His Texas Bride (6 page)

Travis Martinez.

And with what looked to be a dozen red roses, not so hidden behind his back, and a goofy grin on his face. It didn’t take Buck more than a millisecond to figure out what
that
meant.

Buck’s hackles were up faster than a cat with its tail
on fire. He didn’t even stop to think why and had the itching desire to slam the door closed on wide-smiling Travis before he’d even opened it to the man.

Travis Martinez, Buck remembered, had been the male lead in the same musical where Buck had first noticed Ellie. Travis had been in the same class with Buck, but where Buck had been the football hero, Travis had been the drama geek. Their paths had rarely crossed back then.

But Travis wasn’t the same gangly boy Buck remembered. He had, Buck acknowledged crossly, grown several inches since high school and had filled out a bit. And if Travis’s toothy-white grin was any indication of his feelings, the man still carried a torch for Ellie, just as he had in high school, even if at the time Ellie had never had eyes for any boy but Buck.

At least back then she hadn’t. He hadn’t a clue what kind of man Ellie was attracted to these days. Maybe a man like Travis.

Maybe
Travis.

Seething with pent-up frustration, Buck twisted the door handle and plastered what he hoped was a smile on his own face, though he was certain he failed in the effort.

Travis looked more than a little startled before his smile widened, were that possible. “Buck Redmond. I didn’t think you were still in town.”

“Well, I am,” Buck replied testily, even as he stepped away from the door and gestured Travis inside. “I’m staying with Ellie, at least for the time being.”

“Oh,” Travis said, sounding as surprised as he looked. “I, uh, I’m glad to hear it.”

Travis didn’t
look
glad to hear it, Buck thought. In
fact, Travis’s expression registered quite the opposite. He was obviously sensing some kind of competition with Buck, though for the life of him, Buck couldn’t imagine why. What Ellie and Buck had shared had been a lifetime ago.

Still, it soothed Buck’s ruffled feathers a little bit to think that he might still be considered
competition
where Ellie McBride was concerned. Even if it wasn’t true.

“Why don’t you come into the kitchen and have a seat, Travis?” Buck said, gesturing with a jerk of his chin to the dining table. “How do you like your coffee?”

Travis sighed and pulled the roses from behind his back. “I wasn’t planning to stay, actually. I was driving by and I saw Ellie’s light on, so I thought I’d stop by and give her these,” he said, tossing the bouquet on the table.

“She’s not awake yet.”

“Oh.” Travis sounded positively dejected, and for some reason that made Buck want to grin. As popular as Buck had been in high school, he’d never been a bully, but for some reason he had the most peculiar yearning to push Travis’s buttons now.

“I’ll let her know you were here,” Buck said with a casual shrug he wasn’t feeling. He flashed a peripheral glance at Travis but didn’t square off his gaze. “You can leave the roses. I’ll be sure Ellie gets them.”

“Be sure I get what?” asked a sleepy-eyed Ellie from the back-porch door. She was casually dressed in gray sweats and a bright red T-shirt, and her shiny black hair looked adorably rumpled from sleep, Buck thought, his heart pumping furiously despite his best efforts to remain calm and aloof. He just hoped Travis didn’t notice Ellie the way he did.

Travis was already on his feet, sweeping up the bouquet of red roses and thrusting them at her, another silly grin plastered on his face. Buck wanted to roll his eyes.

“I bought these for you yesterday,” Travis said in a rush, “but I got hung up at the school.”

Ellie smiled sweetly at Travis, making Buck want to pound on something, put his fist through a wall, maybe. Ironically, in the same moment he was thinking about how little Travis knew Ellie, unless she’d changed more than Buck knew, though this was something a woman wasn’t likely to change her mind about over time, was she?

Ellie’s favorite flowers had always been violets—the color of her eyes.

“I’m the drama teacher at Ferrell High,” Travis explained for Buck’s benefit. “And I got roped—unwillingly, mind you—into the planning committee. Which is going into overdrive, I think,” he continued with a chuckle.

