“There’s somebody out there for you, Sandi,” Aunt Ed said. “You just haven’t found the right one. Sometimes it takes a while.” She drew a big sniff. “Just look at your ol’ auntie. It took me four tries to get a good one.”
Sandy clamped her jaw tight. She had no intention of ever having four husbands. One more time was all she was willing to give to an attempt at marriage. If the third time didn’t prove to be a charm, she would give up love and romance with the human male altogether and become a cat lady. She was already well on her way.
She gave her aunt an arch look. “No offense, Aunt Ed, but two ex-husbands are enough. I don’t want three. I might never get married again, but if I do, it’ll be for good.”
Chapter 14
During the long, silent drive to the Flying C, Nick’s thoughts and emotions churned. Those women were never going to give Buster up. It was time to take control of the situation. He knew where the aunt lived. He would have no trouble coaxing the dog to come to him. He turned his truck around and headed back to Salt Lick.
Driving by Edwina and Vic Martin’s mobile home, he concluded no one was at home. He studied the mobile and the yard around it. Neatly kept, large lot, fenced back yard with a gate into an alley and an open fenced pasture beyond. All he had to do was wait for the right opportunity. He parked at the end of the alley behind a large mesquite tree, hoping he was concealed, and waited.
Twilight came and still no one was at home. Those women probably all went to eat supper somewhere or maybe they went out for a night on the town. But what town? Salt Lick had no night life. If they went out, they would have to go to another town. And would they take Sandi’s dogs with them or leave them locked up in the beauty shop? Neither scenario sounded logical.
He shifted in his seat, hoping they showed up soon. His back ached, his butt ached and he was starting to feel tingles in his feet. The consequences of old football injuries plagued him every day. He’d had concussions, sprains, broken bones and a back injury. He’d had surgeries on his back and both knees.
Added to that, since those days, he had spent many of his waking hours on horseback in all kinds of weather. That probably hadn’t done his body a lot of good either, but he had always been a cowboy and it was the profession he had chosen for his adult life. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
He stepped out of his truck and walked around it, hung onto the tailgate and did a few squats, then climbed back inside.
Soon after dark, lights came on in the mobile home. The back door opened and Sandi and Buster came out into the back yard. Buster’s head turned toward him, his nose in the air. He began to bark. Shit! The dog had his scent.
He made sure his truck’s automatic headlights were off, then fired the engine, backed out of the alley and made his way to one of the two gas stations in Salt Lick. There, he ate a hot dog and visited the men’s room.
He soon returned to his vigil. Sandi Walker sneaked into his mind. She was an interesting woman. Good-looking, great body, obviously smart and loyal. Though they had clashed over Buster, he suspected she was honest to a fault. They had some things in common and she would make a good companion.
He couldn’t recall the last time he’d had those thoughts about his female acquaintances. The fact was, for a long time, he hadn’t looked for anything in women other than the obvious. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy having the right one to go home to after a long day. He did get lonesome.
The mobile home lights went out, halting his mental meandering. He checked his watch. 11:30 p.m. No Buster. That meant a long night ahead. He stepped down from behind the wheel, climbed into the backseat and was soon asleep.
He awoke to a sky just turning pink with daylight. Oh, hell. Had he missed Buster coming outside? Feeling as if he were paralyzed from the waist down, he creaked to a sitting position one limb at a time. His feet longed to be freed from the boots he had been wearing since yesterday morning.
Daylight and a night’s sleep, even a fitful sleep, brought clearer thinking. Was he out of his mind, planning to sneak Buster out of somebody’s back yard? This was behavior that conflicted with every bit of common sense he had. Last night, when he had conjured up this plan, he had definitely been acting out of anger. He should just go home.
Before he finished thinking the worst about himself and what he was doing, the back door opened and Buster came out of the house alone. Neither Sandi nor her aunt were anywhere in sight. Nick looked around the back yard, saw no sign of a human being. Buster trotted toward the back of the yard, began to sniff around the gate. Bingo! Temptation raised its head. In a matter of a second, it overcame Nick’s cleared thinking and common sense.
Ten minutes later, he had his dog in the passenger and he was headed for the Flying C.
The drive to the ranch gave him time to get his wits together and regret acting out a juvenile impulse. He had to explain the situation to his boss before anybody else got to him first. Thus, when he arrived at the ranch, his first stop was at Harley’s house.
Harley and C.J. were up and C.J. was fixing breakfast and lunches for their kids. He apologized for
