Since he’d retired six years earlier, he’d lived alone and frankly, that was how he liked it.

Just recently he’d hired Tom, a young man who’d drifted onto his ranch. That seemed to be working out all right. Tom had a room in the barn and kept mostly to himself. Lonny didn’t want to pry into his business, but he had checked the boy’s identification. To his relief, Tom was of age; still, he seemed young to be completely on his own. Lonny had talked to the local sheriff and learned that Tom wasn’t wanted for any crimes. Lonny hoped that, given time, the boy would trust him enough to share what had prompted him to leave his family. For now, he was safer living and working with Lonny than making his own way in the world.

Despite his sister’s claims, Lonny was convinced that bringing a woman into his life would cause nothing but trouble. First thing a wife would want to do was update his kitchen and the appliances. That stove had been around as long as he could remember—his mother had cooked on it—and he didn’t see any need to buy another. Same with the refrigerator. Then, as soon as a wife had sweet-talked him into redoing the kitchen, sure as hell she’d insist on all new furniture. It wouldn’t end there, either. He’d be forking out for paint and wallpaper and who knows what. After a few months he wouldn’t even recognize his own house—or his bank account. No, sir, he couldn’t afford a wife, not with the financial risk he and Chase were taking by raising their cattle without growth hormones.

A heifer took five years to reach twelve hundred pounds on the open range, eating a natural diet of grass. By contrast, commercial steers, who were routinely fed hormones, reached that weight in eighteen to twenty months. That meant they were feeding and caring for a single head of beef nearly three years longer than the average cattleman. Penned cattle were corn-fed and given a diet that featured protein supplements. Lonny had seen some of those so-called supplements, and they included chicken feathers and rot like that. Furthermore, penned steers were on a regimen of antibiotics to protect them from the various diseases that ran rampant in such close quarters.

Yup, they were taking a risk, he and Chase, raising natural beef, and the truth was that Lonny was on a tight budget. But he could manage, living on his own, even with Tom’s wages and the room and board he provided. Lonny was proud of their cattle-ranching venture; not only were they producing a higher quality beef, for which the market was growing, but their methods were far more humane.

Cricket sang softly to herself during the rest of the ride. Lonny pulled into the long dirt drive that led to Chase and Letty’s place, leaving a plume of dust in his wake.

When he neared the house, he was mildly surprised to find Chase’s truck parked outside the barn. His sister had phoned him a couple of days earlier and asked him to collect Cricket after school. Letty had an appointment with the heart specialist in Rock Springs, sixty miles west of Red Springs. Chase had insisted on driving her. Of course Lonny had agreed to pick up his niece.

Letty had undergone heart surgery a little less than a year ago. While the procedure had been a success, she required regular physicals. Lonny was happy to help in any way he could. He knew Letty was fine health-wise, and in just about every other way, too. In fact, he’d never seen his sister happier. Still, it didn’t do any harm to have that confirmed by a physician.

As soon as he eased the truck to a stop, Cricket bounded out of the cab and raced off to look for her mother. Lonny climbed out more slowly and glanced around. He walked into the barn, where Chase was busy with his afternoon chores.

“Cricket’s with you?” Chase asked, looking up from the stall he was mucking out.

Lonny nodded. “Letty asked me to pick her up today.”

Straightening, Chase leaned against the pitchfork and slid back the brim of his hat. “Why’d she do that?” he asked, frowning slightly. “The school bus would’ve dropped her off at your place. No need for you to go all the way into town.”

“I had other business there,” Lonny said, but he didn’t explain that his real reason had to do with Joy Fuller and the money she owed him.

“Hey, Lonny,” Letty called. Bright sunlight spilled into the barn as Letty swept open the door. Cricket stayed close to her mother’s side. “I wondered if I’d find you here.”

“I thought you might want your daughter back,” he joked. “How’d the appointment go?”

“Just great.” She raised her eyebrows. “Cricket tells me you got into another argument with Joy.”

He frowned at his niece. He should’ve guessed she’d run tattling to her mother. “The woman’s being completely unreasonable. Personally, I don’t know how you can get along with her.”

“Really?” Letty exchanged a knowing look with her husband.

“Just a minute here!” Lonny waved his finger at them. “None of that.”

“None of what?” His sister was the picture of innocence.

“You know very well what I mean. You’ve got this sliver up your fingernail about me being attracted to your friend, and how she’d be the perfect wife.”

“You’re protesting too much.” Letty seemed hard put to keep from rubbing her hands together in satisfaction. His sister was in love and it only made sense, he supposed, for her to see Cupid at work between him and Joy. Only it wasn’t happening. He didn’t even like the woman.