Buck scowled at no one in particular. “Planning committee for what?”

Travis glanced at Buck in surprise and then turned his gaze back on Ellie. “Our twentieth class reunion. Didn’t you get an invitation, Buck?”

“No,” Buck snapped, wondering why he cared.

He
didn’t
care. He just didn’t want Travis here.

“Well, Cindy Spencer is in charge of sending the invites,” Travis explained. “I expect she thought you left town after your mother’s funeral, and didn’t know where to send your mail. I’ll be sure to let her know you’re still around.”

“Thanks,” Buck said gruffly. He scoffed inwardly, though he kept his expression carefully neutral. Like he’d go to his twenty-year class reunion. That wasn’t going to happen.

Ellie hadn’t yet accepted the bouquet from Travis. She was staring at Buck as if he’d grown a third eye.

“Actually,” Travis continued, “that’s part of the reason I’m here. The reunion, I mean.”

“What about it?” Buck queried, leaning a hip against the table and crossing his arms. He knew Travis’s statement hadn’t been aimed at him, but he didn’t really care if he was intruding.

The answer to Buck’s question was patently obvious, even before Travis uttered a word of explanation. They’d already clearly established that
Buck
wasn’t the reason Travis was here, reunion or no reunion. But if Travis thought for one second that Buck was going to concede and give the two of them a moment of privacy, he had another think coming.

“I, uh,” Travis stammered, clearing his throat and tossing a pleading look toward Ellie, which Buck didn’t miss.

“Buck,” Ellie said, her tiny hands cocked on her hips, “can you
please
give us a moment?”

Buck shrugged but didn’t move.

Ellie sighed loudly and shook her head, clearly exasperated with him.

“No, it’s okay,” Travis said in a vain attempt to relieve some of the tension in the room. He was still holding the flowers out to Ellie, apparently frozen in that position, Buck thought with a scowl. “I don’t mind if Buck is here. He’ll find out soon enough, anyway.
I’ve come to ask you to be my date to the reunion. I know you’ll have your own reunion next year, but I’d be honored if you’d be my date for mine.”

Ellie glanced quickly in Buck’s direction. He looked like a stone statue, his jaw set and his arms crossed. He was so still, it didn’t even look like he was breathing. If it wasn’t for the pulse beating a steady rhythm in the corner of his clenched jaw, Ellie might have wondered if he were alive at all.

He certainly wasn’t giving away what he was thinking, but Ellie could guess. The two men were looking at each other like fighting dogs across a ring. They were practically baring their teeth and growling at each other. All they needed was a little drool, and the picture would be complete.

“Buck,” she pleaded, hoping beyond hope he would be reasonable, but Buck had never been reasonable, at least where Ellie was concerned. He had always been overprotective of her, though the one time she’d suggested it might be jealousy, he’d practically bit her head off. Even in high school he’d give a warning growl to any boy brave enough to approach her, so no one ever did.

At the time she hadn’t minded. She had been head over heels in love with Buck Redmond and hadn’t so much as noticed any of the other guys around her. Funny how twenty years could change a woman’s perspective on things.

Buck wasn’t the only man in Ferrell, and it was high time he figured that out. So why did a small part of her secretly wish he would suddenly do a one-eighty and sweep her into his arms and fervently declare that no man but Buck himself would take her to the reunion?

Ellie eyed Buck again, but he hadn’t budged, so she turned to Travis and gave him her best smile, determination setting in over any wavering she was feeling in her heart. She snatched the bouquet of roses from his hand and inhaled deeply.

Roses were okay, though she preferred violets. “I would be happy to be your date for the reunion, Travis.”

Travis’s genuine grin was surprisingly hard for Ellie to bear. Why did she feel guilty?

