A Rich Man for Dry Creek / a Hero for Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  Nicki had wrapped a knit scarf around her neck by the time Garrett walked over to the door. He’d at least had the sense to put a shirt and his overalls on as well as his shoes.

  “That broom’ll flatten a chicken.” Nicki had picked up the broom handle she’d greeted Garrett with yesterday morning. “Maybe you need to take something smaller.”

  “There’s some funny thing out there.” Nicki waved toward the window. “Looks like a truck with only its nose.”

  Garrett took four big steps to the window. “That’s Big Blue.”

  “Your truck? I thought it was still in Vegas.”

  “It was.” Garrett wondered if Nicki would let him borrow her broom. “And the reason it’s only the nose is because she’s not hooked up to a load. She shouldn’t be here.”

  “Well, do you think someone stole it?”

  Garrett nodded. “And she’d better have a good reason.”

  “I’ll let you know,” Nicki said as she finished wrapping the scarf around her neck.

  “You’re not going anywhere.” Garrett put his hand out for the broom handle. “You shouldn’t be out investigating strange things anyway. What if there was something dangerous?”

  “Well, it’s no better for you to be out there if there’s trouble.”

  Garrett kept his hand outstretched. “Yes, it is.”

  Nicki’s chin went up. “Just because you’re a man—”

  “It’s not because I’m a man,” Garrett said as he looked down at Nicki’s feet. “It’s because I’ve got shoes on my feet.”

  “Oh.” Nicki handed him the broom handle. “I forgot you wanted to be every woman’s hero anyway.”

  Garrett grinned as he took the broom handle and grabbed a jacket off the coat rack. Nicki’s eyes were sparking again. “Not every woman’s hero. Just yours, sweetheart.”

  Garrett was out the door before Nicki had her breath back. Sweetheart. She’d never thought she liked any of those “darling” names that men called women. Lester had called her Pumpkin once and she’d snapped his head off. But “sweetheart” was kind of nice. At least it didn’t call to mind something that was fat and orange.

  Nicki decided she’d take some of the coffee cake out of the freezer so she, Garrett and Lillian could have a nice breakfast before they started getting ready for the dinner. It was something she would have done for any other guests.

  The fact that she could already hear herself humming while she made the eggs, well, that was just a holiday thing.

  Outside, the temperature had to be close to zero degrees. Garrett had put the jacket on the second he walked out the door and he had still felt his breath catch in his throat. The ground cracked beneath his shoes because of all the frost.

  Big Blue was darker than the just-dawning sky, but Garrett could easily make out the white letters of Hamilton Trucking on the driver’s door. Chrissy had done a good job of parking the truck beside the limo. There wasn’t that much room between the car and the fence and Big Blue fit in snugly.

  Maybe Chrissy had learned a thing or two about driving since he’d given her those quick two lessons in Vegas in case she needed to move Big Blue while he was gone. Of course, she didn’t have a trucker’s license. It was a fool thing to just take off in Big Blue.

  Garrett put his hand on the door of Big Blue. It was cold enough to give a man frostbite. The windows were all frosted over. He hoped Chrissy had had the sense to turn on the small heater he had in back by the bed. If she had, she’d have been comfortable enough for the night.

  Garrett knew Nicki’s broom handle wouldn’t do him any good in a fight, but he felt better keeping it with him anyway. At least if he had the broom, Nicki wasn’t going out chasing something else. So he pulled the broom up with him as he opened the door to Big Blue and stepped up.

  The night was still dark and Garrett couldn’t see much inside of the truck’s cab. There was nothing wrong with his hearing, however, and he definitely heard two grunts of surprise. One of them was Chrissy. The other was from a man.

  She’s gone and brought Jared with her, Garrett thought to himself as he plastered a smile on his face. He was going to have to be cordial to that man if it killed him.

  “Garrett,” the wail came from Chrissy, and Garrett saw movement in the bed area.

  “Come in and shut the door,” Chrissy said as she hugged a jacket to her and moved closer to the front seats in the truck. She was dragging half of the blankets with her. “It’s freezing out there.”

