Pamela Toth - Cattleman's Honor

Apparently satisfied, Kim turned her attention back to her own meager portion. She was built like her mother, small and slim, and she ate like a bird.

As Adam made an effort to clean his plate before the housekeeper could scold him, his thoughts went back to his earlier visit to his neighbor, Emily Major.

Even though she hadn’t bothered to introduce herself, he’d already gotten her name from county records. When he’d first recognized her, he’d felt a momentary twinge of disappointment. He’d been right—she was new to the area. Too bad she would probably be leaving again as soon as he’d bought her out. Under different circumstances he might have enjoyed getting to know her better.

His determination to acquire her twenty acres hadn’t changed since she’d turned down his offer, but the negotiations looked to be a whole lot more entertaining than he’d first figured. Now that he’d had time to think about it, he couldn’t say he was all that disappointed she hadn’t given in on his first try. At least he had an excuse to tangle with Ms. Major again.

“You look like you just beat Uncle Travis at poker,” Kim said. “What’s going on?”

Her perception startled him. If she was able to read him this easily at fifteen, the next few years could be a challenge.

“I was just thinking about a little land deal I’m working on,” he replied, sipping his water.

“Isn’t the Running W big enough for you yet?” she teased. “It’s already way bigger than any of my friends’ ranches.”

“You know how we always have to move the cattle out of the eastern pasture every summer,” he reminded her. “It’s water we need more than land.”

When it came to the actual working of the ranch, Kim hadn’t yet taken much of an interest. Someday the Running W, begun on a much smaller scale by her grandfather, would be passed on to the next generation of Winchesters. Kim was the only child Adam figured on having. Someday she’d own a third of it. Since Adam had taken over, he’d expanded the operation and put it on a solid financial footing. Too bad the old man hadn’t lived long enough to see what a good job his oldest son was doing.

“There’s a dance at school in a couple of weeks,” Kim said. “Sarah wanted to know if I was going.”

At least it wasn’t some boy doing the asking. Not yet, anyway. Dances at the high school were well chaperoned. Kim had been allowed to go to several already this year, even though Adam would have liked to keep her locked in her room until she was thirty.

“Is this the reason for the enchilada casserole?” He couldn’t resist teasing. “Soften the old man up first?”

Kim looked mildly indignant, but the flush on her cheeks gave her away. “Of course not. All of my friends will be there, and I didn’t think it would be a problem.”

“Well, if Sarah’s parents can drive one way, I’m sure somebody here can manage to pick you up,” Adam conceded.

“Billie Campbell got his driver’s license.” Kim picked up her roll and began tearing it into pieces. “Sarah said he might be able to borrow his dad’s car.”

Before Kim had finished talking, Adam was already shaking his head. “Billie Campbell lives clear on the other side of town, and I don’t want you riding with someone who just got his license.”

“Da-ad!” she wailed, dropping the roll onto her plate. “That’s not fair. I’m too old for my father to drive me.”

“You’re fifteen. Life isn’t always fair,” he replied evenly, unwilling to argue with her, “but I’ll be happy to provide transportation. Let me know what you decide.” Billie Campbell was barely sixteen, a mass of hormones with all the sense of a bull calf. Adam might not be able to bar boys like him from the dance or keep them away from Kim, but he wasn’t about to let his daughter in a car with one of them behind the wheel.

For a moment she glared at him, lower lip poked out, but then she sighed dramatically. “Okay. Can I at least get something new to wear?”

He chuckled, suspecting he’d just been maneuvered by an expert. “I suppose. If Betty doesn’t have time to take you shopping before the dance, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Daddy.” Kim’s smile brought a shaft of relief that, so far, their relationship hadn’t been marred by the kinds of arguments some of the other parents were already having with their kids.

“What else is going on with you?” he asked idly as he cleaned his plate.

“There’s a new boy at school.” She tucked a strand of long, dark hair behind one ear. Six months ago he’d told her she couldn’t have them pierced until she turned sixteen. That had cost him a new parka, he recalled. “I think he’s from California,” she added. “He’s way cool.”

Adam blinked. “Who?”

Kim rolled her eyes. “The new boy. The one I was just telling you about.”

New boy? Adam’s paternal instincts went on red alert. “Have you met him?”

“Not really, but he’s in a couple of my classes. He acts so much more mature than the other boys.” Kim had friends of both genders, and Adam suspected she got periodic crushes he didn’t know about or care to. Someone different might seem pretty slick to a young girl like her. Adam wanted to warn her to be careful, but he didn’t know what to say without scaring her or making her clam up.

California! Perhaps the fancy truck Adam had seen in town belonged to the new kid. He was probably Emily’s son. If so, he wouldn’t be around long enough for Adam to be concerned.

Suddenly, he realized that Betty, his longtime housekeeper, was standing by his elbow waiting to take his plate.

“Are you finished, Mr. Winchester?” she asked. She’d worked for him since right after Christie had left, managing the household, helping to raise Kim and offering a running commentary on Adam’s social life, but she had steadfastly refused to call him by his first name. That, she felt, would breed too much familiarity.

On more than one occasion he’d wished she would call him any damn thing she wanted just as long as she kept her nose out of his personal life.

Now he leaned back in his chair so she could clear away his dishes. “Thank you, Betty. As usual, dinner was delicious.”

“Thank your daughter,” she replied, glancing across the table with a warm smile. “While she was fixing the casserole, I had time to make peach cobbler for dessert.”

Adam sat up straighter. Peach was one of his favorites. “The two of you are going to spoil me,” he drawled, patting his flat stomach. He was on the move far too much for his weight to ever be a problem.

“You don’t have anybody else in your life to pamper you and no prospects on the horizon that I can see, so I guess the job falls to Kim and me,” Betty replied with a sniff as she left the room.

Adam had learned from long experience that ignoring Betty’s more pointed remarks was his simplest option.

“You don’t need anyone else,” Kim exclaimed. “Like you’ve always told me, you and I are a team, right?” Although Christie still lived in Denver, she hadn’t played a big part in Kim’s life. Christie worked in a gallery there, and a daughter who needed her wasn’t a priority. She hadn’t remarried, but Adam had long suspected Christie had something going with the gallery owner, who was much older and very successful.

“In a few years you’ll meet someone special, and then your attitude will change,” Adam told Kim, putting on a woeful expression and shaking his head sadly. “You’ll forget your old man even exists.”

“Never!” she declared, jumping up to come around the table and throw her arms around his neck. “And I’d never marry anyone who wasn’t willing to run the ranch and take care of you in your old age, either.”