by Talty, Jen
“She’s spent years as a trainer and breeder—”
“She’s a ranch hand,” Ron said with a bitter tone. “That’s all I’ve got room for down here.”
“Ron. I’ve got the paperwork on my desk. My family and I hired her as a first level trainer. She’s not starting out mucking stalls or shadowing anyone but maybe you. And she’ll jump right in by working with this group of mustangs.”
“Are you crazy? You didn’t see how reckless she was with Wild Sally.”
“Actually, I heard the exact opposite.” JD had to admit, he was surprised that Ron was pushing back so hard. Sure, JD expected there would be some blowback, but not to this extreme.
“You’re breaking your own rules,” Ron said.
“Good thing I know the rules, have a good reason for breaking them, and am willing to take full responsibility for any negative outcome.” JD’s oldest brother, JW, used to always tell him that all rules were meant to be changed, bent, and broken. But it was the wise man who knew when, where, and why.
Right now, JD wasn’t being wise because he didn’t have a good reason for breaking protocol, other than he found himself wanting to spend time with Annette, which he still didn’t quite understand other than the excitement that built in the center of his gut just watching her sit on the fence while she studied the wild horses.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we didn’t need a new trainer, lesson giver, or tour guide. Hell. I don’t even need a new ranch hand. Not that I don’t have work she could do, but it’s all entry level stuff.” Ron had to be about thirty years older than JD, and he’d been on the ranch for as long as JD could remember. He was a good manager and, in his day, one of the best trainers.
But both those days were numbered, and Ron had reason to be worried about Annette, if she was as good as Luke said.
“We have a lot of older horses that need to be rotated out of the lessons and trails, which means training more.”
“I understand that,” Ron said. “But my staff is fully capable. And you should know they are unhappy about this as well. They feel threatened by her presence, and it is a bit of nepotism, considering who her brother is living with. You could have given the training of this group to an employee that has been with you longer.”
“Is anyone qualified?” JD waved his hand. They both knew the answer. The only one really qualified on the ranch was JD and his siblings. Maybe Ron back in the day. And Luke.
And now, Annette.
“We need to work with the staff so that they are qualified,” Ron said.
JD wanted to remind Ron that he should have been doing that, but since they hadn’t had a good one in a few years, that was another reason Ron needed to be replaced. “Which staff members said they didn’t like Annette being here?” JD took a fresh toothpick and put it between his lips.
“I don’t want to throw my team under the bus,” Ron said.
That meant no one had actually said it, and Ron was stirring up trouble. JD was going to have to have a serious talk with his siblings when JW returned from his honeymoon. Letting people go from the ranch wasn’t something they liked to do, nor did they do it often, but Ron might have outstayed his welcome.
“Well, you tell whoever is threatened by Annette that she got this job on her own merits, and she’s only going to be able to keep it if she shows us she’s got what it takes to be part of the Whiskey Ranch family. You remind whoever it is that they were brought on the same way. She’s on probation just like everyone else, as a trainer. Not a ranch hand.”
“Except Luke. We all know he was given part ownership in the bull-riding school. Are you going to turn around and give her part ownership of the horse school?” Ron asked with a terse tone.
Well now, the truth shows its ugly green envious head.
Never in the history of Whiskey Ranch did a non-family member take part ownership in anything. While every employee and contract worker were treated like family, all the pieces of the business stayed with family.
With the exception of the bull-riding school and they needed Luke’s name to bring in the quality riders.
But everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Luke and Georgia Moon were married, making him officially family.
“Not that we owe you an explanation, but Luke Hannah is the best instructor in North America. He’s the reason that we already have a waiting list.”
“But it’s your brother who holds the world record,” Ron said. “That’s why people come here.”
JD shook his head. “JW is still the best in the business, and he’s a fine instructor, but he’s no Luke Hannah, and when he marries my sister, this conversation will be a moot point.”
He shifted his gaze toward the pasture. Most of the horses continued to graze on the hill, but two had inched closer to Annette.
“I have been on this ranch longer than you have owned it. I don’t think Chuck Holland would like outsiders owning a piece of it.” Ron cleared his throat. “I’m not an outsider.”
“For the record, Ron, we’re not giving a piece of the horse school to anyone. That said, she’s here to stay, and she’s being groomed for a management position.”
“You’re replacing me?” Ron asked with an indignant tone.
“No. But you will retire someday. We have to be prepared for when that day comes, and Larry won’t be stepping into your shoes.” He pointed to Annette who had slipped over the fence. She stood tall, with her arms at her sides, not moving, while the mustangs sized her up and down. “She will be.”
“What the fuck is she doing? Those animals haven’t been exposed to people but once or twice,” Ron said.
Quietly and carefully, JD made his way toward the fence. “She knows that, and she knows what she’s doing.” Fuck. He’d told her that they’d just captured this group the other day. She should know better than to step into an enclosed area so soon.
“Are you sure about that?” Ron was one step behind him. “And you want her in management?”
