AlmostHome (3 page)

He couldn’t recall a time, in the distant or recent past,
when a woman had evoked such a single-minded reaction in him. Why he was
determined to change Haley’s mind was a mystery to him, but change her mind he
would. He intended to see just how far he could push Miss Haley
Kilpatrick—hopefully all the way to his bed where he was sure she’d prove to be
just as challenging. He had to adjust himself before climbing into his truck.
He just hoped this hard-on would disappear before he got to her place.

Wyatt pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and
dialed Haley’s number. As expected, the antiquated answering machine picked up.
He’d have to see about getting her a mobile phone and be sure his name was
programmed into her speed dial.

“Hey, Haley, it’s Wyatt. Just wanted to let you know I’m on
my way. See you in a few.”

He hadn’t planned to volunteer to give her a riding tour of
Jack’s property but she’d reluctantly taken him up on the offer. Had even
offered to pack a lunch and Wyatt wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
When he pulled into the ranch yard, Haley was securing a set of insulated
saddlebags behind the cantle of her Western saddle. He parked parallel to the
barn and hopped out of the cab to de-trailer his own mount.

“That’s a fine-looking stud,” Wyatt told Haley as he led his
horse to the pasture gate. “He gonna object to my gelding?”

Haley smiled and mounted up. “Nope. He’s gentle as a lamb.
Raised him from a foal. Now if you were riding another stud, he might get a
little uppity but he’s got a good all-around disposition.”

Wyatt let Haley go ahead of him and closed the gate behind
them before mounting his gelding. They rode in silence across a field of thick
grass dotted with oak trees.

“There’s a pecan grove next pasture over with a gate that
opens off the road. Jack had a guy who came and harvested for her. I expect
you’ll find him in her Rolodex. If not, I can give you his name and number when
the time comes.” He eased his horse a little closer and tipped his hat back
slightly. “I know you haven’t had much time to look around but you’ll find Jack
had a thing about fruit trees. You’ve got some peach trees and some pear trees
out back behind the house. Every year, the families of the local cowhands would
come out and harvest the fruit. Jack had a little outdoor kitchen built where they
process the fruit, make jams and jellies, pie filling and the like. It was
quite a party, what with all the kids running around, music playing. The men
come in after work and grill steaks and burgers. Everybody looks forward to
it.”

Haley chuckled. “Is that your away of asking me if I plan on
keeping up the tradition if I decide to stay?”

Wyatt’s face flushed and he smiled sheepishly. “Well, some
of the wives wanted me to ask, so I’m asking.”

“Why not?” she said with a shrug. “Far be it for me to buck
tradition. Besides, I don’t know what I’d do with all those bushels of fruit. I
like a peach as much as the next girl but I can’t see me eating an orchard’s
worth in a year’s time and still being able to stand the sight of them.”

They passed through several gates following the river as it
curved around to the back of the property. Along the way, they passed two small
houses and a handful of singlewide trailers along with a wooden playground set.

“What happened to the hands who lived there?” Haley asked.

“Four of them came to work for me. The others went to work
for some of the neighboring spreads. You thinking of bringing any of them
back?”

She shrugged. “Too soon to tell. Not sure what my training
clients would do if I settled down here. I usually train on site. But it’s
tempting.”

They rode on in silence until they neared the section of the
property that led to the fruit orchard close to her house. The sound of water
gurgled in the distance. Wyatt glanced over and saw the grin on Haley’s face.

“Is that a waterfall I hear?”

An odd flutter rumbled deep in his belly. They nudged their
horses into a gentle lope and Wyatt felt like he’d been pole-axed at the look
of wonder on her elfin face. She practically beamed with joy at the sight of
the limestone-terraced falls.

“Looks like a good place for a picnic,” he commented,
pleased when she quickly dismounted. He chuckled when she immediately sat down,
pulled off her boots and rolled up her pants legs.

“I’m going for a wade.”

“I can see that. You go on ahead. I’ll spread a blanket and
set out lunch.” When he was done, he squatted down beside her on a dry slab of
stone that jutted out over the water. “That little pool in the middle is deep
enough to swim in, if you ever get the urge. Though it tends to run a little
fast in the spring.”

