Cowboy Summer

by Joanne Kennedy

  She’d believed Cade must have changed in some essential, dramatic way. How else could he have chosen Amber Lynn? She’d wondered how the man she’d known so well, a man who’d respected her for her intelligence, not her body, had fallen for a human Barbie doll.

  Now she knew he’d just been Cade—her Cade—trying to do the right thing for a child.

  “So that’s the sad story of me and Amber Lynn.” He grimaced. “Thought I was taking a one-week cruise and ended up with a life sentence in the brig. Well, almost. But I gotta tell you.” He frowned as he tore off another petal. “I was a dud at being married.”

  “She cheated on you. How is that your fault?”

  “The blame went both ways. I cheated, too, in a way.” His gaze dropped to the ground, and he refused to meet her eyes. “I never stopped loving you, not for one day, one hour, one minute.” The last petal fell, spinning, to the ground. “I did my best. Swore an oath and tried to keep it.” He sighed. “I’m glad we’re here. I’m glad I’m free. But I still feel like I failed.”

  He handed her the flower, now a drooping, ruined stem. “I won’t fail again. I’m about as wrecked as this flower, but I’m still here, okay? And still yours, whether you want me or not.”

  * * *

  Molly’s busy hands stilled as she watched Jess and Cade from the kitchen window. Jess had caught Cade cleaning himself up.

  Well, that ought to do it. Even she, an old married lady, could appreciate the sight of that man with his shirt off.

  She felt like a peeper, but not so much she’d walk away from the window. They were so sweet, out there by the barn, finding their way back to each other under the summer sun. And they looked so right together—Jess, with her blond curls and long legs, Cade so muscular and manly.

  Maybe this would turn out all right.

  Boot heels struck the floor behind her, and she felt familiar hands on her hips. The warmth of her husband’s palms spread straight to her lady parts, and she wondered, not for the first time, how a man so much older could warm her to the core.

  “What do you think?” She twisted to see his face and was surprised to see his brows drawn low over his eyes. “It looks like they might make it, hon.”

  “They’d better.” Heck sounded his age, his voice high and fretful. “I don’t like the look of those brochures, Molls. I need to tell you, I’m not moving to one of those places.”

  Patting his hands, she kissed his cheek. “I know, sweetheart. But stop worrying.” She nodded toward the two kids. “It might take Jess a little time, but whatever happens with Cade, she’ll find her way back to the ranch. You can see in her eyes how she loves it.” She patted his cheek. “And how she loves you.”

  “She hasn’t thrown a rope in five years. Ridden a horse in, what, three? Four? And she was never rodeo ready. Not like Griff.”

  “Give her time. You said she always tried hard, and doesn’t that matter more? You have to want to throw the rope.”

  He grunted in response, and she knew she’d hit a nerve. Griff had been a disappointment to his dad. The boy was a soldier, something to be proud of, but Heck had wanted to pass the ranch on, and when it came to gender roles, he was a regular Neanderthal. He thought western women ought to be traditional ranch wives, cooking for the crew, keeping house, bottle-feeding calves, and raising little cowboys to take over from their daddies.

  But Molly would change him. She would. She’d convince him his precious daughter, strong woman that she was, deserved as much of a chance as his son. With or without Cade.

  Molly hadn’t been raised a cowgirl. She couldn’t ride or rope or doctor cows. But she knew Jess could, and if her stepdaughter could tear herself away from the city and come back where she belonged, she’d find one heck of a cheerleader in her new stepmother. Sure, it would help Heck keep the ranch, but Molly thought it would make Jess happy, too. And that was all Molly wanted.

  Well, not all.

  She sighed. “I just want her to love me, hon. Without my job, I miss the kids, and—I miss that bond, you know?”

  “You don’t need that job.” Heck nuzzled her neck. “And Jess’ll figure it out. Give her time.”

  “I don’t know. She seems so set against me.”

  His grip tightened on her hips. “She been rude to you?”

  “No, it’s not that. I probably want too much, too soon. You know. Babies.”

