One Smart Cowboy Read online

  Ty shook his head to get his wandering mind back to the present. Supper was over. She was the boss’s daughter and his friend, Clay’s sister. She was not a woman to even be considering like that. He reluctantly did what he knew he should. “Cheyenne, it was nice to meet you. Welcome back to the ranch.” He grabbed his hat off the hook by the door and said good-night to everyone in general, and left.

  Thinking about the pretty little lady later that evening he wondered what Cheyenne and Clay’s mother looks like. He could definitely see the family resemblance, but there were obvious differences, as well. Sam was a big man, like Clay, but Cheyenne was a much smaller person. Both men were muscular, which comes with ranching, but she had a much more fragile appearance. Sam’s hair was red, while Clay’s was blond, so her reddish-blonde hair wasn’t surprising. But the one big difference he’d noticed wasn’t in their looks, but their demeanor.

  Sam and Clay were both friendly and outgoing, quick to smile. Cheyenne seemed more introverted, not nearly as quick to smile, and she seemed somehow sad. Maybe that was just the way she was. He was sure he’d get to know her better with time. If she was sad about something, maybe living on the ranch, with good fresh air and open spaces would help. He hoped so.

  ***

  A couple days later Cheyenne looked out the window and saw several of the cowboys that worked for them out in some kind of arena, playing with some horses. It looked like they were having a rodeo, letting them buck and kick, while they were trying to stay on. Maybe they were having a contest or something, to see who can stay on the longest. Several were getting thrown off, and she chuckled, watching them land on their butt. She always thought cowboys must be pretty stupid to be a cowboy in the first place, but having a contest like this just proved it.

  She walked outside so she could watch them better. If nothing else, this was at least entertaining. She noticed several of the cowboys looking over at her. Some of them even waved. A couple looked like they were trying to flirt with her. As if! But hey, what the heck. This could be fun. She gave them a sweet smile and waved back. Ty was one of them out in the pen, and he gave her a look that was anything but flirting, but he didn’t say anything. That seemed odd. He’d seemed friendly enough every evening at dinner. Or supper. She smiled and waved at a couple more, then got bored and went back in the house to read.

  At supper that evening her father started the conversation. “So, Cheyenne, what did you do today?”

  “Oh, nothing much.” Seeing the look on her father’s face, she added a little more. “Mostly just did some more thinking.”

  Ty normally didn’t say much when they were talking about her, but he surprised her this evening. “You didn’t look like you were doing much thinking this afternoon when you were out watching us break horses.” She noticed the frown on his face and was about to ask him if he had a problem with her watching, but her father was talking again, so she turned to him.

  “Have you come up with anything yet?”

  “No. I just don’t know what I want to do.”

  Clay tried to help, as well. “Sis, I heard there’s going to be a big job fair in town next week. Maybe you should go check it out. You might find a job that sparks your interest. You could apply for it right then.”

  She looked at him like he was crazy. “You mean go to a public place where lots of people who can’t find a job gather to say, look at me, I’m a pathetic loser?”

  Sam looked up at her with a frown. “Cheyenne, are you saying you’re too good to go to a job fair?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Cheyenne!”

  “What? Dad, we’re not poor and destitute.”

  “We would be if your brother and I weren’t out there working hard every day.”

  She looked away and rolled her eyes. She knew Clay and Ty saw her do it, but luckily, they didn’t say anything. Her father cleared his throat. “Cheyenne, you and I will discuss this after supper, in my office.” Cheyenne rolled her eyes again, and Clay gave her a serious frown.

  Luckily, her father changed the subject and they finished their meal without further talk of her or a job.

  ***

  After supper Clay came to her rescue. “Dad, can I talk to you a minute?”

  Cheyenne took this opportunity and quickly slipped off to her room, anxious to get away.

  Sam stopped and looked at his son. “Before I talk to your sister?”

  “Yes. Actually, it’s about that talk you’re going to have with her.”

  “I’m not going to do anything but talk to your sister, son. You don’t have to worry.”

  “Actually, that makes me worry more, Dad.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Dad, she has no intention of getting a job.”

  “Did she tell you that?”

  “She didn’t have to.” Clay sighed. “Dad, she hasn’t been doing any thinking about her future. She majored in English because it was the easiest thing for her to major in. The other day a paper fell out of her pocket as she was going outside. I picked it up to see if it was anything important, and it was her grades in college. Dad, she barely passed her classes, barely got her degree.”

  “Are you sure? She always got good grades in school.”

  “Because you made her do her work. Mom never cared. So when she went to Paris, no one cared if she got good grades or not. She took the easiest classes and did just what she had to.”

  Sam gave his son a warning look. “Clay, I don’t like what you’re saying here. I didn’t raise you two to be lazy.”

  “I know, and she wasn’t lazy when she was living here. But she’s changed, Dad.”

  “How?”

  “She’s become a little princess. She flirts with the hands, but won’t go out with any of them, or even talk to them. And you heard what she said about going to a job fair.”