“Oh, I’ll get the urge all right. I imagine it’s pretty
refreshing on a hot summer night.”

“Oh yeah. Many’s the night I’d sneak out to skinny-dip in
that little pool. Never thought anybody knew—until I was old enough to bring a
girl here with more on my mind than swimming. Miss Jack came out and gave me
what for. Seems she had a camera installed in the cottonwoods.”

Haley laughed and Wyatt sucked in a breath. He’d heard folks
say a woman’s laughter was like music but he’d never believed it until now.

“Well, feel free to bring your girl out here any time,
Brody. Just make sure I’m not skinny-dipping before you do.”

“I’m between lady friends at the moment,” he said,
struggling to resist the urge to touch her. “But I’d be happy to skinny-dip with
you any night of the week.”

Haley snorted and bumped his shoulder. “I just bet you
would.” With that, she got up and headed for the picnic blanket he’d spread
under the umbrella of an old oak tree. “Come on, cowboy, let’s eat.”

Lunch consisted of grilled chicken breasts, pasta salad, and
thick slices of beefsteak tomatoes. Haley surprised him by handing him a
longneck bottle of Coors. He twisted off the top and took a long drink.

“Ah, Colorado Kool-Aid. Nothing beats a cold beer on a hot
day.”

She clinked her bottle against his. “You got that right.”

After they ate and Haley repacked the containers in her
saddlebags, she propped herself on her elbows and stretched those long legs
out, crossing them at the ankles. Wyatt did the same, stealing glances at her
as she gazed out over the river.

“So what do you do when you’re not picnicking by a river,
Haley Kilpatrick?”

She took a deep breath of clean country air and swiveled her
head to look at him.

“I’m a barrel racer, or I was. Mostly I train them now.
Geronimo there is a champion barrel horse. So is Molly, the mare I brought with
me. She’s due to foal soon. Before all this happened, I’d planned to start a
breeding program at a place my brother rents outside of Austin. My other brood
mares are still there.”

“Why’s that?”

Haley raised an eyebrow. “Well, I only own a two-horse
trailer and I really didn’t know what I’d find here. For all I knew, this place
was as run-down and neglected as where I came from. I mean, I didn’t even know
I had an aunt, much less that she’d passed and left everything to me.”

Wyatt stretched out on his side, resting his head in his
hand. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and stroke Haley’s cheek. Maybe
capture her chin and kiss those pretty, full lips. But he didn’t. The way she
kept tracking his movements out of the corner of her eye told him she was
feeling skittish and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her away.

“So, what do you think of Junction?”

Haley removed the old straw Resistol and set it down in the
space between them, then stretched out, hands behind her head. Wyatt swallowed
at the sight her lush breasts pushing against the confines of her white,
sleeveless shirt.

“Well the town looks like it’s seen better days but most
small Texas towns do. I checked out the Yellow Pages and it has all the
services I’d need to start my breeding program and keep this place running. And
the ranch, what’s not to love? I mean, d’oh, I have a waterfall in my backyard.
Don’t reckon I got the temperament to run a bar, though. I expect I’ll go on
ahead and sell it.”

Wyatt grinned. “So, you’re staying?”

She nodded once. “Yup. I’m staying.”

“What about your brother in Austin?”

Haley sighed and closed her eyes. “I don’t mean to sound
like the evil stepsister from
Cinderella
but I’ve supported Conner all
my life. It’s time he learned what it is to stand on his own two feet. I mean,
he is twenty-two years old. Reckon he’ll just have to get over it, won’t he?”

Wyatt chuckled, even though inside his head a choir was
singing the
Hallelujah
chorus.

“Yup, I reckon he will.”

* * * * *

The afternoon sun was hot on their backs when Haley and
Wyatt got back to the barn. Other than pointing out areas of interest, they’d
ridden in companionable silence, stopping once on a steep rise to admire the
lush green pastures.