“I—I’d better put these in water,” Ellie stammered, clutching at the bouquet of roses. She spun around and left the room before she could see the expression on either one of the men’s faces. She already knew Buck would be blowing steam out his ears, despite the fact that they no longer had a relationship. And poor Travis…Ellie thought she might back out if she saw whatever mix of fear and elation was crossing that man’s face.

She needed to make a stand with Buck, and this date with Travis was as good a situation as any she could have dreamt up. She only hoped the poor sweet drama teacher didn’t get caught in the cross fire.

Buck didn’t move for a moment after Ellie left the room. His head was swimming with emotion. The pointed glance Ellie had given him before she’d answered Travis had left him dumbstruck.

What had she expected Buck to do? Ask her to be
his
date to the reunion? He hadn’t even been invited to attend—not formally, anyway.

Even if he had been invited, why would Ellie think he wanted to go at all? Ellie, of all people, should know by now how much his life had changed in the
twenty years since he’d graduated high school. What was left for him to come back to?

It was only then that he realized Travis was staring at him, openmouthed in expression, if not in reality. Buck scowled at him.

What was the man waiting for, anyway? He’d gotten the answer he’d come for.

“I, uh, I’m sorry if I intruded,” Travis said tentatively, brushing his short, straight dark brown hair out of his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

“You didn’t,” Buck said tersely.

“Well, I mean, I guess I thought when I found out you were still around, that you might have wanted to take Ellie to the reunion yourself.”

Buck leveled his gaze on the man, who, he thought with just a touch of amusement, looked like he was quaking in his boots, completely insecure and unsure of himself. “And why would you think that?”

“You and Ellie were quite the item in high school,” Travis reminded him in a low voice.

“I remember.” This time Buck couldn’t stifle his laughter. “And?”

Travis grabbed the back of the nearest chair and swallowed hard. “Is it okay if I sit?”

Buck shrugged nonchalantly, and he was still grinning. He couldn’t help himself. “Suit yourself.”

Travis brushed his hair back with his fingers again, and Buck recognized it for what it was—a nervous habit. Travis cleared his throat several times but couldn’t seem to get any words out. Buck decided to help him.

“I take it you and Ellie are dating?”

Travis’s eyes widened to enormous proportions,
but as his gaze met and held Buck’s, he gave an agitated chuckle. “Not exactly. I’ve asked her out enough times over the years, but she always turned me down. Until today.”

Travis grinned, and Buck wanted to floor him.

“Over the years?” Buck asked before he realized he didn’t really want to know. Besides, he was prying into Ellie’s business when he had no right to do so. What had happened to the close-lipped cowboy he’d thought he’d been?

Ellie McBride. That was what had happened.

“I’d say it’s been at least three years since the first time I asked her out,” Travis explained hesitantly.

Buck gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot of time.”

Travis sighed. “Tell me about it. I’ve tried everything in the book, but I just can’t get her to accept me as more than a friend—not that I’ve given up on her.”

Buck nodded. “I can see that. Ellie can be pretty stubborn about some things.”

“You’re telling me.”

“Well, partner, I wish you the best,” Buck continued. In his head he added an unspoken
You’re going to need it.

I
t was a beautiful morning, and Ellie was sitting on the back-porch swing with her Bible in her lap. For as long as she’d been living here at the ranch, her favorite time of day was the early morning, her quiet time, when she could read the Bible and pray about the day ahead of her.

She’d been trying to read a psalm, but despite her best efforts, she just couldn’t concentrate. Her mind kept wandering back to the morning two days earlier, when she’d woken to find Buck and Travis facing off over the kitchen table. It was a good thing testosterone wasn’t flammable, or she could have lit a match and the whole ranch would have exploded.

What was with Buck, anyway? And more to the point, why did she care?

They’d avoided talking about Travis ever since that morning. Come to think of it, Buck had avoided Ellie altogether, either making excuses to go into the town or else secreting himself in the stable.

Ellie snapped her Bible shut with a loud sigh. For a moment, when she first walked into the room that morning when Travis was there, she’d thought Buck was acting a bit territorial toward her—and the worst part was, she’d
liked
it.

