The Reluctant Wrangler (5 page)

He was speechless, unable to form a word to defend himself.

“Well? Is it?”

Gathering his wits, he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

Noticing that her whisper was getting louder, he immediately sobered. “Nikki, Jules and I have known each other since we were kids. She and my younger sister competed on the same jumping circuit, and because our dads discovered they were fraternity brothers, Jules and I went to the same college. She’s like a sister to me.”

Nikki’s eyes narrowed and she frowned as she looked at him. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew her?”

She looked so cute when she was angry, the urge to touch her was almost unbearable, but he shrugged and stuck his hands into his pockets. “I never thought about
it. Or maybe I thought she’d told you. It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

For a moment she didn’t answer, then she slowly shook her head and turned around. “It was just so…so weird, that’s all.”

It was an effort to keep from laughing, but Mac managed to remain quiet as he walked with her back to the main building. Sensing that anything he might say would probably be wrong, he didn’t speak until they reached the doors to their apartments. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said without looking at her. But Nikki had already ducked inside her room and closed her door.

Stepping inside his own apartment, Mac collapsed onto his sofa. He could only imagine what Nikki had been thinking all evening. Was it possible she’d been feeling the tiniest bit jealous? He had to admit that if he’d been in her shoes, he would have.

C
URIOUS ABOUT THE BOYS
and thinking that being around them more might go a long way to helping him understand and know them better, Mac decided to join them for breakfast. He knocked on Nikki’s door before leaving for the boys’ dining area, but she didn’t answer. Checking the kitchen, he didn’t find her there and decided she must have gone ahead.

“Have you seen Nikki this morning?” he asked the boys when he discovered she wasn’t with them.

“She was here earlier,” Benito answered around a mouthful of biscuits and gravy.

Mac frowned at the boy’s manners, but refrained from saying anything.

“She said she’d see us later,” Billy added, and Mac wondered what had tempted her away from the boys.

A few seconds later Ray spoke. “Are we going to get to ride today?”

“We’ll have to see,” Mac answered. He knew the boys were eager, but he couldn’t give the go-ahead without talking with Nikki first.

“But—”

“We’ll see,” he repeated more firmly.

Ray’s mulish expression would have been comical if Mac hadn’t been aware of how much the boys were looking forward to riding. With a glance at his watch, Mac took the last bite of his breakfast, finished his glass of juice and got to his feet. “Class time, boys,” he announced. “Better hustle.”

A collective groan went up from the group, but he ignored it. School hadn’t been his favorite thing when he was their age, so he couldn’t blame them, but he also knew the importance of an education. He hoped that when they got to be his age, they would appreciate what they’d learned and put it to good use.

When one of the teachers arrived to call the boys to class, Mac left the dining area and headed for the barn, hoping to find Nikki there. Maybe she’d heard something from Tanner about whether the boys would be allowed to ride later. But Nikki wasn’t in the barn, either, or anywhere near it.

With a shrug of his shoulders, he filled the feed bins. The six new horses Tanner and Dusty had brought to the ranch were doing well. He didn’t mind admitting that the two men knew their livestock, especially horses. But then, from what he knew about Tanner O’Brien, the man had been around ranching his entire life. Ranching and rodeo, according to Jules, had been Tanner’s life, all while raising his nephew, Shawn.

Mac hoped to do a more thorough evaluation of the
new stock when Nikki was with him. She, too, had a way with the animals and seemed to know as much as Tanner did. His own experience was lifelong, from helping on his godfather’s ranch in Idaho during summers to his and his sister’s personal stock. He’d always enjoyed riding and was happy to be working where he could enjoy it, even though they’d not yet had the time to do that.

He was leaving the corral when he caught a glimpse of Nikki, heading for the main building from the direction of the boys’ cabins. Even from a distance she looked tantalizing. Her long dark hair was loose, and her jeans molded her trim hips and long legs. As she drew closer, he noticed the top she was wearing. He frowned. What was she doing wearing a top like that around a bunch of teenage boys?

