Roughneck Cowboy

by Marin Thomas

  “What’s a collectible?”

  “Delicate things that break easily.”

  “Grandma always took me to Wal-Mart to buy stuff.”

  “Tulapoint doesn’t have a big store like that, but if we can’t find gifts for everyone on your list at Tina’s, then we’ll stop at Gunderson’s Drugstore.”

  “I wanna get presents for my cousins Luke and Timmy and Lily and Rose. Rose is bossy but I’m still gonna buy her something.”

  “Are your uncle Duke and Matt bringing their families back to the Lazy River for Christmas?”

  “Yep. Grandpa says they’re gonna be here soon.” Charlie’s brow puckered. “Do I have enough money to buy all my aunts and uncles presents?”

  Travis had given Sara two hundred dollars. “More than enough.”

  “I used to only have to buy my dad and Grandma presents.” Charlie sighed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Grandma made a gingerbread house with me every Christmas. I told Grandpa and he got sad.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Juanita said Grandpa was sad ’cause Grandma used to make gingerbread houses when she lived with Grandpa a long time ago.”

  Sara felt sorry for Matt and Samantha and all the birthdays and holidays that they’d missed with their mother. “What do you think your father might like for Christmas?”

  “Grandma always got Dad perfume.”

  Sara smiled. “You mean, cologne?”

  “Grandma let me wrap it and tell Dad it was from me.”

  Five minutes later, Sara drove into Tulapoint and parked on the street in front of Tina’s Trinkets.

  “This is a house,” Charlie said.

  “Ms. Tina grew up here, but she moved into a different home and turned this house into a business.” Sara held Charlie’s hand as they climbed the porch steps.

  When she reached for the door handle, Charlie asked, “Aren’t you gonna knock?”

  “Nope. We can walk right in.” Sleigh bells attached to the knob announced their entry.

  “Sara, what a nice surprise.” Tina waved from the dining room. “Find a table and I’ll be right with you.”

  When Sara escorted Charlie into the parlor room at the front of the house, the patrons who recognized Sara nodded and stared. As soon as they were seated, Tina arrived with a water pitcher.

  “Tina,” Sara said. “I’d like you to meet Charlie Cartwright. You may have heard that her father, Travis Cartwright, is Dominick’s youngest son.”

  Tina held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Charlie. Welcome to Tulapoint. How do you like your new school?”

  “Ms. Sanders is my teacher.”

  “She is?” Tina winked, then whispered, “I hear she gives out a lot of homework.”

  Charlie giggled. “No, she doesn’t. She’s really nice and my dad likes her a lot.”

  “Is that right?” Tina’s eyebrows arched.

  “I don’t have a mom.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, honey.” Tina brushed a strand of hair off Charlie’s forehead.

  “That’s okay ’cause when my dad took Ms. Sanders to Grandpa’s ball—” Charlie smiled shyly at Sara “—I said I wanted a new mom just like my teacher.”

  Sara sucked in a quiet breath. Why hadn’t Travis told her about what Charlie had said?

  On one hand Sara was relieved that Charlie approved of her being with her father, but the little girl’s confession spawned a new fear in Sara. If things didn’t work out between her and Travis, not only would she end up with a broken heart but so would Charlie. Sara’s meeting with Dominick this afternoon was more important than ever. She had to make certain Dominick’s intentions were honest and forthright—too many people would be hurt if they weren’t.

  Tina, bless her heart, changed the subject. “The special today is chicken salad with almonds.” She turned to Charlie. “I make a mean grilled-cheese sandwich if you’d rather have that.”

  “I like grilled cheese.”

  “Chicken salad for me,” Sara said.

  After Tina walked away, Charlie swung her legs back and forth in the chair. “How come everybody’s looking at us?”

  “They’re staring because you’re a new person in town and we don’t get many visitors in Tulapoint.”

  “Oh.”

