Читать книгу Randall Riches - Judy Christenberry, Judy Christenberry - Страница 8

“You sure must be popular with the ladies,” Samantha said, not directly answering his question. “Relax and go to sleep. I promise I won’t marry you while you’re napping.” Okay, so she shouldn’t be sarcastic, but she was tired of this man accusing her of something.

“I didn’t mean to sound so suspicious,” he apologized, turning on the charm. “But a man gets alarmed when he’s told he’s engaged to a stranger. An attractive stranger, I’ll admit, but still a stranger.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to worry. I’m not looking for a husband. Just a ride. So you can save your cowboy charm for someone more susceptible.”

He chuckled, even as his eyelids began to droop. “You think I’m flirting?” His voice grew softer, a little slurred.

Sam watched him out of the corner of her eye until she was sure he was down for the count.

It wasn’t the first time she’d been falsely accused, though no one had ever suggested she was trying to trick a man into marriage. She’d discovered the newest person on the job had to walk a straight line or all kinds of sins would be heaped on her head. She kept her gaze on the road and he remained silent also.

A couple of minutes later, he gave a little snore. She gradually relaxed. It took energy to resist that charm she’d accused him of using.

At least she didn’t have to worry about Brad anymore. He had no idea where she was now. Thanks to Rich Randall. She looked at him once again noting how handsome he was. Frowning, she turned back to the road. He looked familiar, but she knew she hadn’t met him before.

With a shrug, she shoved that thought away. The less she looked at him or talked to him, the better off she’d be.

RICH SLEPT all morning. He awoke a couple of minutes around two when she stopped to fill up. She’d grabbed herself a hot dog while she was paying the bill. As she started to leave the station, she thought she ought to buy one for Rich, too. If he didn’t want it, she’d eat it. Breakfast seemed a long time ago.

When she got in the truck cab, he was awake, frowning.

“Is your ankle hurting?”

“My ankle and my head. Where are we?”

“We’re in Utah. Want a hog dog?”

Still frowning, he sat up a little bit, reached for the hot dog with a thanks, and ate it quickly.

When Sam held out another pill, he intended to refuse it, but the annoying pain had him reaching for it. Two minutes later, he was sleeping again.

Samantha waited until he’d nodded off to eat her own hot dog. Then she nursed her soda, making it last as she headed down the road again. She’d checked Bella’s water while the truck filled, and the horse had seemed to be all right.

She decided she’d need to watch for a horse motel when it got time to halt for the night. Rich hadn’t mentioned any place, even though he’d obviously driven this route before.

But she was pleased. Flagstaff was behind her. And a new life was ahead of her.

JUST THEN, the phone rang at the Randall home in Rawhide, Wyoming.

“Jake, is that you?” a voice asked when Jake Randall picked up the phone.

Jake knew he should recognize the voice of the caller, but he couldn’t quite place it. “Yeah, who’s this?”

“It’s your cousin, Gabe.”

“Gabe. How are you? Rich said you were in the hunt for the Nationals.”

“I’m doing okay. Listen, is Pete there? I need to speak with him.”

Jake waved to his brother, sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him. “Here’s Pete.”

Pete took the phone. “Gabe? How are you? Are you coming our way?”

“No, sorry. I’m heading for California. I just wanted to check on Rich. He has called you, hasn’t he?”

Pete felt his heart clutch. “What are you talking about?”

“Ah. He didn’t call. Well, I hope I did the right thing. A young lady stopped by the rodeo grounds yesterday, she was driving Rich’s truck. She asked me to show her what needed to be done to load up Bella. Seems Rich had a bad fall Sunday. He was in the hospital, she said. A broken ankle.”

“A broken ankle?” Pete exclaimed, catching the attention of everyone sitting at the kitchen table. Especially Janie, his wife.

“Yeah. I tried to call him at the hospital afterward. I was a little worried, but there was no answer. That’s why I thought I’d check with you.”

“Well, thanks for the heads-up, Gabe. I’ll check things out. Good luck this week. And come see us when you can.”

“Will do. Hope everything’s all right with Rich.”

Pete hung up the phone. His wife, Janie, was beside him, her eyes big. “Now, honey, don’t worry. I’m sure everything is fine,” he said at once, as if he weren’t worried.

Pete’s three brothers and their wives were all there when the call came and all started firing questions.

Holding up his hand to stop their questions, Pete returned to the table and sat down beside Janie. “Now, a broken ankle is nothing. I mean, it will stop Rich’s career for a while, but I’m sure he’ll be all right.”

“But why hasn’t he called?” Janie demanded.

“Because he’s a man and he can take care of himself,” Pete assured her.

“But he won’t be able to drive home,” Jake pointed out.

