The Cowboy And The Cop
Actually it was going to change soon. He wasn’t going to ride in other circuits over PBR’s summer break. He was going home for a while before Amber Chapman handcuffed him and dragged him home.
During a quiet moment, Luke turned to his brothers. “Hey, I want to talk to you about the ranch. It’s going on the auction block for back taxes in one week. Dad hasn’t paid the taxes since Mom died.”
“But we sent him money,” Reed said.
Luke sighed. “Obviously, he drank it away.”
Reed took a draw on his beer. “Three years is a lot of back taxes.”
“How do you know all this?” Jesse asked.
“I talked to Amber Chapman—or rather, she talked to me and let me have it. You remember Amber. Now she’s a deputy sheriff, and said she’s arrested Dad three times. The third time he got probation and is in rehab right now. His probation officer is Matty Matthews.”
“No kidding,” Jesse said in disbelief.
Reed grunted. “Dad’s on probation? And sitting in rehab? Knowing how he has been acting since Mom died, he isn’t going to last long at either one. I know Matty Matthews and he’s not going to take any crap from Dad. Big Dan will soon be in big-boy prison and doing big-boy time.”
Luke leaned forward. “We could pay off the taxes. There’s one week before the auction. If you guys are going to keep riding, I’ll go home and bid on it. During the summer, I’ll get things repaired and fixed up.”
The three brothers sat in silence until Jesse spoke.
“It’s all hard to take, but remember when we were kids, we constantly played Musketeers. Remember our oath?”
Jesse put his right hand in the middle of the table, palm down. Reed grinned and put his on top of his younger brother’s. Luke put his hand on top of the stack.
“One for all and all for one!” the Beaumont brothers vowed.
“Good.” Luke knew his brothers would come through. “I’m glad you feel the same as I do. Mom wouldn’t have wanted the ranch to fall into ruin. When Dad snaps out of his funk, he’ll realize that he almost lost the whole enchilada. Maybe he’ll care then, maybe not.”
Luke continued. “We’ll have to pool our resources for the auction, and it might take a huge chunk of change, especially if other people bid, too. Luckily, we’re all riding great and winning at the present moment.” Luke chuckled. “I have a bunch of commitments that I can’t escape during the next several days—pictures for some calendar and a jeans commercial. But I’ll be at the auction—I promise—and I’ll be in touch with more information.”
Jesse nodded. “Looks like Reed and I will be picking up another circuit for the summer to keep the money coming in. Okay with you, bro?”
Reed took a draw on his beer. “No sweat. We’ll ride in Tucson.”
Luke got up from the table. “We need some wins, brothers, so good luck. The ranch is going to take a lot of the green stuff.”
“Don’t forget the check, Mr. Gold Buckle.” Reed picked up the bill and handed it to Luke. “You know our rule—winner pays.”
“Yeah, cowboy. You make the big bucks,” Jesse added.
Since his brothers hadn’t hesitated to pitch in to get the ranch back in shape, Luke was never so happy to pay a check and take their kidding.
Now, if only things would go as well with Big Dan Beaumont.
* * *
THE TOWN OF Beaumont was unusually free of calls for a Monday morning, so Amber pulled out her study guide for the state police exam and went through the questions that she’d missed before. Opening a notebook, she jotted down some key words. She’d look up what she’d gotten wrong, make notes and study those for the future.
But even with a perfect score, Amber knew the biggest obstacle still was ahead, namely the background check. Even though her father claimed that his used car parts business was on the up-and-up, Amber could never be sure. And, if the officials found anything questionable, Amber would find herself stuck here in a town that still looked at her as Marv Chapman’s kid.
She’d tried to believe her father when he’d said they’d all be crime-free while she was a deputy sheriff and that no “funny business” would be going on, but could she trust him?
She was already a traitor in her father’s and three brothers’ eyes because she had gone “over to the other side.” They were mostly kidding when they teased her—mostly.
The residents of Beaumont looked down on the Chapmans and always would. But her goal for the longest time was to bring some respectability to the family name. That’s one of the reasons why she’d become a cop. The other was to keep her father and brothers in line. So far, so good, on that count.