  Sara sipped her water as her thoughts drifted. She pictured her, Travis and Charlie living as a family in her sprawling Victorian. Travis was everything she wanted in a man and she was determined to put her bad experience with Josh behind her and reach for the happy-ever-after she yearned for with Travis. She could no longer avoid the truth—she’d fallen in love with Travis.

  Later this afternoon, she’d tell Dominick how she felt about his son and granddaughter. She wanted to make it clear to the oil baron that she had no intention of causing a rift between him and his son. If the gift Travis had placed beneath her tree was indeed an engagement ring, then it was time she and Dominick called a truce to the hostilities between them.

  “Ms. Sanders?”

  “What, honey?”

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  Oh, dear. Sara hoped the secret didn’t concern one of her students. “Depends on who the secret is about.”

  “Me.”

  “Oh? And you haven’t told anyone your secret?”

  “No.”

  “Why’s that?” Sara asked.

  “Because I’m afraid my dad won’t want me anymore.”

  What in the world was Charlie talking about?

  “I heard Grandma tell her friend Mrs. Kimble that Julie wanted me to live with her.”

  Travis had told Sara that Charlie’s mother had walked out on them. “What else did your grandmother say?”

  “That my dad would take Julie to court and win, because he had a really rich father.” Charlie wrinkled her nose. “Is Grandpa Cartwright really rich?”

  “Yes, your grandfather is wealthy, but money wouldn’t necessarily prevent your mother from seeing you.” Who was she kidding? Charlotte’s threat had been a valid one. Money and power went hand in hand. “How long ago did you hear this conversation?”

  “Right before Grandma died.”

  Which meant there was a real possibility that Charlie’s mother would be in the picture at some point in the future. “Why didn’t you tell your father about the phone call?”

  “’Cause.” Charlie played with her napkin. “Dad will make me go live with Julie.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “Dad’s always working on the rig and someone’s gotta watch me.” Charlie’s expression lightened. “But then we moved here and now I get to live with my grandpa and be with my dad all the time.”

  “Honey, you should tell your father about the phone call.” Travis didn’t need to be blindsided if Charlie’s mother showed up out of the blue seeking visitation rights.

  “But I don’t want to live with Julie.”

  “You won’t have to live with your mother, but your father needs to know Julie contacted your grandmother.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Nothing bad will happen.” Sara squeezed Charlie’s petite hand. “Your father loves you very much. I bet he’s done lots of things to prove how much he loves you.”

  “He bought me a new doll after Grandma died ’cause he said I needed a friend to cry with.”

  Sara’s heart melted.

  “And once when I broke Grandma’s favorite necklace, Dad brought a new one for me to give her.”

  Tina arrived with their food and Charlie exclaimed over her Christmas-tree-shaped grilled-cheese sandwich. After Tina refilled Sara’s water glass, she left them to eat in peace.

  “Ms. Sanders?”

  “What, honey?”

  “Can I stay in second grade next year?”

  “Why would you want to do that? All your friends will be in third grade.”

  “’Cause then I could be with you all day.”

  Charlie might get her wish sooner ra
ther than later. After Sara’s meeting with Dominick in a couple of hours, she, Charlie and Travis would be closer than ever to becoming a real family. Then Charlie could spend all the time she wanted with Sara.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I didn’t know you were home.” Travis stopped in the hallway outside Dominick’s office. He’d heard the back door open and close several minutes ago but assumed Juanita had departed after making the enchiladas for dinner at Sara’s.

  “I wrapped up my business meeting early.” Dominick shrugged out of his suit jacket and placed it across the back of his desk chair. “I was pleasantly surprised when Sara scheduled a meeting with me this afternoon.” He went to the wet bar and splashed scotch into two shot glasses. “Where’s my granddaughter?”

  “Sara took Charlie out to lunch and then Christmas shopping.”

  Frowning, Dominick handed a drink to Travis. “Is that wise?”

  “Is what wise?”

  “Dragging Charlie into this. The more time my granddaughter spends with Sara, the greater the risk of Charlie becoming attached to her.”

