Dodge the Bullet (12 page)

“You want to lease my land for your cattle
operation.” When Dodge nodded, Sarah inclined her head and looked
out into the darkening sky. What would a lease agreement with Dodge
do to her plans? First, she didn’t have concrete plans. She’d had
Luis, until this morning, and now she had nothing. No ranch hand
and next week she’d have 1200 acres of properly fenced grazing
pasture and not a single cow to graze them. “For how long?”

Dodge rubbed his hands together. “I’m not
sure. The length of the lease would depend on you. I’ve got 400
pair now that need fattening up, and they’ll be contracted in July
for December delivery. I’ll A.I. the heifers in a few weeks. I’d
like not to move them again until they calve in February or March
of next year. And there’s no telling when another tract of this
size will become available. I need at least a thousand acres to
support the operation I’ve got.”

“What’s A.I.?” Sarah asked.

“Artificially inseminate. We don’t leave
things to nature anymore.”

“How long did you sign the lease for on the
property you’ve got to vacate?”

“It was a year-to-year lease, and we’d
discussed a multiple year lease if the first year went smoothly for
both of us. I can’t tell you how surprised I am that he backed
out.”

“And would you want the house?”

“The caretaker’s house? No, I heard you’d
hired Luis and I wouldn’t make you kick him out. I can stay with my
dad until I find a place to rent.”

Sarah sipped her wine. “Luis called this
morning with a sudden change of heart. Seems we’ve both had
setbacks today.”

Dodge stood up and stared down at her. “I
know this isn’t what you wanted and I hope you don’t think I’m
taking advantage of your situation. I just don’t have many options
right now. I own some land in Wyoming I could haul the cows to but
it’s leased and the expense of it would kill any profit I’d make
this year. I’ll understand if you say no, but I thought it wouldn’t
hurt to ask.”

Sarah stared into the fire’s blue and orange
blaze, fidgeted when the dry wood popped bits out of the enclosure
onto the deck near her feet. She took another sip of wine and let
the heat of it slip down her throat. “Truth is Dodge, I’m not sure
what I want to do with the land right now and I’m equally out of
options.” She set her wine on a side table and stood, let the throw
pool around her ankles. “I assume I’ll need an attorney to draw up
a formal lease? I’ll agree to the same terms you had with your
current landlord, a year with the option for more if things go
smoothly.” She stuck out her hand so they could shake on her
offer.

Dodge took her hand and the relief she saw
on his face had her stifling a smile. He began rubbing the back of
his neck, a habit she’d seen him do before. “I have to admit I
didn’t think you’d agree so easily.”

“I told you before I like to have a plan.
This gives me one.” She took her seat and wrapped herself in the
throw once more. “You know I’ll have questions.”

Dodge sat back in his chair. “I’d pretty
much counted on that.”

“Well, I guess I can leave with a clean
conscience,” Jenny said. “I’d appreciate your keeping an eye on my
sister, cowboy. In fact,” she raised her glass in toast, “maybe we
can put that in the contract. If you fail to uphold your end of the
deal, I’ll be the enforcer of punishment.”

“Have you always been this shy?” Dodge
asked.

Jenny lifted her chin in the air and Sarah’s
stomach clenched. She knew the look on Jenny’s face enough to
worry. “I was a little shy, until my sister started writing her
steamy little books. If she can have a wild side, I can too. Except
I don’t keep mine tucked away in packing boxes. I prefer to keep it
on display.”

“Why?” Dodge asked. “So you can bust some
guy’s balls when he tries to take you up on what you’re
offering?”

Sarah watched Jenny level a look at him that
would have frozen hot coals, but Dodge didn’t seem intimidated. He
turned to Sarah, his brows knit tightly together. “Wait,” he said.
“What steamy little books?”

Jenny laughed. “It’s her dirty little
secret.”

“Would you please shut up, Jenny.” Sarah
finally found her voice.

“My sister’s an author,” Jenny said with a
smug smile. “She wrote a series of romance novels a few years back.
You’d think she’d show some pride in her work, especially
considering her books paid for this beautiful property, but no. She
hides them away so they don’t tarnish her reputation as the good
sister.” She raised her glass in toast to Sarah. “Well, secret’s
out.”