  Molly hadn’t even finished being a virgin when the doctor had told her babies would never happen for her. She’d done her best to find a silver lining, but that was when the trouble started. Infertility had made it easy to say yes to any man who offered a wink or a smile, and she’d looked for the love she craved in sex instead of family. She’d prayed some man would love her enough to overlook the fact that she couldn’t give him kids, but that didn’t happen.

  Oh, there’d been a couple of guys she’d gotten serious with, men who’d been glad she didn’t want to discuss baby names over dinner. But she knew they’d change their minds someday, and she wasn’t about to deny them their God-given right to have a child.

  She’d never compromised and rarely complained, even to herself. She knew some women at church called her white trash behind her back—partly because she’d grown up in Springtime Acres trailer park, and partly because she’d dated so, well, so widely, and maybe a bit, er, enthusiastically. She’d always held her head high, happy with her homey little single-wide, her job as a substitute teacher, and her busy social life.

  But dear Lord, how she’d wanted babies.

  She turned, lacing her hands around Heck’s neck. “You are the answer to my prayers,” she said. “You and your kids.”

  He kissed her, and she felt that thrill again, the one that always crept up on her and made her dizzy. She thought about dragging him off to the bedroom, but Jess might come in. He must have had the same thought, because he released her when she turned to the window.

  “Whether they come around or not, I feel blessed you chose me, Heck Bailey.” She gazed at the barn and the pasture beyond, at horses grazing peacefully and the mountains in the distance. “And I’ve learned to love this place, too. It’ll work. You’ll see.”

  She watched Cade hand Jess a flower, then turn and walk away, his back bowed under the weight of what looked like unrequited love. She wondered if Jess realized how rare it was to have a man who treasured you like that. The girl should requite that love, and soon, if she wanted to find what mattered in life.

  Turning back to her husband, she found it for herself. “You’ve made me so happy, sweetheart. And I would do anything to return the favor.”

  She looked out at the plains, the barn, the mountains. Her husband’s whole being was planted in this land—his heart, his soul. And hers was with him, always and forever.

  She’d do anything to keep the land he loved.

  Chapter 8

  It was hard for Cade to leave his dreams behind the next morning—dreams of Jess and a future he’d long thought impossible—but he folded his blanket, set it on his pillow, and stretched his legs, which ached from sleeping on a sofa so much shorter than he was.

  The sofa. Momentarily confused, he looked down at the lumpy cushions, then scanned the room for clues. Why had he slept on the sofa? His days of passing out drunk in front of the TV had ended along with his marriage to Amber Lynn.

  Amber Lynn. That’s why.

  She’d taken a shower after he’d left, all right, but then she’d gone to bed. His bed. On discovering her sleeping form, he’d backed out of the room, unwilling to sully his still-fresh memories of Jess by having an argument with his ex.

  Now, he sought refuge in the barn, taking his time feeding the horses. He brushed out a knotted tail here, checked a cut leg there. When he couldn’t delay any longer, he headed for the house, where he was welcomed by a resounding crash from the kitchen. Boogy shrank back, alarmed.


  “It’s okay, bud.”

  Reassured, the dog sniffed the air and grinned. Cade wasn’t so smiley, but he smelled something, too. Burnt toast and…was that bacon?

  The kitchen looked as if half a dozen caffeinated toddlers had invaded, spilling juice, dribbling crumbs, and sprinkling the counters liberally with flour. Or was that sugar?

  In the center of it all, Amber Lynn struck a June Cleaver pose at the stove top, presenting a plateful of food. She’d made a valiant attempt to hide her black eye with makeup, but the effect was hardly appetizing. She still looked a little like a Hollywood zombie.

  He spoke cautiously. “Somebody’s been busy.”

  “It was me.” She flashed him a thousand-watt smile. “I made breakfast.”

  “Wow.” He eyed the plate. “How’d you get the bacon so, um, shiny?”

  Her lower lip trembled, and he rushed to cover his mistake.

  “I’m just asking ’cause I haven’t seen bacon that way before,” he said. “All limp. You know, like noodles.”

