Colt frowned. Strike one for big brother.
“You don’t have to ride if you don’t want to,” he said. “It was just an idea.”
One of many he’d had that failed. And one Jen had tried to talk him out of. He glanced at Jen and shook his head.
No need to drag this out. Margaret had made it clear all day that she wasn’t interested in anything other than holing up in the guest room. She’d rejected every suggestion he’d made for entertainment, offering either a polite excuse or silent refusal.
“It’s okay, Margaret.” Jen threw her leg over Diamond’s back and hopped down, her boots sloshing on the muddy ground as she led the horse toward them.
It had rained hard last night after they’d retired. Rained for three hours. Colt had counted. Unable to sleep, he’d slumped in a chair by the window and listened to it pound the roof. Had even been grateful for it at the time. The sharp cracks of thunder and blinding flashes of lightning had silenced his thoughts. Ones that involved fears of failing Margaret and guilt over keeping Jen from the circuit.
Jen trudged closer, her eyes heavy. A knot of unease formed in Colt’s chest. It looked as though she’d got as little sleep as he had. If he had to guess, he’d say Margaret’s snoring had probably been just as loud in the guest room as it had been in the truck during the journey here.
He longed to reach out and tug Jen close. Slide his hands over her back and press his lips to her silky hair. But that would only increase his desire to do more, which would threaten the fragile rebuilding of their friendship and steal his focus from Margaret.
“How about we just walk him around a bit?” Jen suggested, drawing Diamond to a halt in front of Margaret. “Let him explore the ranch?” She smiled. “You could help hold his lead.”
Margaret watched the big animal for a moment, then bent over and brushed a speck of mud off the toe of her shoe. Just as she had several times throughout the day when she’d declined an offer with silence.
Muffled groans broke out behind them.
“We got other horses,” Kayden said, trailing a hand slowly along the top rung of the fence he and Jayden sat on. “Some of ’em ain’t as big as Diamond. And they’re slower.”
Jayden puffed a gnat out of the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. We got ponies, too.” He looked down, frowning and swinging his feet. “They’re a lot slower.”
Colt smiled at the world-weary note in Jayden’s tone. It was clear Dominic had persuaded the boys to spend the day showing Margaret around. They’d issued the invitation first thing that morning, before gobbling down their breakfast. Then they had bounced their knees impatiently as they’d waited for Margaret to finish picking at her food so they could get started.
Unfortunately, that was how the boys had spent the entire day—issuing invitations in hopes that Margaret would respond favorably. But she never did. She’d just hung back and stepped carefully along the winding paths of the ranch as they’d toured.
“I don’t mean to be a bad sport or nothin’, Mr. Colt,” Jayden said, squinting up at him. “But today’s almost gone and we ain’t really done nothing yet. We don’t got long, you know? Spring break won’t last for forever.”
“Yeah.” Kayden untucked his feet from the lower fence rail and jumped to the ground. “School starts back up next week and we had every day planned out. We were gonna build a fort today, shoot the BB guns tomorrow, go to a pool party on Wednesday...”
Colt stilled as Kayden rambled on. One week. That’s all he had. And he’d wasted a whole day with no progress to show for it, feeling even more removed from his little sister than before they arrived.
He closed his eyes, frustration making his muscles seize. Strike two for lousy big brother.
“We already got a bunch of wood for the fort,” Kayden said, jumping over a deep mud hole behind Margaret and stepping to her side. “It’s stacked up by the shed and Uncle Dominic said we could use as much as we wanted.” His expression turned hopeful. “Wanna help us build the fort instead, Margaret? You ain’t got to ride a horse if you’re too scared.”
Her head shot up. “I’m not scared.”
Kayden smirked. “Yeah, right.”
Colt cast his eyes heavenward. Perfect. The last thing they needed today was a mini showdown.
“All right, that’s enough,” he said. “Margaret’s not scared. She just doesn’t feel like riding a horse right now. That’s all.”
