Phantom Waltz

by Catherine Anderson

  “He always like this?” Jake asked.

  Ryan considered the question. “Nah. Only when he gets royally pissed.”

  “Then, call the judge!” Keefe roared. “Get the damn bail set! I’m not leaving my boys in the hoosegow all night! You got that, partner?”

  Ryan flashed a weak grin at Jake. “Congratulations. You just got yourself a second daddy. Ain’t he a dandy?”

  They both heard a woman’s voice rise over the din just then. “No, Keefe, please! I’m all right.”

  Keefe yelled, “Don’t push my wife, you cocky little jackass!”

  “Keefe, please!” Ann cried again.

  A loud crash followed. Jake raised his eyebrows, fixed an alarmed look on Ryan, and whispered, “Holy hell, I think your dad just punched a police officer.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sly had noticed Bethany’s gray van sitting out front when he entered the stable, so, he wasn’t surprised to hear her talking to her horse. However, he was surprised when he realized she was crying as if her heart would break. With all the Kendricks at city hall, he was a lone soldier at the moment. Sly didn’t mix any too good with weepy females.

  That being the case, he considered leaving. Turning around, walking out. It seemed like a good plan, but when he reached the doors, the sound of her sobs grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He stopped and slowly turned back, not entirely sure what he meant to do, but feeling as if he had to do something.

  Once he reached the stall gate, he wasn’t sure how to let her know he was there. She sat with her back to him, her face pressed against her mare’s chest. Sly rubbed his jaw and then said, “Kinda looks like rain. Don’t it?”

  She jumped as if he’d jabbed her with a cattle prod. Then she hurriedly rubbed her cheeks before turning to look at him. From the first, Sly had thought she was a pretty little gal, but he hadn’t really seen why the boy was so taken with her. Now he did. Them eyes of hers were flat something, damned near as big as flapjacks and bluer than blue.

  “Sly! I, um—you startled me. I didn’t know anybody was here.”

  He rested an arm on top of the gate. “Just came over to feed the stock. Ryan ain’t around to take care of it tonight.”

  “I know. He’s—in jail.” Her face crumpled. “And it’s all my fault.”

  That wasn’t the half of it. Could be she hadn’t heard about Ryan’s daddy yet, though, and Sly wasn’t about to tell her. “Well, now, don’t take too much blame. That boy’s a scrapper, always has been. He come by it kinda natural. Ain’t like he just up and caught a bad case of the orneries after he met you.”

  She wiped her cheeks. As soon as she finished, another big tear spilled out. She dabbed at her nose with a tattered tissue that had more holes than a noodle sieve. Sly dug in his hip pocket for his handkerchief. After checking to be sure it was clean, he opened the gate and stepped inside to hand it to her.

  “Here, honey. It’s a little dusty but otherwise clean.”

  “Oh, I—” She stared at the blue bandanna for a second. Then she hesitantly plucked it from his fingers. “Thank you.”

  Sly hunkered, sifting through the hay while she blew her nose. “I couldn’t help but hear you when I came in. Is there anything I can do?”

  She took a quivery breath. “I wish there was. I feel so bad, Sly.” Her mouth trembled and twisted. “Ryan’s mom and dad are going to hate me.”

  “Aw, now, that ain’t likely. This is just one of them things. Been kind of borin’ around here of late. You sure enough fixed that.”

  “I guess I have.” She dabbed the corners of her eyes. “All I wanted to do was talk to another woman. What a disaster. I was hoping to solve a problem, not create a new one.”

  “That’s how it happens sometimes. The hurrier you go, the behinder you get.”

  She smiled and nodded. “I definitely didn’t solve anything, that’s for sure.”

  Sly searched her face. She looked so lonely sitting there, with only her horse for company. “Don’t you have any friends, honey?”

  She shrugged. “Dozens up in Portland, just not many here yet. I haven’t been back very long, and until just recently, all my time was taken up helping my brother at the store. There’s Ryan, of course.” She blew her nose again. “I can’t talk to him. If only Kate would have gone with me for coffee. But, oh, no. We had to go to a stupid bar.”

  Sly smoothed the hay in front of him. He couldn’t help but feel bad for her. “If you got a particular problem that needs solvin’, maybe I can help.”

