One Lucky Cowboy

by Carolyn Brown

  She drew her brows down into a fine line above her squinty eyes. One swift toss of the covers landed them over his head and she was in the bathroom with her duffel bag in her hands before he fought his way out of them.

  "You are the pig from hell," he shouted.

  "Find your own lines. That one is mine. I'm layin' claim to it and you can't use it the rest of the time we are together," she yelled from the other side of the door.

  They found a Denny's on their way out of town and both ordered the Lumberjack Slam, which consisted of pancakes, sausage, bacon, ham, eggs, grits, and biscuits. Slade decided on hash browns instead of grits and snarled when she stirred over easy fried eggs into her grits.

  "That's as disgusting as sugar and pepper on buttered biscuits," he said.

  "When the waitress comes by, ask her for half a dozen more biscuits. Nothing like chasin' beer with Jack to bring on the hunger, and I'd forgotten about pepper biscuits."

  "Or sleeping sixteen hours. How do you stay so slim?"

  "It makes me poor to carry it around. That's what my grandmother told me when I was a little girl. I never did look like anything but a beanpole. When the other girls got all fluffy and pretty, I looked like a boy in a skirt. It sure was frustrating."

  "You must have one high metabolism," he said.

  "Basically, I like food and I work hard."

  The waitress came by to refill their coffee cups and Jane asked for six more biscuits and another bowl of grits.

  "And you sir?" The waitress turned her charm on Slade.

  "Just a large cup of coffee to go."

  "You ever look at the nutrition guides for a breakfast like this?" Jane asked.

  "It would give me a heart attack. Don't tell me."

  "Suffice it to say that there's two hundred percent of cholesterol right here even before she brings my biscuits. There's more than a thousand calories with another thousand tacked on if I eat all six biscuits and don't share with you, enough salt to plug your veins and arteries like an old man, and you don't even want to get me started on the fat grams."

  "Then why do you eat it? Why not a cup of yogurt and dry toast?" he asked.

  "Because I like it and the women in my family don't run to fat. Not like Kristy or Elaine."

  "Are you trying to start a fight? Here I was being nice and you are starting a jealous fight."

  "I'm not jealous. I'm stating fact."

  "No ma'am, you are jealous and trying to get me to say how they look without clothes. Sorry. I don't kiss and tell. When we get back to Ringgold I won't tell them how you look, either, so don't worry about them looking at you with pity."

  "You are a…"

  "…pig from hell. Find something new and fresh. That one is getting old," he grinned.

  She buttered two of the new biscuits the waitress set before them and proceeded to sugar and pepper them. He buttered two and filled them with strawberry jam.

  Just goes to prove how different we are, she thought. He eats his plain old strawberry jam and I have some thing exotic and different. I'm not jealous. I was just making a comment and I don't give a rat's ass what those two women look like naked. Why would I? I don't have to compare me to them. I'm going home in one week and never looking back.

  By eight thirty they were back in the truck headed north to Texarkana. It was hard for Slade to believe that a week ago they'd spent their first night in that town and now they'd come full circle and found themselves headed there again. Only this time, they'd bypass it and keep driving northwest to Beau's ranch, the Bar M. He had called Nellie the night before and she'd told him in no uncertain terms he was to stay on the ranch with Jane. She'd get in touch with Beau and Milli to tell them they were about to have a week's worth of company. She was sure that they'd be glad for the help during the busy season. Jane could help Milli and Rosa cook for the crew and Slade could help Beau take care of the hay and cattle. Everything on the Double L was under control. She'd see him the Sunday after Jane's birthday. He could take her to Mississippi on Saturday, leave her at her ranch, and come on home on Sunday. She was a big girl. She could take care of her own business on Monday, and Slade would have his job finished.

  If she's such a big girl, why in the hell am I in this truck with her headed toward the Bar M for a week? he argued with the memory of his grandmother's voice. I got my two cents in on the phone too, but it was only a token argument because down deep inside I don't want to leave her just yet. Give me a week to convince myself I don't even like her and it'll be a whole lot easier.

  "Setting the record straight: I didn't have sex with Elaine or Kristy. The kids were always in the way with Kristy and I just plain didn't like Elaine," he said.

  Jane stiffened her mouth to keep from smiling. "Why are you setting the record straight? What does it matter?"

  "It probably doesn't but I don't want you thinkin' I'm a whoremonger."

  "I didn't sleep with John, either, just for the record."

  "But you were about to marry him," Slade said.

  "And he said that we should wait so it would be special. I had no idea that I was waiting and he was sleeping with Ramona."

  "You didn't have to tell me that."

  "Same back at you."

  A ring tone went off in the console beside them. He could have gladly tossed the cell phone out the window. For the first time they'd been about to carry on a conver sation that didn't start and end with bickering and it felt right. She picked up the phone, flipped it open, and handed it to him.

  "Hello," he snapped. "I see."

  A long pause. Slade's brows drew down in a frown.

