Cowboys Can’t Lie (A Lily’s House Novella)

by Rachel Branton

  He could sense the longing in her voice, and he wished so much that he could give her those memories. Of him chasing the girls through the flowers, splashing in the stream, or giving in to their demands to help them make flower crowns for their heads. Well, he couldn’t change Tara’s lack of happy memories, but he could help create more perfect memories, if she would let him.

  On their ride back, his thoughts drifted to Sophie. Marti had urged him to do something about her, but what could he do? He’d tried to find her before and the police were no help. And he was still so angry at her . . . and at himself.

  What he needed was to get Jump Start back, but the only way that would happen was if he could drive High Vista out of business, which would invalidate his father’s partnership and return what he’d put into the business to his heirs.

  Except that wasn’t the only way. There was one more thing Crew could do to strike a bargain with High Vista, but he had resisted the temptation because he hadn’t wanted to give Dervin any more benefits, or reward the way he’d taken advantage of his drunken father.

  Maybe it was time he capitulated. It might be the only way to set things right.

  After Tara left, Crew made the phone call to High Vista from the field where Iron Express was grazing with his mares. He couldn’t help his relief that Dervin didn’t pick up. A message would give both of them more time to consider an arrangement. Crew planned to talk to Isaac, of course, before the deal was final. And maybe Marti as well.

  “Hello, this is Crew Ashman. I’ve been thinking about your offer to buy Iron Express. I’m not interested in a sale, but I might be willing to consider a trade that includes Jumps Start. Think about it and call me when you get a chance.”

  He hung up, watching the stallion notice him and come galloping over. He held out a carrot. “Hey boy,” he said. “I don’t want to do this, but they’ll take good care of you because of what you’re worth.”

  Iron Express tossed his head and snorted, which was exactly the way Crew felt about High Vista. Well, it wasn’t a done deal yet. He was only exploring his options.

  Even so, a little piece of him withered as he mounted his other horse and went to work.

  Chapter 9

  Tara stopped by Lily’s House on the way back from the ranch, and she discovered Lily reading a romance novel on the back deck. “Missing Mario?” Tara teased. She knew Lily’s husband had been at his parents’ in Tucson the past two days helping them remodel their kitchen.

  “Actually, yes. Plus, my kids are at my sister’s, and the girls all went to the mall, so I’m reading, even though I have a thousand other things I should be doing. It’s good for the soul. What’s up?” Lily set her book on the little table beside her lounge chair.

  Tara settled on another of the dozen chairs spread out over the deck. “I need to find somebody.” She told her about Sophie and how she wanted to help Crew reunite with her.

  “It sounds like you’re serious about him.”

  “Maybe.” Tara could feel the silly look on her face and was glad Lily didn’t say any more. “He’s told me a lot about his past, but this thing with his sister . . . I don’t know. He just . . . he’s not happy.” There, that was the bottom line. “I think if he doesn’t deal with it, then it might ruin things for us because as it is, he can’t talk about her. I’m even worried he’ll be upset when he finds out I’m looking for her.”

  “Wait, let’s go back to the part where he can’t talk about it yet. You’ve only known him for four days.”

  “Four incredible days,” Tara corrected, but she knew Lily was right. She also knew she wasn’t backing down.

  Lily laughed. “Then shouldn’t you tell him you want to help him find her?”

  “No. Definitely not. He’s already been through a lot. I want to feel her out before I tell him.”

  “Okay, so find her.”

  “That’s just it. I can’t find her. Last night after our date, I spent hours online and then again this morning. I’ve checked out dozens of Sophies on Facebook all over the country.”

  All versions of Sophie’s name, including her mother’s maiden name, Kelley, which was also her middle name, brought up a lot of people, but none of them seemed to be her. Only old statements in news articles seemed to reference the real woman. “She can’t have dropped off the face of the earth.”

  “You have a picture?”

  “Yes, and I tried an image look up on the Internet. I had no idea there were some many similar-looking people in the world. None of them are her—at least that I can tell. Now if I had access to a photograph I knew she’d posted online on some account, it would be different because the search engines could maybe find the exact one, but this picture is from his cousin, and it was never posted online.”