  “Thank you, Sly. That’s very sweet. But it’s—well, of a delicate nature, a feminine concern. That’s probably not your field of expertise.”

  “With a name like Sly Bob, there ain’t much about females I ain’t expert on,” he informed her with a wink.

  “Sly Bob?”

  “Short for Sylvester Bob, last name Glass. Down home, I harkened to Sly Bob.”

  “Is Galias a Mexican-American surname?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “No, darlin’, it’s Glass, not Galias.”

  “I’m not detecting a difference in the pronunciations. How is that spelled?”

  “Just like it sounds, G-L-A-S-S.”

  Flattening a dainty hand over her chest, she burst out laughing, tears spilling over her lower lashes when she scrunched her eyes almost closed. “Just lack it sigh-yoonds?” she repeated, shaking her head. “G-Ale-A-Ayus-Ayus?” When her mirth subsided, she said, “Oh, Sly.” She dabbed at her cheeks. “Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I feel better already.”

  “I’m glad I lightened your load.”

  She smiled. “Considerably. So, tell me, how did Sylvester Bob Glass get shortened to Sly Bob? Someone didn’t like you, or what?”

  “Nah. It was the way in them parts, shortenin’ boys’ names, oft times to the first and middle initials, and my mama didn’t like folks callin’ me by mine.”

  Her brow furrowed in a frown, then understanding dawned in her eyes and she nodded. “Ah. I can see why she might have taken exception.”

  “Anyhow, she took to callin’ me Sly Bob, and it stuck. I got teased a lot, and somewhere along the way, I started livin’ up to the handle. Bad decision on my part, but it led to lots of interestin’ experiences until I was nigh onto forty.”

  “Then you settled down?”

  “Nope. Just got tuckered. Women have a way of flat wearin’ a man out.”

  She rewarded him with another smile. Sly was glad she had at least stopped crying. “I appreciate your offering to lend me an ear. But it’s not the sort of thing I can talk to a man about. Especially not you. You might tell Ryan.”

  “I ain’t given to talkin’ out of school, not to Ryan or anybody else.”

  “I couldn’t ask that of you. I know you’re very close to him.”

  Watching her expressions, Sly got a funny, achy feeling at the base of his throat. There were all different kinds of lonely, and he had a feeling this girl had been nose to nose with most of them. She was also very troubled about something, and unless he missed his guess, it had to do with Ryan. Sly loved that boy like a son. “It won’t be the first secret I ever kept from Ryan.”

  She blushed and shook her head. “No. I just—it’s too personal. I’d just—no. I couldn’t.”

  Sly thought for a minute. “You ain’t the only one who could use a friend, you know. Here of late, I got me a problem of my own.”

  Her eyes filled with concern. “You do?”

  “Yep. Cain’t talk to anybody in the family about it.” Sly rubbed a hand over his mouth. “They get wind of this, and I’m liable to get my walkin’ papers.”

  “The Kendricks would never fire you. You’re like a member of the family.”

  “Just goes to show how bad a problem I got, I reckon.” He met her gaze. “Tellin’ secrets has gotta go two ways. You wanna do a swap?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. As I said, I’d feel funny, talking to you about mine.”

  Wink stepped over an
d began pestering Sly for a scratch between the ears. He absentmindedly obliged the mare as he said, “No call to feel funny talkin’ to me, honey. There ain’t nothin’ that shocks this old man.”

  She went to twisting on the handkerchief, her fingers clenching so hard that her knuckles turned white. “Yes, well, this is about sex.” She leaned closer to whisper that last word as if she feared someone else might overhear.

  “Sex?” Sly chuckled. “Well, now, you are in luck. I might’ve scratched my head a little on some subjects, but I’m sure enough an expert on that one. I’ve hung my britches on so many bedposts, I once wore a post hole in the seat of my jeans.”

  Her eyes widened. “My goodness. Did you really?”

  He narrowed an eye at her. “No, not for true. I did wear a white spot, though. Anything you wanna know on that subject, I’m the feller to ask.”

  “I suppose getting a man’s viewpoint might be helpful.”

  “I qualify on that count. Definitely a man, last time I checked. So what do you say? Wanna swap problems?”

