Tumbleweed Weddings (63 page)

Closing her eyes, Cheyenne leaned back against the seat, and Rex’s face entered her mind. She would call him when she got home. At least he had a predictable, steady personality. Derek’s behavior confused her. All weekend he had teased her and gazed into her eyes and often ignored Kandi. But since they received word about Bruce’s heart attack, Derek showed a tender side toward her.

Derek had never seemed so unpredictable before.

A car drove up the driveway and stopped next to Derek’s pickup. The car doors opened, and an overweight, bald man exited from the driver’s side as a thin woman emerged from the passenger’s side.

Kandi jumped up from the porch and ran to them. “Mom! Dad! I’m glad you’re here!” While her parents hugged her, Derek slowly stood. Kandi turned to him. “This is Derek.”

“Good to meet you.” Mr. MacKinnon shook his hand.

“Oh Derek!” Mrs. MacKinnon threw her arms around his shoulders. “I’m so glad to meet you at last. Kandi’s told us so much about you.” She stepped back. “And look at you! Such a tall, handsome man! I can see why Kandi is totally smitten with you.”

Derek’s face colored slightly, but he smiled. “Thanks.”

From her spot at the window, Cheyenne’s lips parted. It looked like Kandi’s mother had already pegged Derek as her son-in-law.

Derek cleared his throat. “How is Bruce, by the way? Have you heard any further news?”

Kandi’s dad opened his mouth, but her mom answered. “He’s not out of the hospital yet, but they think he’ll be all right. Agatha Collingsworth called us. I guess she’s staying by his side, and we’re so thankful for that.”

Mr. MacKinnon turned to his wife. “We’d better get on our way.”

“Yes, we need to go.” Mrs. MacKinnon turned to Kandi. “Where’s your suitcase, honey?”

While they got everything settled, Jean walked out the front door of the orphanage. “Derek?” She stopped in front of him. “Could you possibly drive me to Douglas? My husband’s car won’t start, so he can’t pick me up.”

“Sure, I can take you. It’s right on the way.” Derek motioned toward his truck. “I’m driving Cheyenne back to Fort Lob, but we have room for one more.”

Cheyenne moved over to the middle of the seat. She wasn’t sure if she was glad or disappointed that Jean would be going with them, then decided she was glad. At least she wouldn’t have to talk to someone else’s boyfriend all the way home.

Derek tuned out the ladies’ conversation. Cheyenne asked Jean a lot of questions, and Cheyenne got a lot of answers—the inside story about Jean’s husband and teenaged kids. His mind drifted back to the MacKinnons. What had Kandi told her parents about him? Well, it didn’t matter. When the MacKinnons went back to Salt Lake City, Kandi would forget all about him.

At least he hoped so.

Exiting the freeway, Derek drove his truck through the streets of Douglas as Jean gave him directions to her house. In another minute he was pulling into her driveway. He got out to retrieve her suitcase from the back.

“ ’Bye, Jean!” Cheyenne leaned out the passenger window. “It was great to talk to you.”

“Same here.” Jean smiled as Derek set her suitcase down. “Thanks so much for the lift, Derek.”

He nodded. “Anytime.”

He climbed back in the cab, almost nervous that he and Cheyenne were finally alone. This ride back to Fort Lob could be a turning point in their relationship. Leaving the town of Douglas, he got back on the freeway.

Cheyenne leaned back against the seat, her eyes closed.

He glanced at her, and his heart stirred. “Tired?”

She opened her blue eyes and smiled at him. “A little.” She sat up. “I’ll be glad to get home. I’m going to call Rex and see how his weekend went.”

Derek tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “So … you really like that old cowboy, huh?”
That was a stupid thing to say!

Cheyenne’s smile faded. “He’s a very nice person, Derek, and a good Christian, too.”

His cell phone chirped.
Saved by the bell!
He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the number but didn’t recognize it. He flipped the phone open and pulled it up to his face as he drove. “This is Derek.”

“Hi, Derek.” A loud male voice spoke in his ear. “Frank Lindley. I wanted to update you about Arthur.”

“Oh good.” Derek looked at Cheyenne. “It’s Mr. Lindley. I’ll put it on speakerphone so you can listen.”

“Thanks.” She leaned toward him.

Derek pressed a button and spoke into the phone. “How is he, Mr. Lindley?”

“It was a bad break, close to his knee. The doctor said he’ll need to perform surgery and secure a pin to hold the bones in place.”

Derek’s pulse quickened. “Surgery? When are they doing that?”

“The hospital here in Cody is taking him to the Greenbrier Hospital in Casper. It’s close to the orphanage. They’ll move him tomorrow morning and then perform surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday.” Mr. Lindley paused. “Arthur also has a slight concussion.”

With a gasp, Cheyenne sat back. “A concussion?”

Derek spoke into the phone. “How bad is it?”

“I don’t know, but they want to make sure that’s cleared up before they do the surgery on his leg.”

“I see.” Derek glanced at Cheyenne. She turned away to the window, but not before he noticed a tear roll down her cheek. His heart clenched. “Thanks for the update, Mr. Lindley. We’ll keep Arthur in prayer.”

“I’ll call later if there’s any more news.”

Derek bid him good-bye and cut off the call. He turned to Cheyenne. “I guess that’s all we can do—pray.”

“That’s the best thing.” She looked at him, her eyes bright with tears.

A strong urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her came over him. But he was driving, and besides, she belonged to Rex.

Cheyenne smiled as Derek pulled into her driveway. “Thanks for the ride.” She climbed out of the pickup’s cab and shut the door; then waited as he grabbed her duffel bag from the back.

