Nell cleared the remaining dishes from the table. “Take your time,” she said as she put on a sweater and headed toward the door.
“Can I help?” he asked.
“Not at all. Just enjoy your coffee.”
Travis did as she suggested and watched from the window as Nell and the children worked together. They were a real team, efficient and cooperative. Half an hour later Jeremy and Emma raced into the house and grabbed their lunch boxes from the counter.
“We gotta go to school now,” Emma said, staring at Travis as though she’d much rather spend the day with him.
Jeremy was on his way out when he paused. “Will you be here tonight?”
Travis had to think about that. “Probably.”
“I hope you are,” the boy said. “It’s nice having another man around the place.” And with that, he flew out the door.
Travis rinsed his mug and set it beside the kitchen sink. He met Nell as he left the house. “Do you mind if I plug my computer into an outlet in the bunkhouse? I want to get some work done while I’m here.”
“Not at all,” she said, her smile congenial.
Whistling, Travis returned to the bunkhouse and retrieved his laptop from his bag. With a minimum of fuss, he located an outlet and set up shop. The computer hummed its usual greeting as the screen saver reminded him that he was one hell of a good writer—a message he’d programmed in to battle the deluge of self-doubts all writers faced.
The note was just the boost his ego needed before he dug into his latest project. He’d achieved indisputable success with his series of Western stories for preadolescents and young teens. The book he planned to write next might possibly be his best; he could feel that even before he wrote the first word. A mainstream novel set in a Western ghost town—his editor had been ecstatic over the idea.
Travis never did the actual writing while he was on the road, but he wanted to document facts about the storm from the night before. One of his characters was sure to lose his socks to a hungry goat, too. He prided himself on the authenticity of his details, although in his past books, most of that background had come from research.
Rarely did anything happen to him that didn’t show up in a book sometime, one way or another. He used to think he kept his personal life out of his work, but that was a fallacy. Anyone who really knew him could follow his life by reading his books. The connections weren’t always direct. Take the end of his marriage, for example. Of the two books he’d written the year of his divorce, one took place in Death Valley and the other on the River of No Return. Those locations had corresponded to his emotional state at the time.
He didn’t want to stop and analyze why a ghost town appealed to him now. Maybe because his life felt empty and he struggled with loneliness. Travis realized without surprise that he envied Nell her children.
He entered notes about Texas, the drive from San Antonio, his impressions of the landscape and the people. The storm was described in plenty of detail. He made notes about Nell and her children. Ruth, too.
The next time he glanced up, he was shocked to discover it was midmorning. He stored the information onto a computer file and headed for the kitchen, hoping Nell kept a pot of coffee brewing during the day. He didn’t expect to see her, since she had stalls to muck out and plenty of other chores, many of which he knew next to nothing about.
He was pleasantly surprised to find her in the kitchen.
“Hello again,” he said.
“Hi.”
The spicy aroma of whatever she was cooking made him instantly hungry, despite the fact that he’d enjoyed one of the finest breakfasts he’d eaten in years.
“What are you making?” he asked. He noticed a can of beer sitting by the stove at—he glanced at his watch—10:35 a.m.! He wondered with some concern if she was a drinker…but then he saw her add it to whatever was in the large cast-iron pot.
“It’s chili,” she said. “Would you like a taste?”
“I’d love it.”
Nell dished up a small bowl and brought it to the table where Travis sat. “This might sound like a silly question, but did you happen to mention to Ruth how many nights you intend to stay?”
He delayed his first sample, wondering if Nell was looking for a way to get rid of him. He’d be keenly disappointed if that was the case. He happened to like Twin Canyons Ranch. His visit would add texture and realism to his novel. And being here was so much more interesting than staying at a hotel, or even at a bed-and-breakfast.
“I’m not sure yet,” Travis said in answer to her question.
He tried the chili. The instant his mouth closed over the spoon he realized this was the best-tasting chili he’d ever eaten, bar none. The flavors somersaulted across his tongue.
“What do you think?” she asked, her big brown eyes hopeful.
“If you don’t win that prize, I’ll want to know why.” He scooped up a second spoonful.
“You’re not just saying that, are you?” Her eyes went from hopeful to relieved.
“If I was the judge I’d award you the prize money without needing to taste anyone else’s. This is fabulous.”
Nell’s freshly scrubbed face glowed with a smile. Travis had seen his share of beautiful women, but he felt few would compare with Nell Bishop and her unspoiled beauty. The kind she possessed didn’t require makeup to enhance it. She was as real as a person could get.
“I made a terrible mistake when I saw you on the road yesterday,” she said, suddenly frowning a little.
“How’s that?”
“I implied you were…not too bright…” She pulled out a chair and sat across the table from him. “I was wrong. You’re obviously very bright, indeed!”
CHAPTER 3
“HOW COMEYOUWERE ASKED to be one of the judges for the chili cook-off?” Glen asked Ellie as they walked toward the rodeo grounds. The air was charged with excitement.
“Just clean living,” his wife replied and did her best to disguise a smile. Actually it had more to do with her participation in the Chamber of Commerce. But her husband had done nothing but complain from the moment he learned she’d been asked to judge the chili. It was a task he would have relished.