  Travis wasn’t following his father’s train of thought. “What am I dragging Charlie into?”

  “Into this charade you’ve been conducting with Sara.”

  Charade? “What are you talking about?”

  “Have you forgotten our conversation when you first arrived at the Lazy River? You volunteered to persuade Sara to do business with Cartwright Oil.”

  Travis remembered that day but his original intent had changed along with his feelings for his father’s neighbor.

  “I never expected you to take things as far as you have with Sara.”

  Shocked, Travis said, “You believe I used sex to close this business deal?”

  “Isn’t that why you came home so late the night of the ball?” Dominick waggled his eyebrows.

  Time to set the record straight. Travis placed his drink on the desk. “Yes, I agreed to try to sway Sara to sell the Bar T or negotiate a drilling lease with Cartwright Oil. But the closer I became to—”

  “I admit, son, that I was worried.” Dominick waved his hand in the air. “I didn’t believe you had the nerve or the guts to carry your plan through. I’m proud of you.” Dominick raised his glass. “A toast.”

  “To what?”

  “Subterfuge. You’re a master at it.” Dominick tossed his drink back in one swallow.

  An uneasy feeling gnawed Travis’s gut.

  “You’re responsible for my neighbor coming to her senses and realizing she can’t best me. Once the legalities are ironed out, you won’t have to pretend to be interested in Sara anymore.”

  “No, Travis, you won’t.”

  Travis spun at the sound of Sara’s voice and found her standing in the doorway. “Sara, I can—”

  “Please don’t.” She shook her head.

  “Grandpa!” Charlie skirted past Sara and raced across the room to give her grandfather a hug.

  “Hello, Charlotte. I missed you.” Dominick patted her head.

  Even if Travis could find his voice, now wasn’t the time to plead his case. Sara’s stone-cold eyes warned him that anything he said in his defense would go unheard.

  “I got you a Christmas present, Grandpa.”

  Dominick placed a protective hand against Charlie’s back and smiled. Travis’s daughter had the power to melt the old man’s heart. “Are you ready to talk business?” Dominick directed the question to Sara.

  “Before Sara discusses anything with you,” Travis said. “I’d like to speak to her in private.”

  “My business is with your father, not you.” Sara’s chin lifted.

  “Charlie,” Dominick said. “Take Fred outside for a walk.”

  “Okay.” On the way out of the office, Charlie stopped in front of Sara. “Thanks for helping me Christmas shop, Ms. Sanders.”

  Witnessing the painful expression on Sara’s face when his daughter hugged her felt like a fist to Travis’s gut.

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart. Have a wonderful Christmas.”

  As soon as Charlie left the room, Travis made a third attempt to plead his innocence. “Sara, please, I can explain.”

  “I believe your role in these negotiations is finished.”

  Travis turned to his father for help, but Dominick stared out the window, keeping his back to the room. Feeling as if he’d been called out before he’d even stepped up to the plate, Travis headed for the door. “No matter what you believe…” He clenched his jaw. “You and I are not finished, Sara Sanders.”

  SARA STARED IN A TRANCE across the kitchen table as she listened to the phone trill for the umpteenth time. The answering machine clicked on.

  “It’s me again. Sara, please talk to me.” Travis was back to calling after he’d stopped by her house an hour ago—with Juanita’s enchilada’s. He’d rung the doorbell for fifteen straight minutes before accepting defeat and driving off.

  “There are two sides to every story, Sara.” More silence, then, “Please, call me back.” The dial tone echoed through the kitchen until the answering machine clicked off.

  Eyes burning, she held another round of tears at bay. She should unplug the phone, but a tiny part of her heart thrilled at the sound of Travis’s voice. She yearned to believe there was a logical explanation for what she’d overheard in Dominick’s office after she and Charlie had returned from their afternoon outing.

  Maybe more coffee would help. She poured herself a fourth cup and stared at the Christmas gift Travis had placed beneath the tree the night he’d brought a pizza to her house for dinner. Christmas was two days away but there was nothing to feel jolly about.

