Chapter 9

Dodge let lukewarm water splash directly in his face before he shut off the shower and reached for a towel. He hadn’t slept well the last few nights. He’d hoped the nearly cold water would allow him to wake up enough to shake off the dreams that had haunted him at night. He’d fall into bed exhausted from a day’s hard labor. Sometime after midnight, he’d sit up with a start, jolted awake and gasping for breath. His skin would be coated in a slick sheen of sweat and Wendy Hawkins angelic face the only recollection of his nightmare.

He could see her as clearly as if she’d been seated on the bed next to him, her golden blonde ringlets shining in the moonlight. She always wore the same wide eyed look on her face when she’d silently begged him to go along with her story and change the course of his life forever.

While he’d aged appropriately in his thirty-eight years of living, she’d remained the same, frozen in his memories as a shy nineteen-year-old. She used to run around in the shadow of his older sister, Isabel, sneaking glances his way when she thought he wasn’t looking. There were very few occasions when he hadn’t been looking and wondering how the soft roundness of her body would feel against all the hard planes of his.

He’d been eighteen, a senior in high school, and willing to jump on anything remotely female. There’d been something about Wendy, the way she’d pretend to ignore him and then go out of her way to rub against him or flash a bit of skin in the most innocent way. He’d endured almost a year of her harmless flirtation. He’d wanted her as badly as he’d wanted Mary Lynn Fletcher, the first of many girlfriends who’d finally agreed to let him have her when they were both fifteen.

Wendy was a tease. One night at the local pub, a place where the legal drinking age depended on how much money you slipped the bartender, he saw a golden opportunity with Wendy. She was there alone, or appeared to be when he first saw her. With the help of several beers, he’d decided to give her what, in his mind, she’d been begging to have for months.

As he sauntered to the table where she sat nursing a bottle of Miller Lite, intent on picking the label off with her hot pink fingernail, he was stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the most intimidating man he’d ever seen. Dodge was big at eighteen, measuring in at near his present six-three, all sinewy muscle and lanky limbs. But he had nothing on the massive man who seemed to pound across the smoky bar and take the seat opposite Wendy in the dimly lit booth. Wendy smiled at him, that shy smile Dodge thought she’d reserved for him. She reached her hand across the table to link their fingers. His hands were big enough to crush her skull in his palm. Dodge stood there, right in the middle of the bar, flanked by feeble dancers and posters of exotic women in beer ads, just watching his innocent Wendy offer herself up to another.

And that’s where his friend Tommy Thornton found him, staring into the booth.

“What’s up, man?” Tommy’d asked, then let his gaze follow Dodge’s stare. Wendy and the monster were not only joined at the hands but were making serious attempts to molest each other with their legs under the table. “Whoa. Is that Wendy Hawkins? Damn, who’s that guy she’s with? He’s not from around here.”

Dodge couldn’t answer. He and Tommy stood rooted to their spots, gaping as Wendy and her new friend eased out of the booth and out the back door toward the parking lot.

“Do you think we should follow her? Make sure she’s okay?” Tommy asked. He was as innocent as any sheltered Hailey boy. Watching one of its better known young girls ushered out the back of a bar in the arms of a leather-clad unknown didn’t sit quite right.

“Yeah, I guess,” Dodge said.

They went out the same door the man had pressed Wendy’s back against when he pushed her outside. It had just swung closed when they saw Wendy in the passenger seat of an old Chevy Malibu, dented from one end to the next, snuggled up against the stranger. She spotted Dodge watching from the back alley and actually blew a kiss in his direction and laughed as the car pulled away from the lot.

“Damn, I never thought I’d see the day sweet Wendy Hawkins took a walk on the wild side,” Tommy said as he emerged from Dodge’s shadow. “Do you think she knows what she’s doing?”

Dodge watched the trail of exhaust from the Malibu’s tailpipe disappear into the cold spring night and shrugged his shoulders. “I would’ve wondered until she blew that kiss. I sure didn’t see that one coming.”

