Dare to be Dirty (The Dirty Girls Book Club #2) (24 page)

So much for having sex any time soon. Resigned, she said, “I’ll watch, if I’m not in the way.”

Under his breath, he muttered to her, “It’s not you who’s in the way.” Then, more loudly, “Won’t likely be very exciting, but you’re welcome to hang out.”

She went into the house to gather up her charcoals and sketch pad, then joined Ty’s dad, who was perched on the top rail where she’d sat earlier.

“Ty’s getting the horse,” he said.

Brand Ronan, brown and fit in khaki shorts and a casual shirt, was an attractive man. The resemblance between father and son was pronounced. Ty’s more sensual mouth appeared to be the only thing he’d inherited from his birth mom. Looking at Brand gave Kim a good idea of how great Ty would look as he aged.

Man and horse emerged from the barn. Ty must keep spare jeans and boots there, because he’d changed out of shorts. He walked slowly, leading the horse by a rope attached to her halter. Distant Drummer danced skittishly, tossing her head and rolling her eyes so the whites showed. To Kim’s inexperienced eyes, she looked scared. “She was abused?” she asked Brand quietly. “She’s pretty, but she’s skin and bones.” The horse’s sweat-covered coat had a beautiful abstract pattern of white and brown splotches, and her tail and mane had both colors as well. But the hair was dull and sparse, her bones stretched the skin, and she had several nasty wounds.

“Starved and beaten,” he confirmed. “She’s a young horse and has probably never been treated right by humans. This is going to be a tough one.”

“Ty’s earmarked her for his friend TJ at the Crazy Horse resort ranch. So he thinks Distant Drummer will be good for trail rides. That seems like a stretch.”

He nodded. “Yeah, but Ty has a way with him. When it comes to horses, he sees beyond the surface. Somehow, it’s like he can see their soul.” He gave an awkward chuckle. “Sounds a little weird, but it’s true. He can read a horse’s potential, and he’ll get them to realize it, no matter how long it takes.”

“He really is a horse whisperer? I’m not even sure what that means.”

Another laugh, this one more comfortable. “It’s become this fancy Hollywood-type term. Really, it’s just a person who can connect with horses, especially when it comes to training them and helping them recover from abuse or trauma. Ty’s always had a bond with horses. When he was less than a year old—couldn’t even walk, just crawl—he used to disappear from the house and we’d always find him with a horse. He’d curl up at a horse’s feet and go to sleep, and that horse would protect him like he was its own foal.”

The image made her grin.

In the ring, Ty unclipped the lead rope from the horse’s halter. She skittered away, eyeing him, then started to run around the outside of the ring, her movements stiff and jerky.

He stood in the center of the ring and didn’t move toward her. In a soothing voice, loud enough to carry across the ring, he said, “It’s okay, Drummer, there’s nothing to worry about here. No one’s gonna hurt you, not ever again.”

Kim opened her pad and began sketching the horse. “What does Ty need to do to heal and train her?”

“There’s two kinds of health, right? Physical and emotional. Physical’s the easier one. Our vet checked the mare, and she has some wounds from being beaten, she’s dehydrated and malnourished, and she had an infection. But she’s basically sound. Meds, nourishing food, exercise, and time will fix the physical problems.”

Head bent over her pad, she nodded. “Emotional has to be harder. Like with kids who’ve been abused. I don’t know how a person can ever really get over something like that. Maybe it’s the same for a horse?”

“A horse can learn to trust and move on. Humans are pretty darned resilient too.”

His words reminded her of how shattered he must have been when his wife abandoned him and Ty. To throw his heart in the ring again, after an experience like that, would be tough. But he’d done it with Betty. “Having the right person helping makes a big difference.”

“Yeah. And Ty’ll give a horse all the time it needs. He’ll push, but gently, and he’s got all the patience in the world.”

“What does he actually do?”

“Gets to know the horse and lets it get to know him. Shows the horse that it can trust him. Once he figures out a horse’s personality, then he really starts working with it.”

She nodded. Even in her limited experience, she’d seen that horses had personalities.

“Right now, he’s letting her run off some energy, nerves, and fear. He wants her to get used to him being there, to learn that his voice and presence are reassuring, not a threat. Then he needs to show her that he’s the leader, because horses are natural followers.”

“So he just . . . waits?” Kim glanced from her sketch pad to Brand.

“Waits and goes about his business.” He gave her a wry grin. “She’s a female. She’ll get curious. Maybe not today, maybe not the next day. Once she gets comfortable with him being around, she’ll come over to him. If I was a betting man, I’d say he’ll be brushing her in a couple weeks, and a month or two after that he’ll be up on her back.”

She thought about the time involved. “This is a rescue horse. Ty’s sending her to his friend. Will TJ pay for her?”

