A Cowboy Comes Home

by Barbara Dunlop

  “That, she is,” Seth agreed. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Roger, that.” Caleb signed off.

  After making a few calls to Active Equipment headquarters and giving them Seth’s contact information, Caleb resettled his gloves and yanked on the pull cord for the chain saw. The action restarted the engine, and he braced his foot on the big log in front of him, ripping his way through the next section of the downed cedar tree.

  Working methodically, he made it to the end of the tree, sheering off branches and bucking the trunk into manageable sections. Then he glanced up to see Travis approaching, thirty feet away.

  Caleb shut it down again, wiping his forehead. “Where’d you come from?”

  Travis glanced around. “Whoa. This is unbelievable.”

  “Tell me about it. You should have heard them coming down last night. You here to help?”

  “I am now.” He tugged a pair of work gloves out of the back pocket of his jeans. “My original plan was to bring Danielle in to the airport.”

  Caleb glanced around but didn’t see Danielle among the workers. “Airport’s closed.”

  “We know that now. But she was getting pretty antsy this morning.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I dropped her off at the coffee bar. She wasn’t exactly dressed for brush clearing.”

  Caleb cracked a smile. “I think it would be dangerous to let her loose out here.”

  “She might break a nail?”

  “She might get somebody killed.”

  Travis raked a hand through his short hair. “Yeah, she’s definitely better with a computer than with power tools. She’s making calls to see what her options are for getting back to Chicago.”

  “She can take my jet,” Caleb offered, seeing an opportunity to make amends for some of the unfortunate complications of her trip to Colorado.

  Caleb retrieved his phone and dialed Danielle’s cell. He made the offer of the jet and asked her to touch base with Seth to make sure the heavy-equipment donation went quickly and smoothly. Then he signed off.

  “That’ll give her something productive to do,” he told Travis.

  Travis glanced around. “Where do you need me?”

  “See the tall kid in the blue T-shirt?”

  “At the black pickup?”

  “He’s keeping the chain saws fueled and sharp. Grab one, and you can start at the other end of that tree.” Caleb pointed as he moved on. “If we can open up this next hundred yards, we’ll have a corridor to the highway.”

  “Will do,” said Travis. “By the way, it was nice of you to let Seth organize that equipment donation.”

  “His idea,” said Caleb, flipping the switch and setting up to restart the chain saw. “Besides, Lyndon will be lucky to have him as mayor.”

  Mandy hopped up onto the tailgate of a pickup truck to take a break from the heavy hauling work. She was tired and sweating, and her shoulders were getting sore.

  Somebody put a cup of coffee in her hand. She offered her thanks and took a grateful sip. She normally took cream and sugar, but she wasn’t about to complain. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and she’d been hauling brush steadily since breakfast.

  Her animosity toward Caleb had been forgotten when the sun came up and they saw what the storm had done. In fact, it seemed frivolous now to have even been thinking about lovemaking this morning.

  “You eaten anything?” Danielle’s voice startled Mandy, and she glanced up to see the perfectly pressed woman picking her way across the debris-strewn road to the pickup truck.

  “What are you doing here?” Mandy couldn’t help exclaiming.

  Danielle was wearing slacks today, but they looked like expensive, dove-gray linen, and they were topped with a jewel-encrusted mauve sweater and paired with pewter-colored calfskin boots. Her makeup was perfect, and not a single hair was out of place.

  “Travis brought me into town.”

  “Travis’s here?” Mandy glanced around, but didn’t catch a glimpse of her brother.

  “I was hoping to catch a flight to Chicago. But the airport’s closed.”

  As Danielle arrived at the truck, Mandy looked for a blanket or a stray piece of clothing to throw on the tailgate to protect the woman’s expensive slacks. She spotted a quilted shirt, grabbed it and shook it out, laying it inside up on the tailgate and motioning to it.

  “Thank you,” said Danielle, awkwardly hopping up and settling herself. She snapped open her designer handbag and extracted a deli sandwich, handing it to Mandy.

