Read Aunt Dimity Goes West Online
Authors: Nancy Atherton
poor man doesn’t know Kit from a hole in the ground,
so there’s no use going on about it. He’ll think you’ve
lost your mind.”
She released my arm and marched off to join the
boys.
I replayed the scene in my head, realized that
Annelise had been quite right to take me to task for my
rude behavior, and trailed slowly after her, feeling as though I’d embarrassed myself far more than I’d embarrassed Brett Whitcombe. Kit Smith, whose man-
ners were impeccable, would have been ashamed of
me. I resolved to say nothing more about him to Brett.
A five-bar wooden fence encircled the riding ring.
Brett and the twins stood inside the ring, near the
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swinging metal gate, where a pair of ponies were
tethered. Annelise and Toby had taken seats on a set of
wooden bleachers on the far side of the ring, in the
shade of some cottonwood trees. A half dozen teen-
aged boys in scruffy cowboy hats had gathered on the
near side of the fence to watch the proceedings,
attracted no doubt by the novelty of my sons’ riding
apparel. I edged my way past them until I was within a
few yards of Brett, the twins, and the ponies.
Brett had rounded up a pair of palomino ponies for
Will and Rob. They were called Nip and Tuck, and
they didn’t seem too ferocious.While Brett explained
the rules of the riding ring, the twins ran knowing
eyes over their prospective mounts.
“We’ll take it one at a time, to begin with,” Brett
concluded. “And I don’t want you to move till I say so.”
He tightened Nip’s girth, gave Rob a leg up into
the saddle, and adjusted the stirrups, but when he
took hold of the lead rope, to guide Nip into the ring,
Rob objected.
“I know what to do,” he said impatiently.
Brett gave me an inquiring glance, I answered it
with a nod, and he released the lead rope. Rob walked
Nip sedately once around the ring, then put him
through his paces, going from a walk to a trot to a can-
ter, bringing him smoothly back to a walk, and halting
him smartly beside Tuck. Will gave Brett an arms-
folded, I-told-you-so look, and the head wrangler
gave him a leg up onto Tuck without further delay.
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“Your boys have been well taught,” Brett com-
mented, as he climbed out of the ring to stand beside
me. “My long-lost twin must be a fine instructor.”
I felt myself blush a stunning shade of raspberry.
“You got a twin, Brett?” said one of the spectators.
“So I’m told.” Brett grinned at me, then gestured
to the knot of young men. “Let me introduce the
crew. Lori Shepherd, this is Dusty, Lefty, Happy,
Sneezy, Dopey, and Doc.”
I was on the verge of saying good morning when it
dawned on me that Brett was joking. I ducked my head
sheepishly and joined in the general laughter that
ensued.When the ranch hands had finished guffawing,
they introduced themselves to me properly, wel-
comed me to the Brockman, and drifted off toward
Annelise. I wondered if they were going to try the
same gag on her.
Annelise had the video camera, and I was in charge
of the digital camera. While she filmed the action, I
snapped still shots of the twins, then settled down next to Brett to watch them enjoy their favorite pastime.
“How’re you liking it up at the Aerie?” Brett rested
his folded arms on the top bar of the fence. “Toby
working out all right?”
“Toby’s great,” I said. “Very eager to please. If I
didn’t stop him, he’d cook our meals and do our laun-
dry along with everything else he does. And I ab-
solutely love the Aerie. If it were mine, and if I didn’t have to fly so far to get here, I’d use it every weekend.
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I can’t believe the Auerbachs haven’t used it since
Christmas.”
“Me, neither.” Brett shook his head. “Mrs. Auer-
bach and the kids used to spend every school holiday
up there, and most weekends, too, but we haven’t
seen hide nor hair of them for six months now. In fact,
no one’s been there since the Auerbachs left, no one
but the caretaker.”
“Really?” I said. “I was under the impression that
the Auerbachs let friends use the Aerie.”
