Reunited with the Cowboy

by Claire McEwen

  “Technically you’re a little young to be a cougar,” Maya teased.

  “You’re just kittens, both of you.” Eva looked thoughtful. “Or is it cubs?”

  “It’s actually both. Both words are used.”

  “See?” Grandma elbowed Maya gently. “You’re a natural at this education thing.”

  Monique clapped her hands. “Cougars, line up, please. Priscilla, you hold Uma.”

  Maya raised her camera and took the shot. Then they all wanted to hold Uma, and there was an incident with Monique’s hat brim and Eva’s eye, but finally they had enough photos, and the Cougars for Cougars and Trisha wandered off, with fliers in hand, to educate the public about mountain lions.

  Watching them go, Maya noticed that Trisha walked with a slight limp. Guilt surged through her system in a familiar murky tide. Maya had escaped the accident with a broken shoulder and a mild concussion. Trisha’s leg had never totally healed. But this time, as the guilt threatened to rise up, to flood everything, a thought surfaced like a life preserver. Trisha says you’re not at fault.

  Hands shaking, Maya laid out her fliers and fact sheets, and rearranged the framed mountain lion photos and Uma the Puma. She opened the binder she’d filled with ideas and examples for predator management. And slowly, the guilt subsided, as if Trisha’s kind words were a full moon, shining like a beacon and shifting the current.

  Maya absentmindedly scratched Uma the Puma’s fuzzy ears. Grandma and her friends’ astounding and unfamiliar generosity had thrown her off balance. So had Trisha’s easy forgiveness. Maya was so used to managing everything in her life alone, it was tempting to push away all of their help. To retreat to her comfortable solitude.

  Solitude was safe. She knew what to expect when she was on her own. Friendship, love, family—it was all so risky. Maya knew too well how those things could disappear so easily.

  But maybe that possibility of loss was another fear to face, just like public speaking and coming home.

  Maya picked up Uma and gave her a quick, comforting squeeze. Facing her fears was clearly the theme of the summer, whether she liked it or not. Luckily for her, the The Book Biddies wouldn’t let her push them away. As promised, they had her back. And surprisingly that was a pretty good feeling.

  CHAPTER TEN

  CALEB’S LEG ACHED with every step toward the rodeo parking lot. He needed to get home and start on the chores waiting for him. With his leg like this, it would probably take him longer than usual to get them done. He was such a fool thinking he could relive his high school glory days with shrapnel still stuck inside his calf—a little souvenir from the Taliban.

  Doctor Upshaw at the VA had said it was close to the bone, and had to work its own way out. It wasn’t easy to live with, but in some ways Caleb didn’t mind the pain. It helped him remember that he’d gotten off easy, compared to so many others.

  The doctor would probably have something to say about Caleb’s decision to ride a bull, next time they met. Though maybe the doc would be okay with it if he knew how much it had helped him. Dr. Upshaw wanted Caleb to slow down his drinking, attend support groups, go to therapy and get in touch with his emotions.

  Well, for the last couple of weeks Caleb had stayed off the booze, so that would make the good doctor happy. And as for therapy, Caleb was pretty sure that riding a bull just now had done more for him than any shrink could. The huge animal’s attempts to shake him off brought on the adrenaline rush Caleb’s body needed. The laser focus required to anticipate the bull’s next move had swept all the clutter out of his brain. And the way he could still bring it home, land on his feet, even...that had helped his self-esteem, for sure.

  And just being here at the rodeo had to be therapeutic too. His first rodeo without his mom working the concession stand for the PTA, and his dad standing around, talking with all the other ranchers. His first rodeo without Julie racing around the ring with her drill team, then racing the barrels later on. It had been hard to be here without them, but he’d done it. And that was something.

  Lost in his thoughts, Caleb heard Maya before he saw her, like her voice was coming right out of his conscience, reminding him of what a jerk he’d been on his ranch a couple weeks ago. And how rude his aunt had been after the town meeting.

