Leave It to Chance (29 page)

Chapter 29

“Hi, Sid.” Sierra said, watching Ross hurry back toward the trailer after delivering the older man over to her mom and kids.

“Ross is in a foul mood and I don’t think it has anything to do with the realtor sign in my front lawn.” He gave her a meaningful look.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not the one who meddled.”

“Well, what’re you gonna do about it?”

Sierra watched Ross busy himself around the trailer, then glance around the yard, looking everywhere but at the group of them off to his side. “I’m not sure yet,” she said and started toward the trailer.

“How’s it going?” She moved next to Ross and her shoulder grazed his.

He stepped away from her and checked the trailer latch. “Just finishing up here.”

“Need any help?” She studied his profile, set in hard lines.

“Nope.” He walked over to where Braden was adjusting Chance’s saddle and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder. “How’re you doing?”

Braden shrugged. He was wearing the new Western shirt his grandma had given him, trying so hard to look like a man, but with a self-conscious nonchalance that told her he was checking to see if anyone noticed.

Ross spoke quietly to Braden. “I’m proud of you. You’ve worked hard to be here.”

“And you’ve worked even harder to get him here.” Sierra moved close and touched Ross’s arm. “You’ve done so much for us. ‘Thanks’ doesn’t come close to covering it.”

Ross crossed his arms and Sierra had to drop her hand. “Braden’s a great kid.” He did look at her this time, but there was none of the warmth from yesterday.

Braden moved around to the other side of Chance, and they were alone. Sierra whispered, “What’s wrong, Ross? Yesterday—”

His face hardened. “Yesterday you made it pretty clear—”

“Braden. I’m glad you made it.” A woman bustled over, papers in hand, her breath blowing little puffs in the air. “Here’s the schedule of events and the patterns for showmanship and the trail course that you’ll need to look over.” The bun at the back of her head bounced as she talked, her eyes scouring the busy yard. “You’re entered in the flag race, the trail course, and of course, showmanship.” Her gaze moved back to Braden, and she gave his shoulder a friendly pat and nodded to a tall girl with a dark ponytail beside her. “Nissa’s horse is lame, so she’s going to stick with you and show you where to go.” Her glance took in the rest of them. “Nice to see you, folks.”

Sierra crossed her arms tight against the chill and looked at Ross, but he’d already turned away.
If he wanted clear, she’d make certain her feelings were clear.

Ross helped Sid into the arena and up the stairs into the cold stands. He maneuvered so Sid sat on one side of him and Emory on the other, with Sierra’s mom on the other side of Sid, but somehow Sierra ended up in the tiny spot between him and Emory, her thigh pressed to his. He tried to shift his weight away from her, but Sid gave him a look and said, “Yer crowding me. Scoot down a hair.” He leaned around Ross and gave Sierra a sly grin. “You don’t mind if ol’ Ross here crowds up against you, do you now?”

“No, he can scoot all he wants.” The smile she gave Ross was warm and teasing.

He can scoot all he wants?
Women had a reputation for being hard to figure out and now he knew why.

Sierra glanced away. “Oh, Em. There’s your dad and Gina.” Three rows ahead of them, the couple he met at the hospital found their way to an empty spot.

“Can I go sit with them?” Emory gave her mom a pleading look.

“Sure, honey.” Sierra held her daughter’s hand as Emory stepped across the benches, then she sat back down and caught Ross’s gaze on her again. A smile budded on her lips. “You look incredibly handsome, Ross. Black does great things for you.”

“Thanks.” He held her stare and the pink in her cold cheeks brightened.

A shy smile crept over her lips, but she kept her eyes on his. “It’s so cold in here. Could you, um, would you warm up my hands?”

“Excuse me?”

“Never mind.” The color in her cheeks grew darker and she looked down, her dark hair swinging forward, shielding her face from him.

He heard Sid snort beside him, but when he glanced at the man, his face was carefully neutral.

She did look cold. Ross held out his hand and she placed one icy hand in it. He slowly rubbed it between his hands, and she seemed to relax some. “Better?”

“Mmm. You could toast bread in your hands.”