Even with Travis in the room. Ellie felt a pang of guilt even now, for she knew she shouldn’t feel anything for Buck, not after all this time. Travis was her, well, her, uh, friend. Or at least that was what she kept telling herself.

Travis hadn’t made any secret of his feelings for her, and Ellie couldn’t say she was completely surprised that he’d shown up at her door and asked her to the class reunion. She knew he wanted to marry, settle down and start a family. He’d told her as much on several occasions.

So far, she’d managed for the most part to avoid those conversations, though until Buck had arrived back in town, she’d never known quite why she felt that way. She just wasn’t ready for that big of a commitment, she’d told herself repeatedly, though in truth she wasn’t sure she completely believed her own propaganda.

But for all that, Travis wasn’t her greatest concern at the moment. Buck was here now, and she had to deal with him—more precisely, with her latent feelings for him, which she hadn’t even realized she possessed until that moment. The fact was, when Travis first asked her to the reunion, she’d hesitated
because she’d hoped Buck would ask her.

And what kind of stupidity was that?

She stood in a huff and shook her head, though there was no one around to see it. So much for her quiet time.

“Get over it,” she muttered crossly to herself as she went back into the ranch house.

If only it were that easy.

Ellie’s morning client arrived at that moment, knocking at the front door. Buck and Tyler were seated in the dining room, eating cold cereal for breakfast, but Ellie dashed across the room before they could rise.

“I’ll get it!” she exclaimed, a good deal more cheerfully than she felt.

Her heart rose the moment she opened the door to little Morgan and her smiling mother. Seven-year-old Morgan was a new client, with the sparkling eyes and joyful smile of a Down syndrome child. Her mother, Marty, a single parent and a new resident of Ferrell, looked hopeful.

“I see you’re wearing your cowboy boots,” Ellie observed, speaking directly to Morgan with a gentle smile.

Morgan returned the grin with natural exuberance. “Going to ride a horsey today.”

Ellie nodded. “That’s right. Are you ready to be a real cowgirl, Morgan?”

Morgan’s mother laughed. “That’s all she’s been talking about all week. Horsey this, horsey that.”

“Then let’s get started,” Ellie suggested, throwing a glance back toward the table where Buck and Tyler were seated. “Tyler, would you mind saddling Pal for me?”

Pal, an aptly named palomino quarter horse with a large white blaze on his muzzle and four white socks, was the gentlest gelding in her stable and the horse she always used with physically impaired youngsters.

“Sure thing, Ellie,” Tyler replied enthusiastically.

Ellie smiled back at him. The rough, surly boy she’d first encountered was long since gone, at least with her. In his place was a happy young man who loved to help out around the ranch, especially with the animals. Ellie had quickly noticed his natural kinship with the animals and let him spend as much time with them as possible.

Good therapy for the boy,
she thought with a sense of contentment and a bit of pride.

But, of course, she wouldn’t tell Buck that, not that he would listen to her if she did.

“I’ll help,” Buck growled under his breath, obviously not really wanting to help at all.

Ellie wondered why he’d offered. Probably to get away from her.

Ellie and Morgan arrived at the corral just as Tyler was leading Pal from the stable. Ellie had carried a safety helmet out with her and now placed it on Morgan’s head, fitting the strap securely under her chin.

Morgan made a groaning sound from her chest and started pulling at the helmet. “Bad hat,” she said several times as she tried to dislodge the helmet with her hands.

Morgan’s mother made calm, soothing noises. “You have to have a helmet to ride the horsey,” she explained calmly.

Morgan shook her head and glared at her mother and then at Ellie.

“Bad hat,” she said again.

“Look, your horse is here,” Ellie said, trying to distract the little girl from the worrisome helmet.

“Horsey!” Morgan exclaimed, running straight for Pal. The palomino nickered but didn’t shy away. Ellie had carefully trained him not to spook at quick movements.

