What a Man Needs (4 page)

Cyndi let out a breath. “When I was six, my dad took us to his family's farm in Missouri. He thought it was time that I learned to ride. All I can remember was that the horse was huge, but my dad still put me in the saddle. I begged him to take me off. He told me not to be a baby. The animal started moving sideways and I screamed when I lost control and ended up falling off. I broke my leg…and ruined the family vacation.”

“I'd say your dad was a fool. Sounds like the horse wasn't used to kids.” He went to the gate and rubbed the mare's nose. “Daisy isn't like that. She's the sweetest animal here. All my sisters learned to ride on her. Isn't that so, sweetie?” He crooned to the horse, but when he glanced at Cyndi she didn't looked convinced. “Look, I'm not going to force you to do anything. Maybe you're not ready to get on a horse today. The first step is to get used to your mount. So come here and just pet Daisy.”

Surprisingly Cyndi did as he asked, came closer and reached out a shaky hand. Patrick took her sweaty palm and placed it against Daisy's fore
head. The animal obviously welcomed the attention. “See, she likes it.”

Cyndi smiled and Patrick felt it all the way to his toes as she continued the stroking.

“You're such a pretty horse,” she said.

Daisy bobbed her head and they both laughed.

“I'd suggest you take this slow, but you only have ten days. Now, I have no idea what horses they'll be using in the movie, but if you learn what to
do
and what
not
to do around a horse, that should help you.”

Cyndi nodded. “At this point, anything would help me.”

“You have to know that animals sense your fear, but a little respect is a good thing. As you mentioned, horses are a lot bigger than we are. I've trained all the horses on the ranch and I've never raised a hand or a whip to any of them. I find they respond better to a gentle touch and my voice.”

Cynthia already knew firsthand about Patrick's gentle touch. She blinked away the memory and turned back to Daisy. “I can do that.”

“Good,” he said, then smiled. “For the next ten days the two of you are going to spend a lot of time together. You'll be Daisy's sole caretaker. You'll not only be riding her, you'll feed her, groom her and clean her stall.” His blue eyes locked with
hers. “If you can't handle that, now is the time to let me know.”

Cynthia knew he was giving her a chance to quit. Not to say she hadn't thought a lot about it during the night. She could walk away, go back to Hollywood and find another movie. No! She wanted this one. She wanted the role in
Cheyenne.

“Show me what to do.”

“First, you and Daisy need to get familiar with each other. She has to get used to your voice, your commands. You two need to become friends.”

Cynthia followed Patrick to a room at the end of the barn. Inside, the scent of leather and polish was overwhelming but pleasant. She glanced around at the dozens of saddles atop sawhorses, and walls lined with bridles and halters.

“Later on you'll come in here to get Daisy's tack, so you're going to have to know where to put everything back where it belongs.” He took a leather halter from a hook, then went to one of the saddles with beautiful hand tooling. “When the time comes, this will be the saddle you'll use. And you have to be strong enough to get it on Daisy.”

She nodded, then followed Patrick back to Dai
sy's stall. He opened the gate and went inside. He ran his hand over the horse, speaking softly as he examined her, then slipped the harness on. “Watch how I'm doing this because tomorrow I'm going to expect you to be able to handle it.”

“What if I can't?” she asked.

He stopped what he was doing and studied her a moment. “If I didn't think you could do this, I never would've considered taking you on.”

 

“You're doing just fine,” Patrick said as he watched Cyndi lead Daisy around the corral. He could see her uneasiness, but she was toughing it out and doing everything he'd asked of her. The old mare was a trouper, too. She could put up with nearly anything as long as she got some attention.

“Talk to her,” Patrick coaxed. “Daisy will respond to your voice.”

It was then he suddenly realized his mistake as he watched Daisy nudge her head against Cyndi's back, pushing her forward. Before Patrick could react, the horse had nudged her again. Cyndi kept moving away but the horse came after her.

“Patrick!”

He grabbed the reins. “Whoa, girl,” he com
manded the horse, then putting himself between Daisy and the frightened Cyndi, he calmed her. “It's okay, Cyn. She's just looking for her treat.”

The redhead looked confused. “Treat?”

“An apple, a carrot. It's my fault.” With Cyndi gripping his arm, he looked toward the barn. “Hey, Forest! Bring me a few apples from the bin.”

Cyndi started to move away, but he held her against him. Damn, she felt good. “No, you're not going anywhere. Daisy may have gotten a little excited, but you need to learn to handle it. If you run away now, you're only feeding your fears.”

Cyndi nodded. “Okay.”

“That's my girl.” He couldn't help but smile at her grit.