He chuckled and reached for her other hand. When it seemed as toasty as the first one, her fingers curled over to entwine with his. He darted a glance at her, but she was still staring into the arena. Her thumb started to rub over his in a gentle circle.
A day ago, she hadn’t wanted to kiss him, but now she wanted to hold his hand?
He needed some fresh air.

“I’m going to check on Braden.” He stood, letting her hand slide from his, and stepped over Sid’s outstretched leg. At the bottom of the arena, he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to lean against the wall.

What was going on? Yesterday, Sierra had made it clear he’d crossed a line. But today he was getting a whole different vibe. Maybe he was reading into it too much. Nervous as she was with horses, maybe she wanted to be near him for comfort. As a friend. Someone who cared for her son as she did.

Ross didn’t do more than study Braden waiting for his turn, and when the horses started filing for the ring, he climbed back into the stands. The space between Sierra and Sid seemed narrower than when he left. He sat down, pinched between the two of them. Funny how Sid’s thigh wasn’t nearly as warm against his as Sierra’s.

The horses lined up across the arena, Braden’s third from the end. The first girl in line walked her horse halfway across the ring toward a waiting man.

The stands grew quiet and Sierra leaned close, her breath warm on his cheek. “What are they doing?”

Ross turned, but she hadn’t moved and her face was tantalizingly close, her eyes warm pools that focused intently on his. He cleared his throat. “This is showmanship. Each exhibitor will take a turn walking out to the judge there in the center and stand the horse square for inspection. The judge will ask some questions and then the exhibitor will have his horse do a 180-degree haunch turn and then jog him back to the lineup.”

When the fourth exhibitor had jogged back to his starting position, Sierra put her hand on his arm and leaned against his shoulder to whisper. “Why is Chance standing like that?”

Ross leaned forward as if studying the horse and put some breathing distance between him and Sierra. The old horse’s head was lowered and a back leg cocked, with the tip of the hoof resting on the ring floor. “He’s sleeping.”

Sierra swung her head toward him. “Will Braden lose points?”

He pulled his eyes from hers and focused on the horses below them. “No. Older horses do that sometimes. The judges don’t penalize them.”

When Braden walked Chance to the center of the ring, Sierra started chewing on a fingernail. She leaned into Ross, her eyes never leaving her son. “Is he doing okay?”

“Yeah, he’s doing fine,” he said, feeling the soft weight of her arm pressing against his. And Braden was. The haunch turn wasn’t the prettiest, but it worked.

Sierra had a million questions as they waited through the Western equitation and other events before the flag race. And the questions came with sparkling eyes, soft touches, and a smile that could knock a man off his feet. He needed to get out of there.

Finally the barrel and its flag mounted in a coffee can were arranged at the far end of the arena.

Her hand touched his and she pointed to Braden waiting for his turn. “He looks nervous.”

Braden held Chance’s reins too tight, and the horse started backing toward a bay gelding behind him. The girl, Nissa, laid a hand on Braden’s leg and spoke to him. Chance stopped and Braden leaned forward and relaxed his hands.

Finally, Braden and Chance jogged to the starting line. Sierra leaned forward, rigid, her fingers finding Ross’s and tightening around them.

Braden and Chance made a few warm-up circles to gain speed, then took off between the starting poles and flew toward the barrel. Braden rounded it perfectly, grabbed the flag, and kicked back toward the finish line and across, flag held high. He nodded toward the judge and jogged toward the edge of the arena.

Sierra ripped her hand from Ross’s and started clapping. She stood and gave an ear splitting whistle, shocking the daylights out of Ross, but it caught Braden’s attention and he looked toward the stand, his face proud as he exited the building.

Sierra sat down, her face animated. “Did you see that?” She leaned past his chest, one hand on his knee. “Mom! Wasn’t he great?”

Abbey was clapping with a proud-grandma smile on her face. “Oh, honey. He was just wonderful.”

Sierra squeezed Ross’s knee and grinned at him, her eyes sparkling, her face way too close to his. “Do you think he was fast enough to place?”

Ross nodded and tried to look away, but he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from hers. He managed to say, “I’d be surprised if he didn’t get at least a red ribbon.”

Sid dipped his head toward them. “That boy could join a rodeo.”

Sierra leaned across him again. “I haven’t served you a rutabaga yet, Sid Barrows, but if you mention rodeo to Braden, you’ll have them coming out your ears.”

