Marrying the Rancher

by Roz Denny Fox

  “I’ll say. After I told Mrs. Marsh hers were better than my mother’s, she gave me some every time she made them.”

  “Can I have a chicken leg?” Scotty asked, holding up his plate. “Then can Wyatt tell us about the dead cow?”

  “That’s not exactly table talk,” he said. “I almost forgot. I brought you photographs I took of the wolf pups.” He removed the prints from his shirt pocket and set them by Scotty. “I think I’ve found all the pups, but I’m not totally sure.”

  “Cool beans.” The boy grabbed the pictures. “Parker says that,” he added. “What’s the other picture you put back in your pocket?”

  “Uh, tracks I’ll show Manny later.” Wyatt held his plate out for Tandy to fill.

  “Can I see the tracks?” Scotty talked between bites, insisting he wanted to help Wyatt track any missing pups.

  Both his mom and Wyatt said “no” forcefully.

  Diverted for a moment, the boy fed Mr. Bones under the table and begged Manny for a game of Go Fish after supper.

  “One game,” Tandy said. “If Manny can stay. It’s later tonight than we usually eat. It’s already past your bedtime. Remember, tomorrow we’re going to check on our new bull to see how he’s getting along with the herd.”

  Manny pushed back his empty plate. “I have a dental appointment tomorrow morning. But I’m not so sleepy I can’t play one game.”

  Falling into the pattern they’d established the previous evening, Manny and Scotty went in by the fireplace. Tandy and Wyatt cleared the table and rinsed dishes.

  It wasn’t long, however, before Manny called goodbye and Scotty headed off to bed with his dog.

  Wyatt realized he’d missed showing Manny the photo of tracks by the dead heifer.

  “What are your plans for tomorrow?” Tandy asked Wyatt, who plucked up his jacket and cowboy hat he’d left by the door.

  He thought about saying he needed to see if the motel in town had a room. Instead he said, “I need to double down and locate any remaining pups. Actually, I have to pull up the winter photos our team took from the air to see if I’ve tagged them all. My pictures will prove our wolf families are nowhere near Jefferies’s ranch. Why?”

  “No special reason. The coffee’s still hot. How about I pour us each another mug? If we wear jackets we can sit on the porch swing and watch the moon rise. It’s slated to be full. No rain or snow predicted tonight.”

  “Okay. I’ll pour while you tuck Scotty in and get your coat.” Wyatt figured this would give him an opportunity to speak to her about moving to a motel, although the thought ripped pain through his chest.

  The size of the porch swing required them to sit close together. Tandy sort of shivered, so Wyatt wrapped an arm around her, molding her against his side. “Are you sure it’s warm enough for this?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her nose.

  “You didn’t seem yourself tonight. I couldn’t help but notice you looked particularly uncomfortable when Scotty said he wished you were his dad. Is that an unsavory notion to you?”

  “What? Unsavory?” Rearing back, he gaped at her. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Despite knowing he ought to explain his need to leave, he couldn’t let her think that might be a reason. Clearly he’d have to postpone his decision.

  “Good.” She snuggled closer. “Hypothetically speaking, if you had a stepson Scotty’s age, would you want more children?”

  “Tandy...wasn’t that evident when we were at Loki and Abby’s?”

  “Loving someone else’s children isn’t necessarily an indication you’d want a houseful of your own. I thought Dan loved his sister’s kids, and too late I realized that didn’t mean he wanted his own. I’d never subject Scotty to such humiliation again.”

  Rubbing his day-old beard over her hair, Wyatt injected a teasing quality to his next question. “Are you by chance proposing to me?”

  “Of course not,” she said. “I won’t lie. Shockingly the possibility has popped into my head. I feel I should confess, rushing into marriage with Dan left me hesitant to trust my feelings again. I do sometimes picture you and me together, but it’s fleeting. I doubt that’s love. What do you think?”

  “You’re asking someone who’s unsure how to measure love. I know I’d do whatever’s necessary to protect you and Scotty.”

