Betting on Grace (8 page)

“Come on, kiddo,” Ben said to Maddie. “Let’s go wash
up so we can eat.”

“See you in a little while, Gracie! Bye, cowboys!”
Maddie called out as her father led her toward the exit.

Crap.

And now Grace was left alone with Grant and Lane.
Clearly, she hadn’t thought that one through all the way.

“Don’t say a word,” she told them, twisting in the
saddle, preparing to lead Astro Boy back toward the stable.

She heard the creak of metal followed by the thud of
boots on dirt, and she knew the two men had scaled the railing and were now
following her outside.

“Why…?”

Grace quickly cut Lane off before he could get the
question out. Turning to face them both, she glared down into their faces,
daring them to argue with her. “I mean it. Don’t. Don’t ask me about anything
you saw today. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Lane didn’t say a word, but as she slid her gaze back
and forth between the two of them, she knew they were preparing the questions
they would likely bombard her with later. Maybe by then she’d be willing to
tell them. But right now, with the memory of her mother weighing heavily on her
heart, Grace just wanted a few minutes to herself.

Half an hour later, Grace was entering the dining
hall, looking around to see if she was the first of her little group to arrive.
She didn’t see Ben or Maddie, but she did see Lane and Grant standing at the
front of the food line, chatting with a wrangler who was adding additional
plates to the buffet table.

The place was busy, with other guests arriving for the
final meal of the day, along with her sisters, her father, and several of the
wranglers. In a few minutes, she knew the place would be loud, which was what
she was anticipating. With any luck, there would be too much going on for
anyone to question what they had seen a short while ago.

“Hi, Gracie!” The excited voice chimed from behind
Grace, so she turned to see Maddie standing there with an Oscar-worthy smile on
her face.

“Hey, Maddie. Are you hungry?”

The excited little girl nodded her head emphatically,
her pigtails bobbing.

“Well, we better get in line before the cowboys take
all the food.”

Grace, Maddie, and Ben all joined the line, waiting
patiently to reach the tables that held the food. Ben’s vivacious daughter was
kind enough to provide comic relief, explaining in thorough detail all about
their trip to the ranch. According to Maddie, she lived in Oklahoma with her
dad but went to see her mother every other weekend when her mom wasn’t out of
town. Grace noticed that when the little girl mentioned her mother, there was a
pained expression on Ben’s face. She had to wonder whether their divorce — if
they were actually divorced — was amicable. For some reason, she didn’t think
so, but she definitely wasn’t going to pry into the details of his life.

After filling their plates with chicken-fried steak,
corn on the cob, and ranch-style beans, the three of them wound through the
tables until they reached the larger one in the back. Grant and Lane were
already seated, and Grace wanted to laugh when she noticed they had reserved
her a chair. Between them.

Rather than call attention to their clever move, she
made her way over, sliding into the chair while Maddie did what Maddie did best
— started asking questions.

Grant and Lane were both good sports, sharing stories
and answering questions. Neither of them seemed at all put off by the fact they
were having dinner with a six-year-old and her father. In fact, Grant seemed to
have relaxed somewhat since she’d seen him earlier.

When they had finished their meal, Grant offered to
escort Maddie to the dessert table, promising coffee upon his return for the
adults. The conversation didn’t stall with their departure, though. Ben was
interested in the inner workings of the ranch, but he seemed more comfortable
asking Lane questions. Grace wasn’t sure whether that was because she was a
girl — which she highly doubted — or because he figured she had enough to do
just answering his daughter’s endless questions. Either way, Grace hung on to
Lane’s every word, enjoying the easy way he interacted with Ben.

A short while later, Grace was sipping coffee and
listening to Maddie chatter away about what she wanted to do tomorrow, when
Hope walked up to their table.

“Hey,” Grace greeted her sister with a smile. “Ben,
Maddie, this is my sister Hope.”

You could’ve heard a pin drop at that very moment. The
moment when Ben met Hope’s gaze from across the table, Grace was pretty certain
she saw sparks fly.

“Very nice to meet you, Maddie. Ben,” Hope said, her
voice soft.

“Are you a real cowgirl, too?” the energetic little
girl asked Hope.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Awesome!”

A round of laughter erupted, Grace leading the charge,
but she noticed that Ben wasn’t laughing. His eyes were glued to Hope, and
Grace saw something there. Something that threatened to set the smoke detectors
off.

Oh, crap.

