A Father In The Making (9 page)

Josh's drooping lips made him chuckle. “Sad faces won't make me change my mind,” he said, giving him a quick grin. “We'll do everything one step at a time.”

He untied the halter ropes from the corral fence, clucked to the horses and began the slow circling of the corral just as they had done yesterday. Bella and Nola were, once again, on their best behavior, which surprised him, considering how advanced Nola's pregnancy was. He'd hesitated to use her but also knew that moderate exercise would be good for her.

“You're not taking Tango out?” Denny called out.

Nate glanced back, smiling at his foster brother, who had come out of the house and was now leaning on the fence, his elbows draped over the top rail, ball cap pushed back on his head.

“I took him out this morning. He's still a bit lame, but he's coming along.”

“We could bring some cows in if you want. He could work them some.”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“Sure. After church would work.”

Right. Church. He'd forgotten about that.

“Mommy said we can wear our new clothes to church tomorrow,” Josh said. He wiggled in the saddle as if in anticipation. “I'm so excited.”

So she had liked the clothes, but was saving them for church. The thought gave him a small thrill of pleasure.

“Okay, boys, today I thought we could ride out in the pasture,” Nate said, “so you have to pay attention now.”

“Can we gallop?” Josh asked, rocking in his saddle as if getting ready.

“No galloping. You're still learning,” Nate said.

“Do you want to go out with the boys?” Nate heard Evangeline ask Mia. “You could lead one of the horses.”

Nate glanced back as Evangeline joined Mia on the blanket.

“I could watch the girls,” she offered.

Even from here Nate sensed Mia's automatic protest. Her default pushing away of anyone's help. Even after all she'd been through, she still clung to her independence.

“You should go,” Denny urged Mia as he tugged her to her feet. “Ella is sleeping and I don't have a lot to do right now. Nate can take you to the river. It's a nice little walk. Give you a chance to get away from the house.”

“But I don't have the right shoes.” Mia lifted her foot, twisting it to show him the worn sneakers she wore. Probably also from the hand-me-downs she had received for the kids.

“Those will be fine for a walk across the pasture,” Nate put in, anticipation singing through him. “Besides, it's a good idea if you come. You can keep an eye on the boys.”

Mia looked from her girls to her boys as if trying to decide who needed her more. “All right,” she conceded. “But we can't be gone long.”

“It's not far,” Nate said. “We'll be back soon.”

Mia climbed over the corral fence and walked slowly over to him, running the palms of her hands over her thighs as she gave Nico a quick smile. “You need to know I'm not the bravest person around horses,” she said to Nate.

“You don't need to be brave around Nola. She's expecting. You can share pregnancy stories with her.”

Mia's laughter made him feel humorous. But her laughter faded when Nate handed her the halter rope. “So what do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Just follow me. I'll lead with Bella.”

“Okay.”

Nate heard the uncertainty in her voice but knew everything would turn out just fine. He opened the gate of the corral and led Bella out.

They walked slowly through the pasture, side by side, each muted footfall of the horses' hooves leaving the farmyard behind.

“How are you doing?” Nate asked, looking over at Mia.

She gave him a tight smile. “I'm okay. Just never realized how big these animals are.” She stumbled as Nola came too close then walked past Mia.

Mia squealed and Nico latched on to the saddle horn, looking suddenly frightened.

“Let's go back,” Mia said, fear tingeing her voice.

Nate knew that he had to let Mia overcome this. For Nico's sake as well as Mia's. Also, she needed to put Nola back in her place.

“Make her stop,” Nate said, tugging on Nola's halter rope to stop her, embarrassed that Nola had chosen this moment, with this person, to push boundaries.

Mia jumped as Nola crowded her again. “How?”

“She's ahead of you now so pull back on her halter rope.” Thankfully, Nola immediately responded to the pressure. “Now turn and face her straight on. She knows that means she's not going anywhere until you let her.”

Mia did and Nola dropped her head, a sign of submission.

