And Then You Dare (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 5) (7 page)

It took them seven hours to make the drive. The weather over
Loveland Pass was rough, which made Bill worry more. If Clancy was making this
drive in the middle of winter, his mother’s news must be mighty important.

“Stop worryin’ so much,” Clancy punched his arm.

“Can’t help it. Did she tell you anything at all?”

“She did, but she made me promise not to tell. So you gotta
wait.”

Clancy was smiling. If it was bad news he wouldn’t be smiling.
Right? Bill continued to chew on his fingernails. He couldn’t help it.

His mama came running out the back door of the house as soon
as Clancy drove up. Bill had the truck door open and was running toward her
just as fast.

“Oh my boy,” she cried, “how I’ve missed you.”

His little sister wasn’t far behind, tears in her eyes. “Look
how big you’ve gotten,” he said to her.

“Me? Look at you!”

“Let me look at you,” said his mama. “She’s right, you’ve
grown a foot or more.” She started to cry again.

“Oh Clancy,” she reached out to him. “How can I thank you for
takin’ my boy in?”

Clancy tipped his hat. “No thanks necessary, Mrs. Flynn. Bill
here is a real hard worker. We’re happy to have him up at the ranch.”

She put her hand on his arm. “It’s more than that, and we both
know it is. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” Bill swore
Clancy’s weathered skin reddened.

He had a million questions. For starters, whose house was she
living in? He knew it was far nicer than she could afford. He wondered if she
and his sister worked for room and board. He hoped not, but that was the most
likely explanation.

“Come inside, it’s freezing out here.” She took his hand and
pulled him the direction of the door, and then put her arm around his
shoulders.

A man came out the same door his mama had. “There’s someone I
want you to meet. Someone very special. Bill, this is Russ Snyder. Russ, this
is my son, Bill.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Russ, shaking Bill’s hand.

“You too, sir.” There was something about the man that didn’t
sit right with Bill. Something in his eyes.

Clancy offered to find another place to bunk for the night,
but his mama insisted he stay with them at Mr. Snyder’s place. He had a guest
room with two twin beds in it, she told him. He and Bill wouldn’t mind sharing
a room, would they?

After thanking Mr. Snyder and Bill’s mama for their
hospitality, Clancy suggested they call it a night. They’d had a long day of
travel, he told them, and they were both mighty tired.

Bill wasn’t tired at all, and he doubted Clancy was either. He
hoped this meant they’d have a chance to talk. The longer Bill was around Mr.
Snyder, the less he liked him. His little sister didn’t seem all that fond of
him either. The only person who seemed to like the man was his mama, and she
liked him a lot.

“You didn’t do a very good job of hidin’ your feelings son,”
Clancy said as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

“Should I have?”

“Yes, you should’ve.”

“Why? You can’t tell me there ain’t somethin’ ’bout the man
that rubs you the wrong way.”

“No I can’t say that.”

“Can’t say what? There is somethin’ or there ain’t somethin’?”

Clancy opened the door a crack. “Let’s wait a bit before we
have this conversation. I think they’re headed to bed too.”

That was more than Bill wanted to think about. His mama was
sharing a bed with this man, and they weren’t married. If his papa wasn’t
already turning in his grave over his wife being with another man, this would
have him clawing his way out of the ground.

A few minutes passed. Clancy told him to follow him outside,
and to be quiet about it. They crept down the hall, and out the door by the
kitchen.

“You’re right young Flynn. I don’t like the man much,” Clancy
began once they were inside the cab of the truck. “Can’t put my finger on why
not, but there’s somethin’ about him.”

“See? So why’d you say I shoulda’ hid my feelings?”

“Listen to me now.” Clancy looked over at him. “Are ya
listenin’?”

“Yes sir,” Bill muttered.

“Your mama is fixin’ to tell you that she and Mr. Snyder are
gonna get married. That’s the important news.”

Bill put his head down. He didn’t know what to say. She
couldn’t be planning to marry him. She just couldn’t.

“I don’t know yet what their timin’ is. Could be next week,
could be next year. Although considerin’ she wanted me to get you down here
right away, I’m thinkin’ next week is more like it.”

