Montana Wrangler (5 page)

As she drove by the barn, through the wide open door she noticed a young man and Grandpa inside. Parking in front of the house, she grabbed Krissy's red tennis shoes, slipped them on and got out of the car. She left her high-heel pumps on the front seat.

The smell of hay and animals struck her as she walked into the barn. Several bales of hay were stacked by the open door. Nathan, a lanky twenty-something, hefted a bale and carried it inside.

Sitting to the side near the tack room, Grandpa was working on a saddle. She caught the scent of ammonia and saddle soap.

“Hi, Grandpa. How are you feeling?”

He glanced up at her. “I'm fine, child. How'd your trip to Kalispell go?”

“All right, I guess.”

“Kalispell is too citified for me.” Grandpa went back to rubbing the leather saddle. “All those people and cars make me nervous.”

She laughed. “I guess you won't be coming to visit me and Bryan in Seattle then.”

“Nope. Don't imagine so.”

She suppressed a sudden pang of dismay. Driving to Seattle on his own would be too far, too hard, for Grandpa.

He nodded. “It'll be quiet around here with both him and Krissy gone, that's for sure.”

She swallowed hard. She hadn't given any thought to how much Grandpa would miss Krissy and Bryan. He'd seemed so supportive of her becoming Bryan's guardian. She'd wanted to please him. Maybe the reality had finally sunk in.

“Did you have any lunch, Grandpa?”

“Yep. Jay made us a couple sandwiches.”

Grateful that Jay had looked out for Grandpa, she said, “I didn't take time to eat on the way home, so I'm going to find something for myself.”

“I could use a glass of iced tea, if you've got the time,” Grandpa said.

“Sure. I'll be back in a minute with a pitcherful. Nathan might want some, too.”

She walked out of the barn. Momentarily blinded by the bright sun, she bumped smack into the solid wall of Jay's chest.

“Hey, nice shoes,” he said, steadying her.

Heat rushed to her cheeks. Why in the world did he always show up out of nowhere? And why did she react with a strange quivering sensation deep inside?

She regained her footing and her mental equilibrium, and took a step away from him. “The shoes were Krissy's. They're a half size too big, but I had to do something.”

“Smart girl! Better than breaking your neck.” He thumbed his hat back. “So what happened in Kalispell?”

“They gave me a court date for the hearing about Bryan.”

His eyes narrowed. “When?”

She bristled at his sharp-edged tone. “Unfortunately, the soonest date they could give me is the end of next week. I think I'll go back to Seattle this Thursday. I'll be there for the medical conference at the hotel over the weekend, which will please my boss. I'll also be able to start setting things up for Bryan.”

“So you'll have what, four days this week to get to know him? Then you'll duck out and reappear just in time to drag him back to Seattle with you?”

“You were the one who said he shouldn't miss the last two weeks of school.” She pointed her chin at him. “Now you get your way and you're angry about it. Why's that?”

His blue-green eyes darkened to almost black. His jaw muscle jumped and his Adam's apple bounced.

“If you're going to have any kind of a relationship with that boy, you'd better spend every minute you can with him before you go off to Seattle.”

“Fine. I'd be happy to. But just how am I going to do that when he spends all of his time in the barn or stables or off somewhere on his horse?”

“Then I guess you're going to have to get up close and personal with his horse.” He squared his hat, gave her another hard look and strode past her into the barn.

She fumed. Had he forgotten her fear of horses? Or had he said that to point out what a terrible guardian she'd be for Bryan?

Well, forget that, Mr. High-and-Mighty. It might take some time and effort, but she and Bryan would be fine.

* * *

Jay snatched up a bridle that needed to be cleaned, grabbed a sponge and dipped it in the ammonia-laced water. That fool woman had no right to take Bryan away. He belonged here at Bear Lake Outfitters, not in some dinky condo in Seattle.

“You act like a man with a problem,” Grandpa Henry said.