  She had no one to blame but herself for her miserable heartache. After Josh’s trickery, Sara should have been wiser and smarter, but Travis had pulled the wool over her eyes and worked his way into her heart, silencing the voice in her head that insisted handsome cowboys couldn’t be trusted.

  If only she’d kept Travis at a distance, but he’d lassoed her heart from the get-go. His betrayal hurt more than Josh’s, because her feelings for Travis were deeper, richer, more intense than what she’d felt for Josh.

  Even his lovemaking had swayed her heart. His callused hands—tender and gentle on her body. His whispered words and deep kisses portrayed a man who cared deeply for the woman in his arms.

  Still, she was a realist and should have known better than to believe the long-lost son of Dominick Cartwright would want to spend the rest of his life with a boring schoolteacher.

  One day you’ll find the right man.

  She refused to give up hope that somewhere out there in the world a nice, polite, boring man awaited her. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

  What if you’re wrong about Travis? What if he does have feelings for you and Dominick’s the one who’s been fooled?

  Would she find a ring or a pair of earrings inside the gift box? A ring meant Travis truly cared for her and he deserved a chance to explain the conversation she’d overheard in Dominick’s office this afternoon. Earrings or a necklace would mean that Travis’s intent all along had been to use her to win his father’s approval.

  The sound of the front door opening startled her. The only person with a key to her house was Cole.

  “You home, Sara?” her brother called.

  “In the kitchen.”

  Cole paused in the doorway. “You look like hell.”

  “Thanks.” She sniffed.

  “I guess the meeting with Dominick didn’t go well.”

  “Actually, it went very well.”

  “Then why are your eyes all puffy?”

  “Allergies.”

  “It’s December. Nothing’s blooming.”

  “I’m allergic to Walter,” she fibbed.

  After helping himself to a beer from the fridge, Cole joined her at the table. “What kind of a deal did you negotiate with Cartwright Oil?”

  “Dominick was more than generous.” Sara figured the old man
had felt guilty and embarrassed that Sara had overheard his conversation with Travis. “He reiterated his offer of ten grand per acre.” Sara shrugged. “I told him to double it and he did.”

  Cole whistled between his teeth. “I didn’t know you were such a tough-nosed negotiator.”

  With her heart breaking and her world crashing down around her, Sara had relied on her toughness and fortitude to keep her composure during the meeting with Dominick. She was her father’s daughter after all and had inherited his stubborn streak and bullheadedness.

  “What are the terms of the lease?” Cole asked.

  “It’s a five-year lease.” Sara motioned to the legal papers on the counter. “We maintain ownership of the Bar T and they pay us four million a year in leasing fees.”

  “We’re millionaires.” Cole whooped then frowned. “What happens if they don’t find enough oil to make it worth drilling?”

  “Dominick doesn’t believe that will happen but in the event it does, Cartwright Oil pays us ten million.” “And when the wells eventually dry up—what then?” Cole asked.

  “They’re responsible for capping the wells and restoring the land back to its natural state. The lawyer at the bank will look over the paperwork after the New Year.”

  “When does Dominick want to begin drilling?”

  “As soon as the ink is dry on the contract.”

  “When do we get our first check?” Cole rubbed his hands together.

  “The first check is going straight into the bank to pay off the second mortgage and the rest of Dad’s medical bills. You and Gabe can fight over what’s left.”

  Face sober, Cole said, “I’ve thought a lot about Gabe wanting to start a horse-breeding business.”

  “Having a change of heart?”

  “Yep. I think we need to diversify. That way, when times get tough in the cattle business, we have something to fall back on.” Cole motioned to Sara’s splotched complexion and puffy eyes. “Are you upset because you believe you let Dad down?”

  She shook her head.

  “Dad would be proud that you didn’t allow Dominick to walk all over us. And he’d be happy knowing that Gabe and I are going to work together to make the Bar T profitable again.”