He was surprised to find her waiting just inside the building when he opened the door to walk inside. “Where were you this morning? You weren’t at breakfast with the boys and—”

“I know I should have been, but… It’s hard to explain.” She stopped and shook her head. “I— Oh, never mind. I suppose I should tell you.”

Exasperated, he simply waited for an explanation.

She drew in a deep breath. “It’s… It’s about Kirby.”

“What about him?”

“I…” Another shake of her head before she tried again. “He—”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Nikki, get on with it.”

Her eyes widened, and then she nodded. “Last night after the boys were in bed, as I was coming from the office, I saw him.”

She didn’t seem inclined to continue, so he offered a verbal nudge. “And?”

“Well, it was dark in the hallway, and I wasn’t sure
at first what I was seeing.” She hesitated, but continued when he nodded, as if he understood, which he didn’t. “He was coming out of the kitchen.”

“Out of the kitchen?”

She nodded. “And he was dragging something behind him. Some kind of sack or a bag of some kind. I couldn’t tell what it was.”

“Did you ask him?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t say a word. I was too surprised. He’d just gone out the main door when you came in and flipped on the lights.”

“You haven’t spoken to him about it?”

She shook her head again.

“What in the world would he be carting out of the kitchen?”

“Food.”

“Food? But why?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think it should be addressed.”

He thought about it, trying to make some sense of it and failing. What kind of food would an eight-year-old boy steal? A boy who was given three meals a day and quite often a snack, too. “You’re sure it was food?”

“I went to his room while the boys were at breakfast and found a pillowcase in his closet. It had food in it.”

“What kind of food?”

“A box of crackers, a jar of peanut butter and two packages of cookies. None were open.”

Considering the items stolen, it wasn’t a big deal, but because some of the boys were at the ranch for reasons other than good behavior, he felt something needed to be done. “We can’t let this go,” he told her. “These boys are here because they have problems. He stole items that didn’t belong to him.”

“But why?” she cried. “They have plenty to eat here.
Why would he feel the need to steal food? I think that’s what we need to focus on.”

“He should be disciplined,” Mac announced. When she shook her head, her lips a thin line, he knew he had a battle on his hands. Kirby was her favorite. “Look, Nikki, something needs to be done.”

“We need to talk to him,” she countered, “not punish him.”

“I agree that someone should talk to him, but there must be some kind of repercussion for stealing. And that’s what it was.”

This time her hair flew when she shook her head. She just wasn’t going to be reasonable, no matter what.

Sighing, he knew she had a point, but there needed to be more than talk. “He knows it’s wrong, Nikki. You know that, I know that.”

Her brown eyes flashed with anger. “Forget I mentioned it.”

When she turned for her room, he reached for her. She spun around to look at him, and he noticed her anger had reached the boiling point. “Calm down, Nikki. Maybe we should—”

“I can handle it myself,” she stated, pulling away from him and reaching for her door.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll leave it in your hands. You talk to him. And while you’re at it, put some clothes on.”

She stopped, her shoulders stiffening before she turned back to him. “Excuse me?”

“That top you’re wearing,” he said, pointing to the multicolored strapless knit thing that clung to her like a second skin. “Find something else to wear or cover it up. Teenage boys don’t need that kind of encouragement.” It was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Eyes blazing with fury, she stepped closer and tilted her head up to look at him. “I don’t believe you said that. I’ve worked with troubled boys, teenagers and younger, since I graduated from high school. No one has ever had a problem with my choice of clothing.”

Angry at her for being so stubborn and even more at himself for saying what he had, he shrugged. “Then I guess I had to be the first, but somebody needed to say it.”

Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened, but he didn’t stay around to hear what she had to say. She was one stubborn female, he thought as he strode out the door and pulled in a deep breath. But he never should have said what he did.

Nikki managed to avoid Mac for the rest of the day. She noticed he kept his distance from her, too, and she was relieved. Anger wasn’t something she handled easily, and she didn’t trust herself to be around others when it had taken hold of her. Even the next morning, forgiveness was not a part of her vocabulary, and she was thankful when he didn’t show up at breakfast.