  “You’re a saint.” Mandy sighed, accepting the offer.

  “You’re amazing,” Danielle returned. “How on earth can you work this hard?”

  “Practice.” Mandy took a big bite of the thick sandwich.

  “Well.” Danielle smoothed her slacks, setting her handbag down in her lap. She gave a delicate, self-deprecating laugh. “I’ve been dialing my fingers to the bone.”

  Mandy smiled at the joke. “Nobody expects you to do manual labor. Anymore than they’d expect me to compose a legal brief.”

  “That’s very kind of you to say.”

  “Don’t even worry about it. Thanks for the sandwich.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, the sound of chain saws, truck engines and shouts surrounding them. Bainbridge Street was a hive of activity.

  “I’ve been working with your brother Seth.”

  Mandy swallowed. “On what?”

  “Caleb’s having him coordinate a donation from Active Equipment to the town of Lyndon, loaders, backhoes, etc. He’ll be on Channel Ten to make the announcement in a few minutes.”

  Mandy’s tone went thoughtful. “Really?” Her gaze went to where Caleb was bucking up trees. “I assume it’s a political stunt?”

  “Move,” said Danielle. “A political move. And a smart one. Everybody wins.”

  “I suppose they do.” Though it seemed a little slick to Mandy, she couldn’t say she saw any serious flaws.

  “Speaking of everybody wins…” Danielle looked straight at Mandy. “I have an idea.”

  “For Seth’s campaign?” Mandy hoped it didn’t involve her. She was planning to stay firmly on the ranch and out of sight throughout the mayor race.

  “For finding Reed.”

  Mandy swallowed, her attention perking up. “I’m listening.”

  “I don’t know how long it normally takes to sell a thirty-million-dollar ranch. But, I’m assuming it’s a while.” She brushed some imaginary lint from the front of her slacks. “So, I’ve been thinking, and I’ve come to the conclusion that my best interests may be the same as your best interests.”

  Her gaze drifted to Caleb. “He’s having a little too much fun out here. I need him back on the job, and the shortest route to that end would appear to be finding Reed.”

  “You think he’s having fun?” Mandy couldn’t help interjecting. “He hates it here. He can’t wait to leave.”

  “So he says.”

  “He doesn’t want to be in Colorado,” Mandy insisted. And he sure didn’t want to be in the Lyndon Valley, on his own ranch, surrounded by painful memories.

  Danielle smiled patiently, and a wealth of wisdom seemed to simmer in her dark brown eyes. “I’m not going to take that chance.” Then she became all business. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to give me your cell phone, and I’m going to dial a number, and you’re going to talk to a man named Enrico. Tell him everything you know about Reed’s disappearance.”

  Mandy hesitated. She couldn’t help remembering Danielle’s suggestion that they track Reed’s credit-card use. She wanted to find him, but this felt a little too off the beaten path for her. “Is Enrico a code name?”

  Danielle’s laughter tinkled. “His name is Enrico Rossi. He’s a private investigator.”

  “Would I be breaking the law?”

  “You? No?”

  Mandy felt her eyes go wide, and her blood pressure slipped up a notch. “But Enrico will
?”

  Danielle cocked her head. “I haven’t the first clue what Enrico might or might not do. But he will find Reed.”

  Mandy was tempted. Frightened, but tempted. “Will I go to jail for this?”

  “None of his clients have so far.”

  Mandy tried to figure out if Danielle was joking. “You’re scary, you know that?”

  “I’m practical.” Danielle waved a dismissive hand. “There’s an off chance he’ll hack a password or two, but he’s not going to steal anything, and he’s certainly not going to harm anyone. And, since you won’t be paying him, there’s absolutely no legal trail that leads back to you.”

  “I won’t be paying him?” This was sounding stranger and stranger all the time.

  “He owes me a favor.”

  Mandy felt her shoulder slump. “Good grief.”

  “It’s nothing clandestine or mysterious. I was his defense attorney. Pro bono. When I was first out of law school.”