“They haven’t had any takers lately,” said Brett. “I
reckon Bluebird isn’t fashionable enough for the kind
of people the Auerbachs know.They get bored looking
at the lake, want fancy shops and restaurants. Caroline’s Cafe serves up some mighty tasty grub, but I wouldn’t
call it fancy.”
I watched Will and Rob steer their steeds through
a series of figure eights, then asked, “If the Aerie’s
been empty since Christmas, why did the Auerbachs
hire a live-in caretaker?”
“The caretaker’s main job is just to be there,” Brett
explained. “You can’t leave a place like that sitting
empty.You never know what’ll happen to it—frozen
pipes, wind damage. Someone has to be on the spot to
fix things when they break, and James could turn his
hand to anything.”
My ears pricked up. “Did you know James Black-
well?”
“I wouldn’t say I knew him,” Brett temporized.
“James used to drop in on us now and again. He took
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an interest in local history. Asked all sorts of ques-
tions. Wanted to know what Bluebird was like in the
olden days.”
I recalled the books on Colorado history in the
Aerie’s library and asked, “Was James an amateur
historian?”
“I suppose he may have been,” said Brett, “but I’m
not. I told him if he wanted to know about Bluebird,
he should go to Bluebird. That’s when he told me
about Dick Major.” Brett tilted his head toward me.
“You met Dick yet?”
“No,” I said. “I haven’t been to town.”
Brett’s eyes narrowed. “Dick Major is a loud-
mouthed pain in the neck.Wish he’d go back where he
came from, but it looks like he’s dug in, in Bluebird.
From what James said, he couldn’t have a beer in the
bar or a cup of coffee in the cafe without Dick’s turn-
ing up. Parked himself at James’s table without an in-
vitation; told James he was a lazy good-for-nothing, a
slacker who was taking money from the Auerbachs
for doing nothing. Kept telling James to get a real job
and stop sponging off his rich employers. Called him a
worthless bum, right there, where everyone could
hear him.”
“Why did Dick Major pick on James?” I asked.
“Because he could,” Brett said simply. “James
wasn’t from here, so he didn’t have family to back him
up. Didn’t have any friends, either—”
“Why not?” I asked. “Why didn’t he have any
friends?”
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“He was kind of shy,” said Brett. “A nice enough
guy, but quiet, studious—a prime target for a meat-
head like Dick.”
“I
hate
bullies,” I said vehemently.
“So do I.” Brett shook his head. “If I’d seen Dick
picking on James, I’d’ve put a stop to it, but Dick’s
sneaky. He never put a foot wrong in front of me. So
after a while, James avoided Bluebird. He just stayed
at the Aerie or came out here. I reckon he spent too
much time on his own. Got to believing the stories he
heard.”
“What stories?” I asked.
“Tomfool stories,” said Brett, snorting derisively.
“He was always trying to find out if they were true.
Then he up and left without saying a word to anyone.
It’s lucky Toby was free to take his place.Toby’s a good kid. Known him since he was younger than your sons.”
Brett rested his chin on his folded arms, then gave me
a sidelong glance. “Is it true that you’re afraid of
horses?”
“Uh, yes,” I said, caught off guard by the abrupt
change of subject. “My sons never lie, even when I
wish they would.”
“And this is your first time in the Rockies?” Brett
went on.
“Yes,” I said.
“Well, then,” he said, turning to face me, “I have a
suggestion to make.Why don’t you leaveWill and Rob
here for the day? Annelise is welcome to stay with
them. They can eat lunch with the rest of the guests
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and come along on the group trail ride this afternoon.
In the meantime, you can take off with Toby, let him
show you around. He knows every sight worth seeing
in these parts. I’ll have the twins back to the Aerie in plenty of time for dinner.”
“Is your vehicle equipped with booster seats?” I
asked.
“It can be,” said Brett. “We have them on hand for
people like you: overseas guests with young children.