Her mother had been looking for the same respectability. Kathleen Chapman had stayed with her husband and sons and tolerated their minor brushes with the law until Amber was accepted into college. Then Kathleen had taken a job in the cafeteria at the University of Oklahoma and the two of them had shared a small apartment.
Those were some of Amber’s happiest times.
And although they’d never divorced, Kathleen still had a soft spot for Marv and her three boys who followed in Marv’s footsteps: Aaron, Kyle and Ronnie.
There was some kind of loud commotion in the hallway. Amber was just about to lay her study guide down and check it out, when the door opened and a man—or rather, a cowboy—walked in.
He wore the typical dress of every other cowboy in town: jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, a dinner plate of a buckle, a hat and dusty boots.
Leaning over the counter, he raised an eyebrow when he saw that Amber was holding a study guide. She quickly closed it and tossed it into her desk drawer.
“Hello, Luke. You made it.”
“If I’m not disturbing you—”
“You’re not disturbing me. Although the noise in the hallway did. Was that your fan club?”
“Uh...just some people who were congratulating me on my wins in Billings and Oklahoma City.”
“Let me add my congratulations.”
“Thanks, Amber.” He took a deep breath and looked down at the marble floor. Finally he asked, “How about filling me in on my father’s arrests?”
Amber pulled a folder from her bottom drawer and opened it. Although she knew its contents by heart, Luke Beaumont always made her jumpy, and it gave her something to do with her hands.
“I think I told you that I arrested him three times. They were all at Tommy Lang’s bar. For the first two arrests I recommended to Judge Bascom that he just give him a stern warning and tell him to go to AA, but not the third time. That time, I recommended some days in jail along with probation and inpatient rehab. Your dad’s a fighter when he’s drunk and he can get quite mean, especially if someone brings up your mom.”
Luke grunted. “I’m sure he’s more miserable than ever, but tell me what he did at the bar. Obviously he was drunk. Any damage?”
“Yeah. The last time he jumped a biker who called him an old drunk. Your father said that he might be a drunk, but he wasn’t old. More words were exchanged relative to size and stature, and when the peanut shells settled on the floor, the damage totaled one thousand bucks.”
“I’ll pay it.”
“Your father is supposed to pay his own restitution,” Amber instructed.
“Yeah, well, my money is going to have to do.”
“That’ll teach him,” she mumbled.
“Where’s the tax department? I have an appointment to see Connie McBride.”
“There’s a sign right next to the entranceway, but your fans were probably blocking your view,” she teased. “It’s on the second floor. Up the stairs, turn left. Sign on door.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Chapman.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why did he have to be so hot?
“I’ll leave you alone now, so you can get back to your reading. I’m glad Beaumont is crime-free, except for our fathers, huh? State police study guide?”
She wanted to coat him with pepper spray from the top of his Stetson to the bottom of his boots.
“If you want to pay your father’s restitution, so he wouldn’t have learned a thing from his experience, you can do so on the third floor in the Beaumont County Probation Department. Do you want me to draw you a map?” she said, trying to get back at his teasing her.
“I can handle it. Riding bulls hasn’t scrambled my brains that much.”
She grinned. “The jury is still out on that, Luke.”
He touched the brim of his hat to her. “Maybe I’ll stop in and see Matty Matthews while I’m there.”
As he walked toward the thick oak door and opened it, Amber couldn’t help but notice his tight butt.
That cowboy can really work a pair of jeans.
She could hear his boots knocking on the marble floor until they faded.
Sergeant Chapman hurried to the refrigerator in the break room, opened the freezer and let the air cool her flaming face.
Chapter Three
Amber looked great in the navy blue and white Beaumont County Sheriff’s Department uniform with full cop regalia, but Luke still remembered her at the senior prom, all sparkly and glowing. Crazy Kenny Fowler had been her date and he’d paid more attention to everyone but Amber.
During the prom, Luke got word that Kenny had Chapman moonshine on him and even more jars of the stuff in his car that he got “on sale” for taking Amber to the prom.
Luke had known exactly when Amber had heard Crazy Kenny say that stupid sentence. With head held high, she’d left. He’d excused himself from his date and secretly followed Amber home, just to make sure she’d gotten there all right.
