Wild About the Wrangler (5 page)

“He might have a vague memory of your smell. If you screamed, he might remember.”

“I think I'll skip that part.” She combed his forelock with her fingers. “I'm sorry I screamed at you, Prince. That wasn't respectful and I promise not to do it again.”

He responded with a gentle snort. Startled, she drew in a breath, but he continued to look at her calmly as if to say that she didn't have a single thing to be afraid of. She went back to stroking his nose.

“Do you think you'd ever want to ride him?” Georgie's question caught her by surprise.

“You'd let me?”

“Of course I would. You could ride Prince and I could ride Storm Cloud.”

Anastasia smiled. “Did you hear that, Prince? My sis just invited me to go riding with her. That would be a first.”

“I'd love it if you would, but I don't want to rush things. Let me know when you're ready.”

“See what I mean?” She glanced over her shoulder at Georgie. “You're so careful with me. To most people, you're this powerhouse with high expectations, but you've always treated me as if I might break. Why is that?”

Georgie's expression softened. “The easy answer is that I respect your talent, but the real truth is that from the start you liked me. So of course I wanted to take good care of you. I'd never had a sister before. Charmaine resented the hell out of me, but for some strange reason you didn't.”

“Are you kidding? I thought you were cool beans, riding around on Prince and cracking that whip. I was jealous, but I also wanted to be you.”

“You still want to learn how to use a whip?”

“Oh, God, yes. But I always figured I had to be able to ride first, like Zorro.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Still, it would make a good motivator. Once I've conquered the riding thing, we can move on to whip practice.”

“It's a deal.” Georgie smiled. “Listen, I'm getting hungry. I'm all for this new direction of yours, but could we skip petting Storm Cloud for now and go cook up some pasta?”

“We could do that.” Anastasia gave Prince one last pat. “Catch you later, big guy.”

As they walked back to the house, she sighed. “I've missed out on a lot, huh?”

“You mean because you didn't want to have anything to do with horses?”

“Yeah. This is a horse-oriented town, especially now that the wild horses are so much a part of our growth.”

“You've sold a lot of pictures of the Ghost. That's not what I call missing out.”

“I'm not talking about economically. I mean being in sync with everyone else around here. The only other person I know who doesn't like horses is my mother. She should like them because they're the force behind escalating property values and the flood of tourists who buy my art. But she doesn't.”

“Her loss.” Georgie walked through the gate she'd left open and continued on up the flagstone walk.

“I'm determined she'll sell you that house someday.”

“You know, I think she will. She never liked Bickford. I think she hoped my father would expand his holdings and eventually outgrow the town. That was never going to happen, even if he'd lived.”

“I really loved him.”

Georgie's voice grew husky. “Me, too. Still miss him.”

“He would have liked the idea of Wild Horse Canyon Adventures.”

“I think he would have.” She opened the front door and ushered Anastasia into the cozy home she'd created. “But he'd hate the fact that Vince and I are living together and haven't seen fit to stand before a preacher yet.”

Anastasia followed her into the kitchen. “I hope you know the entire town is on pins and needles about the wedding date. Last I heard, somebody had started a pool for guessing the day, maybe even the time.”

“Somebody?” Georgie put a large pan of water on to boil and took a box of pasta out of the cupboard. “Somebody by the name of Travis Langdon?”

“That would be the one.” Anastasia rummaged in the refrigerator. “I'll put together the salad.”

“That would be great.” Georgie chopped veggies and dumped them into a frying pan. “This is something I assemble and then stick in the oven for a little while. We'll have time to talk about you and Mac.”

“You know what? I've decided we don't need to. I'll be too zonked at six in the morning to worry about anything. My hormones will be AWOL at that ungodly hour.” She began tearing lettuce into a bowl. “I'd rather talk about the holdup on setting the date for the ceremony. As your official maid of honor, I have as much right to ask as anybody. What's the problem?”

Georgie turned, knife in hand, and waved it in her direction. “You're in the pool, aren't you?”

“Who, me?” She tried to look innocent.

“Anastasia Bickford, did you come over here just so you could get the inside scoop and win the money?”

“Actually, no, but it's not a bad idea.”

“Aha! You
are
in the pool.”