  “That sounds a lot like parenting. I don’t need a father, Wyatt. I think I have what it takes to protect myself and Scotty. I hesitate because I know how dedicated you are to your job. Just...forget I said anything.”

  He settled back and spoke huskily near her ear. “If anyone could tempt me to rethink sticking with Fish and Game, it’d be you and Scotty. The truth is, I love what I do and it’s important work.” He squeezed her arm gently. “But it does take me all over the place, sometimes without much notice. If we became serious, it’d be too hard to go away all the time. And I’d hate to start a relationship with someone who’d eventually resent me for doing what I love...”

  “It’s okay, Wyatt. I get it. And, honestly, after Dan, I think Scotty deserves someone who will be around to watch him grow up. I think I deserve that, too.” She glanced down briefly before offering him a small smile. “What do you say we let that be enough for now?” She sipped her coffee then rested her temple against his chest.

  “Suits me.” He took a swig from his mug. “Oh, look, that is a full moon coming up.”

  They sat entranced by the rise of the icy orb and scattered stars popping out over the casitas to bathe the area in pale light.

  Tandy was first to say, “I can tell neither of us wants to move, but we both have busy mornings.” She stood and took his empty mug. Even though she had her hands full, after he got to his feet she rose on tiptoes and kissed him. And she stretched up for a second kiss after he opened the screen door to let her go in.

  Then pressing her lips against his heart, she murmured, “Good night.”

  Wyatt wandered slowly back to his rental. What if he didn’t move somewhere else? Possibly the ranchers association members were bluffing. But what if they weren’t?

  * * *

  LOW DARK CLOUDS hung over the valley the next morning, totally blocking the mountains. Practically tasting rain, Wyatt tossed his pack in his pickup and wondered if he’d dreamed the full moon and sparkling stars from the night before. If so, he would’ve invented holding Tandy close, too.

  Mr. Bones appeared out of nowhere, darting around his feet. Wyatt swiveled but didn’t see anyone at the barn. Then he remembered Manny had a morning appointment in town and Tandy probably wouldn’t ride out so early to check the cattle.

  He scooped up the wriggling hound, who tried to lick his face, and crossed to the house. He had one foot on the steps leading to the porch when the house door flew open and Scotty emerged calling for his dog.

  “I’ve got him, Scotty. He tried to climb in my pickup. You need to take him into the house because I’m off to hunt my wolves.”

  The barefoot boy came out in pajamas to claim his pet. “Mama heard the weatherman on TV say it’s gonna rain real hard soon. We’re not going to the pasture until Manny comes back from his ’pointment. Maybe you shouldn’t go up the mountain.”

  “It’s not raining yet. I’ve seen storm clouds like this blow over. Remember, I said it’s easier to follow tracks when the ground is wet. I’ll be fine. You scoot on inside with Mr. Bones.” Turning, Wyatt jogged back to his vehicle.

  As he headed out he saw Tandy at her door. She smiled and waved to him even as she ushered Scotty and his dog into the house.

  Her smile did more in the way of a warm send-off than Wyatt’s first swallow of hot coffee from his travel mug. Again he toyed with the idea of lingering on at the ranch. At least until Tandy hired a more able-bodied cowboy to replace Manny. Man, was that a lame excuse. Hiring a new cowhand could take months. Still, wh
at was his big rush to leave? He could stay and interface between his wolves and the ranchers.

  Having a reason to remain lodged in his mind, he drove to a remote campground at the end of a gravel road and hiked to where he’d found the pack yesterday. About the time it started to spit rain he found a clearing where wolves had feasted on a couple of squirrels. He was relieved to identify prints of all four adults. Frustratingly the pups weren’t as easily distinguished because of how they romped around. It might well be that all five young ones had eaten here.

  Wyatt lost the tracks by a waterfall but found them again on the other side. There it was evident the two packs had split up again. The adults with a pup he still needed to capture and collar had traveled down the mountain nearer the campground where he’d parked—toward civilization and ranches. The tracks led him on a merry chase until noontime when he lost them in granite and limestone thick with mesquite and prickly pear cacti.

