Do or Die Cowboy

by June Faver

  “I’ll tell you, I was sure glad to see you comin’ when those Carters had me cornered. You looked like the wrath of God a-comin’ to smite ’em.”

  Leah grinned in spite of the seriousness of the situation. “I was so mad I could have smote them into the next county.”

  They cruised the area with fruit tree saplings and moved on to the counter with a selection of vegetable plants growing in small containers. Gran got a couple of green peppers, a couple of pumpkins, and some winter squash.

  “How about you, Gracie?” Gran asked. “Do you see anything else we need to plant?”

  “Peas and carrots are my favorites,” Gracie responded.

  “Well, we can get some seed for those.” She led Gracie over to a rack of seed packets, and the two of them had a serious discussion about which to purchase.

  “Hey, there,” a masculine voice said.

  Leah turned to see Sara Beth’s boyfriend at the counter. “Hello,” she called back.

  “Frank,” he said. “I’m Frank Wilson.”

  Leah grinned. “Yes, I remember you.”

  He signed a ticket the clerk presented. “I’m just picking up some supplies and feed for my boss. What are you doing here today?”

  Leah pointed to where Gran and Gracie stood with their heads together. “My grandmother and daughter are planting a fall garden.”

  “That’s always a good thing.” He stopped and looked at Gracie, then back at Leah. “You’ll pardon me for saying, but you don’t look old enough to have a daughter that age.”

  Leah blew out a breath. “Well, I had her pretty young.”

  He nodded. “So did Sara Beth.” He shrugged. “A bonus for me. We’re getting married in the spring.”

  “That will be lovely,” Leah said. “You’re a lucky man.”

  Frank gave her another wide grin. “Don’t I know it.”

  Gran and Gracie made their selection and checked out. When they went to the car, Frank pulled alongside and got out to help load the plants into Leah’s vehicle. Leah introduced Gracie, and Gran said she had seen him around town.

  Leah felt a little better after they started toward home but kept an eye out for the blue truck. The last words from the Carters continued to haunt her. Now that we know where you live, we’ll have to come pay a visit.

  * * *

  Ty had slept late. Not his usual routine. He lay on the futon thinking about everything he had left behind in Langston. His horse was being boarded with the veterinarian. His dog was being cared for by Gracie, and the woman he cared for was missing him…he hoped.

  He stretched and thought about Leah and how much she had come to mean to him. He was just coming to terms with the depth of his feeling. Probably being encircled with so many strange women the night before reinforced how much he cared about the one he’d lost his heart to. Although Will had been very comfortable surrounded by the crowds and functioned well with the people he deemed to be the movers and shakers, the whole situation made Ty feel uncomfortable. He enjoyed performing onstage, but milling around in the crowd was definitely not his thing.

  He wondered if he might have felt differently if Leah had been with him. If she had been sitting at the table beside him, he thought it would have been easier.

  Ty sat up and began to rummage through his things. Just a simple line of melody ran through his head, and he wanted to capture it. He found a scrap of paper and made a note of the tune, then he started writing a lyric that seemed to fit it. A song for Leah.

  Since Will was sacked out and snoring on the bed, Ty didn’t grab his guitar and strum the tune. He was itching to play the song he’d just written, but he didn’t want to wake his host. Instead, he busied himself with paper and pen, jotting down lyrics and musical notes.

  A smile spread across his face when he imagined her reaction. He thought she would be pleased that he wrote this song for her. Ty worked until he realized his stomach was growling and Will was showing no signs of getting up. Carefully stowing his notes in his guitar case, he took a stroll to the kitchen area and opened the refrigerator door. Pretty bleak. Several cartons of beer sat on the lower shelves and in the door.

  He closed the fridge and checked the pantry but quickly closed the door again when an open box of cereal and a few roaches greeted him.

  He thought of the delicious and pleasant breakfasts he had shared with Leah, Gracie, and Gran. Acknowledging it was more than the food he missed, he climbed into his clothes and carried his boots to the bottom of the stairs before putting them on. He left the building, hearing the lock tumble into place behind him.

  Once in his truck, he circled around for a while looking for food. He drove through a fast-food restaurant and ordered enough food to satisfy his appetite and Will’s as well. He ate a biscuit stuffed with sausage and scrambled egg on the way back to the recording studio and punched the number for Leah’s cell phone as soon as he parked.

  She answered quickly, bringing a grin to his face. “Hello, beautiful,” he said.

  “Oh, Ty!” She sounded pleased that he’d called, but there was something else. An edge to her voice he hadn’t heard before.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Oh, uh…yes. Why do you ask?” She suddenly sounded cheery. Way too cheery.

  “Come on. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Nothing,” she answered quickly. “I’m in the car with Gracie and Gran. I got my first paycheck, and we went into Langston to get Gracie some school clothes.”

  “Tell him about the bad men,” Gracie urged.

  An icy fear coiled around Ty’s spine. “What bad men?” he asked.

  “Oh, it was nothing.”

  “Yes, Mommy. Tell him,” Gracie insisted.

