The Reluctant Rancher~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense) Read online

  I missed out on a lot of your growing up in my early years as a landman, but I fell in love with this beautiful part of the state of Texas and it was my dream that someday, you would love it too. I hope you know I have always been proud of you. Even if you weren’t my own flesh and blood, I would consider you a fine and worthy man. My hopes are that you can live on the land and make a good life for yourself, but if you choose to go back to the city, I understand. I have only myself to blame. I love you, son.

  Dad

  E.J. blinked, but tears ran down his face. He brushed them away on his sleeve and folded the letter. His father’s words stabbed into his heart. How sad that Eldon had never been able to express himself openly. How sad that Eldon had felt inadequate as a husband and father. How very sad…

  ~*~

  Cami took a detour to the Mexican restaurant before arriving at the clinic. She pushed through the door with a bag of taquitos for Loretta and Reba, and a cup of the incredibly wonderful Mexican-style hot chocolate for herself. “Good morning, ladies,” she called out.

  “Morning, boss.” Loretta’s eyes lit up when she spied the bag.

  Cami placed the bag on the counter and smiled. “Enjoy.”

  “Wow, what did you bring us?” She unrolled the top of the bag. “Ooh, taquitos from Milita’s place.”

  Reba turned from the patient file she had been perusing. “Did somebody say taquitos?” She reached into the bag Loretta extended to her. “And salsa. Our boss remembers everything.” She gave Cami a toothy grin.

  “Fuel up, my friends. You may want to choke me when I tell you what I’ve done.” Cami saluted them with her chocolate. “I’m going to be volunteering at a low-income clinic in Amarillo a couple of days per month. It’s close to a Catholic church on the south side of the city. The part that lies within Randall County.”

  Loretta stared at her, wide-eyed.

  Reba made a grunting noise as she bit into her taquito. “I know about that place. The bowels of hell clinic. A lot of migrants and illegals go there.” She chewed thoughtfully. “And homeless.”

  Cami sucked in a breath. “Well, as lovely as that sounds, I’m going to try and lend a hand.” She wasn’t going to tell them she had been given no choice in the matter. “And I’ll prevail upon you, Reba to accompany me on my visits.”

  Reba muttered something unintelligible as she chewed.

  “And you, Loretta to keep the records straight.”

  Loretta nodded. “Not a problem.”

  Cami gave them a wide smile. “And since today is my half day, I thought we might drive over and check it out this afternoon, just to get a feel for the place and know what’s needed.”

  “A miracle.” Reba shot a penetrating glare. “But, I’ll go with you. All my immunizations are current and I have a hand gun.”

  A queasy feeling in Cami’s stomach let her know this ‘bargain’ of Mr. Jorgensen’s might not be such a great deal. Maybe she had bitten off more than she could chew…again.

  ~*~

  When George and the hands arrived at the ranch, E.J. was on his third cup of coffee. He had saved Eldon’s letter in the safe behind the big portrait of his mother in the office wall. He thought he understood their relationship a little better now. Sad that two people who loved each other so much had built their lives on acquiring things.

  E.J. carried the coffee pot outside, along with a sleeve of disposable cups. He placed them on a small table and settled into one of the rockers lined up on the porch and motioned to George and the men to join him. “Come on up, gentlemen. Have some coffee.” He poured the brew into cups and handed them around.

  George introduced his men to E.J. and reached for a cup after the others had been served. “G’morning, boss. We were up pretty late last night, but there was no action. Everything was quiet.”

  E.J. shrugged. “Maybe the count was off. I just found that number in my dad’s records, so I assumed it was true.”

  George shook his head. “Nah. I don’t think so. There are tire tracks from some kind of big truck by the fence in the east pasture. That’s where your dad used to load cattle for transport, but these were pretty fresh.”

  E.J. swallowed the coffee, drawing comfort from the warm liquid. “I see. What do you propose we do about it?”

  “We plan to be on watch tonight. If there is to be another theft of cattle, it will most likely be tonight. It’s the dark of the moon.”