“I know. But he’s got a friend with him.” Everyone relaxed as he added, “I’m sure she’ll drive him home.”

Janie stiffened. “She? His friend is a woman?” B.J., Jake’s wife, chuckled. “Are you surprised? Rich has always attracted the ladies.”

“Yes, but I—I want him to marry someone from around here, not some—some rodeo floozie!”

“Now, Janie,” Pete said soothingly, “Gabe said she was a friend. He would’ve said something if the woman was, uh, something else.”

Jake leaned forward. “Yeah, you can trust Gabe, Janie. He’s family.”

They hadn’t really known Gabe long, but he’d clicked with the men in the family at once. His father, a cousin of their father, had lived in Kansas City. Gabe’s father and his wife had been to visit after their honeymoon. They’d planned another trip, but he’d been in an automobile accident and had died. Their father had gone to the funeral and offered the widow a home with him and his boys. But she was pregnant with Gabe. She’d chosen to remain in Kansas City.

She came to see them one more time, when Gabe was six, but she’d been a sad woman. She remarried when Gabe was eight. Then she’d died when Gabe was twelve.

They’d lost track of Gabe until Toby, Jake’s oldest, went on the rodeo circuit. Since then Gabe had visited several times. He’d even discussed the possibility of making Rawhide his permanent home.

“What can we do?” Janie asked, drawing Pete’s attention back to his son.

“I don’t know. He’s not carrying a cell phone. I’ll call the hospital and make sure he was there.”

He returned to the phone with everyone watching. When he finished the call, he told Janie that Rich had been released that morning with a walking cast. “The nurse said his fiancée was there to drive him home.”

“Oh, no!” Janie exclaimed, covering her face with her hands.

RICH STRUGGLED awake, something nagging at him. When he opened his eyes and saw Sam driving, he tried to sit up and groaned with the effort.

She glanced over at him. “You’re awake.”

“Sort of,” he said, shaking his head, hoping to rid himself of the grogginess he felt.

“How are you doing?”

“I don’t know. Where are we?”

“Right at the border of Wyoming. I’m looking for a horse motel for Bella, but so far I haven’t found one.”

He pulled himself up to look out the window. “There’s one about two more miles, next to a hotel. Nothing fancy but clean.”

“Good.”

When she didn’t say anything else, he asked, “How’s the trip going?”

“Fine.”

“You want to add any details to that answer?” he asked, exasperated.

“I’ve filled the truck up twice. I’ve checked Bella each time. I’m tired. Want to know anything else?”

He shook his head and sighed. “Sorry I slept so long.”

“There wasn’t anything for you to do.”

“I could’ve kept you company,” he pointed out.

“I’m not much of a conversationalist.”

No kidding. “Hey, you never answered my question about why the doctor thought you were my fiancée,” he suddenly remembered. This time he was getting an answer.

“I was afraid they’d toss me out of the room when the doctor asked me if I was family. I didn’t think I’d pass for your sister. It seemed the best thing to say.”

A simple enough explanation. He should’ve figured it out himself, but he’d been jolted by the doctor’s statement.

“I see.”

“You’re paranoid about women, aren’t you?”

He shrugged. That wasn’t a subject he wanted to discuss with her. “Hey, where are you from? You got family somewhere?”

“No.”

He stared at her. “You don’t have family?”

“Not that I know of. But it doesn’t affect my driving.”

“Cute,” he drawled. “I didn’t say it did. I was just surprised. So where are you from?”

“My birth certificate says Dallas, Texas.”

He shifted his weight and winced.

“You in pain? Need another pill?” she asked.

“No, I don’t need another pill. Do you hate conversation that much?”

“I was concerned,” she muttered and turned on her blinker. “I assume this is the horse motel you were talking about?”

“Yeah. I bet Bella will be glad to get out of the trailer.”

“Probably. You go make the arrangements and I’ll get her out.”

He frowned. “You’d better let me. She’s not used to you.”

“Why not? I put her in there this morning.”

“I thought Gabe put her in?” he asked in surprise.

“No, he left yesterday. I just barely caught him.”

She stopped the truck and opened her door.

“Wait a minute. Why did you load her? I thought you were going to hire someone. Why didn’t you?”

“I hired a couple of guys to help me hook up the trailer. But Bella is beautifully mannered. I didn’t need any help for that.”

“But I—”

“If you’re worried about the money, I have it.” She slipped out of the truck and dug into one of her jeans pockets. “Here it is. I used some to buy the pillows, too. And the gas.”

He looked at the bills she handed him. Two one-hundred-dollar bills were there.

“What did you pay the guys for hitching up?”

“Fifty to split. Too much?”

