Page 46 of Mistletoe Cowboy

“Mostly we do. I grew up there, on the rez, near Hardin.”

“Reservations.” Ron shook his head as he sat back down next to Katy. “It’s sad that we have such a high civilization in the world, but we still have people living in abject poverty on reservations under government programs.”

“Yes. Amazing that such a high civilization put us there in the first place, isn’t it?” Parker asked. His voice was pleasant, but his dark eyes were saying something quite different.

Ron noted that the man was quite muscular and that he didn’t back down from criticism. In fact, he looked rather dangerous. He cleared his throat. “Yes, isn’t it?” he said, avoiding a confrontation.

Parker raised an eyebrow. “You practice law in Maryland, I believe?”

“Yes. Mostly in the Capitol,” Ron replied. “You break horses, I hear.”

“Most of the time,” he agreed.

“He’s teaching me how to ride,” Teddie said.

“You couldn’t do that?” he asked Katy.

“I don’t have the time, and I’m too impatient,” Katy replied. “Besides, Parker knows more about horses than I do. I’ve forgotten a lot over the years.”

“Pity it’s a skill that doesn’t travel well,” Ron remarked when he noticed the way Katy was looking at the other man. He seemed to feel that a man who worked with horses was too stupid to do anything else. Not that he said it. He insinuated it.

Teddie was perceptive enough to be outraged on Parker’s behalf. “You should tell him about the cat,” Teddie told Parker firmly.

He grinned at her. “Patience is a virtue,” he said gently. “We make haste slowly. Right?”

She made a face. “Right,” she added with a covert glare at their other visitor.

“Well, I’ll say good night,” Parker told them. “I’ve got an old army buddy coming to visit for a while. We were in Iraq together.”

Ron looked uncomfortable. He’d managed to keep out of the military. He didn’t really like being around men who’d served. They made him look bad.

“Then we’ll see you next Saturday, right?” Teddie asked.

He smiled. “Of course.” He glanced at Katy, who looked uneasy. “See you.”

“See you,” she said, and forced a smile. Because even though Parker was polite and courteous, she sensed that he was drawing away from her because of Ron. She didn’t understand why. At least, not then.

Chapter Seven

Katy had thought that Ron would start right away to interview people who knew the horse’s owner, his neighbors and relations. But mostly what Ron did was drive around to see the sights and take Katy out to eat. He allowed Teddie to go with them, but the invitation was reluctant at best. He didn’t like the child around, and it was painfully obvious.

A week after Ron’s arrival, Katy came in with the mail and her expression was one of abject misery.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” Teddie asked. “You haven’t been yourself all the way home from school.”

Katy put up her purse and car keys. She pulled out an opened envelope. “It’s a legal document insisting that Bartholomew be returned to his rightful owner.”

“But he can’t! He just can’t make us give Bart back!” she exclaimed.

“I’ll discuss it with Ron as soon as possible.”

“He won’t do anything,” Teddie said shortly. “He hasn’t even asked anybody about how that man treated Bart.”

“How do you know that?”

“My friend Edie told me,” she said belligerently. “She says her mother and father are furious. They know at least two of the man’s neighbors who would be willing to go to court to testify against him, but neither of them has even been asked.”

Katy made a face. She was feeling worse by the day about her idea to have Ron come and do them this favor. He was pleasant company, but he spent their time together talking up Washington society and her gift for putting people at ease. She’d make a proper hostess for a politician, he insisted, and instead she was burying herself out here in the boondocks with filthy cattle and wild people.

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