Aunt Dimity Goes West (10 page)

poor man doesn’t know Kit from a hole in the ground,

so there’s no use going on about it. He’ll think you’ve

lost your mind.”

She released my arm and marched off to join the

boys.

I replayed the scene in my head, realized that

Annelise had been quite right to take me to task for my

rude behavior, and trailed slowly after her, feeling as though I’d embarrassed myself far more than I’d embarrassed Brett Whitcombe. Kit Smith, whose man-

ners were impeccable, would have been ashamed of

me. I resolved to say nothing more about him to Brett.

A five-bar wooden fence encircled the riding ring.

Brett and the twins stood inside the ring, near the

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swinging metal gate, where a pair of ponies were

tethered. Annelise and Toby had taken seats on a set of

wooden bleachers on the far side of the ring, in the

shade of some cottonwood trees. A half dozen teen-

aged boys in scruffy cowboy hats had gathered on the

near side of the fence to watch the proceedings,

attracted no doubt by the novelty of my sons’ riding

apparel. I edged my way past them until I was within a

few yards of Brett, the twins, and the ponies.

Brett had rounded up a pair of palomino ponies for

Will and Rob. They were called Nip and Tuck, and

they didn’t seem too ferocious.While Brett explained

the rules of the riding ring, the twins ran knowing

eyes over their prospective mounts.

“We’ll take it one at a time, to begin with,” Brett

concluded. “And I don’t want you to move till I say so.”

He tightened Nip’s girth, gave Rob a leg up into

the saddle, and adjusted the stirrups, but when he

took hold of the lead rope, to guide Nip into the ring,

Rob objected.

“I know what to do,” he said impatiently.

Brett gave me an inquiring glance, I answered it

with a nod, and he released the lead rope. Rob walked

Nip sedately once around the ring, then put him

through his paces, going from a walk to a trot to a can-

ter, bringing him smoothly back to a walk, and halting

him smartly beside Tuck. Will gave Brett an arms-

folded, I-told-you-so look, and the head wrangler

gave him a leg up onto Tuck without further delay.

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77

“Your boys have been well taught,” Brett com-

mented, as he climbed out of the ring to stand beside

me. “My long-lost twin must be a fine instructor.”

I felt myself blush a stunning shade of raspberry.

“You got a twin, Brett?” said one of the spectators.

“So I’m told.” Brett grinned at me, then gestured

to the knot of young men. “Let me introduce the

crew. Lori Shepherd, this is Dusty, Lefty, Happy,

Sneezy, Dopey, and Doc.”

I was on the verge of saying good morning when it

dawned on me that Brett was joking. I ducked my head

sheepishly and joined in the general laughter that

ensued.When the ranch hands had finished guffawing,

they introduced themselves to me properly, wel-

comed me to the Brockman, and drifted off toward

Annelise. I wondered if they were going to try the

same gag on her.

Annelise had the video camera, and I was in charge

of the digital camera. While she filmed the action, I

snapped still shots of the twins, then settled down next to Brett to watch them enjoy their favorite pastime.

“How’re you liking it up at the Aerie?” Brett rested

his folded arms on the top bar of the fence. “Toby

working out all right?”

“Toby’s great,” I said. “Very eager to please. If I

didn’t stop him, he’d cook our meals and do our laun-

dry along with everything else he does. And I ab-

solutely love the Aerie. If it were mine, and if I didn’t have to fly so far to get here, I’d use it every weekend.

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I can’t believe the Auerbachs haven’t used it since

Christmas.”

“Me, neither.” Brett shook his head. “Mrs. Auer-

bach and the kids used to spend every school holiday

up there, and most weekends, too, but we haven’t

seen hide nor hair of them for six months now. In fact,

no one’s been there since the Auerbachs left, no one

but the caretaker.”

“Really?” I said. “I was under the impression that

the Auerbachs let friends use the Aerie.”

