Promises Linger (Promise Series) (36 page)

She picked up the blanket from the ground and held it out to Sir Prince. He sniffed it, but went immediately back to chomping his carrot. It was the perfect reaction, and why she’d decided it was time to step up his training. She settled the blanket on his back. His skin twitched, but nothing more than that. She patted his shoulder. “Good boy.”

She swung the heavy saddle into her arms. The strain on her muscles felt good. So did being in the open air and working with her horses. Giving up this aspect of her life had been the hardest thing about becoming a lady. Mrs. Asa MacIntyre might not welcome smelling like a horse, mucking out a barn, or the sometimes bone-crunching results of breaking a horse, but Elizabeth Coyote, Coyote Bill’s crazy daughter, did with a devotion that went beyond liking. She needed it as much as she needed to breathe. The only time she came close to the same satisfaction was in Asa’s arms with the darkness cloaking them in an otherworldly peace.

She showed Prince the saddle. He sniffed it, then went carrot-hunting in her coat pocket.

“Not yet, big boy. First, you’ve got to show me how smart you are.”

She tossed the saddle onto his back and held her breath. She would have preferred to ease it on, but, at her height, that wasn’t possible. He sidestepped and snorted, his breath forming steamy clouds around his muzzle. He swung his head around to inspect the unfamiliar source of weight. He sniffed twice. Her familiar scent must have soothed him because he swung his head back and accepted the carrot she held out.

“Good boy.” She took his halter and urged him forward a step.

Beyond a flicking of his ears, he didn’t protest the weight on his back. She patted his neck again. “Let’s see how you take to the cinch.”

She was pushing it, she knew, but she didn’t have much time. Asa would be back tomorrow and, if she wanted to keep this a secret, she had to make the most of the time she had.

She unhooked the cinch from the saddle horn, then reached under Prince’s belly to pull it up the other side. Like he’d been doing it all his life, he stood still and munched his carrot while she tied the cinch. She pulled it tighter. Not by a sidestep or a snort did he exhibit any displeasure. Exhilaration shot through her.

“You are a bright one.” She patted his neck. “Then, again, you probably know I’d never hurt you.”

She pulled the stirrups down. Catching his halter, she led him around the corral twice. Beyond a few ear flicks at the stirrup’s sway, he didn’t seem to realize he bore a saddle on his back. She pulled him up to the hitching post. He was coming along nicely.

She checked the cinch. It was tight enough to hold the saddle and a rider. She patted his neck again. She’d never had a horse come so far so fast, but Sir Prince had been exceptional from the beginning. He was ready for the next step. She’d need a mounting post, she thought, eyeing the distance from the ground to the stirrup. Short of that, there wasn’t anything between her and the next step of Prince’s training, which was bearing the weight of a rider. She bit her lip and weighed her decision. She didn’t want to ruin a good horse by pushing, then again, she didn’t want to lose any more time than necessary.

“You even think of getting on that animal and you won’t sit down for a week.”

There was no question who that drawl belonged to.

“Asa.” She spun so fast, Sir Prince whickered in concern. She sighed. “You’re back.”

“And none too soon by the looks of it,” Asa said.

He wasn’t alone. Beside him rode Cougar McKinnely. Both men stared at her with grim expressions. If she had to weigh between the two, Cougar’s held more compassion.

She patted Sir Prince on the shoulder. Wind blew hair out of her bun. She caught it before it could blind her. As she tucked the strand behind her ear, she weighed her options. She could apologize and placate, which would be sensible. She could play dumb, which would no doubt anger him. And from the whiteness of his cheeks and the way his lips were compressed, he didn’t need much of a push to go over the edge. Prudence had always been her specialty.

“I hope you’re happy,” she accused. “You’ve ruined the surprise.”

Both men looked startled and well they should. How were they to know she’d decided just yesterday that prudence was boring?

Asa found his voice first. “Can’t see how coming home to find my wife trampled by a hot-headed stud is something I’d mind ruinin’.”