Jay scrubbed the bridle to get rid of accumulated dirt and grime, a chore that needed doing once a week to all the tack to keep it in good shape.

“How come you're okay with Bryan moving to Seattle?” he asked.

Henry worked the saddle soap into the leather in slow, patient circles. “It's what Krissy thought was right. Paige was her sister. Family counts.”

“Yeah, but you're his great-grandfather. You're family.” Jay wasn't. Never could be. “He could've stayed here. Together we could've looked after him.”

“Guess when Krissy and me were talkin', it didn't occur to either of us that she'd actually die before I did. Before the boy was grown. That sure didn't seem real to me. Still doesn't.”

“If you had it to do over, would you have told her to pick Paige for Bryan's guardian?”

Setting his cleaning rag aside, Henry hefted the saddle, carried it into the tack room and set it in its floor stand.

“I didn't tell her. She decided. Don't much matter now, does it? What's done is done.”

Jay didn't particularly like that answer, but he didn't know what else he could do.

A few minutes later, Paige came sauntering into the barn carrying a tray with a pitcher of iced tea and three glasses.

Jay gaped at her. She was wearing jeans that were belted, emphasizing her slender waist and the slight swell of her hips. On her feet she wore scuffed cowboy boots. She might be a city girl, but in that outfit she looked like she belonged right here in Montana high country.

He shook the thought off. Jeans and boots didn't change a person on the inside.

“We still had a few cookies left,” she said, after filling the glasses with tea. She extended the plate of cookies to her grandfather. “Thought you might like them with your tea.”

Smiling, he selected an iced cookie. “That's thoughtful of you, child.”

She offered the cookies to Jay.

Leaning against the doorjamb of the tack room, he met her gaze as he leaned against the doorjamb of the tack room. The cookies weren't a peace offering. She was still mad at him. He saw the spark of determination in her eyes. In spite of himself, he admired her decisiveness. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

She delivered cookies to Nathan, who in his quiet fashion was sitting on a nearby bale of hay, and finally took one for herself. “I'll leave the rest of the cookies and the pitcher of tea for you. I have to call my boss, let him know that I'll be there for the—”

Bryan came running into the barn, home from school. “Hey, Grandpa. Jay. Guess what?” He spotted Paige and slid to a stop.

“Hi, Bryan. What's up?” she asked.

The boy glanced between Jay and his grandfather. “I was going to tell 'em that Game Day is gonna be this Friday.”

“That's great, son,” Grandpa said. “You can count on me being there.”

“Me, too,” Jay said.

A frown wrinkled Paige's forehead. “What's Game Day?”

“It's a school thing,” Jay explained. “They have races, tug-of-war...the classes compete against each other.”

“Yeah, and I'm one of the fastest guys in my class,” Bryan bragged. “I'm gonna beat Toby this year. I'm gonna win the baseball toss, too. You get medals and stuff for winning.”

“Wow, that sounds exciting,” Paige said. “I'd like to come cheer you on, too. Is that okay with you?”

Bryan twisted his lips. “Yeah, I guess so,” he mumbled.

Jay stepped away from the doorjamb. “I thought you had to be someplace else on Friday.”

She turned and looked him straight in the eye. “I can't think of anyplace in the world that I'd rather be than watching Bryan win a whole bunch of medals at Game Day.”

Mentally, Jay kicked himself. Looked like Paige was taking this getting-to-know-Bryan business seriously. Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut.

On second thought, implementing plan A would still work. Getting her to recognize how ill-suited she was to be the guardian of a boy who lives and breathes horses should be easy.

Except he suspected nothing about Paige was easy.

Chapter Five

T
hinking she'd one-upped Jay for a change, Paige turned to leave, then thought of a better idea.

“Are you hungry, Bryan? I saw some apples in the refrigerator if you'd like a snack. I could make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

Looking like he was going accept her offer, Bryan shrugged.

“You've got chores to do, kid,” Jay reminded him. “Bright Star's bridle and saddle need cleaning.”