“They haven’t had any takers lately,” said Brett. “I

reckon Bluebird isn’t fashionable enough for the kind

of people the Auerbachs know.They get bored looking

at the lake, want fancy shops and restaurants. Caroline’s Cafe serves up some mighty tasty grub, but I wouldn’t

call it fancy.”

I watched Will and Rob steer their steeds through

a series of figure eights, then asked, “If the Aerie’s

been empty since Christmas, why did the Auerbachs

hire a live-in caretaker?”

“The caretaker’s main job is just to be there,” Brett

explained. “You can’t leave a place like that sitting

empty.You never know what’ll happen to it—frozen

pipes, wind damage. Someone has to be on the spot to

fix things when they break, and James could turn his

hand to anything.”

My ears pricked up. “Did you know James Black-

well?”

“I wouldn’t say I knew him,” Brett temporized.

“James used to drop in on us now and again. He took

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79

an interest in local history. Asked all sorts of ques-

tions. Wanted to know what Bluebird was like in the

olden days.”

I recalled the books on Colorado history in the

Aerie’s library and asked, “Was James an amateur

historian?”

“I suppose he may have been,” said Brett, “but I’m

not. I told him if he wanted to know about Bluebird,

he should go to Bluebird. That’s when he told me

about Dick Major.” Brett tilted his head toward me.

“You met Dick yet?”

“No,” I said. “I haven’t been to town.”

Brett’s eyes narrowed. “Dick Major is a loud-

mouthed pain in the neck.Wish he’d go back where he

came from, but it looks like he’s dug in, in Bluebird.

From what James said, he couldn’t have a beer in the

bar or a cup of coffee in the cafe without Dick’s turn-

ing up. Parked himself at James’s table without an in-

vitation; told James he was a lazy good-for-nothing, a

slacker who was taking money from the Auerbachs

for doing nothing. Kept telling James to get a real job

and stop sponging off his rich employers. Called him a

worthless bum, right there, where everyone could

hear him.”

“Why did Dick Major pick on James?” I asked.

“Because he could,” Brett said simply. “James

wasn’t from here, so he didn’t have family to back him

up. Didn’t have any friends, either—”

“Why not?” I asked. “Why didn’t he have any

friends?”

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Nancy Atherton

“He was kind of shy,” said Brett. “A nice enough

guy, but quiet, studious—a prime target for a meat-

head like Dick.”

“I
hate
bullies,” I said vehemently.

“So do I.” Brett shook his head. “If I’d seen Dick

picking on James, I’d’ve put a stop to it, but Dick’s

sneaky. He never put a foot wrong in front of me. So

after a while, James avoided Bluebird. He just stayed

at the Aerie or came out here. I reckon he spent too

much time on his own. Got to believing the stories he

heard.”

“What stories?” I asked.

“Tomfool stories,” said Brett, snorting derisively.

“He was always trying to find out if they were true.

Then he up and left without saying a word to anyone.

It’s lucky Toby was free to take his place.Toby’s a good kid. Known him since he was younger than your sons.”

Brett rested his chin on his folded arms, then gave me

a sidelong glance. “Is it true that you’re afraid of

horses?”

“Uh, yes,” I said, caught off guard by the abrupt

change of subject. “My sons never lie, even when I

wish they would.”

“And this is your first time in the Rockies?” Brett

went on.

“Yes,” I said.

“Well, then,” he said, turning to face me, “I have a

suggestion to make.Why don’t you leaveWill and Rob

here for the day? Annelise is welcome to stay with

them. They can eat lunch with the rest of the guests

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81

and come along on the group trail ride this afternoon.

In the meantime, you can take off with Toby, let him

show you around. He knows every sight worth seeing

in these parts. I’ll have the twins back to the Aerie in plenty of time for dinner.”

“Is your vehicle equipped with booster seats?” I

asked.

“It can be,” said Brett. “We have them on hand for

people like you: overseas guests with young children.