“A little. Might cover the cost of the horse’s food and meds, but not Ty’s time.” He tilted his head and gazed into her eyes. “Ty trains other horses too, for good money. But the rescue animals . . .” He shrugged. “He can’t stand to see a horse suffer. Not when it can heal and go to a good home.”

No, of course Ty couldn’t. If it meant getting up at four, he’d look after that horse. Kim had never even had a pet, but her heart gave a mushy throb.

Distant Drummer had stopped running and stood with her head down, like she was tired. But when Ty shifted position, she jerked to alertness.

Ty kept talking to her. “Figure you might be getting hungry, Drummer girl. Feel like some sweet alfalfa?” He moved across the ring, walking away from her, while she watched warily. Kim realized he’d placed some hay outside the ring, and he reached between the bars to grab a large handful. He tossed it down. “Try that out and see how it tastes.”

When he walked back to the center of the ring, a path that took him toward the horse, she pranced away. But when all he did was take up his same old spot, she calmed down. Gradually, keeping an eye on him, she inched toward the hay. She lowered her head, sniffed it suspiciously, and then, still watching Ty, snatched up mouthfuls hastily as if she was afraid someone would take it away or chase her off.

Kim sketched away and after a few minutes, Brand said, “Ever drawn horses before?”

“Just this morning, when Ty was practicing with Desert Sand.”

“Mind if I take a look?” he asked diffidently.

Twenty-four

N
ervously, Kim handed Ty’s dad the pad. “They’re just rough sketches.”

Turning the pages carefully, he looked through her drawings. His face didn’t show a lot: a raised eyebrow, a quick grin. He went through all the ones she’d done today, then came back to one of Ty atop Desert Sand, racing toward a calf as he swung his rope. “You’re good.”

Did he mean it, or was he being polite? “Thanks.”

“Just a few strokes, and you catch what’s going on. This is Ty.”

The compliment from his dad meant a lot. “Thank you.”

“You willing to sell this one?”

“Oh! Oh, really?” She flushed with embarrassment and pleasure. “No, please, it’s yours. A small thank-you for your hospitality.” Gently, she separated the page from the pad and handed it to him.

He took it carefully. “Well, now, that’s awfully nice of you. Betty’s going to love this.”

“You’re both very welcome.”

He nodded. His eyes—a more weathered version of Ty’s hazel ones—gazed solemnly into hers. “He’s a good man.”

“I know.” Maybe the best man she’d ever met. But why was his father telling her this?

“This is what he’s about. The ranch. Horses. The life has its own beauty, but it’s about hard work and patience, day after day.”

Ah, now she got it. He’d probably come here because his wife sent him, and he was warning her off. “I know that too.”

In the ring, the horse, still eating hay, cocked its tail and deposited a pile of droppings, scenting the air.

“Hay and manure,” Brand said wryly, “it’s never-ending. The novelty wears off damned quick. It’s not a life for a city girl.”

She wanted to point out that she wasn’t Miranda, his ex-wife, but he might be offended that Ty had told her about his birth mom. Instead, she said, “I know that too, Brand. I’m going back to Hong Kong.” Much as she’d enjoyed her time in Vancouver, she’d always looked forward to the day she returned home. And yet, now . . . No, what was she thinking? Quickly, she went on, speaking as much to herself as to him. “It’s my home, just like Ronan Ranch is Ty’s.”

His eyes softened. “I like you, Kim. Sorry if I’m, uh, being heavy-handed. But Betty and I, we love our son. We don’t want him getting hurt.”

“Nor do I.” She frowned at him. “You should give him some credit. He knows what he’s looking for in a woman. Betty’s set the . . . what’s the term? . . . gold standard? He’s not going to settle for less.” Even if Kim hadn’t been returning home, Ty would never, not in the long term, want a woman like her, one who’d be more hindrance on a ranch than helpmate.

His lips, thinner than Ty’s, pressed together. “I’m not saying you’re less. Just different.”

“Oh!” He’d managed to surprise her. “Well, thanks.”

Ty strolled slowly to their end of the ring. Speaking in the reassuring tone he used with the horse, he said, “Drummer and I are wondering what’s going on over here.”

“Just heading back to work,” his dad said. He held up the sketch. “Look what Kim gave your mom and me.”

It was the first time Ty’d seen what she’d been working on that morning, and Kim was delighted by the way his face lit. “Would you look at that?” He glanced from the sketch to her. “That’s damned good. How in hell did you manage that, with everything going so fast?”

“Lots of practice.”

“Do I get one too?”

“Anything I draw at Ronan Ranch,” she promised, thinking about the nudes she intended to make him pose for, “you’re entitled to keep one.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Brand said, heading toward the road.

When he was out of earshot, Ty touched her shoulder. “He give you a rough time?”

