A Cowboy In Her Arms

“Did she love you?”

“If she did, she never showed it or told me.”

“Then why did you marry her?”

“She was pregnant with my child.”

“But why did you marry her?”

“I just couldn’t run away. Not from that. If she was going to have the baby, I would always be his or her dad.”

“Still, you could have walked. Paid child support and visited on holidays.”

He couldn’t do that, even back then he couldn’t abandon his unborn child and provide Sarah with a reason to consider giving up the baby. Not that he’d spend a lot of time thinking about it; he’d merely reacted to the situation in the only way he knew how. But now that he was forced to rehash it with Polly, he realized it was the one moment in his life that he was proud of.

“It was the right thing to do,” he said, knowing perfectly well he’d never been all-in either as a husband or a father. Sure, he married Sarah but he never took up the responsibility reins...until now.

Polly turned back to face the road and he caught her glistening eyes that gave away her true feelings. He could only hope she didn’t hate him.

“That’s our turnoff up ahead,” she said, her voice steady and strong. “It’s easy to miss at night, but look for the dogwood tree that Daniel planted when we were first married and you’ll always find your way back home.”

“Thanks,” he told her, knowing full well he was thanking her not for the directions but for accepting his answer.

Chapter Three (#ulink_50d044e8-409a-5560-b3a5-ee33360b85f3)

The next morning, Joel went right to work on his extensive to-do list.

First order of business was to pick up materials at the local building supply store in town. Polly had given him a list of repairs that needed to be done, in the order of their urgency. Her ranch of seventy-five acres of mostly brush with a view of the Rocky Mountains contained two good-sized pastures where a fork of the Snake River meandered through. Fortunately, the pastures had been perfectly maintained by Wade Porter, who still leased the land, so Polly didn’t have to add any kind of upkeep to her long list. Joel had to admit that Wade sure knew his way around ranching, a skill Joel hoped to emulate in the next few months.

The ranch also had one main pipe corral that was divided into several smaller areas, two outbuildings, one stable that could house ten horses, the main ranch house, one oversize barn located about fifty feet from the main house, and miles of fencing that required considerable fixing.

The buildings needed everything from a new coat of paint to replacing the electric wiring. Joel thought he could handle everything physical, but anything electric would have to be hired out. He had no intention of electrocuting himself while trying to replace a blown fuse. He knew his limits...at least he’d convinced himself that he did.

Now that summer was winding down, the main ranch house took the highest priority on the list, especially the roof. Several of the tiles had either blown off or were too decayed to save. Polly was sure the house wouldn’t make it through another rainstorm without leaking, so Joel had taken it upon himself to climb up there and assess the damage. Not that he knew what he was looking for, but he assured himself that he would learn.

Polly had tried to hire a professional team to fix the roof or at the very least, Wade Porter, the resident jack-of-all-trades. Along with maintaining the pastures, he had kept the buildings from falling into complete ruin. Unfortunately, any major work had been put off into the distant future when Polly could make more money.

She never did.

Now the distant future had arrived and Joel had taken up the challenge.

Even though he’d added his nest egg to the pot, money was still tight until they could get more horses to board and buy a few head of cattle to raise. In the meantime, Joel decided to tackle as many projects as he could on his own. He’d spent the last three evenings watching home repair videos on YouTube, taking notes and practicing his nail-pounding skills on a board out in the barn. He was certain he had this roof repair project under control. He’d already fixed the clogged sinks in each of the bathrooms, rehung a couple doors and replaced a few loose floorboards in the living room...all with the help of online videos. He felt certain that fixing the roof would be just as easy.

Besides, physical work would keep his mind off of Callie Grant. After being that close to her the previous night and allowing some of his old feelings for her to bubble to the surface he’d been temporarily thrown off course.

Not anymore. He’d awoken with new resolve. Physical labor would keep his emotions in check and his mind occupied with something other than the softness of Callie’s lips or the smell of her hair.

If he was going to make it in this town, Callie Grant had to once again fade from his consciousness and be relegated to his past...exactly where she belonged.

He only hoped he’d be able to avoid her during his many errands into town, which is why he’d left the ranch early, in order to gather up all his supplies and be back on the road within the first half hour after the store opened.