  E.J. nodded. “I’ll be with you then.”

  George finished his coffee and set the cup on the small table. “Wear dark clothes and saddle up a dark horse.” He grinned and pointed to E.J.’s head. “Might want to cover up that hair, too. It will glow like a beacon with even a sliver of moonlight.”

  E.J. grinned. “Sure thing. I’ll ride my dad’s horse, Stryker. He’s solid black.” His gut clenched when he thought of rustlers. He hoped the upcoming nighttime adventure would produce some results.

  ~*~

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  After her last patient had gone, Cami loaded her staff into the Lincoln and made the trip to Amarillo. Loretta had Googled the clinic and printed out a map with directions. When they pulled up near the building, Cami suppressed a shudder. The health center was located in a store-front in a run-down area of town. There were several closed shops and boarded-up buildings on the same block, but the Catholic Church on the corner appeared to be well-maintained.

  She glanced at Loretta who sat in the seat beside her, clutching the map with a tight grip. Loretta was taking in the surroundings with a wary eye.

  Reba let out a disdainful snort from the back seat. “Doc, are you sure you want to get out here? I mean, look at this neighborhood.”

  Loretta nodded, her expression telling exactly how she felt about this expedition. “Perhaps we should go home.”

  “Look at that guy, Doc.” Reba pointed out a man leaning against the building where the clinic was housed. “He’s probably a drug dealer or a gang member.”

  Cami eyed the man. He was a young African-American male in his late twenties or perhaps early thirties. He slouched indolently with one foot braced against the wall. He was eying the three women in the candy-apple red Lincoln, as well.

  Cami stifled a shudder and opened the door. Maybe I should have Breck with me instead. “You two can wait here if you want to. I’m going to check it out.”

  Loretta let out a little squeal of protest.

  “Not without me, you’re not!” Reba opened her door and leaped out. “I know karate,” she whispered.

  Cami swallowed. “Good to know. Let’s try not to use it.” She stepped up onto the sidewalk as Reba and Loretta scrambled after her. Striding purposefully to the clinic entrance, she nodded at the man by the door.

  He straightened and put both feet on the sidewalk. “Are you ladies lost?” he asked.

  Cami felt Reba step forward and stepped quickly in front of her to forestall any confrontation. “I don’t think so,” she said brightly and flashed him a smile. “This is the clinic, isn’t it?”

  He frowned and leaned forward. “You ladies are going to the free clinic? That just don’t seem right.”

  Cami stopped to answer him, but was shoved toward the door by Reba, who gave him a ferocious glare.

  Once inside, Cami stopped short. Reba and Loretta bumped into her and the three huddled together, staring around at the scene.

  The entire store had been emptied out and a hanging curtain cordoned off one end. A small desk was attended by a tired-looking woman and the rest of the room was filled with a hodge-podge of mismatched chairs. The individuals seated, or in some instances, sprawled on the chairs, were an assortment of people, young and old, black, white, and Hispanic. Most were women and many of those were in some stage of pregnancy. Young children sat at the feet of their mothers or played nearby. Babies slept, or cried, or were being jiggled by parent or grandparent. Several young men slouched in chairs or against the wall. Their glares were as uninviting as had been those of the ma
n standing outside the building.

  What am I doing here? Cami heaved a giant sigh. Oh, yeah. I made a deal to avoid punishment. This is my punishment.

  The woman at the desk waved them over. “Can I help you?”

  Cami and her escorts moved as a single unit toward the desk. Cami cleared her throat. “I’m Doctor Ryan. I’m going to be volunteering some time here and I thought I might get acquainted with your…um…facility.”

  The woman emitted a short huff of laughter. “Well, there ain’t no facility to it. Just this one room.” She spread her hands and gazed around.

  “I see.” Cami was at a loss for words.

  “Doctor Ramirez!” the woman yelled. “When you get a minute, can you step out here?”

