Forever Dreams (Montana Brides) (5 page)

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning, Gracie’s alarm clock rattled her out of a deep sleep. Crawling out of bed she headed straight for the bathroom. Whoever said traveling around the world was an adventure had forgotten about jetlag. Her mind might be ready for action, but her body felt like metal plates had been strapped to her feet.
 

After a quick shower she threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. With her last shoelace pulled tight, she headed across to her carry-on and slid a piece of paper out from between two paperbacks. Written in black ink were ten names. Three men listed as James Green and seven J. Greens. Some of the names had addresses scribbled beside them, others had birth dates. All were strangers. One could be her father.
 

Smoothing out the edges, she studied the names for a few minutes before leaving the list on her bedside table. She’d felt like a modern day Sherlock Holmes tracking down clues about a man she’d never met.
 

After working out her father didn’t live at the last address her mom had kept, she’d spent hours on the internet searching phone directories, business guides and newspaper articles. She’d saved every scrap of information, hoping it might bring her one step closer to finding him.
 

Staying on the ranch until Gerald got back hadn’t been part of her plan, but with any luck she’d be able to catch a ride into town with someone and hire a car. She had two months to find a man who had disappeared out of her life. Two months, ten names and a lifetime of questions.

With a final glance around her bedroom, she walked out the door. Adele was standing with her back to the landing, stacking fresh linen in the hall cupboard. “Thank you for dinner last night. The chicken was delicious.”

“You’re welcome, Gracie. Go straight down to the kitchen and help yourself to anything you want. If you feel like something warm, there’s fresh bacon and flapjacks cooling on the counter.” Adele turned back to the cupboard. “Oh, I nearly forgot. Trent said to tell you to meet him at the barn if you’re up and about before eight o’clock.”

“Thanks.” Gracie’s mouth started to water at the smell of delicious food wafting through the house. She glanced down at her watch. After a quick breakfast and an even quicker look in the local phone directory, she’d definitely be at the barn before eight.

Gracie’s sneakers crunched on the gravel as she walked across the yard. Filling her lungs with clean, fresh, morning air, she smiled at the sight of the barn.

Like the house, it was huge. Standing at least three stories high and painted bright red with white trim, the barn looked like something out of a movie set. A dozen doors opened into a large corral that was empty except for a couple of dogs running around in the sun. A piercing whistle filled the still air and the dogs took off toward a fence. Within seconds Trent appeared, walking a black horse out the side door of the barn. The dogs came to a screaming halt, waiting patiently while he tied the horse’s lead to the fence.
 

He looked up as Gracie got nearer and she pretended not to notice just how good he looked in blue plaid. Or the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled in that slow, contagious way that set her heart rate fluttering.

“Morning, sleepyhead. Glad you could make it.”
 

“Me too,” Gracie managed without tripping over her tongue. The kids in her class would be jumping up and down like hot beans in a fry pan if they could see the cowboy standing in front of her. “If I hadn’t set my alarm, I wouldn’t be here. Jetlag’s messing with my body.” Reaching down, she patted the dogs on their heads. “What are their names?”

“The one on the left is Rufus, the other one’s Spot.”

Both dogs snuggled closer as she rubbed behind their ears. They looked like a cross between a German Shepherd and a Dingo.
 

“You’ve got something in common,” Trent grinned. “They’re Australian Sheep Dogs.”
 

Gracie kept rubbing. “Boys, you tell that boss of yours New Zealand is separated from Australia by a whole ocean.” She smiled as Spot licked her hand. “Much as I’d like to be genetically linked to you, we’re worlds apart.”

Trent laughed as he disappeared inside the barn. Gracie kept rubbing his two dogs, only slightly worried about the war horse standing a few feet away.
 

She didn’t know much about horses, but she guessed this stallion would be considered a prime example. His black coat gleamed in the morning sun and his tail flicked at imaginary flies as he stood waiting for his owner. Trent arrived back with another horse. This one stood half as high as her male friend and didn’t have the same devilish glint in her eye.

“Ever ridden a horse?”

Gracie swallowed. Even though the second horse wasn’t as tall as the stallion, she still had to crane her neck to see the top of its back. “No, but I’ll give it a go.”

