Her Small-Town Cowboy (9 page)

“It doesn’t matter much, ’cause I’ve got no plans to get involved with someone I’m in business with,” he announced in a reasonable tone. “Now, can we cut the nonsense and get this load stashed so Josh can get another one baled before that storm comes in?”

In unison, they said, “Sure,” and the conversation swung onto a much safer topic: Cincinnati’s prospects for getting to the World Series this year. While they batted opinions around, they quickly fell into a rhythm with Mike sliding bales to Drew, who tossed them into the hayloft, where Josh stacked them like huge bricks.

Neither of them mentioned Lily again, but Mike knew his declaration hadn’t done much to divert their suspicions. If anything, it had made him sound as if he was covering the truth with a plausible lie to avoid admitting his true feelings.

Then again, he thought as he clambered over to the next pile of bales, how he really felt about Lily St. George was a mystery even to him. He hadn’t expected to run into her this morning, and when she showed up at Parker’s play, he was ridiculously happy to see her. Normally, he wasn’t a big fan of surprises, but that one had made his day. If she hadn’t excused herself to take her class back to their room, he’d have gladly stood there talking with her for as long as she wanted him to stay. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but it was for real, and he definitely wasn’t crazy about where his foolish heart was leading him.

The last time he followed it, he ended up divorced and raising a child on his own. That kind of experience didn’t exactly inspire him to have much confidence in women, and Mike wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.

* * *

When Lily pulled into Gallimore Stables Friday afternoon, she was met in the turnaround by a bouncing Abby Kinley. Though she knew she shouldn’t favor any of her students over the others, the bubbly little girl was quickly becoming one of her favorites. Her cheery personality was such a contrast to her more reserved father, Lily couldn’t help wondering if Abby took after her mother.

Absent mother,
she added with a frown. Who could abandon this adorable child? she wondered as she stepped from her car. The woman must either hate Mike with a passion or have a heart of stone. Maybe both. Whatever the reason, Lily hoped she never had to deal with the woman in person. Chances were, it wouldn’t go well for either of them.

“Hi, Lily!” the girl greeted her exuberantly, clearly delighted by having permission to call an adult by her first name. “Are you ready for your lesson?”

In reply, Lily held out one properly booted foot, and Abby laughed. “Oh, good. Daddy hates it when people forget stuff he told them.”

“I can’t blame him for that.” A tall shadow appeared to her left, and she was glad she’d said something nice about him. Angling her head to look over at him, she smiled. “How’s your day going so far?”

“Y’know how it is, little good, little bad.”

“It’s way better now that you’re here,” Abby chirped brightly. “Right, Daddy?”

“Right.” The corner of his mouth quirked with a grin, and Lily got the feeling he was about to say something else. Apparently, he changed his mind, because he stepped back and motioned them to go ahead of him. “Shall we?”

Lily’s second lesson on Gideon went much better, now that she was more familiar with the hulking Belgian and could trust his calm, gentle demeanor. He was still a giant compared to her, but in her mind his personality trumped the size difference that had intimidated her so much only a short while ago.

Bred for hauling things much heavier than her, he moved with a powerful grace that humbled her when she realized he was graciously allowing her to guide his steps. The ground beneath his hooves shook when he trotted, but her ride was as smooth as silk. Knowing he’d had such a troubled past before coming to Gallimore only made her more fond of him.

When Mike suggested they take a break, she reined the gelding to the middle of the riding ring and patted his shaggy neck. “He’s magnificent, isn’t he?”

“Don’t be giving him a big head now. The last thing I need on this farm is another diva.”

Lily was about to ask Mike what he meant by that when a commotion erupted outside one of the barns. Looking over, she saw a horse trailer parked there, rocking back and forth as if there was a prize fight going on inside. The banging and shouting was terrifying enough, but then Drew came flying out the back, landing on the ground in a motionless heap.

“Stay here,” Mike ordered. Then he vaulted over the top fence rail and took off running.

* * *

By the time Mike reached the trailer, Drew had recovered from his violent flight enough to push up on his hands and knees. Shaking his head, he squinted into the shadowed interior. Apparently, he didn’t like what he saw, because he scrambled off to the side like a crab fleeing a diving seagull. Mike knew what that meant, and he hollered, “Open the side door!”

