The Cowboy Way

“It’s so nice to meet you. I feel like I know you already from Kevin’s letter,” Emily said.

Beth let herself relax and enjoy the warm greeting. There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t wish she had a mother who would hug her like that and who she could talk to and confide in, especially now, when she was so worried about Kevin. But Carla Tisdale Phillips O’Brien Fontelli had never been that kind of mother, and she never hugged.

“Welcome, Kevin!” Emily said as the boy beamed up at her. She bent down and gave him a hug too. “I have you in the Trail Boss Cabin. That’s the far one in those big pine trees. It has a lot of privacy. Now come into my kitchen for a bite to eat, and Jake will drop your bags inside the cabin. That okay with you, Jake?”

“Sure.”

“Then come back for a bite to eat when you’re done,” she added.

“I have to talk to Joe and check on the mustang. Then I’ll be in,” Jake replied. “After that, I promised Kevin that he could pick out his horse for the week. Then I’m going to show him and his mom around the ranch.”

He looked at Beth and tweaked his hat brim. She watched as he walked away. His limp was more prominent now. His shirt didn’t have a wrinkle on it as it stretched across broad shoulders and a muscled back.

Most of all, Jake Dixon was born to wear jeans.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Beth told Jake as she looked out at the grounds of the Gold Buckle Ranch from the porch of the Trail Boss Cabin. “So big. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The mountains seemed closer now and rocky. Those in the far distance had a cap of snow. The ranch was nestled in a valley with pine trees to the right and a field of grass that reached to the mountains to the left. Among the pines, a dozen little log cabins were strung along a glittering creek like charms on a bracelet.

The Trail Boss Cabin, deep in the pines, was postcard perfect. It was made out of rough logs, pine probably. Lacy curtains graced the windows, in stark contrast to the rugged logs. Two rocking chairs and a hammock were on the porch, just begging to be occupied.

Hundreds of cows and a dozen horses lowered their heads to graze on a slight hill about a half mile away. Closer were several other buildings of different shapes and sizes. The biggest was the barn with a corral to the side of it. Horses grouped together under the shade of several large trees. Some looked over the fence as if they, too, were awaiting guests.

She took a deep breath. The air was pure and held the scent of pine.

The Trail Boss Cabin was just as cute inside as she had thought it would be. It had two bedrooms and a screened-in back porch overlooking the creek. Pink geranium ivy cascaded from terra-cotta pots on the steps leading down from the porch. She could hear the rushing stream behind and on the right side of the cabin. Like all of the other cabins, it had a wheelchair ramp.

Inside, a stone fireplace took over one wall of the living room, which flowed into the kitchen. The appliances were old but brilliantly clean. The inside walls were varnished, knotty pine planks, aged to a golden hue. The bedrooms and the bathroom were down a small hall.

“Hey, Mom, it’s bigger than our apartment,” Kevin yelled from one of the bedrooms.

“It seems like it is.”

“Wouldn’t you like to stay here forever?” Kevin came toward her, the wheels of his chair rolling effortlessly down the hardwood floor.

Beth sighed. It was a homey place in which to live. So calm, so quiet. It seemed like she could reach out and touch the mountains. However, she had to make a living and that living was in Lizard Rock, Arizona.

Heaven knows, she had enough bills to pay. She lived free at the apartments and received a small salary for being the rental agent and manager, but she had to be there to do her job. She was lucky that Inez, her boss, had given her this time off. Unfortunately, it was without pay, and that was going to set her budget plans back to the Stone Age.

“That’s not possible, Kevin,” she said. “I have a job back in Arizona and you have school. Remember, this is just a vacation.”

“But if we lived here, it would be like a vacation all the time,” Kevin said. “Huh, Jake?”

Jake deposited their suitcases near the kitchen table. “Running a ranch is a lot of work, Kev. Not every day is a vacation.”

Beth could have hugged him for that answer.

“But there’s not a better job in the world,” Jake added. “Other than riding bulls. And there’s no state prettier than Wyoming.”

If only he had stopped while he was ahead.

They walked back onto the porch, and Beth sat down in one of the rocking chairs. Jake stood by Kevin’s side near the railing.

Kevin pointed to a long building. “That’s the bunkhouse. Right, Jake? I wish I could stay there with the cowboys tonight—”

“The Trail Boss Cabin is perfectly fine,” Beth interrupted before Jake could even answer. She might as well nip that idea in the bud.

When Wheelchair Rodeo started in a couple of days, he’d be moving into the bunkhouse with the other boys in the program, and that was soon enough. Besides, Beth still had mixed feelings about Kevin leaving her watchful eye.

“How many cowboys work here, Mr. Dixon?” she asked, trying to be polite but secretly hoping that he’d disappear. Surely, there were other guests who needed his attention.

“That depends. The door is always open to cowboys who are healing from their injuries, or those who need a place to stay for whatever reason. Mostly, they stop by for a few days for some of my mother’s pies or Cookie’s cooking. In exchange for room and board, they help out around the place.”

“Even more come for the Gold Buckle Challenge. Right, Jake?”

“That’s right, Kev. But they come for both rodeos. They like helping out with Wheelchair Rodeo maybe even more than they like riding in the Gold Buckle Challenge. Some of them bring their families and camp out in the upper pasture. Some just crash at the bunkhouse. It’s like a reunion.”

“They wouldn’t come if it wasn’t for you, Jake,” Kevin said.

“Maybe. That’s nice of you to say, Kev. So, how about a real tour?”

“Cool! C’mon, Mom!”

Kevin flew down the ramp before she even got out of the rocker. She was just going to remind him to be careful when Jake held out his hands to help her up.

Without thinking, she put her hands into his. They were rough, callused. Hands that did physical work, ranch work, real work. Brad’s hands had always been soft and perfectly manicured—but then, Brad wasn’t a cowboy. He’d been a stockbroker.

Although she was on her feet, she held on to him for a moment longer than necessary to take her measure of the man she would have to trust. The man who would be taking care of her son.

Jake met her gaze with steady, unflinching eyes. Eyes that weren’t bloodshot like Brad’s had always been.

“Is that the barn? Oh, wow! It’s the barn, Mom!” Kevin called.

Realizing that she was holding on to Jake way too long, she dropped his hands. “Wait for us, Kevin!” she shouted back.

Jake smiled. “I’ve never seen anyone so thrilled about a barn,” he said, as they walked down a cleared path.

They stopped at the gate of the corral. Several horses walked over, most of them sniffing Kevin and Jake. Even to Beth’s untrained eye, the long-legged, satin-coated horses looked like beauties.

“They know that I usually have a treat for them.” Jake dipped a hand in the pocket of his shirt and handed Kevin a piece of a carrot. “Hold it flat on your hand and don’t be scared when their big yellow teeth come at you.”

“I’m not scared,” he said, but he had a white-knuckled grip on the arm of his wheelchair. His other hand was flat, his face a study in concentration.

“They won’t hurt you,” Jake said. “Just reach out. Keep your hand flat.”

Kevin did it, and when the horse gently took the carrot, Kevin let out a little squeal. “Cool!”

Jake turned to Beth. “How about you?”