Texas Lonestar (Texas Heroes Book 4) Page 2

  With a kiss and a hug from Flora, Lennon hurried off into the night. Opening the door, she climbed up into her dad’s old farm truck. The old Chevy wasn’t exactly a Cinderella-worthy chariot, but it would have to do.

  The drive from Apache Springs to Sierra Blanca took almost an hour. Sometimes she wondered if her life would’ve been different had she grown up in town around the other kids. Probably not, she just wasn’t meant to be popular. The ranch she lived on had been in her father’s family for generations. Years ago, it had been a destination. Rich people traveled to the Chihuahuan Desert to bathe in the mineral rich hot springs that bubbled up on their property. The old lodge and connected bathhouse still stood, but no one used the pools these days but her. Since her mother passed, things had really gone down around the ranch. Lennon did her best, but it was hard. Keeping the cattle, horses and sheep tended was all they could handle these days.

  Holding the steering wheel tightly, Lennon watched the road. She was so excited at the prospect of a date that she wanted to squeal with delight. Getting invited to the dance had come as such a shock–and by Colin Ferguson! She’d had a crush on him forever. And when he’d sent her a note by her friend, Tony, Lennon had been stunned. Since then, she and Colin had been corresponding by email. What a way to start her Senior year!

  The sun was getting low in the pastel painted sky by the time she spotted the green and white city limits sign. Tumbleweeds blew across the road in front of her, a sure-fire indicator that she was in deep west Texas, just miles from the border with Mexico. The remote location of Apache Springs meant that Lennon had few close friends. Her cousin, Miranda, used to be her constant companion. Those days were gone, though. She’d graduated last year and was now in El Paso working in a bar. Their phone calls were few and far between, but Miranda seemed to be loving the freedom. Getting away from Hudspeth County had always been her cousin’s goal. Lennon knew she wouldn’t be moving. Apache Springs was her destiny. Even if she married, the land would always be her responsibility.

  As she slowed down to meet the speed limit, Lennon began to feel nervous. This was so big. Her first dance. Her first date. Maybe her first kiss. She’d dreamed of having a husband and a family someday. Maybe this was the beginning. Maybe she was finally blossoming, as her mother had told her she would.

  Pulling up outside the gymnasium, she found a place for the rickety old truck. The school wasn’t huge, they only played six-man football. Yet as small as it was, there were still cliques. Lennon wasn’t popular by any means. She was one of the unfortunate few who seemed to bear the brunt of other people’s hostilities. No, she wasn’t beautiful and she didn’t have time for sports. So, she didn’t meet any of the qualifications that would’ve made her one of the cool kids. Her shunned state was one of the reasons Colin’s invitation had come as such a shock.

  Taking a deep, steadying breath, Lennon opened the truck door and hopped out to the ground, taking a moment to balance on the heels she was so unused to wearing. Glancing around, she looked for Colin, but he was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was waiting inside for her to arrive.

  “Hey, Lennon!”

  She raised her head to look around, recognizing her friend Melody’s voice. They were on a few committees together. Lennon enjoyed helping out, being needed made her feel complete. “Hey, girl. How are you?”

  “I’m good. I just found we’re moving at the end of the school year. Dad got a new job in Galveston.”

  “Oh, no. I’ll miss you.” When Lennon wasn’t in school, she was working but she’d be sad knowing Melody wasn’t close by. “We’ll have to make the most of the time we have together.” She linked arms with Melody as they walked toward the entrance, their pathway lit by the big school sign declaring ‘Go Vaqueros!’ in bright white lights. “I sure do like your hair. How are you?” she asked her friend.

  “Thank-you. I’m good.” Melody smiled, flipping a long lock of her curly hair behind her. “Do you want to hang with me tonight? Us wallflowers have to stick together. We can plan what plays the Drama Club will do this year.”

  Lennon smiled at her friend, giving her a wide-eyed stare. “I would love to spend some time with you. You’re as pretty as a picture tonight.” She admired Melody’s pretty blue dress, obviously new. “But miracle of miracles…” Grabbing her friend by both hands, she stage-whispered. “I have a date!”

