Roping the Rancher (Harlequin American Romance) (9 page)

Chapter Seven

Colt walked into the barn and heard the tail end of his daughter’s conversation with Stacy.
The last thing I ever said to her was what a terrible mother she was and that I hated her. Then she died in a car accident.

His daughter’s words sliced through him. He’d never known about Jess’s last conversation with her mother. She’d been carrying so much guilt, and he’d been clueless. He almost charged forward, but then Stacy’s words stopped him.
It wasn’t your fault she left.
He could tell Jess all day long not to feel guilty, but she needed to hear that from someone else.

As he listened to Stacy talk to Jess he realized for someone who lived in Hollywood where honesty and being real could be deadly to a career, Stacy did a damn fine job dealing with Jess. Unless this was an Oscar-worthy performance, Stacy truly cared about his daughter.

He and his daughter had both kept secrets. The day before Lynn died she’d called him, too. Things weren’t going so well with her lover now that they were playing house. She thought she’d made a mistake. Could she come home?

His first reaction had been to tell her hell, no, he wouldn’t take her back, but then he thought about Jess, and he changed his mind. Instead he told Lynn he’d think about what she said and call her in a couple of days, but he never got the chance.

He’d often wondered if he’d told her she could come home would she still be alive. Even if their relationship hadn’t worked out, Jess would have her mother. His fear of getting hurt again, of looking like a fool robbed his daughter of that opportunity.

And now she was protecting him.

All I can ever see between us is friendship.

His male pride stung knowing that Stacy could so easily dump him into friends-only status, but that was for the best. Considering what Lynn leaving had done to Jess, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to bring another woman into her life. Maybe once she went off to college he could find someone to share some time with, but not now. He wouldn’t risk Jess getting attached and getting hurt if his relationship fell apart.

If Jess wasn’t attached to Stacy before today, she probably was now.

He shut the barn door hard enough to alert Jess and Stacy to his presence. “You ready to get started on your training?”

“Absolutely.” Stacy posed and pointed to her boots. “See, I remembered to get boots.”

Gazing at her standing there in jeans, a simple white blouse and cowboy boots—not fancy ones with lots of color and handwork like he’d expect her to wear, but simple sturdy ones—got his motor running. She looked so blasted cute and proud of herself. Standing there before him she looked so right here, her bright smile lighting up the barn.

Keeping his mind on business was so much easier when she wore fancy rhinestone jeans, an expensive silk blouse and those skinny little heels. Then it was easy to remember she belonged in California. Now, not so much.

He smiled at the memory of the strappy heels she’d worn. Those weren’t so bad. They had a way of making her hips sway in a way that mesmerized a man. He swallowed hard.

“It’s good to know you can follow directions.”

Her bright smile faded, and damned if he didn’t feel as if he’d stolen a kid’s Halloween candy.

“I think she looks great,” Jess said. Then her cell phone rang. When his daughter stepped away to answer the call, he and Stacy stared at each other for a minute, before he said, “You ready to get started?”

“No, but let’s get going anyway.”

“Ryan’s on the phone,” Jess said when she returned. “He and I talked about the volunteer work I do at Aunt Avery’s shelter, and he wants to go with me for my shift today. Is that okay with you, Stacy?”

“It’s fine with me if your dad doesn’t mind waiting to start my training until I get Ryan and drop him off.”

“You don’t need to take him to the shelter. My aunt’s picking me up, and we’ll just swing by and get him.”

After Jess went outside to wait for her aunt, Colt said, “We’ll work with Babe. She’s a sweet little Haflinger cross pony we use with young riders.”

“I’m not sure I can do this. I couldn’t sleep last night because of the nightmares.”

“I think it was Mark Twain who said, ‘Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.’ We’ll start slow.” He led her down the row of stalls. “Weird noises, or loud, excited voices can make the horses nervous. Keep your movements slow and deliberate.”

They stopped at a stall about halfway down a long hall. “Hey, Babe. Come here and show Stacy what a sweet girl you are.”

