Tying You Down (13 page)

She leaned into his touch. “Yes, I do plan on staying with my job. There really isn’t a lot to do in this town and I like it.”

He cupped the side of her face. “If you were my wife, I’d never let you work. I’d keep you home, ready for me.”

She blushed and he saw that his remark had registered with her. “If you were my wife…” Those words would stay with her and help guide her exactly where he wanted her. Ready to do anything for him.

Chapter 17

“It’s been forever since I’ve been on a horse.” Jo settled her hand on Silver’s neck, feeling the warmth of the mare’s skin through her fingertips and smelling the strong horse scent. The light gray Quarter horse swished her tail as she bobbed her head and turned slightly to look at Jo.

“Silver adores you as much as I do,” Tate said with a flash of a grin as the mare rubbed her head against Jo’s arm.

“She just wants the treats in my pocket.” Jo smiled as she withdrew the large horse pellets. Silver snuffled over Jo’s palm, the horse’s velvety nose tickling Jo’s fingers as the mare took the pellets. Jo laughed.

With a smile at Jo, Tate finished cinching the saddle on his palomino gelding, Ranger. He’d already saddled up Silver for Jo.

Breathing in the sweet, fresh, pine-scented air, Jo looked at the forest around them. They’d driven from the ranch to the Bradshaw Mountains, which were just southeast of Prescott. The truck had pulled a horse trailer with Silver and Ranger in it and they were now parked in an isolated spot off the road, fairly deep into the forest.

She looked down at the brown cowboy boots Megan, Tess’s sister, had loaned her—fortunately they wore the same sized shoe. The only boots Jo had in her closet were sexy ones not made for riding horses. Today Jo had dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved button-up shirt, along with a light windbreaker. Tate had told her it would be cool and she’d need long sleeves to protect her arms from branches as they rode the horses along trails in the mountains.

Tate had provided her with a straw western hat that looked new and fit her just right, and she wondered if he had bought it just for her. That, or it had belonged to another woman. But she refused to be jealous of anyone in his past, including that rude woman, Daphne.

Jo slipped her hand around Silver’s bridle, her fingers gripping the rough leather. “Are we ready to go?”

“Not yet.” Tate walked away from Ranger, past the horse trailer, and opened up the rear door of the truck’s king cab. He pulled out saddlebags, returned, settled them on Ranger, and secured the bags. “I promised you a homemade picnic lunch.”

“You sure did.” She waited for Tate to finish with the saddlebags and then he helped her mount Silver. As he did, he put his hand on her bottom in an intimate touch. “Hey.” She gave him a mock serious look when she was astride the big horse. “Watch the hands, mister.”

His teasing grin made her stomach flip-flop. “Believe me, I was watching exactly where my hands were.”

She shook her head but was smiling. “Men.”

He mounted Ranger and moved his gelding beside her mare. “How does it feel being back on a horse?”

Silver moved beneath Jo, shifting her stance. “Strangely comfortable.”

“Good.” He patted his own horse’s neck. “Need a quick tutorial as a reminder?”

“Please.” Jo nodded. “I haven’t ridden since I was eleven.”

“Silver’s a good horse and great for someone who hasn’t ridden for a while.” Tate went over the simple commands she would need to say and gave her instructions on how to use the reins, all of which felt familiar to her. Memories fell into place and she began to feel confident in her abilities to handle the horse.

When he was finished, Tate clicked his tongue and Ranger and Silver started down a trail. Tate led the way, guiding his horse around outcroppings of rocks, past bushes and piñon, juniper, and spruce trees. They had to dodge branches and Jo almost lost her hat twice. She was grateful for the long sleeves so that her arms didn’t get scratched, and the windbreaker kept out the chill air. Her cheeks were cool, but she still felt comfortable.

Silver had a smooth gait, even as she picked her way up a rocky trail. Still, Jo was certain she was going to be saddle-sore, her butt and legs sure to be aching come tomorrow.

As they rode, she thought about the relationship developing between her and Tate. Ever since her talk with Carrie, Jo hadn’t felt the same pressure or concerns that she’d had before. She liked being around Tate and wanted more of him.

