The Cowboy’s Daughter

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  Stretching, Kelly got into the shower. She was glad Janice was here—one more missing piece of her family snapping back into place. As she lathered up, she was surprised that she felt lighter and happier than she had in a while. Not only did she feel less alone with Janice here as a buffer between her and her parents, but she couldn’t deny she was also relieved that Trent knew about Alissa.

  One down, two to go. She thought Alissa would handle it well. She took everything in stride and nothing seemed to affect her for very long. Her father on the other hand, well, he had to be handled with kid gloves. They would have to use Billy King as a scapegoat, because he was the reason Trent hadn’t known he was a father until last night. She only hoped her father wouldn’t go after Billy with a shotgun. Frank’s temper was legendary.

  Janice had been dating a guy who treated her like hell. One night, she came back with a red mark on her face and bruises on her arm. The next day, her mother’d had to bail her father out of jail and they had to pay for damages to the guy’s car. Of course, a few days later, when her parents had an alibi, the guy got mugged and beaten within an inch of his life. All the ranch hands said Nate had been in the barn with them, but Kelly always had her doubts about that, especially since he wore gloves for the next few days. The guy left town right after that. Good riddance. But it always made Kelly a little wary about what her father could be trusted to know.

  It had been so different living with her aunt. There was no walking on eggshells or shouting. She missed that peaceful existence, but she couldn’t deny that the ranch made her blood stir. All she wanted to do was go riding, and she wanted to share that joy with Alissa too. Kelly got dressed in a flowing skirt and a peasant blouse, and then went downstairs to see what her daughter was up to. She was playing checkers with her grandfather and Kelly had a moment to study both of them.

  Her father looked tired. He’d lost weight since the last time they were down here, which probably elated his heart surgeon, but Kelly wasn’t used to seeing her dad so gaunt. At least, he wasn’t smoking anymore. But his fingers trembled slightly when he moved the checker piece. He couldn’t take his eyes off his granddaughter, and he beamed at her with pride.

  Kelly had loved playing chess with him when she was younger. It was one of the few times he was patient, when he was showing her how to play a game, or shoot a rifle, or ride a horse. Kelly often thought he would have been a good teacher if the ranching bug hadn’t hit him. Alissa made a mistake and Kelly would have jumped her piece and gone for the win, but her father pretended he didn’t see it.

  “You’re a softy,” she murmured.

  Alissa had dressed herself this morning, meaning she was wearing a cowboy hat and one of Kelly’s band T-shirts. A tutu cinched the shirt, making it a dress. New cowboy boots that looked like something Janice would have bought topped off the look. She was eating a bowl of strawberries and concentrating so hard on the game, she jumped when Kelly pressed a kiss on her cheek.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” she said, stealing a piece of fruit.

  “PawPaw is winning.”

  “That happens.” Kelly glanced at her father. “Are you and Mom okay watching her while Janice and I hit the bank? Or should we take her with us?”

  “I want to stay,” Alissa said. “MeMaw is going to let me play with the kittens again.”

  “Go out with your sister,” her father said. “Alissa doesn’t need to sit in a bank all day when she could be having fun outside in the country. She’s too used to being cooped up in that big city of yours.”

  “Yeah,” Alissa said, stuffing two strawberries in her mouth. Her lips and fingers were already stained with berry juice.

  “We weren’t going to be gone all day, but we could be,” Kelly said wryly.

  “Suit yourselves.”

  Kelly looked him over in concern, but he seemed fine. She wasn’t used to him being at the table at this time in the morning or being so agreeable. He would have normally been on his horse with Nate at this time of day.

  “Hurry up,” Janice called from the porch.

  Pouring herself a coffee and snagging a muffin, Kelly joined Janice on the porch swing. Their mother was weeding the garden and waved at her when she sat down next to her sister.

  “We’re taking your car,” Janice said.

  “Nate can’t drive us to the bank?” she teased, knowing Nate was with the cattle.

  She snorted. “It was bad enough he had to pick me up last night. He barely said two words to me. He wouldn’t tell me what the buildings up by the road were. Dad said I had to wait for Emily.”

  Placing her coffee mug down, Kelly rummaged through her purse for the rental car keys. “Here, you drive so I can eat breakfast on the way.” She tossed her sister the keys. “When is Emily going to get here?”

  “Not until next week. She’s pretty upset she’s going to miss the rodeo. Did you see who’s the master of ceremonies?” Janice got up and dusted off her skirt before heading to the car.

  “Yes.” Kelly smirked, getting in the car and buckling in.

  “I wonder if he’s still as fine as he used to be.”

  “He is.”

  “Really?” Janice gave her the side eye as they pulled out of the driveway.

  Kelly finished her muffin, timing her next sentences just right. She took a long sip of coffee to wash it down… And… Now… “Dad leased him the property you saw. These are his buildings. That’s his soon-to-be-open bull-riding school.” She pointed as they were passing it.

  “What?” Janice slammed on the brakes.

  Kelly just managed not to slosh coffee on her skirt.

  Putting the car in park, Janice flew out the door and hurried over to the buildings. Kelly followed more slowly. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.”