  Garrett sat in the driver’s seat and closed the door. He set the broom handle in the passenger’s seat and turned around.

  “I hope you and Jared had a good night’s sleep.” Garrett put his smile back on. He could be pleasant.

  “I slept like a baby,” Chrissy said sweetly. “I doubt Jared slept at all if he heard the things we were plotting to do to him last night.”

  “We?” Garrett made the connection as he looked at the other form in the bed. Jared didn’t have a muscle to spare on his body and the arm that was reaching up to pull the rest of the blankets back had muscles to spare.

  “What do you mean ‘we’?” Garrett whispered as he took back the broom handle. “Who’s here with you?”

  “Well,” Chrissy said as she yawned, “I couldn’t find the place, you know. Dry Creek isn’t on any of the maps I got in Salt Lake. I thought there would be signs, but no. I was lucky that his truck had broken down and he needed a ride.”

  “That’s a hitchhiker back there?” Garrett wondered what decade he was in. Any sensible woman knew not to pick up a hitchhiker in this day. Especially on a back road in Montana. Especially at night. “What were you thinking?”

  Didn’t his cousin watch the news?

  “Well, he’s not really a hitchhiker. I mean, I know I gave him a ride and all, but—”

  Garrett was no longer listening to Chrissy. “Why don’t you go in the house and wait for me?”

  “But he belongs here. It’s not like I just picked up someone,” Chrissy protested as she crossed her arms and refused to move.

  The man in the bed swung his legs around and put his hand on Chrissy’s arm. “That’s okay. I want to ask him what he’s doing with Nicki’s broom anyway.”

  “You know Nicki?” Garrett frowned. This man looked as if he would be a whole lot more trouble than that Lester fellow. He had a faint smear of oil on his forehead and the air of a man used to taking charge.

  The man nodded. “I’m her brother.”

  “Reno?” Garrett’s frown turned to a smile. “Well, why didn’t you say so? She’s been waiting for you.”

  The man grunted. “I’m surprised Hunter let you get this close to the truck.”

  “Hunter’s a good dog, but I think he’s given up on biting me.”

  The man grunted again but he didn’t smile. “Well, tell Nicki we’ll be inside in a minute.”

  Garrett noticed that Chrissy wasn’t making any move to leave with him. He wasn’t sure he liked the possessive air that Reno had with Chrissy, but his cousin didn’t seem to mind it.

  “Well, I’ll see you inside then.” Garrett opened the door again.

  The air wasn’t any colder than when he had walked across the ranch yard a few minutes ago, but Garrett noticed it more. Hunter didn’t even bother to follow him to the door.

  Nicki met him at the door. “Was it Chrissy?”

  Garrett nodded as he stepped into the kitchen. “And Reno.”

  “My brother?” Nicki asked in surprise. “What are they doing together?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” Garrett stomped the snow off his shoes as he stood on the mat just inside the door. “It’s not like Chrissy to just pick up with some man.”

  “Reno’s not just some man,” Nicki protested as she ran her fingers through her hair. She had managed to comb her hair before she came down to the kitchen this morning. “And you don’t need to take that tone. Reno’s shy with women.”

  Garrett snorted. “He did
n’t look shy to me.”

  “You’re sure it’s Reno out there?”

  “Hunter seems to like him.”

  “Well, that’s Reno then,” Nicki said as she moved and stood in front of the sink and looked out the window. The morning had grown lighter and she could see clearly as the door to Garrett’s truck opened and Reno stepped out. “Maybe you just missed that he’s shy.”

  Nicki saw Reno turn and offer his arm to the woman who stood behind him. Garrett was right. Reno didn’t look the least bit hesitant as he helped the woman out of the truck cab. And she was wearing Reno’s jacket.

  Nicki didn’t know her mother was up until she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. She turned.

  Lillian Redfern stood in the stairway and she was fully clothed. She was wearing a red pants suit with matching lipstick and had her blond hair perfectly combed. “Did I hear you say Reno’s shy with girls? I can’t believe Charles Redfern’s son would turn out shy.”

  “He’s not just Dad’s son. He’s your son, too.”

