Always A Will And A Way_Western Romance

by Barbara Gee

  “Was she attractive?” Will asked, smiling mischievously. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  Kelly rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You’re a good man, Will Connor. Now teach me how to get up on a horse.”

  James and Dodger emerged from the stable in time to see Will help Kelly mount, and James tagged along as Will led Sandy around the corral, telling Kelly everything she needed to know about controlling the horse and staying upright in the saddle. James chimed in with advice of his own, and both of them declared that Kelly was a quick learner.

  Kelly herself was surprised at how comfortable she felt on the horse. Before long, Will took the lead off of Sandy and Kelly rode her around and around the ring, following Will’s instructions on turning and stopping the horse.

  When she had that down, Will talked her into urging Sandy into a trot, and then he stood in the center of the ring and told her how to balance her weight and use her legs to “post” rather than just bounce helplessly in the saddle. This part didn’t come as easily, but by the time the first lesson was over, Kelly had made progress and Will was happy with how she’d done.

  “I can go longer if you want,” Kelly told him as he snapped the lead back onto Sandy’s bridle and led them back toward the stable.

  Will chuckled. “Trust me, sweetheart. By dinner time you’re going to be cursing me for letting you go even this long. You’re going to be sore, but there’s no way to get in riding shape without going through that initial discomfort. Riding uses a lot different muscles than anything else you do on a daily basis.”

  He raised his arms to help Kelly dismount, and she dropped to the ground, surprised to find that her legs did indeed feel shaky and weak.

  “You might want to soak in a hot bath for a while tonight, but honestly I don’t think it’ll be too bad. I didn’t let you go too long, knowing what a pansy city girl you are.”

  Kelly elbowed him. “Thanks for that—I think.”

  They returned Sandy to her stall and brushed her down. When finished, Kelly gave the sweet mare a hug around the neck and dropped a kiss in the center of her forehead.

  “Same time, same place tomorrow, Sandy girl,” she said. “Thanks for being patient with me.”

  They left the stall and Will put an arm around Kelly’s shoulders, drawing her against his side.

  “Let’s go out tonight. You, James and me. We can go get pizza and see a movie, if there are any playing that are appropriate for him.”

  Kelly didn’t even hesitate. “That sounds good. I’ll tell Sarah we won’t be here for dinner. Maggie has already told me we should come and go as we please, so I’m sure they’ll be fine with us being gone for an evening.”

  “Cool. I’ll pick you up at 6:00.”

  “What’s the name of the theater? I’ll check to see what’s playing.”

  Will told her, gave her a quick kiss, then got in his truck to head back to the Triple Creek to eat lunch and finish off his work day.

  James was excited about spending the evening with Will, even more so when Kelly found that the sequel to one of his favorite movies was playing at the theater Will had mentioned. Kelly talked James into a short nap after lunch, then they helped Maggie do some work in the flowerbeds around the house until it was time to get ready for their evening out.

  Kelly also took the time to phone a local girl whom Maggie had already talked to about coming to the ranch to be with James when Kelly was working at the school. Maggie, Chad and Amy had assured her when she accepted the job that they would take care of James on the days she worked, but Kelly was afraid the energetic James would be too much of a burden on them, especially with the new baby arriving soon. They had compromised by finding a neighbor girl to come over to the Wild Rose. She was seventeen and very responsible, according to both Maggie and Amy, and Kelly arranged to have her stop in at the ranch tomorrow afternoon, to see how she and James got along.

  Following the phone call, Kelly took a quick shower, then chose a pair of camel colored skinny jeans and a navy sleeveless blouse. She grabbed a sweater, too, since she always froze in theaters. James changed into clean jeans and a red tee shirt, then went out to the front porch to wait for Will. Kelly visited with Maggie and Senior until she heard the distinctive rumble of Will’s truck out front.

  Maggie gave her a quick hug. “Have a good evening, my dear. We’re so glad to have you back here at the Wild Rose.”

