Improbable Fortunes by Jeffrey Price

Author:Jeffrey Price
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Published: 2016-01-07T21:47:12+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Stalking Destiny

Buster hitched a ride on a lumber truck that was taking the shortcut across the Lame Horse Mesa to Cortez. He walked the rest of the way to Jimmy’s then packed his few possessions, loaded up Stinker in the trailer and returned to his sheepherder’s campsite. It was a little worse for wear after the winter, but he didn’t care about his own comfort. All Buster could think about was Destiny. For the first time in his life he was angry and heartsick at the same time—angry at Jimmy, heartsick at losing Destiny to a real estate salesman. The whole idea of finding his real family to impress the Stumplehorsts had backfired badly. Now he was faced with a choice. Should he fight back and try to reclaim Destiny or should he take the beating—like he had with Cookie—and chalk it up to one of those lessons in life? He decided that this time he would fight back. Destiny was meant to be with him. He had to save her. To anybody else, it would seem clear that she didn’t want to be saved. But in Buster’s particular upside-down way of thinking, Destiny had supplied a small clue as to why he should continue his pursuit. It was the fact that she had climbed backwards out of the lavatory window in a dress. To Buster, that told him that, despite her new position as a real estate executive, she was still at heart, the girl in the barn. So pride and commonsense would have to hold his coat while he fought for her.

He was going to need a job. Pragmatically, he drew a twenty-five mile circle on a map around Vanadium and drove to every cattle operation within that. Only one of the cattle bosses didn’t give him a flat out “no.” That guy backed out at the last moment.

“How come you changed yor mind?” Buster asked.

“Look, kid, I hear you’re a top hand, but I buy my hay from Stumplehorst. Do I need to draw you a picture?”

Buster increased the circumference on his map to fifty miles with no greater success. Jimmy was right about how no one wanted to go up against the Stumplehorsts. But then again, Jimmy could go to hell.

Buster stopped off in town to pick up supplies and check his post office box. There was some mail that had been forwarded from Jimmy Bayles Morgan’s box number. He was about to read it when he caught sight of Destiny’s photo on the front page of a free real estate flyer. It was an ad for an open house that Destiny’s real estate company had scheduled for that very same day—a little farmhouse just outside of town with five acres for $149,000. Was it unreasonable to think that such a place was within reach of a young cowboy without a job? What was the harm in dropping by in taking a look? And if he happened to bump into Destiny—well, wouldn’t that be

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