Ryelee's Cowboy (4 page)

Clint’s jaw dropped. “No, I didn’t
know. I ended up looking like a jackass. Why didn’t Dottie tell me?
I wouldn’t have gone there with her if she had.”

“Maybe she wants you any way she can
get you.” When Clint stared at her in confusion, Annie smiled.
“She’s trying to lasso you, cowboy. Didn’t you know? From what I
hear she’s mentioned marriage a few times since she’s been seeing
you.”

“You have got to kidding me!” This
revelation shocked and dismayed him. He had never given Dottie any
reason to believe that they were getting married. He’d been very
casual about their relationship. Heck, he’d barely kissed her,
although she always seemed to want more.

Mrs. Harvy walked in with a tray of
tea and freshly baked cookies. She placed them on the coffee table
between them and looked at Clint. “I hear it’s going to be a grand
Christmas wedding with all the fixins. Who she’d get to be her maid
of honor, I just don’t know.”

“That explains a lot.” Obviously
neither of the women liked Dottie. “Okay, two women down, two to
go. How about staying and giving me your opinion?”

Mrs. Harvy blushed. “Sorry, Clint, I’m
not getting involved with your women.”

Annie laughed as Mrs. Harvy hurried
from the room. “She’s probably off to the phones.”

Clint sighed. “On to the
next problem. Ryelee only has a handful of threadbare clothes, one
pair of shoes with holes in them, and she doesn’t even have a coat.
She says she doesn’t want to spend any of the money she’s made
because she’ll need it when I
throw her
away
.”

“Wow. I knew she grew up poor. Maybe
she’s afraid of being on her own again.” Annie narrowed her green
eyes and frowned. “You weren’t planning to fire her, were you? Is
everything all right over there?”

Clint shook his head in defeat. “It’s
fine. Even if I wanted to fire her, Rheenie loves her too
much.”

“They do make quite the
pair.”

“That they do. If I gave you the
money, could you buy Ryelee some jeans and stuff?”

“You’ll have to get her
sizes.”

Clint frowned. “How am I supposed to
manage that?”

Annie started laughing and couldn’t
seem to stop. “I guess you’ll have to ask her or check the tags for
sizes.”

“I did check. The clothes are so faded
that you can’t read the tags.”

“Well I guess you’ll have to span her
waist with your hands and somehow measure her inseam.”

“She’s awfully prickly when it comes
to me. Measuring her won’t be easy. I want the clothes to be gifts
from you—she wouldn’t take them from me.”

“You’ll just have to be inventive I
guess.”

“Now why do I get the feeling that
you’re enjoying my predicament?”

When the baby cried, they both knew
that the visit had ended. “Find out soon,” Annie advised. “She
needs a coat.”

Clint kissed her on the cheek and
thanked her. He watched as she left the room, glad to have her as a
friend.

* * * *

Ryelee could feel Clint’s warm gaze on
her all through dinner and wondered if she had upset him yet again.
It was nerve racking trying to eat with him studying her. He would
probably want to talk to her after dinner. Why couldn't she just be
like other people? People that didn't have constant judgment
looming over them. It seemed as though everything she did was
wrong.

She often snuck looks at Clint,
finding him handsome, gentle, and loving to Rheenie. She'd never
known such a man existed. She had wanted to scratch Dottie’s eyes
out every time she saw them together. She hoped that Dottie
wouldn’t be around after today, but that was probably too much to
hope for.

Ryelee was jarred out of her musings
when a biscuit hit her in the head. Shocked, she looked up to find
Rheenie standing up on her chair with her tiny hands on her hips.
Clint jump out of his chair, but she got to Rheenie
first.

Ryelee laughed. “Are you trying to get
my attention, little one?”

She scooped Rheenie up and sat back
down, putting Rheenie on her lap. She kissed the top of her head.
“What did you need, baby?”