  “You do?” The joy on Melody’s face was unmistakable. “With who?”

  “Colin! He sent a message by Tony who gave it to me at church. Colin has been emailing me all week!” The elation in her voice made people stare as they walked by.

  “Where is he?” Melody asked, looking from side to side.

  “Inside with the other guys, I suppose. It’s a hot night to be just lounging around outside waiting for me to show up.” Arm in arm they moved toward the wide double doors. Through them, Lennon could see the burgundy and white balloons, their school colors. A big welcome banner hung over the door and when one couple entered ahead of them, she could hear the sound of the DJ as he announced the next song.

  As they entered, Melody gave her hand a tug. “I’m going to the restroom. I’ll see you inside.”

  Lennon nodded. She probably should go in and check her appearance, not that it would do any good. In her haste and excitement, she hadn’t even brought a lipstick with her. Face it, she just wasn’t used to being girly. With a tremble of excitement, she stepped into the main room, taking in the scene before her. Everything was as gaily decorated as their small school budget would allow. Couples were dancing to the music; others were standing around the refreshment table. But when someone spoke loudly–it all came to a screeching halt.

  “Attention everyone, it’s time for our evening’s entertainment to begin!”

  Lennon stopped where she was on the top step of the entrance way. When a spotlight hit her, an uneasy tingle made its way down her spine. The crowd parted and Elton Warner appeared. Oh, no. For some reason, Elton hated her. This couldn’t be good. From the time they were in elementary school, he’d led numerous attacks against her. Anything to make her feel uncomfortable or humiliated was his usual goal.

  As she stood there, the movie Carrie came to mind and she glanced up–just making sure there was no bucket of pig’s blood hanging over her head. No, nothing there. But that only meant he’d come up with something better. She steeled herself, looking for Colin.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen! You are all invited to witness the hook-up of the century. Colin Ferguson, meet your blind date!”

  Blind date? Lennon started to shake. No, this wasn’t a blind date. Even as she reminded herself how all of this had gone down, a sneaky suspicion began to creep up her spine. She probably should’ve run, but her feet were frozen to the ground. Her eyes desperately searched the crowd.

  “What the hell?”

  Colin Ferguson came from the rear, dressed in a dark brown suit. He looked amazing. She waited for him to come toward her. “Colin?” she whispered, not loud enough for her voice to broadcast across the room.

  “Colin, your friends wanted to give you an early birthday gift. For your dating pleasure, we offer the delectable…the desirable…the laughable–Lennon Haley!”

  There was a moment of silence–of dead quiet as everyone digested what Elton announced. Slowly, a few people began to snicker. Then, a few more began to laugh. Colin came closer, staring hard at Lennon with a frown on his handsome face. She felt like a small helpless bug under a microscope. “My date?” he said scathingly. “Are you fucking with me?”

  Elton basked in the attention they were receiving. “Yea, buddy, we arranged all of this just for you. Of course, little Lennon thought it was you she was talking to on the internet. We laid it on thick for you. Look at that dress–isn’t it a blast from the past? Isn’t she stunning? Wouldn’t any guy just…puke if he had to kiss her?”

  By that time, the laughter coming from the crowd was an uproar. Colin took it in the spirit it was intended–to have fun at L
ennon’s expense. “Lennon, you didn’t actually think I’d want to go out with you? Why would I? You don’t even have any boobs!”

  The premonition she’d had of being like the character Carrie came true as white hot shame cascaded down over her. How stupid was she? Lennon tried desperately to think of something to say back to her tormentors. Why was it that she could always think of snappy comebacks about fifteen minutes after she needed one? But she was spared when two adult chaperones showed up to calm the kids down and get the music turned back on. Mrs. Lark started toward her, a concerned look on her face–but Lennon didn’t wait to hear what she had to say. Whirling around, she made a run for it–crying all the way to her truck.