She shrugged. “It's the most interesting thing happening at Sadie's and I'm there a lot. I figured my guess is as good as anybody's, maybe better. But I'm as baffled as they are. You're a perfect match and you both know it. Why not get on with the knot-tying part?”

Georgie stirred the veggies without looking at her. “We've been arguing about the venue.”

“Really? You both like things casual. What's to discuss?”

“He wants to get married in that little box canyon we discovered that's the overnight stop for the trail rides. But I think Sadie's would work better.”

“Because of Mom?”

“To be honest, if that was the only sticking point, I'd go along with Vince's idea and let her figure out what she wanted to do. It would be beautiful out there. Much more significant than getting married in Sadie's.”

Anastasia's chest tightened with love for her sister. “But you knew I couldn't get to that canyon.”

Georgie nodded. “Vince keeps saying we can just throw you on a gentle horse and you'll be fine, but I know different.”

“And you didn't say why that wouldn't work, not even to your dearly beloved.” She hadn't expected that kind of loyalty, considering how close Georgie and Vince were, but it sure felt good.

“It's not mine to tell.”

“Oh, Georgie.” She walked over to hug her sister. “You really are too easy on me.”

“I was there that night. I know how it affected you. I couldn't ask you to climb on a horse just so I could get married in the spot of Vince's choosing. The place isn't important, but the people who will be there are extremely important.”

Anastasia took a deep breath. “Set the date, sis. I'll be there.”

M
ac was awake at five, a full two hours before sunrise. By five thirty he was drinking coffee and eating peanut butter toast he could barely taste. He hadn't been this much on edge since the day he'd faced a justice of the peace with Sophie.

He'd known deep down that decision hadn't been a good one. Although he had similar jitters this morning, he couldn't get a fix on whether he was doing the right thing or something totally insane. But he'd agreed to it, and once he said he'd do something, he by God did it.

He didn't have many rules to live by, but that was one of them. Normally he didn't give his word without a lot of thought, but this time he'd allowed himself to make a snap decision. He hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him.

After Anastasia had left the stable yesterday he'd had a talk with Ed about what was going to take place. Some kind of payment schedule had seemed appropriate, but Ed wouldn't hear of it. Georgie was one of his favorite people in the world, and if her little sister wanted to learn how to ride, Ed was glad to help. When he'd discovered Mac wasn't taking any money, either, that had settled the matter.

Since Mac was up early, he threw on his denim jacket and headed on over to the stable to help Ed feed. His house was only a quarter of a mile away. While most residents had built west of town, a few maverick types had bought land to the east. Mac had liked the idea of being in a slightly wilder, less developed area.

That meant he was making the trip to the stable in the pale predawn light, but he'd walked over there so many times in the past few months he didn't need to see very well. The stars were just starting to fade and the crisp, cool air felt good. The weather had stayed nice, but sooner or later they'd see some snow. His house had a wood-burning fireplace and he wanted to test it out.

The reality of owning a house hadn't quite set in yet. He'd told himself it was an investment, not a lifestyle decision, and the way Bickford was recovering he'd make money if he sold tomorrow. But with every improvement he made, he became more attached to the place.

And why not? He liked the town, his job, and the people. The population was heavily weighted toward senior citizens, but they knew how to have a good time. He could find a friendly poker game most nights at Sadie's.

Years ago the saloon had featured live music and dancing, too. Steve and Myra Jenson were determined to get a good country band booked now that they could afford to hire one. The first group had been loud and profane. The second one had played well and hadn't cussed, but they hadn't managed to show up on time. Steve and Myra were holding another round of auditions.

Ed called out a greeting when Mac walked into the barn. “Sorta thought you might show up.”

“Getting up early is in my blood, I guess.”

“Good timing. I was just about to start.”

“I figured.” Mac pulled on his leather gloves and grabbed a flake of hay while Ed did the same. They usually shared this chore before a trail ride, so they had their routine down. Mac took one row of stalls and Ed took the other.

Jasper was first to get fed, which worked out well. He'd easily be finished eating by the time Anastasia got here. Mac could halter him, too. No sense in waiting until she showed up to do that.

Delivering flakes of hay to each stall calmed the horses, but it calmed Mac, too. A daily routine was about the only thing he missed about ranch work. In this job, he and Travis were on duty for two days straight every weekend, but their weekday schedules varied.