Just then the foreman came out with the apples and handed one to Cyndi. Forest grinned at her. “I take it Daisy let you know you forgot something.”

Patrick held Daisy away from the treat. “Put an apple in your palm and hold it out to her.”

Cyndi did as he asked and Daisy politely took what she offered. “I did it.” She giggled as if she had done some incredible task.

Patrick found himself smiling again. He glanced over at Forest, who cocked an eyebrow, then walked away. “Just so you know, there is an
apple bin in the barn,” Patrick said. “So tomorrow bring one with you and you can give it to her.” He rubbed the horse's nose and fed her the other apple. “Daisy's my special girl. After our parents died, we had to sell off most of the stock, but I managed to keep her.” The horse bobbed her head up and down, knowing he was talking about her.

“I think she knows you love her,” she spoke softly. “Thank you for letting me learn with her.” She surprised him and began to stroke the horse, then took the reins from him. With a tug, she and Daisy started around the corral again, and all the while Cyndi spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

He released a frustrated breath. Her voice was anything but calming him.

 

An hour later Cynthia was busy doing the tasks that she would be expected to do during her stay at the Tanner Ranch.

Cynthia found she was a little disappointed that she wasn't going to get to ride today. Patrick had said that she needed to know her mount, so he'd tied Daisy to the post in the barn and showed her how to brush the horse.

She wiped the sweat from her face as she worked the currycomb over the horse's hindquar
ters, leaving a shine on the buckskin coat. All she knew was this was the best workout in the world.

She definitely could bypass her exercise routine tonight, but she wouldn't forget to apply her NoWait oil. For the past two weeks she had religiously been applying the homeopathic oil behind each ear. She'd lost a few pounds, but mainly she had noticed she'd developed more muscle tone, a good thing since she was going to use those muscles while riding.

Forest walked by. “How are you doing?” he asked as he paused to talk with her.

She smiled at the friendly foreman with the warm hazel eyes. “Not too bad. Daisy and I are getting to know each other.”

The horse continued to eat her oats from the feeding trough.

Forest ran a hand over the animal's rump and gave it a friendly pat. “Daisy's a good old girl. The kids love her.”

Cynthia was confused. Was he talking about Patrick's sisters? “What kids?”

Before Forest could answer, she heard Patrick's voice. They both turned to see him, completely covered in mud from his face to his boots. “It's nice that all the chores are done so you can stand around and visit,” he said.

“What the hell happened to you?” Forest asked, fighting laughter.

“Let's just say I tangled with a not-so-agreeable steer,” Patrick grumbled. “I could have used your help out in the pen.”

“Hey, you didn't ask.”

Patrick glared at Cynthia, making her feel as though she was the problem. “Did you want me to help?” she asked.

“Sure. Think you can hold down a yearling calf so I can inoculate him?”

“I can try,” she offered. She found she was curious about the workings of the ranch.

“That's all I need, for you to get kicked or worse. You better stay with Daisy.” Patrick turned back to Forest. “I'll get the syringe and meet you out in the pen.” He stalked off.

“Guess I'd better get back to work. Pat's irritated enough. I don't want to push him any further by talking with you.”

“I didn't know I was off-limits.”

Forest shook his head. “The next week is going to be interesting. See you later.”

Cynthia went back to brushing the horse's camel-colored coat. “Oh, Daisy, will we ever understand why men act the way they do?” She brushed harder and the horse shifted sideways. “Sorry.”

Once she'd learned that the man she'd spent the night with would be her riding instructor, she never should have agreed to stay here. Even though they'd said they would keep it business, she had already allowed Patrick to kiss her. And to tell the truth, she wanted to do a whole lot more than share a few kisses. That was her problem. Her desire for the man had her thinking X-rated thoughts. Her skin suddenly turned warm. Oh, yes, she was hot for the man. She continued to brush, hoping to distract the direction of her thoughts.

Around noon, a filthy dirty Cynthia walked to the house. She had groomed and fed her horse, and even worse, cleaned out the stall. She didn't care where Patrick had gone; all she knew was she needed a break.

In the bathroom she stripped off her clothes and took a quick shower, then came downstairs to start lunch. There were plenty of leftovers and she made herself a roast beef sandwich. Not forgetting about Patrick, she made him up a couple, and added two more to the stack for Forest. If they didn't show up, she could take them down to the barn.

Just then the two men walked through the back door. She noticed that Patrick had removed his soiled shirt, leaving his white T-shirt stretched
across his broad chest. He stopped on seeing that she had fixed them lunch.

She set the table, then poured them all glasses of milk. She found a bag of chips and set it out.

“Hey, this is great,” Forest said. “Thanks, Cyndi.”