No sooner had Drew done that than a panicked blur of copper crashed through the half-open hatch and swayed on legs that were covered in fresh gashes. Once the horse had regained his balance, he bolted down the driveway, headed for the nearest patch of open grass. Which Mike just happened to be blocking.

Holding his arms out wide, he braced his legs shoulder-width apart and held his ground. He had grown up around horses, and his father had taught him from childhood that they were flight animals and wouldn’t bowl you over unless they were caught up in a stampeding herd and had no other choice.

Mike was counting on that instinct right now. The horse barreled close enough for Mike to recognize it as a stallion, and despite the imminent danger he was probably in, he summoned his calmest tone. “Whoa, now. No one’s hurting you, boy.”

The terrified animal’s eyes nearly popped out of its head, and he slid to a halt about a yard in front of Mike. His flanks heaved with quick breaths, and he eyed Mike with what he could only describe as fascination.

Then, as Drew and a nervous-looking groom cautiously edged closer, the Thoroughbred covered the last few steps between them and rested his head on Mike’s shoulder with a deep, heart-wrenching sigh.

The trusting gesture triggered an old memory, and Mike wrapped his arms around the horse’s tense, sweaty neck. “Hey there, Chance. It’s good to see you, too.”

“I’ll be,” Drew muttered, still out of breath. “Things were so hectic at the track, I didn’t recognize him.”

“This is our killer horse?” Mike asked, reaching from behind to rub the sorrel’s forehead in a comforting motion. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“No lie,” his younger brother confirmed. “They retired him last fall and have been trying to retrain him for riding. He’s been nothing but trouble all season, but they thought they’d gotten a handle on it. Out of the blue, he went berserk the other day and put a trainer and two vet techs in the hospital. The owner said he couldn’t take any more risks, so it was here or the slaughterhouse.”

Mike’s gut tightened at the thought of this beautiful creature being put down because no one could be bothered to find out what was wrong with him. Circling the horse, he stopped so they were face-to-face and looked directly into those dark, intelligent eyes. There wasn’t a trace of the crazed animal he’d seen earlier, and he simply couldn’t believe his threatening tantrum had cropped up all on its own.

“Did he seem okay when you picked him up?” he asked Drew.

“Yeah, but the vet had sedated him to make sure we’d all be safe. Like I said, they’ve been having a lot of trouble with him.”

“Then what happened?”

While he listened to the uneventful report, Mike went over the former racehorse inch by inch, searching for a sign of what was bothering him. Nothing stood out, and he ended up back in front of the horse, totally baffled.

“He went on the trailer fine,” Drew finished with a frown. “When we untied him and tried to back him out, he went bananas.”

Fresh out of ideas, Mike finally shrugged. “Well, he seems okay now. How ’bout you?”

“I’ll live.” Clearly unfazed by the whole thing, he grinned. “Mostly it’s my pride that’s bruised.”

“Next time, open the side door first so you can dive out if you need to. That’s what it’s for.”

“Right.”

Mike really hated being the sensible one. It was always Dad’s responsibility to run the checklist when they were transporting horses, making sure neither man nor beast got hurt in the process. But he was gone now, and now that Mike was running the farm, the task had fallen to him. Someone had to be in charge, Mike supposed. But there were days when he wished it didn’t have to be him.

“Mike?”

Hearing Lily’s voice behind him, he realized he’d forgotten all about her. Turning, he saw Gideon standing at the rail, watching the dramatic scene with his usual curiosity. “Sorry to take off like that. Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Patting the Belgian’s shoulder, she smiled. “Gideon took good care of me. Which is fortunate, because I don’t think I can get down from here on my own.”

Her wry comment blew off most of the tension he’d been feeling, and he chuckled. “Just let me get this guy settled and I’ll give you a hand.”

“No rush.” Winging a glance around the rolling acres surrounding them, she came back to him with a smile. “I really like the view from up here.”

“I’d be more than happy to help her,” Drew offered smoothly.

