Coulda Been a Cowboy

Tyson realized he was still sitting in the back of the cab, staring at the house. “No, thanks.”

He paid the man, then waited as the cabby pulled his suitcase out of the trunk. The plane ride from Los Angeles to Boise hadn’t been that long, but Tyson still felt cramped, rumpled and exhausted. Probably because the days he’d spent in California had been a nightmare. When he appeared in court after being served, Rachelle had presented the picture of him scaling her fence and claimed he’d been calling her night and day and had nearly broken down her door in an attempt to “get to her.” With her bodyguard there to give witness, the judge had granted the restraining order. Tyson had requested a meeting so they could come to some sort of agreement, but Rachelle refused to talk to him unless he was willing to hand over the baby.

What really upset him was that she wasn’t acting out of regret for having given up her child. Regret he could understand, maybe even forgive. Regret was what a normal mother would be feeling. But Rachelle still cared more about the money than Braden. She hadn’t offered Tyson a dime of his money back. Instead, she’d been spotted all over Beverly Hills, laughing and shopping with her best friend.

“It’ll be a cold day in hell when I give in to her,” he muttered.

“Excuse me?” the cabby said. The squat, fifty-something-year-old had a hold of his luggage and was prepared to bring it to the house.

“I’ve got this.” Tyson gave him a hefty tip and took the suitcase.

“All right, then. Have a good night, Mr. Garnier. It was a pleasure driving you. You call me any time you need a cab, you hear? I’ll come from Boise if you want. Just like tonight. No problem.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Okay. You be careful with that knee now,” the cabby called after him. “I can’t wait till next season. I’m a big Stingrays fan. Purple and silver. Those are my colors, too. To me, those are as American as red, white and blue. But you’ve got some work yet to do. Jerry Rice still holds a few of those receiving records.”