“Grant,” Hope spoke directly to the man sitting at her
side, leaning over his shoulder. “I wanted to let you know that someone’s been
callin’ the ranch for you. I haven’t been the one to answer it yet, but the
girls who’re answerin’ the phone are gettin’ antsy. I think he said he was your
dad.”

Grace watched Grant’s entire body tense, his eyes
narrow.

Why would Grant’s father be calling the ranch?

“Thanks,” Grant said roughly, his tone making the hair
on the back of Grace’s neck lift.

Grace didn’t have a chance to question him about it
because Hope turned her attention toward her.

“Hey, Grace,” Hope said, leaning down over Grace’s
shoulder. “I wanted to see if we could have a meeting Thursday mornin’ at my house.”

And Hope was asking her this now? Because, what … they
weren’t going to see each other tomorrow? Grace didn’t feel comfortable
questioning Hope in front of the guests — which she figured was Hope’s angle —
so she simply nodded her head. “What time?”

“Eight. If possible.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Thanks. It was great to meet you both,” Hope stated,
obviously talking to Ben and Maddie. “I hope you have a great time while you’re
here. You’re lucky, you know that?”

“Why?” Maddie asked, curiosity making her golden eyes
glow.

Grace held her breath, waiting to see what Hope was
going to say. The woman was always completely professional — sometimes too much
so — when guests were around.

“My sister Gracie… She’s the best cowgirl at the
ranch. You’re lucky to have her showing you around.”

What the…

Twisting so that she could see Hope still standing
over her shoulder, Grace was speechless. Her face heated, embarrassment making
her temperature spike. Her sister didn’t usually hand out compliments like
that. Ever.

“I know!” the little girl agreed. “She showed me how
she races her horse, and tomorrow she’s gonna take me fishing.”

Shit.

Grace twirled back around in her seat fast enough to
shake the table, not wanting to look at Hope.

“Well, honey, I think you’re gonna have a fabulous
time. It was nice meeting you, Ben,” Hope said before she turned and walked
away from the table.

Grace noticed that Ben was still watching her sister,
even when Hope stopped at another table to chat with guests. She had no idea
what was running through his head, but the look on his face wasn’t lewd. No, she’d
be more inclined to describe his expression as wonder.

When a smile tipped the corner of his lips, Grace
peeked over her shoulder one more time to see Hope looking back at him.

Wow. And wonders never ceased.

“Hey, let’s get outta here for a little while,” Lane
mumbled to Grant after they had cleaned off the table and headed toward the
door.

Ben and Maddie had excused themselves a short while
ago. Apparently, seven thirty was the little girl’s bedtime, and if they didn’t
head back, she’d find a way to get out of taking a bath, something Ben wasn’t
looking forward to.

“What’d you have in mind?” Grant asked, his eyes
searching their surroundings to ensure no one was listening.

“I don’t know. Somethin’ fun. Let’s grab the horses
and head out for a bit.”

As they stepped out onto the porch, Grant glanced up
at the evening sky. Still cloudless, although the sun had begun its descent in
the west, casting rays of pink and orange overhead. The days weren’t quite as
long as they used to be, but he knew they still had quite a bit of daylight
left to utilize.

“I’m game,” Gracie said as she joined them.

Hell, Grant hadn’t even realized she was there.

“What d’ya say?” Lane asked Grant.

“Why not,” Grant answered with a grin.

Some time away from the place would do them some good.
And unfortunately, they never had much of a chance to spend time together
unless they were sneaking around anyway. An evening ride sounded like a good
plan.

Gracie led the way to the stables, and Grant walked
alongside Lane, doing his best not to stare at Gracie’s ass. Right. Like he was
really trying all that hard. The woman had one mighty fine ass.

“Hey, cowboy, my face is up here,” Gracie said
teasingly, drawing Grant’s gaze upward.

Hell, he’d been so engrossed in watching the rhythmic
sway of her hips that he hadn’t even realized she had stopped in front of Astro
Boy’s stall.

“I’ll take Shadow Mist,” Lane said as he moved past
them.

“I’ll ride Outlaw. He hasn’t had much exercise today.”

Grant spent the next few minutes getting Outlaw ready
for the ride while Lane and Gracie did the same with their respective horses.
He found himself alone in the stables by the time he had Outlaw ready. Smiling
to himself, he led the huge horse through the wide path that split the stable
in two. He met Lane and Gracie outside, noticing they were already in the
saddle waiting for him.

“You’re gettin’ slow in your old age,” Lane offered,
smiling down at him.

“We’re the same age,” he reminded Lane as he put his
foot in the stirrup and then hoisted himself up onto the horse. Outlaw let out
an excited whinny as he stomped his feet. “Not today, boy. We’re just gonna
take a walk.”

