A Dusty Road To Peace: A Peace Series Novella

by Tee Smith

  “No, no, not at all, Bailey.” He stumbled forward, and as he tried to get closer, the board he was nailing to the ramp slipped into his way. Waving his hands in front of him, he shook his head. He knew Bailey had little money and she worked hard to support her mother. The last thing in the world he wanted was for her to feel obligated to pay him. “Please, no. I don’t want any payment. I’ve done this for Carol so she can get out in the yard more often. To see Tex.”

  Carol’s lopsided smile told him she approved.

  “I wanted to do something for her. For both of you.”

  “We don’t need your pity, Clancy. We get by just fine. Don’t we, Mama?” Bailey argued, standing firm, hands on her slender hips.

  “It’s not pity, Bailey. Please. I’m here. I’ve got time to kill. Just let me do something kind for you and Carol, yeah?”

  Bailey’s eyes narrowed and he wondered what was going on in her pretty head. It was sad she was so unfamiliar with people trying to help, that she felt she had to question his motives.

  “I have to at least pay for the materials.”

  “No…It’s fine. Honest. Jim at the hardware store gave me a good discount. He lent me his tools even,” he pointed to the box at his feet.

  “Jim? Mister Harwood?”

  “Yes, I just told him what I was doing and he offered to help me out. The people in this town really are very kind and generous, you know?”

  “Pfft,” Bailey scoffed, rolling her eyes into her hairline.

  It was sad Bailey and her mom had not experienced this sort of kindness before. Just the thought of it made his heart hurt. She was such a sweet, beautiful girl and she was doing her level best to take care of her mother. She deserved someone to look after her. Bailey Hopper deserved someone way better than him.

  “Well, I better finish off here; it shouldn’t take long. I’ll need to come back tomorrow to add the side rails once the concrete sets.”

  “Th…th…” Carol tried.

  “It’s okay, Carol. You are very welcome.” He didn’t need to hear the words the woman struggled with, just knowing he was doing something to help made him feel good.

  She offered him a lopsided smile.

  “Come on, Mama, we better get you cleaned up for dinner, yeah?” Bailey said, turning her attention to the older woman. “Would you like to stay for dinner, Clancy?” she tossed over her shoulder as she turned away.

  A smile crept across his lips. What he wouldn’t give for a home-cooked meal. “Only if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Of course not,” Bailey smiled back, before retreating into the living room with Carol.

  It only served to prove what a generous woman she was, always willing to help anyone else, yet shy about accepting assistance herself. If only there was more he could do to help her.

  “That was incredibly sweet what you did, y’know,” Bailey whispered as she ran a fingertip over his bare chest later that evening, causing his skin to prickle and pimple.

  “It was nothing,” he sighed, leaning down and dropping a tender kiss on her pretty blonde locks.

  Propping herself up on one elbow, she made eye contact with him. Her eyes so blue, he could lose himself in them. He really needed to get a grip. He was spending every waking moment with this girl, he was falling in love with her and he couldn’t. He would be leaving soon. Too soon.

  “I’m going to miss you, y’know?”

  “Shhh,” he soothed, wondering if her thoughts had been similar to his own. “You know we can’t go there.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she sighed dropping her cheek back down to his bare chest.

  “I wish there was something I could do,” he whispered, as he ran his hand over the skin at the back of her neck and down over her back. “I feel bad leaving you and your mum. It’s not fair for you to have to deal with everything all alone. Building that ramp was just a little something I could do.”

  “Mom and I have been looking after each other my whole life, Clancy.” A bitter tone tinged her voice, and he wished he could have taken his own words back; he hadn’t meant to offend her.

  “Yeah, I know baby.” He pushed the stray hairs from her cheek and stroked the soft skin there. “You are amazing. I’m not saying you aren’t. I just wish you had someone nice to take care of you. You deserve that. You deserve someone better than a cowboy who breezes in and out of town.”

  “Making promises they will never be able to keep?” Bailey added, sarcasm lacing her words.

  “Yeah,” Clancy sighed. “Making promises I can never keep.”