  Cami gripped her handbag and shuffled from foot-to-foot. A few minutes later, an elderly Hispanic man and a younger Hispanic woman came out from behind the curtain. The young woman dropped a plastic laminated number in the box on the desk in front of her and then escorted the old man from the clinic.

  There was the sound of running water and a young man came from behind the curtain, drying his hands on a paper towel. He tossed it in a trash can. “Lakeesha? What do you require of me?”

  Lakeesha smiled up at him and gestured to Cami and company. “This one says she’s a doctor and is here to volunteer.”

  The young man swiveled toward them, his hand extended. “A doctor! Welcome to our clinica. Welcome.”

  Cami shook his hand and he ushered them behind the curtain. If she thought the waiting room was bleak, the examination room proved to be even more so. There was a very old exam table and a makeshift counter with a few tools in zip lock plastic bags. A meager amount of disposable supplies and a trash can with a step-on lid rounded out the array.

  Reba fisted her hands on her hips and took a wide stance, her face radiating an assortment of disapproving glares and grimaces.

  Cami took a deep breath and plunged in. “I’m Camryn Carmichael-Ryan. I’m the doctor in Langston and this is my office manager, Loretta and my nurse, Reba.”

  He shook hands with each woman, in turn. “I am Doctor Jose Ramirez. I have been coming here on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the past couple of years.”

  “Tuesdays and Thursdays? Who’s here on the other days?”

  He chuckled. “Sadly, there is no one else. The clinica is able to operate on two days only.”

  This information sank in slowly. “I see. What do the people do if they happen to become ill on a Friday?”

  He shrugged, his expression somber. “They either wait for Tuesday or go to the hospital emergency room.” He shrugged again. “I work in the ER most nights, so sometimes I see my patients there too.”

  Cami gestured to the sparsely appointed area. “You don’t seem to have much in the way of equipment or supplies. Who funds this program, Doctor Ramirez?”

  “Please call me Jose. No one in particular gives funding. Saint Mary’s Catholic Church takes up a special collection for the Clinica and the Diocese donates some funds. Occasionally, we get a donor, but mostly we scrape by.”

  Cami pressed her lips together. “I’m not sure how I can help then.”

  Jose raised his hands in a supplication gesture. “Oh, no! Please, Doctor. Just having you here to help out will be a great blessing to us all. It will mean more people can be seen and cared for.”

  Reba let out an impatient snort. “Well, where the heck are these people going to be seen and cared for? It appears to me you only got this one room, if you can call it that.”

  “Not a problem. I will simply liberate more cubicle curtains from the hospital and you will have a space to examine the patients. Perhaps you would like to take care of some of the pregnant women? That would help so much.”

  “Um, yes. That would be fine.” She glanced at Loretta. “Do you think you could free up my time for a week from Thursday?”

  Loretta looked doubtful. “I’ll try my best.”

  Cami nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

  “And you’ll see me too,” Reba said. “I’m not about to let you come over here by yourself, Doc.”

  Jose grinned from ear to ear. “That would be awesome, Miss Reba. We will be most grateful for your assistance.”

  Reba glowered at him. “Listen sonny, I’m not an assistant. I’m an RN. That stands for Registered Nurse. I’ve been taking care of folks since before you were weaned.”

  Jose’s face looked as though he had just been slapped. “I meant no disrespect, Miss Reba.”

  Reba huffed out a sigh, and Cami reached to take Jose’s hand. It was clasped in a warm handshake. “None taken. We’ll just be going now. We’ll see you on Thursday.”

  Jose escorted them to the door and thanked them all profusely.

  Once outside, they were confronted again by the young African-American man. “So, did you ladies get taken care of?”

  Cami stopped and looked the man over. “Yes, as a matter of fact we did. I’ll be a regular here, so you might as well introduce yourself.” She felt her stomach do a tumble and roll as he rounded on her.

  “A regular? What do you want with the clinic?” The muscles in his bare arms seemed to bulge.

  “Relax, sonny,” Reba interjected. “We’re here to help. This is the doc and you better be glad she’s going to be donating her valuable time to this place.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched as he eyed them. “That’s good to know.” He extended his hand. “I’m Viper. I come to the clinic when Doctor Joe opens up to keep things quiet on the street.”