  “I’m definitely glad to be here. Thanks for making us feel so welcome.”

  By the time Kelly got out to the truck, James was already buckled into the back seat, impatient to get to the pizza place. As usual, he chattered the whole way. Will took them to a restaurant close to the theater, which was in a town about a half hour from Crighton. When they arrived, James declared himself starving and they quickly ordered a pepperoni and bacon pizza, along with cheesy bread and soda.

  “You sure you’re up for this?” Kelly asked later, as they stood in line for tickets at the theater. The movie had just come out a few days ago, and there were lots of excited kids packing the lobby.

  “I’m up for it,” Will assured her, tousling James’ hair. “I’ve missed my Disney and Pixar movie days.”

  True to his word, Will not only made it through the whole movie, but seemingly enjoyed it. And when James fell asleep on the way home, he patted the seat beside him, grinning when Kelly wasted no time sliding over.

  Will carried James inside and helped tuck him in, then they wandered to the kitchen, laughing when they saw that Sarah had left half a peach cobbler sitting on the counter, with a note that there was ice cream in the freezer.

  After they had indulged, Kelly walked Will to his truck, where he kissed her goodnight. It was a long, thorough, and very hot kiss. A perfect end to a perfect evening.

  Chapter 27

  On Sunday, Kelly and James spent the afternoon at the swimming hole with Will and Dodger, and then Kelly took the evening to get ready for work the following day. While she would mainly be spending her summer working with the biology and chemistry teachers, she had requested an initial meeting with all of the science and math teachers to give them an overview of the STEM program. Kelly put together a slide show of the classes and labs at her current school, and made copies of sample course syllabi and some suggestions of things that could be incorporated into eighth and ninth grade science classes in order to move students smoothly into the STEM Academy curriculum should they so choose.

  Going through her materials was energizing. Having been through a STEM startup already, there were things she would have done differently, hindsight being twenty-twenty and all that, and this consulting project gave her a chance to refine the process to make it even more successful. Since she wouldn’t be here to actually implement the plan, it was imperative that she get the teachers excited about the program.

  That’s what tomorrow was about, and Kelly prayed she was up to the task, as she truly believed it was an incredible opportunity to get more students excited about careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

  It took her a while to quiet her mind after she went to bed. It also took a little while to get comfortable, as her legs and behind were still sore after her fourth riding lesson. It wasn’t as bad as the first day, but she was still a little uncomfortable. Will had assured her he’d ride with her on her days off so she wouldn’t lose ground. Today she’d actually let Sandy run for a little bit, and it had been exhilarating, especially when Will told her that her form was getting better every day.

  Kelly’s eyes finally began to get heavy, and she smiled contentedly. The Wild Rose was exactly where she wanted to be, and she was beyond happy with how things were going with Will. She breathed a prayer of gratitude, and then sleep came.

  Monday morning went surprisingly smoothly. James got up without complaint, probably because he knew Sarah was making french toast. Tessa, the neighbor girl, showed up right on time, and when she and James went to the stable to go riding, Kelly loaded up
a few boxes of supplies and materials and headed to the school.

  Yvonne met her out front and helped carry things in, obviously thrilled to have Kelly there. The meeting with all the teachers went well, and they had lots of good questions for Kelly. Although she’d only planned to take the morning with everyone, considering the teaching staff had come in on their own time during their summer break, they ended up ordering in subs for lunch and it was almost three o’clock by the time they wrapped up. Kelly was mentally drained and her voice was hoarse from all the talking she’d done, but she was convinced the staff at Tallock High was capable of incorporating a STEM Academy into their curriculum, if they chose to do so. The teachers were an impressive bunch, and Kelly hoped they continued to support the process.

  “This was a fantastic day, Kelly,” Yvonne enthused as they walked out to their cars together. “I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but you got everyone excited about the possibilities. I don’t know exactly what our budget is going to allow this first year, but I’m more optimistic than ever about getting a STEM Academy started here at Tallock High.”