  He wished he wasn’t that cowboy. Never in his life had he wished he could promise something to a woman and mean it. But right at the moment, holding Bailey in his arms, he wished he could promise to keep her there forever. To look after her and Carol.

  10

  Toppin’s bar was the place to go on Friday nights. Bailey had a late shift at the diner and had to run some errands, so she planned to meet him there. He was not keen to go alone, but the locals were friendly, and he had little else to do, so figured he would head in there early for a beer.

  “Hey Clancy,” someone called to him from behind as he made his way to the bar.

  Turning around to see who had called his name, he was almost knocked off his feet, as he was drawn roughly into a boisterous man-hug.

  “Cody,” he managed out, as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

  “When did you get here, bro?” his friend asked with a confused look. “I thought I was picking you up from Billings on Monday?”

  “Yeah, last Monday, you douchebag.” He shook his head in exasperation. He should have known Cody would stuff it up. Unless there was a bull or a chick involved, he rarely knew what time of the day it was. The boy was good with the reins, though, he had to give him that. He’d spent some time out on the station years before and was by far the best horseman Clancy had ever worked with.

  “Dang!” Cody shook his head in realisation. “Sorry dude, how did I miss that? Oh well, you’re here now, right? We’ve got some partying to do.”

  A scrawny whippet of a girl who looked barely old enough to be out of high-school, dressed in clothes that left little to the imagination, giggled by his side and Cody buried his face in her hair. Clancy knew he shouldn’t make assumptions, but he was well accustomed to these types of women. Buckle bunnies, chasing cowboys, believing they could tame them somehow. Clancy was pretty confident Cody would never be tamed.

  “Hey, meet my girl,” Cody announced, turning back to him with a grin. “This is Sarah-Jean. She’s been with me for a while. Followed me up from Arizona.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sarah-Jean.”

  “Can I buy you a beer then?” Cody asked, dismissing Sarah-Jean with a wave of his hand.

  Clancy watched as she slinked back to his side. Before he had a chance to answer an arm slinked around his back, and a cold pint of beer was thrust in front of him.

  “It looks like I’ve already got that covered, but let me get you one,” he laughed at Bailey’s impeccable timing.

  “Well, hello there gorgeous, and who might you be?” Cody’s attention turned to Bailey, and he flashed her a smile.

  Clancy instinctively tugged her closer and wrapped a protective arm around her.

  “Bailey, this is my old mate, Cody. The douchebag I was telling you about, who conveniently forgot to pick me up from the airport.”

  Before his words were out of his mouth, Cody had launched forward and was going in for the kill with a kiss on Bailey’s cheek. Clancy’s fingers tightened around his cold glass. He had a good mind to smash it over his friend’s head at that very moment.

  He had to get a grip. Bailey was what? She wasn’t even his girlfriend. She was just a girl he was spending time with before moving on to the next town. Why was he getting so pent up over this?

  “It’s lovely to meet you, Cody.” Bailey’s words were sweet as they dripped off her tongue and jealousy gnawed at him. “Yes, Clancy did tell me about
you.

  It’s actually quite lucky for me really that you forgot to pick him up because otherwise, I might not have found him walking down the road.”

  “Well, I’m glad I could be of service, ma’am.” Cody offered her a wink, and Bailey giggled.

  Giggled. Giggled at Cody, with his sweet-talking charm and ridiculous cutesy-boy looks and southern drawl. He remembered his sister going all goo-gah over him all those years ago, too.

  “Anyway,” he announced, straightening his back and puffing out his chest. “We were just having a few drinks then we were heading off. We can’t stay long tonight, can we Bai?” he looked lovingly down at her, trying to match Cody’s charm.

  “Ahh… I thought we were having a night out together. You said we were going to have a few drinks and maybe some dancing. They have a great band on tonight,” she pouted, her perfect bottom lip protruding. He momentarily forgot what he was even saying as his eyes focused on the pretty, soft pillow.

  “I’ll dance with you, darlin’,” Cody drawled.