Grant could practically hear Outlaw’s disappointment
in his answering snort, but the horse started out at a brisk walk anyway.

“So, when did you first learn to ride?” Lane asked,
drawing Grant’s attention as they made their way across the pasture where the
horses grazed.

Grant listened closely, wanting to hear Gracie’s
response.

“My mom started teachin’ me to ride when I was three.
By the time I was five, I was learnin’ how to race.”

“Really?” Lane asked. “That’s young.”

“Maybe to you, but remember, I grew up on this ranch.
I’d been around horses from the day I was born. My sisters learned to ride
early, too.”

“Did Mercy learn to race young also?”

Good job, Lane
, Grant thought to himself. It was evident that Lane was urging Gracie to
open up, but if he started showering her with personal questions, she’d just as
quickly stop talking. Lane was smart enough to ask about someone other than
Gracie.

“Yeah. I’d say around the same age as me. Mercy and I
were the only two who really loved racing. But you should’ve seen my mother on
a horse…”

Grant could hear the emotion in Gracie’s voice.

“I’ve seen the tack room,” Grant inserted. “She won a
lot of prizes.”

“She did,” Gracie added. “My dad didn’t want to put
all of those things on display, but Hope convinced him. There are times I just
sit and stare at the trophies, the saddles, the medals… She was incredible.”

“And you wanted to be like her?” Grant asked the
obvious.

“Yep, that was the plan,” Gracie stated more firmly as
the horses headed down a steep hill. “She was gonna teach me everything she
knew. What about you? Did you play sports in high school?”

Grant glanced over at Lane, wondering if he wanted to
answer that question. Grant had heard the stories of Lane’s younger years, but
he doubted Gracie had heard them all.

And since they were all sharing, Grant figured there
was no better time than now to urge someone else to take the lead. After all,
he wasn’t all that interested in sharing his sob story with these two. Tonight
was about enjoying themselves, and Grant’s story would just bring them all
down.

■□■□■□■□

“I played baseball,” Lane stated, his eyes meeting
Grant’s briefly over Gracie’s head. He recognized a hand-off when he heard one.
Grant clearly didn’t want to talk about himself, which left Lane picking up the
slack. “Absolutely hated it, but that’s what my father wanted me to do, so I
didn’t have much of a choice. Started out playing in a tee ball league when I
was little. My dad made sure I played every year up until my senior year of
high school. On the plus side, it kept my grades up. It just wasn’t my thing. I
would’ve preferred to be chasing women at the time.”

“Just women?” Grace asked, laughing.

“Okay, men
and
women.” Lane hadn’t realized
what being bisexual actually meant until he was out of high school even though
he’d known he had a fondness for both men and women. To this day, he hadn’t kept
it a secret that he was bisexual, nor did he flaunt it, either.

“Why’d you play if you hated it so much?” Gracie
asked, leading Astro Boy toward the tree line, Outlaw and Shadow Mist following
his lead.

“I was my dad’s trophy. He wanted to show me off. He
was insistent that I was gonna be some baseball phenom just because he wanted
me to. I tried to tell him that it didn’t work that way, but he rarely ever
listened to me. It could’ve been worse… He could’ve wanted me to play tennis or
some shit like that.”

“Hey!” Gracie called out. “What’s wrong with tennis?
Trin played tennis in high school.”

“I’m sorry,” Lane said, grinning, feeling anything
but. “She’s a girl. Tennis is okay if you’re a girl.”

The sound of Gracie’s chuckle soothed him. In fact,
the sound of the trees rustling in the wind, the hooves on the dirt, and the
occasional whinny from the horses helped, as well. But he could’ve been
anywhere in the world, and as long as he could listen to Gracie laugh, Lane
would’ve been happy.

“Other than being popular because you were probably
the captain of the baseball team, did you like high school?” Grant asked.

“I didn’t hate it. I just wanted to get it over with.
My dad was pushy, always wanting me to do just a little better at anything I
did. What about you?”

“It was the only way I could get away from my parents,
so I didn’t particularly mind it.” Grant’s answer sounded sad, as though the
man was reliving those days when he had needed a reason to get away from his
parents. Lane could relate somewhat. He hadn’t looked forward to high school,
but anytime he’d been out of the house had been a plus for him, too. “What
about you, Gracie?”

