Texas Ranch Justice

by Karen Whiddon

  Ridden. She seized the word, welcoming a distraction. “I’ve never ridden, period. You’d said you would teach me. Believe me, I’d like nothing more than to explore the ranch on horseback.”

  He stared at her as if she’d suddenly grown two heads.

  “You did offer,” she repeated. “I know you remember.” And, since everyone said Travis was a man of his word, she knew he wouldn’t refuse.

  They locked gazes. Again, that shiver of awareness, which she quickly throttled.

  Though he looked none-too-happy, he finally nodded. “Tomorrow,” he said. “Meet me at the big barn at 7:00 a.m. sharp.”

  And then he spun on his heel and left. Not only her room, but the house. A few seconds later, she heard his truck start up and drive off.

  When she returned to the main part of the house, she saw Hal had wheeled himself into the living room and turned on the TV. He turned the volume down when he saw her.

  “What got into him?” he asked, gesturing toward the front door. “He took off like the hounds of hell were fast on his heels.”

  “He’s worried about the oil leases,” she replied, determined to tell him the truth. “I think he still believes I’m after your money.”

  “What money?” Hal chuckled. “See, I can still make a joke.”

  Though she smiled in response, she was determined to stay on track. “Why haven’t you told Travis about your financial issues?”

  “Boy’s got enough on his plate. I don’t need to give him one more thing to worry about. Plus, if his mother gets wind of that, she’ll bring that awful boyfriend of hers over with his moneymaking schemes. Between his horrible sculptures and awful paintings, he’s always trying to come up with ways to get rich quick. He’s already tried to get me to invest once, in those awful green health shakes of his. He sells them locally, but he wanted me to help fund a larger manufacturing plant with statewide distribution. I told him no and also that I never wanted him to discuss his schemes with me again. He hasn’t been back to the ranch since.”

  “Frank?” Scarlett remembered the name. “You know what? I haven’t met him either.”

  Hal shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he and Vivian are on the outs. She can do better.”

  “You don’t find it odd, living so close to your ex-wife and getting to know her boyfriend?” she asked, genuinely curious. She’d never been married or divorced, but from what she’d seen of her friends, the situation with Hal and Vivian seemed unusual.

  “Not really. But then Vivian and I weren’t a great love match. We parted ways amicably.” Hal’s faded gaze sharpened. “What’s going on with you and Travis?”

  Startled, Scarlett felt her face heat. “He’s teaching me to ride horses tomorrow.”

  “Is he?” Hal laughed. “That’s great, but you know that’s not what I meant. Are you and Travis a couple?”

  “No.” Swallowing hard, she decided to give him an amended version of the truth. After all, her physical relationship with Travis was none of his business.

  “He doesn’t want to be a couple,” she elaborated. “Neither do I. We both have our own plans for our future and they don’t include each other.”

  The sparkle faded from Hal’s eyes. “That’s too bad,” he said heavily. “I had my hopes that the two of you would hit it off.”

  “Oh, we do.” If only he knew. “But it’s just not the kind of thing that’s going anywhere.”

  “You sound kind of sad about that,” Hal said.

  About to respond, she considered. He was right. Odd how quickly this man, the father she’d never known, intuitively understood her. Even more than she understood herself.

  Because she suddenly realized she did want a future with Travis. Her heart ached, and with a lump in her throat, the knowledge stunned her. Right now, she couldn’t examine her feelings—that would have to come later. The only thing she knew for certain was that Travis—and Hal—could never find out.

  “I’m not,” she managed, interjecting a bit of what she hoped sounded like carefree confidence into her voice. “It is what it is. Travis is a good man. I’m sure he’ll find the right woman.”

  Never mind that the thought of him with another woman made her clench her teeth.

  “You’re going to the Halloween ball with him,” Hal pointed out. “He hasn’t asked a woman to accompany him since he broke up with Kendra.”

  “And he only asked me because Kendra will be there.” She patted Hal’s too-thin arm. “Don’t make more of this than it is.”