Morgan slid to a sudden stop, raising up a cloud of dust by her feet. She turned and rushed back into her mother’s arms before Ellie could say a word.

“What’s wrong?” Ellie asked gently.

“No horsey,” Morgan said, her voice muffled from her mother’s sleeve.

“But, honey, you’ve been waiting all week to ride the horse,” her mother said serenely, coaxing Morgan inch by inch back toward the animal.

“No horsey,” Morgan said again.

“Okay,” Ellie said immediately. “No horsey, Morgan. You don’t have to ride today.”

A disabled child balking at the horse was another problem she often encountered, and once again she knew just what to do about it. With most children, whether physically or mentally impaired—or both, as with little Morgan with her Down syndrome—it simply took a little bit of persuasion and a lot of patience to work through the heart of the problem.

There was no reason Morgan had to ride today. It often took several weeks before a child was acclimated to the large animals. Patience in Ellie’s job was definitely a virtue.

Morgan smiled shyly when she realized she was getting her way.

“You don’t have to ride the horse,” Ellie repeated in her most reassuring tone. “But how about we just go up and pet him? Pal is a very nice horsey, and he especially loves to be petted by little girls like you.”

Morgan didn’t look convinced, but she allowed her mother and Ellie to lead her to Pal. Tyler was still holding the bridle loosely in his grip.

“You want me to tie him off, Ellie?” Tyler asked, giving Morgan an understanding smile.

“You know, I think it would be better if you would stay here and help me out,” Ellie said, shooting the boy a smile. “That is, if you don’t mind.”

Tyler nodded, his grin widening, this time directed at Ellie. “Yes, ma’am. I mean, no, ma’am. I don’t mind at all!”

Ellie brushed one hand across the horse’s withers and the other down the soft blaze on his face, soothing the horse at the same time she showed Morgan what to do. “See? Pal likes it when you pet him. Now it’s your turn.”

Ellie backed up slightly as Morgan stepped in front of her. Ellie kept Morgan close enough for the little girl to feel Ellie’s presence behind her as she hesitantly touched the horse’s chest. When Pal swung his head over to investigate his new friend, Morgan gave a high-pitched scream and scrambled backward, right into Ellie’s waiting arms.

“It’s okay,” Ellie said, smiling at Morgan. “Pal just wants to see you and get to know you better. He won’t hurt you. See?” Ellie rubbed her hand up and down Pal’s muzzle and scratched the area between his nostrils. “Tyler, would you be a dear and hold Pal’s head securely for me?” Ellie asked, keeping her gaze on Morgan. “That might make it easier for Morgan to pet him.”

“Sure thing,” the boy replied, his face reddening from Ellie’s casual endearment. Murmuring softly to Pal, Tyler reached forward to grip the bridle under the horse’s chin. “I’ve got the horsey now, Morgan, nice and tight. Don’t be afraid. Pal won’t move his
head anymore,” Tyler said in the high-pitched tone grown men usually reserved for children. It made Ellie smile.

“Does…does he bite?” Morgan asked in the slow drawl typical of a Down child.

“Pal never bites,” Ellie assured her.

“And I’ve got a good hold on him,” Tyler added in a soft, reassuring voice. Ellie wondered if it was emotion causing the young man’s voice to crack a little when he spoke, or if it was just his age.

Either way, Ellie’s heart leapt, especially when Morgan smiled shyly at Tyler and didn’t back away to hide behind her mother, as she tended to do with new people. Tyler was as much a natural with children as he was with animals, and Ellie said a quick, silent prayer, thanking God for bringing the boy into her life.

Even if it was only temporarily, until Buck kicked her off the ranch.

Even if getting the chance to know Tyler meant having to deal with his impossibly frustrating father.

It took a good minute for Morgan to make up her mind, but eventually she stepped forward and, with Ellie’s help and encouragement, gave Pal a soft pat on the withers. When Tyler carefully allowed the horse to bow his head, Morgan reached up on her own accord to feel Pal’s soft, silky mane.