  Cami swallowed. “Quiet?”

  Brown eyes appraised her. “Yeah, you know. We don’t want Doctor Joe to be interrupted.” He stepped back. “There are a lot of mamas and babies in there.”

  Reba nodded. “I’m sure they appreciate your presence, Viper.”

  Surprisingly, Viper grinned. “Shoot! Most of ‘em don’t even know I’m here.”

  Cami grinned back. “Well, I certainly appreciate your presence, Viper.” She waved goodbye and headed for her car, glad to see it was in the same condition she had left it. Loretta and Reba climbed in and she started the motor. “Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “Oh, my!” Loretta said. “I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”

  “Just get us outta here,” Reba snarled. “That was the saddest excuse for a clinic I could ever imagine. I want to take a bath in a germicidal solution.”

  “Yes, it was very sad. I hope I can help them. Maybe I can bring some supplies with me on Thursday.”

  Reba blew out a long sigh. “Doc, you can’t save the world. You can’t fund this clinic by yourself.”

  Cami turned the Lincoln towards the highway, her brain racing with ideas. Maybe not. But, just maybe, I can find some people with deep pockets to help me.

  ~*~

  That afternoon, Frank pushed through the door to Sara Beth’s shop.

  The clanking of the cow bell caused her to jump. “Oh, you frightened me, Frank.”

  He grinned at her. “Sure didn’t mean to. Miss Cami called to say she would be late getting home and she asked me to pick you up.”

  Sara Beth felt her color rise. “It’s a little early yet. I usually don’t close for another hour.”

  “I know.” He removed his Stetson and placed it on a small display by the door.

  “Oh.” Her blush grew deeper.

  “I’ll go sit over there by the computer and see if I can do some good.” He smiled at her and headed to the far side of the store where the PC was hooked up.

  “I’ll just sweep up now,” she called out and reached for the big push broom. She started in the corner opposite from where Frank sat, trying not to admire his broad shoulders or his thick, dark hair. She swept faster and then sneezed when she stirred up the dust.

  “God bless you, Sara Beth,” he said, glancing at her. “Are you all right?”

  “Thank you, Frank. It’s the dust. I’m overdue for cleaning this place.”
She swept closer to the front door and spied an envelope on the floor. She picked it up and saw the word ‘Jessup’ scrawled across the front. It was close to the mail slot, but bore no stamp, so she knew the postman didn’t bring it. “Well. I’ll be...”

  “What’s up?” Frank asked.

  “I just found this envelope, but I swear it wasn’t there earlier today.” She opened it and drew out the single sheet of paper. The words leaped out at her.

  Keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.

  “Oh!” She dropped it like it burned her fingers and stepped back abruptly.

  Frank was by her side in a flash. “What’s wrong?”

  Soundlessly, she pointed a shaky finger at the fallen paper. “There!”

  Frank picked it up, read it, and frowned. “Where did this come from?”

  Sara Beth covered her mouth with both hands and shook her head. “I don’t know, and I don’t know what it means. What am I supposed to keep my mouth shut about?”

  Frank shook his head. “Somebody thinks you know something.” He blew out a breath. “And they think they can frighten you into keeping quiet.”

  She swallowed the taste of bile in the back of her throat. “Do you suppose this is about Nick?”

  The grim look on Frank’s face answered her question.

  ~*~

  E.J. had ridden Stryker out to the pasture where he had agreed to meet with George and the other men. The moon was just a wisp of a crescent overhead and Stryker kept dancing a little, impatient for some action.

  E.J. took a deep breath. The air was humid and he could smell the aroma of the rich, dark earth mingled with that of the cattle. He got an inkling of what Eldon must have loved about this place. Now, he was going to protect it. Protect what his father had built and had subsequently given over to him. Not going to let you down, Dad.

  He reflected on the letter Eldon had written and how he’d felt when he learned how proud his father had been of him.