“Yeah, I know. I'll do it after I eat somethin'.”

Smugly, Paige realized the way to a growing boy's heart was through his stomach.

Jay put his empty iced-tea glass on the tray. “Fine. Maybe your aunt Paige will help you clean Star's tack.”

Cocking her head, Paige went still for a moment trying to figure out what Jay was up to. “I guess I could do that,” she replied cautiously. “It's like polishing shoes and silverware, right?”

“Pretty much,” Jay said. “When you're done cleaning the tack, Bryan can teach you how to saddle his horse.”

“Huh? Me?” Bryan's expression went blank.

“Yeah, you. You're a whiz at saddling a horse, aren't you?”

“I guess.” Bryan shot a puzzled look in Paige's direction then headed out of the barn.

Paige's mouth went dry, and her heart lurched an extra beat, hard enough that she placed her hand on her chest to prevent its escape. A cold sweat crept down the back of her neck.

Saddling a horse meant getting close to the horse. Very close.

Smart-aleck, arrogant cowboy!
He'd boxed her into a corner. There was no way she could get out of his trap. She didn't want Bryan to think she was a wimp. Even if she was.

Jay picked up his cleaning cloth and winked at her before turning away to find another bridle to polish.

A primitive scream rose in her throat. She bit down hard to keep it locked inside.

Forget his macho cowboy ways. How his hat shadowed his eyes, making him seem mysterious. His broad shoulders. The way his lips quirked when he thought something was funny.

Someday she'd get back at Jay Red Elk for his sneaky tricks. She'd make him eat his words that she wasn't a suitable guardian for Bryan.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, per Bryan's instructions, Paige carried a decidedly smelly saddle blanket out of the barn. Bryan handled the saddle. Bright Star, a pretty blond horse, stood tied to a railing in the shade of the barn. He lifted his head at Bryan's approach and nickered. Bryan rested the saddle on the railing.

Paige halted several feet away.

“Okay, go ahead, Aunt Paige. Put the blanket on his back.”

Her knees rubbery, she took a tentative step forward but kept herself at arm's length. In her imagination, she saw herself as a child falling out of the saddle. The sudden pain when she'd landed. And the terror she'd felt when the horse nearly stepped on her.

She drew in a deep breath.

And tossed the blanket toward Bright Star.

The blanket bounced off the horse and slipped to the ground. Paige groaned.

Bright Star skittered sideways, his eyes wide.

Somewhere behind her she heard a choked laugh.
Jay's laugh!

“Aunt Paige!” With a disgusted look, Bryan walked right up to the horse, gave him a reassuring pat on his neck, and picked up the blanket. “You can't
throw
the blanket at him. You gotta put it on his back like this.” He demonstrated.

“Oh, I see.” Her voice quavered.

The boy pulled the blanket off. “Come on, try it again.” He held out the blanket to her.

“I...” She felt Jay watching her. Knew the smug expression she'd see if she turned around to look at him. “I'm sorry. I'm just a little nervous.”

“That's okay. I was kinda nervous the first time my mom put me on a horse.”

“How old were you?”

“I dunno. Three or four, I guess.”

She was thirty-two and had less courage than a three-year-old. Sweat edged down between her breasts. Her leg that had been broken so long ago started to ache, a phantom pain, at the thought of getting up close and personal with the horse.

Bracing herself, she took the blanket. Bryan held Bright Star by the halter.

With great care, she placed the blanket on the horse's back. He shifted from one foot to another, and Paige quickly stepped away.

Bryan scooted the blanket up a bit on Bright Star's neck. “Okay, now get the saddle. I already hooked up the stirrups and cinches so they'd be out of your way.”

She eyed the saddle. She'd managed to get the blanket on the horse. How hard could it be to put a saddle on top of the blanket?

Except she'd underestimated how heavy it was. Bryan was only twelve and pretty skinny, but he had hauled the saddle out here without any trouble.

