The Cowboy's Girl Next Door: A BWWM Cowboy Romance (6 page)

She’d won, and everything was going to be made right, even if Calliope turned out to be in foal. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for the health of her mare before returning the mug to the kitchen and returning to the task of unpacking.

Two hours later, she’d finished with the last box in her home office. She sat at the desk and swiveled the chair around to get a good look at her work. She’d repainted the walls a clean cream color. The furnishings were all dark wood, the seating covered in rich tan leather. She’d kept the original desk, a massive built-in that, with its accompanying bookcase and filing cabinets, took up an entire wall.

On the wall opposite, she’d placed two deep leather chairs, a small table, and a lamp. Pictures of her horses were waiting to be hung when she found the time. For now, she was satisfied that the books were on the shelves and the files all properly in their drawers. The house had finally been wired for satellite service, so she was able to start setting up her internet presence.

With the court case settled and her office space unpacked, she was finally starting to feel in control of her new home.

Her favorite part of the office was a long low leather couch she had placed beneath a large picture window. From it, she could see the stables and the pasture, and she put comfortable pillows and a blanket on it as well, for the nights she knew she would spend there reading. While her mother had arranged nearly every room in the home to her personal satisfaction, this room alone was Claire’s in its entirety. She got a fresh cup of coffee from the kitchen and returned to sit on the couch.

From the window, she could see an old red pickup truck sporting the Bar None symbol on its door. She wondered how Jess was getting on. The damage to the fence separating the properties was trivial, but he’d have to replace several large posts to fix Horatio’s work on the corral fencing.

Once that was done, he’d have to turn his attention to the barn, and while she didn’t know much about the process, she imagined it would take at least a week to tear down the old one and another to frame up the new. Two weeks. She could handle having him around for two weeks.

Of course, that would be just to frame the thing, she thought. All of the interior work would take longer, stretching the job well into the start of the summer months. Frustrated, she sank further into the sofa and tried to find some peace in the fact that once he’d started the work on the barn, he’d be far enough away from her activity at the stables. She could avoid him.

She didn’t understand why she was still so angry, but she was angry at his persistent pertinence. He assumed too much, was too charming, and made too many familiar remarks for her comfort, and the way he looked at her at the trial: she’d tried to ignore it, but she’d felt the burn of his eyes on her skin while the judge read the verdict, only finding relief when Halloram had called him out by name.

She could thank the judge for that, the verdict, and precious little else. The nerve of the old coot, implying that she was beneath his family! She’d ranted to her mother about it on the drive home, and Carmen agreed wholeheartedly.

She heard the click of her mother’s heels on the hardwood floor in the front of the house, then the slam of a door and the sound of her car starting in the driveway. Curious, she went through the hallway to the kitchen, only to find a picnic basket sitting on the table with a note in Carmen’s careful looping hand.

“Everybody’s got to eat, baby girl. I’ve made a nice lunch for you, Pauline, and that handsome gentleman. You’ll find the tea, sandwiches, and salad in the fridge. I told them you’d be bringing it down there around noon; I trust you won’t disappoint me. Taking the car to go into town for some new bath towels to replace those scraggly things you have. Home by suppertime.”

Claire crumpled the note in her fist. Her towels were NOT scraggly, and she was perfectly capable of feeding herself. Her mother knew that Pauline brought her own lunch every day. She groaned in frustration; she and Carmen were going to have a talk about her manipulations and assumptions later tonight.

Two hours to go before lunch. She kept herself busy in the house, first calling the vet to schedule an ultrasound the next week for Calliope. That settled, she set about labeling the shelves in the laundry room, then turned her attention to folding the load of “scraggly towels” she washed the night before.

By the time she put them away, it was ten minutes until noon. She changed into boots and jeans, put her hair up into a ponytail, packed the basket, and headed to the stables.

Pauline was glad to see her, and thanked her profusely for the treat as she spread an old quilt on the grass near the stables and started to unpack the lunch. Claire went off in search of Jess.

She went first to the fence along the creek dividing their properties, and noted that it was perfectly repaired and freshly painted. The man was clearly no slouch, and she appreciated the care he’d taken to replace the broken boards altogether, instead of just mending them.

Next, she walked back over to the stable and she could see that he was nearly done there, too, having neatly replaced three of the four broken rails. The final one was propped up along the fence, ready to be put in as soon as he was done with lunch, she guessed. Good: the less time he spent there, the better.

She returned to the quilt to find him seated next to Pauline, the two of them eagerly tucking into the iced tea and Carmen’s famous chicken salad sandwiches. They were laughing over some story from Pauline’s time at Bar None, and Claire felt a bit like an outsider as she joined them. She quietly took a sandwich and poured herself some of the tea while she listened to the story.

“Remember that one berry picking when Jasper bet Big Hank he could out-eat him?” Pauline laughed as she told the story and directed her attention to Claire. “The whole town was there for the picking, so we set the two of them down with a couple of gallons of berries.

“Lacey gave them 20 minutes on the clock, and when the time was up, Jasper had nearly gone through both gallons, while Big Hank was struggling to finish one. Of course, his hands and mouth were purple for days afterward, and it took him a whole year to work up the nerve to eat one more berry, but the look on Big Hank’s face when he realized he’d been out eaten by skinny old Jasper was worth it!” She laughed again and tore into another sandwich.

