Marin Thomas - The Cowboy Next Door

After years of sharing a house with five brothers and a sister, the quietness of the cabin bothered Johnny, but he was certain he’d enjoy the solitude once he became accustomed to living alone. He might as well unpack his clothes. He made it as far as the hallway when the sound of horns honking penetrated the cabin walls.

The Cash welcome wagon had arrived.

After making sure Hank remained on his pillow, Johnny stepped onto the porch and shielded his eyes from the late-afternoon sun. A wall of dust moved along the horizon as the caravan of pickups drew closer.

His brothers parked helter-skelter in front of the cabin, then got out of their trucks. When Johnny saw them standing in a group, he was reminded again of his mother. All five Cash brothers sported various shades of her blond hair and brown eyes. Johnny and Dixie were the only siblings who shared the same father and they’d inherited Charlie Smith’s dark brown hair and blue eyes.

“Hey, Johnny,” Willie Nelson, who preferred to be called Will, spoke. “We brought food.”

“Did you bring a grill? ’Cause I don’t have one,” Johnny said.

“Got it covered.” Buck Owens walked to the back of his truck and lifted a Weber cooker from the bed. He set it by the porch. “Your housewarming gift.”

“Mighty thoughtful of you all.” Johnny recognized the dual purpose of the gift—to cook food and to use it as an excuse to drop by unexpectedly for a free meal. Now that Dixie was running her gift shop in Yuma, she rarely put supper on the table for the family. Johnny had done his best to grill a few dinners each week for the group, but now that he’d moved away from the farm, he suspected his brothers were worried they’d starve to death.

“Hey, Mack, what’s your housewarming gift for me?” Johnny teased.

Merle Haggard, or Mack, pulled out his guitar. “I’m going to christen this place with a lucky love song.” He winked. “Before you know it, you’ll have women busting down your door.”

Ever since Johnny’s brothers had learned about his breakup with Charlene, they’d been concerned he’d sink into a deep depression. Little did they know another woman had already replaced Charlene in his thoughts. He’d had no contact with Shannon since the morning after the rodeo in Gila Bend, but not an hour of the day passed by when she didn’t cross his mind.

“I bought you a case of your favorite beer.” Conway Twitty set the carton on the porch floor.

“I suppose Isi talked her boss into giving you a deal on that beer,” Johnny said.

“Who’s Isi?” Porter Wagoner glanced between the brothers.

Conway shot Johnny a dark look, then spoke to their youngest brother. “She’s just a friend.” Conway used to seek Johnny’s advice when he had a dilemma with girls but a while back he confessed that he’d found a new confidant—a waitress at the Border Town Bar & Grill.

“I haven’t had a chance to grocery shop. My fridge is empty,” Johnny said.

“We got all the fixin’s.” Will hauled two grocery sacks from the front seat of his truck. “Where should I put this stuff?”

“Inside. Don’t let Hank out.”

“Roger didn’t take Hank with him?” Mack sat on the steps with his guitar.

“No.”

Porter and Buck filled the belly of the cooker with charcoal, while Mack strummed his guitar and Conway sang off-key. Johnny went inside to help the second eldest Cash brother with the meal preparations. As much as he’d been hoping to spend the first evening alone in his new digs, he grudgingly admitted that it was nice to know he was missed.

“That dog looks like he’s ready to meet his maker in hound heaven.” Will placed the deli containers on the kitchen table.

“Be nice to Hank. He’s older than Roger.”

“Is Roger taking retirement hard?”

“Yes.” Johnny changed the subject. “What’s new in your life?”

“Not much since we spoke twelve hours ago.” Will chuckled. “What are you gonna do now that you can’t boss us around?”

“Just because I’m living at the Triple D doesn’t mean I won’t be keeping tabs on all of you.”

Will’s expression sobered. “I can’t believe you’re the official foreman now.”

Neither could Johnny, but he was determined to impress Shannon’s father because he needed the job to work out. He hadn’t gone to college after graduating high school, and pecan farming wasn’t his real passion. He only competed in rodeos to bring in extra money. Working with horses and punching cows was his calling in life.

“Douglas treats his foreman dang good.” Will pointed to the fifty-two-inch TV. “Is he charging you rent to live here?”

“No, the furnished cabin comes with the job.”

The door opened and Hank rose from his bed ready to bolt. Johnny grabbed his collar. “Whoa, boy.” Worried the dog might escape he pushed the bed pillow across the floor and positioned it next to the couch, then tied the end of the leash to a sofa leg.

For the next half hour, the brothers drank beer and talked rodeo on the porch while the brats cooked. “Are you riding in Yuma tomorrow?” Conway asked.

The special event featured only bull riding and chuck wagon races. “I don’t think so.” But Johnny intended to watch Shannon compete. His big-brother instinct insisted he make sure she was okay after they’d... And there was a part of him, which had nothing to do with brotherly concern, that wanted to find out if the attraction was still there between them, or if what they’d shared two weeks ago had been a fluke.

“What about you?” Johnny asked Conway. His brother rode bulls on occasion but his preference was the saddle back competition.

“I’m heading to Tucson to visit a buddy.”

Buck removed the brats from the grill and set the plate on the porch rail while he toasted the buns. “If you get lonely living by yourself, you can always come back to the bunkhouse.”

Thanks, but no thanks. As far as bunkhouses went, the one on the farm wasn’t bad. They’d installed a bathroom and two window air-conditioning units kept the place cool. Mack had sweet-talked an old girlfriend into selling them a secondhand refrigerator for fifty bucks so there was always cold beer on hand. The place had all the creature comforts except privacy. “I’ve got it pretty good here,” Johnny said.

The matter of his residence resolved, the brothers dug into their food and swapped rodeo stories. Halfway through the meal, Porter brought Hank outside and they all took turns tossing scraps to the hound.

After the meal, Will pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. “I’m calling the first game,” he said. “Acey deucey.”

Porter grabbed Hank’s leash and the brothers carried the leftover food inside. After the tenth hand of poker, it occurred to Johnny that even though he was ready to move on with his life, his brothers weren’t quite ready to cut the apron strings.

* * *

“HEY, CLIVE.” JOHNNY jogged across the dirt drive and walked into the barn with his boss early Saturday morning. “You plan to go to the rodeo in Yuma this afternoon?”

“Nope.”

Clive’s curt response startled Johnny. He’d expected his boss to want to see his daughter compete.

“I’d be happy to watch things here if you want to take the afternoon off.”

“Got too much work to do.” Clive pushed the wheelbarrow through the center of the barn and parked it next to Windjammer’s stall.

Fourteen days had passed since he and Shannon had made love and the knot in Johnny’s gut hadn’t unraveled. “Would you mind if I went to the rodeo?”

Clive grasped a pitchfork and flung clumps of soiled hay into the barrow. “You competing?”

After landing my dream job? “The last thing I need is an injury to prevent me from doing ranch chores.”