As she struggled to carry the saddle, one of the stirrups came undone. She grabbed for it, juggling the awkward load in her arms and shoving it up onto her shoulder. With a grunt, she launched the saddle across Bright Star's back.

The blanket slid out from under the saddle and fell off to the other side. A stirrup whacked her in the face at the same time Bright Star kicked out with his rear legs.

Panic drove Paige backward. Her oversize boots slipped on something and she landed hard on her rear end.

Jay's male laughter burst from the barn, joined by Bryan's younger, high-pitched voice hooting and hollering at her expense.

Something snapped inside Paige. She scrambled to her feet and held up her hand like a crossing guard to stop Jay, who was hurrying toward her. Tears of embarrassment burned in her eyes. Fury scorched her cheeks.
Now he wants to help? Forget that!

“All right, cowboy.” She glared at Jay, who seemed to be trying hard not to laugh, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. Grandpa and Nathan were standing in the barn doorway, grinning like fools.

“I'd like to see you plan a reception for nine hundred doctors who scarf up hors d'oeuvres like popcorn because they're too cheap to buy their own dinner and their conference coordinator underestimated attendance by twenty percent. And that's after you've spent the whole afternoon rearranging their room assignments because they didn't want the morning sun to bother them or they'd brought their kids with them and hadn't bothered to mention that little detail when they made their reservation.”

“I'm sorry.” Tamping down his grin, Jay waved his hand as though he could silence her so easily. “Really, I didn't mean—”

“And in the middle of all that, some overweight doctor, who should know better, has a heart attack and you've got to clear the room, get the defibrillator out of the first aid room, call 9–1–1, then—”

“I know, I know. I'm sorry.” He wiped his hand across his mouth and blew out a breath.

“You put the saddle on backward, Aunt Paige,” Bryan announced, still laughing.

“That's enough, son,” Jay said, silencing the boy.

She whirled and narrowed her eyes. Sure enough, the saddle horn faced toward the rear of the horse. How in the world had she done that?

Jay came up beside her, looping his arm around her shoulders. “You're absolutely right. There's no way I could handle your job. I'd probably close the hotel down tight and send 'em all home.”

“Management wouldn't exactly approve of that,” she muttered.

“Yeah, I wouldn't last long, would I?”

His arm felt so right around her, his reassuring tone as comforting as a warm winter sweater, she almost forgot how mad she was at him for laughing. Almost!

And the truth was, she must have looked plain silly trying to get that saddle on backward.

“You want to try again, Aunt Paige?”

No!

“I think your aunt has had enough of horses for today,” Jay said. “You go ahead and saddle him up. Take him for a ride to calm him down.”

Bryan lost no time removing the misplaced saddle and scooping up the blanket to start over.

“I guess I'm a real dunce, aren't I?” she said.

“Nope. It was your first time. Anybody would be nervous.” The corners of his lips quivered.

Paige was pretty sure Jay had never been anxious or nervous about anything in his life, including rattlesnakes, mountain lions and going to his high school prom. She'd dreaded them all.

His arm still around her, Jay escorted Paige back into the barn.

“You all right, child?” Grandpa asked.

“Outside of making a complete fool of myself, I'm fine.”

“You got spunk, child. No doubt about that.”

She'd need a lot more than spunk to prove to Jay—and Bryan—that she was worthy of being anyone's guardian.

* * *

When Bryan came back from his ride, Jay had a talk with him.

“I know your aunt looked pretty funny with that saddle business,” he said as Bryan led Bright Star into his stall. “But we shouldn't laugh at people who make mistakes.”

The boy looked up at him. “You were laughing.”

“Yeah, I know. But I was trying really hard not to.” Which hadn't been easy. “And I'm going to apologize again at supper. Maybe you should too.”

Bryan scrunched up his face.

“She was trying because of you, son.”

“Because of me?”

“She really wants you to like her. She's trying real hard to get to know you.”

“Okay.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I'll tell her I'm sorry.”