She smiled at her handsome cowboy. “No. He told me what you’re doing with Distant Drummer.” She glanced across the ring and said, “Well, how about that? Your dad said females get curious, and I’d say your horse is wondering what we’re doing.” The horse had stopped eating and was staring at them with her ears cocked forward. “Either that or she’s jealous that you’re paying attention to me, not her.”

Ty turned slowly, so he half faced Kim and half faced the horse. “Hey now, Drummer. Why don’t you come over and join us?”

The horse snorted, tossed her head, then returned to eating hay.

Ty planted his hands on either side of Kim’s hips, as she perched on the rail. “I like seeing you sitting here, all colorful and pretty, sketching away like crazy.” He leaned forward over her big sketch pad and gave her a slow, teasing kiss.

“I like watching you. Sketching you. Speaking of which, when are you going to pose nude for me?”

He chuckled. “You still on about that?” He shoved himself back to a standing position. “I’d best get back to Drummer. Don’t want her to feel neglected.”

“Coward.”

He wandered across the ring, even his slow, steady gait startling the horse, then left the ring and went to the barn. Puzzled, Kim saw the horse’s ears twitch nervously as if she too wondered what was going on. Ty came back with a stool, a couple of bridles, and a box. Kim learned, from what he said to Drummer, that he was cleaning tack.

She opened her sketch pad again. With neither the man nor the horse moving much, she could do more detailed drawings than she had this morning.

Head down, she was engrossed in shading Drummer’s coat, when a
whuffling
sound made her look up. She managed to restrain herself from giving a start. The horse had snuck up on her and was standing close by, her posture wary as she stretched her head out to snuffle at the sketch pad.

Softly, keeping her voice steady though her heart raced, she said, “Yes, I’m drawing you. You’re such a pretty girl, and you’re going to be gorgeous when you’re healthy.” When would that be? Hopefully, before Kim went home to Hong Kong. She wanted to see Drummer healed, her coat glossy, her spirit restored.

“I’m not sure what I should do.” She spoke as much to Ty as to the horse.

“Keep sketching, Kim. Talk to Drummer but don’t pay her too much attention or you’ll make her nervous. Keep your movements slow and steady, nothing sudden. You’re doing great.”

She obeyed, glancing slowly up at the horse now and then to confirm a detail as she worked, and keeping up a stream of low-voiced chatter. Getting used to the one-sided conversation, she told the horse all about UmbrellaWings.

Ty didn’t move closer, and the horse didn’t move away. She just watched Kim, almost as if she found her presence calming.

“I think you like hanging out with me, Drummer girl,” Kim said. “I like it too. Do you know, until last week, I’d never been on a horse? I was a little scared, to tell you the truth. Maybe like you are now. But Ty gave me a wonderful horse and she was so nice to me.”

Huge, limpid chocolate brown eyes focused on her and she sensed a question in them.

“Ty’s good about looking out for you and making sure you don’t get hurt. He’ll be good to you. You can trust him.”

The horse took a step closer. Her head bobbed. Her nose brushed Kim’s drawing hand.

Kim froze, not wanting to frighten her, and somehow managed to keep talking. “You have such a warm, soft nose, like velvet.” Unable to resist, she moved her hand the tiniest bit so her knuckles brushed the horse’s skin.

Drummer let her do it, then, apparently thinking enough was enough, backed away and headed over to the hay she’d been munching on earlier.

Ty strolled slowly over to Kim, beaming. “That was great.”

She beamed back, elated. “It was.”

He dropped a quick kiss on her smiling lips. “She likes you.”

“Maybe she relates better to females?”

“Or she just likes you.” His eyes danced. “I like you.”

“I know that. Maybe she likes being a model. See, it’s not such a painful experience, Ty. Now that she’s set the example,” she teased, “you’ll be more relaxed when it’s your turn.”

“Posing nude? You just won’t let that go, will you?” But the gleam in his eye suggested he was getting into the idea. Tell a guy something was sexy, and you had him hooked. “Nah,” he said, “I don’t think ‘relaxed’ is the right word. And, while we’re talking about sex—”

She stifled a laugh and said innocently, “Were we?”

“I think that’s enough horse time for now. I want to get you alone and take up where we left off when Dad interrupted. I can’t wait to get those clothes off of you.”

“Hey, you’ll be the one stripping, cowboy.” She couldn’t wait.

“It’s definitely time to put Drummer back in the barn.” He touched Kim’s bare arm. “Normally, I’d go and attach the rope to the halter and lead her back into the barn, but that’ll stress her. What would you think of trying to get the rope on her, since she likes you better?”

Her? Work with an abused horse? The idea thrilled and scared her. “What would I do?”