  “I’ll do my best to help make sure that happens,” Kelly assured her. “I’m really excited about this summer. You have some really talented teachers here.”

  “It’s a great school, and thanks to you it’s going to get even better.”

  The rest of the week was busy but invigorating for Kelly, both professionally and personally. She spent Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at the school, and the rest of her time with James and, whenever possible, with Will. As she was preparing to leave the school on Thursday afternoon, Kelly was especially excited because she and Will were going out that evening, just the two of them.

  Principal Harris had given Kelly the use of the conference room while she was consulting at the school, which worked out well because she had a huge table where she could spread out all her materials. She had just finished organizing everything into neat piles and loading up her tote with some folders of things she wanted to work on over the weekend, when she heard a tap on the door.

  “Come in,” she called, expecting to see Yvonne, who always stopped by to walk with her to the parking lot.

  Instead, a sixty-something woman entered the room, smartly dressed in white slacks and a teal blouse. Her dark hair was cut in a stylish pixie and her accessories were silver and turquoise, and obviously not from the bargain racks.

  “I assume you’re Kelly Matherson?” the woman asked, her brown eyes cool.

  “Yes, I’m Kelly. Can I help you?”

  “My name is Charlene McCallum. I’m on the school board here, and since I was in town I thought I’d take the opportunity to stop in and meet you.”

  Kelly smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. McCallum. I’ve certainly enjoyed my first week here. You have a wonderful high school here in Tallock County.”

  The woman’s perfunctory smile didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “Yes we do, but I’m sure it can’t even begin to compare to your much larger school district back east.”

  “Bigger isn’t always better,” Kelly replied, beginning to wonder about the true purpose of this little visit.

  Charlene waved a hand dismissively. “It’s one thing to say that, but another to mean it. From experience, I’ve found that very few people who grew up in cities can get used to life in our laid back county. It’s considered much too boring and lacking in culture. By the end of the summer, you’ll be chomping at the bit to get back east, I’m sure.”

  Kelly shrugged. “That could be the case, I suppose, although I certainly don’t live in a large city. But so far my son and I absolutely love being here.”

  The woman gave a little huff and made a show of examining her rings and straightening her bracelets. “Principal Harris tells me he has high hopes for your time here. I hope it is indeed worthwhile, since it’s certainly stretching our budget to employ you this summer.”

  It was obvious by now that this wasn’t a friendly “welcome to town” visit by this particular school board member, but Kelly was determined to be pleasant in spite of the unexpected confrontation.

  “If it eases your mind, I’m actually working for less than the amount offered to me,” she said carefully. “I asked Principal Harris to put the difference toward the startup costs of the STEM program.”

  “How very magnanimous of you,” Charlene said. “I’m sure the Mathersons are very impressed by your selflessness. And Will Connor, as well.”

  Kelly zipped her tote shut and picked up her pocketbook. “None of them knows anything about my financial arrangement with Tallock High, Mrs. McCallum. Are we finished here?”

  “Not quite.” Charlene’s eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re up to, Kelly. Everyone does.”

  Kelly met the other woman’s frosty gaze unflinchingly.

  “I don’t know where you’re going with this discussion, Mrs. McCallum, but I need to get going, so why don’t you just go ahead and get to the point.”

  “Happily,” the other woman said shortly. “It’s history repeating itself, obviously. For some reason you like our Tallock County men. Maybe you have a cowboy fetish or something, I don’t know. But it worked out well for you once, so you decided to try it again.”

  “I’m afraid I still don’t know what you’re getting at.”