Kayden shrugged. “If you say so. But being scared ain’t no big deal. She’s a girl.”
Margaret scowled. “So?”
“So—” Kayden splayed his hands “—girls are always scared of somethin’.”
“No, we’re not,” she snapped.
“Let’s forget about riding for now,” Jen said, leading her horse forward a few steps. “Why don’t I untack Diamond and then we can go in for a while and get a soda or something?”
“Go in?” Jayden cried. He climbed down from the fence and darted over. “You mean we don’t get to do nothing fun today?”
An ache formed behind Colt’s eyes. He rubbed his temple and glanced at Jen’s dismayed expression. Her thoughts were clear in the lines of strain on her face—the same thoughts he was sifting through at that exact moment.
How in the world did someone go about appeasing three disagreeable kids? And why had he put Jen and himself in the position of having to do it?
“Yep,” Kayden grumbled. “We gotta go in because Margaret’s too scared to do anything.”
“I’m not scared,” she retorted.
“Yeah, you are. ’Cause you’re a girl. All girls are scared.”
Colt held up a hand. “Kids—”
“That’s not true.” Margaret balled her hands into fists. “You’re just ignorant.”
“No, I ain’t.” Kayden flushed, glancing at his brother and whispering, “What’s ignorant mean?”
Jayden shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“No one’s scared or ignorant.” Colt blew out a breath and headed for the gate. “And we’re going in.”
“I’ll ride him.”
Colt stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Margaret dragged her hands over her skirt and took an unsteady step toward Diamond.
Unease trickled down Colt’s spine as he eyed her awkward posture. “I don’t think it’s a good idea right now, Margaret. You don’t have to ride if you don’t feel like it. We can always try again tomorrow.”
“No,” she said. “I want to ride today.”
Her voice shook, but she took another hesitant step. Sensing her movement, Diamond tilted his ears in her direction and jerked his broad head toward her.
The girl started, then stumbled backward over the uneven ground and plopped into the mud behind her with a splash.
“Oh, no,” Jen gasped, releasing Diamond’s reins and rushing over.
Colt reached the girl first, crouched at her side and helped her sit up with a hand on her elbow.
Margaret looked down at her soaked clothes and submerged feet. Her shoulders jerked as she broke into loud sobs, and she covered her face with muddy hands.
Colt patted her shoulder awkwardly, eyeing her small frame and asking, “Are you hurt?”
Her sobs grew louder. He glanced up, meeting Jen’s worried gaze. She looked as lost as he felt.
“Hey,” Kayden said, kneeling at Margaret’s side and touching her shoulder. “I didn’t mean what I said. And we ain’t got to ride the horses. We can go in if you want.”
Margaret bent over farther and pulled her knees to her chest, her breathing turning hoarse.
“It’s all right, now,” Colt soothed, rubbing a hand over her back. “Everything’s okay. Everyone has a bad spill now and then. We’ll go inside and get you cleaned up.”
She curled into a tighter ball, rocking
slightly.
Colt’s chest ached. “Everything’s okay—”
“N-no, it’s n-not,” she cried, struggling for air. “N-nothing’s okay.”
Margaret raised her head and shoved hard at Colt’s shoulders. He rocked back on his heels, bracing himself on the ground as she scrambled to her feet.
The girl’s hair tumbled in slimy clumps around her red face, and her muddied skirt clung to her legs. She bent over and rubbed furiously at the sludge covering her shoes. The formerly pink sneakers were covered in thick brown mud. Not a speck of the bright color remained.
Her face crumpled. “They’re r-ruined.”
“I’ll get you new ones,” Colt said hastily, standing. “First thing tomorrow.”
She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. “My m-mother gave me these.”
Colt winced, his throat closing. He reached for her. “I’m sorry, Marg—”
“No.” She sidestepped him, shaking violently and backing away. “I don’t want you. I want...I want...”
Her gaze flicked from him and Jen to the boys, tears coursing down her cheeks. Another sob escaped her and she spun away, ducking between the fence rails and running toward the house.