  “Yes, I did. What’s gotten into her?”

  “Dad, think back. She used to start acting like this in high school, all high and mighty, better than everyone else, until you’d have a discussion with her. Remember?”

  Thinking back, her father frowned. “Her mother was starting to have an influence on her. It used to take a good session over my knee to get her calmed back down for a while again.”

  “I know.” Clay hesitated a few moments before continuing. “Dad, I love Mom and all, but I have to say that I think she was a bad influence on Cheyenne the last several years. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to you or try to tell you what you should do by any means, but Cheyenne and I had a pretty good talk the day after she got back, and I think you need to know about it.”

  Sam’s eyebrows raised. “If you think it’s that important, I do want to know about it. Go ahead, son.”

  “I asked her how she liked living in Paris, and it seemed to me she was pretty much on her own. She said Mom spent all her time with this guy she married. She even told me Mom didn’t seem to care much about anyone but herself, and Aunt Mary was a real diva.”

  Her dad’s eyebrows raised. “Maybe I need to have a serious talk with her.”

  “Dad, I think you need to have more than a talk with her. Talking never did anything when she was younger.”

  “But certainly you can’t be suggesting I spank her now?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting, Dad.”

  “But she’s twenty-three years old.”

  “And she’s acting like a spoiled teenager again.”

  Sam thought a bit. “I’m going to talk to her. I’ll let her know what I expect.”

  “And if it doesn’t do any good?”

  “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

  “Okay. I understand that she’s older and hopefully she’ll listen to you now. I’m concerned about the influence Mom has had on her these past few years, though, especially hearing her attitude and the things she said the other day when we talked, and today when I suggested the job fair. It seems to me she was starting to become a princess when she left, and she
just expanded on that while she was gone. I think you needed to hear that before you have your talk with her. If your talk doesn’t work, that gives you a little more to think about.”

  “Okay, I’ll think about it. Hopefully my talk with her will solve the problem.”

  “I hope so, but don’t bet on it.”

  Ten minutes later Sam had summoned his daughter back downstairs and to his office, and they were having a heart to heart talk. He told her he was disappointed in her if she felt she was better than other people who were out looking for work, while she was content to sit at home and let others support her. He explained that nothing in life was free, and tried to explain the pride you feel when you earn what you have, as opposed to having it handed to you.

  After thinking a bit, she tried to smooth things over quickly and easily. “But, Dad, I’m not opposed to getting a job and earning some money. I just don’t know what I want to do yet.”

  “And you haven’t been giving it much thought, either, have you?”

  “Of course I have.”

  “Have you really? Be honest, honey. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you’ve been giving this some real serious thought?”

  She squared her shoulders and looked into her father’s eyes, but couldn’t do it. Her shoulders slumped and she made a quiet admission. “I guess not.”

  “That’s what I thought. So to help you decide, I have an idea. Our cook is retiring to go live with her recently widowed sister. I know you can cook. In fact, you’re very good at it. So until you find a job or decide what you want to do and start pursuing it, you can cook for us.”

  “Seriously? You want me to be a cook?”

  Frowning, Sam said, “Yes, I do. If you don’t like cooking maybe it will be the incentive you need to come up with something else you’d rather do.”

  “But, Dad—”

  “Cheyenne, I don’t care for this attitude I’ve seen lately from you, and I’m warning you now it better stop. When you were in high school, you used to get all worked up like this and I’d have to take you over my knee to get you calmed back down. It worked then, and it’ll work again if you don’t change your attitude on your own.”

  “Dad!”

  “You heard me, Cheyenne.” He softened his tone a bit. “Honey, I love you. I always have, and I hope you know that. I was thrilled that you decided to come back home. But you’re acting like a princess who’s too good to lift a finger to help around here, and that’s going to change. I suggest you work with the cook this week to make sure you know where everything is and when the meals will need to be done so that next week when she’s gone, you’ll be ready to take over.”

  He got up and left, leaving her speechless.

  It took her several minutes to digest everything he’d said. She was going to have to cook meals for them, and that didn’t sit well with her. That would mean getting up early to have breakfast ready, which meant no more late nights.

  He’d also threatened her with a spanking! She was furious. How dare he even threaten such a thing, at her age. Surely it was just a scare tactic, but he had no right to even threaten her with such a thing. The more she thought about that, the angrier she got.

  She briefly thought of his comment that he was disappointed in her. When she was living here growing up he would occasionally tell her that, and it always bothered her. The only times he was disappointed in her was when she didn’t try her hardest, and she deserved to feel bad. But this time was different. If he didn’t like her attitude, that was tough. She didn’t particularly care for his right now, either, and she certainly didn’t like her mother’s attitude.

  The more she thought about what he said, the more upset she became. She went to bed, but didn’t sleep well. She had to come up with a plan to get off this ranch.

  The next morning when Sam, Clay and Ty entered the dining room for breakfast, Sam looked all around the area.

  “Looking for something?” Bella, the cook, asked.