  Trent poked his head out from the door of the studio as they got closer. Janice halted in shock and Kelly almost plowed into the back of her.

  “Hey,” he said, walking up to Kelly. “Didn’t expect to see you here so early.” And then to her mortification, he brushed a quick kiss over her lips.

  Little flutters of pleasure jingled down her spine and she wished she had the guts to ask him to kiss her like he meant it.

  Janice made a strangled gurgle.

  “I’m Trent Campbell.” He turned to her and held out his hand.

  When Janice blinked rapidly at him and her mouth made fish movements, Kelly jumped in. “This is my sister, Janice.”

  Janice recovered her wits enough to shake his hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Kelly tells me you’re going to build a women’s retreat.”

  “She did?” Janice said, her eyes wide. “I am. I thought my father was selling the ranch. Did you buy it?”

  “No,” Trent said. “I just leased a little bit of it. We’re testing out a bull-riding school here.” He gestured around. “I can option for multiple years at the end of the lease or cut bait if the school tanks. Can I give you the tour?”

  Janice slumped. “I’d love to see it, but we can’t. We’re heading out to the bank.”

  “Later then. Come on by anytime.” He paused and then looked right at Kelly. “Bring Alissa too. I have a T-shirt that would fit her with the school’s logo on it.”

  Now it was Kelly’s turn to sputter. “We’ll see,” she managed to say.

  Trent watched them get back into the car and gave them a quick wave before going back into the building.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Janice asked, her eyes wide.

  “You heard him. He’s paying rent. That’s Dad’s big secret. He was waiting for Emily to get here before he told us. He’s not planning on selling right away. He lied to us to get us to come down here.” Kelly took a sip of her coffee. “I’m kinda pissed about that. It’s manipulative.”

  “The hell with that right now. Trent Campbell kissed you. And he kissed you like it wasn’t the first time.”

  Kelly felt her cheeks flush hot. “We’re seeing each
other in a very casual, getting to know you sort of way.”

  “When did this happen? You didn’t say a word.”

  “It happened really recently.” Kelly felt a little guilty at the white lie, but she was also waiting for Emily to come home before spilling her secret.

  “You’ve only been in town a few days. You don’t waste time. I guess it’s because you’ve had a crush on him forever.” Janice shook her head in disbelief. “A bull-riding school, huh? Do you think there will be any takers?”

  “With his name behind it? You bet. He’s going to be busy.”

  “He’s going to need a parking lot,” Janice muttered.

  “You’re going to need a parking lot too.”

  “Dad’s not going to like all the asphalt. Neither is Nate.”

  “Tell me about it,” Kelly said. “But we can’t have our guests driving off road to get to us. I’m going to need your help to sweeten them up to the idea. How long are you here for?” Kelly asked.

  Janice made a face. “I’m here for the time being. I’m going to give notice at my job. I’m using up my vacation now, and I’ll still have to fly back and forth to be at a few more dressage shows. But by the end of the year, I’ll be here full-time.”

  “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “The women’s retreat is my idea. I need to be here.”

  “But what if this doesn’t work? What if next year or the year after, Dad goes through with his threat and sells the ranch? Where will you go?”

  “Wherever I want. Every town needs a veterinarian.”

  “Will your old job take you back?” Kelly asked.

  “Maybe, but it was time to move on. And who knows, maybe the new owners of the ranch would let me keep my retreat.”

  “Wouldn’t that be something? Dad and Mom clear out and we’re still here.”

  “I can’t imagine them not being here,” Janice said. “It’s one of the reasons we all came rushing back.”

  “For nothing.” Kelly crossed her arms in front of her. “He’s got another couple of years before he was planning to sell. He guilted all of us into turning our lives upside down to come back here. I’m so pissed at him for that. He could have been straight with us instead of playing on our emotions.”

  “I don’t know,” Janice said. “Sure, he could have done it less dramatically. But this way, he’s giving us time to build the ranch back up. Two years of rent with Trent and Donovan—”

  “And us.”

  “And us. It could make all the difference. If he was planning on selling by the end of the year, there’s no way we could have saved the ranch.”

  Kelly didn’t want to let logic take away her righteous anger. “I still say he could have treated us like adults for once in our lives and told it to us straight.”

  “It was lucky that all of us were ready for a new direction. I like to think that this was his way of pushing us to make a decision that we wanted to make.”

  “I didn’t want to come here,” Kelly argued. “I liked New York.”

  “You liked living in a cramped apartment with Aunt Candace?”

  “We were saving up to get our own apartment,” Kelly said defensively.

  “Would that double as your photography studio?”

  “Maybe,” she muttered.

  “This is a better opportunity,” Janice said, gently.

  “It is if he doesn’t kick me out again.”

  “And that’s why you’re really mad.”

  Kelly couldn’t argue.

  “If you have a contract, he can’t kick you out.”

  “He’s not going to give me a contract.”

  “Don’t worry,” Janice said. “I’m positive it will be a condition of the bank loan.”

  “You think?”

  “Yup. Make the bank the bad guy and get the legal paperwork and Dad won’t be able to kick you out until the lease is up. And by that time, you’ll have a good idea how everything stands.”