  The sound of Cody’s offer made Clancy’s mind promptly snap back to the present and his gaze back to Cody. He was sure the fire in his eyes would be enough to warn Cody off. Sarah-Jean shifted uncomfortably from foot-to-foot at Cody’s side, and Clancy almost felt sorry for her. He knew Cody’s game. He wasn’t particularly interested in either woman, he was gunning for the win. A win Clancy was not going to let him have.

  Tipping his head back he poured his beer down his throat. It burned as he tried to swallow so fast and he had a moment of passing nausea as it hit his stomach.

  “We’re out, c’mon,” he beckoned to Bailey. Not giving her a chance to argue as he took her hand and dragged her toward the door.

  “It was nice to see you too, bro,” Cody called after him with a deep throaty laugh.

  Bailey stumbled as she struggled to keep up his pace, but his tight grip on her stopped her from falling. The air in the room seemed thick, as he worked his way to the exit. Pushing through the door, the cool night air hit his face, and he gulped it in filling his lungs with its refreshing crispness.

  “What the heck, Clancy?” Bailey demanded, suddenly coming into his line of sight.

  What the heck, indeed. He was not sure he could even explain it himself.

  “Is there somewhere we can go? I just need to get away from here.”

  “Do you want to tell me what that was all about?” Bailey asked as they lay back on the grass, staring at the stars above them.

  “No,” he snapped.

  “Clancy, that’s not fair. I thought Cody was your friend. I thought we were meant to be having a nice evening out.”

  “Sorry,” he replied curtly. What else could he say? If he told her he was jealous, that he was worried that Cody might try to steal her away, he would be letting her see his weakness for her. He couldn’t stay here with her. He had no right to be jealous.

  “Clancy,” she huffed out, bringing herself to a sitting position and staring down at him. “If you can’t tell me what’s going on, maybe I’ll just go back to the bar by myself.”

  As she made a move to stand, he reached out and grasped her hand. Panic filling him.

  “No Bai’, wait, please,” he pleaded. “I’m sorry. I’ll explain.”

  Bailey settled back down beside him, and he sat, taking her hands in his.

  “Cody is a bit of a sleaze sometimes, that’s all. Yes, he is my friend.” He breathed out a long sigh and gathered his thoughts. “I really like you, Bailey. I don’t want to have to share you with anyone.”

  “Clanc…” she tried.

  “No, let me finish,” he insisted, placing a fingertip on her lips. “I don’t have much time here with you, and maybe I am selfish. But what time I do have I want to spend with you. I want to keep you all to myself. When I go back home, I want to cherish the memories of you and our time together. Now, do you still want to dance?”

  “You want to go back?” she asked, raising a perfectly shaped brow.

  “No… here.”

  “Sure,” Bailey laughed, and the sound rattled all the way through his body. He would treasure this moment for many years to come.

  Quickly making his way to the car, he switched the radio on. As the sounds of the country station wafted through the night air, he took his girl into his arms and danced slowly with her under the stars. If it weren’t for the promise not to make any promises, he felt in that moment he had fallen in love.

  11

  Reaching in the car window he placed a soft kiss on Bailey’s lips. He’d missed her and was happy to see her back. He’d taken Carol for another ride during the day; he wasn’t sure whether he should tell Bailey that or not.

  “We’ve been invited out to Jay Terry’s tonight,” Clancy informed her with a smile.

  “Jay?” she asked quizzically, a cute crinkle forming on her brow.

  “Yeah, you must know him. You know everyone in Peace, don’t you?” he chuckled quietly.

  Bailey nodded her head. “I know who he is. I’m just confused as to why we have been invited to his place or why you would want to go.”

  “He’s invited a bunch of the boys around to ride his bulls.” It was kind of a birds of a feather thing, it never took long to work out who the cowboys were in town. The real cowboys, as opposed to the wannabes who pranced around with their ten-gallon hats and shiny boots and belt-buckles, that had never seen a speck of dust in their lives. There were more than enough of them in town with Founder’s Day Celebrations now in full swing.

  Opening her car door, she pushed Clancy back a step as she spoke. “I’m not one of the boys Clancy. Maybe you’ve noticed?”

