Finding the Road Home

by Tina Radcliffe

  Daisy followed his gaze down the path through the woods.

  “Do you mind sitting on those steps and tossing me your shoes?” Mitch unwound a hose from the side of the house.

  A moment later he swung around at the jingle of horse tack. His brother Reece, in jeans and a denim shirt with a black Stetson on his head, sat on an ebony stallion. Why was it that his brother always looked like a dime-store novel cowboy hero? Yeah, the number two son had definitely been first in line when the movie-star good looks were handed out.

  “Don’t you have somebody to clean up the horse patties around here?” Mitch asked him. “My officer ruined her shoes.”

  “Did she now?” Reece slipped from his horse and greeted Daisy with a megawatt smile. “My apologies, Officer...”

  “Anderson,” Daisy said.

  Mitch did a double take. Daisy’s expression hadn’t changed. There was none of the usual female flutters and swooning in response to his brother’s aura of charm.

  “Officer Anderson, this is my brother Reece,” Mitch interjected. “Reece, this is Officer Daisy Anderson.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” Reece removed a glove and offered Daisy a hand in greeting.

  Daisy glanced at the soiled shoes in her hands and wrinkled her nose. “Um, probably not a good idea.”

  “Good point,” Reece returned with a smile.

  “You’re the brother who runs the ranch?” she asked.

  “That’s right. I’m the handsome Rainbolt brother.” He winked. “Just in case you were wondering.”

  Daisy chuckled at the bold assertion. “Your ranch is beautiful,” she returned.

  “Thank you. We’re hustling to prepare for our summer kickoff this weekend. We’ve got a real old-fashioned hoedown planned for Friday night.”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  “It is, and consider this your invitation to join us.”

  Daisy hesitated to answer, and Mitch knew she was thinking about her children.

  “Friday night’s event is for adults. The rest of the summer is dedicated to families and children,” Mitch added. “Good opportunity for you to meet the townsfolk.”

  She nodded thoughtfully.

  When Reece took off his hat and put his hand on his heart Mitch wanted to groan.

  “Ma’am,” his brother continued. “I’d be insulted if our newest law-enforcement officer didn’t join us.”

  Her brows raised slightly, and she smiled. “Then I accept your invitation, Mr. Rainbolt.”

  “It’s Reece, and you just made my day.” Once again he offered the full Reece wattage.

  Mitch took a deep breath. His brother was on a roll now.

  “There’s a ladies’ room inside if you’d like to wash your hands. In the meantime, I’ll take those shoes and get them cleaned up.”

  “Oh, that’s unnecessary. I’m sure hosing them off would be sufficient.”

  “Miss Daisy, you’ve got to let a cowboy be chivalrous.”

  Miss Daisy? Mitch blinked at the words, finding himself unreasonably annoyed.

  “It’s the way we do things out here,” his brother continued. “I’ve got some good leather cleaners in the barn. Just take a jiffy. They’ll be good as new.” He nodded toward the guesthouse. “There’s coffee on the counter in there. Help yourself.”

  “I, um...” She looked to Mitch.

  “You may as well give in now,” Mitch said. “Reece will pester you to death until you say yes.”

  She smiled and handed Reece the shoes. “All right, then. Thank you.”

  Mitch waited until Daisy was out of earshot, then uncrossed his arms and turned to his brother. “Kind of early in the morning for you to be spreading the malarkey so thick with my new employee.”

  Reece merely laughed and headed toward the barn with the shoes dangling from his gloved hands. “Wake up on the wrong side of the saddle?”

  “Nope. What you see is what you get. Every single day.”

  “Yeah, and I’m still trying to figure out how it is you’re such a curmudgeon when the rest of the family has magnetic personalities.”

  “Magnetic, huh? You’re like a used-car salesman on a horse.”

  Reece only laughed at the words.

  Mitch followed him into the barn where they both grabbed a couple of rags and saddle soap. They worked silently for several moments removing debris.

