Healing Trace (18 page)

For
once, things were looking up. Trace gave her a new hope that she'd get her life
straightened out and gain full time employment, and then she'd solve all her
problems. She frowned.
Not all of them.

Soon
she'd have to leave Lakota ranch. What would happen to her and Trace when her
job with him was over? She'd miss living here with him, and the other guys.

Chapter Twenty

A
trailer loaded ten hay bales high and six deep blocked the pathway into the
stables. Joan sneezed. The scent of dry, dusty grass tickled her nose, but the
fresh air cleared her head.

She
strolled along the side of the tractor, and stepped into the interior of the
barn. Not seeing Devon or Brody, she peeked inside the stalls, admiring the
beautiful horses.

Her
earlier introduction with horses from Brody gave her more confidence that the
large animals were gentle, respectful. The slight tang of horse manure grew
stronger the further she walked down the aisle. The Lakota Ranch stables were
larger, cleaner, and more modern than the stables at the reservation.

A
clamoring at the end of the barn drew her attention. Thinking one of the guys
were making repairs, she hurried down to see if she could help. She might not
be a cowgirl, but she wasn't afraid of getting dirty. Standing on her tiptoes,
she hooked her hands to the top of the door and pulled herself up to look
inside.

A
white mottled horse charged the door. She screamed as pain from the force of
the horse's attack ricocheted up her arms. She fell back, landing on her butt.

"Joan!"
Brody ran out of nowhere, and kneeled down on the ground beside her. "Are
you all right?"

She
managed to nod. "I-I think so."

Brody
pulled her to her feet and led her away from the stall. She glanced behind her
at the horse. The animal's eyes were drawn back and spittle sprayed from his
nose in a fierce show of anger. She shuddered. The horse would've killed her if
the door was open.

"I
take back my opinion of liking horses." Joan stepped out into the sunshine
behind the stable. "Don't tell me you ride that horse. I'll never believe
it."

"Not
that one." Brody removed his hat and wiped his arm across his forehead.
"You're free to come out to the stables whenever you want, but please
don't go by Thunderbolt's stall when you're all alone. I don't trust a wooden
door to keep him away from you. Trace should never have kept him on the
ranch."

"That's
the horse that broke Trace's leg? Thunderbolt?" Joan covered her mouth.
"Oh, my God."

What
was he thinking? He was lucky to be alive. One wrong kick or stomp and Trace's
life would be all over.

"Come
on, you can watch Devon work with a real beauty. He's about ready to get on her
back for the first time." Brody led the way toward the round pen.
"The horse he's training will stay at the ranch, and we'll use her as a
brood mare. She's still young, and her lines are superb."

Joan
sidestepped a pile of manure. "What's her name?"

"
Mako Woblu."

"What's that mean?" Joan glanced at Brody.

"Dusty." Brody grinned. "When we caught her, she
was rolling in the mud. Wild horses often roll in a wet spot on the prairie,
coating themselves with mud to keep the black flies from biting them and making
their lives miserable. By the time we got Mako Woblu home, all of us had enough
dust on us from wrangling him. Dusty looked almost clean but we were covered
with dirt. Hence the name of Dusty."

A
brown horse with four white feet and a line of white down her nose ran around
the perimeter of the fence. Devon stood in the middle, motionless, holding a
bridle. She joined Brody at the fence and leaned against the metal rungs.

Joan
smiled. "Dusty is gorgeous."

"Yep."
Brody hooked his arms over the railing.

"What's
Devon doing?" she whispered.

"He's
waiting for the right time to approach the horse. Dusty's scared of what
Devon's holding in his hand. He's been working in the pen every day for the
last week, letting her get used to him. This is only the second time he's
carried something inside the fencing and the horse is checking him out."
Brody pointed. "Watch her ears. See how the tips point back toward her
tail? When her ears go forward, it means she's accepted the bridle he's
holding. That's when Devon will approach the horse. Dusty's coming along fast,
and should give him no problems."

Dusty
did exactly what Brody explained she'd do, and Devon stepped forward. Joan held
her breath. For how big Devon stood, he appeared small compared to the size of
the horse.

Devon
came close enough to Joan and Brody; she could hear Devon speaking to the horse
in his native tongue. A beautiful, soothing, melody, the words reminded her of
when he sung with the other men in the music room.

"What's
he saying?" She glanced at Brody.

"Nothing
special. He's telling the horse he will not hurt her, and how beautiful she
is…he's romancing her." Brody grinned. "It's what all women want to
hear."

"It's
lovely, no matter what it all means." She watched for a few more minutes.
"Why doesn't Devon have a girlfriend? I bet he could sweet talk any woman
with those words."

Brody
shrugged. "I guess nobody has captured his heart. Ranch life isn't suited
for everyone, and it'd take someone special to fall in love with a guy who will
want to continuing living here with the rest of us. The Lakota women are
hesitant to move away from the only home they know and where their relatives
live. Other women, well…it would take a special person to understand why we
live the way we do, and still have tight ties to the Lakota territory. I think
you're special, because you can understand what drives each one of us and you
accept us. Not many women could, or want to open themselves up the way you have
with us."

She
curled her lip. "Then those women are stupid. You all have made a home, a
family, that many people would be content to be a part of."

Brody
turned and studied her. "Including you?"

She'd
be lying if she never thought of that possibility, but her and Trace hadn't had
time to discuss what was going on between them. For all she knew, he wanted to
enjoy her while she finished her job. She had no idea if his plans for the
future would include her or if he wanted to see her when she left. If he asked,
she was all for continuing their relationship and couldn't think of not having
him in her life.