  “Let me put it very succinctly, then, Kelly.” Charlene was clutching her handbag so tightly her knuckles were white. “You got your claws into Jamie Matherson and then drug him away from his family and everything he knew. Thousands of miles away, in fact, and you made sure he never had the chance to come back and fix things with his parents. And now you find yourself alone again, so you show up here out of the blue and choose another one of our fine young men as your next victim. I don’t know how you’ve managed to get Will Connor wrapped around your finger, but you’re tearing his family apart, just as you did the Mathersons. And I, for one, think it’s despicable.”

  Kelly slowly shook her head, reeling but trying not to show it. She had just been blindsided by one of the worst accusations she could imagine, and she was both horrified and angry. Taking a breath, she tried to speak calmly.

  “I’m not sure where you got your story, Mrs. McCallum, but it obviously wasn’t from James or Maggie. Most of what you just said isn’t even close to the truth, but since it’s a personal matter, I’m not going to discuss it with you any further.”

  “You think it’s none of my business?” Charlene spat. “I’ll tell you what is my business. Seeing my best friend crying her eyes out because she’s terrified of losing her son, just like James and Maggie lost theirs. Seeing her lose weight and having to start on an antidepressant because she’s so distraught over her son falling for you—that’s my business! We call you the Black Widow, you know. Not especially original, but totally appropriate I’d say, because you’re poisonous. Toxic. You’re ruining everything.”

  Kelly clutched her bags tighter to hide her shaking hands as the woman’s diatribe allowed her to finally put two and two together.

  “You’re Lindsay’s mother,” she said softly.

  “Yes, I am. And what you’ve done to my daughter and my best friend is inexcusable. Of all the men in the world, why did you choose our Will?”

  “I didn’t set out to choose anyone,” Kelly said. “Meeting Will was completely unexpected.”

  “At your age, you shouldn’t have even looked twice at him. Lindsay is finally finished with college and ready to resume her relationship with him, and then you show up and make him forget what’s good for him. Honestly, Kelly, you should be ashamed.”

  There was a lot Kelly wanted to say to defend herself, but since it was only too clear that nothing she could say would change Charlene’s mind, she elected not to waste her time.

  “I’m sorry you feel the way you do, but I don’t think continuing this conversation is going to resolve anything,” she said, sounding much calmer than she felt. “I need to go.”

  Thankfu
lly Yvonne stuck her head into the room at that moment. “You ready to go, Kelly? Oh, hi, Charlene. I see you’ve met our incredible summer consultant. We are so excited to be working with her.”

  “Whatever,” Charlene said, just loud enough for Kelly to hear before she turned away. “Hello, Yvonne. Yes, we met, but I’ve got to run. I’ll see you next week at the board meeting.”

  “Looking forward to it. We’re hoping Kelly here will give the board a presentation about what we’re working on.”

  “Lovely.” Charlene didn’t even slow down as she passed the friendly teacher.

  Yvonne frowned and looked at Kelly, her expression turning to concern when she realized that Kelly was shaking.

  “Kelly, what’s wrong?” She hurried to her friend and put an arm around her. “Did Charlene say something to upset you? She’s always been outspoken, but I can assure you she doesn’t speak for the entire board. She was literally the only one to vote against us giving you this position, although she never gave us a good reason why.”

  Kelly shook her head and squared her shoulders. “I’m okay, Yvonne. She, um, she had some things to say on a personal level. It just kinda took me by surprise.”

  “Oh, don’t tell me,” Yvonne said disbelievingly. “This wasn’t about Lindsay and Will, was it?”

  “Right the first time,” Kelly confirmed. “But I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s get out of here.”

  They walked out together, Yvonne not bothering to hide her anger. “You don’t have to give me details, but trust me, Kelly. Everyone knows that Charlene and Diana have always intended for Lindsay and Will to get married and live happily ever after. But from what I’ve heard, Will has never been on that bandwagon. I don’t think you need to worry about that at all.”

  “Thanks, Yvonne,” Kelly said, although that wasn’t what she was worried about.

  “Don’t let that woman get to you. She’s a bitch, pardon my language. Always has been.”