He handed it to her. “Here you go. And if Mr. Lindley calls about Arthur, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks.” She turned and trudged to the house. She needed to eat something. It was almost seven o’clock, and she hadn’t eaten since they had lunch in Cody.

Stepping inside the house, she heard Derek’s truck leave the driveway. She closed the door, and another sound penetrated her hearing. The television? Dad never watched TV.

She walked to the living room and stopped short. On the sofa, Dad sat beside Janet Oliver, his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

Cheyenne’s mouth dropped open. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the living room. “Hello.”

Both turned to her, an identical look of surprise on their faces. Dad jumped up. “Hey, baby girl. How was Yellowstone? We didn’t realize you were back.”

We?
Obviously Dad was not expecting her to arrive home this early.

Cheyenne forced a smile to her face. “It was great! Uh, but I’ll tell you about it later. I’m kind of tired. Finish your movie.” She turned and walked down the hallway.

In the safety of her bedroom, she closed the door and set down her duffel bag.
Wow! They sure looked cozy
. She plopped down on her bed.

Dad and Janet
. Well, she was happy for them—two widowed people who had gone through tough times and deserved a “happily ever after” with each other.

From her purse, her cell phone rang. Sitting up, she glanced at the number before flipping open the phone. “Hi, Callie.”

“You sound discouraged. Are you okay?”

A smile crept to Cheyenne’s face. “You know me too well, girlfriend. Yeah, I’m discouraged … and tired … and hungry. Give me some good news. Please?”

“I do have good news. In fact, I have two pieces of good news.”

“That’s exactly what I need to hear.” Cheyenne moved the pillow and sat back against the headboard. “I feel better already. What’s the first thing?”

“The James Thomas Lob Museum is almost finished. Lane hopes to have the grand opening in October sometime.”

“Oh Callie, that’s wonderful.” Cheyenne smiled, feeling her depression steal away. “Now you’ll have the bookstore you always wanted. I know you’re going to enjoy reading all those new books.”

“I’m really looking forward to it. But we’ve been so busy, carting all that stuff over from the third floor of the library. Then it had to be cleaned and cataloged.” She gave a little laugh. “Running the bookstore and souvenir shop will be easy compared to the last few months.”

Cheyenne relaxed. “I can’t wait to visit the museum.”

“Hey, why don’t you come out to the building site sometime? I’ll show you around.”

“I’ll do that.” Cheyenne tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Now what’s the other good news you have for me?”

“Very few people know about this, so you’re one of the first.” Callie paused. “Lane and I are expecting a baby.”

Cheyenne squealed. “Callie! Congratulations! When is the little bundle of joy due?”

“In April.” Callie gave a happy sigh. “Do you realize that I met Lane just a year ago? And now we’re married and we’re going to have a child. Time goes by so fast.”

“It does.” Cheyenne brushed a tear from her eye.
That’s exactly what I want!
“I’m so happy for you, Callie. That is just wonderful.”

“God has been so good to us.” A moment passed before Callie spoke again. “But I’m worried about you, Chey. Why are you so discouraged?”

She let a sigh escape her lips. “I don’t know. It just seems that life is passing me by. Everything is working out for other people, but nothing is working out for me. I’m praying for the knowledge of God’s will for my life, but I’m just not sure of anything.”

“How are things with you and Rex? I thought you guys were really hitting it off.”

“Oh, everything’s fine with Rex, although …” Cheyenne rolled on her side. “Maybe I’m looking for the wrong things, but I don’t think my feelings for him are as deep as they should be.” She sighed. “And then this little boy I was supposed to be watching broke his leg… . It’s a long story.”

Callie paused. “That’s too bad. I’ll pray for the little boy. What’s his name?”

“Arthur. He’s five and so cute! A little roly-poly.”

“Arthur,” she repeated. “And listen, about Rex—the Lord won’t let you make a mistake. He might even be the one. I’ll keep praying for you two.”

Cheyenne sighed. “Thanks.”
I think
.

D
erek rounded the corner in the Greenbrier Hospital corridor on Monday afternoon, looking for Room 116. His heart beat a little faster as he approached the door and pushed it open. Maybe he should have told the Lindleys he was coming instead of arriving unannounced.

Stepping into the room, he stopped short. Arthur lay on the hospital bed, hooked up to some machines, and sitting by his bedside was …

“Cheyenne?” Derek walked to the bed. “I didn’t realize you were coming over here today.”

A hint of surprise flitted across her face before she smiled. “Since I’m off work today, I thought I’d pay Arthur a visit.”

He gazed at her pretty face. “We could have come together and saved some gas.”

“Thanks, but my new Cavalier is working great.” She turned to the little boy in the bed. “And you’re doing great, aren’t you, Arthur?”

“Yeah.” Arthur’s round face was pale, but he grinned. “I’m glad you came, Miss Anne.”

Derek’s lips twitched. “I hope you’re not feeling too
shy
, Anne.”

Cheyenne laughed. “I’m getting used to my new name, Mr. Derek.” She nodded her head sideways toward Arthur. “But I don’t think we can convince a certain someone that my name is actually C-h-e-y-e-n-n-e.” Standing, she pulled another chair next to hers. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks.” Derek walked around the bed and sat down beside her.

“Look what Miss Anne brought me.” Arthur held up a pack of crayons with a long, thin coloring book. A cartoon character grinned from the cover.

“Cool.” Derek smiled at him. “How are you feeling, Arthur?”

“Okay.” Arthur thumbed through the book.

“He’s on a lot of pain medicine.” Cheyenne lowered her voice. “The concussion is gone, so the doctor wants to do surgery tomorrow morning.”

Derek leaned toward her, relishing their closeness. “I’m surprised the Lindleys aren’t here.”