“Good boy!” Jay gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

* * *

By the following morning, Jay had to hope Bryan had had better luck saying he was sorry than he had.

During dinner he had tried to apologize again. She'd wanted none of it. Nearly silent while they ate, she'd retreated to her room after cleaning up the kitchen.

She'd been equally quiet this morning, finally announcing that after Bryan left for school, she was going to the grocery store.

Now, as he and Nathan gathered horses in the corral for the morning trail ride, a flock of wild turkeys gobbled their way along the dirt road. A morning dove cooed from the top of the barn.

Paige wasn't the talkative kind like those silly turkeys. She was more like the dove, soft and innocent. Defenseless against the way Jay had set her up for failure trying to saddle Bright Star. He worried how he could to make it up to Paige for what he'd done. He shouldn't have pressed her so hard. He'd known she was scared.

Effectively throwing her into the deep end had been cruel. He was usually a better man than that. He imagined Annie would have given him what for if she'd been around.

Paige had torn into him, too, as rightly she should have. All riled up, she was a fiery, beautiful woman. No wonder Henry thought she had spunk.

So what had gotten into Jay? It wasn't Paige's fault Krissy had named her as Bryan's guardian.

Working next to Jay, Nathan hefted a saddle onto a mixed-breed gelding named Aladdin, a good trail horse who liked to be at the front of the pack.

“What kind of riders have we got this morning?” Nathan asked.

“It's two families, total of seven including three kids. One of them hasn't ridden before.”

“Hope none of 'em are as scared as Miss Barclay is,” the young wrangler commented. “That was sure funny how she got the saddle on backward. Never did see a thing like that before.” He chuckled. “If Bryan hadn't been hanging on, poor Bright Star would've taken off all the way to Moose Peak on his own.”

Jay grimaced. “It wasn't funny to Miss Barclay, so keep your chuckles to yourself.”

“Yes, sir.” Quickly sobering, Nathan pulled the front cinch up tight to hold the saddle in place.

“Let's saddle Peaches for the kid who hasn't ridden before.” Peaches was a pretty little paint with brown-and-white markings and a good disposition. Since Jay had been caring for Henry's string of horses, Peaches had put up with a lot of untrained riders and had never shown a bit of temper.

That was the horse he should've introduced to Paige. The gentle little mare wouldn't have intimidated her in the first place. At least if Jay had been there protecting Paige, helping her, going slow, she would've been okay.

He wondered if she'd be willing to try again, this time with him by her side.

* * *

Jay had the trail riders back to the stables by noon. There were lots of moans and groans as the inexperienced riders discovered they'd used muscles they hadn't known existed. But they were happy, particularly since they'd caught sight of a group of deer and had spotted a pair of ospreys putting the finishing touches on their nest high up in the snag of a cedar tree.

After seeing that the horses were watered, fed and cooled down, Jay went into the main house. Paige's car was out front, so he knew she was home.

He found her in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from Henry's lunch and her own. She had on one of Krissy's T-shirts, which hung loosely on her.

She glanced in Jay's direction. “I didn't know when you'd be back. I put a sandwich in the refrigerator for you, if you're hungry.”

He smiled, pleased she was at least speaking to him. “Thanks. I'm always hungry.” Opening the refrigerator, he found a covered plate with a ham sandwich, tomato and lettuce on the side.

“There's mustard if you want it. I didn't know—”

“I got it.” He held up the plastic container.

“Then you're all set.” She dried her hands on a paper towel and started toward the living room.

“Paige, wait. Sit and talk with me. Please.”

She halted and looked back over her shoulder, her expression wary.

“I really am sorry about what happened yesterday. And that I laughed. Can we call a truce?” He held up his hand, palm out.

When some of the tension went out of her shoulders, he gestured toward a chair at the table.

“We both care about Bryan and Grandpa, and want the best for them,” she said, sitting down and placing her delicate hands on the table. She fussed with her fingers as though checking her nail polish. “It seems to me we should be on the same side.”