“That’s my girl.”

A flutter of something she didn’t want to analyze settled in her tummy. Three days ago she’d been teaching math to a class of eight-year-olds. Now here she was, standing beside a big red barn in Montana, dealing with a butterfly stomach at the slightest praise from a cowboy.
 

“Gracie, meet Daisy. She’s real gentle and won’t spook easy.”

Raising her hand to Daisy’s nose, Gracie let the mare sniff her fingers. Warm air and tickly whiskers rubbed against her hand. “Hello, girl, don’t mind me. I’ve never ridden a horse before.” With more bravado than confidence, she whispered, “I’m sure we’ll make a great team.” Daisy nudged her fingers, bending forward to push Gracie’s hand onto her head.
 

“She’s a sucker for a scratch. She’ll be your friend for life if you itch between her eyes.”

Gracie gently rubbed Daisy’s skin and swore her horse started to purr.
 

“I’ve got to check a few fields and I thought you might like to see more of the ranch.”

Gracie looked at Daisy. How difficult could it be to ride a horse who acted like an overgrown cat? She nodded her head. She could do this. Straightening her shoulders Gracie looked up at the saddle. “How do I get up?”

“Put your foot in my hands and I’ll hoist you over the top.” Trent pushed his hat to the back of his head and leaned forward until his face was level with hers.
 

She looked down at his cupped hands, up at the saddle, then into his grey eyes. “You won’t go too fast will you?”

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “I promise not to launch you into space.”

Gracie had trouble thinking straight with his body inches from hers. So much for butterfly wings. A herd of elephants stomped through her body, creating havoc with her brain cells.

“Are you listening, Gracie?”

She took a deep breath and stuck her foot in his hands. Half-turning toward him, she said, “Is this okay?”

His eyes deepened to slate grey. He cleared his throat. “When I lift you up, grab onto the saddle horn.”
 

Gracie looked at the leather saddle. The only thing she could focus on was Trent’s warm breath as it slid along the back of her neck. “What’s a saddle horn?”

“The front of the saddle. Hold onto the horn sticking up and pull your leg over the top of Daisy. Are you ready?”
 

Gracie nodded and Trent pushed her up. She scrambled onto Daisy’s back, arms and legs going in all directions. Trent passed her the reins and with a victorious grin she stared back at him. She was ready for action.

“What do I do now?”

“Stay on the saddle.”

“Very funny.” Gracie looked down at the ground. It was a long way down.

Trent grabbed a black helmet off the fence. “Put this on. I’ll do the strap up for you if you have any problems.”
 

The grin slipped off Gracie’s face. A riding helmet hadn’t figured too highly in her dreams of being a cowgirl. But then falling off a horse hadn’t either. With a sigh, she rammed the helmet on her head. Her hands fumbled with the straps until she gave up in disgust. Trying to keep upright on Daisy’s back and clicking the strap into place just wasn’t working.
 

Sticking her chin out, she glanced at Trent. He’d pulled himself up onto his horse and looked ready to spend the day in his saddle. “I need your expertise, Mr. McKenzie.”

He rode across to her, a gleam in his eye that set her heart rate pounding. “You look about eighteen-years-old.”

His warm fingers tickled the sensitive skin under her chin as he fiddled with the strap. A rush of heat sped to her cheeks. She couldn’t remember feeling so off-centre in her entire life. Apart from the fact that she was six feet in the air, clutching a gentle beast of a horse between her thighs, and regretting not going to the bathroom before she left, life was just dandy. As a teenager she’d had more common sense stacked in her little finger than what she did now.
 

Here she was, thirty-one-years-old, having heart palpitations at the slightest touch from a cowboy. And all from the back of a horse who thought she was a cat. Risking a quick glance at Trent’s face, she was pleased to see a faint blush along his cheekbones too. At least she wasn’t the only one having a hormonal melt-down.
 

Trent’s horse snorted, shaking his mane in the sunlight. “When you’re ready to move, give Daisy a gentle nudge with your heels. Keep the reins loose.”

