His Cowgirl Bride (13 page)

“Did y'all hear that?” Esther Mae exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “She said they were attracted to each other.”

“We heard, all right,” Norma Sue said, crossing her arms and scratching her chin.

Tacy knew she'd just made a huge mistake. “Didn't y'all hear the other stuff I said?” she asked.

Dainty Adela smiled kindly, her blue eyes as gentle as the hand she placed on Tacy's arm. “Certainly we did, dear. We heard everything you said. But the question is, did you?”

Huh? “He's controlling.”

“He's concerned,” Norma Sue said. “Why, my Roy Don used ta try and keep me from working cattle when we first started dating. But when I showed him I could do it as good or better than most men—including him—he gave up. It's not something I have to do
every day—especially the rougher stuff now that I'm getting a little older. But when I get the hankerin' to help with a roundup, I do it.”

“Well, Brent won't let me near a colt, so we'll never know if there could have been more between us than this irritating attraction—which may simply come from each of us trying to prove the other wrong.”

“Oh, I'm sure that's part of it,” Esther Mae said with a sly smile and a bob of her chili-pepper head. “But even then, if you didn't like him, you wouldn't get very far before you got bored or the attraction died.”

Tacy cringed. “He'd smother me. I could never stand for that.”

“Understandable, dear. But surely if he loves you, he will compromise. If he doesn't, you should walk away and never look back,” Adela said. “But my thought on the subject is that God made the heart to know its own mind. Love makes all things possible—even compromise.”

“I never said I loved him.” Tacy couldn't believe this. She'd heard this town was marriage-crazy, but this was ridiculous.

Norma Sue chuckled. “Maybe not. But there is certainly potential there if you two could get past this horse-breaking thing.”

“That horse-breaking thing happens to be my lifelong dream.” Frustration tightened its hold on her.

It was bad enough that she was—fine—
falling in love,
without having the matchmaking posse of Mule Hollow practically reading her thoughts.

B
rent got tossed on his rear by colt number three. As he pushed himself up out of the dust, he knew it wasn't the colt's fault, but his own. If he'd been concentrating on what he was doing, he'd have deflected the reaction of the threatened animal. Much of horse breaking was concentration, reading the horse before it acted. Same with riding broncs. Concentration, instinct and technique. Today he had none.

Tacy was right. He needed help, and she was available and willing. He just couldn't do it, though. God had forgiven him for his stupidity, but he couldn't make the same mistake again. She was a good rider though, and once he had the saddle on them and a few days in the saddle she should be safe. Right? The two he'd already broke were in need of more time than he was giving them. Plus, Pace was depending on him. Argument done, Brent left the horse standing in the
center of the pen and headed for Tacy's place. It was time to compromise a little….

Even if he wasn't comfortable with it, maybe Tacy was right about him being too afraid. Dusting himself off, he climbed out of his truck and strode onto her porch.

He found Birdy and her babies on the porch snuggled together. The proud mama looked up at him and gave him her signature grin. “Hey there, beautiful. How's it going?” he asked, bending down and scratching her between the ears. “You have got some beautiful babies.”

The front door opened, and he looked over his shoulder to find Tacy lounging against the door frame, arms and ankles crossed as she watched him. “She looks good,” he said.
And so do you.

“She's very happy. I was actually afraid she was going to start carting them one by one back to the shed or to your barn or something. But thankfully now that the delivery is done, she's decided to stay put.”

“And why not? Her favorite person is here watching over her.” He smiled at Tacy, but she only gave him a slight lift of one side of her mouth.

“You have dirt on your back,” she said. “Interesting, since you weren't digging puppies out from beneath a shed today. Did
you
get tossed, Brent?”

He sighed heavily and stood up, no use denying it. “Yep. I did.”

Her chin jutted to the side. “Imagine that. The great Brent Stockwell bit the dust.”

He shot her a weary look. “I wasn't concentrating.”

“Ohhh, and why was that? Too much to do?”

Because of you.
“Yes, you're right. I realized I do need some help.”

“So you've come here to ask me to recommend some cowboy to help you ride?”

“Actually, I came to ask you if you'd like to help me ride.”

“But not break them.”

“This is all I can offer. I won't put you on a green colt. I won't be responsible for hurting you.”

Her lips flattened and she studied him hard. He knew she was weighing her options, calculating her chances of changing his mind. She was a smart woman, and she'd realize that he hadn't said the words out loud, but he was offering her the opportunity to watch him break the colts while she rode them. That was more than he wanted to offer her, but it couldn't be helped. When she gave him that sassy smile, he had to admit, even with the trepidation he felt, that he enjoyed very much being responsible for putting that gorgeous grin on her face.

“Okay, I'll do it,” she said, the smile spreading like a slow sunrise.

He swallowed and took a deep breath, feeling a catch in his chest just looking at her. “Good,” he managed, backing to the edge of the porch. “I—I'll see you tomorrow at sunup. Don't be late.” He spun on his heel and headed toward the truck.

“Sunup,” she called. “I'll be there with bells on.”

He chuckled, got in his truck and tipped his hat to
her before backing out of the drive. Tomorrow. It was the beginning of a new headache for him, but he was looking forward to it like nothing he could remember.

