“I still don’t think that’s necessarily true.”
“I do, Trent. I really do.” She peered up at him intently. “I believe that you can do whatever you set your mind to do—if you just believe in yourself.”
He marveled; that was the only way to describe how she made him feel. “You are so amazing.”
She huffed out a laugh in a self-deprecating fashion. “No, I assure you, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.” But he spotted how she blushed on the heels of his compliment. “Have you ever thought about leaving the ranch? You know, expanding your horizons?”
“No.” She said the word so quickly and so firmly that he knew he’d hit a nerve. “I’ll never leave here. Never abandon Rana. Not ever.”
Abandon Rana? So she’d clearly taken over as the mother figure in the girl’s life. Not surprising, he thought, given her big heart. He could see her stepping in and taking care of a lot of things.
“What if it was only part of the year? You know, during winter, when the ranch surely shuts down.”
“Actually, it doesn’t. Cabe rents cabins to hunters, but that’s beside the point. Christmas is...special around here. I could never leave.”
The finality in those words gave him pause. After last night he’d thought... Well, they could still have a future, he reassured himself, if they wanted. Sure, it might be a little too early in the game to be thinking such thoughts. Then again, maybe not. Alana was unlike any woman he’d ever met before. Quite frankly, she blew him away with her tenacious desire to help others and her willingness to do whatever it took, even when it came time to help persnickety assholes like himself.
“We should leave,” she said, stepping away from him. “I think I should maybe get a Band-Aid on my head.”
“It wasn’t just a fling for me, you know.”
She straightened suddenly.
“I’m not that kind of guy.” He shook his head. “I’ve never been that kind of guy.”
She stared at him. “Never?”
He knew he spoke the truth, and so he had no trouble meeting her gaze. “Never.”
She didn’t look away, no doubt studying him for signs that he lied. But then her face crumpled. He reached for her. She stepped away.
“Damn you, Trent Anderson, I liked you better when you weren’t nice to me.”
“That wasn’t the real me.”
She peered up at him again. “I know,” she said softly. “I think I knew that from the moment you arrived. I’ve read the stories. Heard about the charities you support, still support. You’re not the evil ogre you make yourself out to be.”
He had feelings for her, he admitted. Remarkable feelings, given he’d only known her such a short time. Last night had changed everything for him.
“Don’t let my disabilities scare you away.”
She laughed, actually laughed. “That would never make me afraid.”
“Then what is it? Why do I sense this...resistance?”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand, Trent. This ranch. What I do here—it’s my whole life. There’s no room for anything else.”
“Bull.”
She glanced up at him sharply. “It’s not bull. It’s the truth.”
“Have you ever even tried?”
“I haven’t had the time.”
“Then do it. With me.”
He couldn’t believe he said the words. It was too soon. He would scare her off.
“Would you be willing to move?” she asked quietly.
Uproot from Colorado? “I don’t know. Maybe.”
But she wasn’t paying any attention to him, not anymore; her gaze had moved past him, her brow furrowed. “Who’s that?”
He didn’t want to look away, didn’t want the moment to end, wanted to get to the bottom of whatever this was between them, but he followed her gaze anyway, spotting the horse and rider almost instantly. Two horses and two riders, the ones he’d spotted earlier, only it wasn’t Cabe and Rana.
Son of a—
“Is that Saedra?” Alana asked.
No, not just Saedra. His former roping partner, Mac McKenzie, too.
“Damn.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Well, well, well,” Saedra said as she pulled a fancy-looking bay gelding to a stop, the horse’s coat shining like a copper penny in the afternoon sunlight. “Look who’s standing on his own two feet again.”
Thank God for the interruption. Thank God because the look in Trent’s eyes had...
What?
Scared the hell out of her. She couldn’t believe she’d actually asked him if he would move. What was wrong with her? Even if he was willing to do that, it was a little early to be having those kinds of thoughts.
“And this time without the benefit of an audience,” Mac McKenzie said, squishing his hat down on his head as he pulled a sorrel gelding to stop. “Good for you, bud.”
Alana glanced at Trent. He didn’t look pleased to see his two friends. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Thought I’d stick around a couple extra days,” Saedra said. “Wasn’t hard to spot the two of you climbing up the hill.”
Her eyes darted between the two of them, curiosity clearly shining from her eyes. “Your friend Cabe pointed you out.” The pretty blonde frowned. “Although I think he’d have preferred if we waited around, but I insisted we ride out. Asked Mr. Jensen why bother waiting when we had two perfectly good horses we could unload and ride? So we did.”
“Actually, we were just headed back that way.” Alana touched her head. “I had an argument with a tree.” She forced a smile to her lips though her heart still pounded from her encounter with Trent. “Tree won.”
“Are you okay?” Saedra asked.
“Fine.”
“Well, good thing we came along when we did,” Mac said.
“What made you want to stick around?” Trent asked Saedra.
“I’m hauling Saedra’s new horse back to Colorado for her,” Mac interjected.