  "We were on the way to my cousin's ranch in southern Oklahoma."

  Another one. He looked bewildered.

  "How old are they?"

  A short pause. Slade smiled.

  "That's a bit amusing. You'll understand later."

  He snapped the phone shut and dropped it.

  "How old are who and what's funny?" she asked.

  "John Farris is an alias. Of course, you'd probably figured that out. He injured an FBI agent this morning with a fork. The man is in surgery and they expect him to live but he's lost a lot of blood. John left a print on the fork before he escaped. Turns out he was in the Air Force, special ops, went rogue and they booted him out. He's been trained in combat and to kill. Nice thought, ain't it?"

  Cold chills raced up and down her spine like kids playing chase on a hot summer day. "He's loose?"

  "He is. Agent August has assigned two agents to stay at the Double L just in case he shows up there with intentions of hurting Granny or Ellen. They'll be living there in the house for a week."

  She giggled. "How old are they?"

  "Both retired. This is just a favor to Agent August. Seems the two of them go to a working ranch once a year for their vacation. Have been doing it for years. Funny, ain't it?"

  She couldn't contain the laughter. It bounced around in the truck for a few minutes then, as if on cue, she went deadly silent. "He'll come after me. What are we going to do? I can't put Beau and Milli in danger."

  "Don't suppose we can. It's your day to pick. Where do you want to go?"

  "Home, but that's not possible."

  The phone rang again and he answered it, saying "Okay" several times before he hung up again.

  "That's the last time we use that phone, since anyone can trace calls made from it. The agents are already at the ranch posing as hired hands. Milli is picking us up in Texarkana. That's all I know right now."

  "Milli is picking us up? Why would she drive to Texarkana to pick us up there?" Jane asked.

  "She owns her own plane. She flies back and forth to west Texas all the time. I expect she's going to take us somewhere."

  "This gets weirder every minute. How far is it?"

  "An hour. There's a Luckadeau ranch south of town. She'll be waiting. I guess we leave it in the hands of the FBI now. You aren't bait anymore, but you are on the run until they catch him. And he won't be talking his
way out of the situation when they do. Not when he tried to murder an agent. They'll get him and you'll be safe," he said.

  Safe? Right. But how do I ever trust anyone again? Even you, and you're a good man, Slade. But I'd always have a doubt, wouldn't I?

  She swallowed hard and nodded. She wanted to cry but she turned and watched the tall pine trees sweeping by at seventy-five miles an hour.

  In forty-five minutes Slade pulled the truck into a gravel lane leading back to a ranch house. Kids played outside. Two ladies sat on the porch. Men were working round and about everywhere. He didn't stop but kept driving down a path to the back where a small plane sat on a short concrete runway. Milli waved at them and motioned the truck closer.

  "Beau's momma will be taking your truck to a barn and hiding it away for a week. Leave the keys under the floor mat. She'll come and get it later today. She's the only one who knows what's going on here, so everything should be safe. Get your gear and we'll get going," Milli said.

  Jane had flown since before she could walk, but she hated small airplanes. Give her a big old jet with wide aisles so that she felt as though she was traveling with the comforts of a condo and she was fine.

  "You look a little pale, Jane," Milli said. "Don't worry. I've been flying for years and I've got the manual right there in the cockpit with me in case something goes wrong. Slade can read big words, can't he?"

  Jane blanched.

  "Hey, I'm only teasing. Slade, you sit up front with me. Jane, I'm sorry the back is so crowded. I had this one adapted for just me and Katy Scarlett. That little seat accommodates her car seat just fine but it's going to be a tight fit for you. Thank God you're not as big as that Amazon Slade was dating at Granny's party."

  That brought out a smile as Jane practically folded her legs against her shoulder bones to sit down.

  "Okay, crew, here we go," Milli said.

  "Where do we go?" Jane asked.

  "I'll tell you a story. Believe it or not, my maternal grandmother was a blonde before she went gray. She's English as they come. Grandmother came from Rio County, one of the border counties over in Texas. Anyway, she came to the University of Mexico to study Spanish, and she met Grandpoppy. She made friends with his sister and went home with the girl for a weekend and there was her older brother. She says it was love at first sight, and they were both thunderstruck. She says he looked like a darker version of Clark Gable and he says she looked just like a goddess with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

  "They were in love, but do you know what it was like in the '40s for a rich white Texas girl to fall in love with a full-blooded Mexican boy? Even if his parents were every bit as rich as hers? Well, I can tell you, it wasn't easy. I guess her father came close to a heart attack when she wrote them she was marrying my Grandpoppy. He disowned her and refused to have her name mentioned in his house ever again. So they lived in Mexico; then her parents were both killed in a house fire and since she was the only child, the property was hers. So she and my Grandpoppy took the girls… all five of them… to Rio County to raise them in the United States. They kept their place in Mexico and went back to see that side of the family for vacations and holidays. Sometimes Grandpoppy came back to settle business ventures, and now that they're retired, they spend a lot of time there and less in Rio County. It's their cabin on the beach where you'll be spending the next week. Few people even know about the cabin, since it's on a private stretch of beach property. I can't think that the man who is after you will ever find you. Oh, I've got a cell phone here. It's to be used only in emergencies. That means dial the number taped on the back, which is your agent's number, or leave it alone."