The black mustang raised his right leg and ran it against the hard ground a couple of times, much like a bull would do right before he charged.
“I’m as sure as the sky is blue.” Like hell he was. If that were the case, he wouldn’t be ready to take off like a bat out of hell to get her out of that pen.
Annette raised her hand, holding her palm to the sky.
“Is she crazy?” Ron asked. “She’s going to get herself killed.” He took two long strides past JD.
“Stop.” JD grabbed him by the arm. The last thing he needed was to spook a wild animal. “She owned a horse ranch for a few years. She’s not stupid.”
“That looks like stupid to me,” Ron whispered.
JD had to agree, but he wasn’t about to say that out loud.
The mustang shook his head and snorted before prancing in a circle.
“Easy boy,” Annette said in a sweet but level tone. “You want this apple. I know you do.” Her voice cut through the air like a song. It tickled his ears and made his pulse slow to something of a normal rate. “Come on.”
The mustang stopped jumping and moved a little closer, lifting his nose as if he were sniffing the air.
Three of the other mustangs on the hill came barreling down, startling the one close to Annette.
“Shit,” she muttered as she jumped up on the fence, tossing the apple slices.
JD sprinted across the grass, and just as she flung herself over the fence, he reached out and caught her in midair.
“That was reckless.” Ron stood five feet away with his hands on his hips. “And totally unnecessary.”
“Are you okay?” He set Annette on the ground and brushed her messy hair from her face, ignoring the man standing behind him, pacing and swearing under his breath.
“I’m fine,” Annette said as she took in a deep breath.
“You’re lucky you didn’t get trampled,” Ron said. “From now on, you don’t go near the horses unless—”
“I wa
nt those two separated from the rest,” she said, cutting him off.
JD lifted his Stetson and raked a hand through his hair. “Why?”
“Excuse me,” Ron said. “Where do you get off telling us what to do after pulling a—”
JD raised his hand. “I want to hear this before you go off half-cocked about her going over the fence.”
“Thanks,” she said softly, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Those two aren’t wild horses. They’ve been tamed.”
“How do you know?” JD asked.
“That’s impossible,” Ron said. “Any tamed horse would be tagged.”
“Can you get one or both of them in the small pen?” She pointed to the riding pen. “I will bet you that they will come to me, eat apples from my hand, and will understand some commands.”
“We are not doing that,” Ron said. “I’ve wasted enough of—”
“Do it, Ron,” JD said.
“This is ridiculous. If JW were here, he’d be—”
“Doing the exact same thing.” JD had about enough of Ron’s crazy talk. JD wanted to see whatever it was that Annette saw in these wild horses. He trusted his instincts both with numbers and with mustangs, and deep down, he knew she was onto something. “So, either work with us, or leave.” He hated being so rude and blunt with Ron, but that seemed to be the only way to get things done.
“Yes, sir,” Ron said as he turned on his heels and headed across the field.
“What happened to make you not only climb the fence with an apple, but think they might not actually be wild?”
“Mostly the way the other horses treated them, as if they were outsiders or second-class citizens. When we first got here, the big white horse—”
“He seems to be the leader of the pack.”
Annette nodded. “He wouldn’t let Stormy or Coco near the feeding bins or the water until the others had their fill.”
“Stormy and Coco?” He shouldn’t be focused on the silly names she’d given the horses, but that’s what his mind grappled with.
“Both dark, near black in color, so that’s what came to mind,” she said. “Are you telling me that you didn’t see it? That Ron never saw it in the last two days? Because it’s obvious to me that these two mustangs are getting bullied by the rest of the group that was brought here, and you don’t see that kind of behavior often.”
He took her by both forearms and held her tighter than necessary. “Are you planning on getting in the pen with both of them?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Okay. Then I want to be in there with you, and I want a go-to-shit plan.”
“I’m fine with both, but the latter is simple. Stay close to the fence and fucking jump if necessary.”
He laughed. “Good plan.”
“I’m glad you agree because Ron doesn’t like it at all,” she said in a faint whisper. “I really don’t mean to step on his toes, but I’m shocked he didn’t pick up on this sooner.”
So was JD.
* * *
Annette took the hand JD offered and climbed up on top of the fence. Stormy and Coco raced back and forth on the other side of the pen in an agitated state while Ron leaned against the main entrance with one of the horse hands, ready to enter the area if necessary.
“I want the horses to be a little more calm before we enter,” she said.
“Yeah. Me too.” JD flung his leg over the wood railing and inched closer.
“How long have you been working with the Bureau of Land Management to raise and protect wild horses?”
“For as long as I can remember,” he said. “Chuck, the man who took us all in even before my folks died, worked closely with them to help maintain a healthy population of wild horses, mustangs and otherwise.”
“We have no wild horses in Florida.”
“I have to admit, I was skeptical about your skills because of that.”
“I would be too,” she said. “When Luke and I ended up with the Hannahs, he found bulls and I found horses. I started out with bronc riding.”