Not that there was any point in further protest. Arguing with his sister was like asking an angry bronc not to throw you. No matter what Lonny said or did, it wouldn’t change Letty’s mind. Despite their brief and ill-fated romance, something—he couldn’t imagine what—had convinced his softhearted little sister that he was head-over-heels crazy about Joy.

“What did you say to her this time?” Letty demanded.

“Me?”

“Yes, you!” She propped her hands on her hips, and judging by her stern look, there was no escaping the wrath of Letty. The fact that Joy had managed to turn his own sister against him was testament to the evil power Joy Fuller possessed.

“If you must know, I took her the estimate for the damage she did to my truck.”

“You’re kidding!” Letty cried. “You actually got an estimate?”

“Damn straight I did.” Okay, so maybe he was carrying this a bit far, but someone needed to teach this woman a lesson, and that someone might as well be him.

“But your truck…”

Lonny already knew what she was going to say. It was the same argument Joy had given him. “Yes, there are plenty of other dents on the bumper. All I’m asking is that she make restitution for the one she caused. I don’t understand why everyone wants to argue about this. She caused the dent. The least she can do is pay to have it fixed.”

“Lonny, you’ve got to be joking.”

He wasn’t. “What about assuming personal responsibility? You’d think a woman teaching our children would want to make restitution.” According to Letty, the entire community thought the sun rose and set on Miss Fuller. Not him, though. He’d seen the woman behind those deceptive smiles.

“What did Joy have to say to that?” Chase asked, and his mouth twitched in a smile he couldn’t quite hide.

Lonny resisted the urge to ask his brother-in-law what he found so darned amusing. “She made me an insulting offer of fifty dollars. The woman’s nuts if she thinks I’ll accept that.”

Letty uttered a rather unfeminine-sounding snort. “I can’t say I blame her.”

His own sister had sided with Joy and against him. Lonny was sad to see it. “What about my truck? What about me? That woman’s carelessness nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“She said she apologized.”

Obviously Joy had gone directly to his sister telling tales. Granted, after the accident, Joy had been all sweet and apologetic. However, it didn’t take long for her dark side to show, just like it had two years ago.

Since everyone was taking sides with Joy, Lonny considered dropping the entire matter. For a moment, anyway…When he presented Joy with the bill, he’d hoped she’d take all the blame and tell him how sorry she was…and sound as if she meant it. At that point, he would’ve felt good about absolving her and being magnanimous. He’d figured they could talk like adults, maybe meet for a friendly drink—see what happened from there.

That, however, wasn’t how things had gone. Joy had exploded. His impetuous little fantasy shriveled up even more quickly than it had appeared, to be replaced by an anger that matched hers.

“What are you planning to do now?” Letty asked, checking her watch.

Lonny looked to his brother-in-law and best friend for help, but Chase was staying out of this one. There was a time Chase would’ve leaped to Lonny’s defense. Not now; marriage had changed him. “I don’t know yet. I was thinking I should file a claim with her insurance company.” He didn’t really plan to do that, but the threat sounded real and he’d let Letty believe he just might.

“You wouldn’t dare,” his sister snapped.

He shrugged, afraid now that he was digging himself into a hole. But pride demanded he not back down.

“One look at your truck and I’m afraid the adjustor would laugh,” Chase told him.

That hole was getting deeper by the minute.

Shaking her head, Letty sighed. “I’d better call Joy and see if she’s okay.”

Lonny stared at her. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

Letty patted his shoulder. “Sometimes you don’t know how intimidating you can be, big brother. Chase and I know you’re a pussycat, but Joy doesn’t.”

As Lonny stood there scratching his head, wondering how everything had gotten so confused, Letty walked out of the barn.

Utterly baffled, Lonny muttered, “Did I hear her right? Is she actually going to phone Joy? Isn’t that like consorting with the enemy? What about family loyalty, one for all and all for one, that kind of stuff?”

Chase seemed about to answer when Letty turned back. “Do you want to stay for dinner?” she asked.

Invitations on days other than Sunday were rare, and Lonny had no intention of turning one down. He might be upset with his sister but he wasn’t stupid. Letty was a mighty fine cook. “Sure.”

A half hour or so later, Lonny accompanied his brother-in-law to the house. After washing up, Chase brought out two cans of cold beer. Then, just as they had on so many other evenings, the two of them sat on the porch, enjoying the cool breeze.

“The doc said Letty’s going to be all right?” Lonny asked his friend.

Chase took a deep swallow of beer. “According to him, Letty’s as fit as a fiddle.”