  Glancing around the field circled by vendors’ booths, he spotted her just a few yards away. She was standing next to a table covered in green cloth, her hands on her hips, her booted feet planted apart in a defiant stance he recognized. With all of her five-feet-and-change drawn up high, she still looked tiny compared to the man looming over her.

  Caleb squinted and recognized the guy, despite the years that had carved changes into his features. Fred Corrigan. An ornery old rancher who owned a large dairy farm south of town. He was always arguing with someone. Mom used to say that the only reason Fred showed up to town events was because he was hoping for some conflict.

  Looked like not much had changed.

  Caleb would know Maya’s voice anywhere. Only right now it was raised just a little, and her tone was sharp.

  He hadn’t realized she was at the rodeo today. Maybe that was better. If he’d known, he’d have been looking for her in the crowd, hoping she was watching when he rode that bull.

  He shook his head, annoyed at the old memories rising up. Why would he hope for that? He’d made his choice about Maya after Julie had died. And even though at first he’d broken things off out of rage and grief, over the years he’d tried to accept that breaking up made sense. How could they be together after a tragedy like that? How could he love the girl whose mistake had killed his sister?

  Though she was a whole different person now. A grown woman, tough as nails and fiercely independent, strong and brilliant. Not the kind of woman who’d even be interested in a guy like him.

  Still he wanted to see her, to talk to her, to just be around her. Outside that town hall meeting, witnessing the compassionate way she’d handled his aunt, something in him had unwound. Her calm spirit, her quiet determination, soothed him like nothing else.

  He owed her an apology and had wanted to deliver it then and there, but he’d been afraid that his aunt would step in to twist his words with her bitterness.

  It didn’t matter what he wanted though. Maya wouldn’t want to see him right now. Not after the way he’d mistreated her on that still-drunk morning. She was working, and she didn’t need him to mess up her day. But her words cut through the background rumble of the crowd and he couldn’t resist the chance to hear her voice. He paused to listen.

  “I understand that you’re upset, Mr. Corrigan. But my job is to help manage the wildlife in this region. So you’ll need to check with me if you’re having problems with predation.”

  Caleb took a few steps closer, even though now it was pretty obvious he was eavesdropping.

  Fred Corrigan grimaced at Maya with a squinty smile on his face, as if he was looking forward to putting Maya in her place. “Well, it’s real sweet that you want to save the animals, little lady, but I have a ranch to run. And seeing as I’ve been running it longer than you’ve been alive, I think it’s safe to say that I know what I’m doing.”

  Caleb’s hands went into fists and he jammed them into his thighs to keep from using them. Corrigan was talking down to her in the worst way.

  Like a punch to the gut, he realized he’d done the same thing. Had he sounded this mean? This stupid?

  But Maya was tough. He’d experienced that toughness firsthand. She’d want to handle Fred on her own.

  Still, he didn’t like the way the old rancher was moving so close to her. Looming over her. It wasn’t right, that kind of physical intimidation. Someone needed to step in. Caleb glanced around but no one else seemed to have noticed. So that left him. He approached the table, stopping just a few feet behind Maya, listening to her answer back.

  “First of all, Mr. Corrigan,
please don’t call me ‘little lady.’ My name is Maya Burton.”

  The old rancher fixed her with an appraising glance. “Oh trust me, I know who you are. Everyone in this town knows about that.”

  What was it with people bringing up her past like this? Caleb realized suddenly how protected he’d been. Since it was his sister who’d died, people treaded lightly, didn’t mention it or, if they did, it was to offer a kind word.

  But what kind of experience had Maya had? If people like his aunt and Fred Corrigan were making insinuations about the accident now, so many years after, what had they said to her right after it had happened? Back then, in his own youth and grief, he’d never thought about it. Now he realized he was getting a tiny window into all that she’d experienced.

  And he’d been the first to point a finger at her. Knowing that she’d been injured, terrified and full of grief because she’d loved Julie too.

