“Is that your brand?”
“I have several registered. That’s my horse brand.” Renny stopped next to a huge, half-built barn.
“This is quite a building project,” Develyn said.
He got out and walked with her to the entrance of the building. “Yep, but its completion is hampered by time and money.”
“A two-story barn?”
“The top story will be my house. Two bedrooms, den, kitchen, office, two baths, and a veranda that faces the mountains.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“Someday, Devy-girl, I’ll get it done … someday. Until then,” he pointed to the other side of the barn, “it’s me and my double-wide.”
“Your yard looks very neat.”
“Yeah, don’t that surprise you?”
“No.” She slipped her arm in his. “I have learned one thing about Renny Slater. He can do anything he sets his mind to. I bet you built every bit of the barn yourself.”
“Oh, I get a friend to hold a board up once in a while. But I fenced the place and built the arena all by myself. I like workin’ by myself, Dev. It’s kind of like therapy sometimes.”
“The arena has a couple of bucking chutes and roping boxes,” she said.
“There’s always someone stopping by who wants to practice. I’m surprised no one’s here now.”
“They just pop in and use it anytime?”
“Yep. That’s what it’s for.”
Develyn stared into the shadows of the half-built barn. “You have a cat.”
“Yeah, don’t that beat all? A cowboy with a cat and no dog.”
“She looks very …”
“Sturdy.”
“Is she tame?”
“Nope. Strictly a barn cat. She moved in as soon as I built the first storage building, and has lived here ever since. I call her Jezebel. I give her a little dry food whenever I get a chance, and she takes care of the mice. But don’t get too close to her.”
“Does she run off?”
“No, she’ll attack you.”
“Oh, heavens, she is wild. But you’re right. I am stunned that you don’t have a dog.”
“I had two when I moved here. Cougars came down off the mountain and got them both.”
“But they left Jezebel?”
“Cougars aren’t dumb.” He pointed toward the double-wide. “Would you like to see my place? Got some Cokes and shrimp salad waiting in the refrigerator.”
“Shrimp salad? Mr. Slater, how in the world did you …”
“Well, don’t be too amazed. I picked it up at the supermarket last evenin’. It looked good, and I haven’t had shrimp for a while. I was trying to guess what a schoolteacher might like. It was either shrimp salad or frozen foot-long green chili burritos.”
They strolled to the grassy area in front of the gray mobile home with forest green trim.
“I love your roses!”
Renny pulled off his hat and brushed back his thinning blond hair. “People in town claimed that roses wouldn’t grow out here.”
“So you had to prove them wrong?”
“Something in me likes to do that.”
“That’s quite a pottery menagerie.”
“Most of them are horrible looking. Ever’ last one is a gift. I’m afraid to toss ’em ’cause whoever gave it to me will stop by and ask. So I confine ’em to the north side. In the winter time they stay covered with snow. But it looks like the coyotes got in here, ’cause most of them are turned over.”
Renny ambled into the yard of small animal figurines. “I reckon I’ll set them upright, but I’m not sure that looks better.”
“Do you mind if I go on inside and use the ladies room?”
He shoved the key ring toward her. “It’s the big silver one.”
A brass sign above the doorbell read, “Lord, bless this home with love and laughter.” Develyn fumbled to get the key in the door and found it was unlocked.
Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Nothing about Renny Slater surprises me.
The living room furniture was leather and oak. The spring on the self-closing door was tight. When she released it, the door slammed hard.
“Renny, darlin’, I’m in the kitchen washin’ my hair,” a woman’s voice shouted.
Develyn froze. Her neck stiffened. She wrapped her arms around her chest.
A woman wearing jeans and a white sports bra appeared at the kitchen doorway with a white towel wrapped around her wet, red hair.
“Oh! Is Renny with you?”
“He’s outside,” Develyn mumbled.
“I’m Mary.”
“I’m not.”
“Oh, don’t worry, honey. I’ll just dry my hair and scoot to the back room so you and Renny can … well, whatever.”
Develyn opened the front door and shouted. “Slater, get in here.”
Renny bounded through the door, hat in hand. His dimpled grin faded when he spotted the woman with the towel.
“Mary? What are you doing here?”
“You invited me, remember?”
“I what?”
“You said if Walt ever beat me up again, I could always come over here.” She dropped the towel to reveal cuts and bruises on her neck and ear. “He came home drunk and came after me with the rake.”
Develyn held herself and began to rock back and forth.
“Your place was locked but I found the spare key finally, under that little hideous yard frog. I had blood in my hair, so I washed it. Who’s your friend?”
“Mary, this is Dev Worrell. Now go back in there and get your shirt on.”
“Renny, I can go out to the barn if you two want to visit.”
“Just get your shirt on, darlin’. I’ll take care of this.”
“Renny, don’t send me back to Walt. Not today. Let me spend the night here.” She started to cry.
“You know I won’t send you back. I’ll figure out something. Go get dressed.”
The woman wiped her eyes on the towel, then looked at Develyn. “I used to be purdy like you.” She shuffled back into the kitchen.