  Though he appeared disappointed, he nodded and mumbled agreement before picking up the remote and unmuting the TV, clearly dismissing her.

  Shaking her head, she wandered into the kitchen and grabbed one of the brownies Delilah had made for dessert. She’d never realized it at the time, but before her mother’s illness, Scarlett had enjoyed a carefree, uncomplicated life. She’d been happy, if unfulfilled, with vague dreams of owning her own art gallery someday.

  Now, her emotions were on the verge of becoming irrevocably tangled up in a man who felt she wasn’t a match for him. The sad part was that she wasn’t sure if he was right or wrong.

  She liked it here, true. But she also liked Newnan, Georgia. Except now that her mother was gone, Georgia held no family, just a few dozen friends who’d barely even taken note of her absence.

  Here, she had family. Not just Hal, but the people living on the HG Ranch. Vivian and Amber, Will and, of course, Travis. The close-knit community of Anniversary had enchanted her also and she looked forward to getting to know it better. She could actually envision herself making this place her permanent home.

  Just like she’d begun to see the possibility of making Travis her man.

  Shaking off thoughts that were too deep for a comfortable autumn evening, she went to bed early.

  The next morning, she woke with a sense of excited anticipation and the tiniest bit of trepidation. She hurried through her morning preparations, got dressed in jeans and her boots, and rushed through breakfast. Again, Travis apparently had decided to sleep in, so she ate alone.

  She made it to the barn shortly before seven. Travis was already waiting, polishing up a western saddle. Silently, she walked up behind him and watched, enjoying the play of the muscles in his arms as he worked. When he finally turned, he fixed his smoky gaze on her and nodded a hello.

  “We’re going to start with saddling the horse,” he said. “I got this saddle out and cleaned it up. It belongs to my mother, though she rarely rides anymore. I think it’ll suit you.”

  “Sounds good.” She glanced around the barn, not even trying to contain her eagerness. “Which horse will I be riding?”

  Her excited tone coaxed a smile from him. “My mother’s old gelding. He’s eleven years old and has carried Will safely. He’ll be perfect for you. Let me go get him and show you how to get this saddle on him.”

  She nodded. Torn between following him and waiting, she decided to stay put. He stopped at a stall midway down the aisle, grabbed a halter and went inside. A moment later he emerged with the most beautiful gray horse she’d ever seen. A quick glance revealed the animal to be male.

  “He’s not a stallion, is he?” she asked, a bit nervous.

  “No. He’s a gelding,” Travis explained. “They’re different from stallions, which are mostly used for breeding. We also don’t ride stallions much around here. Too dangerous.”

  “Oh.” Relieved, she followed Travis’s instructions, putting a colorful saddle blanket on first, and then lifting the surprisingly heavy saddle onto the horse’s back. He showed her how to secure the cinch strap, not too loose but not too tight either.

  When they’d finished that, he grabbed a bridle and showed her how a bit worked, putting pressure on the inside of the horse’s mouth. “For that reason, we don’t ever jerk on the reins or pull too hard. A gentle touch is all that’s
needed and Bob is trained to understand the reins on his neck and the pressure from your legs.”

  “Bob?” she asked, enchanted again. “His name is Bob?”

  “Yep.” Eyeing her, he held out his hand. “Are you ready to get on?”

  “Now? Aren’t you going to saddle up your horse first?”

  “No. I’m going to work with you from the ground, in the outdoor arena. I’m not riding until I feel confident that you understand the basics.”

  Pleased and grateful, she smiled. When he cupped his hands for her to step into, she wondered how on earth she could do such a thing gracefully. Since she probably couldn’t, she took a deep breath and tried anyway.

  “Swing your other leg over his back,” Travis ordered and he shoved her up.

  She did. To her surprise, she now sat astride Bob’s broad back. “Wow.” Gripping the saddle horn, she looked down at Travis. “This seems a lot higher than I thought.”