Twenty minutes after leaving the ranch, Joel drove up Main Street like he had several times before, only this time he knew the location of most of the shops. Holy Rollers bakery sat on the corner, next to Galaxy Theater, a recently restored movie theater, according to Polly, that now served up wine, coffee, tea and gourmet popcorn. He’d become very familiar with Geppetto’s Toy Shop, a staple of Emma’s must-visits whenever she drove into town with either Polly or Joel. Deli Lama’s, Spud Bank and Moo’s Creamery all inhabited the opposite side of the street along with Hess’s Department Store, where he’d bought his first pair of cowboy boots.

The town’s favorite watering hole seemed to be Belly Up, a tavern Joel had yet to visit, but was anticipating the moment. Perhaps after he finished the roof he’d drive into town and celebrate. That is if he could somehow be assured that Callaghan Grant wouldn’t be inside.

Joel parked his SUV behind From the Ground Up Building Supply Company, turned off the ignition and made his way inside the now-familiar store, which seemed to stock everything a person could possibly need to repair or build almost anything. The store occupied two stories of a well-used, organized space on the edge of town.

The strong scent of sawdust and paint permeated the air as Joel made his way inside. The floors were well-worn, scuffed, wide wooden planks, and most of the counters and the checkout area still retained the original wooden designs. Natural light poured in from the countless windows in the building. One of the two cash registers hailed from sometime in the early 1900s, while the other more modern register was tucked away behind a large basket of local russet potatoes. The modern credit card scanners had been placed inside wooden crates that had seen better days.

Joel walked through the roofing section of the store, occasionally stopping to sort through the various tiles to find the replacements he needed.

“Polly’s roof was probably originally put up in the seventies, if you’re looking to match it,” a now-familiar voice said coming from somewhere behind him. His instincts told him to ignore Callie Grant and walk right out of the store, but he knew he couldn’t leave without his supplies. Besides, he didn’t want to be downright rude. He reluctantly turned to face her as she continued to talk tiles. “They keep some older tiles out back for the locals, but your chance of finding the exact match is pretty slim. Did you look out in Polly’s barn? Chances are there’s some extras stored out there along with extra flooring, paint that was used on the walls and whatever else you might need to repair and replace what’s broken. I bet there’s even a few matching cabinet doors and some old fence pipe out there, as well.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Joel told Callie, trying his best not to seem pleased to see her again. She looked different without her tiara, especially now that her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a peach-colored sundress that made her dark skin glow, and she smelled like apples, or maybe that was just his overactive imagination.

“I’m surprised Polly hadn’t mentioned it.”

“She did, but the barn is in such bad shape that I didn’t think anything could survive out there.”

“You’d be surprised. You might want to take a look before you spend good money on something you already have.” She took a step back. “Funny, but I never pictured you as a handyman type of guy.”

“And I never saw you as a beauty queen. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “The subject never came up.”

“How would I have ever known to ask?”

“That’s just it. You and your friends were from Boise, the big city, while I was from small-town Briggs. I wanted to fit in.”

It was the first time Joel ever realized that Callie had been embarrassed about her past, as if growing up in a small town had been something to be ashamed of.

“Goes to show you how much we didn’t know about each other. I was jealous about your roots, about your closeness with your family, this town. I never had any of that growing up. I wish I could have seen you in that pageant. How old were you?”

He could tell she didn’t want to talk about it. That for some reason, it still embarrassed her.

“Seventeen. And believe me, I was talked into entering, but this, finding you fishing through asphalt roof tiles, well now, that’s something to behold. When did you get into roofing?”

He wasn’t sure if she was pulling his chain or sincerely wanted to know about his new interest in DIY projects. Either way, he was feeling a little embarrassed himself. “Only recently.”

“As in, since you moved onto the Double S Ranch?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got a good handle on this. Should be an easy fix.”

He continued to search through the different-colored tiles, hoping against hope he’d find a match. He’d already loaded his shopping cart with tar paper, something called a flat bar, a good solid hammer, roofing nails, roof cement, a trowel and a staple gun with extra staples. He was set for anything.

She glanced over at his cart and he wanted to snatch it away, but instead he ignored her.

“You might want to ask Hank Marsh about fixing that roof. It’s older and will probably require some extra skills. Hank can fix anything, and knows just about everything there is to know about making repairs inside or outside a house, a barn or a stable.”