He couldn’t help but hear her soft sobs as she’d slipped out of her heels on the sidewalk and kept on walking.
Funny, he remembered Amber that evening but he couldn’t remember whom he’d taken to the prom.
Reaching the second floor, he found the door labeled Beaumont County Department of Taxation and walked in. The office smelled musty, as if fresh air had never hit all the ledgers, microfiche and file cabinets. Looked like the tax department hadn’t caught up to the digital age.
“I know why you’re here, Luke,” said Mrs. McBride from behind the counter. Connie McBride was the mother of Leann, the head cheerleader he had dated during his sophomore year. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Reaching to her right, she slid a file from the top of the stack and positioned it in front of him. Using a stubby index finger with a nail cut to the quick, she pointed to a figure he knew was reachable but would be painful for his brothers and him.
“And these are the penalties.” She pointed to another figure.
Dammit, Dad. What have you done?
“I had no idea it was so much,” Luke mumbled.
“As I told you on the phone, according to the rules, I have no choice but to put your property up for auction,” Mrs. McBride leaned over the counter. “Hopefully, no one else will bid on it and you can buy it back. It has to go for at least these two figures. That’s the bottom line. The sale starts at ten o’clock sharp, Luke.” She checked her watch. “It’s nine thirty now. I’d better get going.”
“Is it downstairs?” Luke asked.
“No. It’s in the lobby of the courthouse. Not here.”
How could he be so stupid? He took her hand and shook it. “Thanks, Mrs. McBride. Oh, and how’s Leann?”
“She’s just a saint. She’s married and living in Fargo with an immature husband and four hellion boys—two sets of twins. I don’t know how she does it.”
He tipped his hat. “Thanks, Mrs. McBride.” He’d have to pay his father’s restitution for the three bar fights at a later date.
As he walked, he phoned Reed and told him the total amount. “Good. We’re covered and there’s some left,” Reed said.
“Is Jesse with you?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. I’ll put you on speakerphone so he can hear. We’re in Tucson now, chowing down on some cold pizza for breakfast and sitting outside on the balcony of our hotel.”
“Someone could outbid me, but I still think I have it covered,” Luke advised. His heart beat fast in his chest. A lot was at stake. Not only now, but for future generations of Beaumonts. The ranch was a living history of his family, and it made him get both misty and mad that his father had forgotten that. “Thanks, guys. I’d better get moving. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Good luck with Dad, bro,” Jesse said. “He was ornery and stubborn the last time I visited with him at the ranch. Not a lot of fun.”
“He’s really going to blow when he finds out that we’re going to save the ranch,” Reed added.
A sick feeling came over Luke, when he thought about the ranch. It used to be prosperous and whatever his father touched had turned to profit. They’d been noted for their rough stock far and wide.
But Big Dan had given away all the stock—bulls, horses, everything. The first to go was the horse that had kicked his mother in the head.
Erasing all memories of his thriving ranch was how his father had grieved. This devastated the brothers, who couldn’t stop Big Dan, so they threw themselves into riding bulls and staying away from the ranch and their father.
In retrospect, the whole bunch of them should have gone to counseling.
“Jesse, it’s time for you to win,” Luke said, shaking off what he still didn’t want to deal with.
“No kidding,” Jesse said.
They said their goodbyes and Luke disconnected.
As he walked to the courthouse he thought he’d rather ride a two-thousand-pound, bucking Brahma bull with horns as big as baseball bats than deal with his father.
* * *
“SERGEANT CHAPMAN, I’m assigning you to the tax auction. Crowd control. Then you need to direct traffic when it’s over,” Captain Fred Fitzgerald informed her.
Amber hated working tax auctions, but as Captain Fitz had said previously, “Someone has to keep all of them from killing Connie McBride, and I outrank you.”
She was always that someone.
As the only woman on the small force, Captain Fitzgerald gave her the assignments that none of the men wanted, or the ones that Fitz felt were beneath his macho deputies, and that made her feel frustrated and angry. She’d tried talking to Fitz on several occasions, and he’d always insisted that he was treating her the same as the other officers, so she got nowhere.
A larger force with more opportunities for advancement was one of many reasons why Amber wanted to get into the state police. Although there were probably Fitz types in the state police, there were more departments to transfer into if she got a Fitz.