“You were a bronc rider? You know I hold a world record in that?” JD shifted his Stetson, catching her gaze with his intense ocean-blue eyes. “It’s been three years since I’ve competed, and a few have tried to break it, but none have been successful.”
“I’m well aware.”
“So, were you any good?” he asked.
“I was, but you seem surprised I even did it.” She swallowed her raging heartbeat. Ever since Mark had used her true identity against her, she’d told herself to never trust another man. That she’d never get involved with anyone. She told herself that being a single mother meant she wouldn’t have time to meet and mingle with the opposite sex.
Of course, she didn’t trust her judgment with men after choosing Mark as a mate and the father of her child.
But JD knew who she was, and he didn’t judge her or think she was a crazy person because of who her father was or what he’d done. And he didn’t seem to look down at her for picking an asshole for a husband.
That said, JD wasn’t the kind of man who’d be interested in the likes of her. According to one of the caregivers at the daycare center on the ranch, JD didn’t really have a fondness for kids, which almost made sense to her because out of all the Whiskey siblings, he was the only one who didn’t pay much attention to Tony.
Even JB, the never-going-to-be-a-father, self-proclaimed bachelor enjoyed getting down on the floor and playing rodeo with little Tony. But not JD. Nope. He stood on the sidelines chewing his toothpick anytime she came around with her kid.
“It’s just no one ever told me. Did you compete?”
“I did, and I was actually really good. I just didn’t like it. So, when Luke came here and I went to Florida, I ended up working on an equestrian farm as a trainer until I bought my own small one where I raised Quarter Horses. It was a nice life until my asshole late husband screwed it up.”
“Well, we’d all like to believe that you and little Tony will like it here much more. Plus, you’ll be close to Luke, and I know he’s happy to have the two of you nearby.”
“That part is really nice. This place has meant the world to him, and he loves your sister. He has since he first met her. She’s all he ever talked about for years.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had another wedding to attend in a couple of weeks. My sister says they are going to take it slow, but I can tell that they both don’t see the point in that,” JD said, pointing toward the horses. “I don’t like the way they are acting.”
“Who? The horses or Ron and…and…Larry? Is that his name?” she asked, studying the two prancing horses. It was as if the surface was so hot they were dancing across it until they could find the shade.
It was as if they were in pain, and they were trying to shake it off.
But what was hurting them? It just didn’t make sense.
Ron moved one of the railings to the main door, which spooked Coco, sending him bucking in a circle, kicking his hind legs out behind him.
“I meant the horses.” JD pointed. “What do you make of that?” he asked while Coco continued to buck, smacking his hind legs on the fence not far from where Larry stood.
With every kick, Coco made an angry grunt and shook his head. It almost reminded her of a gelding when the bucking strap is tightened around the abdomen in the wrong place, or too tight.
“I’m telling you this is a bad idea,” Ron yelled. “I don’t think these two are going to play nice. They’re alphas, and she’s going to end up getting hurt or killed.”
“They aren’t alphas,” she said quietly. Her mind wandered to all the crazy things Mark had done to horses to try to make money. She swallowed the bile that smacked the back of her throat. It killed her that Mark had abused some of their horses all in the name of breeding a winner so he could get himself out of debt.
Which never happened.
All that man ever did was dig them into more trouble.
“He just do
esn’t want to get shown up by you,” JD leaned over and whispered against her ear. “You threaten Ron, and with good reason. We’ve been discussing hiring him an assistant with the idea that they will take over his job when it’s time for him to leave, which is sooner rather than later.”
“Isn’t Larry his assistant?” she asked, taking the bridle and laying it over the fence, ignoring the slight warm shiver gliding up and down her spine as the air from his breath tickled her skin.
“Only because we lost his assistant six months ago and haven’t been able to replace him, so we let Larry step up. He’s not qualified, and both he and Ron know it; they just don’t want to admit it.”
“If you haven’t clued them in already, I’d say they suspect. Are you hiring from within the company?”
“We’ve been looking outside, and we think we’ve found the perfect fit.”
“I shouldn’t ask, but I’m curious as to who might be my immediate boss in the near future, so who are you considering for the position?” Annette turned her head, catching his intense gaze. His blue eyes danced under the sun, sparkling like a firecracker.
“You.”
Her foot slipped on the wood railing. She flapped her arms wildly as she slipped forward. The ground raced up toward her.
“Whoa.” He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, yanking her to his solid chest before she face-planted to the hard, dirty ground. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just ducky,” she mumbled, pushing herself from his warm embrace. She adjusted her hair and hat, eyeing Stormy, who strolled toward the center of the pen.
His nostrils flared.
But at least he wasn’t charging them.
Coco moved slowly along the west side, keeping close to the fence.
Their behavior wasn’t typical of wild animals being caged with two humans for the first time. But they were acting like a couple of distrusting horses who were in pain.
Or were afraid of future pain.
She didn’t like where her mind had traveled. She didn’t know Ron, or Larry, but she did know that people on Whiskey Ranch were loyal. Those that weren’t didn’t last.
“Why do I feel like they are trying to box us in,” JD mumbled.