It won’t take me but a minute to rustle up a pair for
your boys.They work just fine in the family cab of my
pickup.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, “but I’ll have to discuss
it with Annelise. She’s still getting used to the altitude.
She may need a nap later on.”
“She can use one of the guest cabins,” said Brett.
“My wife will make sure she’s comfortable, and I’ll
look out for Will and Rob.”
“You’re very kind,” I said, “but Annelise may not
want to stay.”
“On the other hand,” said Brett, turning to look
across the riding ring, “she may not want to leave.”
I followed his gaze and saw that at least a dozen
men had gathered around Annelise. Some were ranch
hands, while others appeared to be dudes, but they’d
all doffed their cowboy hats and they seemed to be
vying with each other for her attention.
“Your sons’ nanny has a fan club,” Brett observed
mildly. “Must be that pretty dress she’s wearing. Most
of the gals here wear jeans.”
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“She’s engaged,” I told him. “And she’s extremely
levelheaded.”
“It does a young woman good to know she’s ad-
mired,” said Brett. “Even a levelheaded young woman
who’s engaged.”
Brett evidently knew a lot about women, because
Annelise was perfectly willing to remain at the ranch
until the twins were ready to leave. Toby was equally
willing to escort me wherever I wished to go. And I
was more than willing to let the twins ride to their
hearts’ content while I went back to the Aerie. I had a
lot to tell Aunt Dimity.
Will and Rob were eventually persuaded to dis-
mount long enough for me to kiss them good-bye.
Annelise fetched their extra clothes from the van, and
Toby and I drove off, leaving Brett to field a multitude of questions from the twins about the upcoming trail
ride.
Toby and I were halfway down the dirt road when
a girl came toward us, riding an Appaloosa mare. The
girl was in her late teens, long legged and slender,
with a flawless oval face framed by a mane of golden
curls that gleamed like corn silk in the sun. She reined in as we approached and regarded us with eyes that
shone like dark sapphires.
“Howdy, Belle!” Toby shouted as we drove past.
“Belle?” I said faintly. “Who is Belle?”
“She’s Deke and Sarah Brockman’s daughter,” said
Toby. “She and Brett Whitcombe got married last fall.
It took Belle two years to get him to the altar. Brett
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just couldn’t believe that a lovely young thing like her could care for an old crock like him. Not that Brett’s
old, but he thought he was too old for Belle. Belle got
through to him in the end, though. As they say, true
love conquers all.” Toby glanced at me. “What’s wrong,
Lori? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost. You
don’t disapprove of Belle and Brett, do you?”
“Me? Disapprove of true love? Not in a million
years,” I said, and let the subject drop. If I told Toby that Belle Whitcombe was the spitting image of Nell
Harris, a teenager bent on marrying a man with violet
eyes who was twice her age, he’d airlift me to the
nearest lunatic asylum. But I was certainly going to
tell Aunt Dimity. “I know we’re supposed to be sight-
seeing, Toby, but do you mind if we go back to the
Aerie instead? I’m a little tired.”
“Has your shoulder stiffened up?” he asked.
My head snapped in his direction. “What do you
know about my shoulder?”
“You told me you injured it a few weeks ago,” he
said. “And you rub it whenever you get tired. If it’s bothering you, I’d recommend a long soak in the hot tub.”
The thought of inviting Toby Cooper to join me in
the hot tub was appallingly appealing, but I couldn’t
risk it. If Toby saw my scar, he’d inevitably ask ques-
tions I had no intention of answering. My brain had
been blissfully Abaddon-free for four nights in a row
and I wanted it to stay that way.To rehash the shooting
would be to risk luring my black-eyed demon back
again.
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Apart from that, I felt an urgent need to tell Aunt
Dimity everything I’d seen and heard at the Brockman
Ranch, and I couldn’t take the blue journal with me to
the hot tub. I wasn’t sure if Dimity’s particular brand
of ink would run when wet, but I didn’t want to