  “So, he’s a criminal.” A criminal who could find Reed and stop Caleb from making a colossal mistake that would reverberate for generations. Where was the moral balance on that?

  “He had a misspent youth.”

  “What did he do?” Mandy was absolutely not getting caught up with thieves and murderers, not even to find Reed.

  “He was a big bad street kid, who got into a fight with another big bad street kid, who it turned out, was trying to recruit Enrico’s little brother into a gang. Enrico won. He was charged with assault. I got him off.”

  That didn’t sound so bad. In fact, it sounded kind of noble. “What happened to his brother?”

  “He just won a scholarship to UIC. He wants to go into law.”

  “So, Enrico’s a good guy?”

  “Enrico’s a great guy. Eat your sandwich, and we’ll make the call.”

  It turned out that Enrico didn’t sound remotely like a tough, streetwise criminal. He was articulate and seemed intelligent, and he said he was confident he would find Reed. When Mandy saw Caleb and Travis approaching the pickup truck, she quickly finished the call and disconnected.

  “Thanks,” she whispered to Danielle as the two men approached.

  “You look unexpectedly cheerful,” Travis said to Danielle.

  While Caleb focused on Mandy. “You holding up okay?”

  “I’m feeling optimistic,” Danielle responded, sending a brief glance to Mandy.

  “I’m just fine,” Mandy answered Caleb. She drew a breath, both nervous and excited after her call with Enrico.

  “Pretty hard work,” Caleb observed.

  “Piece of cake,” Mandy responded with a shrug. She was tired, and she’d definitely be sore in the morning, but she still had a good few hours left in her.

  Danielle retrieved two more sandwiches from her purse and passed them to the men. Both smiled and voiced their thanks, digging right in.

  “Any news from the outside world?” Caleb asked Danielle between bites.

  “Seth should have made the announcement on air by now. Equipment will be on a flatbed truck coming out of Northridge this afternoon. They’re hoping to have the airport up and running by tomorrow. And I was able to book a couple of rooms at the Sunburst Hotel.” She looked to Travis. “I guessed you might want to stay over?”

  “You guessed right,” he responded, glancing around at the destruction. “They’ll need me another day at least.”

  “Mandy and I can keep our cottages at the Rose,” Caleb put in. “Apparently, they’re structurally sound. Though they can’t guarantee we’ll have electricity. But they did offer us a discount.”

  “I’ll take the cottage at the Rose,” Travis put in. “Mandy can stay at the Sunburst with Danielle. She’ll be more comfortable there.”

  Caleb’s jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed in what was obvious annoyance at Travis’s unilateral decree.

  “Sure,” Mandy quickly agreed. She didn’t care where she slept. It wasn’t as if she and Caleb had plans for a clandestine meeting.

  She might have been swept off her feet in his bed this morning. But she’d had plenty of time to reframe her mind-set. Caleb had been right to suggest some sober second thought on the matter. Making love with him would have been a colossal mistake. One she had no intention of making.

  Seven

  All the way back from Lyndon, Caleb told himself he had done the right thing by giving Mandy the option to change her mind. It was the honorable thing to do, and he didn’t regret it for one minute. Though he’d desired her beyond reason, he couldn’t ignore the fact that she wasn’t worldly, she was a family friend, and compared to the women he normally dated, she was quite innocent—in a fresh, compelling way that even now had him wishing he could have thrown caution to the wind.

  Damn it.

  He had to get her out of his head.

  He pushed the door to the Terrell ranch house open, forcing himself to walk into the quiet gloom. Without Mandy or Danielle here, the place seemed to echo around him. He dropped the small duffel bag he’d bought in Lyndon onto the floor of the hall, flipped on a light and made his way into the living room.

  Ghosts of his memories hovered in every room, in every knickknack, in every piece of furniture. He’d liked it in Lyndon. It had been a long time since he’d worked that hard physically, longer still since he’d had that sense of community and accomplishment.