  “Didn’t she have a Facebook page before all this happened?”

  “Yes, but she must have blocked Crew and his cousin because all the posts from her on their personal profiles are missing.”

  “Were they in any groups together? Because if anyone else could see her posts, they might be able to give you the URL. Just because he’s blocked doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see it.”

  “He doesn’t have time for Facebook, so no groups, and I don’t even think she’s using her original account. On the ranch’s page when I’m logged in as an admin on my own account, I can see her name as the creator of most of the posts, but clicking it just brings up a broken link icon, as if her profile has been unpublished or deleted. When I’m logged in as Crew, the link to her name is grayed out. I’m thinking she must have known even if she blocked her family, they could still find her through dummy accounts if she kept the same one.”

  “Well, if pictures of her don’t work, what about pictures of her horse? All the ones she has of him should be older, and if she’s made a new page, she’ll probably post at least a couple for memory’s sake, right?”

  Tara stared at her. “Lily, you’re a genius! I should have thought of that. I do have some with Jump Start that Marti sent me, but Sophie was so far away in them that I didn’t think the search engines would recognize her face. I forgot that maybe Sophie might post the same picture. She wouldn’t have any newer ones since she doesn’t own Jump Start anymore.”

  Lily’s grin widened with the compliment. “Well, it still might not work. It’d have to be the exact same picture because there are too many horses and riders who look exactly alike. At least to me.”

  Tara drew out her laptop from her bag. She had brought it to Crew’s this morning in case they had time for her to show him a few ideas for future posts—which they hadn’t—but now it felt like fate. “Well, let’s just see.”

  Her fingers flew over the keys. She tried eleven pictures of Sophie with Jump Start without any result. But the twelfth one brought up exactly two other pictures of the same image, one posted on Facebook and the other on Pinterest. Both posts were only a few months old. Excitement flooded her. Finally, a lead. She clicked on the Facebook link.

  Lily leaned closer as the profile loaded, the picture of the horse at the top of the page. On the bottom left side, the profile photo revealed a mysterious young girl looking to the side, her face half in shadow. Her hair barely reached her jaw.

  “What happened to her hair?” Lily squinted at the screen as if that would change something. “I mean, that’s a fabulous cut, but it totally changes her. In fact, you sure it’s her?”

  Tara was sure. Sophie had the same soulful brown eyes as Crew, and her smile, how it tipped up ever-so-slightly even with her serious expression, was exactly like his. “It’s her, but look at the name, SKA. Sophie Kelley Ashman. It’s her initials. Her mother’s maiden name is her middle name. It says she’s in Phoenix. If this is right and she’s still here, how is it possible they haven’t run into her?”

  “There’s over a million and a half people here,” Lily said.

  She had a point, especially with Crew working so hard and Marti in school. “Let’s see . . . she works at Monkey
Pants Bar & Grill. That’s vaguely familiar.” Tara looked it up. “Oh, a bar in Tempe.”

  Thoughts tumbled through her mind. She could easily make it there before Crew came over tonight. Of course, she had no idea if Sophie was working. “I’m going to check out the bar,” she said, standing abruptly.

  Lily swung her feet off the lounge, worry wrinkling the skin around her eyes. “Are you sure about that?”

  “No.” But she liked Crew and she wanted to make sure Sophie wouldn’t hurt him before she told him where Sophie was. If Sophie even still worked there. “But what if I find her and she’s a horrible person?”

  “I guess you’ll have to see. But just remember to give her the benefit of the doubt. You know how some of the girls were when they arrived here.”

  “Me.”

  Lily smiled. “Yes. So don’t judge.”

  Tara stood. “Okay, I won’t.”

  “I still think you should tell him, though. Because he should know.”

  “I will eventually. Now you get back to your romance novel. I’ll let you know later how it goes.”

