Chapter Two
C ole spent the rest of the day putting out more fires of one kind or the other on the ranch.
He had deposited a very happy daughter at the front door of her school after leaving the drug store.
She still clutched that darn yellow folder in her hand as if it were made from gold instead of yellow plastic.
The sight of it waving around only served to remind him of one thing…
or rather one person… Miss Jones . The ever helpful, ever sassy, Miss Jones of platinum hair and skintight jeans.
She had gotten back at him for the offer of repayment for the folder…
leaving that ‘cute’ little instruction with Mrs. Schulze, who took great enjoyment in relaying it to him.
As their paths were likely to not ever cross again, he was determined to shut her out of his mind.
Easier said than done. Returning to the ranch, he deposited the pharmacy items into the hands of his housekeeper, Marcella Fernandez, who immediately informed him that his foreman, Gabe Allen, needed him in the Latigo pasture as soon as he could get there.
And as he was about to head out the door toward the barn to saddle up and join the foreman, she dropped the other bombshell on him.
“Madeline called. She said she needed to talk to you immediately.”
He turned slowly from the doorway, his eyes narrowing on that bit of news.
Any call or communication from his ex-wife never boded well for any number of reasons.
There was always one thing he could be certain of though…
it would invariably involve money… his money and her need for it.
Cole bit back the imprecation that came to his lips. The day was on a downhill slide.
“She can wait.” He hit the screen door with his hand and let it slam shut behind him.
His long strides took him in the direction of the barn and his horse.
His first thought was to take the Jeep and make better time getting to the far-flung pasture where his foreman waited.
But he felt the need to saddle up and ride off the unsettling feeling of frustration that had been building inside him for a while.
It had flared just about the time a blonde had barreled into him in an aisle at the drug store.
The level had definitely spiked the longer he had held contact with the silky skin and explored the depths of blue eyes that still followed him as he galloped across the flat pastureland toward the red rocks rising to the south.
The ability to take off alone on his horse always served as a soothing balm on his jangled thoughts.
The land covered thousands of acres in all directions dotted with high mesas, deep ravines, colored canyon walls.
Mesquite, sagebrush and pinions clumped together around water holes for the cattle who took refuge out of the glare of the midday Texas sun.
The light breeze had heated fast and the sweat it created cooled on his skin as his horse carried him at a steady clip.
A continuous buzz broke into his thoughts. It wasn’t going away. The ever-present cell phone could always announce a real emergency from somewhere on the ranch so he reined in his mount and bit out a choice epitaph into the empty vista around him.
“Connors.” He was short on pleasantries.
“I told your servant to tell you to call me hours ago.”
His supply depleted itself when he heard the too-familiar voice with its hint of disdainful French accent which had been her perpetual state when speaking to him for most of the years they had known each other.
“To the point as always,” he ground back.
“And as usual you need to get the facts straight. I have no servants. They are paid employees who do not have to take anything from you….most importantly your rude orders. So, if your call is so important, stop wasting both our time and get to the reason you called.”
“You never change…still the dictator of your little kingdom.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“I am getting married.”
Those words halted his movement to disconnect the call. Another of her ploys?
“How many engagements does this make? Number eight…or is it fifteen? Sixteen? I have lost count. And why do you feel the need to let me in on the poor victim’s suffering? In case you didn’t get the memo, on fiancé number one…I could care less what you do with your life.”
“Well, you will care soon enough. I am bringing him to Texas. To meet Emmaline. And then after we are married, our attorney will meet with yours. And the victory shall be mine.”
“What victory would that be?” His radar was on full alert at that moment. He had learned to never count his ex out of a fight, and something told him that was the true reason behind her call.
“The one where my very rich husband’s army of attorneys takes what you hold so dear…my daughter and a lot of that precious money of yours…for my pain and suffering all those years.”
“The courts gave Emmaline to me. You put up no argument. A child severely hampered your lifestyle in Europe where you couldn’t wait to scuttle back to.
