The Wyoming Kid

“I had other business there,” Lonny said, but he didn’t explain that his real reason had to do with Joy Fuller and the money she owed him.

“Hey, Lonny,” Letty called. Bright sunlight spilled into the barn as Letty swept open the door. Cricket stayed close to her mother’s side. “I wondered if I’d find you here.”

“I thought you might want your daughter back,” he joked. “How’d the appointment go?”

“Just great.” She raised her eyebrows. “Cricket tells me you got into another argument with Joy.”

He frowned at his niece. He should’ve guessed she’d run tattling to her mother. “The woman’s being completely unreasonable. Personally, I don’t know how you can get along with her.”

“Really?” Letty exchanged a knowing look with her husband.

“Just a minute here!” Lonny waved his finger at them. “None of that.”

“None of what?” His sister was the picture of innocence.

“You know very well what I mean. You’ve got this sliver up your fingernail about me being attracted to your friend, and how she’d be the perfect wife.”

“You’re protesting too much.” Letty seemed hard put to keep from rubbing her hands together in satisfaction. His sister was in love and it only made sense, he supposed, for her to see Cupid at work between him and Joy. Only it wasn’t happening. He didn’t even like the woman.

Not that there was any point in further protest. Arguing with his sister was like asking an angry bronc not to throw you. No matter what Lonny said or did, it wouldn’t change Letty’s mind. Despite their brief and ill-fated romance, something—he couldn’t imagine what—had convinced his softhearted little sister that he was head-over-heels crazy about Joy.

“What did you say to her this time?” Letty demanded.

“Me?”

“Yes, you!” She propped her hands on her hips, and judging by her stern look, there was no escaping the wrath of Letty. The fact that Joy had managed to turn his own sister against him was testament to the evil power Joy Fuller possessed.

“If you must know, I took her the estimate for the damage she did to my truck.”

“You’re kidding!” Letty cried. “You actually got an estimate?”

“Damn straight I did.” Okay, so maybe he was carrying this a bit far, but someone needed to teach this woman a lesson, and that someone might as well be him.

“But your truck…”

Lonny already knew what she was going to say. It was the same argument Joy had given him. “Yes, there are plenty of other dents on the bumper. All I’m asking is that she make restitution for the one she caused. I don’t understand why everyone wants to argue about this. She caused the dent. The least she can do is pay to have it fixed.”

“Lonny, you’ve got to be joking.”

He wasn’t. “What about assuming personal responsibility? You’d think a woman teaching our children would want to make restitution.” According to Letty, the entire community thought the sun rose and set on Miss Fuller. Not him, though. He’d seen the woman behind those deceptive smiles.

“What did Joy have to say to that?” Chase asked, and his mouth twitched in a smile he couldn’t quite hide.

Lonny resisted the urge to ask his brother-in-law what he found so darned amusing. “She made me an insulting offer of fifty dollars. The woman’s nuts if she thinks I’ll accept that.”

Letty uttered a rather unfeminine-sounding snort. “I can’t say I blame her.”

His own sister had sided with Joy and against him. Lonny was sad to see it. “What about my truck? What about me? That woman’s carelessness nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“She said she apologized.”

Obviously Joy had gone directly to his sister telling tales. Granted, after the accident, Joy had been all sweet and apologetic. However, it didn’t take long for her dark side to show, just like it had two years ago.

Since everyone was taking sides with Joy, Lonny considered dropping the entire matter. For a moment, anyway…When he presented Joy with the bill, he’d hoped she’d take all the blame and tell him how sorry she was…and sound as if she meant it. At that point, he would’ve felt good about absolving her and being magnanimous. He’d figured they could talk like adults, maybe meet for a friendly drink—see what happened from there.

That, however, wasn’t how things had gone. Joy had exploded. His impetuous little fantasy shriveled up even more quickly than it had appeared, to be replaced by an anger that matched hers.

“What are you planning to do now?” Letty asked, checking her watch.

Lonny looked to his brother-in-law and best friend for help, but Chase was staying out of this one. There was a time Chase would’ve leaped to Lonny’s defense. Not now; marriage had changed him. “I don’t know yet. I was thinking I should file a claim with her insurance company.” He didn’t really plan to do that, but the threat sounded real and he’d let Letty believe he just might.

“You wouldn’t dare,” his sister snapped.

He shrugged, afraid now that he was digging himself into a hole. But pride demanded he not back down.

“One look at your truck and I’m afraid the adjustor would laugh,” Chase told him.

That hole was getting deeper by the minute.

Shaking her head, Letty sighed. “I’d better call Joy and see if she’s okay.”

Lonny stared at her. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

Letty patted his shoulder. “Sometimes you don’t know how intimidating you can be, big brother. Chase and I know you’re a pussycat, but Joy doesn’t.”

As Lonny stood there scratching his head, wondering how everything had gotten so confused, Letty walked out of the barn.

Utterly baffled, Lonny muttered, “Did I hear her right? Is she actually going to phone Joy? Isn’t that like consorting with the enemy? What about family loyalty, one for all and all for one, that kind of stuff?”

Chase seemed about to answer when Letty turned back. “Do you want to stay for dinner?” she asked.

Invitations on days other than Sunday were rare, and Lonny had no intention of turning one down. He might be upset with his sister but he wasn’t stupid. Letty was a mighty fine cook. “Sure.”

A half hour or so later, Lonny accompanied his brother-in-law to the house. After washing up, Chase brought out two cans of cold beer. Then, just as they had on so many other evenings, the two of them sat on the porch, enjoying the cool breeze.

“The doc said Letty’s going to be all right?” Lonny asked his friend.

Chase took a deep swallow of beer. “According to him, Letty’s as fit as a fiddle.”

That was what Lonny had guessed. His sister had come home after ten years without telling him why—that her heart was in bad shape. She’d needed an expensive surgery, one she couldn’t afford, and she’d trusted Lonny to raise Cricket for her when she died. Cricket’s father had abandoned Letty before the little girl was even born. Letty hadn’t told Lonny any more than that, and he’d never asked. Thankfully she’d had the surgery and it’d been successful. She was married to Chase now; even for a guy as cynical about marriage as Lonny, it was easy to see how much she and Chase loved each other. Cricket had settled down, too. For the first time in her life, the little girl had a father and a family. Lonny was delighted with the way everything had turned out for his sister and his best friend.

“You like married life, don’t you?” he asked. Although he knew the answer, he asked the question anyway. Lonny couldn’t think of another man who’d be completely honest with him.

Chase looked into the distance and nodded.

“Why?”

Chase smiled. “Well, marriage definitely has its good points.”