  “Let me talk to Gracie,” Ty said, all thoughts of food forgotten. He heard Leah sigh and the phone being handed off.

  “Ty! We were shopping, and two bad men were hurting Gran. They pushed her down, and she hurt her elbow. Mommy ran the shopping cart into them.”

  “Really?” Ty’s fingers flexed on the steering wheel. “Are you all okay?”

  “Yes, but Gran has this bandage on her elbow, and we were real scared.”

  Ty swallowed hard, rage gathering in his chest. Who could hurt a little old lady? “Let me speak to your mother, honey.”

  “Yes?” Leah answered, sounding anxious.

  “I’ll be there tonight. Lock yourselves inside the house, and don’t hesitate to call the sheriff if there’s any funny business.”

  “Oh, Ty,” she said. “I don’t want you to have to leave before your business is done.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you in a while.” He disconnected and got out of the truck. When he rang the bell and banged on the door, Will finally answered, squinting into the light.

  “Oh, man! What are you doing?” He opened the door for Ty to enter and then followed him back up the stairs. “What time is it?”

  “Late,” Ty said. “I’ve got to go back to Langston.” He thrust the bag of food into Will’s hands and began tossing his things together. In a matter of minutes, he had his duffel and his guitar in hand.

  “Whoa! Wait up! What’s the rush?” Will located his glasses and shoved them onto his face.

  “I just need to be there. What else do I need to do for the audition?” He stopped in mid-stride to gaze at Will, who shook his head.

  “Lots of stuff. We need to get you out there. You need to be seen. We need to build some buzz.”

  Ty heaved a sigh. “I hope you can buzz without me. I’ll call tomorrow. I have to leave now.”

  Will shrugged. “I’ll do what I can. I’ll submit your audition tape and see if I can get some of the local DJs to play your tracks…create a fan base ahead of time.” He followed Ty to the stairs. “But you really should be here. This is important.”

  Ty was already dow
n the stairs and halfway out the door. “Just do what you can.” He tossed his bag and guitar on the seat beside him and pulled away, raising a hand to Will as he drove away. He didn’t know who would injure Leah’s grandmother, but he was sure going to find out and put a stop to it.

  Once on the highway, his heart felt lighter with every mile that brought him closer to the three females he had left behind.

  * * *

  “No, you just rest.” Leah settled her grandmother on the sofa in front of the newscast and propped her feet up. “You’ve been through a lot today, so take it easy.”

  Leah unloaded the car and settled Gracie to peel stickers off her new underwear and cut the tags off the new school clothes she’d bought.

  Gran seemed to be perfectly happy inspecting the seeds and plants she’d bought, which were sitting on top of magazines spread out on the coffee table. Other than the big gauze pad taped to her bony little elbow, she appeared to be none the worse for wear. “We can plant these tomorrow,” she said to Gracie.

  Leah locked the front door after looking around carefully to make sure there were no signs that the Carters had made good on their promise to “visit.”

  She had mixed feelings about Ty’s cutting his trip short to come back to Langston. She missed him like crazy, so of course she wanted to see him. But she also felt guilty for being the cause of his early return. Surely, she could manage to stand up for herself and her little family. Surely, she could.

  She had a flash of the one named Dean when she pushed the cart into him. Pure hate radiated in his gaze after he crawled back up to a standing position. And the other one, Ray…he had terrified her when he’d chased her from the park. How could she avoid them in such a small town? And how could she keep them away from the farm? The menace was real.

  No, she admitted they frightened her, but what was a woman to do? She couldn’t walk around frightened all the time. And she hated to think she would have to constantly be on guard, always looking over her shoulder. But how could she leave Gran and Gracie when she went to work? How could she leave them alone when they were so defenseless?

  * * *

  Ty pulled in at the little farmhouse just as the sun was going down. There was a light on inside. He sat for a moment wondering why this felt like coming home when his real home was farther west, on the other side of Langston.

  An image of his father’s stern face leapt, unbidden, to his mind. He let out a sigh and pictured his brothers instead.

  Fun-loving Beau, the baby of the family. Always so easygoing and ready to lend a hand.

  Colton, the eldest, was more serious, but he also enjoyed a good laugh. Ty recalled the many good times they had enjoyed together. Mostly when their mother was alive. Lately, things had been more than a little tense.

  He climbed out of the truck and stepped up onto the porch. Giving a knock, he tried the knob and found the door to be locked. This is a first. It’s always been open before. He realized Leah had heeded his advice. A stirring in his gut told him these women were fearful.

  “Who’s there?” Leah called out from behind the door.

  “It’s me, Ty,” he answered.

  She threw the door open, a haunted expression on her face. “Oh, Ty!” she gasped.

  When he pulled the screen open, she fell into his arms. He kissed her deeply, responding to the aching chasm in his chest, which suddenly seemed to be flooded with warmth. Lifting her off her feet, he swung her around. She buried her face against his chest and clung to him.

  “Hey, baby. I’m here. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  She nodded furiously but didn’t seem to be breathing.

  He kissed her hair and laid his cheek against it. Holding her was the most important thing he could be doing.