  “Oh.” The frown returned. “I boiled it and boiled it, but it just wouldn’t brown.”

  He was relieved when his phone interrupted him. He checked the screen.

  Bank, it said.

  Cade’s stomach clenched. It might be about the mortgage, but more likely it was Amber Lynn’s father poking his nose in Cade’s business. Maybe he was looking for his daughter or his car. Hopefully, he’d forgotten about the horse.

  Cade almost handed the phone to his ex, then thought better of it. Walking swiftly to the bedroom, he grunted a hello.

  “Howdy there, Son!”

  Somewhere out on the endless plains, a cell tower was trembling, while here on the Walker Ranch, things were getting weirder and weirder.

  Jasper Lyle had never called Cade “Son” before. In fact, when Cade had asked for permission to wed Amber Lynn, he’d said no, calling Cade a ne’er-do-well and a country bumpkin. He’d enumerated Tom Walker’s many crimes and heaped the sins of the father on the son as if Cade would inevitably inherit every one of the old man’s vices.

  Finally, old man Lyle had decided having a punching bag for a son-in-law wasn’t such a bad thing, and besides, there was that mythical baby. He’d agreed the two should wed, but from day one, he’d berated Cade for everything Amber Lynn did, as if Cade had been the one to raise her.

  “How are things at the ranch?” Jasper Lyle asked as if he cared—and maybe he did. If Cade missed so much as one payment, the ranch would belong to the Wynott Bank and Trust, which belonged to Jasper Lyle.

  “Fine,” Cade said. “Keeping busy.”

  “Cade?” Amber Lynn hollered from the kitchen. “Who is it?”

  Twisting the lock on the bedroom door, Cade settled on the bed. Something was up here, and he was going to find out what.

  “I bet you’re busy,” Jasper Lyle said. “That’s what I always admired about you.”

  What?

  “You’re willing to work for what you want,” Lyle continued. “Bet you worked hard to win my little girl’s heart, didn’t you? Must have been a sorry day when she left you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Cade wasn’t fool enough to disagree. “But I know you disapproved of me, sir. You made that clear.”

  “Well, yes.” Lyle cleared his throat. “Seems I was wrong.”

  The world stopped turning, but only for a second. Cade guessed old Jasper had seen Amber’s black eye when he loaned her the car. He probably viewed Cade as the lesser of two evils—or however many evils Amber Lynn had managed to find.

  “It’s kind of you to say so, sir. Glad to hear I’m a step up from a man who hits women.”

  Jasper cleared his throat. “I’m saying I’m sorry, Son.”

  Well, glory hallelujah. It’s about freaking time.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I want you to know I’ve taken the note on your home loan and torn it up.”

  “You what?” Cade fell backward onto the bed as if shot.

  “You heard me, Son. That loan is paid in full.”

  Cade heard a loud thunk and pictured Jasper smacking the desktop with his hand. It was a habit, one that had always annoyed Cade. But right now, it sounded like music.

  “Is that for sure, sir? You’re not going to change your mind?”

  “You have my word. Your debt is paid.” Lyle chuckled. “Or maybe I should say my daughter’s debt.”

  Something was going on here. Jasper Lyle cared more about money than his own immortal soul. There was no way he’d forgiven Cade’s debt out of the goodness of his evil, money-grubbing heart.

  “I appreciate this, sir. I hope you know I’m careful with money, and I’ve never missed a payment.”

  “I know that, Son.” Jasper chuckled. “I also know it was my daughter’s careless spending that forced you to take out that loan. I suppose her wild ways with money are my fault. I never could say no to my little girl.” Cade heard a creak and pictured the old man leaning back in his high-backed “executive” desk chair. “But she and I’ve had a talk, and she’s promised to be more careful.”

  Cade felt a slow burn smoldering in his gut. The day he’d taken out the mortgage on the ranch had been the most shameful day of his life. The mortgage rep at Lyle’s bank, a fat man in a checked suit, had chided him mercilessly, treating him like a child with lectures on reckless spending.

