Barbara Dunlop - A Cowboy Comes Home

“Just touched down in Lyndon,” Caleb offered. “Did you talk to your mother?”

“Just got off with her,” said Travis. “Dad’s progress is still good. The doctors are amazed.”

“Good to hear.” With his free hand, Caleb hit the unlock button on his key fob and opened the passenger door first. Mandy was focused on her own conversation as she absently accepted his offer and climbed inside.

“About Danielle,” Travis continued.

“Were you able to reach her?” Caleb had tried Danielle’s cell this morning and got her voice mail. Odds were good that she’d headed back to Chicago and was on an airplane. Still, he’d asked Travis to retry the call and check the ranch just in case. He’d rushed off so fast last night, he’d barely had time to explain. Danielle wasn’t the most patient woman in the world.

“I drove up to your place,” Travis confirmed.

“So, she’s on her way back to Chicago?”

“Not exactly.”

“She’s not?” Caleb swung into the driver’s seat and slid the key into the ignition.

“You know that hairpin turn where you come out at Joe Mountain?”

“What?”

“Where the rear wheels always break loose?”

Uh-oh. Caleb didn’t like where this was going. “Is Danielle all right?”

“She’s fine. Now.”

“Give me the bad news.”

Travis confirmed Caleb’s fears. “She couldn’t recover from the slide, missed the turn. Got stuck at the edge of the pond. She wasn’t hurt, but evidently, there’s no cell service at that particular spot.”

Caleb groaned and thudded his head on the steering wheel. Mandy spared him a glance of confusion.

“How long was she stuck?” he asked Travis.

“A few hours. I have to give the girl points for moxie. She spotted the Eldridge barn and decided they might be able to help her.”

“That barn’s seventy years old. And it’s half a mile from the road.”

“Hard to judge, I guess. Miss Danielle may want to have her distance vision checked. She climbed through the barbed-wire fence and started hiking.”

Caleb groaned again.

“Didn’t go well,” Travis confirmed. “Apparently you owe her for a designer blazer that got torn. Oh, also the shoes that weren’t made for hiking.”

“Did she make it to the barn?”

“Barely. By the time she realized it was a derelict, a herd of cattle had cut her off from her car. I guess a bull made some threatening moves, and she ended up climbing into the loft. It’s dusty up there and, apparently, there are quite a few spiders.”

Caleb shouldn’t laugh. He really shouldn’t. “I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?”

“Hell, yeah. You and me both.”

“Why you? I assume you rescued her.”

“By the time I got there, she’d been trapped for a few hours.”

“Do I by any chance need a new lawyer?”

“She was pretty desperate for a restroom.”

Caleb rewhacked his head. Anything less than marble fixtures was considered slumming it for Danielle.

“I told her to go behind the barn,” said Travis with an obviously suppressed chuckle.

“Are you laughing?”

“You also owe her for a pair of designer undies. There were nettles.”

“Could you just shoot me?”

Mandy had finished her call, twisted her body in the passenger seat and was now staring unabashedly at Caleb.

Caleb met her curious gaze.

“We had to tow her car back with a tractor,” said Travis. “Scooter says it needs parts. Hey, can you stop by the auto-parts store while you’re in Lyndon?”

“Sure,” Caleb agreed fatalistically.

“We’ll text you a list.”

Caleb braced himself. “She doing okay?”

“She’s been in the upstairs bathroom for two hours. I don’t know what women do in there, but hopefully it’ll improve her disposition.”

“Hopefully,” Caleb agreed, but he wasn’t holding his breath. “Thanks, Travis.”

“No need to thank me. That was the best entertainment I’ve had all month.”

“Don’t tell her that.”

“Already did. See you, Caleb.”

Caleb signed off, pocketing his phone.

“Were you talking to Abigail?” he asked Mandy.

She nodded. “The news on Dad just gets better and better. I’m so relieved.”

“Good to hear,” Caleb agreed.

“You were talking to Travis?” she asked him in return, raising her brows in a prompt.

“Danielle had some car trouble.”

“She’s still in Colorado?” Mandy was obviously surprised by the news. “I got the impression she was going to be on the first flight out.”

“They’re sending us a list of parts for the car.” Caleb turned the ignition key and started the Escalade.

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Travis helped her out. But she’s frustrated to be stuck in Lyndon.”

His phone rang again, but he didn’t recognize the number. He flipped it open. “Caleb Terrell.”

“Mr. Terrell? It’s Frank Cummings here, Mountain Real Estate. I have some good news for you.”

“Hello, Frank.”

“We have an interested buyer.”

“This soon?” Caleb was surprised. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he’d listed the ranch.

“The gentleman has been watching for opportunities in the area, and he’ll be in Lyndon tonight. I’m meeting him for dinner. I was wondering if we might touch base with you by phone in a couple of hours? If all goes well, we’ll want to arrange a viewing.”

“I’m in Lyndon.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

“Then you should join us for dinner.” Frank sounded excited at the prospect.

“Sure.” Why not? If it was a serious buyer, Caleb would like to look him in the eye and make his pitch. “I’m with someone,” he told Frank, his glance going to Mandy.

“Up to you, but feel free to bring them along.”

“Where and when?”

“Riverfront Grill at six.”

“We’ll be there.” He ended the call.

Mandy arched a brown. “We’ll be where?”

He pocketed his phone and pulled the shifter into Reverse. “Is there any chance I can trust you?”

Mandy buckled up. “To do what?”

“To behave yourself-”

She sputtered an unintelligible protest.

“Frank Cummings has a buyer,” he finished.

She froze, jaw dropping. “For the ranch?”

He reversed the SUV out of the parking spot, tires slipping to a stop on the gravel scattered on top of the pavement. Then he shifted into Drive. “Only thing I’m selling.”

“But… You… That’s too fast!”

“I don’t think there are any speed regulations.”

“Who’s the buyer? What does he want? Is he going to keep it as a working ranch?”

Caleb shot her a look of annoyance. “You can’t ask him questions like that. It’s none of our business.”

She clenched her jaw.

“I mean it, Mandy. If you come to dinner, you have to behave yourself.”

“You make me sound like a child.”

“You’re about as emotional as one.”

“Can you blame me? Really, Caleb. Can you blame me for trying to protect your land and your family-”

“It’s not yours to protect.”

“-from someone so determined to make such a stupid mistake?”

“You’re referring to me?”

“If the shoe fits.”

He glanced sternly at her one more time. “You want to come to this dinner, or not? I’m serious, Mandy. I don’t want to dump you off on the side of the road, but I’m not taking a lit stick of dynamite into a business meeting.”

She seemed to have to think about it for a moment.

He waited.

“I won’t ask him his plans for the ranch,” she finally promised, folding her hands primly on her lap, staring straight ahead and looking for all the world like a mischievous young girl.