That was the last time he’d seen Wendy before she weaved a tale so contorted, so believable, it’d caught him like a fish on a line. Her lies broke every allegiance he’d formed with family and friends. Her one night’s walk on the wild side had cost a lot of people their pride and faith, and had left Dodge wondering how his family could be so quick to turn their backs on him.

As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, Dodge felt that same hardening in his belly he’d felt that night. He kneaded his side from habit after all these years, and tried to ease the weight that had settled there, heavier now than he remembered.

He’d considered driving out to her gravesite one Sunday after he’d been back in town for a few weeks. The dreams had started up again as soon as he’d returned to Hailey. He thought maybe if he went to her gravesite he could somehow make things right between the two of them. Maybe she’d let him have his peace at night. But he hadn’t done it, and knew he wouldn’t. If anyone saw him at her grave, they’d assume he was guilty. He already felt enough guilt where Wendy Hawkins was concerned. Besides, his dad was getting on in years. He still ranched, but the years were wearing on him. Dodge didn’t want old news rearing its ugly head again in what could be Donnie Dodge’s last few years. He’d carried the burden around long enough.

Dodge dressed quickly and went into the kitchen he only used for making coffee and storing beer. He let the heat of the coffee mug fill his hands, leaned against the old Formica countertops and thought about the time he’d spent at the Woodward ranch the day before. He smiled as he remembered the way Sarah screamed when his gentlest horse had whinnied while she’d petted his muzzle. That woman sure was jumpy around horses. She’d pretend to be fine and all the while have that scared look on her face. She’d damn near rubbed a hole in her jeans wiping her sweaty palms. He’d tried to be exasperated with her but he was just too entertained to be annoyed.

It hadn’t taken long to explore the property on the other side of the river, a vastly overgrown area ripe for grazing. Every time he stepped foot on the property he was surprised at its potential. He found himself itching to help her turn it into the showplace it was destined to become. He thought of Kevin, who’d done everything he could to irritate his mother. The kid was the polar opposite of his brother. Dodge saw shades of himself as a teenager in the gangly boy. The tension between Kevin and Sarah was so strong, he felt as though there was actual wattage in the air. He had to give Sarah credit, she certainly stood her ground with the kid. She had a long, hard road with that one.

And then there was Jenny. She’d watched him like a hawk, staring and making all sorts of sexual innuendos. She had an agenda, that was clear, but what she wanted he just couldn’t put his finger on. They’d had a nice dinner and he’d let the boys ride his horses. Lyle even helped load them back in the trailer while Kevin sulked and watched from a distance.

He rubbed his hands over his face, dumped the rest of his coffee into a thermos and headed out the door for another day of work.

###

Sarah carefully placed the phone in the cradle and turned to face her sister as she put the milk from breakfast in the refrigerator.

“Who was that?” Jenny asked. “And why do you look so worried?”

Sarah let her body fall into a barstool and shook her head. “That was Luis, the guy Paula recommended for the caretakers job. He’s changed his mind. He doesn’t want it.”

“So. Get someone else.”

“It’s not that easy. He was the only person Paula recommended and no one’s even called about my ad in the paper.” She shrugged her shoulders and rolled her neck from side to side to ease the tension that had settled there since Paula’s call. “I just don’t get it. He seemed real excited when we talked yesterday. He loved the house and said he’d be out today to do some repairs on the roof and fix the broken window. Now he’s just changed his mind. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

Jenny came around the bar and sat down next to Sarah. “Maybe his wife wasn’t as keen on the idea as he was.”

“He wasn’t married. He had a few cousins who were going to live there with him. Paula said they were good guys, that I’d be lucky to have them all working together. Damn it, now I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you call Dodge and see if he can help?”

“No, he’s helped enough. I’ll just have to run the ad again, maybe put it in a couple of the surrounding papers and see what happens. I guess it doesn’t matter because the fences won’t be in until next week anyway. But I was hoping to have someone settled and ready to go by then.”