“I didn’t mean to make her cry again,” Kayden said quietly, studying the ground. “I’m sorry, Mr. Colt. I really am.”
Colt swallowed the lump in his throat and lowered his head, avoiding Jen’s eyes. He was sorry, too. Sorry he’d left the circuit and put Jen in this position. Sorry he was arrogant enough to believe he could ever play at being a decent brother. And sorry as hell he’d dragged Margaret away from the only home she’d ever known, to surround her with strangers. Because that was exactly what he was to her. A stranger.
I don’t want you.
Colt walked away, taking swift strides toward the bunkhouse. Strike three. This was the biggest mistake he’d ever made.
Chapter Six
Jen hesitated, shifting from one foot to the other in the hallway, then raised her fist and knocked on the bedroom door.
“Margaret?”
No response. Not that she’d expected one. Jen pressed her ear to the wood and strained to catch any sounds from the other side. Margaret’s cries had finally subsided and only a few sniffs were audible now.
After the unpleasant scene a few minutes earlier, Colt and Margaret had taken off in opposite directions. It’d been difficult to choose which one to pursue first. The defeated slump of Colt’s shoulders had intensified the ache in Jen’s chest just as much as Margaret’s stumbling steps had. And she’d longed to comfort Colt.
But Margaret’s choked sobs had won out, leading Jen to leave Diamond with a ranch hand so she could make her way up to the main house. Hopefully, easing Margaret’s pain would help relieve Colt’s, too.
“Margaret? I’m coming in, okay?”
Jen turned the door handle and entered quietly. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, then focused on the small lump in the center of one of the twin beds. Margaret rolled to the side and hugged her knees to her chest, the sheet wrinkling beneath her muddy legs.
“Do you mind if I open the window?” Jen asked, crossing the room. “It’s a bit stuffy in here.”
Margaret flopped over and buried her face in the pillow.
Jen frowned. Seemed like every Mead she met was intent upon turning their back to her. The action was yet another similarity Margaret shared with Colt. They both pushed people away.
Jen swept the curtain back and lifted the window, inhaling the surge of fresh air. She stood in the stream of sunlight, lingering over the scent of honeysuckle and pine, and searching for the right approach.
What could she possibly say to a child who’d just lost both parents? And was there any use for words at all under these circumstances?
She couldn’t remember how she’d been soothed as a child after losing her father. He’d died when she was five, but she’d been too young to really understand what she’d lost. Or remember him now.
His name had disappeared over the years, Jen’s mother the only one remembering or saying it. Apparently, a small-town mechanic with greasy hands and few customers didn’t stick in folks’ memories too well.
Jen walked over and hovered by the bed. “May I sit down for a minute?”
Margaret’s grubby fingers pulled the edges of the pillow tighter over her face.
Grimacing at the muddy footprints on the hardwood floor, Jen sat. “I’ve made a mess.” She lifted her right leg and tugged at her wet boot. “If there’s dirt in a ten-mile radius, my boots will attract it.” She shrugged. “Well, in this case, mud.”
Still no response.
“Good thing I’ve had lots of experience with it,” she continued, pulling her foot free and laughing. “I’m a pretty messy girl, you know? So I always pack an extra pair and I’ve learned exactly what to do to get them looking good as new again.”
The bed shifted. Jen looked over her shoulder to find Margaret’s brown eyes peeking above the white pillow.
“Goo’...a’...’ew?” Margaret asked, her words muffled by the pillow.
“Yep.” Jen proceeded to remove her other boot. “A day as warm and sunny as this, all you have to do is set them out on the front porch and let them bake until they dry. Then bang ’em until all the dried clumps fall off.”
Margaret lifted her face, her muddy hair plastered to her flushed cheeks. “Does it work with sneakers?”
Jen pursed her lips. “Mostly. Sometimes they look a bit worse for wear, but that just gives them character.”