“Good. Now you need to make her go backward by putting your hand on her chest and maintaining a steady pressure against it.”

“She's way bigger than me. I doubt I can budge her.”

“You're not pushing her, just giving her a signal. Just try, but make sure you put full pressure on her chest so she can feel what you're doing.”

Mia released a sigh full of doubt, but lifted her hand and did exactly what Nate had told her to. Immediately, Nola took a few steps back.

“Look, Mom, you did it,” Josh said, voicing his encouragement of his mother.

“She certainly did,” Nate said, winking at Josh. “Your mom is really smart.”

“She even knows how to tame monsters,” Josh said.

Nate sensed another story behind that comment, judging by Mia's quick glance toward Nico.

“Now release your pressure and pet her on the nose,” he said. “Let her know she's done good.”

“So that's all it took?” Mia asked as she hesitantly patted Nola. “Just that little push?”

“You weren't pushing her,” Nate said. “It's more about pressure and release mixed in with some body language,” Nate said, warming to his favorite topic. “Horses are like kids. You need to make it easy for them to do what you want them to and hard for them to do what you don't want them to do.”

“I should have taken a course on horse training before I had kids,” Mia said, glancing back at Nola as if to make sure she had learned her lesson. Thankfully, Nola stayed where she should. Behind Mia.

“You learn quick,” Nate said, giving her a gentle smile.

Her own lips curved in a smile and her brown eyes seemed to turn into amber, her expression stealing his breath.

She was so beautiful.

He wanted to kiss her.

He swallowed down that thought, pulling his head around and facing the path they walked down. This was crazy. She wasn't a woman he could be casual with. He couldn't just date her and then walk away.

But in spite of his self-talk, he found his eyes drawn to the boys silhouetted against the brilliant blue of the sky, and he felt a quieting in his chest. They were good boys and he enjoyed being with them.

A small question raised itself like a delicate plant.

Could he stay? Could he take this on?

“Can we go now?” Josh asked in a plaintive tone. “Nico and I want to see the creek.”

“How far away is that?” Mia asked.

He looked at her again, but she was watching Nola, as if making sure she kept her distance.

“It will take a few minutes. I'm sure Evangeline and Denny can manage the girls.”

“It's not the girls I'm worried about,” she said so quietly Nate wondered if he had heard her properly. Then Mia cocked her head to one side as if listening. “Do you hear that, boys?” she asked.

“The train,” Josh called out.

As soon as he spoke, Nate heard the slightly dissonant sound of the train's horn bouncing off the mountains, echoing through the valley.

“How did you hear that so quick?” Nate asked.

“I marked time by that train,” Mia said. “It used to pass through town only a few blocks from the flower shop.”

The melancholy tone of the train was reflected in her voice and Nate, once again, was hit with how much she had lost. Seeing the burned-down shop yesterday had been difficult for him; he couldn't imagine what it did for her.

“Look, Mommy, your favorite flowers,” Josh said, pointing to a clump of pink-and-red plants. “Can I pick some?”

“You'll have to get off the horse,” Nate said.

“My mommy loves flowers. I want to get her some.”

Nate clucked to the horses to stop and eased Josh off, but Nico just shook his head.

“Don't go too far,” Mia warned as Josh ran ahead. He just waved, then bent over and picked some of the flowers he had pointed out.

“Those don't look like flowers to me,” Nate said as Josh brought the plants back.

“Technically, they're not flowers. It's called Indian paintbrush,” Mia said. “It's the tops of the leaves that turn color. They come in pink and red and shades of orange. But they sure look pretty.”

Nate couldn't look away at the gentle smile on Mia's face as she took the flowers from Josh.

“Thanks, buddy.”

“I'm going to get more,” he said, then ran off toward the trees.

He would return with yet another flower and Mia would identify them to Nate. Coneflowers, lupins, daisies and shooting stars.

“You know a lot about flowers,” he said, full of admiration.

