Dodge the Bullet (3 page)

“This is a nice truck,” Sarah said as she
fiddled with the paper in her lap.

“Thanks. I was just thinking the opposite
about yours.”

She gave him a scornful look and sniffed the
air. “Interesting smell.”

“Its cow shit, but it smells like money to
me.” “Dodge didn’t want Sarah Woodward to like him or forget he
didn’t want to help her. There was something about her that made
him want to keep his distance.

“You’ve got a real way with people. About
the ranch…” She gripped the pen and tapped it annoyingly on the
pad. “I’ve already put fence repair on the list. Denton Frazier
used to lease this place for his cows. He stopped about a year ago
because the fences needed work and I couldn’t deal with it at the
time.”

Dodge stole a sideways glance at the legal
pad. “I agree the fences would be a good place to start. But repair
may be just as costly as replacement. You should talk to a few
companies and get some quotes. Replacement would give you the
chance to reconfigure the pastures.”

“Do the pastures need to be
reconfigured?”

“Well, Storey didn’t run cattle. He had a
few sheep and mainly grew hay. Frazier never rotated his cattle and
the land paid a price. It’s had some time to rest, but you’ll need
to divide the property up so you can rotate the cattle from pasture
to pasture. It’s a little too choppy right now.”

“Will the fence people be able to advise me
on how best to divide the pastures?”

Dodge knew that the fence companies would
say whatever it took to increase her costs. Damn it, he was getting
in over his head. “Do you have any aerial views of the land?”

“I’m sure there were some with the survey
when we bought he place. Nothing has really changed since
then.”

“If you can get me a copy I can help you
with the pastures.”

“I’d appreciate your help, but if you don’t
mind, I’d like to go over the pastures with you. I need to
understand the reasons behind any changes made to the
property.”

Dodge could see just how involved his offer
of help could get him and he didn’t like it one bit. He was going
to have to get someone marginally competent out here to answer her
questions or else he’d see no peace in his future. “That’s fine,
Sarah. Wasn’t planning on taking over. I thought I’d made that
pretty clear.”

“You did. I just want to understand about
the fences. Do you see anything else I should put down?”

“Well,” he pulled the truck to a stop by a
large slew that ran about fifty yards from the river. “You’ve got a
lot of good land that can be grazed in here that isn’t fenced at
all. Do you own any of the land across the river?”

“Yes, quite a lot of it actually. But we
don’t have access. I’d always assumed there was nothing we could do
over there.”

“You can graze that too, as long as the
property boundaries are fenced and you run a river gap to keep the
cows from wandering down beyond your property.”

“Can the fence company run a river gap
across the river?”

“Yep.” He started the truck along the narrow
road. They bounced over rock and through divots filled with water
from the afternoon storms. Dodge stopped suddenly as he rounded a
bend overgrown with grasses and wildflowers. “Is that your
pivot?”

“You mean the sprinkler? I don’t even know
if it works. As far as I know, Denton never even turned it on.”

He pulled the truck to where the end of the
pivot had come to a rest a few years ago, its tire crusted in mud
in the rutted hollow of its track. “It’s a good brand,” he said
peering through the side window. “These things are like old
tractors—they usually run forever.”

“Aren’t these used for growing hay or crops?
I wouldn’t need it if I’m just going to use the land for the
cows.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. You’re going to
have to buy hay to feed the cows in the winter anyway. You may want
to think of seeding it and cutting it to keep. Does it make a full
circle?”

“I have no idea,” Sarah said. “I’m sure we
can tell from the aerial photos. But growing hay sounds kind of
complicated considering I don’t even own a hay baler.”

“You could pay someone to bale it for you.”
He could only imagine her trying to operate a hay baler. “And if
you didn’t want to fool with it you could lease the circle to
someone who did.”

“Would it be hard to find a leaser?”

“Hell, I may be interested if it’s a full
circle.”

“Oh. Do you normally lease circles to grow
and bale hay?”

Dodge reached over and pulled the pen from
her hand where she’d been tapping away on the pad. He tossed it
into the cup holder. “No, I normally just buy it, but it’s cheaper
to lease and do it yourself. It was just a thought.”