“Reckon you outta put that gelding in a stall and give him a
feed,” Haley said. She unsaddled Geronimo and took after him with a brush,
hiding behind the stallion’s neck so Wyatt wouldn’t see the blush coloring her
cheeks.

“Is that you’re way of asking me to stay to supper?”

Haley refused to look at him. “Never did freeze the steaks.
Hate to see them go to waste.”

Wyatt chuckled. “Heaven forbid.” He propped himself against
the wall and nodded. “I’m not a man to turn down a steak dinner and that’s a
fact.”

“Good.”

“What was that?”

She didn’t miss the playful tone. He was teasing her. She
could almost picture that sinful grin on his face. “I said, ‘good’.” She
squeezed her eyes shut, hating the idea that she didn’t even know the proper
way to invite a gent to dinner. With a sigh, she tossed the brush into a
wood-handled box and led Geronimo into his stall. She rested her cheek against
the big stallion’s.

“You’re a good boy,” she murmured to the horse. “You never
let me down, do you?” With a final scratch to the animal’s ears, she turned and
there was Wyatt, standing at the stall door, his face all soft and curious.

“Who’s let you down, Haley Kilpatrick?”

The words were soft and kind but she detected no pity behind
them. She had to swallow hard to keep from crying. Yeah, that would be sexy.

“Who ain’t? Except him.” It was a statement of fact but it
came out gruffer than she’d intended. Looking Wyatt Brody in the eye was hard.
She had no doubt he knew all about her, being so close to her Aunt Jack and all.
He stood there for a long moment, then stepped aside so she could pass.
Relieved, she jerked her head toward the house. “You hungry?”

“I could eat.” He fell into step beside her. “When you
planning on going to Austin for the rest of your stock?”

“Figure on going next week, once I get a few things settled
here.” They climbed the stairs and went inside. “I’ll be needing a dependable
hand to look out for the horses. Know anybody who might be interested?”

Wyatt joined her at the kitchen sink to wash up. “Dooley and
his wife Maria would probably come back, if you were of a mind. They got a
gaggle of kids, couple of them old enough to help around here. Fact is, he’d
make a damn good foreman if you’re planning to expand your operation. He knows
horseflesh.”

“Sounds good.”

They both reached for the towel at the same time. A jolt of
something unfamiliar shot up her arm when his hand brushed hers. She quickly
glanced away, face going up in flames and went for a paper towel instead. Lord,
she was acting like a nervous old maid. Could she be any lamer?

“Anyway,” Wyatt went on. “Thought I might take you down and
help haul them back. How many you got again?”

“Four, but why would you wanna drive to Austin?”

He hung the towel back on the oven handle and leaned against
the counter. “You always this suspicious of folks offering help?”

Haley shrugged and circled around him to the fridge. “It’s
been my experience there’s usually a price to pay.” She watched his reaction
out of the corner of her eye. His brow puckered and his mouth set into a thin
line. Great, she’d offended him.

“I’m just being neighborly, Haley, I don’t expect nothing in
return.”

She nodded and set the steaks on the counter. “Much
obliged.”

He pushed off the counter. “I’ll go start the grill. And
Haley?” When she looked up, he was standing close enough she could feel the
heat of his body. He grinned. “You might wanna unclench a little. If I get the
yen to jump you, I’ll be sure to let you know ahead of time.” Fire sprang to
her cheeks and he chuckled, tweaked her chin. “I do love a woman who still
knows how to blush.”

Chapter Three

True to his word, Wyatt sent Carl Dooley over the next day.
He spent a couple of hours with Haley, working on getting acquainted with
Geronimo and the mare, Molly. Wyatt hadn’t lied, Dooley knew horses and both
stallion and mare took to him immediately. Haley had no qualms about offering
him the job as foreman and handing over the keys to the house where Jack’s old
foreman and his family had lived. The following day the Dooley family moved
back to the One-Eyed Jack ranch to work for the namesake’s niece.