“You don't have to do this,” Patrick finally spoke.

She shrugged. “It's not a big deal to make a few sandwiches.” Both men went to the kitchen sink to wash up, while she pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Hey, I appreciate your effort,” Forest said. “Peanut butter and jelly gets old.”

“Well, you'll have to thank Nora. She's the one who made the roast last night.”

Forest dried his hands on the towel and sat down at the table across from her. “Is she coming back tonight?”

Patrick pulled out a chair. “Nora does have a job.”

Forest's gaze went to Cynthia. “I know. She works for your sister, Kelly. The lawyer. Right?”

She nodded, noticing his subtle interest. “Yes, she has a practice in Portland.”

The foreman shook his head. “Beauty and brains, not to mention guts, all in the same family.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

Forest took a drink of milk. “Because you both have demanding and successful careers.”

She didn't want to go into her lack of movie roles the past few years. “I've been lucky.”

He smiled and tiny lines appeared around his eyes. “Don't sell yourself short, Cyndi. Your talent has had a lot to do with it.”

Before she could say anything, Patrick's chair scraped the floor as he got up. “It's time to get back to work.” He carried his plate to the sink where he stood and finished his milk.

“Patrick,” she called to him, “what do you want me to do?”

“Take the rest of the day off. I'm going to be busy.” With those parting words, he was out the door.

Cynthia didn't know what to say. She looked at Forest. “What just happened here?”

“Nothing that's your fault. Patrick likes you well enough. He's just not sure he can trust you, but then he hasn't trusted any woman in a long time.”

So the fascinating Patrick Tanner had a past—had been hurt. Cynthia couldn't help but wonder what kind of woman could walk away from this man.

T
wo hours later, Patrick was still fuming. He pulled on his horse's reins to slow him, then started walking along the barbed-wire fence. He turned in the saddle and saw that Forest was in his sights.

What the hell was wrong with him? He didn't have any hold on Cynthia Reynolds. They'd spent one night together. She was only around now because she was paying him a lot of money to teach her to ride, not to give her attitude.

Patrick blew out a long breath. He'd prided
himself on his control. For years, he'd fought hard to be nothing like his father. Michael Tanner hadn't set much of an example for his son. He'd drunk to excess and used his fists freely, especially on his wife and kids. Years ago, the old man had told his son that a few slaps kept them in line. They needed to learn respect, just like his daddy had taught him.

Patrick was the second generation Tanner who'd been raised by an abusive father. Shutting his eyes, he felt his gut clench, remembering the awful circumstances of his mother's death. The police had called it an accident. He knew better. He didn't doubt that Mary Tanner had died at her husband's hands when he'd shoved her down the basement stairs. He took several calming breaths, but it didn't ease the guilt he'd carried with him for years. If he'd been home that night, he could have saved his mother.

Patrick heard Forest ride up.

“Hey, boss, you think I can have the night off if I get all my chores done?”

“Knock it off.” Patrick didn't need his friend's sarcasm.

“Look, Pat, I'm not interested in Cyndi. She's nice and I like talking to her. That's all.”

“Why should I care if you are?”

“Because, my friend, whether you want to admit it or not,
you're
interested in her. You can't even stand it when she talks to me.”

“That's crazy.” He knew it was a lie, but he wasn't going to admit to anything. “She's just a client I'm teaching to ride. Yeah, she's moved into my house and disrupted my life, but she's also paying me enough to help plant a lot more acres of vines next spring.” He glanced at his friend and business partner. “That should make you happy since you're in this venture, too.”

“I'll always be your friend first, whether we're in the wine business or not. You can tell me to stay out of it but something is going on between you and Cyndi.”

“It's past tense. Something did happen between us, but that's over. This is business. All the money from Ms. Reynolds's riding lessons will be put into the vineyard.”

Patrick had known Forest Rawlins for the past eight years. He'd come to the ranch looking for work right after the second-worst time in Patrick's life. Gwen had run off with nearly everything. It wasn't until later that he'd discovered that Forest had an MBA in business, but had gotten fed up with the corporate life. Forest had just picked up and walked away from everything. But when he
came to the Tanner Ranch, he'd also brought enough knowledge to help Patrick save the place.

He resided in the small foreman's cottage and was paid a reasonable salary, and Forest claimed he'd never been so content. Now they were starting a partnership in the wine business. Patrick hoped in a few years they would be producing grapes.

“Let's go check our vines.” Patrick kicked his horse's sides and rode off, refusing to answer any more questions.