“Sir Prince is not hot-headed.” She looped the halter string around the hitching post. Training was clearly over for the day.

“Yeah, and the door I replaced last week in his stall was because his sweet nature got the better of him.”

She scratched the stallion behind his ear. “Poor baby. Were you trying to get my attention?”

“He was trying to get something,” Asa agreed.

She shot him a glare. “He was only trying to get out and stretch his legs. I haven’t been down to work with him for awhile.”

“Uh-huh.”

Asa exchanged a meaningful glance with Cougar. It was one of those glances she’d seen the banker give the lawyer after her father’s death. A purely male look that suggested the female in question was losing her mind. “I don’t know why you’re so annoyed.”

“I passed annoyed about ten minutes back,” Asa drawled.

“That’s the truth, ma’am,” Cougar obliged. “Thought the man was going to drop his heart along with his good sense when we came over that rise and saw you working that stud.”

“There was no need,” Elizabeth said. “I’ve been breaking horses for years.” She shot a glare Cougar’s way. “As you well know.”

“And this is the first time you thought to mention it?” Asa cut in.

He wasn’t backing her into that corner. “I explained to you a week ago that my father taught me everything about ranching.”

“You said you didn’t learn too well.”

“I never said I had trouble working horses.”

“No, you were real careful to leave that out.” He shifted in the saddle. Leather creaked and the silence stretched. She wondered why he didn’t get down.

“It’s a fact your wife’s not good with cows,” Cougar offered, no doubt in an effort to be helpful. “Give Miss Coyote a cow and she can’t tell one end from the other, but put a horse in front of her and she’s pure magic.”

“It’s Mrs. MacIntyre,” Elizabeth corrected, only to have her voice drowned out by Asa’s simultaneous snarl.

Beyond a slight smile, Cougar didn’t give any indication he’d heard either of them. “Fact is, Mrs. MacIntyre trained old Bucky here.” He patted Buck’s neck. “He tossed her a couple of times, but she didn’t quit until she made a top cow pony out of him.”

The accolade was nice, Elizabeth thought, but did the man have to go and remind Asa that she sometimes got hurt? Couldn’t he see Asa’s lips were getting tighter by the minute? “Thank you, Mr. McKinnely.”

“No problem.”

With a sweep of his hand, Asa included Cougar and Sir Prince in one gesture. “Do you think you could stop admiring my wife enough to take that brute back into the stable?”

“I can do it,” Elizabeth said.

“I’d prefer McKinnely handle it.” And that, apparently, he thought, was that.

Elizabeth had news for him. “For your information, Mr. MacIntyre, I like to train horses. I like training Sir Prince.”

“Then you’re going to have to unlike it.”

She most certainly did not. Fury bubbled and frothed. “I don’t think so.” She kept her tone even as she placed her hand on the horse’s neck. “I need this.”

“You’ve got the house to take care of.”

“You ever take care of a house, Asa?” She didn’t wait for his reply. “It’s boring, and if I have to clean one more thing, I’ll go coyote-mad.” That was the honest truth.

She untied Sir Prince’s lead rope and swung around to head to the opposite side of the corral.

“Elizabeth—”

She heard the warning in his tone. She ignored it.

Three more steps and his voice went up a notch while his drawl lengthened, “Elizabeth, pull up right there, or I’ll have to—”

She stopped dead, but didn’t turn around. “Don’t say it.” She warned him in the most level voice she could manage. “I’ve had it up to here,” she slashed her hand across her throat, “with people telling me what to do. Don’t you dare order me to let go of this lead.”

He’d heard that tone before, Asa realized. Right before Elizabeth had pole-axed that fancy gambler with the stool, she’d been just as precise. Just as unnaturally calm. Still, a man didn’t take orders from his wife.

McKinnely chose that moment to sidestep his horse hard into Shameless who half-reared and pranced away. Pain lanced out from Asa’s damaged ribs. Instead of the “Or what?” he’d intended, all that came out was a low groan.

He glared at McKinnely. “Stay out of it.”