“Good horsey,” Morgan said, now smiling. “He’s really soft. Especially his hair,” she added, indicating the horse’s long, flowing mane.

Tyler flashed Ellie a bright-eyed, sparkling glance of shared amusement between the two of them. Horses were covered with hair, of course, but sweet, innocent
little Morgan saw only Pal’s mane—and maybe his tail—as hair.

“Do you want to get on the horsey?” Morgan’s mother asked, gesturing to the saddle.

Morgan shook her head vigorously.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Miller,” Ellie said, rubbing a hand across Morgan’s shoulder. “We are in no rush here. Often it takes time for the children to get used to the animals. We can take it as slow as you want. Morgan doesn’t have to ride today.”

“Oh, yes, she does,” said Buck from behind her.

Ellie whirled to find Buck smiling down at the little girl, his cowboy hat in his hands. As usual he was dressed head to toe in black. He nodded courteously to Morgan’s mother. “My name is Buck Redmond. I, uh, help out around here. Is it all right with you if I give it a whirl?”

Ellie’s jaw dropped as Buck took the therapy session right out of her hands in a single second. She would have argued with him if it weren’t for her clients being there. What right did he have to butt his nose into her business?

Literally her
business
.

The big lug.

Marty Miller, clearly taken with Buck’s easy manner and no doubt his rugged good looks, nodded vigorously for him to continue with Morgan.

Buck grinned and winked at Ellie. He wanted to laugh at the expression on her face—half astonishment and half anger. She sure hadn’t expected him to come forward and offer to help. As it happened, he’d surprised himself by the effort.

Now that he was here, however, Buck couldn’t help but tease Ellie a little bit. He knew she must be seething inside that he’d come and busted into her
therapy
session without so much as tipping his hat in her direction.

Buck wasn’t even sure why he’d come forward at all. He had been watching the whole episode from the shadow of the stable door, completely unnoticed by both Ellie and her clientele. Which was just how he liked it.

He’d been surprised when Tyler stayed around after saddling the horse, as he’d been asked, but then, his son had been spending a lot of time at Ellie’s side this past week.

And it was
not
jealousy flaring in Buck’s chest.

He turned his mind back to Ellie, the beautiful woman he couldn’t break his gaze from. Buck was amazed at the way Ellie worked with the little girl. She was so patient and kind, and he could tell from the sparkle in her eyes that her heart was in it.

No doubt a part of that
faith
she was always talking about, as well, though Buck still scoffed at that notion as much as the idea of a therapy ranch itself. But there was no doubt to even the most casual observer that the woman had a real gift with special needs children of all types; Buck had to give her that.

Except in this case, Buck thought he could do one better, and he wasn’t going to stop until he’d given it his best shot. It wasn’t an attempt to outdo Ellie, of course. He wouldn’t stoop to anything as petty as that.

It was just that up until today Buck had been nothing more than an observer in Ellie’s world. He’d
watched her with an amazing array of children, from toddlers to teenagers and everything in between. Ellie knew how to make them laugh and play—and forget about their problems for a while.

Even more surprising was the change that had come over Tyler. Buck’s own son was carrying his weight around the ranch, doing chores and helping out with the kids whenever he was asked—and sometimes, Buck thought, even when Ellie didn’t outright ask Tyler for help.

How could Buck do any less?

He hunkered down beside the small girl, knowing his size might intimidate her and wanting to be on the same level with her when he spoke.

“How’s my little cowgirl?” he asked, keeping his voice low and even.

“Horsey!” Morgan replied excitedly.

“That’s right. Horsey. And I’ll bet a true cowgirl like you wants to ride the horsey, don’t you?”

“Buck, if she doesn’t want to—” Ellie began, but Buck cut her off with a wave of his hand.

Morgan stared anxiously at the nickering animal. Buck could easily see it from her point of view. Pal must seem gigantic to the child, and that was when the horse was standing still—never mind when he shifted around and made noise.