by Naomi Niles
"It was here. I swear it," I sighed with defeat. How could I be such a failure?
"It's okay," Colton said. "I'll have the ranch hands perform an extensive search."
William said to his brother, "Call me when you find it, and we'll come back out."
"Aren't you going to help?" Colton glowered at him.
"I've been elected Sheriff," he snapped back. "All the citizens of Riverbend depend on me to keep this community safe. I can't just focus all my resources and time helping you."
"I'm a citizen of this community, or have you forgotten that?" Colton gave William a shove on the shoulder.
"I haven't forgotten anything. Like how you wouldn't campaign for me when I was running for Sheriff." William shoved him back.
"You know damn well why I couldn't do that." Colton shoved him back, hard.
Suddenly, William tackled his older brother, knocking him to the ground. I stared at the two deputies, wondering why they wouldn't do anything to break up the fight.
Colton and William rolled on the grass, each trying to get the upper hand on the other. They crashed into the fence, and suddenly a portion of it swung slightly ajar.
"Holy crap, she was right," Deputy Carlson cried out, making Colton and William pause mid punch. They got to their feet and looked at the slight opening in the seemingly solid fence.
As they studied it, they saw someone had very carefully hidden a hinge in the fence post, allowing it to swing open like a gate. To the casual onlooker, the fence appeared to be solid and could have been there for months, or even years.
"Son of bitch," Colton swore under his breath. The secret gate opened up into the forest land, and a hoof trodden path could be subtly detected through the brush, ending in a wide clearing with a dirt road stretching out to the main highway in the far distance. A pile of tracking tags that had been removed from the cows’ ears lay in a pile by the road.
Colton was furious. He kicked the pile, scattering the tags and shouted, "Son of a bitch. We'll never find them now. Anyone could have taken our cattle from the pasture through this path, loaded them into a truck, and driven them away to sell. No wonder we've been losing money. We're being robbed blind right under our damn noses."
"Take it easy," William tried to calm him. "Now that we've discovered this, thanks to Bethany, we can figure out who's responsible and bring them to justice.
“I need you to get me your records on all the employees. We'll do a complete background check on all of them and match them against any forensic evidence we find. I'm going to have my team do a complete investigation of the area, and collect as much evidence as we can find. Don't worry; we'll get whoever's responsible."
The promise of justice seemed to soothe Colton, as well as being able to take action. He looked at me and said, "Come on, Bethany. I'll accompany you back to the ranch house on my way to the office. You can keep Mama company."
"If it's okay, I'd like to keep working on my painting," I said. "It keeps my mind occupied, and it's soothing. I guess it's kind of therapeutic in a way."
"Sure. Whatever you want." Colton gazed at me lovingly. He moved in close, as if to kiss me, and whispered, "Thank you for this. Without you, we may have never discovered this. You may have single-handedly saved our ranch."
"I wouldn't go that far." I blushed. "I'm pretty sure most of the credit is going to go to Will and the Sheriff's Department."
"Well, you saved me." Colton kissed my lips then. "I never thought I could feel this way about anyone. When you were missing last night, I knew I had fallen in love with you. Now that you're back safe, I never want to have to be without you again."
"You know I'm only here for another month," I flushed, even though I felt the same way.
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, I have to get the records for Will."
I got my supplies and set up my canvas and easel in front of Margie's garden. I was just putting on the last touches on this piece. The painting was basically finished, and would be done that day. Tomorrow, I would start my third painting. It was weird to think that I was already about halfway through the project.
"That looks incredibly beautiful," a vaguely familiar male voice said. I startled to see Frank Hill standing there.
"Thanks," I said in a tone that reflected just how unhappy I was to see him. "It's done. I only have three more to do and then I'll be out of your way."
I turned my back on him and hurriedly started backing my paint supplies away in my case, anxious to get as far away from him as I could.
"The painting is great, but I was talking about you." Frank flushed awkwardly, and I paused to stare at him. "I saw you standing out here, painting with the sun shining on your blonde hair. You looked so peaceful and lovely; just like your mother used to look, only different. I can see pieces of myself in you, and traces of how you looked when you were a baby.
“It's hard to explain, but ever since our talk yesterday afternoon, I can't get you out of my mind. All these memories and feelings keep tugging at me; and then when I saw you looking so beautiful, I had to come talk to you again."
"I think you said everything you needed to say yesterday," I angrily.
"I'm sorry about all that. I didn't mean any of it. I was just surprised to see you and ashamed at what I'd done. I didn't want anyone to know I was a deadbeat dad, and I didn't think I'd ever have to face it. Then suddenly, there you were, and I was just embarrassed and angry at having been caught. Not angry at you; angry at me for having screwed up so bad."
"You told me you wished I'd never been born." I wasn't ready to forgive him yet.
"I said that, but I didn't mean it. Jillian was a mess. I knew she'd make a bad mother, so I tried to talk her out of having a baby – but you were amazing and from the moment you were born, I loved you. I was crazy about you."