Sometimes they repaired sections of the trail that had washed out. Other days they fetched supplies from Amarillo. If Vince and Georgie brought in a new horse, Mac and Travis were usually in charge of working the kinks out.

Some weeks were crazy and some were quiet. This one should be quiet, so Anastasia had picked a good time to ask for lessons. There would be one more overnight trail ride this weekend, and then everybody would begin focusing on the film crew's arrival. Georgie hadn't booked a trail ride for the weekend prior to their coming to town so the path could be groomed and the campsite put in tip-top condition.

Anastasia wouldn't be finished with her lessons by next week, but if they kept up with the six a.m. program, they should be able to get an hour in every weekday morning. Maybe by then she'd have adjusted to waking up before dawn. He didn't know very many night owls. Ranch people had responsibilities first thing in the morning. Most of the seniors in Bickford got up early, too. He thought Anastasia would get used to it.

But when she arrived precisely at six looking as if someone had pulled her through a knothole backward, he wasn't so sure. She must have put her hair in a ponytail the night before, because it was half in and half out of it. He'd expected she'd show up without makeup, which she didn't need to be pretty, but she must have slept in her clothes.

She hadn't bothered to zip her quilted vest, and underneath it her shirt was a wrinkled mess that was no longer tucked into her jeans if it ever had been. The jeans didn't show wrinkles, but the cuffs were bunched around her boot tops. Most people either pulled them over the boots or tucked them in, but she hadn't taken the time to do either.

They weren't the same clothes she'd had on yesterday, though. She'd obviously changed outfits. At first glance he wouldn't have recognized her except for the canvas messenger bag slung over her shoulder.

He got no cheery smile from her, either. She gazed at him in silence, her usually bright eyes dull and unfocused.

“Good morning, Anastasia.”

“Morning.” Her voice was hoarse.

“Ready to work with Jasper?”

She nodded.

Ed walked up to stand beside Mac. He surveyed Anastasia for a moment. “Young lady, how about if I fetch you a cup of coffee from the house?”

She nodded again.

“I'll be right back.” Ed hurried out of the barn.

She stayed put, as if somebody had nailed her boots to the floor.

Mac nudged his hat back with his thumb. “Guess you weren't kidding about that zombie thing.”

Once again her reply sounded like a rusty hinge. “No.”

“But you made it on time. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

He resisted the urge to fix her hair, or straighten the cuffs of her jeans, or tuck in her shirt. She needed tending to, but he wasn't the person who should do the tending. He was touched, though, that she'd done what she had to in order to make it here by six. Obviously it hadn't been easy for her.

“Is it okay if we hang your messenger bag on one of those wall hooks?” He gestured toward a section that Ed had constructed specifically for ladies' purses.

A friend of Ed's had welded horseshoes together to make eight hooks that Ed had nailed to the wall. Women who arrived for short rides armed with purses could leave them here. Only one lady had ever questioned the security of this arrangement, and the insulted expression on Ed's weathered face had convinced her that she didn't have to worry.

“You'll need to have both hands free,” Mac added.

She looked at the messenger bag hanging from her shoulder as if surprised to see it there. If she'd been operating on automatic this morning, she might have scooped it up out of habit. Or maybe she intended to stick around and draw horses after the lesson.

She swallowed and handed it over. “That's fine.”

As Mac looped the strap over the first hook, Ed came back with a steaming mug in one hand and an energy bar in the other.

“It's hot.” He handed her the mug carefully. “Don't burn your tongue.”

“Thank you.” Her voice sounded slightly more normal.

“Just in case you didn't have time for breakfast, Vivian told me to bring this.” He opened the top of the energy bar and peeled down the wrapper before handing her that, too. “It's strawberry. Most people like strawberry.”

“Thanks.” She took a cautious sip of the coffee and closed her eyes. “Ah.”

“Apparently you had the right idea, Ed. Thank you.” Mac wished he'd thought of it. He could have brought a thermos of coffee. He didn't have energy bars, but he could have made her a P B and J.

Ed chuckled. “I recognize the look. My daughter's a night owl. She moved to California and took a job writing computer code for a company that doesn't care if she works nights or days so long as she finishes her projects. She told me once that she wouldn't be able to keep my hours if I put a gun to her head.”

Mac glanced at Anastasia. “Then I guess I should be even more flattered than I was that you got out of bed to be here.”

