Sweet and Wild (3 page)

“I promise I won’t do it again. What’s
my punishment?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.

Craig smiled. “Riding lessons. Mandatory
riding lessons. I want you on a horse at least five days a week.”

“With you?”

Craig sighed. He wished there were a
way, but unless he could find time at the end of the day, he wasn’t sure when
he could fit in the attention she needed to learn. Not until he found more
ranch help. “When I can.”

He looked around the barn area. At the
end of his late father-in-law’s life, the ranch was all but abandoned. Donald
hadn’t been able to keep up with the workload and couldn’t afford much help.
Since inheriting the ranch, Craig worked hard to get it back on its feet. Help
was at a premium. He couldn’t spare Fred. That left Hal, the old man who’d been
with the Hahn’s for over forty years.

“It’ll have to be Hal,” he said, forcing
the disappointment from his voice. Hal was competent and capable, knew horses
inside and out, but Hal lacked the compassion and patience to teach an
inexperienced girl.

“Hal? No.” Marisol’s tone didn’t mask
her disappointment.

“There’s no one else honey.”

“I want her.”

Craig swung his attention in the
direction of Marisol’s outstretched finger. His gaze landed on Quinn, who was
walking her horse around the yard.

“She doesn’t work for us. She works over
at the ranch next door.”

Marisol shot him a “yeah, I know that”
look and dropped her hand into her lap. “We can at least ask. You should’ve
seen her riding with no saddle and everything. She gave me a ride and I was
hardly scared, not even when she made her horse run.”

“Marisol—”

“If I’m going to have to ride, I want to
ride like her.”

Craig looked at his daughter and saw a
spark in her wide eyes, just what he’d been praying to see since arriving in
South Dakota. An interest in something related to this ranch.

His daughter had found a new hero, he
thought as he studied Quinn, walking under the glowing sun. She’d taken her hat
off and her dark chestnut hair glowed in the simmering sunshine. She had a
small, neat, but definitely feminine figure, clothed in a pale green fitted
blouse with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, displaying a golden tan. Faded
blue jeans hugged the gentle curve of her hips.

Damn. She’d gone and turned into a
woman.

“Please Dad, ask her.”

Craig pulled his attention away from
Quinn almost reluctantly and looked back at his daughter, who clutched his arm.
How could he resist when she gazed up at him with such big hazel eyes?

“Let’s give it a try. I can’t promise
you she’ll say yes. I don’t know what she does over there, or what her schedule
is like.”

He called out to Quinn and waved her
over. As she ran toward them at an easy gait an unexpected emotion reared its
head, something he hadn’t experienced since losing Elise to cancer two years
ago. Pure male attraction. It didn’t seem right. Quinn had been a kid when he
left Falstad. Now he admired her curves and the flash of her bright blue eyes.
Before he could start appreciating her face, Craig reminded himself not only
was she his old best friend’s little sister, she was Robby’s ex-girlfriend. All
those facts should’ve given this woman to off-limits status. Not without a
struggle, he took control of his senses and returned to business.

“Hey,” Quinn greeted, flashing a quick
grin at Craig before centering her attention on Marisol. “How are you doing?
Stiff from the ride?”

Marisol shook her head and smiled brightly.
“Nope. I had fun. Best part of my day.”

Quinn laughed. “Very cool.”

“Marisol enjoyed herself so much, in
fact, she’s ready to start riding lessons.”

“Awesome. You don’t know how happy I am
to hear that.”

Craig admired and appreciated Quinn’s
genuine enthusiasm.

“She has a question for you.”

Marisol took his hand, her attention
focused squarely on Quinn. “Can you give me riding lessons? Please? I think
you’re the best rider I’ve ever seen.”

Quinn laughed and looked from daughter
to father and back again. “Wow. Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Marisol confirmed.

“If your schedule permits, of course,”
Craig added in an attempt to simmer Marisol’s enthusiasm down while providing
Quinn with an out if she needed it.

“I’d be pleased to help you out,” Quinn
replied and settled on the step below Marisol. She turned to look up at her. “You
know, though, if you’re serious about this, you’re going to need to work hard.
I’ll expect it. At least four hours a week with me, more with your dad. Of
course, if he can’t get out for a ride with you, give me a call. There’s
nothing I like more than a good trail ride, and it would be nice to have a girl
to talk to. I’m pretty much surrounded by boys too.”

“I’ll do it, whatever you ask,” Marisol
promised. She tried to sound solemn, but excited energy bristled from her.

“At the end of the summer, if you’ve
worked extra hard, my brother holds an overnight trail ride for his guests.
Maybe you can join us, if your dad thinks you’re ready.”

Marisol clutched Craig’s arm even
tighter. He had to laugh. He hadn’t seen her this excited since she’d been
given permission to take dance classes three years ago.

“Why don’t you go inside so I can talk
to Quinn.”

She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek,
said goodbye to Quinn and went inside the house.

Quinn scooted up so she sat on the step
next to Craig. She gave him a crooked grin, the same winning smile he
remembered from way back when. Now he couldn’t associate it with a child. From
now on it would belong to a spirited young woman.

“I guess I should’ve asked before I
mentioned the trail ride,” she admitted.

“No, that’s all right. If it gives her
incentive to learn, I’m all for it. You sure you’re okay with this? We kind of
hit you out of the blue. If you can’t do it I’ll understand, and I’m sure she
will too.”

Quinn cocked her head to the side and
smiled. “Really, I’d love to,” she assured him. “I’m ready to start now. Well,
not this minute, but as soon as you’re ready. Do you have a horse for her?”

Craig considered the stock in the
paddocks. He didn’t know the five horses well enough yet, but none seemed
appropriate for the task.