And if you found some unwitting fool to fall for your act, then he is to be pitied.
Either way, you will have a wasted trip to Texas, don’t bother to come. ”
“Oh, but I am already on my way, poor chere. We will arrive in a few days. I will call and tell Emmaline the news this evening. I am sure she will be overjoyed. Please tell your servants to ready those rooms in the guest wing for us. Three or four should be plenty. As much as I would prefer to stay in a city with better accommodation, Philippe is looking forward to seeing your rustic life. I will suffer through it for him.”
“Hedging your bets in other words…until you get that wedding ring on your finger. Then he won’t know what hit him.”
“I have wasted enough time on this. Just be ready. I plan to have Emmaline Marie back with me before the summer. She will love the ocean below Philippe’s estate.”
“When Hell freezes over.” The line went dead.
And the blood in his body moved to a boil.
He should have known the day was going to be one of those where he would fare better if he were on the back of a bucking bronc holding on for life for eight seconds.
His brief marriage to his ex had epitomized that feeling almost each day of the brief two years they had been together.
And he had only fooled himself by thinking that a divorce decree would rid him of her presence in his life.
Emmie was the weapon she used on him over the years since the court had given him sole parenting rights when she wanted to needle him with her threats.
But this time, he had a feeling that it might not turn out to be one of her usual taunts.
His gut never failed him. And the ride was about to get bumpy in more ways than one.
Six hours later, he was parking the pickup in the lot next to the watering hole known as Aces Wild Saloon, Cole swung his tall frame from the driver’s side and shut the door behind him.
Long strides took him across the sidewalk and to the front door of the bar.
He didn’t stop to rethink what he was doing.
He knew if he allowed hesitation, then he would head down the street to Miz Sue’s Café and a slice of pie with coffee.
This would only take a minute of his time anyway.
He’d get rid of the blonde from his mind once and for all and settle the matter of the debt over the yellow folder.
That’s what he told himself on the drive into town.
Madeleine was the next problem on his list and would take some thought. But this was a good place to begin.
With the door closed behind him, his eyes worked to adjust to the dim interior lighting of the hazy saloon.
It was still comparatively early in the evening and the usual Friday night crowd of boisterous ranch hands and oil field workers hadn’t made their appearance yet.
Only about six tables were occupied and that same number stood at the long bar.
A band was unloading and setting up their instruments in the far corner of the dance floor.
“Well, as I live and breathe if it ain’t Cole Connors. You lost, cowboy? It’s been a while since you’ve darkened this doorstep.” The woman wiping down the dark wood of the bar paused and issued the greeting. Cole walked toward her with a slow smile creasing his face.
“Hello, Candy. It’s been a while.”
“It certainly has that. You sit yourself down on the stool here and I’ll pour you a cold one.
” Candy Butler had been in the same graduating class with him in high school.
In fact, they had begun first grade together.
He left for college, and he knew she had stayed in Red Cliffs, married the first of three husbands, and left the saloon in the will of her third one.
“Heard your little girl is living with you,” she said, setting the beer in front of him. “Bet that’s interesting. You fancy being mom and dad?”
Cole took a sip of the brew before answering. “It can be. At least it’s never a dull moment.”
His eyes moved over the other patrons as he spoke.
“Are you looking for someone?”
“Well, I just…” His voice trailed off as his eyes lit on the person he sought.
The kitchen door had swung open and out came the blonde Miss Jones, a tray of chips and queso bowls raised above her shoulder and a couple of long-neck beers in her other hand.
She delivered them to one of the tables with three oil workers seated at it.
Her laugh mixed with theirs as she very easily fielded their obvious flirtatious comments, while making certain she sidestepped a pair of hands that wanted to be too friendly to her backside.
At that moment, her eyes rose from the men at the table and met Cole’s head-on.
The spark of heat was almost as glaring as a spotlight being turned on with a flick of a switch.