She kept watch and waited until she had an opportunity to find Kirby alone. Asking him about the food he’d taken wasn’t the time to include everyone. Still seething over Mac’s rudeness, she had no intention of asking for his help again. She certainly couldn’t trust him. She would take care of it herself. His handling of the boys was too stern, and while they needed some of that, they also needed understanding and someone to guide them, not simply discipline.

“Kirby,” she called when she saw him headed for the boys’ cabins after morning classes. “Could you come help me in the barn?”

Even from a distance she could see Kirby’s shy smile as he turned and walked her way. “What are we gonna do?” he asked when he caught up with her.

“Just straighten up a bit. It isn’t hard work, but it’ll go faster with two of us working.”

He nodded and walked with her to the barn, but said nothing. Once they were inside, she pointed to a pile of saddle blankets she’d made sure were in disarray. “If you could fold and stack those on the shelf, I’ll get the supplies we’ll need in a few days when you boys will start riding.”

His eyes grew wide with a look of wonder, and his smile, sometimes hidden, grew, too. “Really?”

“In a few days,” she cautioned, “but we want to be ready, right?”

His head bobbed up and down, and he eagerly tackled the saddle blankets.

She waited only a few minutes, knowing Mac, who’d gone to help Tanner with Rocking O chores, could be back at any time. When she felt the time was right, she asked, “Kirby, why do you have a pillowcase with snacks in it in your closet?”

He didn’t look up from his work, but she saw his body stiffen before he answered. “I do?”

“Yes,” she said, watching and waiting.

Still without looking at her, he shrugged his small shoulders. “I don’t know.”

She’d expected him to deny it, but she also felt certain he understood that what he’d done was wrong. “Come sit by me.”

He glanced at her as she settled on the bench beneath the tack, and he hesitated. Without a word he placed the folded saddle blanket he held on the shelf with the others and slowly moved to sit next to her. He didn’t look at her, just sat silently, his head down.

“Would you like to tell me why you took the food from the kitchen in the administration building?”

His head came up and he looked at her.

“I saw you run out the door with the pillowcase behind you,” she told him gently.

He looked away to stare at his shoes. “Oh.”

“People take things for a reason,” she continued. “If you’ll tell me why, we can talk about it and see if something needs to be changed so you don’t have to do it again.”

He let out a soft sigh and began to speak, without looking at her. “When I still lived with him—my dad—there wasn’t a lot to eat, so I found food so I wouldn’t be hungry.”

“Where did you find food?”

He shrugged again. “There are places.” He turned to look at her. “Did you know restaurants throw away a whole lot of good food?”

She imagined him scrambling through a Dumpster, looking for something to eat, and had to suppress a shiver of horror. “Yes, they do.”

He turned away. “And sometimes I stole from stores. An apple, a sandwich—not much, though. I didn’t think they’d miss anything.”

“Have you taken anything from the kitchen here before?”

At first he shook his head, but then he stopped. “Yeah.”

“You don’t need to do that, Kirby. We have plenty of food, don’t we? Breakfast, lunch, supper and sometimes even a snack.”

“I know.”

“So you won’t do it again, right?”

He nodded.

“And if you promise not to, I’ll make sure that any time you need something extra, all you have to do is come tell me, and I’ll give you a snack. Is that okay?”

Nodding again, he looked at her. There was a touch of humility in his eyes, but it was overshadowed by gratitude. “I promise I won’t do it again.”

Nikki smiled. As long as he knew he wouldn’t have to go hungry, she was certain he wouldn’t do it again. “Okay, then, let’s finish this job and go find a snack.”

His head tilted to the side as he looked at her. “Why?”

“Because I need one.”

It wasn’t long before they had everything tidied, and Kirby was on his way to his cabin to retrieve the pillowcase with the food to give to her. As she stepped out of the barn, Mac was waiting outside.

“You handled that well,” he said when she stopped in the big doorway.

Still not ready to forgive him for the things he’d said to her the day before about her clothes, she shrugged. “As I told you, punishment and even discipline aren’t always necessary.”