“I’d be more than happy to, but it wouldn’t be neighborly of me to let those ribs drive you to ruffling your wife’s feathers unnecessarily.”

Asa watched Elizabeth proceed to the barn, stiff-spined, as if expecting him to swoop down on her. “Ruffle nothing. I’m going to tan her backside.”

The look McKinnely shot him was wry. “And when you’re done doing that?”

“Things will be back to normal.”

This time, Cougar’s look was pure pity. “Haven’t known you long, and, sure, I’m still learning about you, but…” He shook his head sadly. “I’m pure disappointed you’re turning out to be such a fool.”

“Remind me when these ribs heal to meet you behind the barn.”

Cougar pulled out his makings and rolled a cigarette. Asa had to wait for the man to put it between his lips before he answered. “Don’t think I’d mind meeting you there.” The glance he ran over Asa was assessing. “We’re about a straight match.” He lit the cigarette and shook out his sulfur. “Can’t say the same about you and Elizabeth.”

“How I handle Elizabeth is my business.”

“I understand what’s between a husband and a wife is a private matter, and, plain as day, I’ll be answering to God for it, but you go spouting asinine orders to Elizabeth, she’s going to fight back.”

“Asinine mean stupid?”

“Pretty much.”

“Keeping the woman safe is not stupid.”

Cougar tossed the match to the ground. It smoked harmlessly in the dirt. “Putting Elizabeth in a pretty cage is asinine. Expecting her to be happy about it is sheer stupidity.”

“Ladies do not break horses.”

“Elizabeth wasn’t raised to be a lady. Look around you, man.” Cougar waved his arm in a descriptive arc to encompass the mountains and the wilderness. “This isn’t Boston or San Francisco. Elizabeth was born and raised here. Sure, she can act the part of a lady, but she’s still a Coyote with their wild nature and hatred for rules. Part of her will always be wild. Different.”

Asa ran his hand down his face. For all he didn’t want to hear it, his fairer side said there was truth in Cougar’s words. His less savvy side was already halfway to town to buy a wagon load of cotton batting to wrap Elizabeth safely in.

“You said I could ask anything I wanted in return for the debt you owe me,” Cougar continued.

Asa grit his teeth. He knew what was coming. “You planning on tying my hands with my own honor?”

Cougar’s lips flickered up in a ghost of a smile. “Not only that, but tail-flipped and hog-tied.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“You go in that barn and tell that woman she can’t work that horse and she’s going to balk. More than likely, you’ll be arguing in the bedroom.” He took a long drag on the cigarette. The tip glowed red, then faded. “Arguments like that can get nasty.”

Asa watched Elizabeth finish unsaddling Sir Prince. “I guess I couldn’t blame her if she did.”

“Women don’t have much else to fight with,” Cougar agreed.

Asa thought of the promise of obedience he’d made Elizabeth give. Hell, she didn’t even have that.

Cougar took a final drag on his cigarette and tossed it to the ground. “You turn ornery as a result of her fighting back and I’ll have to kill you, which would be a shame as you seem the likable sort.”

Asa laughed, and immediately regretted it as his ribs screamed. His “you’d like to try” was rather pitiful in the way of challenges.

“I’d like not to put it to the test, but women can drive a man crazy with their ways.”

Asa wondered if he was referring to his relationship with Emily. “You have my word. I won’t forbid her.”

“Guess that’ll have to do.” Cougar sat straight in the saddle as the barn door closed behind Elizabeth. “You want I should tell her you’re pure busted up?”

“Hell, no! Let’s just get me into the house. If we’re lucky, she’ll sulk in the barn and we can inspect the damage before she comes in.”

“You thinking she’s going to start screaming?”

“I don’t want her worried.”

Cougar swung his horse to the right, urged him around the corral, and chuckled. “So you’re not planning on telling her about the trap you fell into?”

“It’s not something I’m proud of,” Asa grumbled.

“It was well done.” Cougar pointed out, looking back the way they’d come. “Like everything else that’s been going on for the last year and a half. It’s no accident that bullet creased you and those cattle stampeded the way they did.”