As a child, Haley had lived and worked on ranches from Texas
to New Mexico and on up into Wyoming. Her daddy was what was scornfully
referred to as a grub liner, a cowboy who showed up to work right around
suppertime. Ranch folk being what they were, Kent Kilpatrick was rarely denied
a job or a meal when showing up with kids in tow. He’d work long enough to earn
the money to get them to the next rodeo venue, where Haley went to work winning
barrel racing events, nearly always taking the first place purse. Of course,
the prize money always went in her daddy’s pocket and then it was on to the
next venue on the circuit. In all her life, Haley had never called any one
place home. Now, sitting on the back porch, shucking lima beans with Maria
Dooley, she marveled at how life could change in the blink of an eye.

“You are very quiet,
senorita
,” Maria observed. “Is
something wrong?”

Haley smiled and tossed another handful of lima beans in a
pot. “No. Just thinkin’ about how quick life can turn on you. Not long ago, I
was living outta my camper, rodeoing for a living. Now here I am in Butt Crack,
Texas shucking beans on the back porch of my own place. I think it just hit me
that I really own it.”

Maria paused, then reached out and squeezed Haley’s hand.
“Life has not been so easy for you, I think.”

Haley laughed. “It’s had its moments but you take the hand
you’re dealt and get on with living.”

Maria nodded. “
Sí
, you are right. But you are happy
now?”

“I’m working on it, Maria. I’ll feel a sight better when me
and Wyatt pick up the rest of my stock and I’m out from under that no-good
brother of mine.”

Beans pinged inside the pot like hail on a tin roof. “He is
a bad man, this brother of yours?”

“Nah. He’s just a no-account. Thinks the sun comes up just
to hear him crow.”

“He will not be happy to see you go, I suspect.”

Haley snorted. “He’ll have a fit and step in it, I expect.
Can’t say I ain’t lookin’ forward to seeing it though.

“My daddy doted on Conner, much as he knew how to, him being
the only boy and all. Gave him everything he ever wanted, never made him work a
day in his life.”

More limas pinged. “What will he do without you?”

Haley shrugged. “Hell, he’s pretty enough that some fool
woman will come along and take care of him. He sure as hell ain’t coming back
here with me.”

They fell silent for a while, shucking more beans and
watching the two younger children play a game of tag with Snoop in the orchard.

“Your father, he is in the prison?”

“Yup. Got ten to fifteen for stabbin’ a fellow in a bar
fight outside Lubbock. Lucky the fellow didn’t die or he’d a got the death
penalty for sure.”

Maria put a hand on Haley’s shoulder. “So much sadness for
one so young. But you have a home now. You have Dooley and me, now, and Wyatt.
He is a good man.”

Haley snorted derisively. “Yeah, well, it takes a mighty
good man to be better than no man at all.”

Maria clucked her tongue. “Such cynicism in one so young. I
will tell you, a woman could do much worse than Wyatt Brody. Life will be good
here. You will see.”

Haley laughed again. “A home, huh? It almost feels like
that. But don’t go getting no notions about me and Wyatt. I ain’t in the market
for a man, especially a cowboy.”

Maria smiled and dropped another handful of plump beans in
the pot, then picked it up. “I think that is enough for supper. You will join
us, yes? I make a special casserole out of the lima beans. It is very good.”

Haley stood and stretched. “Happy to, just gimme a shout
when you’re ready for me.”

* * * * *

As it turned out, Wyatt’s truck pulled up in front of the
house at suppertime. Haley answered the door to that sinful grin and shook her
head. She hardly knew the man and yet her blood fairly sang in her veins
whenever he smiled at her, despite the voice of warning that whispered for her
to be on guard.

“You get the feeling Maria is doing some matchmaking?” she
asked, pulling the door shut behind her.

“Probably so but I ain’t complaining. Living in a small
town, I’m a prime candidate for mammas looking to marry off their daughters. It
reached its peak when my pa died. Every single woman and her ma brought
casseroles and such out to the Flying W. Nothing ever took but I never had to
cook a meal for nearly three months.” He followed her down the stairs and
around the side of the house to the path that lead to the foreman’s cabin.

“How come?”

“How come what?” She walked with a purposeful stride,
anxious to get to the safety of Maria’s house.

“How come nothing ever took?”