  Twenty minutes and a dose of heartburn later, Tara walked into the Monkey Pants Bar & Grill. At two in the afternoon, the place wasn’t hopping, but there was a lingering lunch clientele. The stage where they held a weekly comedy show was empty now. She weaved through the tables, slowly approaching the bar. There were two bartenders, both men, but the clang of dishes told her someone was in the back cooking.

  She took her time surveying the place, not really wanting to order anything, especially if Sophie wasn’t there. After only a few minutes, she determined that Sophie was nowhere in the bar, unless she was in the back. Tara would probably need to ask about her, but for now she’d slip into the bathroom and see if she happened to be there or if there was a waitress to ask.

  Two women were in the bathroom, but neither looked like an employee. One woman, a brunette, was adjusting her low shirt so her bra wouldn’t show. The other woman was blond, but she was at least ten years older than Tara’s twenty-five, so definitely not Sophie. Tara exchanged smiles with them before washing her hands.

  Leaving the bathroom, she rallied her courage to ask for Sophie. Otherwise, she’d have to hang out here all night and miss her date with Crew. She slid onto a barstool and ate some of the free popcorn as she waited for the bartender. There was only one there now. She craned her neck to see into the kitchen, but it was hopeless.

  When the bartender reached her, Tara took a deep breath and said, “Hey, is Sophie working tonight?”

  “Sorry, I’m new here. I don’t know any Sophie. You a friend of hers?”

  “We have mutual friends. Just thought I’d say hi.”

  “Well, I can go in the back and ask once I help everyone. What can I get you?”

  “I think I’ll come back later. See if she’s here then.”

  “Suit yourself.” He went to help another customer.

  Outside in her car, Tara texted Marti. I may have a lead on Sophie.

  Already?

  Maybe. Might be old information. Tonight she’d go over Sophie’s Facebook page to see if there was anything she’d missed. She’d already requested to be friends with several of Sophie’s friends in the hopes of finding someone who knew her in real life.

  Well, let me know, Marti responded. It will be a miracle. I just hope Sophie wants us to find her.

  Tara hoped so too.

  Chapter 10

  For the next few days, Tara found herself spending more time with Crew. They watched a movie, had dinner at the ranch with Marti’s family, and went on another horseback ride. When they weren’t together, Tara found herself working more on his social media than doing her usual unpaid overtime for her boss. Using social media, she’d filled two of Crew’s open boarding slots, and two local restaurants had contracted with him for fresh beef.

  “You’re gloating,” he said when he called her Tuesday morning at work with the news.

  She smirked. “You bet I am. And you have nearly three hundred new likes on both Facebook pages. I think it’s time to do a giveaway. Not only will we get more notice, but the way we’ll set it up, you’ll be able to add them to your existing newsletter list.”

  “What would I give away?”

  “A training lesson, a two-hour horseback ride? A side of hormone-free beef? Stud services?” She’d mocked each of these up last night, so it was only a matter of starting the Facebook ad and publishing the giveaway page on his website. “Something that has real value for them but doesn’t cost you so much that it’s prohibitive.”

  “Prohibitive?” He laughed. “I love it when you use big words. Do it for a horseback ride and a side of beef then.” His voice lowered. “Look, we’re having an issue with a couple of our wells, so I have to work tonight, but can I see you tomorrow?”

  “Sure. What should we do?”

  “Let’s cook dinner together here. I have my grandmother’s recipe for garlic chicken.”

  “Garlic chicken? Are you sure that’s the best choice?” she teased. With all the kissing they’d be doing, she meant.

  “You’ll love it. I promise. And if we’re both eating garlic . . .” His voice was like a caress, sending spicy shudders throughout her body.

  “Sounds fun.” Actually, it sounded a little serious, especially with the way she felt about him, and she didn’t know if it was a good idea to be there alone or how far to let it go. She was falling for him hard. They always leave, she reminded herself. She couldn’t forget that. Plus, there was Sophie and his unfinished business with her.

  “Good. You don’t have to worry about bringing anything. I’ll pick up everything tomorrow.”

  “You’d better grab some frozen pizzas in case we utterly fail.”