  She smiled slightly, then took a bracing breath. “All right. But only if you share yours first.”

  “Do I got your word you won’t never tell? Nary a soul.”

  “Nary a soul,” she agreed.

  Sly shoved Wink away and ran his finger under his shirt collar. Then he cleared his throat. His voice went gravelly as he said, “You met Helen, Maggie’s mother.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, her and me, we’re being friendly on the sly, no pun intended. If anyone find’s out, it could cost me my job at the Rocking K. Helen ain’t quite normal, you see.”

  When he finished speaking, she stared at him in stunned silence for several seconds. “Oh, Sly. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Ain’t much you can say, I don’t guess.” He released a pent-up breath. “Unless it’s to call me a lowdown polecat for triflin’ with her.”

  “Never that, Sly. I think she’s a very lucky lady.”

  “You don’t think I’m doin’ wrong?”

  “Not if you truly care for her. If you were only using her, then, yes, I think it would be very wrong. But it doesn’t sound to me as if that’s the case.”

  “I feel powerful better, just gettin’ it off my chest. They all trust me, you see, and in the thirty-odd years I’ve worked on this spread, I ain’t never broken that trust. Keefe and me—we go way back. When he first started this place, I was his right-hand man, and I been here ever since. Stood up for him when he married Annie. Helped raise both them boys.” He took off his hat to turn it in his hands. “I tried to keep my hands off her. I knowed she wasn’t right and maybe looked at me through a child’s eyes, so I tried my damnedest. But the sad fact is, a man don’t always choose who he loves. It just up and bites him on the ass.”

  “Does she love you?”

  A burning sensation washed over Sly’s eyes. “She thinks I can rope the moon. Could be that’s why I love her so. Been a lot of women. None to speak of recent like, but a goodly number in my younger days. Nobody’s ever looked at me like that.” He tried to think of a way to explain. “When I talk, she listens, all interested like. Follows on my heels like a lost puppy whenever I’m over at Rafe’s place. I ain’t got a whole lot of schoolin’, and lots of folks think I’m dumb. She admires me and thinks I’m smart. That makes me feel real good, and seein’ the shine in her eyes when she looks at me, I walk a mite taller in my boots.”

  Bethany leaned forward to touch his hand. “Oh, Sly. I think maybe you’re underestimating Ryan. If I understand how you feel, don’t you think he will? He’s got a good heart.”

  Sly enclosed her dainty fingers in his. “He does, at that. But the Kendricks, they’re peculiar about their womenfolk. Step over the line in that respect, and they get downright testy.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I don’t like sneakin’ around, but I cain’t see no other way. If they find out, the shit’ll hit the fan. I’d marry her, of course. Ain’t no way I’ll have my Helen hangin’ her head. Maybe she ain’t real bright no more, but she’s as fine a lady as there is.”

  “Oh, Sly, it goes without saying that you’d marry her. Perhaps that’s the solution to this dilemma. Have you considered that? The Kendricks hold you in high regard, and you’d make Helen a fine husband.”

  “They won’t hold me in high regard when they find out I been cozyin’ up to Helen. Them thinkin’ she ain’t right, they’re all-fired protective. Chances are, they’ll can me. That’s the policy here, no messin’ with the women. I’d be without a job. How could I care for her? A man’s gotta have work in order to do right by a woman, and someone pretty and fine like Helen deserves pretty and fine things. She ain’t stupid, you understand. Or retarded, like. She’s just slower to get there than other folks.”

  Bethany bent her head, her dark hair falling forward to hide her face. “I’m glad you told me.” She glanced up to smile. “I know my vote isn’t worth much, but I think it’s wonderful that the two of you have found each other, and I hope you find a way to be together the way you should be.”

  Sly’s voice turned gruff. “Thank you for that. Your vote means a powerful lot to me.”

  “I’ll tell you something else. Just because you have little formal education, that doesn’t mean you haven’t been to school. It was simply a different kind.”

  He grinned and winked at her. “I’m beginnin’ to see why that boy’s been like a pup chasin’ its tail since meetin’ you. Always did figure him for smart. Just didn’t know how smart.”

  “Thank you, Sly. That’s a lovely compliment.”

  “Sincerely meant. Now, enough about my problem. You gonna tell me about yours?”