  Once she was on the road, she drove out of town, then pulled over at a small roadside park to give herself time to calm down. Christ! She was such a joke. Wiping tears from her face, she laid her head back on the seat and tried to imagine the humiliation waiting for her at school on Monday. As she stared at the night sky, she wondered why people had to be so mean. Would she ever find love? Lennon didn’t think so. Not in this town, anyway.

  Oh, well. She’d find someone who needed her, there were more kinds of love in this world than romantic love. And who knows? Fate might send her someone–he could just show up at her ranch one day and offer to protect her from the big bad world.

  Too bad fairy tales didn’t come true.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Eight Years Later…

  “Be careful! Those hay bales are as big as you are. You’re going to hurt yourself.” George lamented as Lennon climbed from the cab of the truck to jump in the back.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll manage. I always do,” she called with a happy voice. “I have a system. Cut. Tug. Push. Scatter.”

  “Her can do it, George. Lenny is strong.” Sally held up her little arm like she was making a muscle. “Her can do anything.”

  Lennon could hear Sally speaking in that sweet baby voice she loved so much. The little girl’s faith gave her the energy to keep going even when her strength was almost gone. “If things would just quit breaking around here, I could hire some help. Preferably someone who has mus…cles,” she grunted as she tumped a square hay bale onto the ground.

  “Here, they come!” George yelled. “Spot’s leading the way!” Lennon didn’t look up. She didn’t have time. The cattle were coming and they were hungry. She giggled at the thought of naming a cow Spot. That had been Sally’s idea. Methodically, she went through the steps to get the hay on the ground. This was an everyday job for her. The big round bales would’ve been cheaper and easier to manage. In fact, she could’ve brought one out on the tractor and let the cows munch at will. An opportunity to buy this Bahia at a cheaper price was more important than the difficulty she had in delivering it to the herd. Every evening she put out twenty bales to supplement the sparse vegetation that was available. If this drought didn’t break, she’d go broke–poetic.

  “Help me count, George,” Lennon requested as she moved out in front of the mass of cattle which were a mix of Beefmaster and Angus, they were large beasts. None of them were aggressive, but by the time they pushed one another to get to the food, if she got in the way–well, it was better not to. At least she was used to dodging horns and hooves. Being a bullfighter for the rodeo to supplement her ranching income was not only fun, it paid well. “Forty-two, forty-three.” Lennon stood on tiptoe to see everyone. George had come to stand beside her, Sally hung out the window counting fireflies.

  “Dammit,” she fussed. The last two mornings, there had been a few head missing. For the next few minutes, they were quiet, tallying the cattle. “The count for the past couple of nights has been off,” George said, leaning on his cane. “There’s supposed to be a hundred-seventy-six in this section and I only count a hundred-sixty-three. That’s thirteen gone.” They’d hoped a fence might be down, but Lennon had ridden the perimeter and found nothing out of place.

  “Let me get you two to the house.” Lennon let out a long sigh. “I’ll come back to make another pass. I want to make sure before I alert the authorities. If I find tracks at the gates or if the fence has been tampered with, I’ll call.” There really was no other explanation. If they hadn’t gotten out by themselves, somebody had helped them. They don’t just fail to show up. Cattle don’t usually find better things to do than eat.

  “Cattle rustling. Dirty business. You’d think society would’ve outgrown this crap,” he grumbled as they climbed back into the beat-up old red truck.

  “It happens, even in this digital age, George. Thieves will always be thieves.” Lennon held on to the window frame and let the cool air blow against her face as her old friend drove home. Sally had fallen asleep while they worked. They’d gotten her up before the crack of dawn. At five, she was still far too young to leave at the house on her own. “I just don’t understand why we’re having all of this bad luck. Sugar in the tractor gas tank. Somebody took a baseball bat to one of the gates. Waterlines are busted. Mailbox shot up with a BB gun. Do you think it could be kids just being kids?”

  “Maybe, for that stuff. I don’t think kids are stealing cattle though.”

  Lennon closed her eyes, dreading the phone call. “You know - I’d almost rather deal with the rustlers than the sheriff.” Who would’ve ever thought Colin Ferguson would end up the law in Hudspeth County? “We’ve got a better chance of striking oil digging for turnips than him helping me with this mess.”