“Romance novels?”

“I haven’t written in years.” Sarah hoped to
dismiss the conversation with the wave of her hand. She didn’t want
to talk about her books around Dodge. Damn her sister was
maddening, and working her way towards seriously drunk if Sarah
didn’t put a stop to it. God only knew what would come out of her
mouth next.

“Well, I’ve had all the excitement I can
stand for one night,” Jenny said and sauntered to the door. “You
kids have fun.”

Sarah watched Dodge’s eyes follow Jenny
inside the cabin. “Why don’t you two just have sex and get it over
with,” she blurted out. Hell. Maybe she was the one getting
drunk.

“What?” Dodge turned back to Sarah. “I don’t
want to have sex with your sister!”

“Then why do you goad her like that?”

“She’s asking for it and you know it.” He
stood up and paced in front of the fire. “God, she’s a classic
man-hater.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your sister’s a man-hater.” He moved to
take the seat Jenny had vacated. “She acts like she adores men but
deep down she hates any guy with a set of balls between his
legs.”

“Got some experience with man haters, have
you?”

“I’m just saying that’s what she is. I
didn’t make her that way, but she defines the category.”

Sarah sat up in her seat. “Category? As in
there’s more than just the one?”

Dodge sighed and leaned back in the chair.
“You’re not going to understand, so I’m not going to explain.”

Sarah snorted. “You mean I’m not going to
like what you say.” She cleared her throat, leaned forward in her
seat and folded her hands in her lap. “I’m listening.”

“I’m not saying any more because you’re just
going to make fun.”

“I’m about to see deep inside the male
psyche. I’m going to have to insist.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“All right, I’ll explain the categories, but
only if you promise not to laugh.”

Sarah lightly tapped her finger against her
lips. “I can promise I’ll try not to laugh, but sometimes laughter
is difficult to control.”

Dodge braced his hands on his knees and
stood. “It’s been fun, but I’ve got to be going now.”

Sarah shot out of her chair and grabbed his
arm as he tried to scoot by the fire and into the cabin. “Wait a
minute. You’re not getting out of here so easy. Tell me, I won’t
laugh, I promise. I’ll probably be too insulted to laugh.”

He sighed and sat back down. “I’ve found
that all women fall into a series of categories. Its a little
system I’ve devised and perfected through the years.”

Oh, this was priceless. “How many are
there?”

“Six.”

“Six?
All
women fall into just six
categories?” When he nodded she said, “Please go on.”

“First there’s the ‘never satisfied with
anything’ woman.”

Sarah considered and shrugged. “Okay, I get
that one. What’s next?”

“Next is the ‘pretty but unintelligent eye
candy’ woman.” Again she nodded. “Then there’s the ‘just plain low
class’ woman.” She used her fingers to count along as he named them
off. “Probably the least harmless is the ‘book smart but no common
sense’ woman.” As Sarah held four fingers in the air he seemed to
relax and enjoy explaining himself. “Now your sister had me
fluctuating between these last two, the ‘I’ll make you want to
touch me until you can’t breathe but you never will’ category and
the ‘man-hater.’ And as I stated before, she’s the classic
man-hater. Well?” he asked.

Wow. He looked like a normal person, sounded
like a normal person most of the time, but his little
classification system definitely wasn’t normal. “I’m speechless,”
she said and rubbed her temples. He’d pretty much nailed Jenny with
both of his last two categories, but the question of where she
would fall into his demeaning and narrow-minded system made her
want to hurl herself off the deck. No, actually it made her want to
insist he tell her which category she fell into and then hurl him
off the deck. “What am I?”

“Pardon me?”

“What category am I, just for conversation’s
sake?”

“I haven’t been able to put you into a
category just yet.”

“Umm.” Liar.

“You may be the first woman who defies my
little system. I may have to come up with a new category for
you.”

“That’s a rather convenient answer.”

“Now, don’t go making this personal. You
insisted I tell you and I did.”

“How can I not make this personal when you
said all women fall into one of your six categories and you won’t
tell me which one I am?”