It won’t take me but a minute to rustle up a pair for

your boys.They work just fine in the family cab of my

pickup.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said, “but I’ll have to discuss

it with Annelise. She’s still getting used to the altitude.

She may need a nap later on.”

“She can use one of the guest cabins,” said Brett.

“My wife will make sure she’s comfortable, and I’ll

look out for Will and Rob.”

“You’re very kind,” I said, “but Annelise may not

want to stay.”

“On the other hand,” said Brett, turning to look

across the riding ring, “she may not want to leave.”

I followed his gaze and saw that at least a dozen

men had gathered around Annelise. Some were ranch

hands, while others appeared to be dudes, but they’d

all doffed their cowboy hats and they seemed to be

vying with each other for her attention.

“Your sons’ nanny has a fan club,” Brett observed

mildly. “Must be that pretty dress she’s wearing. Most

of the gals here wear jeans.”

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Nancy Atherton

“She’s engaged,” I told him. “And she’s extremely

levelheaded.”

“It does a young woman good to know she’s ad-

mired,” said Brett. “Even a levelheaded young woman

who’s engaged.”

Brett evidently knew a lot about women, because

Annelise was perfectly willing to remain at the ranch

until the twins were ready to leave. Toby was equally

willing to escort me wherever I wished to go. And I

was more than willing to let the twins ride to their

hearts’ content while I went back to the Aerie. I had a

lot to tell Aunt Dimity.

Will and Rob were eventually persuaded to dis-

mount long enough for me to kiss them good-bye.

Annelise fetched their extra clothes from the van, and

Toby and I drove off, leaving Brett to field a multitude of questions from the twins about the upcoming trail

ride.

Toby and I were halfway down the dirt road when

a girl came toward us, riding an Appaloosa mare. The

girl was in her late teens, long legged and slender,

with a flawless oval face framed by a mane of golden

curls that gleamed like corn silk in the sun. She reined in as we approached and regarded us with eyes that

shone like dark sapphires.

“Howdy, Belle!” Toby shouted as we drove past.

“Belle?” I said faintly. “Who is Belle?”

“She’s Deke and Sarah Brockman’s daughter,” said

Toby. “She and Brett Whitcombe got married last fall.

It took Belle two years to get him to the altar. Brett

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83

just couldn’t believe that a lovely young thing like her could care for an old crock like him. Not that Brett’s

old, but he thought he was too old for Belle. Belle got

through to him in the end, though. As they say, true

love conquers all.” Toby glanced at me. “What’s wrong,

Lori? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost. You

don’t disapprove of Belle and Brett, do you?”

“Me? Disapprove of true love? Not in a million

years,” I said, and let the subject drop. If I told Toby that Belle Whitcombe was the spitting image of Nell

Harris, a teenager bent on marrying a man with violet

eyes who was twice her age, he’d airlift me to the

nearest lunatic asylum. But I was certainly going to

tell Aunt Dimity. “I know we’re supposed to be sight-

seeing, Toby, but do you mind if we go back to the

Aerie instead? I’m a little tired.”

“Has your shoulder stiffened up?” he asked.

My head snapped in his direction. “What do you

know about my shoulder?”

“You told me you injured it a few weeks ago,” he

said. “And you rub it whenever you get tired. If it’s bothering you, I’d recommend a long soak in the hot tub.”

The thought of inviting Toby Cooper to join me in

the hot tub was appallingly appealing, but I couldn’t

risk it. If Toby saw my scar, he’d inevitably ask ques-

tions I had no intention of answering. My brain had

been blissfully Abaddon-free for four nights in a row

and I wanted it to stay that way.To rehash the shooting

would be to risk luring my black-eyed demon back

again.

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Nancy Atherton

Apart from that, I felt an urgent need to tell Aunt

Dimity everything I’d seen and heard at the Brockman

Ranch, and I couldn’t take the blue journal with me to

the hot tub. I wasn’t sure if Dimity’s particular brand

of ink would run when wet, but I didn’t want to