That got a guffaw from the old man.

Ross cleared his throat as Sierra settled back into her seat and glanced at his watch. Only one more event to get through, and the coordinators were finally starting to set it up.

Sierra turned to him, her hand burning into his knee, her smile warm. “What are they doing now?”

Ross cleared his throat again and shifted on the seat, but her hand didn’t budge. “This is the trail course. The rider has to show that his horse will remain calm at each of the obstacles he comes to. They get points for how well they do.”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving his. “Oh.”

He broke eye contact and turned back to the ring, watching the setup, something he’d seen hundreds of times.

Braden was the fifth exhibitor. He walked Chance across the bridge and up to the mailbox. Chance stood quietly as Braden opened the box, removed the mail, waved it at the judge, and then returned it to the box. He jogged the horse over several poles, then tried to back Chance between four poles positioned in a difficult “L” shape, but Braden couldn’t get him to back right and the gray horse stepped over a pole.

Sierra started chewing her fingernail, a worried frown in her profile.

Braden zigzagged him beautifully between four cones. The only obstacle left was a freestanding gate.

Ross bent toward Sierra. “He’ll do a side pass, which will get Chance to stand still next to the gate so Braden can open it.”

But Chance wasn’t cooperating. The horse wanted to stop in front of the gate. When Braden clucked him forward, the horse kept going past it. Braden took him in a circle back to the gate. Again Chance stopped in front of it. Braden looked like he was squeezing his legs, but Chance wouldn’t move. Instead, he just reached his head forward, lifted his big hairy lips, and took the bolt between his teeth and slid it to the side, then nudged the gate open with his nose and walked through.

“No way!” Ross raised from his seat.
Chance opened the gate?
He swung toward Sierra, who stood next to him, hands over her mouth.

Sierra’s eyes laughed up at him over her hands. She socked him in the shoulder, then ran her knuckles down his sleeve. “And all this time, you blamed us!”

The crowd erupted in laughter as Braden looked toward the judge and shrugged his shoulders.

Sierra wrapped one arm around Ross’s waist and leaned into him, laughing. “Can you believe that, Ross?”

There were several things he couldn’t believe at that moment. But as a pair of big brown eyes slid from his, he decided he was going to find out why.

Sierra chewed her nail and followed the broad black-clad shoulders out of the stands. Ross had barely looked at her during the events. Maybe she’d misread
him
yesterday and the kiss was just an impulsive thank-you.

Ross stopped, his back solid and set as he spoke abruptly to her mother. “Can you watch the kids for a second, Abbey?”

“Sure. We’ll just walk Sid to the pickup.”

Ross took Sierra’s arm and rushed her ahead of her family, then outdoors around the side of the arena.

He stopped by a secluded corner of the building under an overhang, confusion and a hint of anger in his face. “What were you doing in there?”

“What do you mean?” She couldn’t look at him.

His voice was intense. “You know what I mean. It was like you were flirting.”

“I made a huge mistake, okay?” She felt like an utter fool. “I’m sorry, Ross. Can we just go—”

He looked perplexed. “
Were
you flirting with me?

“It was a lame attempt, but you don’t have to worry about it happening again.”

He took a step closer, his voice low. “Why, Sierra?”

She looked over his shoulder at a stand of trees, limbs bare and naked, exposed to the elements. Pretty much how she felt right at that minute. She cleared her throat and moved back a step, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I thought …”

He took a step closer. She was having a difficult time breathing. She stared down at the silver zipper of his jacket inches from her face. A gentle finger touched her cheekbone and moved down along her jaw. His thumb brushed back and forth across her chin. “Because when a woman flirts it usually means something.”

She kept staring at his coat zipper. “And what does it mean?”

“It means she’s interested.” A heartbeat of a pause. “Are you interested in me, Sierra?”

She lifted her gaze. His eyes were warm pools of chocolate that she wanted to melt into. “Very much.”

“Then I’m asking, Sierra.”

She tilted her face toward his. “Asking for what?”

“This.” He bent and his lips traced hers, whisper light, then stilled. “May I?”

She breathed the words into his mouth. “Yes.”

His lips moved gently over hers, then his arms drew her closer as he deepened the kiss.