  Cade’s sense of honor hadn’t allowed him to tell the man it was his wife who’d spent the money or that his wife was the bank president’s daughter. It wouldn’t have been right to tell a stranger how she’d spent most of it before he’d even met her or how Lyle refused to pay her bills because he wanted to teach her a lesson by making her husband miserable.

  Now old Jasper seemed to think it was some sort of joke. But hey, he’d torn up the loan—or so he said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “No problem. I sent you an email, Son, with the zero balance. The deed is done.” He smacked the desktop again. “Ha! Get it? The deed. It’s done.”

  “Good one.” Putting his phone on speaker, Cade checked his email. Sure enough, there was a note from Jasper Lyle. He opened it to find written confirmation: the loan was gone. Paid in full.

  “Consider it a gift on this happy occasion.”

  Cade figured the happy occasion must be Jasper getting dead drunk. Nothing but near unconsciousness could make him part with that kind of money.

  “Cade?” Amber rapped on the door. “Who is it, honey?”

  “I heard that. Better go see to the little woman.”

  “Right, sir.”

  Mr. Lyle chuckled again. He seemed to be in a chuckling mood. Or a drunk one.

  “One more thing.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “There’ll be no running off to the courthouse this time, okay?”

  The man’s tone was jocular, as if wagging a finger, but Cade had no idea what he was talking about. The courthouse? Was there some way he could sue the Lyles for damages? He’d never thought of that. But with the divorce final and the mortgage gone, it didn’t matter anymore, and he’d never been big on revenge.

  “Don’t worry, sir,” he said. “No courthouse.”

  “This time, my little girl will have the wedding of her dreams. The dress, the cake, the country club—the works. I’ll do right by you this time, Son.”

  A high, hot ringing clanged in Cade’s ears, and the slow burn deep in his stomach burst into flame.

  Surely, surely, Lyle couldn’t believe Cade would marry his daughter twice? That would be like asking an escaped circus lion to step back into its cage and get whipped a little more.

  “Son?” Lyle tapped the receiver. “You there?”

  “Ah, that’s great, sir. Amber Lynn deserves that. The wedding of her dreams.”

  “Cade,” Amber
Lynn shrieked through the door. “It’s time to eat! Get off the phone!”

  The caged lion feeling returned. He had the ringmaster on the phone, and the lady with the whip was in the kitchen. Wild calliope music rang in his head, high and off-key. Doot-doot diddle-iddle-oot-doot doo-doo…

  “I have to go, sir, but I sure appreciate this talk. And I’m grateful about the mortgage.”

  “Well, I know what it’s like trying to keep a woman in line.” Jasper huffed out a phony, man-to-man laugh. “My Mona sure does love to shop.”

  Mona. Of course. That’s what this is all about.

  Amber Lynn’s daddy had recently married for the fourth time—or was it the fifth? The woman was half his age and probably didn’t want Amber Lynn around. That’s why Jasper was desperate to unload his daughter on the nearest low-class, redneck, white-trash bum with a hovel.

  But it wasn’t going to work—not for Cade and not for Amber Lynn, who’d made it clear throughout the divorce that she hated Cade. He wondered where Lyle had gotten the idea they’d try again. It must have been a misunderstanding.

  It was time to get off the phone and tell Amber Lynn about the mistake. They’d laugh, and the incident would be over.

  Hopefully, that dead mortgage wouldn’t spring back to life when Lyle found out that no way, no how was Cade Walker taking Amber Lynn off his hands.

  Amber Lynn jiggled the doorknob. “Cade, you get out here!”

  “I’d better go,” Cade said to Jasper.

  “Sure, sure.” His ex-father-in-law let out a laugh that set Cade’s teeth on edge. “Get back to my daughter. You’re one lucky son of a bitch, Walker, you know that? When she told me, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather.”

  “Wait. She told you we were getting married?”

  “Sure, Son. Did you think a little birdie told me?”

  No wonder Amber Lynn wanted him off the phone. She probably knew it was her daddy, calling before she’d had time to spring some trap she’d set.

  “I sure was surprised,” Jasper said.

  “Yeah. I’m surprised, too.”