  “I like your Daisy Anderson,” Reece said.

  “Glad to have your approval, but she isn’t my anything,” he fairly growled. As if a beauty like Daisy would be interested in a beast like him. Not likely.

  “Interesting,” Reece said.

  “What?” Mitch asked, his annoyance doubling.

  His brother shoved his Stetson to the back of his head and studied Mitch for a moment. “You like her too.”

  “Don’t start.” He held up a palm. “The woman is thirty-two years old.”

  “Age is only a number.”

  “My number is nine years older than hers, and my number is old.” Never in his wildest dreams would someone young and full of so much potential, like Daisy, be interested in someone like him.

  “Mitch, according to you, you were born old.” Reece laughed. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”

  “She has five children.”

  “Whoa.” His brother’s head snapped back. “What? Started early, huh?”

  “Adopted her nieces and nephews.”

  “Ah.” Reece cocked his head. “What’s the problem? You like kids.”

  “I like Tucker’s kids because they sleep at Tucker’s house.” Mitch shook his head. “We’ve discussed this before. I’ve already raised a family.” And he’d lost one of his siblings along the way. Some parent he’d turned out to be.

  “That doesn’t count. You raised your brothers and sister.”

  “Yep. That’s right and I’m not doing it again.” He eyed the shoe in his hand and began to polish the leather. “Why was it you called me out here?”

  “I’m short-handed for Friday night.”

  “How come you only call me when you need a favor?”

  “Easy there, pal.” Reece took the shoe from him. “You’re going to rub the leather clean off.”

  “I told you last year,” Mitch continued. “I’ll help with the cattle and the horses, but I draw the line at people.”

  “You’re the police chief. You deal with people all the time.”

  “Exactly.” Mitch shook his head once again. “I thought Kate was coming home for the summer.”

  “She called me last night. Another opportunity opened up. She’s headed to Oregon. Can’t help it if our little sister is good at what she does.”

  “Good at what she does is fine, but it would be nice if she’d find a less dangerous calling.”

  “Don’t start that again. You’re proud enough of her when you see her on the television.”

  “This isn’t about being proud of her,” Mitch said.

  Reece met Mitch’s gaze. His brother’s blue eyes bore into his soul. “It’s been five years, Mitch. You can’t bring Levi back by blaming yourself. You’re not in charge of everyone’s well-being. It’s time to turn it over to God.”

  Yeah, right. They were the same words he’d been telling himself since his little brother died. It wasn’t his fault. Except it was.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Reece asked.

  “Yeah. I heard you.” Mitch rubbed a hand over his face. “So hire someone to cover for Kate. I can’t work two jobs.”

  “I’ve got a guy coming down from Montana. Won’t be here until Monday. I need help with the hoedown.”

  “Okay, fine. But this is the last time. I can’t be a part-time cowboy when I’m a full-time police chief.”

  “This is the last time.”


  Mitch grumbled under his breath. “How many guests are we talking?”

  “I’m booked solid.” Reece dusted off his hands. “Thinking about expanding. Guess we can talk about it at the next family meeting.”

  “Sometimes it’s better to stay small and in high demand than expand and dilute the quality,” Mitch said.

  “That so?”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “I’ll take that under consideration.” Reece headed out of the barn. “By the way, Mr. Temporary Cowboy, the door is always open for you to work full time at the ranch. I’d like nothing more than a little help with the decision making around here on a daily basis.”

  “Not going to happen. I like my job.”

  “Do you? ’Cause the way I see it, being police chief isn’t much different from raising children.”

  “The way you see it?” Mitch scoffed, annoyed that his brother was spot-on in his observation. “You don’t have any kids.”

  The sunlight greeted them as they walked out of the barn. “All the same,” Reece continued, “if you worked at the ranch, you could toss those saddles of responsibility off your shoulders. Start enjoying life.”

  “You’d hate having me around all the time.”

  “Not true.”