He shook his head. “Nope. A bargain.”

She said nothing, heading to the back of the trailer.

He got out and started toward the office, but he looked back to see if she could manage Bella okay. She was right about Bella’s manners…if she liked the person. If not, she could be difficult. But she was on her best behavior today.

No wonder. Sam was petting and stroking her, using that sexy voice. He recognized envy in his thoughts. Ridiculous! All he was interested in was getting home.

Inside, he paid for Bella’s stay and then went out to help Sam put her in a corral and toss her some hay.

“We can get rooms next door,” he pointed out as they left Bella.

“She’ll be safe?”

“Yeah. There’s someone on duty all night.”

She got behind the wheel of the truck and drove the few yards to the hotel. There was a café attached that had decent food. After dinner, Rich was looking forward to stretching out on a soft bed that didn’t move.

“After we get the rooms, we can eat in the café.” He was sure she was tired, too. She’d driven over ten hours without many breaks.

“I don’t need a room.”

He frowned. “Of course you need a room.”

“I don’t want to spend my money on a room.”

“It’s my money you’ll be spending,” he pointed out.

“No, I won’t. I pay my own way.”

“Consider it pay for doing your job,” he said, sure that would settle the matter.

“No.”

“What’s wrong with you, woman? You expect to camp out?”

“No. I’ll sleep in the cab of the truck.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” He was becoming perturbed. “You’ll be uncomfortable.”

“I wasn’t the past two nights.” She slung her shoulder bag onto her shoulder and got out of the truck. “I’ll save you a seat in the café.” Then she closed the truck door and walked toward the restaurant.

He sat there with his mouth open. The last two nights? He’d assumed she had an apartment somewhere. Why hadn’t she used it? When he realized he was wasting time, he marched inside the hotel and got a room. He checked to be sure they had more rooms in case Miss Hardhead changed her mind.

Then he strode toward the café next door. He was glad it was close. Even though he had a walking cast, his ankle still hurt every time he put weight on his right side. But he walked quickly.

Sam was sitting in a booth, the hair around her face damp. When he appeared at the table, she asked. “Is decaf coffee all right?”

“Yeah, fine. I’m going to wash up.”

When he got back, the waitress was chatting with Sam. He slid in the booth.

“Do you need some time, honey, to check the menu?” she asked.

“Nope. I’ll take a cheeseburger with fries, and a big piece of apple pie afterward. They have good pie, Sam.”

“I’ve already ordered,” she said calmly.

“Did you order pie?”

“No.”

“Bring her a piece of pie, too,” he said to the waitress. The woman looked at Sam, and she shook her head, still smiling.

Then she looked at Rich. “I can order for myself, thank you.”

He considered fighting that battle. Then he decided she was right. She had the right to order for herself. Besides, he wanted some answers to his questions.

When the waitress left, he asked, “What do you mean you slept in the truck the last two nights? Why? Didn’t you have your own place in Flagstaff?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you sleep in your own bed.”

She took a drink of water. He noticed she hadn’t ordered a soda or coffee. “I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Brad was there.”

His stomach clinched. She had a boyfriend? Or a husband? “Who’s Brad?”

“The owner of The Hot Skillet.”

“The one who fired you?” he asked, frowning. “You lived with him?”

“No.”

“Then why was he there?”

“He was parked outside.”

The waitress returned with his cheeseburger and a chef’s salad for Sam.

“That’s all you ordered?”

She looked surprised. “Yes.”

“You and Brad had a thing going?”

“No. His wife died last month.”

“His wife? I don’t get it. Why was he there? And why did that mean you couldn’t go home?”

“He’d decided I should be wife number five.”

“His wife died a month ago and he’s already looking for his next wife?”

“Yes. And I didn’t cotton to the idea especially since it seems his wife died under suspicious circumstances. I slept in the truck so he wouldn’t find me.” She took a bite of salad. “He stayed until eleven the next morning, so I couldn’t get to my things until he left.”

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

“It was easier to wait.”

She continued eating as if they’d been discussing the weather. He sat silently, thinking about what she’d faced alone. Did it happen often? She was certainly attractive.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said.

“For what?” she asked in surprise.

“I was rude about you taking so long to pack. Where is your luggage, by the way?”

“I put it in your storage trunk in the back of the truck when I loaded your gear. I hope you don’t mind.”

“There was enough room?”

She nodded, but it was the smile on her lips that fascinated Rich.

“What’s funny?”

“Nothing.”

“So Brad is the reason you decided to leave town?”

She nodded again.

“But your friends—”

“I’d only been there since the last of February, Rich. It’s no big deal.”

“But what if you can’t find a job in Rawhide?”