  As he stood trying to decide which way to go next, the heavens opened up and a deluge made the area too slick to navigate in his leather-soled boots. Soaked in mere minutes, he returned to his pickup.

  Half an hour later he arrived at the ranch and was surprised to see Tandy attempting to help Manny into her SUV. Pulling in as close as he dared, he rolled down his window. “Hey, what’s up?” He realized something was wrong and she was trying to lift the older man with difficulty. Wyatt shut the window and turned off his engine then leaped out to help.

  “Someone opened the back gate at the pasture and let out Stormtrooper.” Tandy huffed from the exertion of holding up the full weight of her employee.

  “Someone let him out? Maybe we didn’t make sure we latched it well after driving him in with the heifers.” Wyatt caught Manny around the waist and soon had him seated in the front passenger side. He heard Scotty saying something from his booster, but his words got drowned out by Manny’s yelp of pain. Then Wyatt saw the man’s left pant leg was torn. From the knee down his leg bent at an odd angle.

  “I see he needs a doctor ASAP. I’ll ride along and help carry him into the emergency room.”

  “I figured I’d get a wheelchair, but okay if you want to help.” She closed the passenger door and hurried to the driver’s side to climb in out of the rain.

  “You look drenched,” she said, eyeing Wyatt in the rearview mirror after he got in next to Mr. Bones and slammed the door.

  “I’m okay. Tell me what happened.”

  “About the time Manny got back from the dentist, it looked as if it might clear up. We all rode out to the pasture and at once realized the bull was gone. In hunting for him, Mr. Bones set up a racket down an arroyo. He was deviling the bull. It suddenly started raining hard. Manny fell, twisting his knee.”

  “The bull had a paper hooked on his horn,” Scotty said excitedly. “Tell Wyatt, Mama. You said somebody wrote bad words.”

  “Honey, I’ll tell him after we get Manny to the doctor.” She said to Wyatt, “I called Sheriff Anderson. He told me it’s something the Hanson twins would do. They’re teens who live down a lane off the end of that fire road.”

  Wyatt tried to discern from Tandy’s voice, and seeing her sober eyes in her mirror, what in the world had gone on. “Did you return the bull to the pasture?”

  “I managed, yes. I thought I wasn’t going to get Manny on his horse and back to the ranch, though. He passed out from pain once before Scotty and I manhandled him into his saddle.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I tried. You must’ve been out of range. Manny, how are you holding up?” she asked, turning her attention to the silent man.

  “Fine,” he growled. “Can’t believe I stepped in that gopher hole. A greenhorn thing to do.”

  Tandy exited the highway at the outskirts of town and circled around to the hospital lot. She parked by the entrance. “I’ll run in and get a wheelchair if you’ll lift him out, Wyatt.”

  “I can carry him in. It’ll be quicker. You go on to a regular parking spot.”

  The injured man clenched his teeth when Wyatt slid him out as carefully as he could.

  “I fee...l li...ke a blooming id...iot.” His words sounded jagged.

  “Accidents can happen to anyone. Do you have insurance? I’ll sit you in a chair and sign you in.”

  “I got old folks insurance. I’ll give you the card. But before Tandy shows up I gotta tell you what that note said ’cause she ain’t gonna. Printing could’ve been a kid, but the message said, ‘If you continue to harbor the wolf man, next time you’ll find your bull dead.’ You ever met a teenager who knew what harbor meant, let alone use it properly?”

  Wyatt’s throat constricted. “I’ve got to find another place to rent.” He entered the hospital, sat Manny in a chair and waited for his insurance card. “I can’t believe the sheriff fluffed her off. I’ll talk with him again.” Card in hand, he stomped to the counter.

  He saw Tandy and Scotty come in out of the corner of his eye, and his stomach churned anxiously for them. He’d known of bitter feuds erupting between hunters, ranchers and conservationists in other areas with wolf programs. Why had he thought his territory would be different?