A terrible thought crossed Bill’s mind. “She don’t want me to
stay here, does she?”

“I don’t have a read on that yet. Seems if she wanted you to,
she woulda’ asked me to bring your gear down with us. And she didn’t ask me to
do that, just to bring you.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want her son around. Maybe that’s the bad
feelin’ I get from him, that he doesn’t want me.”

Clancy rubbed his chin. “Possibly, but I think it’s more than
that.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Got a minute Billy?”

“Ya know, I’ve been meaning to ask you somethin’. Is Bullet a
nickname?”

“Uh, no. It’s my name.” Bullet couldn’t always follow Billy’s
line of thinking. Sometimes the guy came out of left field.

“Pretty cool name. How’d you get it?”

“Uh, my parents. How’d you get yours?”

“Smart ass. I’m a junior. So come on, tell me. Your parents
really named you Bullet?”

“Yep.” Billy was working on his last nerve.

“You ever ask if there was a story behind it?”

“It’s always been my name. Never seemed unusual to me.”

“I mean, Lyric, that makes sense. Your dad bein’ a rock star
and all.”

“Number one with a bullet.”

The expression on Billy’s face changed in an instant. “You
couldn’t have told me that ten questions ago?”

“Nope.”

Billy laughed, and grabbed Bullet’s shoulder. “You fit in
right perfect ol’ Bullet. Damn smart ass, ornery bastard. So what did you wanna
talk to me about?”

“Bull ridin’.”

“That’s what I figured. Been waitin’ for you to bring it up.
Everybody has. We got a deal all worked out for when you finally did.”

“Oh yeah? What kinda deal?”

“Now don’t get your panties all twisted up. It’s a good one.”

Bullet folded his arms across his chest and waited.

“Here’s the thing. My daddy isn’t too keen on the idea of
raisin’ rough stock up in Black Forest. The truth is, he isn’t too keen on what
he refers to as
modern rodeo
.”

“Why are you involving him if he doesn’t want to do it?”

“Because we need the support in El Paso County. We’re
partnerin’ with TZ Bucking Bulls in Larkspur, but that’s just bulls. We need a
bronc operation too.”

Bullet shrugged his shoulders and looked off in the distance.

“You got an opinion? Now’s the time to tell me.”

“I’d say the land belongs to your daddy, and if doesn’t want
to do it, ain’t nothin’ gonna change his mind.”

“That’s where you come in.”

“Oh no. No way. I’m not gettin’ in the middle of this. I
hardly know you, let alone your family. Go fight your own battles.” Bullet
walked away.

“Don’t you wanna know how this involves gettin’ you on bulls?”

He stopped. “How?”

“My dad’s gonna be your trainer, and Flying R is gonna be your
sponsor.”

Bullet turned around. “Is this another thing he ain’t too
‘keen’ on?”

“Nope, he’s all for it.”

Bullet walked back over to where Billy stood. “This doesn’t
add up. If he’s against raisin’ rough stock because he’s against rodeo, why
would he train me on bulls?”

“Guess that’s somethin’ you’re gonna have to ask him.”

“I wouldn’t walk in that water wearin’ your boots.”

“I don’t know what the hell that means, but I’m headed to
Black Forest tomorrow. Renie and Willow are comin’ with me. You and your son
can follow us. We can talk to my daddy and straighten this all out.”

Bullet didn’t see he had much choice. He worked for Flying R,
and if one of the partners told him he had to go to Black Forest, then that’s
what he had to do.

***

“Hey Daddy, I’d like you to meet Ben Rice. Ben, this is my
father.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. McCullough,” Ben stepped forward to
shake hands.

“Call me Hugh, and it’s nice to finally meet you in person.
Can’t thank you enough for getting my girl home safe and sound.”

“And this is my granddaddy, Hugh McCullough Senior, although
everyone calls him Gramps.”

“Hello sir,” Ben shook her grandfather’s hand, who then turned
to Tristan. “Fancy stuff little girl, travelin’ in a private plane.”

Tristan smiled. “Not something I plan to get used to.” She
didn’t want Ben to think she expected door-to-door plane service on a regular
basis.