Margaret glanced down and picked at a dried glob of mud on her knee. “Could you do mine, too?”
“Sure,” Jen said, inspecting the girl’s damaged shoes. “Might need to scrub them with a toothbrush afterward, but I think there’s a good chance I’ll get most of that pretty pink back.”
Margaret sat up and wiped her eyes. “I could help.”
“I’d appreciate that,” Jen said. “Sometimes I have trouble getting the laces good and clean, but I expect if we worked together, we could handle it. And I got to thinking...” She hesitated, then reached out and rubbed a smudge of mud from Margaret’s cheek with her thumb. “There’s a lot more dirt, bugs and horse patties out here than you’re used to. So it might be a good idea for us to go shopping tomorrow. Get you a pair of jeans and some boots, maybe?”
“Okay.” Margaret sniffed, her brow wrinkling. “But what’s a horse patty?”
“The same thing as a cow patty except it comes from horses.” Jen grinned. “Poop.”
The girl laughed. A real honest-to-goodness giggle that brightened her face. The gleam in her eyes and tilt of her mouth were so similar to Colt’s.
Jen caught her breath at the sight, an affection she always felt looking at Colt welling inside her.
Margaret began untying the laces on one shoe and Jen tackled the other, trying not to show the sappy feelings coursing through her. Jen would be leaving soon and the less attached Margaret became to her, the better.
“Hi, guys,” a voice called from the doorway. “Hope we’re not interrupting.”
A short, blonde woman stood in the doorway with a pair of black-haired twin toddlers at her side.
“No, not at all,” Jen said, smiling. “Margaret, this is Cissy, Dominic’s wife. You turned in so early last night, I don’t think you had a chance to meet her.”
“Hello,” Margaret said, eyes lingering on the little girls.
“It’s nice to meet you, Margaret. I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk at breakfast this morning.” Cissy gestured at the twin girls as they waddled toward the bed. “These two were cranky and didn’t want to cooperate, so we didn’t make it down in time.” She laughed and glanced at Jen. “Can I still blame it on the terrible twos if they’re not q
uite two yet?”
“Aw, they get a free pass for being so cute,” Jen teased, bending down to kiss one twin’s smooth cheek as the toddler hugged her leg. The girls’ raven hair and blue eyes were identical, making it impossible to tell them apart. “Who do I have here?”
“Gwen,” Cissy said with pride, before pointing to the other toddler. “That’s Grace.”
Grace grabbed the sheet and pulled, scrambling onto the bed. She stood by Margaret, examined her bedraggled hair, then touched it.
“Ew,” Grace said, shifting her attention to Margaret’s face.
Margaret squeezed her eyes shut as the child’s grasping fingers traveled over her nose and mouth. Grace gurgled, patted Margaret’s cheeks, then plopped onto her lap, evoking another laugh from Margaret.
“I think Grace has claimed you as a new friend, Margaret,” Cissy said, smiling. “Kayden has, too. He asked me to check on you. Tell you he was sorry for what happened.”
Margaret shook her head, watching as Grace’s small fingers picked at her muddy skirt. “It wasn’t Kayden’s fault.” She glanced at Jen. “I...guess I was afraid of Diamond.”
Jen squeezed the girl’s knee. “A lot of people are nervous around horses. I can help you get to know him better, if you’d like.”
Margaret nodded and reached down to steady Grace, who bounced excitedly in her lap.
“I was just about to take the girls down to the creek,” Cissy said. “We have about an hour to explore before it gets dark. Would you like to join us, Margaret? We could help you wash that mud off, and then come in, grab a bite to eat and watch a movie afterward.”
Margaret flashed an excited smile at Jen. “May I go with them?”
“Sure,” Jen said. “Have fun. I’ll put our shoes out in the sun, then tomorrow morning we can get started cleaning them.”
A quick thank-you and Margaret left with Cissy, giggling again as a twin grabbed each of her hands and wobbled along at her sides.
The Bull Rider's Cowgirl Page 8