  Caleb remembered, suddenly, her heated words when she’d let him have it on his ranch. You acted like you believed those rumors around town. That I was drunk. And since you seemed to hate me, a lot of people assumed those rumors were true.

  He couldn’t change what he’d done then, but he could learn from his mistakes now. He moved to stand next to Maya. “Is there a problem here?”

  Maya paled at the sight of him. “No. Everything’s fine.”

  He didn’t believe her. He might not know her anymore, but he knew how to read her face, still. He recognized the stress tightening the corners of her mouth. The frustration adding a shrill note to her voice. “It didn’t seem fine from where I was standing. I couldn’t help overhearing what Fred here was saying.”

  Maya took him by the arm and turned them both away from Fred. “Caleb,” she hissed. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I don’t need your help.”

  “I know that you don’t need it. But I can help, I think. Let me? Please?” He’d go if she made him, but he hated that she had to take flak from people like Fred because of their shared past.

  Her brows creased in confusion as she studied him for a long moment. Well, that made two of them confused. The need to put himself between her and Fred came from some deep protective instinct he hadn’t encountered since his last time in combat. That it was rearing up now, with Maya of all people, was something he’d have to think about later.

  “Fine.” Her whisper was sullen and Caleb knew that as much as she hated to admit it, she was having a hard time with the old rancher. They both turned back to face Fred.

  Maya took the lead. “Caleb, I was just explaining to Mr. Corrigan here that if he’s having problems with mountain lions on his land, or coyotes, I can give him some ideas to help deter them.”

  “Sounds reasonable.” Caleb flushed when he caught Maya’s surprised look. They both knew that he hadn’t been reasonable when she had tried to do the same thing for him. Caleb reached out and shook Fred’s hand. “Good to see you, by the way,” he lied.

  Fred might be a jerk but he wasn’t going to snub someone so soon back from war, and that was exactly what Caleb was counting on. “Good to see you too, son,” Fred said, gripping Caleb’s hand briefly in his own. “Glad you made it home safe from Afghanistan.”

  Caleb nodded. “Me too. Thanks.”

  Fred looked delighted to have a larger audience. “I was just saying to Maya that we wouldn’t have so many problems with these vermin if tree huggers in Sacramento weren’t making all these rules, telling folks like me that we can’t defend our livestock. I don’t see why we’re protecting these mountain lions anyway. As far as I can see, they’re nothing but trouble.”

  “Well, apex predators’ right to exist is a philosophical issue that I’m sure you and I could debate for a long time,” Maya told him, and Caleb almost smiled at the way she used scientific language as a weapon.

  “I just want to debate why I can’t shoot a mountain lion if it comes after my sheep.”

  Caleb cringed, hearing his own stubborn self in Fred’s words. Had he sounded as pompous and pigheaded? Probably.

  “Well, we’ve been over that a couple of times now.” Maya picked up a pamphlet off the table. “Why don’t you read about the latest methods of predator management, and then contact me if I can be of assistance.”

  She was trying to dismiss him—doing a pretty good job of it too—but the thing was, Fred Corrigan was a bully. He had been even when Caleb was a kid. And as long as he had someone like Maya stuck here at her information table, he’d just keep going.

  “What I do on my own property is none of your business.”

  Yup, there he went. And he’d keep running his mouth until this rodeo was packed up and done, unless someone put a stop to it.

  So Caleb would have to try. “I was saying the same thing as you, Fred, just last week.”

  Fred’s face lit up with satisfaction, while Maya glared at him, clearly sensing betrayal was on the way.

  “But, Fred, what Maya explained to me is that if you kill off one of these predators without a permit, you can get fined a lot of money.”

  “Maybe. If anyone found out.”

  Caleb figured he’d just ignore that particular comment. “Like you, I was skeptical at first. I’ve had some of the worst lion problems in the area, and I figured I’d solve them all by shooting the predator. But I’ve realized that shooting won’t solve my problems for long.”

  Maya’s eyes were wide brown pools of shock. Then the corners crinkled with humor as dry as dust in drought. “You were listening at the town hall meeting. I’m glad you learned something.”