“Dev, the master bathroom is down the hall on the right, if you still need it. I need to make a phone call, and then explain this to you.”
“Are you calling the sheriff?”
“Not yet.”
* * *
Develyn stood in front of the mirror of the tidy bathroom and dried off the water she had splashed on her face.
Lord, Renny’s life is one emergency after another. It’s all I can do to keep from fainting. I don’t know what’s really going on here. I don’t know if I want to know.
Mary was sitting on the couch when Develyn returned to the living room. She could hear Renny finish a phone call.
He ignored Develyn when he returned and pulled up a chair in front of Mary. “Darlin’, when did Walt get back in the area?”
Mary’s voice softened. “Two weeks ago.”
“You promised me you wouldn’t take him back next time.”
“He didn’t have anywhere to stay, Renny.”
“What happened to the money he got workin’ that oil rig?”
“He said someone stole most of it.”
“Do you believe that?”
She dropped her pointed chin to her chest. “No.”
Develyn could see more bruises around her neck.
“What’s he been doin’ for two weeks?”
“Drinkin’.”
“Where did he get the money for the booze?”
“He took it out of my purse, I reckon.” She began to sob.
Renny scooted over on the couch next to her and cradled her head against his shoulder. “Darlin’, listen to me. No one can help you unless you want help. Do you want help?”
“I want him to love me and not hit me.”
Now tears streamed down De
velyn’s face.
“You have to answer me, darlin’. You are still the purdiest redhead in Johnson County. Do you want help?”
“I want to stay with you, Renny.”
“You didn’t answer me.”
“Yes,” she whimpered. “I want help.”
“Then you have to do what I tell you to do.”
“If I mind you, will you let me stay here? I’m a good cook, Renny, you know I’m a good cook.”
“I have somethin’ much better in mind for you than stayin’ here.”
She clutched on to him. “Don’t ever turn me loose.”
Develyn heard a rig pull up in the driveway.
“Don’t let him get me, Renny,” Mary wailed.
Develyn peeked out the window. “It’s a man and a woman.”
Renny stood, with Mary still clinging. He shoved her back. “Mary, go get your things. That’s Pastor Tim and his wife, Barb. They have a safe place for you, and they know exactly how to handle this.”
“But,” she sobbed, “I wanted to stay with you.”
“Darlin’, in your heart you knew I’d never be able to let you do that. Get your stuff.”
Within minutes, Pastor Tim and Barb drove off with Mary and her two paper sacks of belongings.
Develyn and Renny sat outside on the front step.
“How did she get here without a car?” Dev asked.
“She said she hitchhiked.”
“In that condition?”
“About a year ago Walt beat on her. I remember at the time thinkin’ I would surely regret offerin’ her help. I just didn’t know what else to say. Walt is OK when he’s sober. He’s a good oil rig worker because he can’t get to a bar or liquor store. He was in jail ninety days last time. They let him out because he was going down to Louisiana to work the rigs in the gulf. He even sent Mary some of his pay.” He took a big breath, then sighed. “I don’t know what to do in that kind of deal.”
“Are you going to call the sheriff?”
“Pastor Tim said he’d take care of it. They are good folks.” He patted her knee. “Must have been quite a shock walking in the house and seeing her.”
“Yes, I take back what I said when I mentioned nothing would surprise me.”
“Well, Devy-girl … it startled me. When you screamed, I figured there was a snake in the house again.”
“Renny, is your life ever quiet and peaceful?”
“You see those mountains back there?”
“Yes.”
“Sometimes I have to ride off in them and get lost for a few days.”
“By yourself?”
“Yep. I just stay out there until the solitary eats me up and I need to come back.”
“It must be quite lonely, camping by yourself.”
“No more so than the rest of my life.”
“Renny Slater, are you saying you are a lonely man?”
“Devy, I know most ever’one in this half of the state. They know my name, and they’ll welcome me in their home, any day or night of the year. But none of them are close. Do you know what it’s like to be right at the hub of all the activity and still feel alone?”
“Renny … I’ve known that since I was twelve.”
“I figured you had. It’s one of the things that draws us together. That, my irresistible dimples, and your little upturned nose seldom seen in a girl over twelve.”
She turned and slugged his arm. “Don’t you start in on my nose.”
“Are you still hungry?”
“I was promised a shrimp salad.”
He stood and tugged on her hand. “Come on, Ms. Worrell. I’ve got a surprise for you after lunch.”
“I don’t know how many more I can stand in one day.”
“Maybe that’s not a good word. How about a unique gift for you?” His grin revealed two deep dimples.
* * *
“Where did you get it!” she giggled. “I love it!”
“I got a friend in Billings who has a trophy shop.”
“The Golden Thistle Award. How fitting,” she said.
“I figured you’d want a token to remember the first day you met Renny Slater.”
“This is the same thistle?”
“I jammed it in the side pocket of the truck. It’s been bouncin’ around in there all summer.”
“Renny, this is wonderful. It goes right on my desk in my classroom.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t like to think about you goin’ back to Indiana. Not just yet. I’m gettin’ mighty fond of you being here in Wyoming.”