"So, why did you leave?"
"I didn't. Is that what Jillian told you?"
"She told me you abandoned us on my second birthday."
"That lying bitch," Frank muttered under his breath. "She told you that. I'm so sorry. That was never true."
"She blamed me because she was stuck raising a kid alone. She said I drove you away."
"No, never. I loved you. It was Jillian I couldn't stand. I wanted to leave her and take you with me, but she threatened to call the cops and tell them I kidnapped you. I took the coward’s way out and just left you."
"Is that true? You really wanted to take me with you?" I couldn't believe Mom would lie like that, but then again, I kind of could. It was a case of he said/she said, and I didn't know who to believe.
"It sure is. I never should have let that bitch bully me into leaving you behind. I went back once looking for you, but Jillian had moved and no one could tell me where. My life has been a wreck ever since, and I've never been able to outrun the guilt of wondering what life would have been like if I'd stayed with her. Where the hell did you end up, anyway?"
"Chicago," I said softly.
Frank rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Chicago. I should have known. She had an ex-boyfriend who moved there. I guess she went back to him."
I told Frank about my childhood. He wanted to know all about my life growing up, and he told me all about his life travelling around the country, going from ranch to ranch, always trying to outrun the guilt of having left us.
We walked all around the ranch, strolling side by side as we talked. It was amazing how many similarities we had. He liked the same foods that I liked and had the same allergies to shellfish. He liked nature just like I did, and confided that when he was young he liked to dra
w, but his father had told him it was for sissies and beat him for it.
"That's terrible that your father was so abusive," I said and touched his hand.
"I vowed that when I became a father, I'd be a good one. Looks like I failed at that pretty bad."
"It's not your fault. You didn't know where Jillian had taken me." I had forgiven him; he needed to be able to forgive himself.
"Yeah, but I could have tried harder. After all, you were able to find me. If I hadn't given up so easily, I could have found you and we could have had a real relationship."
"It's not too late," I said, squeezing his hand. Frank gazed at me with watery eyes.
We hugged then, and I closed my eyes, relishing the paternal embrace I'd longed for all my life. I'd found my father, and he really did love me and wanted to know me.
I could feel the scars of my lonely childhood beginning to heal. So why was it that something still didn't feel right?
Frank realized that his break was over and said, "I'd better get back to work before Colton notices."
"I have a feeling he's preoccupied with other things today," I said. We walked back across the ranch together, and as we drew closer, we saw the flashing lights of a police car.
When we approached, we saw William and his deputies arresting two ranch hands, while Colton, Brett, and Margie looked on. Frank stopped short and squeezed my hand.
"What's happening?" he asked.
Colton answered, saying, "Just getting rid of a few cattle rustlers who have been stealing from the ranch. Today is the start of a whole new day where everything is going to be better."
I smiled at my father as he grinned back at me with the same grin, and said, "It sure is."
Chapter Ten
Colton
"Congratulations on finding the rustlers," Bethany said to me after everyone had gone.
Jackson Horn and his cousin Floyd were strangers in Riverbend, but I'd hired them when we were short staffed during calving season, and they'd stayed on ever since. The tire prints on the path leading from the pasture matched Jackson's truck, and they both had piles of cash hidden in their cabin that they couldn't explain. William and his deputies had taken the criminals to jail, and my only hope was that William could get them to tell us where my cattle had gone.
After the arrest, Mama had gone back to the house and everyone else had returned to their duties.
"Thanks." I grinned at Bethany, unable to contain my feeling of relief. I had finally figured out the reason the ranch was bleeding money when all my analysis said we should have been making a profit. Better than that, I had solved the problem by finding the thieves and having them arrested.
Well, in all honesty, it was William and his incredible staff who had done that, but it was still a huge weight off my shoulders to know that the ranch was no longer going to lose any more money. The pressure to figure out what was going wrong had been enormous, and now I was free of it.
Beaming at Bethany, I said, "Congratulations on reconciling with your father."
"Thanks. It's been quite a day."
"It really has. What do you say we celebrate together? Just you and me, at the Riverview Vista."
"You mean, like a date?" she asked, and I'd never seen her blue eyes so wide.
"Yes. A date. I think it's about time I took you out formally. What do you say?"
"All right." She blushed adorably, and I wanted to shout out in the air, but I kept my cool.
"Terrific. I'll pick you up at seven."
The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. I had to go down to the Sheriff's office and make a statement. Then there were some last minute things I had to do in the office. Before I knew it, it was nearly time to go.
I looked at my closet of suits that I had always hated. Dad had felt it was important to have a professional image, and he was right, it did greatly improve our business dealings. I'd always felt out of place in them, though, while my brothers were walking around comfortably in jeans and flannel shirts.
Tonight, however, I wanted to look my best. Suddenly, I didn't mind the suits so much. They made me stand out, and the way Bethany looked at me when I was wearing them made me finally feel worthy of the tailored luxury. I was a king in her eyes, and I wanted to look the part.