“My new NFR horse,” Saedra said, patting the bay’s black mane. “Can you believe it? I’ve had my eye on Jake for years, but I never thought she’d sell him. Thank God I flew to Reno for the rodeo.”
And there she had it. All the reason in the world why a relationship with Trent would never work. The NFR. Rodeo. A life on the road.
Never again.
Clearly, though, the news brought joy to Trent, because he smiled, though it was a hard-fought battle for him, too. She could tell. Clearly he would have liked to have continued their conversation.
So he could speak to you about the future.
“So, you heading back?” Mac asked.
“We are,” Alana answered for the two of them.
“You need some help getting back on your horse?” Mac eyed Baylor skeptically. “Don’t rightly know how you got down.”
“Determination,” Trent grumbled under his breath.
Mac must have heard. “Well, it’ll take that to get you back up, I suspect.”
In actuality it took a tree stump, Mac lifting, Saedra holding everyone’s horses, and Alana guiding Baylor to get Trent aboard what Mac called the “damnedest-looking saddle he’d ever seen,” although she noticed Trent left the buckles undone.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” she asked him.
He glanced down at her, determination in his gaze. “Gotta try it sometime.”
“How about you?” Saedra asked. “You okay to ride with that head of yours?”
“Peachy.”
And she was. To be honest, she was more rattled by the undercurrents between her and Trent than anything else. What had he been about to agree to? What if he’d said he’d move? Would that be so bad?
&
nbsp; Dear Lord, she wasn’t certain she was ready for that. Even after all this time, the thought of jumping into a relationship again scared the crap out of her.
Cabe had been right. She was a coward.
“Off we go,” Saedra said, shooting everyone a grin.
From somewhere, Alana found the energy to muster up an answering smile, while Mac quizzed Trent on his saddle as they rode along.
A saddle that he might no longer need.
“Gonna toss some loops with me later on?” she heard Mac ask. “Looks like y’all have a nice roping arena.”
Alana nodded, but she was distracted by her thoughts, so much so that the ride back down to the ranch passed in a blur.
“...do you?”
“I’m sorry? What?”
Saedra, who had clearly just asked her a question, grinned. “I asked if you thought the owner of the ranch would mind us spending a night or two.”
“Cabe?” Alana glanced up, realizing they were very nearly to the main pasture now, the morning having passed into early afternoon, at least judging by the angle of the shadows thrown down by the fence posts.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine with that,” she said when Saedra nodded. “We might even have a cabin for you. Worst case, I’m sure you can stay at the main house.”
When she glanced over at the blonde, it was to note the lifted brows. “The actual house?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not?”
Saedra shook her head, her pretty hair catching the sunlight. Really, the woman was gorgeous beyond belief.
“I just don’t think—well, your boss seemed sort of put out when we showed up.” Saedra squinted as she stared straight ahead, as if looking for evidence of Cabe in the buildings. “His daughter was nice enough. She was thrilled to meet Mac.”
I bet. Once a rodeo fan, always a rodeo fan.
But Cabe? Out of sorts? The man was the epitome of hospitality.
“You must have caught him at a bad moment. Cabe’s the nicest man I know.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
The thought was so foreign to her, she actually laughed, something that caught Trent’s eyes because she saw him cast his gaze in their direction.
“Absolutely not.”
Trent had paired up with Mac, the two of them discussing Mac’s recent wins, from the sound of it.
“Yeah. I kind of guessed that was the case, especially judging by the way Trent was staring into your eyes earlier. He’s not the type to poach on another man’s property.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t bother to deny it.” The woman was all smiles again. “I’ve known Trent my whole life. He’s smitten.”
She didn’t know what to say, although her body certainly seemed to know how to react. She couldn’t stop the blush that spread from her cheeks and down her neck, all the way to her belly, where it coiled before sending electric spasms of pleasure through her body.
Apparently, you’re smitten, too.
No, she wasn’t. She was just really, really attracted to him. Last night had proved that.
“It’s not like that.”
Oh, no? asked her subconscious. One night of pleasure spent in the man’s arms, and all you can think about is doing it again—to hell with the future.
“Well, if it’s not like that yet, it’s sure headed in that direction. Trent really, really likes you. I can tell.”
“He likes me because I’m helping him to walk again. That’s all.”
“Not true. He never looked at any of his other therapists the way he looks at you, and don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t be more thrilled. Honestly, I wasn’t certain that coming here would be good for him, but I’m glad Gretchen insisted.”
“Gretchen?”
“His mother.”
Ah, yes. Their biggest advocate.
“Oh, damn,” she heard Saedra say as they reached the gate near the backside of the barn. “He’s still there.”
“He” being Cabe. Alana had spotted him, too, oiling the saddles used by guests. And as she gazed between Saedra and Cabe, she couldn’t help but forget about her own troubles. Sure enough, the moment her boss noticed Saedra’s arrival, he straightened, shoulders thrown back, blue eyes narrowed.
