Page 19 of Heart of the West

“Oh, Ruby, the whole town will love you for that alone.”

“Looks like I need to make some more cherry desserts. Oh, I could reconstitute the freeze dried cherries and use them in challah bread.”

I noticed the look on Cece’s face and burst out laughing. “Drying and reconstituting gives them a different flavor and texture than a fresh or frozen fruit.”

“Good to know. Does this mean the rumors of you making bread are true?”

“Yes, I’ve even been promised a peek at Ellie’s pumpernickel recipe.”

“Dutch must’ve taken a shine to you to offer Ellie’s pumpernickel.”

“I was dumbfounded when I found the recipe for the fried pies.”

“Neither would ever admit it, but I think the extra money from the crops let them do more than eke by. They haven’t taken a vacation since then and we all know better than to offer help. Not unless we see something neither of them can deny. Sweet people would do anything for anybody but never ask for help.”

I feel a deep pang in my chest for the couple. And I have yet to meet Dutch’s other half.

“I don’t have enough cash on hand to buy what they’ve been saving. What about some kind of town event celebrating the cherry? Only do it in the wintertime. A breath of spring in the middle of ice. January is the perfect time.”

“I love that idea. And you don’t know this, but Ben and I both have seats on the town council. We have a meeting Monday night. I’ll bring it up. Neither Dutch nor Ellie would consider us buying their crops as charity. Not if it's for a legit reason.”

“I hope to take part in all the town events. I spent my childhood in small town Indiana and I miss the camaraderie you don’t get in bigger cities. Much less Naptown.”

“Naptown?”

“It’s a nickname for Indianapolis.”

“How did it come to that?” she asks with a laugh.

“It started in the nineteen-twenties. Jazz musicians started referring to it as Naptown, a cool place to hang out and chill.”

“Do you miss it?”

“No. I’ve lived the past decade in Zionsville. The people the ex hangs out with are a bit too pretentious for me. Zionsville is much smaller than Naptown, but it’s still not a small town.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t enjoy living in a bigger town, much less a city.”

The horse I’m riding, Paxon, a tall gelding, is more spirited than Jack , the ranch hand, indicated. Thankfully, I’ve ridden most of my life. So far, I’m handling him beautifully. Cece and I continue to ride and talk. She’s easy to talk to. I find myself pouring out my life story to her while she shares stories of her boys with me.

From her oldest Walker, who’s a single father of twin four-year-old daughters, to her third son Wilder.

“Of all my boys, I’m most worried about him.”

“Wilder Bennett, the rodeo star, is your Wilder?” I ask, incredulously.

She smiles, but I see sadness in her eyes.

“You know about the accident?”

“I do. How’s he doing?”

“Not good. He’s been drinking too much and getting into fights. Effrem’s kept him out of jail, but who knows how long that will last.”

Effrem, as in Sheriff Effrem Reeves?My ears perk at the sound of his name.

“Ben and I were friends with him and his late wife, Evie. We all went to school about the same time.”

That made him more than a decade older than me. Meh, I don’t care if he’s ten decades older. Okay, a hundred years might be a bit much. I want to be able to have sex. Lots of hot sweaty sex with orgasms. Real orgasms. Lost in my fantasy of a naked sheriff, I don’t see the dip in the terrain until Paxon stumbles. He rights himself and immediately starts bucking like a bronco. I’m holding on for dear life. Thank God, the bucking doesn’t last long. Instead of settling down, he bolts into the trees. The reinssomehow snag on a branch and rip from my hands and halfway off Paxon’s head. I’m holding on to the saddle horn for all I’m worth, using every leg command I’ve ever been taught.

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