The Rancher's Surprise Baby. Trish Milburn
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sound of squealing tires, followed immediately by a bang and the screeching sound of metal on metal, caused her to startle so much she fumbled the food containers she held.
“No, no, no,” she said as she tried to maintain her hold, but all she managed to do was flick the bottom container open as it fell. The top one followed its twin to the newly paved parking lot. She’d swear she heard the chicken sizzle as it sat there amid a sea of splattered mashed potatoes and green beans.
As she lamented the loss of her dinner, she glanced up to figure out what had precipitated it. That was when she noticed half of that metal-on-metal sound had come from her car. The other half belonged to the pickup truck all up in her car’s grille.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said as she shook her head slowly in disbelief. “I know I’m a good person. Karma, you took a wrong turn.”
She looked down at the mess of food at her feet. She needed to clean it up, but first things first. As she approached her car, the driver’s side door of the pickup opened and the first thing she saw was a cowboy boot and the bottom of a pair of jeans. When the man stepped out from behind the door, looking dazed, she immediately recognized him. She’d bet her meager savings that there wasn’t a woman alive in Blue Falls—young, old, single, married or even half-blind—who hadn’t at some point in time given tall, blond, blue-eyed Ben Hartley a second look. And a third. And...
Oh, stop thinking about how dang handsome he is and ask him why he decided to have his truck give your car an unwanted smacker.
As she drew closer, he shook his head as if trying to clear it. Was he drunk? DUI seemed to be more TJ Malpin’s thing, not one of the raised-right Hartley clan.
He glanced at where his truck had hit the car then up at her. His forehead wrinkled for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out who she was, before it seemed to click. Maybe he was drunk. Or high. Though neither of those options rang true at all.
“Are you okay?” she asked, suddenly wondering if maybe he’d banged his head and given himself a concussion. He did have a red mark on the edge of his forehead.
He pointed at her little compact. “Is this your car?”
“Yeah. But you didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m fine.”
He didn’t seem fine. He seemed downright addled. As if trying to piece together what had happened, he looked at his truck for a moment before turning back toward her.
“I know this will sound as if I’m off my rocker, but a bird made me do it.”
For a long moment she just stared at him, wondering if the heat had cooked her brain so much that she was hearing things incorrectly. “A bird made you do it?”
Several seconds passed before he seemed to realize the absurdity of what he was saying, but then he straightened and appeared more confident in the truth of it.
“I had the windows down, and all of a sudden something hit me in the side of the head. I jerked the steering wheel without even thinking.” He rubbed at the reddened spot above his temple. “I think I swatted it. Right before the crash there were feathers in my face.”
If her car wasn’t sitting there crunched, she’d have a difficult time deciding whether to laugh or call to have someone take him for a mental evaluation. But then a racket behind him drew her attention, and suddenly a pigeon flew out of the open window of his truck.
“See, not crazy,” he said.
She had to admit the pigeon looked almost as addled as Ben.
“That leaves me with one pressing question,” she said.
“How bad your car is damaged?”
She glanced at her poor little car. “Well, yes, but more important, why in the name of all that’s holy you were driving with the windows down on a day like today.”
“The air-conditioning went out halfway to town.”
She couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of her. “Not your day, is it?”
For a moment, he looked at her as if she’d taken leave of her senses, as if she’d been the one addled by a pigeon. But then he offered a hint of a smile. “Nope.”
“Me neither.”
* * *
“A PIGEON? THAT’S THE story you’re going with?” Greg Bozeman asked Ben as he hitched up Mandy Richardson’s car to his tow truck. The little thing hadn’t stood a chance against Ben’s pickup. The truck had a nice dent in the grille, but at least it was still operational. Mandy’s car, not so much.
“I can vouch for the pigeon story,” Mandy said. “Saw it fly out of the truck looking as if it’d had a few too many drinks at the Frothy Stein.”
Greg laughed. “You’re not living this one down.”
“If I didn’t have such a headache right now, I’d think of some snappy comeback,” Ben said.
He caught a sudden look of concern on Mandy’s face.
“Do you think you should have your head checked out?” she asked.
Greg howled even more at that, and Ben gave him a dirty look.
“No, the only thing that would make this worse is strolling into the ER and telling them I got beaned by a pigeon.”
“You could have a concussion.”
“I’ve had a concussion before. This ain’t one.”
Greg walked toward the driver’s side of the tow truck. “Bring your truck by the shop and I’ll check out your AC for free just for making my day with this pigeon story.”
Greg was saved from being the recipient of a rude gesture because Ben was enough of a gentleman not to be that crude in front of Mandy. He knew her, but not that well. He’d already crunched her car. He didn’t need to risk offending her sensibilities on top of it.
As Greg drove off with Mandy’s car in tow, Ben wondered exactly how long it would be before everyone in the county—hell, the entirety of the Hill Country—knew about his bird encounter. If someone had snapped a photo, he’d no doubt be the top story in the next edition of the Blue Falls Gazette.
He turned back to where Mandy stood holding up her ponytail and fanning her neck with her other hand. Her face was flushed with the heat, even though the sun was sinking in the western sky. Not that it cooled off that much after sunset this time of year.
“Where were you headed before a crazy birdman ran into your car?” He’d noticed her cleaning up a couple of spilled to-go containers while he’d waited for Greg to arrive with the tow truck.
“My mom’s place, but all I want to do now is go home and collapse. It’s been one of those days. I told Mom we’d get together a different day.”
“Let me give you a ride.”
“Okay, if you’re sure your truck is safe to drive.”
He placed his palm atop the hood of the truck. “She has a new dent, but she’s drivable. Sorry, but you got the raw end of the deal today.”
“At least I didn’t suffer a bird to the head.”
He smiled. “True. I don’t recommend it.”
They climbed into the truck, and that little skirt with the big bright flowers she was wearing rode up her thighs a bit. She didn’t seem to notice or care, but that few extra inches of skin caused it to grow even hotter inside the already roasting cab.
“Sorry I can’t offer AC, but at least we’ll have some moving air in a minute.”
“I might just have you drop me at the lake so I can jump in.”
The last thing he needed was the image of her with that