Buy a Cowboy

by Cleo Kelly

  “I—” Bonnie began defensively, but Baya held up a hand.

  Looking at Todd, he saw the sardonic grin deepening, silently laughing at him. He turned back to Dick ready to argue. But he needed the help. “What’s this going to cost me?”

  Dick narrowed his eyes and drew an angry breath

  “Food.” Todd’s rumble rolled over the hallway. “Just feed us, little lady.”

  “Let’s get the job done.” Dick jerked a nod toward the barn and hay wagon.

  Baya touched his arm and pointed to the back stairs. “This way.” He stopped at the head of the stairs, turning back to Bonnie. “Have any ideas for supper or do I need to grill steaks?”

  The tenseness on her face became a tentative smile. “I have pork roast out. It will do.”

  He nodded and turned to follow Dick and Todd down the back stairs.

  ~*~

  Baya paused in the process of pushing boulders to shove back his hat and rub sweat and grit off his face.

  Dick was driving the tractor to clear as much of the rubble as they could from the rutted mountain track.

  He and Todd were using brute strength to get the rest of the rocks pushed over the slope and into the creek.

  They had gotten the smaller herd of cattle down to the western pasture.

  If he could wait a few weeks, he would be able to mow the meadow.

  Dick was against them working the land that had cattle on it, but Todd agreed it was a good idea if one waited until nature had cleansed the area. That meant they needed rain.

  Baya didn’t bother to tell them he had a degree in land management. He just let them bicker over it in their own way.

  Their way being, Dick picking and arguing, and Todd grunting hedged comments back.

  Although still wary, Baya had begun appreciating the two men over the last three days. He had always been distrustful of their interaction, and he never could understand why Todd traveled with Dick. Dick would cut him down every chance he got, but Todd seemed to ignore him. Dick ran around, yapping like a terrier. Todd sat silent, smoking and drinking with dark amusement on his face. Todd worked as foreman for Dick, who worked as traveling supervisor for a large construction conglomerate. Still, they mixed like water and oil.

  Until this week, Baya hadn’t even known that Todd rode. The tall man always sat in silence while Dick jabbered about horses, rodeos, and men they knew. Yet when they did a reconnaissance on the mountain herd, Todd had automatically reached for Lady and saddled her with sure, efficient movements.

  Dick went on Phoebe while Baya had swung into Skip’s saddle.

  They were clearing the roadbed because Todd commented that they should do it now.

  Baya had argued. He wanted to wait until after the meadows were ready for haying.

  “Some of the cattle we already brought down came in limping a little and it’d be a shame to lose any to a broken leg,” Todd drawled.

  Baya had taken the advice to heart.

  The tractor jerked to a stop beside him, and Dick hopped down to put his shoulder against the boulder. They jumped clear as the rock sprang loose and rolled down the hill. It stubbornly stopped at the edge of the creek and settled.

  “Seems that one has an aversion to water,” Todd said with a laugh.

  “Is it cleared enough for you, cowboy?” Dick asked with his usual belligerent stance.

  Baya looked around him. The road was clear. Deeply rutted, but clear of the main rubble. He nodded. “Bonnie probably has food on. We could get something to eat before we bring the horses up.”

  Todd leaned the long pole he’d cut as a pry bar against a nearby aspen tree. “I could get used to that woman’s cooking.” He eyed Baya’s lean frame and snorted. “You keep tucking it in and you’ll be looking like Dick. All round and soft.”

  That’s all it took to set Dick off. He started enlightening the world on how he could work circles around the younger men. How Todd was burning up his life in beer, women and cigarettes. They’d have been bums on a street to nowhere if he hadn’t played nanny to them all these years. They were still bums, just bums with a future. And a sketchy one, at that.

  Copying Todd’s example, Baya crawled back on the tractor and leaned against the rusting wheel wells. The two shared a grin behind the older cowboy’s back and let his opinions wash over them.