That was what Lonny had guessed. His sister had come home after ten years without telling him why—that her heart was in bad shape. She’d needed an expensive surgery, one she couldn’t afford, and she’d trusted Lonny to raise Cricket for her when she died. Cricket’s father had abandoned Letty before the little girl was even born. Letty hadn’t told Lonny any more than that, and he’d never asked. Thankfully she’d had the surgery and it’d been successful. She was married to Chase now; even for a guy as cynical about marriage as Lonny, it was easy to see how much she and Chase loved each other. Cricket had settled down, too. For the first time in her life, the little girl had a father and a family. Lonny was delighted with the way everything had turned out for his sister and his best friend.

“You like married life, don’t you?” he asked. Although he knew the answer, he asked the question anyway. Lonny couldn’t think of another man who’d be completely honest with him.

Chase looked into the distance and nodded.

“Why?”

Chase smiled. “Well, marriage definitely has its good points.”

“Sex?”

“I’m not about to discount that,” his friend assured him, his smile widening. “But there’s more to marriage than crawling into bed with a warm body.”

“Such as?”

Chase didn’t take offense at the question, the way another guy might have. “I hadn’t realized how lonely it was around this place since my dad died,” Chase said. His expression was sober and thoughtful as he stared out at the ranch that had been in his family for four generations. “Letty and Cricket have given me purpose. I have a reason to get out of bed in the morning—a reason other than chores. That’s the best I can explain it.”

Lonny leaned back and rested his elbows on the step. He considered what his friend had said and, frankly, he didn’t see it. “I like my life the way it is.”

Chase nodded. “Before Letty returned, I thought the same thing.”

At least one person understood his feelings.

“Is it okay if I join you?” Letty asked from behind the screen door before moving on to the porch. She held a tall glass of lemonade.

“Sure, go ahead,” Lonny said agreeably.

His sister sat on the step beside Chase, who slid his arm around her shoulder. She pressed her head against him, then glanced at Lonny.

“Did you phone her?” It probably wasn’t a good idea to even ask, but he had to admit he was curious.

“I will later,” Letty said. “I was afraid if I called her now, she might be too distressed to talk.”

“I’m the one who’s distressed,” he muttered, not that anyone had asked about his feelings.

Letty ignored the comment. “You’ve really got a thing for her, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t.” Dammit, he wished his sister would stop saying that. Even his niece was parroting her words. Lonny didn’t want to argue with Letty, but the fact was, he knew his own feelings. “I can guess what you’re thinking and I’m here to tell you, you’re wrong.”

“You seem to talk about her quite a bit,” she said archly.

No argument there. “Now, listen, I want you to give me your solemn word that you won’t do anything stupid.”

“Like what?” Letty asked.

“Like try to get me and Joy together again. I told you before, I’m not interested and I mean it.”

“You know, big brother, I might’ve believed you earlier, but I don’t anymore.”

Not knowing what to say, Lonny just shook his head. “I want your word, Letty. I’m serious about this.”

“Your brother doesn’t need your help.” Chase kissed the top of her head.

“He’s right,” Lonny said.

“But—”

“I don’t need a woman in my life.”

“You’re lonely.”

“I’ve got plenty of friends, plus you guys practically next door,” he told her. “Besides, Tom’s around.”

At this reminder of the teenage boy living at the ranch, Letty asked, “How’s that going?”

Lonny shrugged. “All right, I guess.” He liked the kid, who was skinny as a beanpole and friendly but still reserved. “He’s a hard worker.”

Letty reached for Chase’s hand. “It was good of you to give him a job.”

Lonny didn’t think of it that way. “I was looking for seasonal help. He showed up at the right time.” When Lonny found him in the barn, Tom had offered to work in exchange for breakfast. The kid must’ve been half-starved, because he gobbled down six eggs, half a pound of bacon and five or six slices of toast, along with several cups of coffee. In between bites, he brushed off Lonny’s questions about his history and hometown. When Lonny mentioned that he and Chase were hoping to hire a ranch hand for the season, Tom’s eyes had brightened and he’d asked to apply for the job.

“I’m worried about you,” his sister lamented, refusing to drop the subject. “You do need someone.”

“I do not.”

Letty studied him for a long moment, then finally acquiesced. “Okay, big brother, you’re on your own.”

And that was exactly how Lonny wanted it.

Chapter Four

Tom Meyerson finished the last of his nightly chores and headed for his room in the barn. Stumbling onto this job was the best thing that’d happened to him in years. He’d been bone-weary and desperate when Lonny Ellison found him sleeping in his barn. That day, three months ago now, he’d walked twenty or twenty-five miles, and all he’d had to eat was an apple and half a candy bar. By the time he saw the barn far off in the distance, he’d been thirsty, hungry and so exhausted he could barely put one foot in front of the other. He didn’t think he’d make it to the next town by nightfall, so he’d hidden in the barn and fallen instantly asleep.