“I’d be open to discussing a lease.”

He just bet she would. What was wrong with
him? With every word out of his mouth, he was getting more involved
with the woman. Maybe his brain had fogged from the scent of her
perfume as it subtly filled the cab.

Dodge stopped the truck when he reached a
side road with an old wooden gate held together by crisscrossing
wires. “Is this the end of the property?”

“On this side it is. You have to go back to
the main road to access the back half or we could try to start up
the ATVs and do it that way.”

Dodge felt a stab of unease as he looked at
the flimsy gate that stood between her property and a nearly
deserted side road leading to a small cabin, tucked away in the
shade of some old cottonwoods. “Who lives in that place over
there?”

“I don’t know.”

The stab became a dull ache. “Tommy said
you’ve got kids. Where are they?”

“My sister’s bringing them out next weekend.
Why do you ask?”

“I’m just a little concerned about you being
out here all alone for another week.”

The foolish woman had the nerve to
laugh.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m in any
danger out here. Do you?”

“Everybody in town knows you’re out here
alone. Doesn’t that concern you, even a little?”

“No. The house has a sophisticated security
system. My husband wanted the place protected even when we weren’t
here. Besides, I hardly think crime is an issue in Hailey.”

He turned to face her in the truck and tried
again using a different tactic. “You’re a young woman out here on
this big ranch all alone. Don’t you think you should be concerned
for your safety?”

“I’m a middle-aged mother of teen-aged boys.
And I’m getting pretty used to being alone.”

“Your kids are teenagers?”

“Just about,” she said. “Why are you so
surprised?”

She’d led him like a cow to slaughter. “You
just don’t look old enough to have kids that age.”

“Thank you, Dodge. Believe me I’m old enough
to have kids twice their age, biologically speaking.” She looked
him dead in the eye. “And I’m not afraid to be alone.”

###

An awkward silence fell in the small cab of
the truck that only moments ago had seemed so spacious compared to
Sarah’s old Ford. As Dodge pulled into the drive of her cabin, she
studied his profile. His hand draped lazily over the steering wheel
and his hat perched back on his head. His face was all sharp
angles, with a straight nose and a deep dimple in the center of his
stubbled chin. It felt strange to find him so attractive,
considering his grumpy attitude and atrocious interpersonal skills.
Everything she said seemed to rub him the wrong way. But since
there wasn’t anyone offering an opinion on how to fix the property,
she knew she ought to listen to him, especially considering he’d
given her more insight into her land than she’d gotten in the five
years since they’d bought the place.

“Do you want to see the other side of the
property using the ATVs?”

“It’s getting kinda late. I’d better be
heading back to town. Why don’t you give me a call when you find
those aerial pictures and we can take a look at the other property
then?”

“Okay.” She stepped out of the truck. “I
appreciate your help, Dodge. Really. Any suggestions you offer I’d
consider.”

“It’s no trouble.” He scratched his number
on the back of a napkin. “Call me when you find those photos. Oh,
and Sarah?”

“Yes?”

“Lock your doors and use that fancy security
system. I’ll sleep better knowing you’re safe.”

Chapter 4

The buzzing woke Sarah. Not the buzzing of
her alarm clock that usually started her morning routine. She’d get
up earlier than the boys to have a cup of coffee in peace before
waking her sleepy children for their hurried breakfast and mad dash
to the bus. This buzzing sounded different. It had a tone and
melody that rose and fell, but not in any kind of timed rhythm. It
peaked and grew louder, then seemed to stop all together only to
suddenly begin again in the distance.

Sarah first lifted one eyelid, then the
other. The clock read 6:34 and for a moment she felt a panic that
the alarm had been late and she sat up abruptly to wake the boys.
Only when she pulled back the heavy duvet cover did reality hit her
like the cold blast of air that touched her body.

The air felt cold against her sweaty skin.
She’d been mired in the heavy duvet and the weight of her dreams.
Todd had been with her in the night in a way she hadn’t felt him in
a long time, maybe even a year.