Along the trail, they spooked a rabbit and a chipmunk. They also caught sight of a wild turkey. In the trees were a variety of birds, including a morning dove and a woodpecker.

They had ridden a good two and a half miles into the forest when they came to a clearing. Tufts of grass were at the center and aspen and spruce trees surrounded the large space. Large rocks and boulders were along one side and a fire pit was nearby, surrounded by rocks and cleared of grass for safety.

Tate gave a nod of approval. “This looks as good a place as any to eat some lunch.”

Jo nodded. “It’s pretty here.” She held her hand to her stomach. Some days were hard and some days weren’t as bad when it came to eating. Today was a hard day and she’d had to force herself to eat a breakfast bar to get some good nutrition into her body.

Tate dismounted and looped Ranger’s reins around a low-hanging juniper branch. He helped Jo down from Silver and tethered the horse next to the gelding.

From one of the saddlebags, Tate removed an old blanket and handed it to Jo. “Watch out for snakes that might be sunning themselves,” he said. “There are rattlesnakes here along with a lot of other snakes. Most are not poisonous.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She laid the blanket out on a snake-free patch of rough grass, the only grass in the clearing. He drew out an insulated bag and a thermos from the opposite saddlebag and carried them to the blanket.

“Uncle Ben’s sub sandwiches?” she said with a grin as he handed her a sandwich with the deli’s logo. “You cheated.”

He gave her a grin in return. “Uncle Ben’s are like homemade since he actually is my uncle.”

“Uh-huh.” She shook her head. Even as she smiled she held back a thread of fear. There was too much food. She couldn’t eat that much.

She took a deep breath and thought about the things she’d been taught in counseling. It was strange how she’d had her anorexia under control for years yet it was still something that felt like a day-to-day battle.

“I also snagged some cheesecake brownies.” Tate drew out the brownies and her stomach felt like a brick had settled in it.

“Looks wonderful.” She gave him a bright smile then looked away from the brownies and unwrapped the sub that was filled with turkey, ham, and beef, and everything on it. “This is certainly one big sandwich.”

“One hell of a good sandwich.” He grabbed the thermos and a couple of cups from the bag. “Iced tea to wash it down.”

Jo took small bites of her sandwich. It tasted really good and she let herself concentrate on that. Like she practiced with good nutrition, she chewed slowly and ate a reasonable amount so that she wouldn’t feel later on the desire to purge. The brownies were harder and she only nibbled at one then wrapped it back up in its plastic covering and pushed it away from her.

Tate studied her. “Is everything all right?”

She looked at him, feeling guilty like she’d just done something she shouldn’t have even though that wasn’t case. “I’m full.” She smiled. “The sandwich was great.”

“I’ve noticed you don’t ever eat a whole lot. You tend to pick at your meals. ” He looked her over. “You seem almost afraid of food.”

She stared at him. “I’m that transparent?”

He didn’t move his gaze from hers. “Call it intuition or something, but I just have a feeling there’s more to it than whether or not you’re hungry.”

She glanced away from him for a moment before looking back at him. “I’ve been battling anorexia since my modeling days.” She looked at her fingers. “If I hadn’t gone through counseling and treatment, I might not be alive today.”

When she looked up, his expression said his heart was breaking for that girl she’d been, and he waited for her to continue.

“I fought with it for years until I have a semblance of control over it.” She played with the end of her braid. “But it’s always there and something I struggle with day by day. A lot of the time I have to force myself to eat. And when I eat I have to block thoughts of purging everything that I ate.”

Tate took her hand and squeezed it. “You’ve been through hell with this, haven’t you.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “There’s a stigmatism to anorexia and it’s not something that’s easy to talk about.”

“Never think you have to be anything but yourself with me.” Tate spoke quietly. “If you’re struggling, you tell me. I’ll support you however you need it.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“You must have it under control,” he said. “You look healthy.”

She shrugged. “I have to work at it and I have to talk to myself in a more positive way about food and not constantly feel like I need to count calories.”

He studied her as she continued. “You’d think I wouldn’t have to battle the thoughts and actions that would lead me back to a place where I shouldn’t ever go again. I still have to work to keep myself from saying the mantra I’d tell myself all of the time to help myself not eat.”