  A hospital worker came with a wheelchair and took Manny to X-ray. The woman suggested since the accident had happened on Tandy’s ranch that she go in when they returned Manny to an examining cubicle.

  “If he doesn’t object,” she said. After they trundled him down a hallway, she glanced at Wyatt, who sat beside her. “Did you find your wolf pup today?”

  “No, but I saw where the entire pack fed. Nowhere near the Jefferies ranch.”

  “That’s good. We need to spread the word. I’m sure local ranchers are all freaked out by news of a wolf problem at Rollie’s.”

  “Any perceived wolf problem is really a people problem. Wildlife personnel say concerns are ginned up because folks believe Little Red Riding Hood met a big bad wolf in the woods.”

  “I’d laugh, but it’s so not funny.”

  “Auntie Lucinda read us that story.”

  An aide brought Manny back and a nurse beckoned Tandy to the cubicle.

  “Scotty, stay with Wyatt.”

  “Do you think Manny’s leg is broke?” the boy asked, his eyes weepy.

  “We won’t know until your mom gets back. Here she comes now. That was fast,” he said as she retook her seat.

  “His knee is dislocated. They’ll give him a local and pop it back. He’ll be off it a while. And he can’t ride for a week or more. Needless to say, he’s not happy. Nor am I. Although barring more mischief my herd won’t need moving again until May or June.”

  “I’ll help out until Manny’s on his feet. Based on that note someone wrote, I’d decided I had to leave your ranch tonight.”

  “He shouldn’t have told you what the note said. It was probably the Hanson kids’ prank like the sheriff said.”

  Scotty let out a cry. “Wyatt, you can’t go away. Mama, make him stay.”

  She shrugged helplessly. “People are staring. Let’s discuss this later. The sheriff didn’t think the note was serious.” She slipped her arm through Wyatt’s and hung on as if afraid he’d jump up and take off right then.

  He lowered his voice. “It was a clear threat. It’s no secret I’m the cause of your neighbors’ anger. I can’t bear that, Tandy.”

  “They make me mad. I don’t scare easy. It’s time they find out I’m army tough.”

  “You know they want me and the wolves gone.” Wyatt linked their fingers.

  “Would you give in to them?”

  “I don’t have authority to relocate the wolves, but for you and Scotty, yes.” He lifted their hands and brushed a kiss over her knuckles.

  She didn’t let go until the nurse called her into Manny’s cubicle again. Within a few minutes she peered around the
curtain and gestured to Wyatt.

  “We can take him home. They have his knee in a bubble. Manny wants a word with you before the pain killer they administered takes hold. Man talk, I guess, since he already spilled the beans about the note. I have to go to the desk for his prescription.”

  She left and Wyatt entered the room. “I know I said I had to go away, Manny. I won’t leave until you’re back on your feet.”

  “Good. But, I noticed something else at the lease. Tandy didn’t pick up on it because she was focused on finding the bull. I didn’t have time to check it out, so I didn’t say anything. God knows she has enough worries. Here’s the deal...with all the rain her stream’s lost half its normal flow. At least it ’peared so to me.”

  “What might cause that?”

  “Dunno. Something’s fishy. I figured I’d ride to the headwaters. That stream comes from a wellspring still on the family lease. Then I stepped in that stupid hole.”

  “I’ll look into it. And we’ll take care of you. Relax.”

  “I agree.” Tandy backed in with a wheelchair. “Manny, the doctor says you need round-the-clock care tonight. That means bunking in my guest bedroom.”

  “There was a time I would’ve objected. The fight’s gone out of me.”

  Scotty’s worried face appeared at the curtain. “Me ’n Mr. Bones will help take care of you. We can play checkers and watch TV if you feel like it.”

  Two nurses walked in to assist the gnarled cowboy into the wheelchair. One handed Tandy a prescription. “Sorry we didn’t have this signed when you stopped at the desk. We’ll take him out. It’s the rule.”

  “Give me the keys and I’ll bring the SUV around,” Wyatt said.

  Tandy passed them over. “As long as you’re willing to drive, I can run in and fill this at the pharmacy in town.”