  For a moment, Mitch considered his brother’s words. He’d never imagined Reece would turn the ranch around as he had. The place was a success. There was plenty of work at Rebel Ranch, but could he be happy as a full-time cowboy? He’d always been in charge. Didn’t know anything else.

  “Can you at least pray about it?” Reece asked as though reading his mind.

  “I can do that,” Mitch said. He nodded as he spoke, and when he raised his head, his gaze landed on Daisy, who stood on the front steps of the guesthouse waiting. When her eyes met his, they widened a fraction, and a smile touched her lips.

  Mitch could only stare, fascinated, as the breeze pulled a ribbon of curly gold-red hair loose from her tight knot and caressed her face with the strand.

  At the same time, an elbow jabbed his side, pulling him out of his daze. Reece chuckled. “You’re in trouble, and you don’t even know it, big brother.”

  Mitch swallowed. It occurred to him that Reece had just said the exact words the voice in his head had been spouting all morning. He took a deep breath as he realized that there wasn’t a single thing he could do about the situation except stay focused and keep his distance.

  * * *

  A drop of sweat trickled down Daisy’s face. She swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand before rolling down the window of the patrol vehicle and waiting for the spring breeze to pass through the car.

  The air was still.

  “Mind if I turn on the air conditioner?” she asked Roscoe. “Seems a bit humid today.”

  The senior officer chuckled from the driver’s seat of the Crown Victoria. “Help yourself.”

  Daisy rolled up the window again. She fiddled with the buttons, then leaned back in the cloth seats and sighed as the cool air touched her damp skin.

  “Oklahoma in June,” Roscoe said. “This ain’t nothing. Wait until July.”

  She grimaced. “Really?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sometimes the air’s so thick it’s like walking into a sauna with a sweater on.”

  Daisy pushed back a curly tendril of hair. Humidity. Her hair would love that. “I guess I’m used to Colorado’s dry heat.”

  “Yep. Gonna be a long summer for you.”

  “Officers in the vicinity of Main and Drummond, please respond.”

  Daisy eagerly straightened and listened as the dispatch call from Henna echoed into the vehicle.

  “Eighteen-zero-two, 10-4,” Roscoe said to dispatch as he pulled on his seat belt. “We got this, Henna.”

  “Negative, 1802. Eighteen-zero-five is en route,” Henna returned immediately.

  Roscoe slapped a hand on the steering wheel. “That’s the fourth time she’s done that this week.”

  “I’m sure it’s a coincidence,” Daisy said.

  “No coincidence about it. We’re six blocks closer to that location than 1805. I know when I’m being stonewalled.”

  “On purpose?” Daisy asked. “But why? And by whom?”

  “You tell me. The only thing I’m sure of is that I keep putting two and two together, and every time I get four.”

  Daisy tried not to smile at his words. Roscoe, she was learning, had a flair for the dramatic, and most of the time his references made no sense.

  “Does this have something to do with your retirement?” she asked.

  Her partner released a loud snort. “My retirement? Now, why would you say that?”

  “Maybe the chief thinks you’ve already retired.”

  Roscoe’s head jerked around and stunned eyes pinned her. “’Scuse me?”

  “This is Friday,” she said. “You were MIA most of Monday and left early for appointments on Wednesday and Thursday.” Daisy blinked as he continued to stare. Subtlety had never been her strong suit, and she’d already determined that Roscoe was a what-you-see-is-what-you-get guy. In the long run, he’d appreciate honesty. She hoped.

  “Don’t hold back now,” he muttered.

  “I’m only stating the obvious. It might appear to the chief that you’ve already checked out.”

  “Naw, that’s only one side of the story. It’s the chief who put me out to pasture. Ever since I saved that kid from drowning last summer.”

  “You saved a kid from drowning? Well done, Officer McFarland.” She reassessed the man, realizing that there was more depth than she’d assumed to the officer sitting in the driver’s seat.