  Dick got the thing turned and they started the bumpy ride down the mountain. Gripping the fenders, Baya prayed they’d hold. He had no desire to fall under the tires of the Cricket.

  Riding up from under the shadow of the trees, Baya narrowed his eyes and scanned for the house. He could feel the mocking gaze of the man across from him, but he didn’t care. Each day as they returned, he searched for a glimpse of his wife.

  She was on the porch, watching as the Cricket rolled out of the shadows.

  He felt the glow start at his feet and roll through his heart. A jump from the back of the tractor almost had him landing on his hands as his bum knee gave way. He staggered, righting himself, and fast-walked toward the porch.

  She stepped around the water bucket she cleaned paintbrushes in to greet him.

  And when he kissed her, it felt so right.

  “What’s for lunch, lady?” he asked as he hugged her to him.

  She shoved him away. “Ugh! You’re all sweaty,” she teased.

  “Well, you smell like paint, but I like you, anyway.” He nuzzled her neck. “If it weren’t for a few unwelcome visitors, I’d have to do a scientific experiment on the effects of mixing sweat and paint fumes.”

  She giggled. “I take it you’re over being angry about me calling Dick.” She drew back to look into his dirty face. “They have helped, haven’t they?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but I still have to put up with Dick, and I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.”

  She just shook her head. “I have a nice chicken and rice salad. If you’re at a breaking point, you could come and feed.”

  “You sound like we graze our way through your kitchen.”

  “Isn’t that what you do?” She turned at the doorway and raised a cocky eyebrow at him.

  He just grinned and yelled for the other two to hurry up. He was hungry, but it was a toss-up whether he was hungrier for his wife’s companionship or lunch.

  Dick was expounding another story as they plowed through the rice and chicken and pecan salad. Fresh iced tea, homemade bread and sliced peaches kept making their way around the old wooden table.

  Bonnie left to answer the phone in the hallway. At the sharpness in her voice, Baya jumped from the table and picked up the extension in the kitchen.

  “Mom,” The voice on the other end was full of tears. “Come get us, Mom.”

  “What is it, girl?” Baya tried to talk soft, but fear had his voice rumbling like distant thunder.

  Sobs came from the other end.

  “Honey, what happened?” Bonnie soothed. “Is something wrong?”

  “Daddy slapped her.” Daniel’s voice piped up on another line. “He said she had to watch us while he was at work. She’s real bossy and mean.”

  “Am not!”

  “You are, too.”

  In the background, Hope’s treble voice piped up. “Un-huh!”

  “How long have you been watching the other two, Faith?”

  “Since we got here.” The sniffles at the other end of the line lessened. “I can’t take care of them. Daddy was angry because the dishes weren’t done. Daniel and Hope had made tents in the living room, and he was real mad when he came home.”

  “Yeah! He yells at her all the time. He said she was just like her mother, lazy and worthless,” Daniel interrupted again.

  “He yells at us, Mommy.” Hope added to the conversation with a shout of her own.

  “Is your father working half days?” Bonnie’s voice came out still and cold.

  “No,” Daniel answered. “He has to feed us. He said we shouldn’t drink up all the milk, because he can’t afford another gallon.
He whacked me for eating the bananas.”

  “Well, you ate all of them.” Faith’s voice wobbled. “He paddled me because I didn’t keep him away from them.”

  The tight anger in Baya’s tone roughed his voice. “We’re coming, Faith. We’ll be there tomorrow. Can you have your suitcases packed?”

  Faith didn’t say anything at first, and her sobs started up again. “He’ll paddle me again,” she cried.

  “No, he won’t,” Daniel said. “I won’t let him.”

  “Me, either,” Hope agreed.

  Baya felt an urgency growing inside him. “Get packed. We’re coming.”

  “Be strong, baby. It will be all right,” Bonnie’s voice soothed.

  Baya stretched the phone cord to look around the corner.

  Tears ran down Bonnie’s face, but her voice was steady and strong, as she told her oldest child what to do. Baya wanted to comfort her, but the cord on the kitchen phone was too short to reach the hall and he didn’t want to miss anything the children said.