Rheenie looked at Ryelee with a sad
face, bordering on crying. “You wouldn’t answer me, and now I’m
going to be punished!”

Ryelee held her close and gently
rocked her. “No, there will not be a punishment, but we have to
agree that we don’t throw food. Okay?”

Rheenie sniffled and nodded her head.
“I’m sorry.”

Ryelee stood up and carried Rheenie
back to her chair. She kissed her cheek and whispered, “I’m sorry
too.”

“Well, let’s just finish our dinner,
shall we?” Clint suggested.

“Yes, Daddy.”

“What did you want to ask me?” Ryelee
asked

“I wanted to know if I could have an
extra big piece of apple pie!” Rheenie smiled at the two
adults.

Ryelee and Clint exchanged looks and
both started laughing.

* * * *

Later, tucked in bed, Ryelee wondered
if Clint could ever come to care for her. Pipe dreams. Her whole
life had been filled with pipe dreams that never came true. She had
prayed a lot when she was young, but it seemed like God had
forgotten her. She somehow managed to keep her faith. It was all
that she had.

The Dotties of the world had their
dreams come true. More than likely, Dottie would worm her way into
Clint's heart, and she would be out on the streets. Maybe she could
find another job, but not in this town. People knew what she'd
endured and never helped, and she doubted any of them would give
her a job. She would survive, she always did. Alone she was capable
and strong. Around other people her confidence always faded, and
she began to believe what they said about her.

A tear slid down her face as she
realized if Clint knew the truth about her situation, she would
disgust him. She laid her hand on her abdomen, worrying about her
baby.

Chapter Three

Clint’s emotions rode high. The vet
had just announced that all but one of the mares were pregnant.
Everything was coming along. Optimistic that his thoroughbreds
exceeded any others, he couldn’t wait to see what the offspring of
King’s Crown would be. He hoped for prizewinners. He was just as
anxious to see what the Quarter Horse mares would throw after being
covered by King’s Crown, hoping for superior speed.

Annie hired a few new men to help him
keep the horses exercised. A lot of labor went into raising horses.
There was the usual mucking out the stalls and putting in fresh
bedding, and Clint was a stickler for cleanliness in his stables.
Then, of course, they had to wash and groom each horse. He gave
them special feed as well as clean water. It was a lot of work, but
he loved it.

He loved to train the horses. Each had
a distinct personality, and they constantly amazed him. Horses were
easier to deal with then people at times. He had raised horses most
his life. It was in his blood.

Although he loved his job here, he
still wanted—needed—to save enough money to buy back his ranch. He
lived in constant fear someone would buy his old place before he
had the chance. A man needed his own land. He longed for his own
land. Losing it devastated him. He hoped that by this time next
year he would be in a position to purchase his ranch back. Right
now, it was a dream, but he was working his damndest to make it
happen.

* * * *

Ryelee stood on a ladder trying to
untangle a kite she and Rheenie had made out of twigs and
newspaper. Now it hung stuck on the roof gutter, and she struggled
to get it down, despite the fact that she could barely reach it.
Looking down to check on Rheenie, she saw Clint marching toward
them. Damn, she had hoped to get it down before Clint ever knew.
She could see the scowl on his face, but it was nothing new. Taking
a deep breath, she waited. She already knew the drill, she'd get
down, he'd get the kite, and then he would give her that what were
you thinking look.

“Ryelee, what are you doing up on that
ladder?”

“Daddy, she’s getting our kite down,”
Rheenie explained.

“Get down off that ladder. I’ll get it
for you.”

Ryelee climbed down. When she had
almost reached the ground, Clint lifted her off the ladder. The
sudden pressure of his hands around her waist made her nauseated.
She flew out of Clint’s hands and ran for the bushes. Ryelee fell
to her knees, heaving. Clint’s eyes on her made her ashamed and
frightened. She didn’t want him or Rheenie to see her like
this.