“I’m the one who happens to love chili,” he lamented—not for the first time.
Unable to help herself, Ellie laughed out loud. “If you want, I’ll put your name in as a judge for next year,” she said, hoping that would appease him.
“You’d do that?” They strolled hand in hand toward the grandstand. Luckily the ground had dried out after the recent rain. The rodeo was one of the most popular events of the year, along with the big summer dance and the Willie Nelson Fourth of July picnic. The town council always invited Willie to the picnic, but he had yet to accept. With or without him, it was held in his honor, and his music was piped through the park all day.
“Sure will. I’ll let Dovie know you want to be a judge next year,” Ellie promised. “Consider it just one of the many benefits of marrying a local businesswoman.”
Glen wrapped his arm about her waist and gave her a squeeze. “I know all about those benefits,” he said and kissed the top of her head.
He raised his hand so that it rested just beneath her breast. “Glen,” she warned under her breath.
He sighed and lowered his hand to her waist.
Ellie saw Jane and Cal and waved. Dr. Texas immediately returned her wave, and the two couples sauntered toward each other.
“So you’re going through with it,” Glen said when he saw his brother.
“I can’t talk him out of it,” Jane said, rolling her eyes.
“I’ve competed in the bull-riding competition for ten years,” Cal argued. “Besides, if I’m injured, I know one hell of a fine physician who’ll treat me with tender loving care.” He winked at his wife.
From the look Jane tossed her husband, Ellie suspected she’d be inclined to let him suffer. Grinning, she reflected on how well her matchmaking efforts had worked. She gladly ac
cepted credit for pairing Cal with Jane; the match had been brilliant, if she did say so herself. Jane had moved to Promise as part of a government program in which she agreed to work for three years at the community health clinic in exchange for payment of her college loans.
Cal, of course, had been burned in the romance department several years earlier when his fiancée had dumped him a couple of days before their wedding and skipped town. In addition to the hurt and rejection he’d suffered, Cal had been left to deal with the embarrassment and the questions that followed. For years afterward he’d refused to have anything to do with women.
Until Jane.
She’d moved to town after living her entire life in California. Poor Jane had been completely and totally out of her element until Dovie took charge. One of the first things Dovie had done was introduce her to Ellie.
In the beginning Ellie wasn’t sure it was possible for them to be friends. Jane had an attitude about all things Texan, and it rubbed her—and just about everyone in town—the wrong way. Everything she said and did had an air of superiority.
Jane’s start had been rocky, that was for sure. Ellie smiled as she remembered that first lunch in which she’d suggested Jane take her wine-sipping, quiche-eating butt and go back where she’d come from. She was grateful now that Jane had decided to stick it out.
When Ellie set up the date between her distrustful brother-in-law and the doctor-with-attitude, she knew she was taking a chance. It would have been just like Cal to take one look at the setup and walk out of the restaurant. He hadn’t. In fact, he’d shocked both Glen and Ellie when they discovered that he’d agreed to give Jane horseback-riding lessons.
They were married within six months and Cal was happier than she could ever recall seeing him. He hardly seemed like the same person.
“I have a feeling I could win this year,” Cal said.
“He’s been claiming that every year since he first entered,” Glen muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“I’m gonna win,” Cal insisted, defying his brother to challenge him.
“This is a man thing,” Ellie explained to her sister-in-law. “Glen competes in the calf-roping event.”
“I have the blue ribbons to prove it.”
Cal winced at the small dig. “Ouch, little brother.”
“Calf roping I can tolerate, but watching Cal on those huge bulls is something else again.” Jane looked at her husband, and Ellie saw a spark of genuine fear in her friend’s eyes. She had to admit she was grateful Glen wouldn’t be competing on the bulls.
“I’ve done everything I know to talk him out of this,” Jane confided as the two women made their way to the grandstand and found seats in the second row. Both men were by the chutes, chatting with their friends and making small talk with the professional rodeo riders.
Jane clenched her hands in her lap.
“It’ll be fine,” Ellie assured her. “Cal’s no fool.”
“How can you say that?” Jane said, biting her lip. “Only a fool would risk his neck riding an ill-tempered beast who weighs as much as the state of Texas.”
Ellie laughed.
“If…if Cal happened to get hurt, I don’t know if I’d be able to treat him.”
“You love him that much?” Ellie asked.
“Yes, but that’s not the reason. I don’t think I could stop myself from clobbering him for worrying me like this.”
Ellie laughed outright, although she understood.
The grandstand quickly filled to capacity as the competition time neared.
“I heard a wild rumor,” Ellie said, hoping to distract Jane from her worries. “Someone told me Willie Nelson might make a surprise appearance at the dance later this evening.”
“You’re joking!”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what people are saying.”
“That would be wonderful. What brought it about?”
“I’ve heard he likes surprising people now and then.” She gave a slight shrug. “He knows this is Willie country and he’s never been able to come to our Fourth of July picnics. Maybe that’s why.”