When they offered a state police exam, she’d have to pass that, be reachable on the list, submit to a background check and several interviews along with the agility test.
Agility test. Ugh. She couldn’t get much agility sitting behind a desk. She jogged, of course, but she really should work out more. Maybe with a punching bag.
She vowed to join Marco’s Fit-nasium. It was the only gym in town.
Connie McBride was her usual busy self. Thank goodness she had an auctioneer who was going to do the actual sale of the property. Connie would faint if she had to do that chatter.
Bidders had been lined up since dawn and they were loud. They complained about everything like death, taxes and how rock-and-roll singers were taking over traditional country music, but mostly about taxes.
Luke Beaumont was in the crowd. She saw him leaning against the beige marble wall, a couple of fingers through the loops of his jeans. She couldn’t tell if he was amused or irritated, but he kept looking at the clock. Nine thirty-five.
Less than a half hour to go.
Amber didn’t think anyone in Beaumont could outbid him if Luke had the money, but there were always out-of-town speculators and condo builders looking for big chunks of land like the Beaumont property.
Amber walked toward Luke. When he saw her, he tweaked the brim of his hat. She liked it when guys did that. It was very gentlemanly.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Now you know how your fans feel when they are waiting in line for your autograph.”
“I’ve always known how they felt,” Luke said. “And I appreciate every one of them.”
She was just about to tell him that on several occasions she’d been one of those fans waiting in line for him, but always changed her mind at the last minute—except for the time that had brought him here.
Amber looked around. “I recognize a couple of men who have traditionally bought up property at auction. Be ready, Luke. And I hope you have a lot of money in reserve.”
“Between my brothers and me, we ought to win the bid. And, Amber, thanks for coming to Oklahoma City and letting me know about...everything. I appreciate that you gave me a wake-up call.”
She shrugged her shoulders. She was only helping an old high school friend. That was all. Right?
“Good luck, Luke.”
“Thanks.”
Amber told herself that she just wanted to keep Beaumont the way it was—a nice, small town with lots of scenic grazing land dotted with cattle, horses and sheep and no absentee landlords.
It had nothing to do with the fact that Luke Beaumont was always traveling. Now he had to stay home for a relatively long period of time.
Not that she’d notice.
Moving to the back of the room, Amber eavesdropped on three men she didn’t recognize. They were looking at a survey map. She was almost certain it was the plot of the Beaumont Ranch. When she got an opportunity to peek, her suspicions were confirmed.
Luke had better be ready with buckets of money.
Everyone knew that he was a star with the Professional Bull Riders, and had made a lot of money riding with them. She also knew that he’d had a lot of injuries and that medical insurance for PBR riders, if anyone would insure them, was astronomical. She’d bet that Luke had a lot of medical bills that he had to pay.
Amber looked at the sign-in sheet which showed the times that everyone signed in. Perfect! The three strangers were last to sign in.
Amber Chapman made a split decision to help Luke.
Because she didn’t want him to feel indebted to her, she hoped he’d never find out.
After all, she was only doing her job.
* * *
IN THE LOBBY of the courthouse, the auctioneer pounded his gavel on the makeshift podium—a dark gray metal desk that had big rust spots on three sides.
“Now we have the Beaumont Ranch, which consists of a four-thousand-square-foot historic ranch house, several barns, several outbuildings and over twenty thousand acres of prime land. You all have the information—now let’s get started.”
Suddenly, Amber Chapman’s voice rang out. “Attention, please. Attention! We are over capacity in the lobby. I’m sorry, but I have to ask the following individuals to step out. You were the last to sign in, and because of our fire rules, you have to be the first to leave. The individuals are Mark McGee, Dave Hartman, Jr. and Ray Maldonado. Please step outside, gentlemen.”
“Are you serious?” said one of them.
“I am,” Amber replied.
“But we are going to bid on the Beaumont property,” said a stocky, bald man. His face was flushed.
Luke heard him say that loud and clear. Thank goodness the three men had to leave. Interesting—Luke never thought that the Beaumont Sheriff’s Department was a stickler on details, like kicking three guys out due to the fire rules, but it was to his benefit.