  He chuckled. “It’s garlic chicken, not rocket science.”

  “I guess we’ll see about that. See you tomorrow.”

  After the conversation, Tara could barely concentrate on her ad campaign, so she worked through her morning break to make up the time she’d wasted. For lunch, she headed back to the Monkey Pants Bar & Grill. The place was crowded, but to her surprise, Sophie was there. What now? She had to tell Crew.

  Sophie’s hair was longer than the picture on Facebook, down to her shoulders, but pulled back from her face. She looked happy, and a sudden guilt attacked Tara. This had been the right thing to do, tracking Sophie, hadn’t it?

  Tara watched for a moment to make sure she sat at the bar where Sophie would most likely be the one to help her. Within a minute, Sophie came to take her order. “Can I get you something?”

  Tara ordered the first thing on the menu without thinking. While Sophie was filling her order, she drew out her phone and turned it on, smiling at the picture of Crew’s foal that she was using for her screen background. Should she tell Crew she’d found Sophie? Lily seemed to think so, and she was generally right about . . . well, about everything. But what if things exploded?

  At any rate, when she did tell him, it was something that should be done in person, not through a text. Sighing, she set the phone down on the bar, smiling again at the picture of the foal.

  Sophie brought her food, her eyes falling to Tara’s phone. “Oh, what a gorgeous little foal. Is it yours?” Sophie appeared to drink in the picture, her smile wide.

  Tara picked up the phone. What to say? Tell the truth? Distract her?

  “It’s supposed to be a gray,” she said, handing the phone to Sophie. “I’m not clear exactly why it’s not gray yet though.”

  “Oh, they get their gray later. Depending on their genes, some mares will always have grays and some will have gray offspring only part of the time. The foals are usually black until they start changing.”

  “I think this one’s mother only has grays.” Should she say more, tell her who it belonged to? “So you know about horses.”

  Sophie shrugged, her smile fading a little. “I owned a few once. Is this one a Thoroughbred? Looks like it.”

  “Yeah
,” Tara said.

  Another bartender called Sophie’s attention, and she handed back the phone. “Enjoy your meal. Let me know if you need anything.”

  There had been no more opportunity to talk before Tara had to hurry back to work, and maybe that was for the best. She’d already gone over her lunch hour and would have to work late to make up that time.

  Tara headed over to Lily’s House after work, wanting to tell Lily about seeing Sophie, since it was her idea that led her there. Lily was shopping, but Kate and Brin were in the kitchen making macaroons, so Tara chatted with them as she waited for Lily. Both girls looked tan and healthy.

  “These are to take to everyone at the ranch tomorrow,” Kate told her, popping a small ball of dough into her mouth.

  Was it just in Tara’s mind, or had Kate eased up slightly on the black makeup? She also looked like she’d dropped a pound or two, and she was wearing a light blue Silver A Ranch shirt, which was a decided improvement over her usual black clothing. “I like your shirt,” Tara said.

  “Mr. Ashman gave them to us.” Kate twirled around, modeling the shirt. “But that’s not the best part.”

  Brin laughed. “Kate has a crush on one of the stable boys.”

  “Not that!” Kate said. “It’s Iron Express. We got to ride him today!”

  “You did?” Tara was surprised.

  Kate nodded. “That’s right. It was an awful day, really. Cleaning out all those stalls. It sometimes gets old. I love exercising the horses, but it was beginning to feel like we’d never get to ride any of the Thoroughbreds, even though Mr. Ashman promised we would if we worked hard.”

  “He said within a month,” Brin reminded her. “Tomorrow makes only a week.”

  “Well, since we’ve been staying later, it seems longer.” Kate met Tara’s eyes. “I know you told us to wait a week before we asked to stay all day, but we couldn’t help ourselves. They even gave us lunch yesterday and today. Anyway, today after work, we were staring at Iron Express over the fence when Mr. Ashman came to see him, and without us saying anything, he saddled him up and led us around. It was a little scary riding such a big stallion. He’s kind of skittish around us.”