“I agree. I do want to enjoy every day. Teaching brings its own set of problems. I’m not ready to face those yet.”
“I got something I want you to read.” Renny retrieved a letter stapled to an envelope from the top of a cluttered desk. “Tell me what you think of this.”
Develyn read each word with care, then glanced up. “Wow … Renny Slater, college professor. That sounds great.”
“Can you imagine me at a college with a bunch of eighteen-to twenty-year-olds?”
“Yes, I can.”
“You mean that, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes. And you know what … if I had the right woman with me, I probably could do it.”
“Where is the College of Southern Idaho?”
“It’s a junior college in Twin Falls.”
“Would you coach both the men’s and women’s rodeo teams?”
“Yep. I’d have a gal for an assistant.”
“What kind of contract? Year round?”
“Nine months. I’d have my summer to come home and work on the place, if I wanted to. The salary is pretty dadgum good. But still …”
“You sound hesitant.”
“Can I just blurt something out, Dev?”
“Of course.”
“I daydreamed a little about what it would be like, you know … if I were to marry a certain Indiana schoolteacher and we settled down in Twin Falls. You teachin’ fifth-graders and me with the college.”
“I’m flattered, Renny. I don’t know if I’ve ever been someone’s daydream before. What did you conclude?”
“Even if we were crazy in love, I’m too stubborn and you’re too old.”
“Oh, dear … I went from daydream to old in just seconds.”
“Devy, I think I could learn to be a good husband, if I had a wife who would take the time to school me. I know you could do that. But I also would like to be a good daddy. Now, my forty-two isn’t too old to be a daddy, but I reckon your forty-five is too old to be a mama again.” He reached out for her.
She took his hand. “You are right about that.”
“Yet, I can’t remember having a more fun summer than this one with you, Ms. Worrell.”
“Mr. Slater, I’m sure nine out of the ten most exciting times in my life have been with you.”
He laughed. “What about that tenth one?”
“I was just leaving it open for speculation.”
Renny disappeared to the kitchen. Develyn reread his rodeo team coaching offer.
She heard a knock at the door. She waited for Renny to come back. When he didn’t appear, she opened the door.
A huge unshaven man wearing a Houston Astros baseball cap glared at her.
“Who in hades are you?” he grumbled.
Develyn folded her arms across her chest. “I’m … eh, a … a friend of Renny’s.” “Get out of the way. I’m here to fetch my wife.” The man started for the doorway. “Mary is not here, Walt,” Develyn blurted out. He stepped back. “How do you know who I am?” Develyn felt Renny’s hands at her waist as he tugged her aside.
“She’s right, Walt. Mary isn’t here.”
The red-faced man waved his hands. “She ran away, Renny. I want her back. I want her back right now.”
“Of course she ran away, Walt.
You hurt her.”
“She deserved it.”
“No, she didn’t. I’ve told you that before. No woman deserves a beating.”
“She ain’t here?”
“No.”
“I’m goin’ to look around.” He shoved Renny back a step.
Renny dove his head into the big man’s chest. Walt staggered back, tumbled off the front step, and sprawled on his back in the grass.
As he struggled to his feet, he yanked out a revolver. “I’ll kill you, Slater. I’ll kill you!”
Develyn could feel her entire body begin to shake. Oh, Lord Jesus … no … no … no.
“You aren’t going to kill me, Walt. Give me the gun,” Renny demanded.
“I sure as hades will.” He pointed the gun at Renny’s head. “Where’s my wife?”
Renny kept his voice low. Calm. “Give me the gun, Walt.”
“I’m killin’ you, Slater! This time, I’m killin’ you!” the man screamed.
“Give me the gun and sit down on the step with me. Let’s talk. We’ve been friends a long time. You don’t have many friends, Walt. You need me. Give me the gun.”
The big man’s shoulders slumped. “You won’t call the sheriff?”
“No, I won’t call the sheriff. Let’s talk. Now give me the gun.”
“Who’s that woman?”
“That’s my good friend. She’s a schoolteacher from Indiana.”
“She don’t look like no schoolteacher. She looks like a barrel racer.”
Renny stuck out his hand. “Give me the gun.”
Walt hesitated. Then he dropped his chin and sighed. He handed the gun to Renny.
Develyn wiped the sweat off her face with her fingers.
“Let’s sit down, Walt.”
The big man motioned at Develyn. “Have that buckle bunny come out here and sit down too. I don’t want her sneakin’ back there to call the sheriff.”
“Dev, come sit next to me.”
Walt, Renny, and Develyn lined the step.
The man rubbed his face into his massive hands. “What am I goin’ to do, Renny?”
“You need some help.”
“Jail don’t help.”
“It keeps Mary safe for awhile. If you can’t think of some-thin’ better, that’s where you’ll end up. I think you need to quit workin’ the rigs.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve got a friend who’s got a special kind of ranch outside Silver City, New Mexico. He helps men like you, and you get to ride horses and do some ranch work.”
Stephen Bly's Horse Dreams Trilogy: Memories of a Dirt Road, the Mustang Breaker, Wish I'd Known You Tears Ago Page 46