A loud horn blow from the garage had them both jumping in surprise. “I’m coming.” Sarah shouted down the stairs. “I forgot the boys were waiting.”

Jenny got up and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Go on, Sarah. If you’re going to get the kids to school this morning you need to get a move on.”

###

Hailey Junior-Senior high school sat on another rural offshoot of the Rifle Range, nestled among surrounding farms with circular pivots and stacks of hay piled in fields as far as the eye could see. The school consisted of a series of average sized two-story brick buildings, reminiscent of the old Atlanta city schools that had been torn down or remodeled into urban lofts or office buildings. From the road, Sarah saw a football field with small bleachers, an adequately maintained baseball field and metal outbuildings that she assumed were used by the physical fitness department. There were a handful of busses unloading children. She watched them talk in small groups and wander into the main hall of the building. The school was a fraction of the size of their school back home, a fact Kevin groaned loudly about as they pulled into the parking lot.

“I don’t know why you’re making us start school now when we’ve already finished up the year at home. They’ll be done in two weeks anyway.”

“I just want you to get the lay of the land and maybe make some friends before the summer begins. I spoke with the school counselor and she agreed it was a good idea.” When Kevin rolled his eyes, Sarah put the car in park and turned to face him. “Think of it this way. You don’t have to do any homework or take any tests. You’re just there to make friends and get to know your way around. Make the most of it,” she said as Kevin and Lyle piled out of the truck and walked slowly toward the building.

She stayed in the spot until the metal door closed sharply behind Lyle. Maybe if Kevin met an attractive girl or two it would ease his acceptance of the situation. She’d tried several times to talk with him about Jessica, his mystery girlfriend back home. He’d shut her down with a look. She hoped Dodge was right about her hearing about his girlfriends before he got home from school, because otherwise she didn’t think she’d ever find out.

The tension between them hadn’t eased and would probably get worse when Jenny left in a few days. Sarah knew she needed to stay strong, as Jenny suggested. But with every new experience the boys faced, her apprehension worsened and hiding it was becoming really hard. She’d have to tuck it away, absorb it for awhile until her sons figured out they weren’t going back to Atlanta and accepted life there for what it was meant to be: simple, quiet, and intended to bring them together as a family, not drive them further apart.

###

Benji sat in his office on the second floor of the renovated train depot building in southern Colorado’s largest town of Westmoreland. He was sporting both a hangover and the sweet scent of revenge. He’d just gotten off the phone with Mac McGill, the Valley’s principal land owner and A.J. Dodge’s current landlord. What a stroke of luck. Benji sat back in the worn leather of his office chair and swiveled around to look out the window. He changed his mind when the afternoon light splintered through the cherry wood blinds.

He turned back to put his feet on his desk and thought about McGill. Benji had bailed the guy’s kid brother out of some major trouble a few years back and Mac owed him big. It’d only taken a phone call to get Mac to agree to terminate the lease Dodge had on his biggest property, over a thousand acres, the home base of his cattle operation. Benji knew Dodge would struggle to find a place to lease when Mac gave him the boot. He only wished he could be there to see the look on Dodge’s face when he got the news. Damn, it felt good to get even with that son of a bitch and at the same time keep Dodge so busy with his own cow operation he wouldn’t have time to help Sarah Woodward.

With Dodge out of the picture, he needed to create a few more obstacles for Mrs. Woodward, speed along her decision to sell. He’d already arranged for her ranch hand to quit, an easy task considering the guy’s cousins were all illegal. And he’d be able to think a lot clearer now if he hadn’t downed nearly a fifth of Jack Daniels at a fundraiser last night. But with his wife in tow, it was easier to drown her out by drowning in liquor. A little hangover was nothing compared to listening to her whine all night. He reached inside the armoire for a splash of liquor to take the bite out of his throbbing headache.