She wanted to get up but couldn’t stop
vomiting. Even though she felt like she was dying, she knew from
the past few weeks she would be fine as soon as her stomach
emptied. She had learned morning sickness didn’t necessarily happen
in the mornings. So far, she had been lucky and no one knew about
her sickness, until now.

Ryelee heard a car door slam as she
wiped her mouth and stood. She turned and read the concern on both
Clint’s and Rheenie’s faces. Then she saw Dottie smirking at her,
and her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Dottie must
know about her shameful downfall. Dottie was the biggest gossip in
town, and she had probably heard about the whole thing from Parker.
His mouth was almost as big as his bite. Anguish filled her heart.
It wouldn’t matter what she said. No one would believe
her.

Clint stepped forward and took Ryelee
by the arm to help her inside. He seemed surprised to see Dottie,
and he attempted to lead Ryelee around her.

Dottie wasn’t going to let them by.
She grabbed Clint’s arm tightly. “She’s pregnant! It’s true. Ask
her!”

Clint tried to pull his arm out of
Dottie’s hard grip.

“Ask her. She
entertained
a man one
night about two months ago. Everyone in town knows about it. I told
you she’s a no good tramp.” Dottie smiled widely.

Clint stiffened and let go of Ryelee,
the shock from Dottie’s allegations evident in his features. He
stepped away from Ryelee.

“Dottie, don’t say any more in front
of Rheenie. I don’t want her to know about such things.” His voice
sounded hard and unyielding.

Ryelee knew that the day she’d been
waiting for had arrived. She would have to leave. Tears filled her
eyes as she hurried into the house and up to her bedroom. At least
she didn’t have much to pack. How she could leave Rheenie, she
didn’t know. Her heart ached badly. It felt as though it was in a
vise that kept tightening by the minute. She could hardly breathe,
and she raised a trembling hand to her mouth to keep her screams of
torment inside.

Dottie was right. She had been with a
man. Her father had gambled away her virginity to his friend, and
Parker raped her. Her father called it just paying a debt, but
Parker enjoyed a full night of hurting and humiliating her.
Afterward, bruised and broken, she stayed in bed for a
week.

She had wanted to go to the police.
She had wanted to go to the hospital, but her father locked her in
her windowless room until she promised to stay quiet. He reminded
her that the authorities wouldn’t believe a white trash dropout
like her. In the end, she agreed. No one would believe her, they
never did.

Upon discovering her pregnancy, her
father insisted on an abortion but Ryelee refused. He threatened
her but this time she stood up to him. He threw her away. He forced
her to leave.

Déjà vu. At least this time she had
some cash. With her reputation in shreds, she would have to leave
town. She had tried so hard not to be the trashy girl they all
believed her to be. She always kept herself and her clothes clean.
She never had any trouble with the law, and she tried to be kind
and respectful of others, but in the end trying to be a good girl
had been all for naught.

Staring out the front window, she
watched Clint leading Rheenie over to Annie’s house. Dottie’s car
was gone, thank God. Clint obviously didn’t want Rheenie to be
around when he fired her.

Trembling, she sat down on her bed,
waiting for Clint to come back. She suddenly realized Rheenie
wasn’t the only one she would miss with all her heart. She would
miss Clint too. She had sworn to herself that no man could be
totally good inside, but now she believed Clint might be. Well, it
was too late now. If she hadn’t needed a ride into town, she would
have just walked away. She didn’t know if she could stand to see
the disappointment in Clint’s eyes. If he looked at her the same
way some of the town’s people did, she wouldn’t be able to bear it.
Maybe Noreen would let her stay for a few days. She sighed, there
was no way she was going to bring her troubles to Noreen's door
again. Noreen was too nice and she couldn't have her mixed up in
this mess.

The wait was killing her, and,
self-preservation kicked in. Grabbing her small bag, she slowly
climbed down the stairs. She glanced around the lovely house that
had become a home to her then sadly started out the front
door.