Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (5 page)

Liv had that touch, the crucial elemental mix of gentle but firm direction, the soft
voice horses preferred. She’d helped his mother with the mares often as a teen. But
she wasn’t staying, and how awkward would it be to offer her a job on the ranch? She’d
laugh him out of the paddock.

“I can help while I’m here.”

Jack paused. Turned. When his eyes locked with hers, the solid ball that had been
his heart for too many years began to soften, making it easy and hard to breathe all
at once. “You wouldn’t mind?”

She looked off over his right shoulder, then drew her attention back his way. The
filly nickered and nosed Liv, as if pushing her to say yes. The horse’s action made
Liv smile and she looped an arm around the filly’s neck. “Do I get naming rights if
I sign on?”

Naming rights and more, but Jack had worked with skittish animals all his life, and
while Liv wasn’t an anxious foal, she had plenty of reason to doubt his good intentions,
so he’d go slow and easy. “Yup.”

“Deal.”

“Sweet.” He bumped knuckles with her as the bullhorn called folks to the sale arena.
“Let’s go in. Want coffee?”

“No. I’ll wait until we eat later. But thank you.”

“My pleasure.” And it was, he realized. As he followed her into the crowded ringside
seats, he developed a hearty appreciation for her well-fitted jeans and sassy boots.
Her tan Stetson, the same hat she’d worn years ago, still bore a tiny grease stain
from a barbecue they’d attended together as college sophomores, a great night of planning
for the future. A future he’d thrown away in a fit of anger. How stupid and childish
that seemed now.

Yes, he loved baseball. The game, the sport, the teamwork. But he should have been
more mature and accepting. Wasn’t that what Ethan had talked about last Monday? Accepting
what is and making the best of your situation to help others?

He’d done nothing like that eight years ago. In truth, he’d done nothing like that
since, either, other than helping his mother through her illness, but a thin surge
of energy seemed to be building inside him, making him think he could do anything
again.

“These seats okay?” Liv turned about halfway up the steps, and her look of amusement
said she’d caught him out. “Business, Jack. Not monkey business.”

He laughed, settled into the seat next to her, leaned back and folded his arms behind
his head. “Just thinking how fun it will be to have you back on the ranch, helping
with things. It’s been too long, Livvie. Way too long.”

* * *

Too long?

His words spiked her pulse and his gaze said he’d take things slow, but sitting there
with him, sorting horseflesh for the future of the Double M, the familiar sounds and
scents of the stockyard drew her in. She couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. And
yet she would be somewhere else soon. Her position in Helena had folded and they’d
given her a decent severance package, but she’d need a job and a place to live before
too long.

The auctioneer keyed his mike and began welcoming the crowd of buyers and sellers
as Liv considered her choices. For the moment, helping Jack, working on the town history
and hanging with horses was enough. More than enough. She’d face the job market Monday
morning, searching out possibilities on the internet, but that left her Saturday and
Sunday to enjoy ranch work, a nice respite from years of city living and an eight-by-eight
windowless cubicle. And when Jack successfully outbid other potential buyers for the
matched bay fillies and the gorgeous red stallion, she accompanied him around back
to finish the deal, heady with the thought of gathering the horses and heading home.

“Randy, hey.” Jack stuck out a hand to the rancher from northern Idaho and nodded
to the pair. “They’re beauties. Tell your mother they’ll be in good hands.”

“Tell her yourself, she’s right over there.” Randy Malcolm pointed beyond Liv. “She
rode along to grab a rescue on the way up. He’s in sorry shape, but she heard about
him on Facebook and decided he needed a new start.”

“Jack. Look.” Liv pointed to the horse facing them from the back of the Malcolm trailer.
“It’s—”

“He looks like Dillinger.” Jack stared hard at the faded, neglected image of his former
beloved buckskin, Liv’s favorite mount on the ranch.

“He does. Can we—?” She stared up at him, imploring, trying to read the look on his
face. He scrubbed a hand to the back of his neck and faced her direct. “You’re willing
to come work with him? Cater to him? He’ll need lots of time and care, sun and rest,
and we’re in August already.”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t sound so sure inside.”

“Well, I am now.” She set her jaw and folded her arms. “Go see Mrs. Malcolm and ask
if she’ll let us take him.”

