My Give a Damn's Busted (23 page)

Finally, when she thought he was going to drive all the way to the Rio Grande into Mexico through mesquite-covered back country he stopped. He opened his door and the lights came on inside the truck. She looked out across the land but all she could see were short black blobs that were mesquite trees in the process of shedding a few of their leaves.

“We are here.” He opened the door for her.

She crawled out and squinted through the darkness, not recognizing a single thing. No oil wells. No barns. No windmills. Just dark night, mesquite trees, and a few hills. “Where is here? It seems to me like you went to the end of the world and made a right.”

“We are at the back side of the ranch. There’s a fence straight ahead of us that separates our land from the neighbor’s. He raises Longhorns. We raise Angus. Got to have good fences. We’re going up to the top of that rise.” He threw the quilt over his shoulder and picked up a sack.

“This way?” She began to pick her way among the cow tongue cactus and tall weeds. “If I get chiggers, I’m going to pitch a fit.”

“I’ll check you for ticks when we get home,” he laughed.

“That’s not original. Brad Paisley put that song out a couple of years ago.”

He grabbed her hand with his free one. “Who do you suppose gave him the idea?”

“Are you lyin’ to me again?” she asked.

“Yes, I am, but I will be glad to check you for ticks any time you need me to.”

“I will remember that offer, Mr. Wells,” she said.

“You do that, Miz Morley.”

The rise didn’t look nearly so steep or so high back at the truck. But when they reached the top she was panting. “I hope there’s water in that sack.”

“Not water. Beer,” he said.

“Even better.”

He let go of her hand and spread the quilt out. He pulled a six-pack from the sack along with a box of doughnuts and set them off to one side.

She sat down cross-legged and screwed the top off a bottle. “Beer and doughnuts after that big breakfast at my house?”

He stretched out on the quilt beside her. “Doughnuts are for breakfast after we watch the sun come up.”

The beer wasn’t as cold as the ones in the Honky Tonk but then it’d been sitting in his truck for a couple of hours. It was wet and it tasted good after the climb up the rise that was really only a foot shorter than Mt. Everest. “What would you have done if I’d said no?”

“Drank all the beers and ate all the doughnuts and wished you were here with me. Stretch out and look that way.” He pointed toward the east. “It’ll be a couple of hours but you’ll be pointed in the right direction. I’ll wake you up if you fall asleep.”

She held up the beer. She couldn’t very well drink it lying on her stomach facing the east.

He took it from her and took a long swig. “We’ll share.”

Putting her mouth where his had been brought up a very vivid visual of shared kisses. She handed it back to him and flopped down on her stomach. “Damn!”

“Did you hit a rock?” he asked with concern in his tone.

“No, I ate too much. My stomach is too full to lie on the hard ground.” She readjusted her weight to get more comfortable. “Got a pillow?”

He patted his arm. “Right here.”

“No thank you.”

“Don’t trust yourself?” he taunted.

She tucked her chin into her chest and looked up at him. “Stretch it out, cowboy.”

“We still talking about my arm?” he teased.

“Honey, that’s all we’re going to talk about for a long time.”

He flipped over on his back and stretched his arm out. She lay on her side, facing him, curled up so close that he could feel the warmth yet not touching anything but his arm with her cheek. “You promise to wake me if I fall asleep? I’d be awful mad if I climbed this mountain and missed the sight.”

“This barely qualifies as a hill. It’s not a real mountain.”

“Depends on whether you are climbing it or lookin’ at it.” She shut her eyes and in three minutes was asleep. Her snores sounded like the deep purrs of a satisfied kitten.

The moon didn’t offer much light but combined with his memory and his imagination, it was enough. He looked his fill of her while she slept. Dark hair tied back in a ponytail. Jet-black eyelashes fanned out on her high cheekbones. And lips that begged for him to lean forward and kiss them. But he didn’t dare. She said they had to go slow and that might mean no kisses for a month or two. He’d never been a patient man but he’d learn.

A coyote howling in the distance awoke her when the sun was peeking over the horizon. It was a glowing line of orange waking up a whole new world. She was snuggled up close to Hank and he was sound asleep. She took advantage of the moment and stared at his dark hair, feathered back but a little longer than it had been the day of the town meeting. Dark eyelashes resting on his cheeks. A mouth that wasn’t full enough to be feminine but not thin enough to be hard. And a body made to cradle a woman’s body next to his.

“Hey, you’d better wake up, cowboy, or we’ll miss the big show,” she whispered in his ear.

He opened his eyes and smiled. “Would you look at that?”