  “He’s a fool, always has been.” George Morgan still remembered the night little Lennon had come home crying from the dance. “Flora, bless her soul, told him off the week before she died. That woman loved you more than anything.”

  “Except you,” Lennon grinned at him. “You were a lucky man.” She brushed the silky blonde hair from Sally’s damp brow. “I miss her and Daddy so much. And Mama, of course.”

  “Yea, me too–me too. Can you get the gate?”

  Lennon jerked her head up. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Deep in thought.” She bounded out and opened the gate, holding it until George drove through. After she’d latched the aluminum gate, she just hopped up on the tailgate of the pickup and waved him to go on. The view in front of her was majestic–the mountains vied with the sky and she didn’t know which was more beautiful. But the landscape wasn’t sufficient consolation for the loneliness she endured. Face it - her life hadn’t turned out the way she’d hoped. There was no loving husband anywhere on the horizon. The only people she had to love and care for was her elderly neighbor and her cousin’s unwanted child–well, unwanted by her cousin, but very much wanted by Lennon. Sally had been hers from the day she came home from the hospital and she always would be.

  Once George parked, Lennon went to the cab to pick up her little treasure. “We’ll let her sleep until I get the pancakes cooked.” She took her time walking, not only because Sally was a good load, but also because George was slow. “Do you need some new overalls?” she asked, noticing the ones he had on were looking a little worn at the hem and around the pockets. He preferred to wear blue and white striped ones. Lennon teased him that he looked like a train engineer instead of a retired rancher.

  “Nope, I’ve probably got enough to do me for the rest of my life. After all, I’m eighty-three years old. How much time can I have left?” he groused as he opened the screen door and held it open for Lennon and the small child in her arms to walk through.

  “You’d better have a long time left on this earth. I need you, you know.” She placed Sally gently down on the couch, taking the time to glance at a framed quilt block her mother had embroidered. It was words Lennon tried to live by. Love Lessons. As Lennon stirred up the batter for the pumpkin pancakes and squeezed fresh oranges for juice, she let the old familiar words roll over in her mind…Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the tru
th. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

  No, love never failed and she wouldn’t let her little family down either. After she’d dished up the pancakes and fed George and Sally, Lennon washed up the dishes and made sure her two favorite people had everything they needed before she returned to work. “I’ll be back soon. Let her watch cartoons as long as she wants to.” George raised a tired hand in acknowledgement. He looked about ready for a nap. “Sally, be a good girl for me,” she called.

  “Yes, Lenny,” Sally answered automatically, her big blue eyes glued to the animated characters on the television screen.

  “If things get to be too much, you could always sell to Rooster Daniels.” George said, speaking out quietly from his leather recliner.

  “Bite your tongue,” Lennon sighed out the words. “Apache Springs is our home. We’ll work things out,” she assured the old man as she left the house. Lennon wished she felt as confident as she sounded. This time, she decided to take her horse instead of the truck. No problem seemed insurmountable once she was in the saddle.

  “Giddy-up, Firefly.” She gave the black mare free rein. “Let’s see what you can do this morning.” They set out across the green meadow, heading to the north fence-line. Lennon didn’t hold out much hope of finding the cattle, but it would’ve been nice to just run up on those thirteen head grazing down by the pond. But after riding for about an hour–she found the problem. A gap in the fence. One that had been cut and the wires slipped back into place over hastily driven ten-penny nails. Tire tracks in the dirt told her the rest of the sad tale. “Foot a duck,” Lennon whispered under her breath. “Foot a big duck.”

  She was going to have to call Colin after all.

  * * *

  “I’m sorry, Lennon.” Colin said, although to Lennon’s ears he didn’t sound too sorry. “Here at the Sheriff’s office we’re busy with real criminal activity. As you should well know, being this close to the border, we have immigration issues out the kazoo. The county’s also dealing with heavier traffic due to the excavation and exploration out on Round Top. Are you sure you just didn’t miscount or move some of your cattle to a different section of your ranch and just forget about it?”