As he rode along he tried to concentrate on the calming scenery: the rich green hues of the valley, the high blue sky, the bank of white clouds just hiding the tips of the Cascade Mountain Range. He walked Ace along the trail, through the giant pines, and felt a deep pride at being a part of this land. Tanner land. His chest tightened as he came to a clearing and looked down at the ten acres of row after perfect row of rootstock vines that he and Forest had planted last spring.

This was the beginning of his dream.

 

Cynthia wasn't going to sit around the rest of the day. After she put the plates and glasses into the dishwasher, she returned to the barn. Braver
now, she went to check out the other Tanner Ranch residents and discovered she wasn't alone.

A tall, lanky teenage boy came out of one of the stalls carrying a bucket. “You must be Cyndi,” he said.

“Yes, I am.” Once again she was glad that she hadn't been recognized.

“You work here?” she asked. Patrick hadn't told her about any other employees.

“I'm Kevin Northbrook.” He set the bucket down and tipped his hat, revealing short blond hair. “I help out some, mostly because it pays to board my horse. Patrick is cool. When my dad wanted to sell Ranger, Patrick said I could keep him here as long as I help out to pay for feed. So I come by as often as I can.” He stepped back to the stall gate and a brown horse with a black mane came to him. “This is Ranger. Ranger, meet Cyndi.”

The horse's head bobbed and Cynthia smiled. The boy held Ranger still while she petted him. The horse blew air out of his nostrils and Cyndi almost pulled away, but stood her ground.

Kevin smiled. “He likes you.”

“I have to admit, I'm a little afraid of horses, but Patrick is helping me get through it.”

“I know. He told me you were staying here for
a little while and I wasn't to tell anybody because you were up for a movie role and needed to know how to ride a horse.”

Cynthia was a little surprised that Patrick would confide in this boy. “You know who I am?”

“Of course.” He smiled. “Who wouldn't recognize Cynthia Reynolds? You've been in about a gazillion movies. My mom loves you.”

She bit back a groan. Great! His mother loves me.

“It's nice to know that I have fans. But I'd appreciate it if you kept it quiet. I don't want the media discovering I'm here.”

“Don't worry, it's cool. I can keep a secret. I haven't even told my mom or sisters. But could you sign an autograph for my mom before you leave?”

She smiled at the boy's thoughtfulness. “My pleasure. And I'd like you to help me.”

His grin widened. “Sure, anything. I just have a few chores to do first.”

“Maybe I can help you.”

He studied her. “You'll get pretty dirty.”

“You think I can't handle a little dirt? I guess you didn't see me in the movie
Romancing a Stranger
where I was in a fight and got shoved down a muddy hill.” When Kevin shook his head,
she continued. “It took us four takes to do it just right for the director.”

“Wow, that's so cool. A lot better than mucking out stalls.”

They started walking down the aisle toward the next stall. “You wouldn't say that if you had to do some of the things I've had to do in movies. I could tell you stories….”

 

It was about four o'clock when Patrick and Forest rode back to the barn. He hadn't planned on being gone all afternoon, but he needed time away from Cyndi. He wasn't used to having someone around, someone so disturbing. And she would be in his house, and in his life for the next week. Worse, every time they were together, he couldn't keep his hands off her. She wasn't doing much to resist him, either. He thought back to the kiss they'd shared on the porch. Of course that was tame compared to the wild night of passion just forty-eight hours ago.

Of course that wasn't an excuse to leave Cyndi to fend for herself. Oh hell, maybe he should just send her down to Gus Peters's place and let him deal with her. His neighbor would love the notoriety and before long would be holding a press conference for anyone who would listen.

Suddenly, Patrick's protective instincts kicked in. There might not be any future for the two of them, but that didn't mean he couldn't help her reach her goal. She was paying him a fortune just for the simple task of learning to ride. Besides, he was a grown man. If he couldn't control his urges, then he had a big problem.

“Hey, Pat, you have to see this,” Forest called from the barn door leading to the corral. He walked over just in time to hear Cyndi's throaty laughter. Looking out to the arena, he saw her and Kevin along with the six-month-old bay colt, Spirit. They had the playful animal cornered and Kevin gave the cloth halter to her.

Slowly, Cyndi approached the horse, all the while speaking in a soft voice. The colt's ears perked up in interest and it froze as if mesmerized. A thrill of excitement rushed through Patrick as Cyndi continued to croon and walk toward the horse. With a slow hand, she slipped the halter over Spirit's face and Kevin buckled the strap. Then she took hold of the lead rope and the boy gave her a high five.

“Will you look at that,” Forest said. “She's a natural with animals.”

Patrick glared at his friend's satisfied look, then returned his attention to the pair working with the
colt. There was deep concentration on Cyndi's face as Kevin instructed her on what to do.