  “Oh, yeah. I’m a real hero,” he laughed. “Read real nice in The Weekly Rebel. Trouble was, I nearly drowned myself. Spent a month in the hospital with aspiration pneumonia. Mitch was beside himself.” He hung his head. “Went on and on about protocol. Truth be told, situation would have never happened if I had the common sense to close my mouth while I was doing the saving.”

  “So the chief is protecting you until you leave the department.”

  “That’s my assessment.” Roscoe nodded. “It’s true, I’ve had a few minor mishaps lately.” He held up his bandaged thumb. “But I can tell you the situation around here has gotten worse since you showed up on Monday.”

  “I’m sure your attitude has nothing to do with things.”

  “Ouch!” Roscoe shot her another surprised look before the stubbornness faded from his face. “I admit I’ve been a bit annoyed that he assigned me a partner.”

  “A bit annoyed. Until today, you’ve only spoken a grand total of three words to me.”

  “You were counting?”

  “There hasn’t been much else to do. Yesterday, when we were on break and accidentally collared that shoplifter in the Piggly Wiggly, I believe you said, Cuff him, Danno.” She couldn’t help but smile. “Three words.”

  Roscoe chuckled.

  Daisy kept talking since she had his attention. “The point is, this is my first time with a partner since I was a rookie with a training officer, so you’re not alone. But I’d like to make this work.”

  “How many years you got under your belt?”

  “Nine. And you?”

  “Twenty-nine.”

  She raised a palm in gesture. “I could learn a lot from you, Officer McFarland. If you’d allow me to.”

  “Point take, Officer Anderson.”

  Silence stretched for several moments as Roscoe gnawed on a toothpick. “You know, there is another way to look at this,” he finally said.

  “What’s that?” Daisy asked.

  “Ever think maybe the chief has me babysitting you?” he asked.

  “What?” Her eyes popped wide at Roscoe’s words.

  “I heard you’ve got five kids. Knowing Mitch’s his
tory, I can see him trying to protect you. That’s his MO.”

  “His MO?”

  “Let’s just say the man has had more than his share of loss, and leave it at that.”

  “I see.” Daisy said the words slowly, trying to gain insight into her enigmatic boss. “I think we should talk to him about our situation. I don’t like the idea of being coddled.”

  “I ain’t saying a word.” Roscoe blew a raspberry. “Nobody likes a grumbler.”

  Daisy resisted the urge to inform him that he’d been grumbling for the last fifteen minutes.

  “If they want to pay me to do nothing, it’s no skin off my nose.” Roscoe glanced at the dash clock. “Besides, why look for trouble on a Friday afternoon? The shift is almost over, and we’ve got a free meal prepared by the best chef in the county waiting on us at Rebel Ranch this evening.”

  “That event at the guest ranch? I nearly forgot.”

  “Well, don’t. Everyone in town attends. Would be downright insulting to the Rainbolts if you were a no-show.”

  “Fine. I’ll be there.” She turned to her new partner. “I still think we should talk to the chief. Get things out in the open. Mitch seems like a man who favors transparency.”

  “Transparency?” He snorted. “It’s transparent to me right now that talking to Mitch is a lousy idea.” Roscoe signaled and checked his mirrors. “You do what you want, missy. Just remember you might not like the answers.”

  “Where are we headed?” Daisy asked.

  “We’ve got two hours left. Enough time to check the meters on Main Street one more time. Who knows, maybe we’ll run into some bad guys jaywalking and make a big collar.” He laughed and pulled out into traffic.

  Daisy adjusted her sunglasses and pondered Roscoe’s words. Surely he was exaggerating. Still, a niggling doubt inched its way in and she was determined to prove Roscoe wrong.

  Chapter Three

  “What do you mean the funds are being withdrawn?” Mitch leaned back in his chair and shoved down the frustration threatening to erupt. He pinned his most intimidating gaze on the representative from the Osage County offices in Pawhuska. Will Needleman didn’t even flinch. Trouble was, he’d known Will since they were kids. Hard to intimidate someone he’d gone fishing with every summer since they were old enough to bait a hook.