“Shoot…I don’t know. Chemistry? Thirty-three years old and
never been in love so far as I know. Other than in high school and back then I
was in love every other month. Thought I was in love once, but it was a
tug-of-war between her and my responsibilities to the Flying W. The ranch won
and I never regretted the decision. I figure a man who lives the kind of life I
do, he needs a like-minded woman for a partner. Like Dooley’s got with Maria.
But I’m a patient man. The right woman comes along, I’ll know. Thing about
Maria is, she’s one of those women who thinks a man ain’t really a man ‘til
he’s married and got passel of young’ns tagging behind him. So be forewarned.”

“Oh lord.”

Wyatt chuckled. “You don’t want a husband and family?”

She uttered a sharp bark of laughter, the sound bitter to
her ears. “Wyatt, I wouldn’t even begin to know how such a thing works. I got
this place and my animals. Figure I can make do with that.” She breathed a sigh
of relief at his casual shrug but couldn’t help the little stab of
disappointment in her gut.

“Speaking of animals, where’s Snoop?”

Haley snorted. “Wiry-haired mongrel deserted me for the
Dooley kids.”

He turned that sinful grin on her. “And the bird?”

“I’m seriously considering frying him up for supper the next
time you’re over.”

“I’ll keep that in mind if I see poultry on the table.”

As they broke through a grove of live oaks, Snoop barked and
loped toward them.

“At least he remembers who I am.”

“No worries, darlin’, he’ll come home soon as those kids
wear him out. But I reckon we could stop at the pound when we’re in Austin, see
if they have any likely prospects—just in case.”

* * * * *

Saturday arrived sooner than Haley would have wanted and she
sat on the front porch, waiting for Tracie to arrive, praying she wouldn’t.
Haley had never willingly set foot in a bar, other than to drag her brother out
before he got himself beaten senseless for messing with another man’s woman.
She didn’t particularly want to go to the Horsin’ Around Saloon but she’d told
Tracie she’d go with her and go she would. Besides, she’d never had a
girlfriend before and it was an experience she was looking forward to. A horn
sounded and she looked up, following the progress of the dust trail as a bright
yellow Ford Ranger sped up the lane.

“Hey, girlfriend,” Tracie called as she got out of the
truck. She grabbed small duffel from the back of the truck and bounded up the
stairs. “Let’s get this party started.”

Haley held the door open and Tracie swooped inside. “What’s
in the bag?”

Tracie laughed. “Don’t look so scared,” she teased. Clearly,
Haley hadn’t been able to hide her trepidation. “It’s just some makeup and
stuff. Is that what you’re wearing? Where’s your bedroom?”

“Upstairs, end of the hallway.” Haley looked down at her
sleeveless shirt made of pink, plaid cotton. “What’s wrong with it?” She
figured she must have done something wrong because Tracie laughed gaily.

“It’s fine, for going to Petrie’s or the grocery store but
it’ll never do for a night on the town.” Tracie hurried up the stairs and Haley
followed, listening to the girl’s chatter. “You’ll never catch yourself a
cowboy dressed like that.”

“I don’t wanna catch a cowboy.” And she didn’t. She’d spent
enough time around the rodeo to know she wasn’t interested in some good-time
man, here one minute and gone the next. Fact was she wasn’t sure she wanted a
man. She’d experienced firsthand just how shiftless they could be.

Tracie opened Haley’s closet. “What have you got against
cowboys?”

Haley plopped down on the bed and watched her new friend
rummage through her clothes. “How much time do you have?”

Tracie sighed and turned to look at Haley. “You have nothing
to wear,” she complained. “Lucky for you we’re about the same size and I’ve
brought a few things for you to try on. So start talking while you’re trying on
these tops.”

Haley unbuttoned her shirt and draped it across her pillow.
“I don’t hate cowboys,” she explained. “It’s just that I’ve been around them
all my life. Pa had me on the rodeo circuit soon as he figured out I could sit
a horse and not fall off.” She pulled on a skimpy purple tank top and looked at
herself in the mirror. “Uh-uh, no way I’m wearing this. Too low cut.”