“We’ll go see her.” He put the emphasis on the plural pronoun. “I can’t jump into
this alone, and if we mess that horse up Joy Malcolm will drive down from Idaho with
a switch to tan my hide. I like my hide just the way it is, thank you. So think hard
before we head over there.”

“I don’t have to think hard, I’ve made my decision.”

“Well, then.” An easy smile spread across Jack’s face, a look that said he’d just
won a battle. He extended a hand her way, a gesture that meant she was on board for
all that helping the horse entailed. “Welcome back to the Double M, little lady.”

She accepted his hand, shook once, hard and firm, but then didn’t squawk when he wrapped
his left hand around her right as they crossed the dusty lot to see Joy Malcolm about
a beat-up horse who needed tender loving care. Her hand felt right and good, melded
with his, and she’d worry about the whys and wherefores later. Because right now,
surrounded by horses, cowboys, trucks, trailers and hot August dust, she felt at peace.

“If we do this,” Jack said, nodding toward the horse tucked in the left fore side
of the Malcolms’ travel rig, “we’ll probably have to eat on the run. We’ll want to
get this guy home and tended without stopping.”

“Front-seat burgers work for me.” She didn’t hesitate as they approached Joy’s rig,
she simply let go of Jack’s hand and moved forward, ready to deal. “Mrs. Malcolm,
your rescue looks a lot like a horse I loved back in the day. Jack and I—” she indicated
Jack with a quick look his way “—would like to take him in, if at all possible. I’m
sure you—”

“Darlin’, if you’re tellin’ me that you and Jack can take this sorry animal and give
him a good home on the Double M, save your breath. I’m sold. I just couldn’t sit back
and ignore him, and I knew Randy was coming to auction. But I’ve got two grandchildren
and six foals on the way, plus cattle to ride herd on. I’m busy enough and maybe this
was just one of those things that was meant to be.”

“You’re sure?” Pleasure rose up within Liv. “You don’t mind us stepping in?”

“Not a bit, and we can load him right now with the fillies you bought. I was tempted
to keep them, such a nice pair, but Randy’s father reminded me that babies take time
and with two daughters due, I needed to pick my battles this year.”

“Thank you!” Liv reached out and hugged the older woman impulsively, wanting to say
so much more, but that would probably seem ridiculous to a staunch ranch wife like
Joy Malcolm.

The older woman surprised her by putting a hand on each side of Liv’s face, then smiling
down at her. “Years ago I found myself by working with a horse like this.” She shrugged
one shoulder toward the faded gelding. “It gave me time to think, time to pray and
time to court Randy’s father.” She smiled and released Liv’s cheeks with a little
pat to her shoulders. “I am often amazed by how God manages to plunk us right in the
middle of where we’re supposed to be when we least expect it, so yes. You take this
horse and love on him all you can before the weather turns sharp. Nothing like healing
together, young lady.”

Her words stirred something else inside Livvie, a truth she’d been unwilling to admit.

She needed healing. She needed peace. She needed to look in the mirror and not see
a loser who’d had two men run out on her. The fact that her ex-husband had already
remarried his extramarital girlfriend bit deep into her bruised ego. Tossing a baby
into the mix meant Billy hadn’t wasted any time and was perfectly willing to start
a family with someone.

Just not her.

The horse nickered softly as Joy guided him out of the trailer. His mild voice said,
“What now?” but as Liv ran a gentle hand down his neck, she whispered into his ear,
“Now we go home, my friend. Now we go home.”

She took the lead and walked the horse across the lot. Animal movement had stirred
the dust. Particulated Montana topsoil hazed the midday air.

Liv didn’t care. She walked the gelding into the trailer, placing him between the
mares. If the young stallion they loaded from the other side thought to kick up a
fuss, she wanted two steady, well-fed horses to let him know they weren’t impressed.
This malnourished fellow shouldn’t be put to the test today. Not until he had a few
weeks of TLC and food.

“We’re all set?” Jack asked as she settled the horse and closed the ramp.

“Good to go. Thanks for loading the girls, Randy.”

“My pleasure. And right back at ya’ for taking him off Mom’s hands. While we didn’t
need extra work, I couldn’t see letting him be put down. I’m grateful.”