“I loved high school. Bein’ on the ranch is great and
all, but it’s an isolated lifestyle. When I was in school, I was able to see my
friends, hang out. I think the biggest issue was the age difference between my
younger sisters and me. When I was a senior, two of them were in high school
with me. Faith would’ve been too, except her birthday’s in November, so she
started school later.”

“I didn’t have any brothers or sisters to worry
about,” Lane added. He remembered days when he’d wished he had a sibling who
could take some of the heat off him. His father had been truly relentless in
his pursuit to make Lane the best kid a father could have. The man had never
been happy with anything Lane did, informing Lane that he could’ve always done
just a little better.

The three of them took the horses down to the edge of
the creek just on the other side of the tree line, giving them time to drink
before they set out on the ride back. Staring out at the flat land, the hills
that had given this little section of Texas its name, Lane took a deep breath.

“I could sit right here forever,” Gracie said softly.

“Me, too,” Lane said at the exact moment Grant did.

It was true, being on the ranch, the laid-back
lifestyle… It did more for him than anything else. Lane would be content to be
there for the rest of his life. Which he hoped was a possibility.

“Have you ever brought a girl home to meet your
parents?” Gracie asked.

Lane met her gaze, realizing she was talking to him.
He nodded. “Once. My senior prom. Her name was Dawn. I think meeting my father
scared her off. We’d been datin’ for a short time before the prom, and I asked
her. I figured my parents would be all up my ass if I didn’t introduce them, so
I caved. Yeah, that didn’t go over well. I don’t think Dawn had been expectin’
the interview my father gave her. Hell, you would’ve thought we were plannin’
to get married or somethin’.”

Gracie laughed. “I introduced my dad to one guy I
dated in high school. That didn’t go over well. The boy I was dating obviously
didn’t know how to take him, and when my dad threatened to rip his arms clean
off his body, the boy avoided me at school and didn’t call me anymore.”

“I can see that,” Lane added, chuckling. That’s
something he would expect from Jerry. The man had a huge heart, but he could be
incredibly intimidating when he wanted to be.

“We better get back,” Gracie stated as she pulled on
Astro Boy’s reins, urging him to turn around. “It’s gettin’ dark.”

Lane took one more look around him, feeling incredibly
content with where he was in his life. He knew his father would never agree,
never fully understand what it meant to be free and open like he was, but Lane
wouldn’t have it any other way.

And now he had these two in his life.

What more could he ask for?

Two hours later, Lane was lying on his own bed, his
hands propped behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.

Yeah, this sucked big, hairy donkey balls.

Since spending time with Gracie and Grant, staying
with them in the evenings, sleeping over on occasion, Lane would admit that
sleeping in the bunkhouse was about the worst thing he could think of, aside
from possibly sleeping in the pigpen.

Not that it was much different.

There were roughly three dozen guys in a house that
had been built for maybe a few more than that, but not by much. There were five
individual rooms, each with four bunk beds, sleeping eight to a room. But if
you wanted to watch TV, that was in the common area. And if you didn’t want to
listen to country music, well, you were pretty much shit out of luck because
that was what was currently blaring on the radio, coming from the next room
over.

“It’s after ten! Turn that shit off!” someone yelled
from another room, clearly as frustrated by the music as Lane was. Not that
Lane would’ve said anything. To each his own and all that shit. If he got too
fed up with it, he’d just sleep in his truck. He’d done it before.

“Fuck you!” came the response from the room next to
his.

Lane smiled.

This was a nightly occurrence. It was as though they
lived to piss each other off. One would think that they’d be too exhausted to
bitch and moan after working an eighteen-hour day, but no, this happened way
too often.

Lane pulled his hands out from behind his head and
reached for his cell phone sitting on a tiny stand positioned beside the bed,
holding his wallet, keys, and his phone charger, nothing else.

The screen came to life, and Lane navigated through
the menu until he got to his text messaging app. Adding Grant and Gracie to one
conversation, he typed in,
I miss you both
, and then sat back to see if
either of them would respond.

This had been a nightly thing for them, too. Anytime
they weren’t together, which was, unfortunately, more often than not, the three
of them would text back and forth for at least a few minutes, sometimes closer
to an hour.

Miss you, too
was the reply he received from Gracie, coming across his screen from “Sexy
Cowgirl” about two minutes later, and the message, signaled by the bright flash
of his phone screen, made his heart swell.

Grant Kingsley: What are you wearing?

Lane laughed at Grant’s text the moment he received
it. He figured Grant was talking to Gracie, but he responded anyway.

Lane Miller: Khakis

No, he wasn’t really wearing khakis. He actually
didn’t even own a pair, but he had seen it on some commercial and went with it.