Mike glared at him, and he backed away, hands in the air. “Never mind.”

As Drew strolled back toward the trailer, laughter trailed behind him. Mike had no clue what was so funny, and he turned to Chance with a grimace. “Any clue what that was all about?”

The horse blinked at him, and Mike shook his head at his own foolishness. With the lead rope slack between them, he led their latest acquisition into what he called the Troublemaker Barn. It had large box stalls and a wide-open feel that seemed to calm even the most squirrelly horses. He was hoping it would do the same for its latest tenant.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised when he heard another set of hooves clopping along behind them. Glancing back, he saw Lily and Gideon on the other side of the fence, shadowing him.

“It wasn’t my idea,” Lily informed him. “Gideon wants to see what’s going on.”

“Actually, that’s cool. He’s so mellow, we stable him with head cases when they first get here.”

“Head cases?” she echoed with a quizzical look. “You mean there are more like him?”

“Way worse, actually. Some horses do great at the track and then retire to pleasure riding without a hitch. Some develop nasty habits and need retraining to be safe enough for regular folks to ride. That’s my main job here, but we don’t get enough contracts like that yet, so I have to do other things to make up the difference.”

“This horse recognized you,” she commented in a thoughtful tone. “How come?”

“He was born here, and his owner hired Dad to train him for the track. Back then I was his assistant, so Chance must’ve remembered me.”

“That must be why he didn’t hurt you. He could have mowed you down and kept right on going, but he didn’t.”

“Most horses won’t do that to people even when they can. It’s not in their nature.”

“That’s good to know,” she acknowledged with a nod. “It might come in handy someday.”

Surprised by the comment, he stopped and faced her. “So even after all the excitement today, you’re planning to come back?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Angling her head out to the side, she asked Gideon, “Is that okay with you?”

He snuffled a response, and she laughed. “I think he really does understand what we’re saying to him.”

“Horses are smarter than most folks give ’em credit for.”

“I can relate to that.”

Mike didn’t have the first clue how to respond, so he wisely kept his mouth shut and slid open the stable’s end door before letting Gideon in the other side. The horses followed him through, and he closed the door behind them, just to be on the safe side. Chance made a beeline for a stall that held a stray bucket of oats, so Mike let him go and bolted the sturdy door to keep him inside. He’d had enough excitement for one day.

“You come down the same way you went up,” he told Lily as he reached for Gideon’s reins. “Just in reverse.”

“That makes sense. Do you want me to stay and help you get things put away?”

Considering the much-too-personal way he was starting to view his new student, he figured it was best if she went home. “That’s okay. I can handle it.”

“All right. Here I come.”

When she’d swiveled into position, he grasped her around the waist and lifted her to the ground. She landed closer to him than he’d anticipated, and he caught a whiff of something new: magnolia perfume mixed with saddle soap. It was an odd combination, but like the beat-up boots she’d taken a shine to, the scent seemed to fit her perfectly.

Rattled by his reaction to her, he firmly reined in the errant thought and took a large step back. He thought he was doing well until she smiled up at him.

“Thanks for making time for me today,” she said. “I know you were busy around here.”

“No problem. Sorry it wasn’t much of a lesson.”

The sweet smile warmed to something he didn’t quite understand. And wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“Actually, I learned a lot.” Apparently, his clueless look got through, and she went on. “About you.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“That you don’t hesitate to put yourself in danger to help a thousand-pound animal when they’re in trouble. I think that kind of thing says a lot about a person, don’t you?”

“I guess so,” he hedged, feeling awkward and proud at the same time. He wasn’t used to being praised for simply being himself. Usually, he got the opposite. “Never really thought about it.”

“Someone like that is just the person I want teaching me how to ride. I know we said we’d do my lessons on Fridays, but I feel like I need a little more work right now. Do you think you can work me into your schedule again soon?”

“How ’bout Monday at four?” he heard himself ask, cringing at the eager tone in his voice. He didn’t normally react to anyone that way, and he wasn’t thrilled to be doing it now. Since he couldn’t take it back, he did his best to look as if seeing her again that soon didn’t matter all that much one way or the other.