Reaching into the back of my closet, I pulled out my best suit: an Armani made of black silk. I pulled on a pair of ostrich-skin boots I saved for special occasions, and a silver belt buckle and silver bolo tie completed the look. Last of all, I placed my favorite black Stetson on my head and a rosebud in my lapel.
I slipped out my bedroom window, ran around to the front of the house and knocked on the front door.
I heard Mama shouting from the other side, saying, "Bethany, can you get the door? I'm up to my elbows in the kitchen."
Seconds later, the door swung open and Bethany gasped with surprise. "What are you doing out there?"
"A gentleman always picks a lady up for a date." I bowed and she laughed sweetly. "Are you ready to go?"
"Ready," she said, and her smile lit up the night sky. She looked incredible in a little black dress that molded to her sumptuous curves like it was liquid. Her long legs were smooth and supple, and it took all my effort not to sweep her into my arms and kiss her.
I opened the passenger door to my truck for her and we drove the distance into Riverbend, to its finest restaurant looking out over the river. The maître 'd gave us a table out on the patio with a view of the water, with its currents running swiftly under the light of the half moon above.
I ordered a bottle of champagne and held my glass up for a toast after the waiter took our orders.
"To new beginnings," I said, thinking of Bethany's reconciliation with her father and the fresh start I'd now be able to make in turning around the budget for the ranch.
"To new beginnings," she echoed. Our eyes locked as our glasses clinked gently together, and I saw her cheeks color slightly as she swallowed the bubbling liquid.
We spent the evening talking and getting to know each other even more intimately than before. I told her about my ambitions for upgrading the ranch and making it even more profitable than it had been in my father's day. She told me about her plans for having her own art show one day, when her internship was done.
I didn't like to think about what life would be like when she had to leave. So, I looked for a way to change the subject. Hearing the sound of frogs singing along the riverbank, I held my hand out to Bethany. "Care to dance?"
"There isn't any music."
"Sure there is. Just listen." She closed her eyes, and in the distance, the sound of chirping crickets blended with the song of the frogs. I watched as her lips gently curved into a smile, and I knew she heard it, too.
So, I led her out onto the center of the patio, and we waltzed together in time to nature's song. I could feel the eyes of the restaurant's staff and guests staring at us, but I didn't care. The only opinion that mattered to me was Bethany's, and her smile and the look in her eyes told me she was having the time of her life.
After dinner, we walked along the riverbank hand in hand, laughing and discussing our hopes and dreams. By the time we got home, it was nearly one o'clock in the morning.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening," Bethany sighed happily at the front door.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for coffee?" I teased, making her laugh that beautiful sound that I loved so much.
"I'm not the kind of girl who lets just any guy into her home after a date," she taunted.
"Well, I'm not the kind of guy who tries to go home with just any girl." I leered at her playfully, and leaned in for a kiss.
"Well, I'm not any girl," she said, a
nd her voice was husky.
"You sure as hell aren't," I agreed. "You're the most incredible woman I've ever met, and I don't want you to ever go." My mouth closed over hers insistently. She opened her mouth to me as my hands ran through her hair, pressing her to me, refusing to let her go.
She wrapped her arms around me, clinging to me, obviously not wanting me to stop. I scooped her into my arms, lifting her slight frame easily off the ground, and I carried her up the stairs like a small child.
There was nothing childish about her, though. She was all woman as she stroked my chest while our tongues intertwined.
I carried her to her bedroom, where I gently set her down outside the door. I wanted her so badly it physically hurt, but I wasn't the kind of man to force myself on a woman. Bethany needed to invite me on her own accord, and I desperately hoped she would.
She turned the knob, and the door swung open wide. Leaning back against the frame with a dreamy look in her eyes, Bethany said to me, "Aren't you going to carry me the rest of the way?"
"Only if you're sure you want me to," I said. My eyes stared intently into hers, and I saw them dilate with desire.
"I'm sure." It was all the permission I needed. I lunged forward, sweeping into my arms as I took her lips with my own, hungrily, like a starving man. She backed into the room, and I kicked the door shut behind me, hearing it latch securely shut.
Bethany was clawing at my shirt, ripping open the buttons with desperate fingers. I kicked off my boots and unfastened my belt as she stripped off my shirt and bolo tie. When I was naked, she started to take off her dress, but I stopped her with a gentle touch of my hand.
"Let me," I whispered. She turned her back to me, and I slowly undid the zipper of her little black dress, lowering it inch my inch, exposing her bare flesh beneath. I kissed her neck as I did so, and soft sighs of pleasure escaped her lips.
When the dress fell to the floor, she turned around in my arms, and I stared in fascination at her breasts, elegantly displayed in a lacy bra. I kissed the top of her cleavage before slowly removing the garment. When her breasts were fully revealed in their naked glory, I sighed in appreciation at their perfect beauty before taking them into my hands and exploring them with my mouth.