  Slade rolled his eyes. Just what he wanted and needed. A week on a deserted beach with Ellacyn Jane Hayes. Life couldn't get any more complicated.

  Jane sighed. Maybe John wouldn't be able to locate her there. Hopefully, his resources didn't include the whole Luckadeau family.

  "After I drop you off, I'm going to Momma's. She's got Katy Scarlett and I'm picking her up and taking her back home tomorrow morning. As far as anyone knows, I'm simply flying in and out to get my daughter," Milli said.

  "Thank you," Jane finally remembered her manners.

  "Yes, thanks, Milli," Slade added.

  "Hey, family sticks together. You know that, Slade. Took me a while to figure it out but I sure do like the concept now that I'm getting on to it."

  "How long have you and Beau been married?" Jane asked.

  "Less than a year. This is my last flight until the baby is born. I promised Beau I'd give it up after the first trimester. He's holding me to my promise."

  "Had this plane long?" Slade asked.

  "A few years. I had a Cessna-172 at first and loved that little bitty plane, but this old bird took my eye at an air show when I was in college and I had to have one like it. So I sold the Cessna and with the money I had saved from stunt shows and a season of crop dusting, I bought this old Yak-52. It was one of those old Russian war buzzards that was customized with room for the pilot, copilot, and just enough room to put the baby's car seat behind me. I loved the bubble of glass over my head and felt like the Red Baron the first time I took it up. My very first plane was painted candy-apple red with thin red pin stripes and spectators said it looked like a ball of fire when I put it through the acrobatics in a show."

  "You fly stunt?" Jane was intrigued.

  "Sure. Want to fly upside down or close enough to the trees down there to count the oranges on them?"

  "No, thank you," Jane laughed.

  "Tell Beau next time you see him. He hates to fly and is just a notch above Katy when it comes to nausea. I swear she got her daddy's genes in everything."

  "Really?" Jane asked.

  "She really did. I thought I'd kept him a secret and did pretty good until we came to Oklahoma last spring. One look at her and him together and it was plain who her father was. Someday when you and I have lots of time we'll find a quiet corner and compare Luckadeau stories," Milli said.

  "Here now!" Slade said.

  Milli cocked her head to one side, fiddled with controls, and listened intently. "Yes, sir," she finally said.

  "Change of plans. A hurricane is developing off shore and headed toward the beach. I'm taking you straight to Hereford, Texas. There will be an agent at the ranch to take you elsewhere."

  "Mercy!" Jane said.

  "That must be a wicked man you are running from," Milli said. "Thank goodness you've got Slade with you. Luckadeau men are good at protecting their women."

  It was on the tip of Jane's tongue to tell her that she was in no way Slade's woman and never would be, but she didn't say a word.

  A Cadillac and a black van were waiting when Milli landed the plane. The lady in the Caddy brought a squirming, blonde-haired little girl to Milli, who kissed her all over her face and told her how much she'd missed her that week. The man in a black suit leaning on the van waited a few minutes and then motioned Jane and Slade over.

  "Milli, thank you," Jane said before she obeyed.

  Milli hugged her with the arm that wasn't holding the child and whispered softly, "When it's all over, come and see me. I'd love to hear the whole story. I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

  "You got a deal," Jane whispered back.

  "Thank you, Milli," Slade said.

  "You are very welcome. Take care of her."

  "Will do," Slade waved as they crossed the pasture.

  One agent was tall and slim and wore jeans, a three button knit shirt, and boots. He had a nose slightly too big for his gaunt face and a receding hairline. The other one had carrot-red hair cut in a burr, a round face, and tight lips that gave him a serious appearance.

  "I'm Agent August," the red-haired one said. "This is Agent Jones. We moved your truck from the Luckadeau ranch. I hope you don't mind but if you do, rest assured we did it with legal papers. There's a blond-haired man driving it—from a distance he looks like you—and a small dishwater blonde is riding with him. We
feel sure that John has already identified you, Slade, and has your truck license number. He has lots of resources. We hope to catch him in the next two or three days when he finds that truck parked at a motel. Now if you two will get into the van, we'll be on our way."

  "This has been a hell of a day," Jane said when she was buckled in beside Slade in the backseat.

  "Hopefully it will get better. We are taking you to a safe house about two hours from here. The only thing you have to do for the next week is stay within the borders we'll give you. Sorry about the beach holiday. It would have been a good place."

  "I'm confused," Jane said as she watched Milli get into the van with her mother and drive away. "If you want to catch him, it's easy. Just let me call Celia. He'll be in touch with her for sure."