“I was going to put her on my
father-in-law’s gelding. He’s old but reliable. Just not much spark”

“May I make a suggestion? Think about
buying a new horse for Marisol. It would be a good way for her to become more
invested in riding and the ranch.”

Craig nodded. She was a smart woman who
thought ahead.

“There’s a horse for sale over in Salem.
The owner is going to college in the fall and doesn’t want the horse to sit
around. She’s been doing barrel racing for years. The mare is well trained and
still has plenty of years in her.”

“I’d be willing to take a look at her.
If you’ll give me the phone number or name I’ll give them a call.”

“Or, I’ll take you over there.”

Craig chuckled. “Or you can take us over
there.”

A grin slid across Quinn’s face. Craig
liked it, full of confidence and good nature.

“Let me give Shelby a call. When’s a
good time?”

They spent the next few minutes
discussing the price for the horse, what Marisol needed for riding and what
Craig would pay her for her services.

“You mean I get paid for doing this? I
would’ve done it for fun,” she joked and Craig almost believed her.

They settled on a price and Quinn stood.
“They’re going to be sending a search party for me. I need to get back. I’ll
give you a call this evening after I talk to Shelby.”

Craig stood too, surprised at how much
better he felt since Quinn had ridden back into his life. For months he’d felt
a black cloud pressing down on him as he helped Marisol through the loss of
Elise. The move to South Dakota hadn’t been an easy one, but with one flash
everything looked like sunshine.

“Thank you. You don’t know what this
means to me. And to Marisol.”

“My pleasure.”

With a quick goodbye, she turned and
jumped down the steps to the stone walkway below and jogged back to her horse. She
mounted effortlessly, waved to him, and cantered out of the ranch yard toward
Long Knife Creek Ranch.

As soon as Quinn was out of sight,
Marisol burst through the front door and threw her arms around Craig’s waist.

“I’m going to get my own horse too?”

“You little spy,” Craig chuckled,
returning the embrace.

“You told me to go inside, but the
living room window is open. I couldn’t help it.”

It didn’t matter. In one afternoon his
daughter had transformed from a quiet child who didn’t even want to take a step
outside her house to one who couldn’t wait to take her first ride.

“Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you more than Cheese Doodles.”

Craig smiled. They’d played this game
since she was about five.

“I love you more than whoopie pies.”

Silently he thanked the young woman
who’d done this to his daughter when he hadn’t been able to.

***

“Where the hell have you been?”

The long afternoon, the tension of
searching for the missing girl, and the thrill of seeing Craig again caught up
with Quinn when she arrived back at Long Knife Creek Ranch. She had too much to
do to deal with Robby, but he stood in the middle of the big barn door, fists
on his trim hips, a scowl marring his handsome features.

“Over at the Shady H. Where do you think
I was?” she replied and tried to move past him into the barn.

He stepped in front of her, blocking her
passage.

“What?” This she didn’t need. Robby had
no right butting into her private life.

“You were gone a long time. What kept
you so long over there?”

Quinn took a step toward him so they
were only six inches apart. She had to look up to eye him. “You sure don’t look
like my father, so mind your own business and let me by.”

Without waiting for him to move, she
took a step to the right and led Piper into the barn, not caring if Robby moved
or not.

Damn Robby for deflating her mood. The
whole ride home she’d been on a high. She felt like a ten-year-old again, and
her beloved Craig had spoken to her. How silly. She’d grown up and, she
thought, out of that phase. The last thing she wanted to do was get her head
stuck in a pink schoolgirl cloud about him, or anyone.

She could, however, look forward to
teaching Marisol. The young girl’s enthusiasm was infectious and Quinn had a
feeling they’d get along great. She deserved a shot at falling in love with the
prairie. Craig did the best he could, but running a spread was hard work. She
would be more than glad to help. Besides, she thought, as Robby stalked toward
her, a bit of time away from Long Knife Creek might be what she needed.
Recreational opportunities were sparse and while she enjoyed hanging out with
the ranch hands some of the guests, sometimes she needed more.

“Seriously, you were there a long time.”

Quinn groaned and glared at Robby. “You
don’t take a hint do you? Fine, I had a long conversation with your brother and
his daughter.”

“About what?”

“None of your business.”

 “I remember you had such a crush on
him,” he said with accusation in his voice.

Quinn turned and stared at him long and
hard, her brows raised. She wanted to laugh.

“Please don’t tell me you’re jealous. I
was a little kid. I’m not friggin’ ten anymore.” Of course, she didn’t tell
Robby that when she’d seen Craig for the first time in fifteen years her
foremost thought had been how handsome he still was and her heart actually
pounded when she sat next to him on the front steps. She hadn’t expected that
reaction and had done her best to fight it off and carry on a normal
conversation. She wasn’t ten anymore and she wasn’t looking to lapse back into
that childhood crush.

“I’m not jealous,” Robby denied. “Why
should I be jealous of my own brother?”

Quinn didn’t like his tone of voice but
chose to ignore it just to get rid of him. “I have to get to work. Don’t you
have something to do elsewhere?”

“Yeah, you’re a little too moody to talk
to anyway,” he grumbled, and left her alone to finish brushing Piper.

For the next hour, Quinn concentrated on
feeding the stock and filling the water troughs. From behind the main house the
smell of barbeque and the sound of laughter rose in the evening air. She didn’t
seek out the company of the guests though she knew Jacob would be there. Robby
too, no doubt.

After locking up the feed room, she
walked outside. Twilight had settled over the eastern horizon. In the west, the
orange sun sat on the horizon like a discarded ball in the grass. It cast
everything in a molten copper glaze, but as the sky arched over Long Knife
Creek Ranch, it turned pinker and darker until it glowed an eerie purple,
flecked with glittering stars.