“My pleasure. And it was necessary. I’ll do just about
anything to put off comin’ to New York City. Havin’ another reason to fly east
forces me to take care of business.”

Ben told Tristan his agent had been threatening to withhold
his royalty checks until he made the trip. “He wasn’t serious. But that tells
you how mad he’s been at me for avoiding the business side of my profession.”
He told her how hard it was to leave Crested Butte. He hated being away from
Liv, their little girl, and the two sons he had from a previous marriage. He
knew touring was necessary for the band to continue to sell records, but
anything else was easy to put off.

Sometimes she felt as though all she did was travel. Having a
place she never wanted to leave, having people in her life she never wanted to
leave, was something she couldn’t comprehend. Although, she was yearning to get
back to Crested Butte too, and it hadn’t been forty-eight hours since she left.

Her dad offered to let Ben use one of their ranch vehicles to
drive into the city. He declined and took the train from Ronkonkoma instead.
“I’m a boy from the mountains, used to wide-open spaces. I’m not built for city
drivin’,” he told them.

Tristan offered to drive him back to the train station.

“What do you think of Bullet?”

Ben rubbed his hand over his face. “As Liv would say, ‘Bullet
is one hot mess.’ I know, I was one myself. Cowboy Patterson seems to think
spendin’ time in Black Forest on their family’s ranch will help rein him in.”

“Cowboy Patterson?”

Ben laughed. “I was never a big fan of ol’ Billy. Still can’t
say I am. Although now that he’s my business partner, and my son-in-law, I
suppose I should work on gettin’ over it.”

“Do you think being in Black Forest will make a difference?”

“Can’t predict whether it will or won’t, but if there’s a
woman alive Bullet might listen to, it’s Dottie Patterson.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“You know the type. Some people just have a way about them.
Dottie is a second mother to my Livvie, and one of the most loving people I’ve
known in my life. You should meet her. She’ll look straight into your soul, and
then wrap her arms around you in the best hug you can imagine.”

Tristan looked away when her eyes filled with tears. Dottie
sounded like her mother. She’d been that way too. She always seemed to know the
right thing to say, even if it was nothing at all. When she was a little girl,
getting a hug and a smile from her mom always made things better.

***

Miss Dottie’s cooking reminded Bullet of his Gram’s. Every
time he walked in to the kitchen, she was cooking something that made his
stomach growl. Her homemade macaroni and cheese was extra gooey, rich with
butter, fresh cream, and a blend of sharp and mild cheddar cheeses. She added
crumbled bacon to it as a twist. Grey ate two big bowlfuls and was asking for a
third when Bullet swept him out of the high chair.

“He sure likes your cookin’
ma’am. And so do I.”

Dottie beamed at the little
boy. “It’s my pleasure Grey. You’re welcome at my table anytime.” She opened
her arms and Grey ran straight into them. It was another thing that reminded
him of his Gram. Dottie’s hugs.

“I love having little ones
in the house. I miss my granddaughter when she’s in Crested Butte,” Dottie
looked at Willow, Billy and Renie’s four-year-old daughter. At a little over
eighteen months, Grey was almost as tall as the little girl.

“Say hi to my baby,” Willow
pulled her grandmother toward Renie. Dottie obliged by rubbing Renie’s belly.
“Not too long before you have a little brother or sister.”

“I’m having a brodder.”
Willow put her hands on her hips.

“Is that right?” Dottie
asked Renie, who shrugged her shoulders.

“Willow changes her mind
daily. Sometime she’s sure she’s having a little sister.”

“You didn’t find out?”
Bullet asked Billy.

Billy stood behind Renie
and put his arms around her waist. “We decided it’d be more fun this way.”

He’d never known that kind
of easy affection. When he refused to marry his daughter’s mother, and told her
he doubted he was the baby’s father, she stopped speaking to him. After the
little girl was born, and the DNA test proved he was her biological father,
they’d tried to be friends. Sometimes they managed okay. Not very often though.

Callie had done a good job
of hiding her “dark side,” as he liked to call it, until after they got
married. Even then, their relationship wasn’t like Billy and Renie’s. Bullet
told himself he loved Callie, but being around the Pattersons made him question
whether what he felt was really love.

