The Circle Eight: Tobias (18 page)

Rebecca cleaned up the examination room and glanced out the window at the sunny late-summer day. It would be a perfect time to go riding. She’d had little time to ride Ocho since she had moved to town. He was growing fat and ornery. It was an opportunity to rid herself of the restlessness that had plagued her since early in the day. Since Tobias.
 

She didn’t want to wake Doctor Radicy from his afternoon slumber, so she scribbled a note and left it in the kitchen. He was a creature of habit and slept from two to four each day, followed by bracing coffee. She went upstairs to his home and set the note beside the coffee beans on the counter.
 

Rebecca locked the door behind her and hung up the CLOSED shingle on the door. The townspeople knew of Doctor Radicy’s naps and no one ever came by during those two hours. It had become a town-wide habit.
 

The late-afternoon sun bathed the street in a golden glow. She breathed in deep and let it out slowly. Riding Ocho would be just the thing. She stopped at the boardinghouse where she lived and changed into her split riding skirt. She hurried to the livery, her excitement growing by the minute. She had hours until she might be needed. For now Doctor Radicy would be available to patients. In two more months, he would move to his daughter’s house in Corpus Christi.
 

Rebecca was both excited and scared at the possibility of being on her own as the town’s healer. There was a midwife who assisted many of the women with births. Rebecca had attended a total of two but she needed to expand her knowledge of midwifery. It was her next hurdle to overcome on her journey to becoming a doctor.
 

Today she was just a woman going for a ride with her favorite horse. She lengthened her stride, enjoying the feel of the light breeze on her face. The livery was at the end of the main street. It consisted of a large barn, corral and a small house behind the corral where the livery owner lived.
 

There was no farrier work that occurred in town. Instead, Rebecca’s sister-in-law Aurora was the town’s blacksmith. Her shop was at the Circle Eight and her work with metal was second to none. It was an arrangement worked out between old man Waldeck and the Grahams. She wondered if the same agreement existed with the new owner.
 

There were no smithy tools or equipment at the livery but that didn’t mean the new owner wouldn’t want to add it. If he knew nothing of Aurora or her skills, he could put a dent in her business. Most folks in the county knew of and had firsthand experience with Aurora’s skills, but that didn’t mean Rebecca wouldn’t speak up for her.
 

She turned the corner and skidded to a stop. For the second time in the same day, she was shocked into speechlessness.
 

Will Gibson sat in front of the livery on a stool playing checkers with old man Waldeck. Rebecca knew without a doubt who had purchased the livery.
 

Shit.
 

Tobias was oiling the old tack when he heard Will cry out. He dropped the bridle and ran for the door. Now it was his turn to stop dead in his tracks.
 

Rebecca stood in Will’s embrace, genuine affection on her face. He hugged her with abandon, not recognizing it was inappropriate. Will’s childlike view of the world had been hard to accept. After Tobias got past the shock and anger, he recognized that Will showed him everything through fresh eyes. Without the darkness and wickedness that colored most people’s experiences.
 

Will had saved Tobias’s life.
 

Tobias waited until Will released Rebecca before speaking. “Good afternoon, Miss Graham.”
 

She started and then met his gaze, her chin up and her eyes flashing. “You could have told me you were the new livery owner.”
 

He shrugged. “You didn’t give me a chance. You were busy, ah, telling me what you thought of me.” The punch had been surprisingly strong, considering she was half his size. He’d wanted to confess everything to her, to open his mouth and tell her what happened the last five months. After she hit him, he decided she wasn’t ready to hear his story. She might not ever be, but he was sure as hell going to try to get there.
 

Her cheeks colored. “You startled me and I was taught to protect myself.”
 

“Your brothers would be proud.” He knew her brothers well, all four of them. Fierce, protective men who thought Tobias was an enemy. Her family would be the hardest to convince that Tobias had changed. “You’re living in town?”
 