 

The sun was just a thin sliver of orange on the horizon when Tacy hopped out of her truck. The colts were nothing but dark shapes behind the corral, and for a minute she thought she'd actually beaten Brent out of bed. Then he came strolling casually out of the barn with a saddle on his shoulder. Her heart gave a kick and she kicked it right back down, focusing on why she was here. She was still reeling from his offer and determined to be the best helper he'd ever seen. She understood how hard it was for him to ask her to do this, and she was actually proud of him for doing it. Not that she'd let him know that.

“Is that for me?” she asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“Nope, I'll be using this one. Yours is waiting in the barn.”

She almost laughed at that. “Phew, that's a relief. I thought for a minute there you'd gone soft.” She strode past him, but his husky chuckle followed her into the barn.

And boy, did she like the sound of it.

She scratched Rabbit between the eyes, then grabbed her saddle and headed to work. Her spirits were soaring as she walked out of the barn. She knew what he'd offered, even though he hadn't said it. He was giving her permission to watch him and learn. He
might not be able to put her on an unbroken horse, but he wasn't going to stop her from learning by observation. It wasn't enough, but it was good enough for now. One step at a time. For both of them.

“Who do you want me to start with, boss?”

He opened the holding pen where the three horses he'd saddle-broken were waiting. He shook his head at her comment and held the gate as she squeezed past him. “We'll move down the line from the first broke to the newest.”

She set her saddle on the ground and walked easily to the black he'd ridden first. The two-year-olds were still a touch skittish, but the black held its ground for the most part as she spoke softly to him. “We're going to be fast friends, you and me. And you two also,” she added, giving the other horses a smile. As if taking her words to heart, the black let her run her hand down his neck. She took her time petting him, letting him get used to her. She could feel Brent watching and wondered what he might be thinking. She was determined to impress him with her ability. She didn't know why it was so important to her, but she had to make him realize that what happened to his sister wouldn't happen to her. If she could take away the guilt she knew he felt, she would do away with that, too, but that was out of her hands. There were some things that only God could help with…. She looked up at him as he moved to stand beside her. Looking into his solemn eyes, she knew she cared deeply about what was going on behind those eyes and in his heart.

“I think he'll let me on him. What do you think?” she asked, suddenly feeling crowded.

“You're handling yourself well. He's ready. I've had more saddle time with him than the others. But I still want you to be cautious. Is that understood?”

He'd actually praised her. Wow! “I hear you loud and clear, boss.” She gave him a teasing smile and headed for her saddle. The sun was now aglow and the sounds of early morning filled the air. Somewhere in the distance, a rooster crowed. Closer, in the woods, the soft twitter of birds drifted on the air and mingled with the snorts of the colts.

“I love this time of morning,” she said, carrying the saddle back to the black. Brent had a halter on him now. She hadn't even noticed that he was holding it in his hand. That's how distracted she'd been looking in his eyes and standing near him. She focused again on the horse.

“I'll put that on him,” he offered.

“Oh, no, you don't, buster. You hired me to do this, and I'm going to do it. I know how to saddle a horse.”

“For the hired help, you sure are bossy,” he said, stepping back and letting her do her job.

“Just making sure the boss man gets his money's worth.”

He chuckled. “I don't recall there being a paycheck for this job.”

She laughed. “Well, that's true. It's the barter system. I know the value of the experience I'm getting out of this deal, and I don't want to shortchange you.”

“You won't. I'm sure that you give everything you do your all.”

His eyes were serious and knowing he meant the words touched Tacy. She gave him a tight smile and turned back to the black. To her relief, the horse didn't give her any trouble…but then she hadn't expected it to. After all, Brent had been working with him.

 

She was good. Better than good. She knew what she was doing. Brent saddled up the chestnut, wanting to get a few more rides on it himself before he handed the ornery colt over to Tacy. While he rode around the round pen he was able to observe Tacy and he respected what he saw. He almost felt bad for holding out for so long—almost.

At ten, when she left to get ready for work at the diner, he hated to see her go—not that he let her know it.

“You should come to town for lunch,” she said while they were taking saddles off the colts.

“I might do that.”

She smiled. “It's good for you to come to town. Everyone enjoys your company, and you know what they say about all work and no play making Brent a dull boy.”

He laughed. “So you're telling me I'm dull?”

“No. It was a joke. I find you very intriguing.”

His blood warmed at her words. “Is
intriguing
a good thing?”

“It's a very good thing. Me, I'm easily bored, and
I have to tell you that you have never bored me, Mr. Stockwell. See you at lunch,” she said. “I hate to ride and run, but I've got to get a move on or Sam will not be a happy camper.”

“You go. I'll finish up here.”

She waved, then jogged to her truck and was off in a flash. Brent didn't move for a long moment, then finally he pulled a brush from the bucket at his feet and began brushing the black colt down. “She's the intriguing one,” he said to the colt as he worked. “No question about it.”

He was still thinking about Tacy a few minutes later when he walked into the cabin. He wanted to wash his face and hands before heading to the diner. A working cowboy couldn't do much about eating in dusty clothes, but he could at least wash up a little. That had been a rule his mom taught him, and she'd have scolded him but good if he'd shown up at the lunch table without cleaning up. His heart tugged, thinking about those days growing up, when life had been full of learning about horses and dreaming big dreams. He'd sure messed up.

How had he let himself go so wrong? He headed to the small bathroom and washed his face and hands in hot water, scrubbing hard, then rinsed them and stared critically at his reflection in the mirror. The ring of the phone broke the silence and pulled his thoughts out of the past.

His mom's voice on the other end of the line put him right back in it.