“Maybe Kev should be her teacher,” Patrick said.

It was Forest's turn to frown. “Sounds to me like you're running scared.”

Maybe he was, but he wouldn't admit it. “I'm busy.”

“For what she's paying, I'd never be that busy.”

Patrick tensed. “You're not me.”

“We've all been hurt, Pat, but you can't let the past affect your…opportunities. Cyndi seems like a nice person.”

Forest had never spoken much about his own past, but he had been married years ago. And Patrick never asked for any details.

“Yeah, and she's so out of my league.”

Forest snickered. “Yeah, aren't we all. But you might be surprised with Cyndi.” Just then a car pulled up into the driveway, and Kelly Reynolds climbed out. “Speaking of opportunities…” Forest smiled. “I would never pass up a pretty blonde. Brains and beauty are a great combination.” He pushed away from the fence. “I think I'll go greet our visitor.”

Amazed, Patrick watched as Forest strolled off toward the expensive sedan and the attractive law
yer. The man had a slow, deliberate walk, taking his time to reach Kelly Reynolds. Forest had a way with people. He put them at ease with his friendliness, and by Kelly's reaction, she wasn't immune, either. Forest took her hand and after a few minutes he had her laughing. They were walking toward him when Patrick heard Kevin's warning yell. He turned back in time to see Cyndi sitting in the dirt holding her leg.

Patrick hopped the fence and was beside her immediately. “You okay?” Then before she could answer, he looked at Kevin. “What the hell happened?”

Cynthia couldn't believe it when she looked up and saw Patrick. “It's nothing,” she said, her leg stinging. “Spirit and I were just getting to know each other and he got a little too playful and kicked me.”

Kevin knelt down beside her. “I'm sorry, Cyndi. Spirit has a habit of playing a little rough.”

“And if you knew that, why did you let Cyndi handle him? She's not used to being around horses.”

Kevin's face flushed and Cynthia felt bad. “It was my fault, Patrick. Kevin warned me that Spirit kicked, but I got cocky.”

Patrick wasn't paying attention to her explanation. He pushed up her pant leg, exposing her boot.

“See, my leg was protected by my boot.” Her leg hurt some, but she was more embarrassed when she looked up and saw Kelly and Forest running across the corral.

She pushed Patrick's hands away from her leg. “I'm fine. Just help me up.”

His blue eyes locked with hers. “I want to check you out.”

She doubted he meant his words to sound so suggestive, but they did. She shook away the thought. “I'm capable of doing it myself. Just give me a hand up.”

Finally Patrick stood and held out a hand. Cyndi was on her feet just as her sister got to her.

“Cyndi, what happened?”

“Nothing. I'm okay.” She walked around, letting everyone see she was fine. Then she looked for Kevin and the colt, but they were gone. “Where is Kevin?”

“He's finishing his chores,” Patrick said.

“But I want to talk to him.” Cyndi started off toward the barn.

Her sister chased after her. “Cyndi, maybe you should go up to the house. Look at you. You're a mess.” She wrinkled her nose. “And you smell.”

Cynthia looked at her soiled jeans and blouse, recalling her working afternoon. “Oh, I guess I do.”

“What have you been doing?”

Cynthia glanced over her shoulder at Patrick and Forest, who were following them. “Chores. You name it and I've probably done it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see Kevin.” Her gaze met Patrick's. “I'm going to let him know that he didn't do anything wrong.”

 

“Are you trying to embarrass me?” Nora asked Patrick as she paced angrily in front of the desk. The knotty-pine-paneled office had been his sanctuary over the years. A place he could go to be alone, to organize his thoughts and have some peace from a houseful of females. The room had been off-limits, but his sisters had ignored that rule and had come in when they needed to talk with their big brother.

“Cynthia Reynolds is my boss's sister, not to mention an award-winning actress.” Nora suddenly stopped. “I did this for you. I thought you'd be happy with the extra money to help with the vineyard.”

Patrick was beginning to wonder if it was worth it. An hour ago, Kelly, Forest, Cyndi and Nora were at the Tanner kitchen table talking and laughing while eating Nora's chicken and rice. After Forest escorted Kelly to her car, she drove back to Port
land. Cyndi had gone to her room. He'd come into his office for some quiet, but his sister had cornered him.

“Patrick, are you listening to me?”

“I'm listening. And no, I'm not trying to embarrass you.”

“Then why weren't you with Cyndi today? She could have been hurt badly.”

“I was with her this morning,” he argued. “I just rode out to check on the herd. I didn't expect her to clean out stalls, bathe horses and train colts and fillies.” He was still shocked that she'd done so much.