“Pick up the rope, walk slowly toward her, making sure she can see you and has time to adjust to you being there. Talk to her; don’t stare her directly in the eye. If she lets you, clip the rope onto the halter ring and walk slowly toward the gate. I’ll open it and take over from there.”

She bit her lip. “She won’t attack me?”

His hand still warm and reassuring on her arm, he gazed into her eyes. “Can’t say for a hundred percent positive, but I’m pretty sure not. She shouldn’t feel threatened, and she doesn’t have a reputation for being dangerous. If anything does happen, I’ll be here.”

She gazed into his clear hazel eyes and saw his sincerity.

“Kim, I wouldn’t suggest it if I thought you might get hurt. But if you’re at all worried, we won’t do it.”

She gazed away from Ty to study the poor damaged horse that some brute had traumatized. The horse that had come up to
her
, touched her with that velvety nose. “I want to.”

He squeezed her arm, approval in his eyes. “Thank you.”

She handed him her drawing supplies and eased down from the rail to stand inside the ring. Restraining her usual lively pace to a slow saunter, she made her way over to the discarded rope and picked it up, then continued inching her way toward Distant Drummer, talking as soothingly as she could. Whatever she was doing worked, because she successfully reached the horse’s shoulder. She was tempted to try to stroke her, but Ty hadn’t said to, so she didn’t. Instead, making sure the horse could see what she was doing, she raised the rope.

Drummer snorted and shifted restlessly, moved a step away, then stopped.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.” Kim moved toward her again, and this time clipped the rope to the halter. “Now, how about going back into the barn for a rest? I bet Ty will find a nice snack for you, like, uh”—what did horses enjoy?—“an apple or carrot?”

When she pulled gently on the rope and headed toward the gate, the horse went with her. “Maybe I should keep leading her?” Kim offered as Ty opened the gate.

Frowning slightly, he studied her and the horse for a long moment.

She shouldn’t feel hurt that he didn’t trust her. After all, what did she know about horses?

But he said, “Why not? You’re doing so well. Into the barn, the big box stall on the right,” and gratification filled her. Trying to convey confidence and reassurance to Drummer, she walked slowly onward. The horse followed docilely all the way into the stall. Kim stepped out the door, flicked the latch closed, and unclipped the rope from the halter.

The horse studied her, ears forward, eyes intent. It seemed to Kim that she was saying, “Come back and visit me again.”

“I will,” Kim murmured. “I’ll see you again, Distant Drummer. Maybe next time I’ll stroke you.”

Slowly, she moved away from the stall door, then turned to Ty. Heady with her success, knowing she’d had a small taste of that sense of connection between horse and human Ty’s dad had spoken about, she said, “I did it. She let me.”

“You were terrific.” There was something in his eyes—approval, the same excitement she felt, and something more, like he was seeing her differently. He put down her art supplies and bent to kiss her.

She reached up to loop her hands around his neck. Mmm, talk about connection. A zing shot through her at the touch of his lips, heating her blood in a flash.

When they came up for air, she leaned back in the circle of his arms. “You weren’t sure I could get her from the ring to the barn.”

“If it hadn’t worked, she’d have been free, with that rope dangling. It could have been dangerous, and it would’ve been hell to catch her.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh gosh, I never thought of that. Why did you let me do it?”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Instinct. I trusted you, trusted her. Sometimes, you have to trust.”

“I guess so.” She did trust him, unquestioningly. It was gratifying to know he trusted her, especially with something as precious to him as a traumatized horse. She felt like she was glowing with pure happiness.

“And I was right.” Again, that odd look was in his eyes, as if the connection between the two of them went much deeper than liking and sex.

Out of the blue, a lightning bolt of pain pierced her glow. Oh God, why was life so unfair? Why was the deck stacked against her and Ty, so that a future together was impossible?

She sucked in a deep breath. No, she couldn’t think that way. She was a realist. Hadn’t she disparaged Marty Westerbrook for getting all romantic over Dirk Zamora? No way would she make the same mistake. Ty was a great guy and a fantastic lover. Period.

Oblivious to her mental turmoil, he said, “Before we get carried away, we promised her a treat.”

“Right.” She stepped away, glad to break contact for a moment, to regain her composure.

He handed her an apple. “Hold this on your palm, not cupping it, just with your hand flat. See if she’ll take it.”

She moved back to the stall door. “Drummer girl, I have a yummy apple for you.”

The horse studied her for a long moment, then cautiously stretched out her neck and snatched the apple in a quick, darting movement.

Kim watched her eat it, and imagined the future. Ty would heal this horse, they’d develop a special bond, then Drummer would be sent away. His friend TJ might be great, but Drummer would lose Ty. Under her breath, so Ty couldn’t overhear, she told the horse, “You have to be a realist too. You have to be strong, Drummer.”