“Beautiful, ain’t it?” she said.

“Like all beauty, it’s worth the wait.”

She smiled. “Is that a pickup line?”

“Nope. It’s the truth. Shhh. No more talking. Just prop up on your elbows like this and watch it happen,” he said.

She flipped over on her stomach and watched the new day. One with no marks on the page and that didn’t care what yesterday had brought or tomorrow had to offer. It was just there for one turn around the earth and then it started all over again.

One day at a time.

That’s all anyone ever got, no matter what their names were.

Henry leaned on the corral fence, one foot hiked up on the bottom rail and his elbows on the top one. “This is my favorite day of the year. It’s what a ranch is supposed to sound like.”

Larissa didn’t hear anything but the bawling of cows, a few yapping hounds, and the clattering engine of a big yellow school bus throwing up dust as it came down the lane. Hank had invited her to a rodeo one of the first times she’d met him and Henry had insisted her first one be at the ranch.

She’d arrived thirty minutes early and found Henry waiting by the fence. He was dressed in a western shirt with a red bandana around his neck, a straw hat perched on his head, and spurs on his boots that jangled when he moved. She wondered if he was going to ride bulls or broncs at his age.

“Why would a bus be coming down here? Did you invite the kids to come to the rodeo?”

“No, the kids are the rodeo,” he said.

She thought she’d heard him wrong and frowned. “How’s that again?”

“This is the most important rodeo in the whole state. I invite the kindergarten children out here for a play day rodeo in September every year. It’s good for them but it’s better for me. I look forward to it all year long,” Henry said.

“And how many kids are there?” She remembered her kindergarten class. Twenty-four students were in her room and there were four different classes. They all had recess at the same time and the playground was a war zone.

“Palo Pinto has a little school. Only has about ninety kids in the whole thing,” he said.

“Kindergarten through twelve?” She did the math in her head and that was only seven kids to the class.

“No, just through the sixth grade. They told me they’d be bringing an even dozen today. The teacher is driving the bus so that’ll make thirteen. That’s a perfect number.”

“All day?” Larissa asked.

“Yeah, it sure ain’t long enough, is it?”

She turned to look at the bus coming to a stop between her and the house. It sounded like eternity to her.

“Why’s a ranch supposed to sound like a kids’ rodeo?” she asked as the doors of the bus folded back.

“Lot of land should grow kids as well as cows. Where in the devil is Hank? He’s supposed to be here to welcome them with me.”

Hank rounded the front end of the bus just as the teacher stepped off. “Hello, Mr. Wells. I am Haley Smith. I’ve got twelve cowpokes here for a rodeo today. Are you ready for them?”

She was the same height as Larissa. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail with a bandana tied around it. Her pearl snapped shirt was tucked into tight jeans and matched mustard colored round-toed cowboy boots. She carried twenty more pounds than Larissa and most of it was hips and thighs. Brown eyes lit up like twinkling Christmas tree lights when she saw Hank.

“Well, bring them bull riders and ropers on out here so I can meet them,” Henry said.

She motioned and twelve children came off the bus in single file. Most of them had a sparkle in their eyes but one little girl hung back and eyed the fence as if it were the biggest hurdle she’d ever come up against.

“I’ve got eight cowboys and four cowgirls today,” she said.

“There’s four of us so I reckon that’ll be three for each,” Henry said.

Larissa’s hands started to sweat. She’d never been responsible for three kids in her entire life. She looked across at Hank in time to catch him lower one eyelid in a wink.

“We’ll do competition bull riding, some roping, and barrel racing this morning. Then we’ll have some lunch up at the cookhouse. Miz Oma is making hot dogs and chocolate cake. After we eat and have a little recess, we’re going to get real serious and do some mutton bustin’,” Henry said.

“Yeah!” Eleven shouts went up.

The little girl shrunk back against the bus and stuck her thumb in her mouth. When she felt Larissa looking at her she jerked it out with a pop and wiped it off on her hip pocket.

“Okay, then Mitchell, Levi, and Josh, you are with Mr. Wells.”

“Ah, man, Miss Haley, I wanted to partner up with Austin today,” Mitchell whined.

“Not today. Austin, Ross, and Forest with…” She looked right at Hank.

“Hi, kids, I’m Hank. Looks like if we divide by threes we’re going to end up with a girl in the crowd. Why don’t me and Dad each take four boys and you ladies take two girls each?”

“That sounds like a plan, Hank.” The teacher’s eyes left no doubt that she was very interested in the cowboy standing not five feet from her.

“I can take all four girls and that way Miz Smith can be free to rotate among them,” Larissa offered.