  He couldn’t look away from her, from the smile in her eyes that didn’t reach her mouth, like a secret, meant just for him. “It was a good presentation.”

  “Huh?” Fred peered at him from under the brim of his brown felt hat. “Seems like shooting can solve a lot.”

  Caleb figured he’d better let Maya take over from here. He glanced her way and she nodded slightly. They were tag-teaming Fred and it was kind of fun to be on the same side for once.

  “Killing off the predators in this area could make many other issues worse,” Maya said. “It will give you an overpopulation of deer, rabbits, raccoons, skunks and other smaller animals. Mountain lions even kill off coyotes, and I’m sure you don’t enjoy having them on your ranch.”

  Caleb turned to Fred. “The way I see it, that makes mountain lions pretty useful. Because I don’t know about you, Fred, but I’ve never actually laid eyes on one of our local lions. But I see coyotes running around all over the place.”

  Maya was studying him intently, like she wasn’t quite sure if maybe he’d gone crazy or been drinking again or something.

  Caleb gave her a wink to try to jolt her out of her stupor. “Right, Maya?”

  “Oh yes,” she stammered. “Absolutely.”

  Fred was about to reply when a crisp voice had them all turning.

  “Is that Fred Corrigan?” It was Annie Brooks, hustling up in a bright blue shirt with Cougars for Cougars written across the front. Caleb tried not to laugh as Annie’s friends came tromping up behind her, all in the same hilarious T-shirts.

  Fred turned to greet Annie and his entire demeanor changed. Annie ran things in the ranching community and had the respect of all of her peers, even Fred. “Annie, how are you? Good to see you.” He peered at her more closely. “Cougars for Cougars?”

  Caleb had never seen Annie look so flustered. Her normally stoic face turned bright pink. “It’s just a thing we’re doing for today, my friends and I, to help Maya get the word out about the good work she’s doing for the ranching community.”

  “Hi, Fred!” Maya’s grandmother, Lillian, came up next to Annie and shook Fred’s hand. “How’s your lovely Irma doing? I dropped some soup by for her the other day. I’d heard her hip was bothering her again.”

  “Why, thank you, Lillian. That was very k
ind.” Fred looked from one woman to the other, and then at Caleb with a pleading look in his eyes. They were drowning him in kindness and the old codger didn’t know what to do about it.

  Caleb turned to the women. “Great shirts,” he told them.

  A woman he didn’t know, in an enormous hat, tottered over to him in high heels. “Thank you. I designed them myself. I’m Monique, owner of Monique’s Miracles. Come on by if you ever need a haircut, cowboy.”

  “Will do,” he said, liking her immediately, even though out of all the ladies here, she might actually be the cougar that their shirts professed them to be. But she was also a leader, he could tell right away, and this group she was a part of had shown up for Maya today.

  Like he should have shown up for her, a long time ago.

  “Well, I guess I’ll get going.” Fred was already backing away from the group of women, who’d surrounded Maya and her table.

  “Oh hang on.” Caleb recognized Mrs. Axel, his third-grade teacher, waving a flier at Fred. “Take one of these pamphlets with you. It sounds like you’d really benefit from Maya’s expertise.”

  “That’s right,” Annie chimed in. “Did Caleb mention that he’s thinking of working with Maya? Isn’t that right, Caleb?”

  All the ladies turned to stare at Caleb. Thank you for that, Annie. And Maya was staring too, first at him, then at Annie, her brow creasing in suspicion.

  Caleb saw Fred looking on with interest and he realized this was his chance to make a difference. To do what he hadn’t been able to do when Julie had died. To stand up for Maya in public and show her he believed in her.

  “Yeah, I am. Maya, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I could use your advice around my ranch.”

  Maya’s face went from pale to pink to pale again. “You want my advice?” Then she glanced at Fred and cleared her throat. “I mean, yes, that sounds good. I’m looking forward to working with you, Caleb.”