“My parents went to hear him recently,” Jane said. “They said he isn’t going to replace the Beach Boys in their eyes, but the music was entertaining.”
“Give ’em time,” Ellie said.
The calf-roping event was one of the first on the program, and Ellie wasn’t surprised when Glen took first place. She loved the way he raced after the calf, roped him on the first try and maneuvered the animal onto its back. He made it all look so easy. But when he tied the animal’s legs, then tossed his hands in the air and leaped back, his eyes didn’t go to the time. Instead, they zeroed in on Ellie and he’d smiled that secret little smile meant for her alone. Only then did his gaze go to the clock.
When his time was announced, Ellie jumped to her feet and applauded loudly. Pursing her lips around her index finger and thumb, she released a piercing whistle. Jane stood with her and the two of them made several victory punches in the air.
“How long before Cal rides?” Jane asked after they sat back down.
“Pretty soon.”
Jane placed her hands between her knees and took several deep breaths. Ellie gently patted her shoulder. “Hey, it’s only eight seconds.”
“A bull like that could kill him in one.”
Ellie let the comment slide. “Cal knows what he’s doing.”
Jane nodded, but she looked pale. Ellie realized how difficult this was for her. Not having been raised around cattle ranches, Jane must view these competitions as barbaric. Ellie decided she hadn’t given her sister-in-law the credit she was due for marrying into this whole new way of life.
When the competition had begun and Cal’s name was announced, Jane bit her lip and closed her eyes. Cal sat high in the chute on the bull’s back, his concentration intense. The door opened, and man and beast plunged forward. The bull snorted, shaking his massive head, determined to dislodge his rider.
Jane leaped to her feet and covered her mouth with her hand. Ellie had just stood up, too, when Cal went flying off the bull’s back. There was a collective drawing in of breath as the crowd waited for him to jump out of the bull’s way. The clowns diverted the bull’s attention, but Cal remained on the ground.
“Dear God!” Jane cried. “He’s hurt. I knew it, I knew it.” She was already stumbling past everyone in the row, Ellie right behind her. “I swear if that fall didn’t kill him, I will.”
By the time they made it down to the steps, Cal had been carried off the grounds on a stretcher. Just as they reached him, they heard the final contestant’s name being called.
Glen, who was with his brother, took Ellie’s hand. Jane knelt beside her husband, tears in her eyes.
“It’s all right, honey,” Cal said, clutching his ribs. He gave her a smile but was clearly in pain.
“He’s had the wind knocked out of him,” Glen said.
Jane began to unfasten Cal’s shirt.
“Jane—not in front of all these people,” Cal said in a feeble attempt at humor.
“Be quiet,” she snapped.
“Best not to cross her in this frame of mind,” Cal said, then groaned when Jane lightly pressed her fingertips against a rib.
“I’ll need X rays, but my guess is you’ve broken a rib.”
“It won’t be the first.”
“But it’ll be the last one you’ll ever get riding bulls,” Jane said in a voice few would question.
“Whatever you say.”
“You might want to take this with you.” Max Jordan, a local business owner, hurried over to join them.
“Take what?” Glen asked.
Max grinned broadly and handed Cal a blue ribbon. “Congratulations, Cal! You stayed on longer than anyone.”
Despite the pain it must have cost him, Cal let out a loud triumphant cry.
TRAVIS HAD BEEN WRITING for years. He’d researched rodeos and even written
about them—but this was the first one he’d actually attended. Jeremy and Emma had volunteered to be his guides, and he welcomed their company. Nell was busy adding the final touches to her chili; judging would take place later in the afternoon. The last time he’d seen Ruth, she’d introduced him to two friends, Edwina and Lily Moorhouse, sisters and retired schoolteachers. One of them had mentioned something about cloves—cloves?—a special cordial, and the next thing he knew, all three women had disappeared. Made no sense to him.
Now that the rodeo was over, Jeremy and Emma decided it was time to show Travis the booths. It seemed everyone in town had something on display. All new to Travis. The closest thing New York had to this was the farmers’ market, in which everything from rip-off brand-name running shoes and “real” French perfume to home-grown vegetables and spicy sausages was sold.
Travis and the kids wandered by the long tables where the chili was being cooked. “Hi, Mom,” Emma called.
At the sound of her daughter’s voice, Nell turned. She wore a pretty blue cotton dress with a white bib apron over it.
“I wondered where you two had wandered off,” she said.
“The kids are playing tour guide,” Travis explained. “They’re doing a good job of showing me the ropes.” He ruffled Jeremy’s hair, and the youngster grinned up at him.
“I hope they aren’t making a nuisance of themselves.”
“On the contrary.” They were likable kids, and seeing the rodeo and other festivities through their eyes had been a bonus.
“I’ll get my purse so you can buy your lunch,” Nell told her children.
“That’s all right, Mom,” Emma said. “Travis already fed us.”
Nell’s gaze briefly met his.
“We didn’t ask,” Jeremy added, apparently recognizing the look in his mother’s eyes.
“It was the least I could do,” Travis said, not understanding why she’d be disturbed about something so minor.
“My children and I pay our own way, Mr. Grant,” she said before he could say anything else.