  When she had finished and the sobs on the other end had turned to sniffles, he talked to Daniel. “You take care of those girls. If it upsets your father for you to build tents, then don’t.”

  “There’s nothing to do and we’re not allowed outside.”

  “I know, but we will be there tomorrow. Be strong. Isn’t there something you could play inside?”

  The boy grumbled but agreed to watch TV with the girls.

  “Help with the dishes, too,” Baya urged.

  “That’s girl work.” The arrogance in the boy’s voice shocked Baya.

  “Since when?”

  “Dad said I didn’t have to do dishes. He said that was women’s work.”

  Bonnie was shaking her head warningly, so he stilled the hasty reply on his lips but his voice grew harsh. “Pack, boy. I’m coming.”

  After Bonnie made certain the children were calm, they hung up the phones.

  “Call an airline. We’ll get on the next available flight.”

  “It costs so much,” she whispered. He nodded in agreement and they stared at each other with bleak eyes. “I could go alone. It would save on the cost.”

  “I met the man, Bonnie. I don’t want you to have to deal with him on your own. I’m pretty sure that’s what he wants, to have you alone were he can berate you.”

  She nodded. “But I have handled it alone before.”

  The sound of a throat clearing had them glancing at the dining room doorway.

  “I have some frequent flyer miles I’ll never use. I can transfer them to someone for a small fee.” Todd cleared his throat again.

  When the shock of his interruption wore off, Bonnie asked, “Why?”

  “I don’t fly.”

  Baya couldn’t imagine the man being afraid of anything. He could hold his own against most anything.

  The man met his gaze. “It will help with the cost.”

  “You’re afraid to fly?” Baya just had to ask.

  “It’s a long story,” the man sighed. “I swore an oath I’d never fly again after the first Gulf War. The company gives flyer miles to the employees so they can see their families regularly. I always drive.”

  Dick jerked his head toward his foreman. “Our local hero here won’t go up in the big silver bird, so you may as well use them. It’s not the first time he’s given them away.”

  Baya looked into eyes as dark as his own. He read only truthfulness and concern in their depth, so he nodded an acceptance and thanks all rolled into that one motion. “Bonnie, get ready. We’ll need three extra places for the trip back.” He handed the phone to Todd. “Bonnie keeps a notepad and pencil on the counter by the phone.” He followed Bonnie up the stairs, but paused, not knowing what else to say. “Thanks.”

  The face softened slightly. “It’s for the family I was always too busy to have.”

  Baya understood the explanation; this generous offer was for all Todd had missed, and all Baya had gained when the brindle bull drove him off the road and into this partnership.

  Todd nodded and moved into the kitchen, closing the door.

  Dick walked to the entranceway and stared out the glass panels framing the old door. He gripped his hands behind his back, looking over the lush green valley and nodding to unspoken thoughts.

  15

  Once they had visited the lawyer and picked up the court order, Baya had driven slowly up to the modest house wondering what was waiting for them besides the children. He didn’t expect to see Ed outside washing his truck.

  The door opened and Daniel pushed through, struggling to pull the large suitcase behind him.

  Ed walked over to the car as Bonnie stepped out. “What are you doing here? This is my time with the kids.” He followed Bonnie’s gaze to his front door and saw Daniel and the suitcase. “Get back in the house, you’re not going anywhere.”

  But the kids kept coming.

  He grabbed Faith by the arm and jerked her towards the door. “I told you to get in that house.”

  Faith gave a little cry and cringed, trying to remove her arm from her father’s grasp.

  Bonnie slammed the car door and went after him.

  Baya’s mouth dropped open as his sedate little wife turned into a screaming banshee.

  “You two-bit sharecropper. How dare you manhandle that child?”

  Ed moved to keep the vehicle between the two of them.

  “How dare you come to our home and take my kids just so you can bully and abuse them?” She countered every move he made to escape. “You are never going to see these children without supervision again. Do you understand me, you jumped up excuse for a father?”