  Clancy’s eyes dropped to her low-cut top, where the swell of her perfectly rounded breasts peeked just over the top. He had noticed alright.

  Her giggle brought his eyes back up to meet hers, and she shook her head in amusement. “You men are all the damn same.”

  “Why? Who else has been checking you out?” he demanded, his tone was joking, but he felt a pang of jealousy at the thought.

  “No one, silly,” she laughed again, before slamming the car door closed and looping her arm through his. “I thought you’d be in town.”

  Arm-in-arm they walked toward the front door of her house.

  “I went down earlier. Thought I’d come spend some time with Carol.”

  “That is so sweet. Mama would have loved that,” she beamed, before reaching up and placing a kiss on his cheek.

  He loved making her happy, loved seeing that smile.

  “Nah, it’s nothing,” he brushed away her sentiment, even though it gave him a warm fuzzy feeling. “I’m not going to get much more of a chance to see her before I leave.”

  “I wish…” Bailey sighed, before trailing off.

  He knew what she was thinking, she didn’t have to say it. He had loved being there with her too. Monday morning was going to come around all too soon.

  “So, tell me about your day?” he said in an effort to cheer her up. She had spent the day in Billings at the Women’s Center.

  “Sure, let me just check on Mama and get her a cup of tea,” she called over her shoulder as she rushed toward the kitchen.

  “Already done,” Clancy announced.

  “Wha…? Did you?”

  “Yes, I put the thickening agent in. I’ve been watching how you do it. Not that Carol would let me get away with much anyway,” he smirked. “That woman knows what she wants.”

  “Like mother, like daughter.” Bailey nodded in agreement. “I better get her ready for bed then.” She again attempted to march past him.

  Reaching out he clasped her hand in his, bringing her to a stand-still. “Already done.”

  “What? But how? Clancy,” she admonished thrusting a hand onto her hip.

  A sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He hated to think he might have stepped on her toes again.

  “I was only trying to help. She was tired. I made sure she ate.”


  To his relief, her hand fell from her hip and made its way to his as she tugged him closer to her.

  “You are the sweetest man I have ever met, Clancy.”

  “You deserve someone to look after you for a change. You spend all your time taking care of everyone else,” he explained. It really hadn’t been a bother for him, he liked Carol. “Now, go get yourself into the shower and get prettied up. We’ve got a party to go to.”

  The smile on her face said all he needed to know as she turned and skipped toward the bathroom. He hoped she would wear those tiny shorts that he liked so much. He would be the proudest man in the place with Bailey by his side tonight.

  The chatter alerted them to where the party was. Rounding the corner of the barn, he met Todd, who he had spoken to earlier, and several other men who introduced themselves as Jay, the owner of the ranch, Rusty, and Tony. Manly nods and handshakes were exchanged before their attention turned to the bulls.

  Rumour had it Jay bred some of the best bulls around, but he had yet to see them for himself.

  “Are you going to ride?” Bailey asked, her hand gripping his bicep. Her face a mixture of excitement and fear. Her eyes shone with anticipation.

  “Sure am,” he grinned, his fingers already tingling at the thought of getting his hands on one of those beasts.

  “Aren’t you afraid?”

  “What’s to be afraid of?” he asked, lifting the corner of his mouth in a half grin.

  A crinkle crept across her brow. “Getting hurt.”

  He puffed out his cheeks and let the air go slowly. “There are plenty of things that can hurt you in this world Darlin’. That big ol’ bull out there… he’s more scared of me than I am of it.”

  She let out a short, sharp, disbelieving laugh. “I can’t imagine you’re likely to break his leg… or worse though.”

  Slinging an arm around her shoulders, he drew her in close, breathing in the sweet perfume that she had sprayed into her hair, or maybe it was just her shampoo, he couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that he liked it. He liked her more than he should. Her concern was sweet and unfamiliar to him. Most girls couldn’t see past the glamour of the rodeo. If their cowboy was hurt, they moved on to the next one. Most girls weren’t Bailey.