###

“Hey there, handsome.” Jenny approached Dodge after he’d crammed his cell phone back into his coat pocket. She’d spotted him right away, ranting and raving into the phone on the small downtown sidewalk, not caring or noticing that he was causing a scene. She’d been enjoying a scone and a latte at the only coffee shop in town. When two ladies came through the door, she could hear him screaming until the door closed and it was back to the show of arm flailing and boot kicking. Damn, that was one mad cowboy. Jenny was never one to mind her own business. She slipped the last bite of scone in her mouth, grabbed her purse and headed across the two-lane road. She drew near Dodge just as he’d ended the call.

“What do you want?” he said.

“Problems in hick town?” He was fun to poke at, and with him in a snit, she’d get a better handle on him as a possible partner for her sister. Sarah was interested in Dodge. Jenny knew her sister was attracted the moment she failed to mention him in the days before Jenny brought the boys to town. All Sarah had to do was mention his name once, just once, and she’d be able to believe her sister’s claim she wasn’t interested. But the fact that she kept him a secret was proof positive she was attracted and didn’t know what to do. Hell, who wouldn’t be attracted to the big man in front of her, so mad now she could almost see steam rising from under his dirty hat.

“I don’t have time for you right now, Jenny. We’ll have to play games with each other another time.” He reached into his coat for the phone he’d just put away.

Humm, he was smart enough to know they were playing games. She watched him scroll through the numbers on his cell, his dark brows drawn tightly together, annoyance shooting off him like rays from a light bulb. “You seem a little stressed. I know a sure-fire way of relieving stress. If you’re interested.” That ought to get his attention.

“Are you kidding me?” He moved around her to get into his truck.

Jenny stepped off the curb and leaned into the open passenger window. “Could I bother you for a ride? Sarah won’t be around to pick me up for an hour and your little downtown area isn’t as entertaining as I’d expected.”

Dodge pulled his phone away from his ear. “Sherry Barton gives a hell of a manicure, or so I hear. Go kill an hour of her time and leave me alone.”

“My, my, you’re testy today. While I do need a manicure,” she looked at what was left of the nail job she’d gotten at the club before coming to Hailey, “I’m afraid the standards of hygiene there may be less than I’m accustomed. But I will take that ride.” She hopped into the seat next to him and watched his jaw go slack before tightening into a scowl in a matter of seconds. He was too much of a gentleman to throw her from the truck. He was stuck with her and none too happy. Dodge ripped the truck into reverse and gunned it out of his spot.

###

Dodge had been just about to dig into the chili burger in front of him at the diner when his cell rang and he answered the call from Mac McGill. And now, less than ten minutes later, he hadn’t had lunch and he didn’t have a home. He still didn’t understand. Why the hell would Mac break the lease they’d agreed on amicably only two months before? He’d even said he’d pay the penalty for terminating the lease agreement early. But what good did that do when, as of next week, Dodge wouldn’t have a home or a place for his cattle?

Damn it, why now? Moving his cows would be a huge pain in the ass, and he had no idea where he’d move them. And Mac knew that. He hadn’t even bothered to explain, just said it had to be done and that was that. Damn it. He needed to make some phone calls, figure out who had land for lease, do something, anything but drive little miss big city back to her sister’s ranch. Women.

“So,” she said. “Are you going to tell me what’s gotten you in such a foul mood, or should I just chalk it up to small town boredom?”

Dodge shook his head and stared straight ahead at the pavement of the Rifle Range. Just a few more miles and he’d drop her at the front gate so she could walk the three miles back to the house in her ridiculous heeled sandals. Ha. It would serve her right after jumping in his truck. She was old enough to know not every man walked around twenty-four hours a day ruled by his dick. A good many men, yes, but not all. No wonder she wasn’t married.

“You’re a man of few words.”

He screeched to a halt by the empty caretakers home and hit the unlock button on the door. “Here’s a few words. Get out.”

“Here? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m pulling away in exactly five seconds, so if you don’t want your walk home to get any farther, I suggest you get out now.”

“Fine,” she said. “But pissing me off is no way to get in my sister’s good graces.” She slammed the door and turned quickly to avoid the spray of gravel as he peeled away from the drive.