  After a great deal of hemming and hawing, she managed to do that. Sly scratched his head, after all, and almost wished he hadn’t struck this bargain. “Well, now, that there is a whopper. No feelin’ at all, you say?”

  “Some here and there, but nothing seems to work right,” she said hollowly. “I really don’t mind that. Just being with Ryan is enough for me. I’m just afraid it won’t be enough for him.”

  “If he loves you, it will. If he don’t, you’re well out of it. No marriage can work without love, honey, and lots of it. There are always problems. You ain’t alone in that.”

  “I just want to make him as happy as I can. That’s all.”

  Sly could understand that. Nothing made him feel better than to make his Helen smile. “Makin’ a man happy is a pretty simple thing. You just follow your nose and find out over time what he likes and what he don’t like. As for the other, I can’t say I ever seen a woman fake it, leastwise not so’s it was obvious. But I can tell you how they go on when they’re really likin’ it.”

  She fixed him with a hopeful look. “Can you?”

  Sly held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.”

  He had a bad feeling this might call for more showing than telling. He did most things better when he was stone-cold sober, but going on like a woman having an orgasm wasn’t going to be one of them. He hurried to the office, fetched his flask, and returned to the stall posthaste.

  An hour later when Ryan got home, he spotted Bethany’s van. As he walked across the paved yard, he heard what sounded like a coyote inside the stable, gearing up to howl at the moon. What the hell? The instant he entered the building, he heard Sly’s drawl. He followed the noises to Wink’s stall, where he found Bethany and the foreman howling and laughing like fools.

  Ryan hung back for a moment. Sly, who looked snockered, sat with his back to the wall, one knee bent to provide himself with an armrest. The foreman watched Bethany throw her head back and make odd noises, then he chuckled, shook his head, and said, “Not like that, darlin’. He’ll dose you with pectate.”

  “Oh, Sly,” Bethany said with a discouraged sigh, “will I ever get it right?”

  “We’re gettin’ there,” he assured her.

  Ryan had seen enough to get the gist of what was going on. It seemed that his failings
as a lover had become a main topic of discussion today. If everyone in Crystal Falls hadn’t heard the story by noon tomorrow, maybe Bethany could post an add in the Examiner to get the word out.

  He leaned against the stall gate. “Is this a private party?”

  Bethany jumped with a guilty start. “Ryan!” she cried. “You’re home.”

  He nodded. “Rafe called an attorney. First sane thing anybody did all day. The judge finally set our bail. Jake is out, too.”

  Sly angled him a look. “And your daddy?”

  “Nope. The judge said he could cool his heels in there for the night. Punching a cop doesn’t go over real well at city hall.”

  A horrified gasp escaped Bethany. “Your father struck a cop?”

  “The guy had it coming. He was going for Dad, and in order to reach him, he shoved my mother out of the way. She hit her hip on the corner of the desk. Bruised her up pretty bad. Dad cold-cocked the little creep.”

  “Oh, no. That’s a serious offense, Ryan.”

  “They’ll never make the charges stick. Rafe took Mom to the ER for X rays. The injury is documented, and your dad and two of your brothers were there as witnesses. The cop was out of line.” Ryan shrugged. “He got off lucky. If that first punch hadn’t knocked him out, Dad would have stomped him.”

  “That’s your daddy,” Sly agreed with a nod. “If he hits a man and he don’t go down, I’m gonna check behind the son of a gun to see what’s holdin’ him up.”

  Ryan moved into the stall and sat beside Sly. He gave Bethany a long look. “Don’t let me interrupt. Sounded like you were having a lot of fun.”

  “Oh, we were about finished. Weren’t we, Sly?”

  “Yep. I think we was about done, all right.”

  Ryan smiled. “I don’t know which of you sounded the sickest. No offense, but I think you need a little more practice to get it down right, honey. You start that howling and panting around me, and I’m gonna call the paramedics.”

  Bethany threw an appalled glance at Sly. The foreman pushed to his feet and screwed the lid back on the flask. “Well, I reckon that’s my cue to scat.” He kissed her forehead. “G’night, honey. If this young whippersnapper gets his ornery up, don’t pay him a whole lot of mind. He’s all growl and no bite.”