Gracie nudged Daisy with her sneakers. Nothing happened. “Come on girl. Let’s show this cowboy we can do this.” She tried again. Daisy moved forward and Gracie gripped the reins between her fingers. She pulled her legs tight, concentrating on keeping her bottom firmly attached to the saddle. Following Trent’s lead, she managed to keep a steady pace beside him.

“You’re doing great. Loosen your hold on the reins; Daisy’s not going to take off in a hurry.”

Gracie risked a quick glance in his direction. His hands weren’t clamped around his reins like bands of steel. She unclenched her fingers, wiggling them against the leather straps as blood pumped through her hands. “I feel like I’m rolling on an ocean wave.”

“As long as you don’t get seasick, then I guess we’ll be okay.”

Gracie forgot how far down the ground was, forgot about falling off her horse. Her concentration zoomed in on the laughing cowboy beside her. She’d really hit rock bottom when a man’s voice made her feel like a giddy teenager. Maybe jetlag was messing with her brain. Maybe she needed to get out more. Or maybe Trent’s deep, sexy voice did the same thing to every female in town. She hoped not.

As they rode across the ranch, Spot and Rufus raced ahead, happy to explore on their own. Every now and then Trent would let out a high pitched whistle and they’d come sprinting back, sniffing the air until another smell had them streaking away. Gracie focused on the fields around them, trying to ignore the way Trent’s body moved in time with his horse. And the way he’d turn in his saddle, waiting patiently for her to catch up when Daisy decided to stop and munch on the alfalfa.

While they were looking for fences that needed to be repaired, Trent told her about the ranch, about his family and the history of the land. For three generations the McKenzie family had lived and died on the Triple L, working with nature to create a life they wouldn’t trade for anything.

In the distance, Gracie watched a giant plume of dust create a summer storm across the ranch. “What’s going on over there?”

Trent followed the direction of her hand. “The contractor’s baling hay. After he’s finished the skid loader comes along and puts the bales onto a truck, and then the hay gets stored in one of our barns.”

“Do you think I could go and see the haymaking while I’m here?”

He nodded, reining in his horse who looked as though he’d had enough of the slow pace. “Once we’ve checked a few more fields I’ll take you across so you can see what’s happening. At this time of year our main job is to get enough hay stacked in the barns for winter. You’ll be an expert by the time you get back home.”
 

After another hour of riding, Gracie doubted she’d be an expert in anything except the perils of riding a horse for the first time. She couldn’t feel her bottom and the muscles in her thighs were cramping from gripping Daisy’s ribs.

“Do you want to get down and stretch your legs?”
 

“You must have read my mind,” she groaned. Looking at the ground, she tried to guess how far she’d have to jump. “I might need a hand getting off Daisy.”
 

A cheeky grin spread across Trent’s much too handsome face.

Gracie stomped down on the wayward thoughts pushing common sense out of her head. “Don’t get any funny ideas, cowboy. Making the most of innocent women landing in your arms wasn’t part of the deal.”
 

“Who me, ma’am? I’d never take advantage of an innocent woman.” He dismounted, wiped his hands on the back of his jeans and reached up for her.
 

She held Trent’s shoulders as she swung her leg over the saddle. Daisy suddenly moved forward. Gracie squeaked in alarm as she felt herself slipping toward the ground. She made a desperate lunge for Trent, tightly holding his shoulders and curling her legs around his waist.

Staggering back, he let out a surprised laugh. “I do believe, honey, that you’re the one taking advantage of me.”

Gracie didn’t know where to look and she sure as heck didn’t want to spend too much time staring into Trent’s laughing grey eyes. So she did what any self-respecting single female would have done. She unlocked her legs and landed butt first on the ground.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

Gracie glanced up, dropping the last strawberry on a pavlova she’d made for dessert. Frowning at the clock on the kitchen wall, she wiped her hands on her borrowed apron and walked toward the front door.
 

“Can I help you?” Grey eyes, an exact replica of Trent’s, gazed back at Gracie. “Mrs McKenzie?”

“Call me Karen. I’m very pleased to meet you. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this moment.”

Gracie had expected a warm welcome, but something wasn’t right. Mrs. McKenzie beamed at her like a long lost relative. Or the woman who was going to make her son the happiest man alive. “Umm. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Gracie. The teacher from New Zealand you’ve been emailing.”