Damn! Why did I say that? She looks like she would drop her tight fittin’ jeans and fall on her back if he touched her with his little finger, so why did I just give her a chance to flirt anytime she wants? Besides, I don’t want to be responsible for one kid, much less four little girls all day long. Sharlene is going to get a kick out of this story.

“That’s awful nice of you. You’d be Hank’s sister, right?”

“I want Austin with my group,” Mitchell whined.

Haley was drawn away from Larissa to settle that issue. “That isn’t happening. You two get into enough trouble when you are separated. Austin will stay with Hank, along with Ross, Forrest, and Joe. Bobby Dean, you go with Mr. Wells. Miz Wells, you get the twins, Ruby Jane, and Garnet plus Natalie and Brenda. I’ll tag along with Hank’s group for the first go-around. What are we doing first, Mr. Wells?”

“You can all call me Henry.” He grinned. “First rattle out of the chute is bull ridin’. I got the bull all primed and ready. He’s a mean one and it’ll take a big man to stay on him for eight seconds.”

“Or girl,” Garnet said. She and Ruby Jane were definitely identical twins. They had the same black hair pulled back in a ponytail, the same slightly toasted skin that said one of their parents was part Hispanic. But Garnet had a confidence about her that Ruby Jane lacked.

Henry tipped his hat at her. “Yes, ma’am. Might be that one of you girls will outride these ornery boys.”

“I will,” Garnet said. “Put me on that bull and I’ll stick to him like I was stuck to his sorry old hide with glue.”

“Her dad rides,” Haley informed everyone.

Henry put a hand on Mitchell’s shoulder. “Sounds like she knows the language and you boys are going to have a tough time with her competing. Okay, my guys, follow me. We’ll open the chute and get the bull out so everyone can have a turn. Rest of you cowboys and cowgirls have a seat on the hay bales. And remember the folks in the stands are just as important as the ones doin’ the performin’ so let’s clap and holler for every one of them.”

Small square bales of hay had been arranged in a circle around the four sides of the corral. Hay had been strewn in the middle and two small chutes thrown up out of plywood at the far end. Mitchell, Levi, Josh, and Bobby Dean followed Henry to one chute and stood to the side.

“Surely there’s not a real bull in there,” Larissa mumbled.

Ruby Jane reached up and grabbed her hand in a tight squeeze. “I’m afraid of them things. Garnet, she ain’t afraid. But I am. We ain’t goin’ to have to touch a real bull, are we?”

“Well, for this time around all we have to do is watch,” Larissa told her.

She kept a tight grip on Larissa’s hand. “Will you sit by me?”

“Yes, I will.”

The other three little girls ran on ahead and settled on seats on the other side away from Hank and his boys who were bouncing around like rubber balls.

“I betcha Mitchell falls on his ass,” Garnet said.

“Shhh. Don’t you say that word or Miz Haley will put you on the bus. She said if you said another bad word, you wouldn’t get to ride in the rodeo,” Ruby Jane said.

“Well, shit!” Garnet muttered.

Larissa laid a finger over her lips. “I’m bettin’ that you beat every one of those boys over there. But you’ve got to be careful and not say bad words. Wouldn’t it be awful if they won because you were in the bus and couldn’t ride? Tell me those boys’ names again.”

Brenda pointed. “That’s Mitchell. Him and Garnet get into the most trouble. Garnet says bad words and Mitchell won’t be still. That’s Levi. He’s all right but he picks his nose. That’s Josh. He’s smart and can already read. And that other one is Bobby Dean.”

“What does Bobby Dean do, Garnet?” Larissa asked.

“He’s a big baby. He can’t even tie his shoes. He’s goin’ to fall off the bull in one second.”

“He is not a big baby,” Ruby Jane said.

“He is too and so are you.”

“Am not.”

Larissa rolled her eyes at the cloudless blue sky. A whole day of this and she’d be ready to give the Honky Tonk to Victoria Radner, lock, stock, and barrel and light a shuck to Egypt to live the rest of her life as a nomad in tents with no possibility of ever clapping eyes on a man. That way she’d never have to worry about children.

Henry got everyone’s attention by clapping his hands. “Okay, listen up. This is a mean bull. I worked him over real good before y’all got here and told him to buck his hardest. Hank will have to leave his rodeo crew with Miz Haley for a little while and come help corral this wicked critter.”

Hank left the teacher with two little boys on either side. When he reached the corral door he opened it up and jumped back in mock horror. “It’s black and mean and ready to ride. Okay, bully bull, come on out and we’ll see who’s boss. I’ve got some mean hombres here ready to tame you.”