"Yes,
even me." She turned back to watching Devon and the horse. "But, I
don't know what is going to happen. Trace is a wonderful man."

"You've
fallen in love with him…"

She
nodded and sighed. "Yes, but you're also right when you say I come from a
different world than Trace. In his case, I don't know…I don't know what
tomorrow will bring."

The
conversation dropped off, and Joan concentrated on what Devon was doing. He'd
inserted the bit into the horse's mouth and led the mare around in a circle.
She imagined Trace working with Thunderbolt the same way, and shivered. He had
to realize how dangerous it would be to get back in the pen with the horse that
already broke his leg. She didn't want him to suffer another injury, or worse.

"Watch
this." Brody nudged her arm. "He's getting ready to jump on the
horse's back. He does it in such a way; the horse doesn't have time to react.
Devon is really good at reading the horse's body language, almost as well as
Trace."

Brody
was right. Devon's fluid movement blended with the horse, and they moved around
the pen as one. Dusty barely protested the extra weight on her back. Joan moved
away from the fence. She'd seen enough. It was time to head back to the house,
and check if Trace finished his work for the day. After doing his exercises
with him, she needed to start the dreaded task of searching for a job. Time was
running out.

"Hey!"
Brody called.

She
turned around, and shielded the sun from her eyes. "Yes?"

"You
got kinda quiet. Are you sure everything is okay?"

"I'm
fine." She smiled. "Time for me to go check on Trace, and make sure
he's wiggling his toes like the doctor ordered and then I'm going to get online
and find me a job."

"Good
luck. If you need any help, just yell." He climbed up on the fence and
waved. "See you at dinner."

An
hour later, Joan's list of job possibilities was dwindling down. She tapped her
nails against the desktop, while holding the phone to her ear. There were three
places left to call.

Her
desire to stay in Durham, so Katie could finish her senior year with all her
friends she grew up with was starting to appear unlikely. If she couldn't find
employment this week, she'd have to start looking out of state. Nursing jobs
were everywhere, except in small rural settings where it seemed that there was
an abundance of caretakers, counselors, and R.N.'s.

She
crossed her fingers as the phone stopped ringing, and a welcoming voice came over
the line.

"Hello.
This is Joan O'Hanlon, I'm calling about the counselor position you have
advertised. I sent my resume last week, and wanted to let you know I'm still
very interested in the job opening." Joan held her breath, while the man
on the other end of the line filled her in on the job. "Yes, I'd be interested
if the position becomes available again in the future. Thank you very
much."

She
hung up the phone. "Dammit."

Trace
limped into the room. "Whoa…what put you in a bad mood?"

Joan
jumped up from her place behind the desk, and hurried to him. "You got your
cast off. What did the doctor say?"

He
kissed her forehead, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and then limped to
the couch on the other side of the office. "He said he was amazed at how
well I healed, and said I must have found the best nurse around this area. I
agreed. I always knew you were the best."

She
snorted. "Did you ask him if he wanted to hire me, because I'm getting
desperate?"

"Still
no luck?" He sat and pulled her down on his lap. "Come here, and let
me hold you."

"Mm…I
won't say no to that." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Nope,
every clinic, hospital, and counseling center is full. They've added me to
their call list if anything else opens in the near future. I'm not sure what
I'm going to do next."

"Something
will come up, and things will work out." He nuzzled her neck. "I
missed you."

"I
missed you, too." She sunk her hands into his hair and kissed him.
"Did you bring home the instructions for your aftercare?"

He
grunted. "Yeah. It's time for me to get back to training. This injury
really set me off schedule. I've got a load of horses that need to be shipped
out at the end of the quarter."

"That's
not what I'm talking about. What did the doctor want you to do to rebuild the
strength in your leg, now that the cast is off?" She wiped the smudge of
lipstick left on his upper lip.

"He
released me completely. I'm supposed to add activities in as I see fit, and not
to push myself." He rubbed her back.

"Then
my job is finished," she whispered on a sigh. "That's great, Trace.
I'm glad you received a clean bill of health. I know this is what you
wanted."

"I
might need a little help." He hooked his finger under her chin. "Stay
here with me. Until you get a job. I'd pay just to have you give me a massage
every night."

"Trace—"

"I'm
not ready yet." He held her gaze. "I still need you."

"Let
me see how the rest of the calls I need to make go, talk to Katie, and then
we'll discuss where we go from here." She sagged against him.
"Speaking of horses, I met Thunderbolt. Do you want my unprofessional
opinion?"

"Probably
not," he muttered.

"Tough.
I'm giving it to you anyway." She traced his faced. "You should get
rid of the horse."

"Not
happening. I've been breaking horses since I was eighteen years old, and I've
never seen such a beautiful horse. It's hard to believe he was running with the
wild herd we captured." He laid his cheek against her head. "He's the
most valued horse I've ever came across. Once he's trained, he'll be worth a
million."

She
snorted. "Are you kidding me? He's going to kill someone. He should have
been left in the wild."

"Maybe,
but I don't think so. I think he needs to gain my trust, and when he does, I'll
be able to breed him with the mares on the ranch. He'd throw the most beautiful
foals with the right brood mare." Trace drew a circle around her breast.
"Speaking of beautiful…"

She
arched her back. "Didn't you get enough of me last night?"

The
last three nights, Trace and she had spent hours talking and it'd ultimately
led to going to his bed together. Where Trace had reluctance talking about his
feelings and his dreams for the future, he made up for by showing her how much
he wanted her. Now that he'd asked her to stay, maybe there was hope for them
yet.