“See,” she heard Saedra say under her breath, “he doesn’t like me.”
“Impossible.”
Yet Cabe, a man who prided himself on always greeting guests with a smile, didn’t so much as lift one side of his mouth. Frankly, the horses inside the barn gave them more of a welcome, several of them nickering to the group of horses.
“Why are you back so early?” was all he said.
Okay, he nodded in Trent and Mac’s direction, although not in Saedra’s. Strange.
“I fell off,” she replied.
His whole face underwent a transformation. “You what?”
“It was silly,” she said, riding up to the back entrance of the barn. Mac, Trent and Saedra stopped behind her, their horses looking around curiously. “I was glancing back at Trent and I didn’t see a tree.”
Cabe dropped the rag he’d been using and came toward her, sunlight bleaching his maroon-colored shirt to a lighter shade of red, black hat firmly in place. “You okay?”
“Fine,” she said, dismounting and then glancing back at the group behind her. “Just a little scratch on my head.”
“Let me see.” Cabe gently clasped her chin, turning it this way and that.
“She’s fine,” Trent said. “I took a look at it earlier.”
Cabe nodded, although whether in agreement or because he was satisfied that she wasn’t about to fall over dead, she didn’t know.
“Come on up to the office. I’ll put some medicine on it.”
“I think our guests still want to ride.”
“They can do that on their own.”
“I want to ride!”
From behind Cabe, Rana came flying out of the tack room, the rag she’d been using to clean saddles forgotten in her hand, twin brown ponytails streaming out behind her. “Maybe Trent can give me another lesson.”
“Yeah, sure,” she heard Trent say. “Mac can help you, too.”
“Awesome!”
Saedra nudged her horse forward. “Are there some barrels I could use for practice?”
Cabe didn’t even look in her direction.
“Yeah, sure,” Alana answered for him. “They’re in the shed at the back of the arena.” She glanced between the two of them. “Rana can show you.”
“Just give me a minute to saddle up,” Rana said. The girl startled a small bird that had flown into the barn aisle in search of wheat kernels, she whipped around so fast.
The minute they were alone, she turned to Cabe. “What’s gotten into you?”
“What do you mean?”
“What’s your problem with Saedra?”
“Who?”
“Trent’s friend. You seem mad at her.”
“I’m not mad.”
“No?”
The group of riders had disappeared around the side of the barn. She saw Cabe glance in their direction, a frown coming to his face.
“Cabe, you’re not being straight with me. What’s up?”
He shook his head. “Okay. Fine. She just rubbed me the wrong way.”
“What’d she do?”
He shrugged. “Told me she was going to ride out after you even though I told her not to. Trent’s roping partner didn’t seem to have a problem staying behind, but that Saedra woman completely ignored me.”
If she’d been wearing a cowboy hat, her eyebrows would have touched the brim, that was how much his words stunned her. Cabe was usually the embodiment of congeniality. Water ran off the man’s back...usually.
“I just think she was anxious to see Trent.”
Blue eyes shot to her own. “Is she his girlfriend?”
“No,” Alana said.
Bizarrely enough, that seemed to calm him down a bit, although she doubted he noticed how his shoulders relaxed and his expression softened.
“She acted like she owned the place,” pouted the thirty-five-year-old man.
“I have a feeling she’s just that way.”
Chapter Eighteen
A half hour later Alana had the same thought. Saedra Robbins was definitely a woman with her own opinions. Alana watched as she interacted with Rana. She wasn’t bossy, per se. She was actually really helpful. She gave Rana some more exercises to use to control Scooter. Cabe had watched for two seconds before returning to office work.
What a grump.
His daughter, however, appeared to love the woman, but Alana couldn’t keep her eyes off Trent as he walked his horse alongside Rana’s. Scooter was so much better than that first day. He almost seemed like a different horse. Trent was full of reassuring smiles. He offered such sound advice that Alana thought again he’d make a great coach.
She could have it bad for the man.
There was no sense in denying it. If he would agree to move she might, just might, give a relationship with him a go. Might.
No doubt about it now that she’d had a few hours to puzzle it out. Jumping into a relationship with Trent scared the crud out of her. What if, God willing, she managed to help him walk again? What if he returned to the world of rodeo? What would she do then? Always on the road. Always traveling around.
Like Braden.
The pit in her stomach turned into a burning hole. Could she do it again? Could she be with a man who lived and breathed rodeo? Every once in a while, he’d glance in her direction...like now. And her heart would stop, and she would think, why not? But then she would remember that life and how chaotic it had been, how all-consuming it’d been to have a boyfriend who competed for a living, how’d there been no time to herself...
“I think I’m ready to run a real pattern,” Saedra announced.
“Cool!” Rana said.
It took a moment to set up the barrels the way Saedra wanted. She’d been practicing in a straight line, explaining to Rana that she rarely ran the barrel pattern the way it was set up at a rodeo.
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