  How everything stands—including Trent.

  Kelly nodded. “It’s a good thing you’re the smart one.”

  “Shut up,” Janice said, annoyance making her voice hard. “You are not a dumb blonde.”

  “And you are not the ugly duckling.”

  If Emily was here, she would have piped up that at least they weren’t “the baby.”

  They joked about the monikers now, but growing up, it had hurt. She knew she wasn’t stupid and Janice knew she wasn’t ugly. But sometimes they wondered if their father knew that.

  “Anyway, once things settle down with the bank, Nate is lending me the horse trailer so I can drive back and pick up Black Dahlia and Synergy. I can put Syn out to stud and keep my head above water until I’m all set up.”

  Black Dahlia was an Andalusian who’d won a few FEI competitions, but had her own ideas on when and where she wanted to perform. Janice spoiled her like crazy, having raised her since she was a foal. Synergy was a racehorse who’d never won a race, but his bloodlines were impeccable.

  “Is that all you’re bringing back?” Kelly asked, knowing her sister.

  “Of course not. I’ve got the dogs to take home with me as well. They’re at Jolene’s right now.”

  Jolene was her best friend in Kentucky. “How many dogs are we up to now?”

  “Six.”

  “Six?” Kelly asked, incredulously.

  “It was more, but we lost Buck and Lou to cancer.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kelly said. She had liked the beagles.

  “Yeah, me too. I wish I could have done more for them.”

  “You made their last few years comfortable. Sometimes, that’s all you can do.” Kelly had a terrible thought that her father might be on his last years as well. Maybe that was why he went for all the dramatics and told them he was selling the ranch.

  “Oh, I examined the kittens. They don’t have any worms or any colds. Alissa should be fine to play with them.”

  Janice found out a long time ago that she was too soft to work on a ranch where the animals were not pets. She was a good livestock doctor, but her heart was in helping domesticated house pets instead of trail horses and sick cattle. However, she’d been horse crazy since she was a little girl. She recommended Emily buy Sunflower and had handpicked Pippi for Kelly. While Kelly and Emily had been barrel racers, Janice had studied English equestrian events and made their father build her a dressage ring to practice in.

  “I don’t think we could have stopped Alissa even if they weren’t. She was smuggling them into the house in her pockets,” Kelly said, wondering how she was going to convince her parents to let them keep the orange tabby that they’d both fallen in love with as a pet.

  Janice smiled and pulled into the Last Stand Bank’s parking lot. “I’m feeling really good about this.”

  The three of them had sent in their plans to Kenny along with the online application. Emily would have to come in and do her interview separately, but Kelly would go with her if she needed some support. She had to admit, it was a little scary to ask for money.

  Kenny came out and gave them both big hugs. He hadn’t changed since high school. He had an infectious grin and looked like a grown-up version of Howdy Doody. After a few moments of small talk, Kenny said, “Kelly, let’s start with you.”

  “The oldest always goes first,” Janice said in mock exasperation and took a seat in the lobby with a cup of coffee.

  When the door closed behind them, Kelly’s nerves fluttered a bit. Kenny suddenly became all business. “I looked over your application and your income statements and I was impressed. How did you manage to pay off your student loans so quickly?”

  “I work for my aunt in New York and business was good. It helped that Alissa and I stay with her rent free, so I could manage my debt and build up some savings.”

  He tapped a pen on his desk. “The savings aren’t quite where we’d like them to be.”

  Kelly nodded. “I know. It seems every time I started making headway on that, an emerge
ncy would happen.”

  “Ain’t that always the way. I’ve read what you wrote, but I want you to walk me through your plans. Your daddy agreed to rent you an acre of land.”

  “Yes.” Kelly cleared her dry throat. “I’m a professional photographer and I want to build a small portrait studio and gallery for my pictures. I have fantastic references from several schools and brides I’ve worked with.”

  Kenny nodded encouragingly. “So the loan would be for the building and supplies.”

  “And rent.”

  He frowned. “That’s not quite what we’d like to see. Your business’s profit should be making the money to pay rent. Otherwise, once the loan runs out…” He shrugged.

  “I know,” she said. “My father has signed on a few other tenants as well.”

  “Yes, Mr. Link and Mr. Campbell. That must be exciting to have all that activity.”

  “Yes, and all the businesses will complement each other. I could do trophy photographs for the hunters.” That made her a little uneasy, but she knew she could do a professional job. “And for Trent’s school, I could do student portraits or action shots.” She straightened up in her chair. “I’ll be taking candids at the rodeo and selling them to the local papers and posting them online. I have a good marketing plan and I know the business will be successful. Meanwhile, I’m still working jobs for my aunt back in New York as a means to pay the bills until I get established.”

  He sighed. “Look, I’m going to come right out and say this—your aunt doesn’t pay you a salary.”

  “That’s right. I work on commission.”

  “The bank doesn’t like not seeing a regular paycheck.”

  Kelly leaned forward in her chair. “Oh, but the work is steady. I even have backlog.” Especially this week. She needed to hunker down and Photoshop the Winston wedding party, otherwise Candace was going to call her up, hollering for blood.