  “Has Cheyenne been down yet today?”

  Bella looked at him oddly before shaking her head. “No. Were you expecting her to be down early? Should I check on her?”

  “No, no, don’t bother, I’m sure she’s fine,” he assured her. “But she’s going to start cooking for us when you leave, so she’ll probably want to work with you this week to learn the ropes.”

  Bella’s eyes grew as she looked at Sam. “She’s going to be cooking?” Ty had to hide a chuckle, saw a little grin on Clay’s face, and wasn’t surprised to see that Bella was shocked at the news, as well.

  Sam assured her, “Yes, for a little while at least.” Seeing the shocked looks on everybody’s face, he said, “She’s actually a good cook.” As an afterthought he added, “When she wants to be.”

  Clay caught his dad’s eyes. “Apparently she doesn’t want to be right now.”

  Sam nodded. “Maybe I’ll have to talk to her again at lunch. I thought she understood what I said.”

  At lunch Bella was again serving the food herself. Sam again came in and looked around. “Where’s Cheyenne? She’s not helping you?”

  Bella stuttered and stammered a bit before shaking her head. “She said she had to go to town.”

  Sam frowned and asked, “Did she say what for?”

  “No. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, Bella,” Sam assured her. “I’ll talk to her at supper tonight.”

  Clay looked at his dad before addressing Bella. “Did she say when she’d be home?”

  She shook her head again. “No.”

  Ty didn’t know what was going on, but he noticed the looks that went between Sam and Clay. Things could get interesting around here.

  The group assembled that evening for supper, but again, no Cheyenne. Ty listened to the questions and Bella’s answers, very similar to those given at lunch, and noted the looks going back and forth between father and son. He still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he was sure the little prima donna was digging herself into some kind of hole.

  After supper Ty left to go back to his foreman’s cabin, and Clay decided it was time for a discussion with his dad. “So where do you suppose she is?”

  Sam sighed. “I have no idea.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I’m going to talk to her again and see what’s going on, see what she has to say.”

  “Dad, you know what I think you ought to do.”

  “Yeah, I know. You made that clear. Let me talk to her and see what happens.”

  While they were talking, someone knocked at the front door. “I’ll see who it is,” Clay said, as he headed in that direction.

  Sam was still thinking about his daughter when Clay returned with his girlfriend, Lynelle. Sam stood to address her. “Lynelle, hello.”

  “Hi, Mr. Williams.”

  “Have you had supper? We just finished, but there’s plenty left. I’m sure we could scrounge up a plate for you.”

  “No, I ate already, but thank you. You and Clay are both so sweet. He asked me the same thing.”

  Sam smiled as he looked at his son. “Glad to hear he’s remembering his manners. Well, I’ll let you two visit a bit. I’ve got work to get to in my office.” He started to leave, but turned to his son. “Clay, if your sister comes in would you tell her I’d like to see her in my office, please?”

  “Sure, Dad.”

  Sam walked back to his office, thinking about his son and Lynelle. Clay certainly had dated enough girls in the past, but it was obvious to Sam that Lynelle was different. Clay seemed to be enamored with this girl, and Sam could see why. She was a pretty thing. Her long blonde hair and big blue eyes would get about any man’s attention. She was a bit on the thin side, but if she lived on the ranch, Sam was sure they could put a little meat on her bones. No, his son had found him a pretty little thing, all right.

  The one thing that worried Sam about Lynelle, though, was her temper. It worried him because he knew Clay didn’t like it any more t
han he did. His son had talked to her about it, and the fact that when she lost her temper she seemed to lose control of her mouth, as well. The words that came out of that pretty little lady’s mouth when she was upset were shocking. Sam knew Clay was going to have to get those under control for them to have a future.

  And Sam hoped they would have a future. He wanted both of his kids to meet that special person and settle down, hopefully on the ranch. Though he had to admit that was doubtful in Cheyenne’s case. She had never been a big fan of living on the ranch. Thinking back to Clay and Lynelle for a minute, though, those two could some day give Sam some nice looking blond-haired grandkids, if Clay could just calm her temper down. He wished his son luck.

  Chapter Two

  Clay guided Lynelle into the living room and they sat down on the couch. “So, what brings you out here tonight? Is everything okay?”

  Lynelle had a pretty little pout on her face when she looked up at him. “What; I’m not allowed to come out just to see you?”

  “Of course you are, and I’m always happy to see you, Nell, but I’m just checking to make sure nothing’s wrong.”

  She was still pouting a bit. “Are you sure? You didn’t seem real happy to see me.”

  Clay put his arm around her and pulled her closer, guiding her head to his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I just have a few things on my mind tonight and I spent most of the day helping Ty break some new horses. I’m pretty beat.”

  “What’s on your mind? Anything I can help with?”

  “No, not really, but it was nice of you to offer. It’s just ranch stuff.”

  “Maybe you just need to get your mind off of it for a little while then. Maybe I can help you there,” she said suggestively, as she batted her pretty green eyes.