“I live at the boardinghouse and work at the doctor’s clinic.” She wiped her hands on her skirt and looked at Mr. Waldeck. “I just came to ride Ocho.”
 

“This young’un owns the livery now, Doc. He can saddle that ornery horse for ya.” The old man was as craggy as they come, bow-legged and rough around the edges. His crinkly silver hair resembled a bird’s nest while his watery brown eyes missed nothing. Tobias had offered the old man a place at the livery until he wanted to go elsewhere. It had only been a week but the arrangement seemed to be the right one.
 

Rebecca’s mouth twisted and she walked passed him into the barn. Waldeck cackled while Will looked confused.
 

“Is she mad at us?” Will asked. His speech had slowed along with his mind but other than that, he’d not shown any other ill effects from his accident. Physically, Will had regained all his strength and agility. Mentally, Rebecca’s premonition of his remaining a child for good had come true. Both of them had struggled to know each other again. Now, Tobias couldn’t imagine not having Will in his life again.
 

“No, she’s mad at me.” Tobias clapped Will on the shoulder. “She likes you.”
 

“Oh, good.” Will’s expression relaxed. He plopped back down into the chair to resume his game of checkers.
 

Tobias headed into the barn. She wouldn’t ask for help but he was damned well going to give it. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkened interior. He heard her speaking to her crazy horse, her sweet voice echoed in the building where the only sounds were equine shuffles, snuffles and shifting.
 

He grabbed her saddle from its perch on the wall and headed for the stall. He’d made it his business to know which was hers and he already knew the horse. That gelding had tried to bite him more than once, as though he remembered the taste of Gibson flesh. The horse’s disposition hadn’t improved in five years.
 

She leaned against the horse’s shoulder, her forehead pressed to his neck. It was a private moment and he didn’t want to interrupt. Her hair was in a braid down her back. His hands itched to unravel the locks, to feel its thickness sliding through his fingers. He wanted to press it to his nose and smell her delicious scent. Damn but he was as wrapped up in this woman as the strands of her braid. Caught, entangled, never to be free.
 

He loved her.
 

Tobias wanted to tell her, to get down on his knees and ask her to marry him. Right about then, she might shoot him if he tried. Patience was not one of his strengths but he’d learned to hold back his needs. The reward would be sweeter if he took his time to convince her, to woo her, to show her he loved her.
 

He cleared his throat and stepped toward the stall. She moved back and petted the horse’s neck. “Mr. Gibson.”
 

“I don’t think there’s any reason for you to be formal with me. You and I, we have history and that means we ain’t formal. Ever again.” He set the saddle on the side of the stall. “Now lemme saddle this boy for you. Please.”
 

Her brows went up and he knew it was the “please”. It wasn’t a word he had used much in his life. He’d been too busy being angry with everyone and everything. Being at the bottom of a pile of shit put life in perspective. Looking up at what he’d lost, what he could have, gave him the strength to pull himself up out of the hole he’d been living in.
 

“I thought you were in jail.” The words were rushed, as though she didn’t want to say them but they escaped anyway.
 

“I was. For a month, until the sheriff got back. James made sure I got fed and lived long enough to get out.” Tobias hadn’t yet reconciled fully with his brother but they had started. Everything was one small step at a time. Patience again.
 

“The sheriff let you out?”
 

Tobias nodded. “The three bastards disappeared. Nobody’s seen hide nor hair of them since they talked to Ellis. Appears they were busy selling off cattle under Donovan’s nose.”
 

“Rustlers?” She folded her arms. “And you think Will must’ve seen something?”
 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. He was a good man, never a harsh word to anyone, but if he heard or saw something, they woulda tried to kill him. Just like they tried to kill me.” He frowned at the memory of those intense days when Will lay unconscious and unresponsive. “We’ll ain’t never gonna know what Will saw or heard. It’s lost, along with the last fifteen years of his life.”
 

She sighed. “He looks healthy enough.”
 