“Occupational hazard,” she said, then called out to her son. “Josh, can you get me some of those long grasses and a few more of the purple shooting stars?” she asked.

Josh gladly complied and as he returned, she took the plants he had gathered and with a few deft movements, rearranged them and suddenly, the plants that he would have simply bypassed or ignored, had become a beautiful bouquet.

“Wow. You're really good at that. Did you always like working with flowers?”

Mia shrugged but Nate could see that his compliment pleased her. “I had a huge flower garden at...at the house we used to live in. I loved growing flowers, trying different combinations of colors, textures and shapes.” Her voice grew wistful as she turned the bouquet around in her hand, making small adjustments, her smile growing as if working with the flowers brought back good memories.

“Is that why you bought the flower shop?”

Mia's smile faded away. “Partly, but more out of necessity. I had to find a way to support my family after my—” Mia stopped there and glanced back at Nico, but he was looking around, seemingly off in a world of his own. “Anyway, the flower shop was a perfect fit for me,” Mia continued. “Living above it meant I could keep my kids close by and still run a business and support my family.”

“Do you get support from your ex?” he asked, switching the halter rope to his other hand. Moving closer to hear her better.

As he did, he caught a faint whiff of lilacs and his hand brushed against hers. He had to stop himself from catching it in his. He knew he should keep his distance but something about her called to him.

Mia's lips pressed together as she twisted a piece of grass around the bouquet. “No. He never calls, never sends the boys anything. I have to fight for every penny of child support.” She looked back at Nico again, then lowered her voice, her eyes holding his. “You'd think they would matter. Even just a bit.” He easily heard the pain in her voice, understood that these children, who meant so much to her, seemed to mean so little to the man who fathered them. “But the upside of his leaving is that I was pushed to think for myself. And out of that came owning the flower shop.”

“So how do you keep yourself busy? Hartley Creek isn't such a big town.”

“There's always a birthday or anniversary or wedding that people need flowers for. Larissa at the Morrisey Creek Inn is a steady customer, as are a few other hotel owners. And I sell plants, as well, knickknacks for the house, decorations. It's a steady business. I get a girl to come in and help me when I have an especially busy few days. I'm doing Naomi Deacon's wedding in a couple of weeks and Evangeline's...” Mia's voice faded as if she realized that neither might happen. Then she released a tight laugh. “Anyway, there was lots of business.”

And in that moment it seemed the most natural thing in the world to lay his hand on her shoulder. To let his rough fingers lightly slip over her soft skin.

Their steps slowed and it was as if the horses and Josh and Nico's presence retreated, leaving only him and Mia.

She swallowed and then pulled back, looking behind her again at Nico, then over at Josh. As if to remind herself of her own priorities.

Nate swallowed his own confusion, wondering what he was doing. She wasn't some single girl following the rodeo circuit, looking for fun and maybe an evening out. She was more complicated than any girl he had ever dated.

And yet, at the same time, he never felt this settled, this content around any other woman.

Four kids. Four kids.

The words beat at him, but after spending time with her and her family, the thought didn't hold the fear it used to.

“And what about you? How do you put food on the table or hay in the trough, so to speak?” she asked.

Nate let the question hang between them for a beat. “The horses cost more to feed than I do,” he said with a light laugh. “But I've managed to keep us all going with my winnings, my earnings at the ranches I work for in the winter and the sale of some horses. I've got two more foals coming up that I hope to sell and a couple of other horses boarded with a friend. Bella and Nola have proven themselves in the cutting horse circuit and have a great pedigree so I'm hoping for good dollars from their offspring.”

“I understand that you need to spend a lot of time working with cutting horses,” Mia continued. “Don't you need a home base for that?”

“And how do you understand that?” he asked, deflecting her other question.

“I know how to use Google as well as the next person.” Her eyes held a twinkle of humor. “And I know that the competition you're heading for is a big one for cutting horses.”

“It is. I'm hoping Tango will be strong enough to compete. I've got a lot riding on this.”