Mac turned to watch Kirby running toward the cabins. “I don’t know what could be worse than going hungry, but I guess it happens sometimes.”

“It isn’t uncommon for children to steal food when left on their own.”

Mac shook his head. “He knew it was wrong, but he didn’t like going hungry, and there was no one who could help him.”

“That’s what kids think. There are places they can go, but most don’t know about them.” Nikki remembered kids she’d met when she was growing up. She’d been lucky. Although she and her mom hadn’t had it much better, there’d always been enough to get by. She’d never been left alone to fend for herself. But there were so
many others who had no one. “We help those we can, but too many fall through the cracks.”

“Jules said the same thing when I first came to the ranch. I never understood all it encompassed.”

“The sad thing is, we can’t help all of them.”

She moved to step out of the barn, thinking of Kirby and all the others like him. There were so many who would never get the help they needed.

“About yesterday…” Mac began.

She froze. After all that he’d told her, why bring it up? “Don’t worry about it,” she answered.

“But I have worried,” he said.

Her emotions were in turmoil, whirling inside her like a tornado. She didn’t want to revisit this. Not now. But she knew it would be better to get it over with.

“I apologize,” he said when she faced him. “It was completely uncalled for. I had no right to say those things to you.”

She couldn’t look at him. “It’s done.”

“It shouldn’t have happened. Please accept my apology. I was upset. I was concerned for your safety.”

She couldn’t stop herself from staring at him. “My safety? In what way?”

“I know you don’t see it,” he said, “but dressing like that can be a temptation to the older boys.” He smiled, but it was a wry smile and lopsided. “I know. I was that age once.”

Her anger rose, but immediately vanished when she realized that he had been looking out for her. Maybe, just maybe, he had a heart under that sometimes stony exterior.

“I accept your apology,” she said, knowing her own smile wobbled.

He offered his hand. “Friends, then?”

She put her hand in his, her smile feeling easier now. “Friends.”

He continued to hold her hand for several moments. Of course it was innocent, she tried to tell herself, but the look in his eyes said more. So, unfortunately, did her heart.

M
AC SETTLED AGAINST
the corral fence and watched as Nikki wrapped up the day’s riding lesson. He’d been amazed at how well they’d done, and chalked up her success to letting the boys get accustomed to their horses first. After that, each had taken a turn at dressing the horse, from brushing to saddling.

“Aren’t we going to get on them?” Billy asked.

“Next time,” Nikki answered. “You need to get to class, before I’m in trouble for keeping you too long.”

A collective groan rose from the group, but each boy began removing the saddle from his horse. Thinking she might need a hand, Mac started to climb through the fence, but he stopped when he saw Tanner and his partner walking his way.

“I guess we missed it,” Tanner said, disappointment in his voice as they reached the fence. “How’d they do?”

“Good,” Mac answered before acknowledging Dusty. “I hope it was all right to let them have a try at saddling the new stock.”

“You’re in charge of that decision,” Tanner reminded him. “You know more than I do about what she can do and what she can’t.” He looked out at the corral where Nikki was showing Leon how to fold the saddle blanket. “I’d say you made a good one. I don’t think I’ve seen the boys this happy.”

Mac laughed. “You missed all the grumbling when she told them they couldn’t ride today.”

Dusty stepped up to the fence next to Mac, grinning. “How do you manage to keep your mind on work?”

Mac had gotten to know Dusty well since he’d come to the ranch, and he returned the grin. “Do I need to remind you that you’re a married man?”

“Very married, as a matter of fact. Happily, too,” Dusty replied, his grin widening. “But I’m just saying…”

“He means well, Mac,” Tanner said, laughing. “He did the same thing to me about Jules. We managed to turn the tables on him when it was his turn with Kate.”

Before Mac could explain that his relationship with Nikki was business and nothing like what Dusty might be thinking, Nikki walked up to the fence. “Great horses, Tanner,” she said, but her smile seemed nervous. “They were as nice as can be with the boys.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m sorry we weren’t here earlier. We’ve been trying to acquire a bull that Dusty’s had his eye on for some time. We had the chance today, so we took it.”