She lay back against the bed and stared at
the ceiling, so relieved that the boys were back in Georgia. She’d
told herself and everyone else that she wanted the week, needed it,
to get the house ready for them and their new beginning. On some
level, one she didn’t dare face until last night, she knew there
was more.

The night had begun with a search for the
survey. With one glass of wine and an unsteady breath, she began
looking through Todd’s desk. She’d waited a full twenty four hours
since Dodge had left to begin going through her husband’s things.
Every drawer and file she opened held his essence, from the slanted
words he’d scribbled on a piece of paper to his illegible signature
scrawled on a legal document. She could feel him around her in an
almost palpable way.

The buzzing, she now realized, came from the
crop duster flying over the nearby farms. The sound had always made
her happy and reflected the difference between life in rural
Colorado and life in suburban Atlanta. On clear winter mornings at
home she could hear traffic from the interstate as though it were
just beyond the trees of their backyard. But in Colorado, the crop
duster was the only sound she could hear above the babbling of the
river.

The quiet provided a kind of tranquility
that should have been lonely, but felt oddly peaceful, even after
last night when her dreams had been so restless. She’d found what
she’d needed and boxed up the rest, determined to call Dodge and
set up a meeting to go over her future.

But not without coffee. She trudged into the
kitchen ready to start her day and nearly jumped out of her skin
when the phone rang. Who would call at 6:30 in the morning? She
raced for the phone in the den.

“Well, I thought you might be up by now.”
Her sister Jenny had the ability to warm and terrify her with a
single phrase. Sarah had spent her entire childhood looking up to
and fearing her older sister. With her sharp tongue, the classic
beauty would give Sarah an honest answer about anything.

“You know its 6:30 out here, don’t you? You
scared the hell out of me.”

“Its 8:30 here and your boys are driving me
crazy. I haven’t been this frustrated with men since dealing with
my ex-husband and his blood sucking divorce attorney.”

Sarah rolled her eyes at her sister’s flair
for the dramatic. “What have they done, Jenny? Is there something I
should be concerned about or are you just calling to complain?”

“I’ve been alone with your kids for almost a
week and you don’t think I have anything to complain about? It’s
time for you to take off those rose-colored glasses and see how
they really are.”

Sarah knew Jenny was exaggerating, but since
Todd’s death, Sarah had gotten pretty soft on them and Kevin, in
particular, was using it to his advantage. “So it’s general
complaining you called to do?”

Jenny sighed. “It’s no fun to complain if
you’re not going to take me seriously. How’s it going out in the
wild west? Met any cute cowboys yet?”

The golden eyes and strong jaw of one cowboy
in particular came to mind, but she didn’t have the energy to
explain. “The week is young.”

“Well, if you don’t have any gossip, then I
may as well tell you Kevin told me he doesn’t want to move to
Colorado.”

“That’s no surprise. He’s been saying that
since I first announced I was selling the house almost six months
ago.”

“He didn’t say it angry like he shouts it at
you,” Jenny explained. “We had a heart-to-heart last night. He’s
afraid Todd wouldn’t approve of you moving out there to live full
time.” Jenny paused as if waiting for Sarah to argue. “He’s like
you, Sarah. He’s afraid of change and being in this house makes him
feel closer to his dad.”

“I know it does, but I can’t stay there any
longer. Todd and I talked about moving the boys out here
eventually. With that new crowd Kevin’s been hanging around with
I’m sure Todd would be the first to suggest we move to the ranch if
he were still alive. Kevin’s thirteen, Jenny. There’s nothing I can
do to please him now anyway. Staying in Atlanta feels like a big
mistake. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut.”

“I understand your reasons, but that doesn’t
mean your sons do.”

“Does that mean Lyle agrees with Kevin?”

“You know Lyle would be happy anywhere the
sun rises and his mom is in the world. That’s one hell of a mama’s
boy you raised.”

Sarah smiled at the thought of Lyle. He had
Todd’s sunny disposition and ability to cope with change. She’d
worried about leaving Kevin alone for the week with Jenny. He’d
internalized Todd’s death much more than Lyle and he and Jenny
generally rubbed each other the wrong way. Although it sounded like
she’d made some headway with him that Sarah hadn’t managed to
do.