  “What are you saying? That Reno’s shy because of me?” Lillian Redfern laughed. “I don’t have a shy bone in my body.”

  “Maybe Reno would have gotten to know that if you’d stayed around long enough for him to know you.”

  “Oh.”

  Nicki turned away from her mother and opened the door for Reno and Chrissy.

  “It’s cold out there,” Chrissy said as she stepped inside the doorway, rubbing her hands. “Is it going to ever warm up?”

  “It’ll be warmer by the time everyone comes for dinner,” Nicki said as Reno followed Chrissy in.

  “People are coming for dinner?” Reno asked as he turned to close the kitchen door. “You invited people?”

  “I’m the one who invited them,” Lillian Redfern said as she stepped into the center of the room.

  “Mom?” Reno asked quietly.

  “Lillian is just staying for a few days,” Nicki rushed to reassure everyone. “And she wanted to do one of the Thanksgiving dinners like we used to do—you know, where everyone in town comes over.”

  “Everyone in town?” Chrissy looked shocked. “You invited a whole town for Thanksgiving dinner?”

  “Well, a few people are away at this time of year.” Lillian kept smiling brightly. “It’ll be fun. The only thing we have to do this morning is grind the cranberries and then set up the tables.”

  “The whole town?” Chrissy still looked shocked. “That’s ten times worse than a wedding reception.”

  “We used to do it all the time,” Lillian said. “Charles insisted. He loved to have people around.”

  “No, he didn’t,” Nicki said as she turned to get some plates out of the cupboard. “After you left, he stopped seeing everyone, even Jacob.” She turned to her mother. “He even stopped going to church. You ruined his life.”

  “I didn’t tell your father to stop going to church.” Lillian walked to the sink. “That was his decision. Now, I’m going to have some coffee. Would anyone else like some?”

  “You’re not even sorry you left,” Nicki said tightly.

  “I wish you could understand how it was. I couldn’t stay here. Not after—” Lillian broke off. “I still need to ask—”

  “I know,” Nicki said. “You need to ask someone if you can tell us.”

  “It’s the truth.” Lillian took a deep breath. “In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help with breakfast? I’m assuming everyone is hungry.”

  Nicki turned to the coffeepot. The day would be spent feeding hungry people. For the first time, she was glad her mother had invited the whole town to dinner. With all the people around, Nicki had a chance of forgetting her mother was here.

  “I’ll do the eggs,” Garrett offered as he walked to the stove. “Just give me a pan and I’m set.”

  Nicki wondered how many people would need to be coming to dinner for her to forget Garrett was here.

  Chapter Twelve

  The inside of the bunkhouse was still musty so Nicki opened both of the doors. “It smells like old boots in here. Let’s hope the air’s better by the time people are ready to eat dinner.”

  The wood floor in the bunkhouse had been scrubbed clean yesterday and the windows had been washed.

  Garrett had a sawhorse slung over his shoulder and he was walking to the end of the bunkhouse. He was wearing his farmer overalls and one of Reno’s plaid flannel shirts. His hair was messy and straw dust had fallen on his neck when he took the sawhorse out of the barn. He looked more like a beggar than a prince.

  And yet Nicki had to keep recounting the black scars on the floor where the bedposts had stood. They needed the information to place the sawhorses correctly for the tables. One moment Nicki would have all of the numbers straight and then Garrett would bring in another sawhorse and she’d lose track of her numbers because she was watching him.

  It was, Nicki decided, only because everyone in Dry Creek had made such a fuss about them dating that she was distracted like this. It would pass. She just needed some cold air.

  “I still say your mother is worried about something,” Garrett said as he set down the sawhorse on scars number three and five. “Give her a little bit of time.”

  “I’m not telling her to leave,” Nicki said as she braced herself to push open one of the windows that years of rain had warped shut.

  Garrett snorted. “You’re not asking her to stay, either.”

  Nicki tried to force the window open. It stayed shut. “She doesn’t want to stay. She just wants some kind of cheap forgiveness and then she’ll be on her way.”

  “She spent six hundred and ten dollars on Thanksgiving dinner. That’s not cheap. She could have just sent a card or something.”

  “I wish she would have.”