  Baya walked up to Ed and handed him the court order. “I believe these papers will make it very clear what you can expect in the future. If you want to visit our kids, there will be room to do so at the ranch. We will welcome you, but you will not be allowed to whip or bully them anymore.”

  Ed’s face was pale enough freckles showed on his taut cheeks. “These are my children…”

  “You…” Baya softened his voice, keeping his rage in check. “…don’t have the right to call them your children if you don’t treat them as a father should. A father’s love is supposed to be constant, unselfish and giving. The only thing you’ve given them is heartache. Listen carefully, Ed. You will not touch these children in anger or harshness again.”

  “I’ll take you to court.” The man sputtered.

  Bonnie moved to stand in front of him. “You better read those papers, first. You have been recommended to receive counseling before you see the kids again. We’re leaving with them. If you wish to say goodbye you need to do it now.”

  ~*~

  Bonnie settled into the airplane’s stiff seat. Beside her, Faith curled around Hope. Behind her, Baya had Daniel cradled into his side.

  She was still raging from the anger that had barreled her around the truck, shouting at Ed. Shamefully, she recognized that Baya had behaved much more civilly than she had.

  When the sobs had settled and the angry words from her ex-husband had been stemmed, Baya had calmly gathered the kids in a group around him and told Ed the terms of the court order, including the fact that he could call the children on Friday evenings before nine and he could visit the ranch any day of the week, but Saturdays were reserved for Baya and Bonnie’s family time.

  They would be home before Dick and Todd had to get back to the job site.

  Baya shifted and stood. He carried Daniel forward and motioned her to get up. Placing the sleeping boy in the seat and snapping the seatbelt around him he pulled her back to sit with him. The man next to him grinned and suddenly became absorbed in his book.

  “This may be the only time we get alone.” He settled back. “Do you think Ed will make waves about our kids?”

  “Maybe he’ll let it go. He can’t afford to carry on a long distance lawsuit. Besides, it isn’t as much fun to harass me with you as a protector. I don’t think he realized that you ac
tually included the kids under your strong-arm tactics.” She paused, smiling at him. “You like them, don’t you?”

  “Can’t do without them,” his reply rumbled. Then he gave a teasing wink. “If I don’t have their help, I have to put up with Dick and Todd. The choice is obvious. They’re smaller, it takes less to feed them.” He lowered the arm between them and pulled her against him. “I like having a family. I’m just not sure what to do with them.”

  She settled against his shoulder. “I’ve had them since their birth and I’m still not sure. Why should you get off any easier, cowboy?”

  ~*~

  Todd was waiting for them at the airport. The ride back to the ranch was noisy with exclamations and plans on what the children wanted to do when they got home.

  “Your church sent a few men over and we got the rest of the cattle gathered. I’m thinking we probably need to check the slopes once more and see if we can find stragglers.”

  “The church did what?” Baya stared at Todd.

  “The pastor came with a truck and trailer. He and three of the elders brought their horses to help muster. I thought you had asked them.” Todd slanted a look his way.

  Baya shook his head and glanced back at Bonnie.

  Her smile was serene as she gave him a nod.

  The church had come to help? Baya turned his attention to Todd. “What did they say?”

  “Dick explained about the trip to Florida. Then, we mounted up and rode out. Those men knew this ranch and just where the cattle would be. Made the round up mighty easy.”

  Stunned into silence, Baya stared sightlessly out the windshield.

  Hope sat up front, strapped in between the two men, her thumb in her mouth as she stared up at Todd. “Are you his brother?” she finally asked.

  Todd looked down at her and smiled. “No.”

  “You look like him.”

  The two men turned to each other in horror.

  “Yeah, you do,” Daniel piped up. “You got all that black hair and stuff.”

  “Don’t be so stupid, Daniel. He’s Native American.” Faith pointed to Todd.

  “Is not.”

  “Aren’t you?” Faith met the foreman’s eyes in the mirror. “Tell him you’re Native American.”