Henry smiled brighter than Larissa had ever seen.

Ruby Jane’s hand relaxed when they pulled the bull from the chute by the horns. The meanest black bull in all of Palo Pinto County had started out life as a tractor tire. Henry had used a box cutter to turn him into a proper bull and then tied him to a wooden framework with ropes. The whole thing resembled a homemade rocking horse that Larissa had when she was a little girl. Only the one she’d gotten for Christmas that year was a brown and white plastic horse on a metal frame. Henry had attached one long rope to the front right corner of the bull and one to the back left. Henry grabbed one rope and Hank the other and began to jerk the bull from side to side.

“See how mean he is. I call him El Diablo. There ain’t been a kindergartner this year that’s been able to stay on him for eight seconds. You got the stopwatch, Hank?”

Hank made a show of pulling it from his pocket. “Right here.”

“I’ll ride ’im first,” Garnet said.

Ruby Jane let out a whoosh of air. “It ain’t a real bull. It won’t bite me.”

“No, it won’t and you’re going to show them boys that you aren’t a big baby. You’re going to ride that thing longer than anyone else,” Larissa whispered softly into her ear.

She nodded seriously.

“Okay, first up is old Cowboy Mitchell,” Henry shouted. “Mount up, cowboy. Here, put this glove on and settle your hat down real good. Remember the rules. One hand up and it can’t touch the bull or the ride is over.”

“I reckon I’m going to need some help with this stopwatch,” Hank said.

“I’ll do it,” Haley yelled. “You boys sit right here. Larissa, if you see them acting up you tell me when the ride is over and they won’t get a turn.”

“Can we holler?”

“Of course you can. It’s a rodeo,” Haley said.

Mitchell picked up a handful of straw and rubbed it on his hands before he put the glove on. Hank hoisted him up on the bull and he wrapped the rope around his gloved hand three times, held up his other hand, and nodded at Hank.

The yelling began with three boys beside the chute, four across the arena, and three little girls shrieking from Larissa’s corner. Ruby Jane watched quietly, her eyes narrowed and her chin tucked into her chest.

Haley pushed the button on the stopwatch and the ride began with Henry yanking the bull one way and Hank the other. Six seconds later Mitchell slid off the side and bit the dust. Haley held up six fingers.

Mitchell knocked the dust from his hat by hitting it against his leg. “It was a mean old critter.”

“Good ride!” Henry told him.

“I’ll go next,” Levi said.

He lasted five seconds and Mitchell beamed.

Josh mounted up for the third ride and the kids all began to scream and holler for him to hang on tight. He tied Mitchell’s score. Bobby Dean was a scrawny little blond-haired boy with big green eyes and thick glasses. His jeans were clean and ironed with a crease down the legs but were an inch too short. His knit shirt was a size too big and his boots flopped slightly on his feet when he walked out to the bull.

“He gets meaner and meaner. It’ll take a big man to tame him this time, Bobby Dean. You up for the ride?” Henry asked.

The little boy swallowed hard and nodded. He didn’t rub dirt or straw on his hands but put the glove on and wrapped the rope around it three times counting carefully as he did so he’d get it right.

“You ain’t got a hat. Man can’t ride a bull without a hat,” Henry said. He opened a wooden feed bin beside the chute and brought out a straw hat to settle on Bobby Dean’s head. “You stay on that mean critter for eight seconds, son, and that hat belongs to you,” Henry whispered.

The corners of the little boy’s mouth turned up in a shy smile. He nodded at Hank and the ride began. Henry pulled and Hank yanked and Bobby Dean held on. The crowd roared. Henry pulled harder. The bull bucked one way and then the other and the crowd screamed even louder.

“That’s it! Eight seconds!” Haley yelled.

Ruby Jane danced around Larissa screaming, “He done it. He beated Mitchell.”

Henry darted around the bull like he was afraid for his life and finally reached up to rescue Bobby Dean. “Whew, man, I thought that thing was going to keep you and not let me get you off his back. You really tamed that bull, Bobby Dean. I reckon you’ll grow up to be a cowboy rancher for sure.”

“Yes, sir. Can I really keep the hat?”

“You can. You earned it. That was a big job you just did. Means you got the right to wear a cowboy hat like a real man. Everyone who can stay on this bull for eight seconds today gets a hat. You’ll have to work hard as Bobby Dean to get one. So far, he’s the cowboy of the day,” Henry said.

Mitchell slapped his hat against his leg and crossed his arms over his chest. “Can I try again?”