  Garrett walked over and opened the window for Nicki. Cold air blew in. “Well, I can’t say as I’ve done any better with my parents. Sitting in church last night, I wondered if I didn’t need to do some forgiving of my own.”

  Nicki looked out the window. The yard outside the bunkhouse was rough. Reno had driven the truck through this area during the last muddy spell and the tire tracks had frozen in place and were now covered with a light layer of snow. A few stalks of dried wild-grass poked through the snow here and there. There was nothing pretty about the ranch or her family. “It’s God’s fault, you know.”

  “Huh?”

  Nicki turned to look at Garrett. “Our whole family went to church. My father, my mother, me and Reno. It was supposed to keep everything safe. God shouldn’t have let this happen to our family.”

  “I know,” Garrett said and opened his arms to Nicki. He didn’t know, of course. He’d never given God much thought until last night. He’d never prayed in his life. But now. “Maybe we should talk to the pastor about this.”

  Nicki had her nose buried in flannel. Garrett’s arms were around her. She didn’t know why those two facts only added to her misery. “I don’t need any sympathy.”

  “Who said the pastor will give you sympathy?”

  “I mean from you.” Nicki blinked back her tears and pulled herself away from Garrett’s arms. She would do much better with a man who wasn’t so kind. “I don’t need all this—” Nicki waved her hands “—understanding.”

  Garrett frowned.

  “I really can do fine by myself,” Nicki said as she stepped back to the bedpost scars. “I think the next sawhorse goes on scars eleven and thirteen.”

  Nicki didn’t even look up as Garrett walked out of the bunkhouse. She didn’t want him to see the tears that were shining in her eyes.

  Garrett rubbed his hands together as he opened the door to the barn. The day was warming, but it was still cold enough outside that he should have gloves. He kept a pair in Big Blue so he walked over to the truck.

  Once he’d backed Big Blue up a few times earlier this morning, he’d forgiven Chrissy for driving her up here. The truth was he was glad to have the truck here so he could drive her aw
ay after his proposal. He figured that if Nicki wouldn’t even let him comfort her, she surely wasn’t going to agree to be his wife.

  Garrett opened the door to Big Blue’s cab and climbed up into her. He’d always liked sitting up high when he was driving down the road. He supposed that someday the fact that he was a trucker would once again be enough for him.

  Ah, there were the gloves. Garrett reached into the rear of the cab. As he picked the gloves up off the ledge by the bed, something small and hard fell to the floor.

  “What the—?” Garrett twisted in his seat so he could lean over and see what had fallen.

  He picked up the engagement ring. He recognized it. The last time he’d seen it had been when it was on Chrissy’s finger back in Las Vegas.

  Garrett knew the engagement ring Lillian had wanted to return to Charles was sitting on top of the refrigerator in the Redfern kitchen, but he would not have confused the two rings anyway. Even with the opals that surrounded it, the diamond in Lillian’s ring was modest. Chrissy’s diamond, on the other hand, was so large Garrett figured it had to be fake. Chrissy’s fiancé, Jared, had lots of flash, but wouldn’t have much money until that trust fund he’d talked about kicked in.

  Holding the ring in his hand, Garrett realized something. A man didn’t just walk up to a woman and ask her to marry him. He had to have a plan. He needed words. And maybe a flower or a strolling guitar player. A man didn’t just wring out the dishrag after doing the Thanksgiving dishes and ask a woman to spend the rest of her life with him.

  Even if a man expected the answer to be no, his dignity required that he give the matter some planning.

  Garrett climbed down from Big Blue. Chrissy and Reno were in the house now sorting through trays of silverware with Lillian. At least Garrett had some time alone to think about a proposal.

  The air inside the barn was warmer than the outside air and Garrett flexed his hands for a minute before he picked up another sawhorse. Nicki’s horse, Misty, was in her stall and looked over at Garrett hopefully.

  “Sorry, I don’t have anything for you,” Garrett said as he put the sawhorse down and walked over to rub Misty’s forehead lightly. The mare whinnied softly and leaned her head closer to his hand. “That’ a girl. I don’t suppose you have any idea how to propose to someone?”