“And a damn fine bull he is,” Dusty added, but turned to Nikki and touched the brim of his hat. “Excuse my language, ma’am.”

“No problem. I’ve heard worse. Just be careful around the boys. By the way, I’m Nikki,” she said, smiling, and stuck out her hand.

Dusty looked at it, then grinned at Mac as he took it. “Nice to meet you, Nikki. I’m Dusty McPherson. I’m glad the horses suit the boys. You sure have a way with them.”

“The horses?” Tanner asked.

“Or the boys?” Mac finished.

“Both,” Dusty answered, winking at Mac.

Mac chuckled and shook his head. If he hadn’t known Dusty was harmless, he might have worried, but he’d
seen the man with his wife, and Mac knew Dusty was not only a gentleman through and through, but he was head over heels in love with Kate.

As Tanner and Dusty talked to Nikki about her methods, he thought about how lucky both men were. What they had was what he someday hoped to have. But feeling unsure of himself and what he wanted to do with his life, now that he’d left the corporate world, he wasn’t any nearer to settling down than he’d ever been. If he had been— He stopped the thought. Adding a relationship with anyone at this point would be wrong. Nikki struck him as someone who knew who she was and where she was going, while he continued to sort out his life.

“If Mac will give me a hand,” Nikki said.

Mac looked at her and the others. “With what?”

Dusty elbowed him. “Pay attention to what the lady’s saying.”

Tanner explained. “We were talking about letting the boys ride again today.”

“It would be better if you were there to help, Mac,” Nikki added. “With both of us there, two can ride at a time.”

Knowing how eager the boys were to ride, he didn’t want to be the one to disappoint them. He might not understand them or be able to relate to them well, but he could understand how much they wanted to get on the horses, after spending so much time learning how.

“If you’ll wait until later this afternoon,” he said, “and if you can get the boys to wait that long, I can help you then.”

“Great!” She turned to Tanner. “Thank you. I mean, well, the boys will thank you later, but—”

Laughing, he nodded. “Go on. Go tell them.”

Nikki hesitated, but turned for the barn, where the boys were putting away the equipment.

“She really does have a special connection with the boys,” Tanner said.

“She cares,” Mac added, without meaning to.

“Like Jules,” Tanner replied. He watched her enter the barn, his head tilted at an angle, as if he was studying something.

“What?” Mac asked.

Tanner shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s something…” He shrugged and turned away. “Come on up to the house. We’ll see what Bridey’s cooked up for lunch.”

“I think I’ll stick around and see how the boys react when she tells them,” Mac said, hanging back.

“Good excuse,” Dusty said, and chuckled as he followed Tanner.

Mac hoped his attraction to Nikki wasn’t that obvious. But it was hard to ignore her. Besides, she deserved the praise. Chuckling to himself, he leaned against the fence to wait. He sure didn’t want to hear how Dusty would twist that around.

Nikki appeared sooner than he expected. “Need some help?” he called to her as she headed toward him. She was only a few feet away when he realized something was wrong. Her dark eyes appeared larger than normal in a face that had paled. “What is it?” he asked, ready to vault the fence. “Are the boys all right?”

“They’re fine,” she said as she drew closer. “I just—” She shook her head as she reached him. “I have to leave.”

“Leave?” he repeated as she climbed through the fence.

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” she answered. “Would
you watch the boys? I know I shouldn’t be asking, but I have to—” She frowned as she straightened beside him. “It’s a personal matter,” she hurried to say, moving quickly away. “Could you let Jules know I had to leave?”

“Nikki, what—”

“A family emergency,” she said. “Please, Mac.” She was still facing him, but she was walking backward now. “I’ll explain later.”

He stared after her as she disappeared behind the row of trees, unsure what he should do. Tempted to go after her, he couldn’t. She’d asked him to watch the boys.

The sound of her car starting and then the spin of tires in sand got him moving. Maybe the boys knew something. He’d do what he could until she returned, but he expected a reasonable explanation of what had sent her running off in the middle of the day, when she’d been so excited only minutes earlier about telling the boys they’d actually be getting on the horses later.