“Got a minute?” Billy’s
father asked Bullet.

“Go ahead, “ said Renie.
“I’ll keep an eye on Grey. He and Willow can play.”

“You sure?” Bullet felt as
though he was always imposing on someone to watch Grey. Once he figured out
where he was going to be based, he’d have to look for a regular babysitter or
day care.

When Renie waved him off,
he followed Billy’s dad out the back door.

“I understand you’re going
to be working here with me.”

“That’s up to you Mr.
Patterson.”

“Call me Bill, young man. And
my son isn’t giving me much choice.”

“As I told your son, this
here is your land. If you don’t want to be involved with rough stock, you
shouldn’t be.”

“Let’s say I changed my
mind. How would you feel about working here?”

 
Bullet wasn’t sure what to say. As long as he had a job, he
didn’t really care where he was working. Being in Black Forest was convenient
because he and Grey could stay with Lyric. The drive would be less than half an
hour.

He’d have to give the place
up he’d just rented in Crested Butte, but that wouldn’t be hard to do. He
hadn’t gotten around to moving much of anything of his into the furnished
apartment. What had been there, he packed to bring himself and Grey here.
That’s how transient his life was now; he could almost live out of two
suitcases. He could make arrangements to give it up over the phone, and send
the keys to the property management company.

“The job comes with that
place over there.” said Bill, as though he was reading Bullet’s mind. He
pointed east, toward a house that sat closer to the road.

“Who lives there now?”

“Nobody’s lived there on a
regular basis for years. Dottie keeps it on the ready though. Just in case.
It’s the house we lived in when we were first married.”

“My sister has a place in
Palmer Lake. Grey and I can stay with her.”

“Nah. Workin’ here means
livin’ here. You managed a ranch before?”

Managed? Hell no. How in
the world could he manage a ranch, take care of Grey, and get on bulls?

“Son, I asked you a
question.”

“No sir, I haven’t come
close. I don’t know what Billy told you, but I’m a ranch hand for Flying R.”

“You think you could
learn?”

“I know I could, but…”

“Go on, speak your mind.”

“I got my hands full Mr.
Patterson. I still ain’t figured out how to take care of Grey and hold down a
regular job, let alone manage a ranch. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“You’d begin by learnin’.
You’d be workin’ with me, learnin’ the ropes. For the time bein’ you’ll only
manage the rough stock portion of the ranch. I got a guy been with me a long
time that manages the cattle operation.”

That was some relief. He
understood rough stock. It was everything else that gave him pause.

“There’s somethin’ else
isn’t there Bullet?”

“What’s that sir?”

“Bull ridin’. You’re
lookin’ for trainer, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. I am.” Bullet
took his hat off and rubbed his forehead. This conversation was giving him a
headache.

“Let’s go back to the
house. We’ll have a sit down with Dottie and Billy and see what we can figure
out.”

“Yes, sir,” Bullet said
again.

“My name’s Bill son, I told
you that before. We’re gonna be spendin’ a hell of a lot of time together, and
if you keep callin’ me sir, it’s gonna make me uncomfortable.”

“Yes, sir. I mean, Bill.”

***

There were three hundred photos waiting for Tristan to sort through.
Her father had another pile of those he’d chosen. The one on top was of a bull
rider Lost Cowboy sponsored. The photographer had captured him flying through
the air, just as the bull bucked him off. The words, “It’s not how good you
are…it’s how good you want to be,” were written on a sticky note on the back of
the photo along with the digital image reference number.

Tristan opened the file, and adjusted the highlights and
shadows of the photo in an image enhancement software program. Next she added a
blend near the bottom of the image, and then superimposed the words her father
wrote on top of the darkened area.

She repeated the same process with the rest of the photos her
father had chosen. She dated each one and sent them to a local high school student
who interned for Lost Cowboy. The images would be uploaded to social media on
the dates Tristan indicated in the file name.

The only time the prearranged schedule varied was if something
significant happened either with one of their riders, or in the world. In that
case, no matter where Tristan was, her daddy would email her a photo along with
his caption, and she’d prepare the image and upload it herself.

“Got some good ones the last couple weeks,” her dad said, and
sat down in the chair by her desk.