“You should.” She took another swallow of the coffee and bit into the energy bar. Her eyes were growing brighter in tandem with the rising sun.

It was compelling, watching her wake up with the sun, but he couldn't let himself continue to do it. Staring at her for any length of time was a bad idea. His thoughts were either tender or lustful, and neither of those emotions had any place in the proceedings.

He cleared his throat. “Tell you what. While you drink your coffee and eat your energy bar, I'll take Jasper out of his stall and tie him to the hitching post outside. That way he'll be ready for you to brush him.”

“Okay.” She remained standing in the exact middle of the aisle.

“You might want to move over to the side while I do that.”

“Oh!” Showing quite a bit more animation, she backed toward the wall where her messenger bag hung.

Ed glanced at Mac. “Guess I'll let you get on with it while I go have my breakfast. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Ed. I will.” As Ed left the barn, Mac looked at Anastasia with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “This'll be so easy. Like falling off a log.”

“Right.” She shoved the unfinished energy bar into her vest pocket.

“You have time to finish that while I take him out.”

“Not hungry.”

Apparently she was awake enough to be scared. He felt her attention on him as he grabbed a lead rope and unlatched Jasper's stall. Up to this point she'd seemed to have forgotten why she was here.

Maybe the caffeine had kicked in, because the prospect of a horse walking right past her obviously had penetrated her sleep-fogged brain. After clipping the rope in place, Mac started to lead Jasper out of the stall.

Anastasia had backed closer to the wall and stood clutching her coffee mug in both hands as if it could serve as a shield. With her straggling hair, untucked shirt, and hastily pulled on boots, she looked like a waif lost in the storm. His heart lurched.

This must be the vulnerability that Georgie saw in her little sister and now he saw it, too. But Anastasia had asked him to be tough on her, to push her out of her comfort zone so that she could overcome her fear. He hadn't realized how difficult that might turn out to be.

Instead he wanted to hold her, comfort her, and protect her from anything scary. That attitude wouldn't help her at all. Taking a deep breath, he vowed to be the kind of teacher she needed.

He paused. “On second thought, why don't you put that mug down and come on over here on his right side? We'll lead him out together.”

Her eyes widened and she swallowed. She also didn't move. She remained frozen to the spot.

“He likes you. You're the person who scratched his neck for so long that you nearly put him in a trance. He knows you're back and he's hoping for more of the same. You don't want to disappoint this poor horse, do you?”

“No.” She crouched down without losing eye contact and put the mug on the floor. Then she straightened. Holding his gaze, she walked slowly toward him.

In any other context, it would have been an extremely sexy thing to do. But he was fairly sure she didn't have sex on her mind. She was fixated on him so she wouldn't have to look at the big scary horse standing
right there.

“Great. When you get over here, take hold of his rope and we'll go out the door. It's not far. Remember, he thinks you're great.”

She nodded. Once she had a grip on the rope, she faced forward immediately. “It's a lot different when he's out of the stall.” Her voice was tight with strain.

“I know. That's why I wanted you to get used to him while he was contained. Your sketches are of a kind horse, a cooperative horse, one who likes people, especially pretty ladies who scratch his neck.” He glanced past Jasper's nose so he could look at her and he was gratified to see a tiny smile blooming. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Then here we go.” He started forward.

“In case you wondered, I slept in my clothes.”

“Never would have guessed.”

Her smile widened. “You're either a liar or incredibly unobservant.”

“Okay, I guessed. And for the record, I had no idea what I was asking of you.”

“I don't function well at this hour, so I showered and dressed before I went to bed. Otherwise I might have shown up with no clothes at all.”

And he pictured that because he couldn't help himself. He'd never seen her naked, but he had a good imagination, and the view was breathtaking. He took a mental cold shower and focused on the task at hand. “And look at that. You made it on time.”

“My body was here. My brain was not.”

“How about now?”

“The coffee helped, but that energy bar was nasty. Ed was so sweet to bring it, though. I had to eat some. Tonight I'll make a P B and J and set the timer on the coffeemaker. There's no way I can get up in time to make breakfast, but I can do that before I go to bed.”

He'd been about to offer the same thing, but he held back. Having her supply her own coffee and snack was more empowering. Somehow he had to stifle his natural impulse to take care of her. It would be an ongoing project.

As they walked through the double doors and into the yard, she sucked in a breath.