She smiled again. “Don’t panic. I take care of myself. If I can’t find a job, I’ll move on.”

Once, when he’d been irritated with his parents, and even his twin, Russ, he’d wished he didn’t have a family, that he could be all alone. In his juvenile imagination, he’d thought that would be a good thing. Now, he ached for the woman across from him. No family. No friends. Totally alone, no one to rely on.

“That’s a tough life.”

She shook her head, still calm. “It was worse when my father was alive.”

“Worse? How?”

She sighed, then nodded at his plate. “You’d better eat your cheeseburger before it gets cold. Besides, I think you’re going to need another pill tonight.”

“No, I don’t. Two in one day is enough.”

“I’m not sure.”

He realized she’d distracted him from her strange answer. He couldn’t imagine life without his father and mother, his brothers, his huge family. They all lived on the ranch outside Rawhide. Well, actually, some of his cousins were down in Laramie attending college. But there were still a lot of Randalls around.

“When did your dad die?” he asked, after taking a bite.

“When I was sixteen.”

“So…last year?”

“You think flattery will get you whatever you want, don’t you?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“I guess not,” she agreed, but she didn’t say anything else.

“Okay, I’ll be more direct. How old are you?”

“None of your business.” She said the words pleasantly, but Rich could hear the steel in them.

“Why are you so secretive?” he demanded.

“Because you’re not a friend. I hardly know you. It doesn’t pay to tell your business to strangers. I’m driving you to Wyoming. That’s it. I’ll be on my way tomorrow after I get you home.”

He didn’t like the thought of that. She was too pretty and young to wander around without any protection. But she was right about him getting tired. He decided to talk to her about the dangers of her lifestyle tomorrow in the truck. They’d have plenty of time.

The waitress arrived with his pie. He ate it slowly, finding himself filled up on the cheeseburger. But he had to finish it after making a big deal about it to Sam.

As he took the last bite, the waitress returned with their bill. He was surprised but relieved when Sam didn’t reach for the ticket. At last, she was accepting his providing for her. Next, she’d agree to take a room.

Looking at the total, he called the waitress back. “You forgot to put her salad on the bill.”

“No, sir. She paid before you got here.”

He glared at Sam. “You did what?”

“Let’s not argue in front of everyone, Rich.” She slid from the booth, thanking the waitress again. Rich noted she’d left some money for a tip.

He handed the waitress a twenty and told her to keep the change. He knew they didn’t do much business.

Then he hurried after Sam, catching her arm to stop her outside. “Why did you pay for your food yourself?”

“I told you I take care of myself. I handled it like that because I knew you’d make a fuss.”

“Woman, you’re trying my temper!”

“I’m tired, Rich. Just go to bed.”

“Come on, then. They’ve got enough rooms. I’ll get you one.”

“No. I need to save my money. I’ll sleep in the truck.” She pulled her arm out of his clutches and headed for the truck.

He stared after her, unable to believe she could be so hardheaded. Then she stopped and turned around, coming back to him.

“I forgot.” She pulled the pills out of her pocket and took one out. “Here’s a pill, in case your foot starts hurting. What time do you want to leave in the morning?”

“I suppose eight o’clock. We’re about eight or nine hours away. Unless you’re too tired to get up that early.”

“That will be fine.” Then she walked away.

Rich stared after her, frustrated. He didn’t have a sister, but he had girl cousins. And he wouldn’t let any of them sleep in the truck when there were empty rooms available. But he had no choice. He could rent every room available and it wouldn’t matter. Sam was going to sleep in the truck.

What was he going to do with her?

That was something else he’d worry about tomorrow.

Once in his room, he undressed and stretched out on the bed. His foot was throbbing. After a moment’s debate, he decided to take the pill Sam had given him. He’d cut back tomorrow.

After swallowing the pill, he reached for the phone and dialed home, wanting to give his parents warning of his imminent arrival.

His mother answered. “Rich! How are you?”

“Fine, Mom. I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me, young man. Gabe called us.”

“Ah. Well, I had an accident. I broke my ankle, but it will be good as new in six weeks.”

“Oh, dear. Is it painful?”

“It’s not bad.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m on the Utah-Wyoming border. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“You’re not driving, are you? Gabe said your fiancée was with you. Have you got something to tell us?”

Rich rubbed his forehead. He was feeling very groggy. “Uh, no. Just Sam.”

“What?”

“Just Sam,” he said again. But he noticed he slurred his words.

“Rich? You don’t sound good. Are you all right?”

“Took my medicine.”

“Is—is that woman with you?”

“No, just Sam.”

“Tell him to take good care of you.”

“Yes, Mom. Gotta go.”

He replaced the receiver, falling into a deep sleep the minute he closed his eyes.