  “You’re fine.” He handed her the reins. “Remember, use them gently. Mostly, Bob will respond to pressure from your legs and shifts in your weight. To get him to back up, gather the reins until they’re tight, and squeeze both his sides using your legs.”

  Eager to try, she nodded and cautiously did as he’d said. When Bob took a couple of steps backward, she laughed out loud. “He did it!”

  “And he’ll do it again. Keep going, until you’ve gotten him to back a bit more so you can turn him around.”

  Leading the way on foot, she and Bob followed Travis at a safe distance. A group of cattle had been moved to a large pen nearby and she tensed, worried they might spook her horse. But like Travis had said, the gelding had apparently been around awhile as he barely even noticed them.

  The outdoor riding arena was separated from the pen by an open graveled area. As the cattle milled about, they lowed and mooed, shaking their massive heads and stomping their hooves. But since neither Travis nor Bob paid them any mind, Scarlett was determined to ignore them as well.

  They spent the rest of the morning in the outdoor arena, with Travis teaching her horseback riding basics. She learned the difference between walk and jog, and once he even had her urge Bob into what he called a lope, which seemed to be a kind of controlled run.

  All in all, she didn’t want the ride to end. But after about ninety minutes he signaled her over. Proud of herself, she directed Bob to move in Travis’s direction and reined to a halt.

  “Well?” she asked. “How’d I do?”

  “Pretty well.” His answering smile heated her insides. “You have a natural seat. You’re still a little heavy on the reins, but that’s something we can work on.”

  “Okay. When can we do this again?” She smiled back. “I’d like to go trail riding.”

  Considering, he glanced at her watch. “Bob’s tired. Maybe next time. Let’s get him back inside and get that saddle off. Next you’ll need to learn how to brush him down.”

  He opened the gate to the arena and she rode through. When she reached the area between the cattle pen and the barn, she glanced over at the cows, fascinated despite herself.

  A loud crack sounded, then another. Like firecrackers going off. Bob, despite his placidity, reacted instinctively, skittering sideways and half rearing. Gasping, Scarlett tried to grab for the saddle horn, but the horse’s sudden movements unseated her and she tumbled off.

  She hit the gravel hard, rolling just as one of Bob’s hooves narrowly missed her head. Travis caught up, grabbing the reins. The horse instantly quieted.

  Scarlett scrambled to her knees, trying to assess how badly she’d been hurt.

  * * *

  Travis’s first concern was getting Bob away from Scarlett. He led the still tense horse away from where she lay on the ground. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Before she could answer, there came another volley of pop-pop-pop. Before, he’d thought gunshots, but now he’d bet on fireworks. When he found the idiot who was foolish enough to shoot them off near livestock, he’d give them a stern talking to.

  Another sound, the crash and creak of a fence giving way. Bob whinnied and tried to rear up again. Swiftly, Travis brought the horse under control, turning to look at the cattle.

  Clearly spooked, they milled about, pushing against the fence, the entire herd all snorting and trying to run.

  His heart skipped a second before the fence gave way. He yelled, shouting at Scarlett to get up, to get moving, to get out of the way. Using Bob as a barrier, he tried to get to her. By some miracle he did, grabbing her up by the arm and hauling her against him.

  The cattle thundered around them, splitting in waves but missing the even-more-nervous horse. Bob’s nostrils flared and the whites of his eyes showed. Trying to calm him and hold Scarlett close and safe, he couldn’t breathe until the last of the cattle galloped past.

  When he looked down at a clearly shaken Scarlett, Travis noticed that her jeans had been torn. A ruby slash of blood showed on one leg, and both her bloody elbows were raw.

  “You okay?” he demanded. The instant she jerked her head yes, he glanced past her. Still running full-out, the herd was heading for the ranch road. Hopefully, the cattle guard midway up the drive would stop them. If not, there’d be a hell of a roundup. At least he had the manpower to do it.

  Scarlett wiggled against him. “Let me see if I can stand on my own,” she demanded.

  Gently, he released enough of his hold so that she was standing on her own two feet.