Claire liked Pauline a great deal. She was excellent with the horses and had a sweet simple disposition that suited Claire’s work style well. Given the current circumstances, she felt odd having hired someone from Bar None, but she was too pleased with the girl’s work to give it much thought. Besides, Heart’s Home was going to grow, and Pauline seemed eager to prove herself every bit as capable as Jasper.

Deciding to venture into the conversation, Claire asked, “So, what’s the story behind this berry picking? This some special event?”

Pauline was opening the fruit salad. “Didn’t your mama start that tradition, Jess?”

Jess nodded and swallowed before speaking. “Yep. Every May, around Memorial Day, we open the orchards to the public for a berry picking. Folks come from miles around, and they usually don’t leave until every bush and vine has been plucked clean. Over the last few years, Lacey has insisted on making it an event.”

“Oooh, yes!” Pauline exclaimed. “We put out a dance floor near the orchard and get a band. Last year she even brought in some guy from Jackson to put on a fireworks display.”

Her face darkened a bit. “It was beautiful, but Jasper wasn’t real happy when it was done. The noises really spooked the horses. Lacey wants him to train them to get used to the sounds, but I don’t think we’ll be repeating that exercise this year, at least.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that with my girls,” Claire said. “I made sure they were trained to hear loud noises.” She chuckled. “Part of city life, I suppose.” She turned to Jess, determined to make a peace offering. “Tell Jasper I’d be glad to help him with a training schedule for your herd. When I worked at Silver Stallion in Georgia, I did a lot of that sort of thing.”

Jess raised his eyebrows at her disclosure. Silver Stallion was the best equestrian center in the Southeast. She was full of surprises. “You show horses?”

Claire laughed. “No. I mean, I started to, when I was younger, but it was too expensive and not really my thing. I loved working with the horses and the riders, though, and I admire the amount of commitment and attention to detail it takes.” She took a drink of the tea. “After my first show, it just didn’t seem right for me.”

She could feel Jess’s eyes fixed on her, intent and searching. She dropped her head, suddenly finding the fruit salad extremely interesting. “So, this berry picking event. What do you charge?”

Jess shook his head. “Nothing. Free and open to the public.”

Claire head snapped up at the admission. “Why would you lose out on that revenue stream? I’ve heard the orchard is pretty extensive.”

“Oh, it is,” Jess replied. “But my mother insisted that we never charge the locals, and they are always welcome to come by on Saturdays to pick whatever they want from the orchards. The berry picking just signals the start of the season. They never seem to get even half of the crop, though, so we hire laborers to harvest the remaining berries, apples, and figs during the summer so that we can sell them at the Jackson farmer’s market.” He took another helping of the fruit. “Let me know when you want to see it, and we can ride over there. Strawberries are ripe for the picking right now.”

Pauline stood and brushed breadcrumbs from her jeans. “Time to get back to the girls. I have them in the west pasture today. You should come out and see them later; they’re having a ball with the pond out there.”

“I’ll be sure to do that. I’d like to take Thalia out later, too. Think she’s up to it today?”

“Definitely!” Pauline nodded. “If you ask me, they’re itching for some exploring, and, truth be told, some company. They’re used to being around a lot more horses.”

“Thanks, Pauline. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Claire waited until the girl had disappeared into the stable, then sighed, her fingers picking at a loose thread on the blanket. She needed to get moving on growing her herd, even if it was just a couple of working horses at a time.

“Pauline’s a good manager, and she knows her horses,” Jess said, “If she thinks your girls need some company…”

“Don’t you tell me my business!” Claire snapped. She immediately regretted her words and her tone, however. Jess looked crushed, like she’d slapped away the hand he’d only extended to help. She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

Jess pursed his lips and nodded. “Apology accepted.” He made ready to leave. “You know,” he said as he carefully folded the napkin inside the paper plate, “I can’t change what happened, and I want to make things right. We’re neighbors now, and I’d really like it if we can get over this thing that’s happened and try to be friendly.”

He stood and Claire watched him walk over to dispose of the trash. His back was straight, and she immediately understood how proud he was, and she wondered why he’d been so quick to accept a public punishment designed to take away some of that pride. She was lost in that thought when he returned to the blanket.

“I’m gonna finish up your fence and head back home. Tomorrow the crew will arrive to start tearing down the barn. Thanks for the lunch.”

With that, he was gone, and Claire stared at the old quilt, thinking about how its colors and shapes, unique on their own, blended to form a cohesive whole. Jess was right: they needed to move past this. She needed to move past this. Determined to be better, she rose and ran after him.

“Jess! Wait!”

He stopped and turned, a blank look on his face as he waited for her to catch up with him. His heart was pounding at the sight of her running toward him, but he tempered his emotions, not knowing if he was in for an epic scolding or an offer of peace.

Her eyes were shining, and she extended her hand in friendship. “When you’re finished, and when Thalia’s saddled to go, I’d love to see your orchards. Would that be a good step toward a fresh start?”

He took her hand, grinning as he shook it vigorously. “Yes, my lady, a very good beginning.” He tipped his hat to her and continued on his way.