It Takes a Cowboy

The very intensity of his anticipation worried Blair. He was expecting too much from a mere visit to Scott’s ranch, she fretted. If anything went wrong, he would be so disappointed.

But Blair was unprepared for how very wrong things would go.

She was at her office when a call came in for her Friday afternoon. She recognized Carolyn Roberts’s voice immediately—and with a sense of foreboding. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I have a message for you, Blair. From Scott.”

Blair closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, somehow knowing what the message would be. “What is it?”

“He has been called out of the state for the weekend and won’t be back until the middle of next week. He said to tell you he regrets the timing, but he wanted me to assure you that you and your nephew are still welcome to visit the ranch tomorrow as you had planned. Margaret and I would love to welcome you, and Margaret will prepare a nice lunch for you and Jeffrey. Jake will be available to show you around and to give your nephew a riding lesson—you, too, if you would be interested, of course.”

Blair dreaded telling Jeffrey that Scott wasn’t going to be there. It was seeing Scott again that Jeffrey had so looked forward to, much more than simply touring the ranch. “Where is Scott?” she asked, hoping it was at least important business that had called him away.

“He, um, had a chance to go surfing with some friends in Hawaii. Apparently, the waves are unusually large or something—I’m afraid I don’t know much about surfing—and there’s an amateur competition that Scott and his friends want to enter. He left early this morning.”

Blair could tell from Carolyn’s tone that she knew it wasn’t a very strong excuse. After promising for more than a week to host Blair and Jeffrey at the ranch, Scott had taken off to go surfing with some friends. He hadn’t even called himself to explain.

Apparently growing uncomfortable with Blair’s silence, Carolyn cleared her throat. “So, can we expect you and Jeffrey to visit us in the morning?”

Her first impulse was to coolly decline. Blair had absolutely no interest in visiting the ranch now. But she could not refuse on Jeffrey’s account without talking to him first. He would be unhappy that Scott wouldn’t be there, but for all she knew, he might still like to see the ranch. It should be his decision, since the outing had been for his benefit all along.

As she courteously thanked Carolyn for calling—after all, it hadn’t been her fault that Scott had let them down—Blair disconnected the call. She didn’t look forward to telling Jeffrey the news. Once again an important man in his life had abandoned him without a goodbye to pursue his own frivolous interests—and left Blair to deal with the boy’s anger and disappointment.

She had foolishly allowed herself to believe that Scott was different from Kirk. From her father. She had begun to hope that his promises meant something. That he cared for Jeffrey...and maybe even for her. Finding out that she had been so very wrong about him was devastating.

She rubbed a hand across her face, discovering only then that her cheeks were damp. Was she crying for Jeffrey, or for herself? All she knew for certain at that moment was that Scott had shattered something very precious—a boy’s trust. Not to mention a woman’s heart, she added with a heavy sigh.

*

THE SCENE WITH Jeffrey was as painful as she had expected. He was terribly disappointed that Scott would not be spending the weekend with him. “But he promised,” he wailed.

“He didn’t actually promise, sweetie,” Blair replied, her heart aching for him. “He thought he would be there, but his plans changed unexpectedly. He still wants us to visit his ranch. His foreman, Jake, will give you a riding lesson. I’ve met him, he’s very nice. A real cowboy. And Margaret, the housekeeper, is a wonderful cook who has offered to make a special lunch for us.”

His lip protruding, Jeffrey shook his head. “I don’t want to go now. I don’t know any of those people. I wanted Scott to be there.”

“Yes, so did I, but he had other things to do this weekend. I’m sure he thought you would have a good time, anyway.”

“I won’t go,” Jeffrey insisted. “I would rather stay here with Belle. At least she doesn’t lie to me.”

He was furious, his small body trembling with it. Blair knew exactly how he felt—and she was tired of defending Scott when what he had done was so inconsiderate. “You know what, Jeffrey?” she said with sudden s

pirit. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Scott invited us to be his guests, and it was rude of him to abandon us this way. I’m as angry with him as you are. But you and I don’t need him to entertain us this weekend. We can find plenty of fun things to do without him.”

Mopping his face with the back of one hand, Jeffrey sniffled and looked at her. “Like what?”

“Anything you like. Roller-skating. Swimming. A movie or an arcade. Or we can go to another ranch and take a riding lesson together—there are plenty of other ranches and other cowboys who would be happy to teach us, I’m sure.”

Though his lip still trembled, Jeffrey seemed intrigued. “We can do anything I want?”

“Anything—except ride bulls,” she amended hastily.

He didn’t quite smile, but his expression lightened a bit. “That sounds like it might be sort of fun. Just me and you, I mean.”

“What would you like to do?”

“Can I think about it?”

“Of course. Let me know whenever you decide, in the morning if you like. I’ll call Carolyn and tell her we won’t be available tomorrow—if you’re sure that’s what you want me to do.”