“I’m thinking your category might be called
the ‘totally condescending woman,’” he said and then laughed when
she flew out of her chair.

“You think this is funny?”

“Well, I never imagined I’d be the one
laughing at the end of the conversation, that’s for sure.”

She sat back in her chair. “Do your guy
friends know about your categories?”

“Guys don’t talk about women.”

“Oh, please.”

“We may mention an attractive body part or
two, but we don’t talk about women.” And when she snorted in
disbelief he said, “We talk about sports, cows, the price of hay,
beer and our softball league. That’s about it.”

“Do any other women know about your
categories? Your sisters maybe?”

“Are you crazy? I’m not stupid enough to let
them in on my system.”

“You’re smart not to Dodge. It’s a scary
reflection of your personality.”

“Is it scary to you?”

Sarah looked at him and shook her head. “No,
but it explains a lot.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means if you want to lease my land,
don’t put me in a category.”

The
days that followed were busy. Kevin and Lyle resigned themselves to
going to school each day, and the taking down and putting up of new
fences kept them interested in the changes in the property. Every
afternoon after school they’d survey the progress and report back
to Sarah what they saw and hop on their four wheelers to check out
the rest. They both pitched in to help haul the old cedar posts
back to the house. Sarah felt encouraged to see them taking an
interest in the ranch, especially Kevin who seemed particularly
fascinated with why Dodge had made the changes he’d made.

Dodge came by sporadically to assess the
improvements and hammer out the details of the lease. He’d let her
use his lease with Mac McGill as a point of comparison with only a
few changes pertaining to her water rights. She’d asked Paula to
recommend an attorney to look over the lease agreement and had
scheduled an appointment with him early one morning after she’d
dropped the boys at school.

As she entered the small office on a dead
end street off Hailey’s main thoroughfare, she smelled bad coffee
and the musty fragrance of a hundred-year-old building. It reminded
her of her dad’s basement office in the house she grew up in. The
receptionist greeted her with an appraising smile. Her dirty blond
hair was going gray at the roots and her makeup looked a bit too
colorful for the full glare of the light coming in from the tall
windows.

“I’m Sarah Woodward. I have a nine o’clock
appointment with Mr. Garrity.”

The woman stood and stuck out her hand for a
strangely formal handshake. Sarah took the woman’s hand. “I’ve been
wanting to meet you. I’m Regina Winslow.” She pointed to her faux
wood nameplate resting atop the otherwise barren counter. “My
husband and I live off the Seven North, so I guess that makes us
neighbors.”

“Oh,” Sarah said. “Whereabouts is your
home?”

Regina smiled shyly, pushed the blonde ends
of her frizzy hair behind her shoulder. “You can’t see the house
from the road, just our black metal gate with the decorative horses
on each side.”

Sarah thought of the long road that led to
her ranch and the drive Regina had said was hers. The property
appeared neat, with closed gates and the house hidden from view.
“Oh, yes. I think your property abuts ours on along the northern
edge.”

“It does,” Regina said. “I’ve heard you’ve
got young boys. I think I’ve noticed them throwing rocks in the
river. Or my daughter has. She’s quite smitten, I’m afraid.”

“Oh?” This was news to Sarah. “How old is
your daughter?”

“She’s 13, same age as your son. Her name’s
Shiloh--she’s met Kevin at school.” Regina waved a hand in front of
her face. “Don’t look so panicked, she’s harmless, I promise. My
husband won’t let her date until she’s 20 or later, I’m sure.”
Regina’s face reddened and her self depreciating chortle made Sarah
warm to her. “Besides, she’d have to wait in line from what she
tells me. He’s made quite an impression at school.”

Regina must have been mistaken. Kevin hadn’t
said anything about making friends at school. He’d given her the
impression he was miserable, sitting alone at lunch and sulking
through his day. She was going to have to call the guidance
counselor that afternoon and get an unbiased update.

“Well, I…I’m glad to finally meet a
neighbor. We had much closer quarters back in Atlanta.”

Regina came around the high counter and
rested her body along the doorframe that led to the back of the
office. “How are you settling in? Big change from back home?”