  She swayed, but waved him away. “I’m good. It doesn’t feel like anything is broken.”

  Sheltering her with one arm, he somehow managed to get both her and a still nervous Bob inside the barn. After he deposited her on a bale of hay, he tied up the horse first and then quickly checked Scarlett over.

  “Torn clothes, bloody elbows and a couple of cuts. You were damn lucky you weren’t seriously injured.”

  She nodded. “Are you going to do anything about those cows fleeing down the road?”

  “That’s next,” he replied, grabbing his cell and making a quick call. Once he’d sent a crew to retrieve the cattle, he took Bob back to his stall, leaving the saddle on for now, and went back to double-check on Scarlett.

  To his relief, she appeared to have recovered from her shock. She pushed to her feet, testing first one leg, and then the other. “Nothing broken,” she mused out loud. “At least that I can tell. My hip hurts, but I think it’s just bruised. And yes, I do have a few cuts and scrapes, but you’re right. I was lucky.” She met his gaze, dipping her chin. “Thank you for saving me. I’ve never been bucked off a horse before and I know you should get right back on, but I think I’m going to wait a bit.”

  “That’s understandable.” He couldn’t keep from reaching out and caressing her shoulder. “Will you be all right for a moment while I go take care of Bob?” he asked. “I need to get his saddle and bridle off and brush him down. It isn’t good to let the sweat dry on him.”

  “Sure.”

  As he removed the horse’s saddle and replaced the bridle with a halter, he willed his heartbeat to slow. The cattle would be fine, he knew. After all, there wasn’t really anywhere they could go that wasn’t part of the ranch. His crew would round them up and get them contained in another small pasture while the fence was repaired.

  But as long as he lived he thought he’d never get over the horror of watching as Scarlett had been bucked off the steadiest horse he had and then nearly been trampled to death by a panicked herd of spooked cattle.

  He brushed Bob down, removed the halter and left the horse in his stall. Scarlett still waited where he’d left her, perched on a bale of hay. She looked fragile, suddenly. Maybe because he was used to her confident, carefree attitude and now she was shaken.

  “It’s going to be all right,” he said, sitting down next to her. “You’re safe and Bob’s okay. The cattle will be rounde
d up and brought back.”

  “I’m glad.” She lifted her chin, meeting his gaze. “That was deliberate, you know. Someone once again trying to scare or hurt me.”

  While he’d wondered the same thing, he shook his head. “We don’t know that for sure.”

  “Really?” she challenged. “What else could it have been? Who shoots off fireworks out here in the middle of the ranch, so close to livestock?”

  He said the first thing that came to mind. “Teenaged kids skipping school. That’s one possibility. They don’t always think before acting.”

  “True.” She conceded the point with a slight dip of her shoulder, which made her wince. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to the house. I’ll need your assistance to walk, just in case.”

  “I’ll drive you,” he said. “Much easier.”

  After helping her into his truck, his heart squeezing every time she winced, he drove slowly toward the house. At every bump, he heard her swift intake of breath, but she never complained.

  Once there, he helped her down and offered her his arm. Leaning slightly on him, she limped into the house with her head held high. “I’d like to go straight to my room if possible. I don’t want to worry Hal or Delilah.”

  Though privately he doubted they’d be able to do that, when they walked through the front door, Hal had fallen asleep in front of the TV. He didn’t stir at all as they went past him. Delilah must have been busy in another part of the house, because they made it all the way to Scarlett’s room without encountering her.

  “Argh,” Scarlett said, letting go of his arm and falling onto her bed. “My entire body aches. I’m going to run a nice hot bath and just soak in it.”

  His mouth went dry, though he managed to nod. “I’ll leave you to it,” he managed to say. When he left, he almost felt as if he were fleeing.

  Back at the barn, he spent the next hour searching the area on foot. Judging from the loudness of the sound, whoever had set off the firecrackers had been pretty damn close. While no doubt they’d taken enough precautions to ensure they weren’t seen, Travis figured they’d probably left behind some incriminating evidence. He planned to find it.