He leaned forward, put his hand on her shoulder, and pulled himself toward her so that he could put his forehead against hers. “Just remember that I’m here for you for whatever reason. I mean it. Tell me if you need to talk. Tell me if you need anything at all. I want to be the person you talk with.”

“Thank you.” She swallowed. She’d never had a man who was so sincere in wanting to help her with anything at all, much less something as difficult and personal as this.

He gave her a kiss, his lips soft and caring against hers. “Do you need to talk some more?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Thank you for listening.” She offered him a smile. “What’s next?”

He returned her smile. “Ready to do a little more riding?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

They packed up the blanket and what was left over from lunch, and Tate put it all into the saddlebags.

Silver swished her tail but otherwise remained still as Tate helped Jo mount the mare. Tate mounted his own horse and then they were headed up the trail again.

About a half a mile further down the trail, they came to an overlook. They dismounted then leaned up against huge boulders and took in the gorgeous view of tree covered slopes and rocky mountain faces. It was steep and a little disorienting to Jo at first.

“I see something.” Tate stepped back and headed for Ranger. Tate drew a case containing a spotting scope from the same saddlebag the blanket was in. When he took the scope out of the bag, he leaned up against the boulder, bracing himself on the rock as he pointed the scope in the direction he thought he’d seen something.

“There she is.” He handed Jo the scope and kept it pointed in the direction he’d been looking. “Over there, across that slope is a bear. See where those rocks are that look like a face is carved into them?”

Jo looked through the scope and sighted the rocks. For a long moment she didn’t see anything moving. Tingles ran up and down her spine as she saw something move in the brush. Something big and black. As she stared, the bear stood up on its hind legs and sniffed the air, as if it knew it was being watched and wanted to know from which direction.

“The bear is beautiful.” Jo felt breathless with excitement as she spotted two smaller brown shapes. “She has cubs.” She lowered the scope and turned to Tate. “They’re adorable.”

He took the scope as she offered it to him and looked through it at the three bears.

After the bears had disappeared back into the forest, they continued leaning up against the rocks, looking for other forest creatures. They spotted a lone antelope and some deer as well as other, smaller animals.

“Ready to get back to the truck?” Tate asked. “We still have time to do a little target practice with the bows and arrows I brought.”

“I’ve never used a bow before.” Jo pushed away from the rocks, turned around and froze. “Uh, Tate?”

“Yeah?” He turned around and went still, too. “Don’t move,” he said as a skunk waddled across the trail.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she said under her breath.

The skunk took its time, but finally disappeared into some brush beside the trail.

Jo let out a sigh of relief. “Think it’s gone?”

“I think we’re safe as long as we don’t go near the bushes.” Tate took a step toward the horses. “The skunk probably feels safe where it’s at now.”

“At least it’s up the trail rather than in the direction we’re going.” Jo relaxed her tense muscles. “Last thing I think either of us wants is to get sprayed by a skunk.”

Tate nodded. “Or the horses.”

Jo smiled. “You’re right. These mountains are alive with wildlife. It is really amazing.”

It was a good three miles back to where they’d left the truck. After the horses were settled, Tate put down the tailgate of his truck and she saw that he had two bales of yellow hay. He climbed into the truck, grabbed a bale by the baling wire, and tossed it onto the ground. He then tossed out the other bale.

He stacked the pair a good distance away from the truck and horses then got out two bows and a quiver of arrows and set them on the tailgate before going to the bales and tacking a target onto them.

“I brought a smaller bow for you to use.” He handed her a simple bow made of glossy brown wood. “Mine’s harder to pull back and handle, and it has more power.”

She held the unfamiliar weapon he’d handed her and felt its weight.

Before he let her shoot at the target, he demonstrated how to use a bow with his own. He hit the target with his red-feathered arrows in a close grouping at and around the bulls eye.

“Show off.” She gave him a teasing look when he finished.

He grinned. “I’ve been doing this since my dad taught me as a kid.”

After he set his own bow aside and retrieved the arrows from the bale, he helped her nock an arrow with the smaller bow and sight the target. She found it hard to pull back the bowstring the first time around.