“But you’ve got great boobs,” Tracie insisted. “If you got
it, you should flaunt it.”

Haley chuckled. “I’ll admit it looks good but they’ll arrest
me for indecent exposure.” She pulled off the offending garment and tried on a
cute peasant top that hung off her shoulders. “I’m not going around braless in
a room full of men.”

Tracie rolled her eyes and rummaged some more, coming up
with a gray sleeveless turtleneck made from some kind of clingy material. When
Haley put it on, she clapped her hands excitedly. “That’s the one. It’s perfect
for you. No cleavage but it shows off those gorgeous curves and it will look
great with those low rise jeans.” She went back to rummaging in the closet.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many pairs of boots outside the Boot
Barn. How did you ever afford them all?”

“Won most of them as part of the winning purse at one rodeo
or another. Got a few saddles that way, too.” Haley turned sideways, admiring
the way the slinky gray shirt showed off her figure. Clothes had never played a
big part in her life. Oh, she had some Western show clothes but the rest of her
closest was filled with cotton shirts, mostly plaid or pinstripe, sleeveless,
short sleeved, or long sleeved. Nothing dressy, nothing girly.

“Well, these are perfect for what you’re wearing.” Tracie
held up a pair of Ferrini boots made of distressed cowhide in a marbled brown.
They were one of the fancier pair she owned, with turquoise and bone stitching
and a twelve-inch shaft. “Now, for the right belt and hat and we’ll start on
your hair and makeup.”

Haley stood in front of the mirror, barely able to recognize
the woman looking back at her. The boots added a couple extra inches of height
and the bronze leather belt with sapphire rhinestones accentuated a roundness
to her hips she’d never known existed. Tracie had used a very light touch with
the makeup, giving her what she told Haley was a smoky eye, then accenting her
lips with a translucent pink lip stain. A tiny bit of peachy blush brought out
her cheekbones. “I can’t believe it’s me,” she marveled.

“You look awesome,” Tracie agreed. “Now, don’t forget your
jean jacket. They’ll have the air conditioner cranked up.” Tracie gave her a
hug. “You are gonna knock those boys off their feet.”

For the first time in her life, Haley thought, she might
just turn a head or two. This having a girlfriend thing might turn out to be as
much fun as she’d always imagined it would.

* * * * *

The Horsin’ Around Saloon was located on a two-lane stretch
of blacktop off 290 near Harper, almost exactly halfway between Junction and
Kerrville. The parking lot was dirt and gravel, filled with pickups and cars,
some having seen better days, other shiny and new. The building was massive,
built to resemble a red clapboard barn, the paint faded from the Texas sun.

Tracie gave her a little nudge when they got out of the
truck. “Come on. Nobody’s gonna bite you.”

“Tracie, I don’t know how to dance.” There was a hint of
panic in her voice. “What if somebody asks me to dance? I’ll look like a dang
rodeo clown.”

Tracie wrapped an arm around her shoulder and eased her
toward the door. “Honey, I can guarantee you somebody’s gonna ask you to dance.
Nobody says you have to. Just sit and enjoy the music, have a couple of beers.
Once you relax a little, it’ll come natural to you.”

Haley snorted. “Says you.” But she let Tracie angle her
through the door and paid her cover charge like a good little chickenshit.

The inside was typical roadhouse. A bar as long as a stretch
of Texas highway filled one wall, manned by four bartenders. It was separated
from the rest of the bar by wrought iron fencing to keep people from falling on
the step down. Pub tables lined the walls two deep, leaving a wide isle for
people to pass without knocking them over on the way to the restrooms in the
back. The rest of the saloon was given over to a huge, hardwood dance floor and
more tables than Haley had seen in one place in her whole life. The band
perched on a raised stage surrounded by a chicken wire cage. That didn’t bode
well for the evening’s festivities.

Tracie hustled Haley to a table close to the dance floor and
sauntered off to get a pitcher of Coors. She returned with the beer, three
mugs, and a tall, good-looking man with hair the color of ripe wheat and the
greenest eyes Haley had ever seen.