“No.” Jack faced him, and stuck out a hand. “We are. Travel with care.”

“Will do. You, too.” They shook hands as Liv climbed into the front seat of the big
truck. She waved to the dashboard clock as she withdrew her phone. “There’s a great
burger joint about fifteen minutes out. I’m going to call and order food so we don’t
have to keep these guys waiting. I’m grabbing a mushroom Swiss burger and fries. How
about you?”

“Sounds perfect. Ask them to put ketchup, pickles and sweet relish on mine.”

“Done.” She found the number online, called in the order and settled into her seat
after scanning the trailer a quick look. “What a day.”

“Great. Wonderful. There are now four horses ready to call the Double M home. Including
your new project.”

She heard the emphasis on the pronoun, but wasn’t about to disagree. Her heart had
seized upon first seeing the horse and hadn’t let go yet. Maybe it was learning of
Dillinger’s demise. Maybe it was searching for times lost but never forgotten. Or
maybe she empathized with the horse, wanting them both healed and loved. That thought
touched a nerve, but she scuttled it and kept her voice bright with anticipation.
“I can’t wait to get him home, get him cleaned up. Feed him. Brush him. Talk to him.”

“You’ve got a knack, for sure. Always did have. The thing is...” His voice trailed
off and he looked uncertain.

“The thing is?”

“Are you wasting all those years of education being back here? There’s not much in
the way of work for someone with all those degrees, and you’re so smart, Livvie. Always
were.” Trouble tinged his tone, as if second-guessing way more than trailering a group
of horses home to a Montana ranch. “Will you feel like you’re wasting all that time
and money to help with a crowd of horses the next few months?”

His words made her pause, but then she shrugged. “I might have thought so the last
few years because I was caught up in my job. I poured myself into research work and
did well with it, but if I look back truthfully...” She drew a breath and turned to
see him more directly. “If you asked me then if I was happy, I’d have said yes. I
thought I was flying high, doing well. But looking back, I see it different and that’s
because I’m facing the truth about my life then. Clearly that’s easier at a distance.”

Jack’s grimace said he agreed.

“It will be a little crazy living at home, especially if Grandma and Grandpa move
in, but you know what, Jack?” She smiled when he spiked his right brow to show he
was listening. “I think I can be a help to them and my parents. I’m beginning to see
there’s more to life than hefty paychecks and bylines in university presses and museum
trade magazines. I forgot how nice this all is.” She waved a hand to include the rise
of mountains, the drought-touched fields, common in August, and the horse trailer
tugging along behind them. “So, no, I don’t think it’s a waste at all. Maybe, finally,
I’m growing up.”

* * *

Her words niggled that sore spot inside Jack. He’d had some growing up to do himself,
and he’d fought it, but sitting alongside Liv, trailering horses and grabbing front-seat
burgers, he felt as if he’d melded the old with the new into something wonderful.

Go slow. You messed with her head once. Treat her like you’ll treat that horse behind
you. Nice and gentle, with tender loving care. Horses and people who’ve been burned
spook easy.

Jack pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot and aligned the trailer beneath the
shade of a tall, mature tree. He hopped out of the driver’s seat, then turned. “Be
right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

Her smile assured him she wouldn’t, a smile he remembered well and couldn’t believe
how good it felt to see again. “I’ll be right here, cowboy.”

He tipped his brim and watched her smile deepen before heading inside. Their order
was ready, just as Liv planned. To some, that might seem to be a minor thing, letting
horses stand, trailered, while the owners ate.

Not to Livvie, and that said “rancher” all the way. She’d been gone a long time, yet
she still carried that indefinable “ranch first” mentality, a rare trait that said
she belonged in Big Sky country.

Seeing her sitting in the cab of the truck, busily adding to her electronic notes
when he came back through the restaurant door, his heart stretched open. She scrambled
to stow the notepad as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He handed off the bag and
grinned at how deftly she distributed the food, the drinks, not a motion wasted, treating
the front seat like a kitchen, cups here, napkins there, an old towel she’d found
behind the seat draped over her lap to avoid drips from a well-topped and messy burger.
He reached over and took her hand gently before they dived into the food.