At this Tobias smiled. “He is. He eats more than any human being rightly should but I’ve taught him how to tend a garden so he can eat as many vegetables as he can grow. I’m also gonna to trade services for beef and pork from a few of the local ranchers.” He was amazed at how
satisfying it was to take responsibility for himself and Will, to make decisions for them and to provide for their family.
 

“It sounds as if you’ve settled in quite well.” Her shoulders stiffened up. “Why a livery?”
 

Tobias’s smile widened. “I’m good with horses. I like the routine. Horses’re simple and once you get to know what they need, you give it to ’em and they’re happy. People are harder, more complicated.”
 

She petted her horse for a few moments before she met his gaze. He saw the pain behind those beautiful blue-green eyes. “I understand why you want to work with horses. I’m glad you’re not in jail and that Will is happy and healthy. One thing is bothering me.”
 

He resisted the urge to press her. Swallowing his impatience, he waited until she found the question she wanted to ask.
 

“Why did you choose Briar Creek?”
 

Tobias had asked himself that question a dozen times and the answer was always the same. It was the closest town to the woman he loved. However, he suspected she wasn’t ready to hear that. Tobias had show her he had changed. Words would not be enough.
 

“It’s a nice town, half-a-day’s ride from where we was raised. It’s comfortable for Will and he likes it here. James works at a ranch nearby too. He promised Will he’d come and see him on Sundays.” All of it was true, but it wasn’t the core reason. Tobias would tell her the full story one day, if he were lucky.
 

“James is here too?” She glanced around as if he’d jump out and yell “Boo!”
 

“He’s at McRae’s, which is somewhere west of here. He gets Sundays off so he comes into town. We saw him yesterday and Will spent the day with him.” Tobias’s relationship with his brother was still awkward, but this was a start.
 

“I know Mr. McRae. His ranch borders the Circle Eight.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do I feel like I’m being hemmed in by Gibsons?”
 

Tobias threw up his hands, irked by her suspicion. Not that he didn’t deserve it but he’d done nothing to approach her. “I been here more than a week. If’n I wanted to hem you in, I woulda sought you out. I ain’t done nothing but take over this business and try to get Will settled.”
 

He put the blanket on the gelding and smoothed it out, very conscious of her glare as he worked. Ocho tried to bite him as he slipped the bridle and bit into place. Then the horse bumped his shoulder when he set the
saddle on the horse’s back. Tobias had been trying to teach the damn thing he was the master of the barn. So far he hadn’t had much luck.
 

“He tends to hold his breath when you saddle him.” She offered from the corner. “I wait to cinch until he lets it out.”
 

Tobias didn’t have infinite patience to play a game with the horse. He pushed his knee into the critter’s belly until the air gusted out of his mouth. Tobias triumphantly cinched the saddle and stood back with a grin.
 

Rebecca’s lips were pinch together so tight they were white. “You didn’t need to kick him.”
 

“I didn’t—” He stopped and took a breath, pushing aside the shout that threatened. Being a gentleman was hard fucking work. “I didn’t hurt him. I’ve had a passel of horses that tried that same trick. All I did was push out the air.”
 

She petted Ocho’s neck again and murmured to him. “Ready for a ride, boy?”
 

The horse tossed his head and Tobias assumed that was a yes. She took the reins and led him from the stall, leaving Tobias to wonder if she would ever give him a chance. It would be a third chance for him. He had no right to expect one but he damn sure wanted one.
 

“Becca?”
 

She stopped midway down the barn, not turning to look at him but waiting. It was a start.
 

“Enjoy your ride.”
 

She nodded and continued out into the bright late-day sunshine. Tobias leaned against the stall and wondered if every encounter with her would be that hard. At least this time she hadn’t punched him. It wasn’t much but it was something. He would consider that a victory in his battle to win her back.
 

It was going to be a long journey.
 

Rebecca wanted to enjoy the ride on Ocho. It had always been an activity she looked forward to. Until Tobias bought the livery. She’d wanted to ask him how he’d bought it and why, but his answers to her questions had been vague enough she ceased asking.