  He wondered what was going on at the Jacobses’ place. He pictured Mandy, imagined her voice, her laughter, her jokes and the convoluted rationale for her contrary opinions. He missed her arguments most of all.

  The vision disappeared, and the silence of the house closed in around him. A small, family portrait propped up on the mantel, seemed to mock his presence.

  He moved closer, squinting at it.

  The picture had been taken when Caleb and Reed were about fifteen. His father had dressed them up, gathered them together in the living room and insisted on wide, happy-looking smiles. Seeing it now, all Caleb could remember was that his father had screamed at Reed earlier that day, pushing him to the ground and demanding he resand an entire section of fence because of some perceived flaw.

  He lifted the photo. If he looked closely, he could see that Reed’s hands had been bleeding. Closer, still, and he could see his and Reed’s brittle eyes. His mother had the haunted look that Caleb remembered so vividly. Though he’d pushed the memories away after he’d left, the fear that he hadn’t known the half of his mother’s anguish rushed back now.

  If he’d known back then what he knew now, he’d might have taken a shotgun to his father. He should have taken a shotgun to his father. He’d have spent the rest of his life in jail, but his mother would have lived, and his brother would have been spared ten years of hell.

  He glared at his father’s expression, the false smile, the ham fists, the mouth that had spewed abuse, sending fear into the hearts of everyone around him.

  Caleb’s hand tightened on the frame.

  Before the impulse turned into a conscious thought, he reflexively smashed the picture into the stone hearth. Glass shattered in all directions, the wooden frame splintered into three pieces, mangling the photo. He gripped the mantel with both hands, closing his eyes, concentrating on obliterating the memories.

  “And you really think selling the place will bring you closure?” Mandy’s voice was soft but implacable from the entryway.

  Caleb straightened and squared his shoulders. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “No kidding.”

  “I need a shower.” He turned on his heel, heading for the staircase, stripping off his shirt as he crossed the room. He wasn’t fit company right now. And he wasn’t going to let himself take his temper out on Mandy. What he needed was to scald some of his anger away.

  Hopefully, when he finished, she’d have the sense to be gone.

  He hit the top of the stairs, and pivoted around the corner, tossing his shirt to the ground and reaching for the snap of his jeans. He passed his brother’s
room; a shiver ran up his spine. His feet came to a halt, and he stood still for a long moment, gritting his teeth, his fists clenched, a sharp pain pounding through the center of his forehead. He swallowed hard, then kept walking, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

  He twisted the taps full on and finished stripping off his grimy clothes. Then he wrestled the shower curtain out of the way and stepped into the deep tub. Under the pulsing spray, he scrubbed his body, shampooed his hair, then he stood there, staring at the familiar tile pattern until the water finally turned cold.

  He turned the taps to Off, and the nozzle dripped to a stop while he valiantly tried to stuff his memories back into their box. He was beginning to realize he never should have come here.

  There was a tentative rap on the bathroom door. “Caleb? You okay?”

  He flung the curtain aside in frustration. “Go home, Mandy.”

  There was silence on the other side.

  “I mean it,” he shouted. The gentleman in him was exhausted, and he didn’t have the fight left to keep his hands off her. She needed to get far away.

  “Right,” came a short, angry response. It was followed by a few footfalls and then silence.

  Thank goodness.

  He methodically toweled off, then rubbed a circle in the steam of the mirror. Once again, he borrowed his brother’s shaving gear, telling himself that getting cleaned up, eating a decent meal and getting a good night’s sleep would give him some perspective. The memories were from ten years ago, not from yesterday. It would be easier to get rid of them this time.

  Finished shaving, he wiped his face and tossed the towel into the hamper in the corner of the bathroom. Naked, he turned and opened the door, and found Mandy sitting cross-legged on the floor across the hall.

  He barked out a pithy swearword, while she quickly turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.

  “I didn’t want to leave,” she squeaked, coming to her feet, face turned to the side, eyes still squeezed shut. “You seemed really upset downstairs.”