The pony trotted over to the bars. He rubbed the golden animal’s head. “There isn’t a horse that doesn’t like having its head caressed. Come here and give it a try.”

Stacy shook her head, her eyes wide, her chest rising and falling with her rapid breathing. He stepped away from the horse and moved closer to Stacy. “Relax. Breathe with me.”

His gaze locked with hers as he breathed deeply and evenly, until she started calming down. “She’s still in the stall. The bars on the door and windows are sturdy, and I’m here. Nothing is going to happen.”

“You promise?”

The words hung between them. He couldn’t do anything but nod. Hell, he could barely breathe.

She turned away from him and inched forward toward the stall. He scooted closer, needing to offer support. Her delicate fragrance teased his senses. She always smelled like the bouquet of spring flowers his mom used to put in a recycled can vase he made her in first grade art class. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “Talk to her.”

“Hi.” She reached out, her hand shaking. The horse whinnied, and she jumped back, bumping into him. His arms wrapped around her waist to steady her. Physical awareness slammed into him, strong and potent.

He released her as if he’d grabbed a barbed wire fence.
Get yourself under control. You’re not a horny teenager.

No, just horny.

Abstinence was going to kill him.

Lord, don’t think about that.

What was he doing? Oh, yeah, getting her comfortable with the pony. “Babe was just saying hello. See how her ears are forward, but relaxed?”

“If you say so.”

“That just means she’s interested in what’s in front of her. You’re someone new and she’s curious. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

At least for her. Him, he wasn’t so sure of. His body was running hotter than a thoroughbred after a mile run. “Talk to her like you would a friend.”

She inched forward, a look on her face as though she was heading to the dentist for a root canal, but damn, the woman had guts. For him that was far more intoxicating than her beauty. Looks faded. Character lasted.

“Hi, Babe. I’m Stacy. Go easy on me. I’m a little nervous.” This time when she reached out, she rubbed Babe’s forehead. The animal leaned into her, and she relaxed.

“See, she won’t bite your arm off.”

“That’s good to know.”

“If you’re good to a horse, he’ll be your friend for life. They’re pretty easy to please.”

Just like me.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a carrot. “Give her this.”

Stacy stared over her shoulder at him. “I don’t know. You sure she won’t bite?”

Babe wouldn’t, but he wasn’t so sure about him. The urge to nibble on that spot on her graceful neck where her pulse throbbed as fast as hummingbird wings nearly overwhelmed him.

Instead, he placed the vegetable in her hand and then covered her hand with his. He stood beside her as they held the treat out to Babe, who snatched up the carrot.

“If you’re anxious about working with a horse, it never hurts to bring a treat.”

“I’ll stop at the grocery store on my way home.”

He let go of her hand, and stepped away. Friends. Remember? That’s what she wanted to be. That’s where he needed her to stay—safely in the friendship zone. He cleared his throat and returned to why she’d come today—her training. “Because of your issues, we won’t have you do anything to get the horse ready for the lessons. I’ll take care of that. I want you to feel comfortable around the animals, but your job during therapy will be to help Ryan with his balance and reinforce instructions. You’ll walk beside Ryan. If you sense he’s struggling with his balance, you place a hand on his ankle or his belt until he’s steadier.”

Before he could say anything further, her phone rang. She grabbed her cell out of her back pocket. “I should check and make sure it’s not Ryan.”

Colt nodded. “We’ll take a short break.”

Maybe then he could cool off. He almost laughed. Cool off? Only if he took a second cold shower.

* * *

S
TACY
’
S
HEART
SANK
when she glanced at her phone after Colt walked away. Her mother. She considered letting the call go to voice mail, but Andrea would keep calling until she answered. Better to deal with whatever molehill her mother had turned into Mount Everest as quickly as possible. “Mom, this isn’t a good time. Can I call you back later tonight?”

“This can’t wait.” Her mother’s high-pitched, frantic voice jumped across the phone line. Stacy closed her eyes and sighed. Nothing ever could with Andrea.

“There’s water all over the garage. I don’t know what’s wrong or what to do.”

“Can’t Grant help you take care of it?”