“Please step outside, gentlemen, and we’ll discuss the matter. Just as soon as another three people leave the facility, I can let you three back in.”
She held the door open for the three to pass.
“We could care less about any other property, Sergeant. We’ll be leaving this jerkwater town,” one of them said. “And for the record, Beaumont’s rule about having to be present to bid is medieval. We could have sent a proxy and not wasted our time.”
Amber was glad that Beaumont had that rule, or all types of speculators hoping to grab up property would descend on their tax auctions. Of course, they could sell the property at any time to whomever they wanted, but Beaumont’s rule added just one more level of making things a little more difficult for out-of-town bidders.
As soon as the last one cleared the door, Amber closed it and stood against it. “Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Auctioneer. Please proceed,” Amber yelled over the noise of the crowd.
“Thank you, Sergeant Chapman. Now, let’s start the bidding, folks.”
When the dust settled, Luke Beaumont and his brothers owned the Beaumont Ranch, or whatever was left of it.
That hadn’t been his plan. He was just going to pay the back taxes. That’s all. It’d still be in his father’s name.
But not now.
According to county rules and regulations, because he had the winning bid, he owned the Beaumont Ranch.
Since his brothers had pitched in their fair share, sooner or later he’d have to put the deed in their names, too.
He felt elated and relieved. The ranch had almost slipped through his fingers, but it was back. It was a close call, but, thanks to Amber, there was a positive outcome. Luke was thrilled that he and his brothers were able to preserve and protect his family’s legacy.
Later, Luke would have to tell Big Dan that he was out and the Beaumont brothers were in. Even though Big Dan didn’t care about the ranch, Luke had a feeling he’d certainly care about the fact that his sons were taking over and going against his wishes.
But Luke and his brothers felt that their mother wouldn’t have wanted to see the ranch go into disrepair. They’d fix it up in honor of her memory.
No matter how they sugar-coated what had just happened in the lobby of the courthouse, Luke dreaded his father’s reaction.
* * *
As ASSIGNED BY Captain Fitz, Amber had to direct traffic safely out of the courthouse parking lot onto Main Street. She stood in the middle of the street, dividing the traffic into those turning right and those turning left to quickly clear out the parking lot. It was one of those boring jobs that the other deputies hated, and the Cap felt that was perfect for her.
But she wasn’t going to feel down. She’d just done a fabulous deed in keeping the Beaumont Ranch in the hands of the Beaumonts and away from the hands of outside investors.
“Well, if it ain’t my daughter the sergeant. What is our pillar of justice doing now?”
Her father, dressed in greasy coveralls, a greasy baseball cap and greasy sneakers, slapped the back of her crisp white uniform blouse with a hand.
“I’m directing traffic, Dad. Can’t you see? Get to the curb. You can’t be here in the middle of the traffic with me.”
“I’ll take full responsibility, Sergeant.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She positioned her arms to direct drivers. “What brings you downtown?”
“I had to go to the license place.”
That did her heart good. He was doing something according to the law.
“If I didn’t get my license, you can bet you cops would be all over me.”
“And I’d be leading the charge,” Amber said, blowing her whistle at a particularly fast car. “Slow down! Tell me what you want, Dad. I’m a little busy here, and, again, I don’t want you to get hurt in this traffic.”
“I never get a chance to see you, daughter.”
“Dad!” She blew her whistle at another car. “Spill it or get to the sidewalk and we’ll talk later.”
“I want you to move back home to the bosom of your family.”
“The what?” She laughed. “You mean you want me to cook, clean and keep the law off your back.”
He shrugged. “Guilty. Will you come home?”
“When pigs fly, Dad.” She knew her father was teasing her, but she’d never leave her cute apartment over the Happy Tea Pot and China Shop unless she was moving out of town for a state police job. “Now get to the sidewalk, please.”
“Come over for dinner and we’ll discuss. Kyle is picking up some chicken and ribs and those corn muffins that you like from Smokin’ Sammy’s House of Hickory.”
Yum. She did like Smokin’ Sammy’s.
“I’ll come over for dinner. Thanks for the invitation.” She smiled. He was so transparent. He knew it, and she knew it. “But I don’t want any talk of me moving in. Wait a minute, you’re not still moonshining, are you?”