  A bark interrupted their reunion as Lucky pushed out the door and jumped around excitedly.

  Leah stepped back, wiping her eyes but grinning.

  Ty squatted down to give Lucky some attention, and he heard Gracie’s voice call out. “Oh, Gran! Ty’s home.”

  The word home seemed to drill into his conscience. Home? Where is home now?

  He stood in time to be clasped around the waist by an exuberant Gracie. “Ty! I’m so glad to see you. I knew you’d come back.”

  “Well, of course. Was there any doubt?”

  She gazed up at him, her expression rapt, and shook her head.

  “Land’s sake!” Gran called. “Let the man come inside the door.”

  Gracie pulled him through the doorway, and Leah closed it behind them. He thought she looked around a little anxiously before securing it.

  Gran was on the sofa, struggling to rise. “Let me get you something to eat. You must be starved.”

  “Gran, you stay right there,” Leah ordered. “I’ll make something for Ty. You just rest.”

  Ty watched Leah and Gracie hurry off to the kitchen, so he sank onto the sofa beside Gran. “How are you doing?” Lucky thrust his head in Ty’s lap, begging for attention, which he was only too glad to supply.

  “About as good as could be expected,” Gran retorted with a wide grin in place.

  He spied a large gauze bandage on her elbow where the blood had seeped through. “What happened here?” She tried to blow it off, but he managed to draw the entire story from her. His anger must have been evident, because when Leah came from the kitchen, she took one look at his face and pressed her lips together in a firm line.

  “Why don’t you come in to the table now, Ty? We heated up a little something for you.”

  He stood and followed her, taking a seat at the place they had prepared for him. Blowing out a breath, he tried to release the knot of anger binding his chest. “Thanks. This looks great.” He gestured to the chair next to him. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me what’s been going on while I’ve been gone?”

  Tight-lipped, Leah sent Gracie in to watch television with Gran and slipped into the chair. “I’m really sorry you came back, Ty.” Eyes wide, she covered her mouth with both hands. “No, I didn’t mean that. I mean, I’m sorry all this happened.”

  He reached for her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m here. I have every intention of solving this problem, one way or the other.” He gave her hand a squeeze and reached for the fork. “This looks mighty nice to a hungry traveler.”

  This brought a smile to her face. “I hope you like my corn bread. I used the recipe on the box of cornmeal.”

  He ate the food and managed to avoid mentioning the Carter brothers until he pushed the plate away. “Now, let’s talk about the Carters. I know they had been giving your grandmother a hard time. My big brother and I had some run-ins with them when we were in school. What’s going on?”

  She looked down at her hands and murmured something he didn’t understand.

  Ty leaned closer and lifted her chin. “What is it, baby? You can tell me anything.”

  She met his gaze and gave him a sad smile. “I know.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve already told you my deepest secrets.”

  He kissed her nose. “So tell me what happened.”

  Leah poured out the story of how the Carter brothers had chased her with their truck and how the one called Ray had pursued her on foot. She told him about Breck interceding and warning her to stay clear of them and how he had facilitated her making a report to the sheriff.

  “And you didn’t see them again until today?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “When Gracie and I were in the girls’ department, Gran wandered off by herself to the garden center. When we went looking for her, the Carters had her trapped in the far back corner past the fruit trees. The one pushed her down with her shopping cart, and she hit the concrete. That made me so mad I went and shoved the cart into them. One fell down against the concrete blocks, but they were both looking real mean at us, and they said they would be coming to visit us real
soon.”

  “Did you report this to the sheriff too?”

  “No, I did tell the security guard, but I wanted to get Gran and Gracie home.”

  He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I think you need to make an official report of today’s incident too. Maybe take out a restraining order. That might get their attention.”

  She sucked in a deep breath and pressed her lips together.

  It caused him physical pain to see her so frightened. “Honey, we can’t let this go. Apparently, these guys have been running over your grandmother for a while, and they think they can get away with it.”

  “I know you’re right,” she said.

  “We’re going to stand up to them. Bullies usually back down when their victim lets them know they aren’t going to take it any longer.”

  Chapter 10

  Ty had gone outside with Lucky to sit on the front porch while Leah was getting Gracie ready for bed. She found him still sitting in the old wicker rocker, softly strumming his guitar and humming a little. Softly, he sang an old John Denver ballad, his voice deep and rich. Lucky raised his snout to the darkened sky and let out a mournful howl. Ty laughed and stroked Lucky’s head. “Good boy. Sing along with me.”

  Then he sang another song, one she wasn’t familiar with, but she loved the lyrics as much as the sound of Ty’s voice.

  She had turned off the lights inside except for one, and the house looked like it was resting. Standing just inside the screen, she listened to him sing, his voice embracing her as surely as did his strong arms. She leaned her head against the doorframe, filled with a mixture of longing and anticipation. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door closed behind her.

  Ty stood at her approach. He placed the guitar on the chair and silently wrapped his arms around her.

  Somehow, being held in this manner made her feel weak. All the problems of the past few days seemed to crash in on her. She clung to him, letting her fears ease away.