“He’s at a friend’s running lines to prepare for the audition he has on Monday. I can’t bother him. He needs to focus all his energy on that. You have to help me. Now the water’s starting to come into the den. It’s going to flood the whole house. I know it. It’s going to ruin all the furniture. What should I do?”

“First of all, you need to shut off the water. Get a screwdriver and a wrench. The box to shut off the water is in front of the house by the sidewalk. Use the screwdriver to take the lid off the water box. Then use the wrench to turn the brass knob—”

“I can’t do that.” Andrea’s voice skipped up another level in pitch. Stacy guessed one notch from hysterical. “I don’t know where the tools are or what a wrench looks like. I need someone to help me. You’ve got to do something!”

How could any person be so helpless?

“Mother, there’s nothing I can do from here in Colorado.”

“Don’t yell at me!”

She wasn’t yelling. Her mom always accused Stacy of that when she didn’t do exactly what Andrea wanted or became the least bit forceful. Stacy counted to ten and vowed to keep her voice emotionless. “Ask one of the neighbors to help you shut off the water. If you can’t find one of them, call the plumber. Tell him you can’t shut off the water and you need him to come to the house as soon as possible.”

She refused to think about what an emergency “drop everything and come right now” fee would be as Colt returned. “I’ve got to go.”

“I don’t know where the plumber’s number is.”

“I’ll send it to you.” Then she ended the call before her mother could ask her to call the plumber for her. After she texted the phone number to Andrea, she turned off her phone’s ringer and shoved it in her back pocket.

“Problems?” Colt asked.

Just the same old, same old. My mother can’t cope with the smallest problems and wants me to take care of everything.

“My mom’s got water all over the garage, and expects me to fix everything for her from here.”

“All she needs to do is shut off the water and call a plumber.”

“That’s what I told her, but from the way she reacted you’d think I asked her to build a nuclear reactor.” Stacy rubbed her temples in an attempt to ease her pounding headache.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Her mother would have deal with the problem on her own.

“Your butt’s buzzing.”

“I know. At least I’ll get a good minimassage from all her calls.”

“You aren’t going to answer?”

Guilt tickled her conscience. She could give the plumber a quick call, but then irritation kicked in. Her mother could make a simple phone call and deal with the plumber. “No, I’m not going to talk to her right now.”

“Good for you. Sometimes you have to be tough. If I did everything for my daughter she’d never learn to stand on her own. Sounds like your mom needs to deal with the water problem or learn to swim.”

His validating words lifted the brick off her chest. She wasn’t being the worst daughter ever by expecting her mother to deal with this problem. “You’re absolutely right. Thank you.” Her phone vibrated again. “What’s next on the training schedule?”

“Now comes the big test. We’re going into the stall. I’ll get Babe bridled and then you’ll lead her to the arena.”

Her stomach plummeted. “You said all I’d have to do was walk beside and help Ryan.”

“Which means you will actually
have to stand beside
the horse.” He started to walk toward the stall, then stopped and glanced over his shoulder at her. She couldn’t move.

“You want me to go in a closed space with a horse?”

His gaze softened as he returned to her. When he stopped in front of her she couldn’t breathe. The confidence in his eyes reached out to her. Confidence in her, but not in the way Andrea looked at her as though she’d do whatever needed to be done. The look in Colt’s eyes was different. He believed in
her.

“Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

This time when he headed toward Babe’s stall, she followed. Once inside, she scooted to a corner as far away from the pony as possible.

“You stay there until you feel comfortable. There’s nothing to worry about. Babe’s a sweet girl.” He patted the animal’s neck. “I can’t believe you’re starring in a movie about women who own a horse ranch. Won’t your fear of horses be a problem?”

“I was worried about that until I read the script. My character doesn’t have any scenes where she needs to ride. Of course things can change, but when I auditioned for the role, I told Maggie about my issues. She said she didn’t think it would be a problem, but if it was, we’d work through it.”

“That’s another reason why you need to get more comfortable around horses. Your character will be more believable if you don’t break into a cold sweat when a horse is within ten feet of you.”