Once again, Laura took his advice to heart, speaking to Rascal in such gentle and sweet tones that even Owen felt relaxed at her words. But it didn’t surprise him. Laura had such a kindness and softness to her that it was no wonder his animals had taken to her so readily.
Which was why it had been so frustrating when she’d been so contrary with him when he’d first told her about James. Owen had been trying to save her life, and all Laura had wanted to do was argue and extract explanations. Here she simply did as he asked.
What was the difference between the contrary woman he’d brought here the other day and the old Laura, who seemed to have returned?
Perhaps he shouldn’t even ask. Not with the sweet smile filling her face and the way all of her cares seemed to have left her shoulders.
That was what he loved about being here at the ranch.
Everyone seemed to have a similar experience, like the ranch was a different world without worries or cares. True, you still had chores to do, animals to care for, and ordinary day-to-day responsibilities. But they seemed so much more pleasurable with the fresh mountain breeze in your hair.
Winters left much to be desired, but Owen also didn’t mind those so much either, snug in the house with his family and a crackling fire to keep them warm.
“Papa!”
Owen turned to see the girls standing on the porch. He smiled and waved at them. They quickly ran to him.
“Are we going riding?” Emma asked.
“What’s she doing with my horse?” Anna asked.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the questions. Both girls would spend all of their time on a horse if they could, which was one of the reasons he didn’t regret leaving town. There, the streets were too rough to let the girls ride, so they would have to plan outings to areas outside of town, which was a stressful process for both him and Lena. Lena, because she felt the need to pack enough food and water to last them a week, even if they were only going for an afternoon. Him, because with his work, he was always on guard, watching, looking for the criminal element. Despite all of Leadville’s boasts about being a modern town, the lawless element was much greater than many of the other towns he’d been in. Owen had never felt like he could relax or put down his guard, even for a minute.
Laura also turned in the direction of the girls. “Your father was just teaching me about horses. I never learned to ride, so he’s giving me a chance now.”
She spoke to them like they were any other human beings, something he appreciated because he hated people who treated children according to the adage that they should be seen and not heard.
“You came here on a horse,” Anna said.
“I rode with your father.”
“How do you get places if you can’t ride a horse?” Emma said.
“I would walk or take a carriage.”
The girls looked at each other, then Anna asked, “Why didn’t you take a carriage here?”
Owen drew in a breath, hoping that Laura understood that his children had been kept in the dark about the danger she faced.
“I believe your father thought it best not to take my carriage.”
Two sets of eyes turned to him. Laura gave him a smirk like she knew he’d been worried about her answer and was quite pleased with herself for having turned the tables on him.
“Why didn’t you want to take Laura’s carriage?” Anna asked.
Before he could answer, Emma said, “We’ve never been in a carriage. Is it a fancy carriage? I’m sure it’s more comfortable than our old wagon.”
The girls could be relentless in their questioning. Especially with the put-out way Emma looked at having been deprived of Laura’s carriage.
“I wanted to get home quickly. Carriages are much slower than just a horse,” he said, careful not to lie. Even though he wanted to protect them from the truth, he always tried hard not to lie to his children.
As they often did, in unison, the girls asked, “Why?”
Owen stepped forward and put his arms around them. “You know why. I hate being away from you.”
The girls rewarded him with snuggles, and he could honestly say that he’d told them the truth. He’d hung up his badge for a lot of reasons, but the most important had been that he wanted to be with his family. He hated hearing about everything they did in his absence, especially milestones he’d missed.
They’d already grown up so fast in their six short years, and he didn’t want to miss any more time with them.
Emma pulled away first, then stared at him with those beautiful blue eyes he loved so much. “But we really want to ride in a carriage.”
“It’s not my carriage to be giving rides in.” Owen smiled at her, then turned his attention back to Laura, who stood patiently holding Rascal. Though she seemed like she was doing fine while he’d been distracted, he needed to be more present with her.
“You’re doing great. Don’t mind them. They get an idea in their heads, and they won’t let go.”
Laura patted Rascal’s neck. “Thanks. I’m having fun. Perhaps, since Anna is letting me use her horse now, when you all come to town for a visit, you’ll allow me to repay the favor by giving the girls a ride in my carriage.”
“Really?” The girls jumped up and down and clapped as they looked at each other.
“Really.” Laura smiled at them with the same indulgence he or Lena might have done. “It’s not as fancy as some carriages you might have read about, such as the famous Mr. Tabor’s, but it’s quite comfortable and, I’m told, fashionable.”
Owen had heard about Horace Tabor’s gold carriage. One of the early residents of Leadville and, some said, one of Colorado’s richest men, he’d earned a fortune from the mines in the area. Though he no longer spent much time in Leadville, preferring his mansion in Denver, the town still rippled with stories about him. Especially on the few occasions when he did come to town.
The girls gave a small cheer, the sudden loud noise causing Rascal to jump.
Before Owen could grab the halter to calm her down, Laura had already tightened her grip on the rope.
“It’s all right, girl,” she said, reaching out to steady Rascal. “It’s all right.”
And just like that, Rascal settled. True, Rascal was the least flighty horse he knew, but for someone as inexperienced around horses to learn so quickly...
Laura was something special.
He’d always known that and yet, the more he saw evidence of it, and the more he admitted it, the more he wished this wasn’t just a case, that they could have something for real.
But that was the kind of wishful thinking that had him married to the wrong sort of woman the first time. The only good thing that had come out of that union was the girls, so he refused to regret that decision. But he also wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
Chapter Six
The next day Owen declared Laura ready for her first actual riding lesson. After she’d walked the horse around the yard, the girls had helped Owen teach Laura how to groom and saddle Rascal. The lessons seemed to be slow, but as Laura watched how patient and gentle Owen was in the process, she appreciated his method. He wanted her to be comfortable with everything about the riding.
So why hadn’t he taken that approach to getting her out here in the first place? It was like there were two Owens. This kind, gentle man, and then the forceful one who’d come to her boardinghouse the other day.
The girls had left Laura holding Rascal while they went to put away the items they’d used to groom the horse. Owen stood nearby, watching her.
“Am I doing all right?” Laura asked, turning to him.
She was rewarded with a smile. “You are. You’ve taken to being around Rascal like a duck to water. If you’re afraid, you’re not showing it, and that’s a good thing.”
If she was afraid of anything, it
was of disappointing him. Or doing the wrong thing to make Owen think she couldn’t be trusted around horses. She gave the chestnut mare a pat, and Rascal whinnied.
Anna ran over to Laura, her face filled with delight. It was hard not to smile at such joy in a child.
“Are you going to try to ride today? Papa said he’d talk to you about it while we put everything away.”
“I believe I am.” Laura felt confident in her answer.
Anna regarded her with solemn eyes. “You don’t have to be scared.” She reached forward and patted Laura’s arm gently. “I talked to Rascal, and I told her that she is to be good to you because it’s your first time. She said yes.”
Was there anything more endearing than a little girl who wanted to help Laura feel safe? She wasn’t scared, but she couldn’t dismiss the kindness of a child.
“Thank you very much. I appreciate that. It’s so good of you to be watching out for me.”
Anna nodded. “It’s our family way.”
Then the little girl abruptly turned and ran in the direction of the house. “Emma! When are you going to get out here with that rooster? Auntie said she’d only watch him for a little while.”
The door opened and Emma came out, the rooster trailing her with what appeared to be some kind of leash on him. Emma was tossing out breadcrumbs, and the rooster followed, eating them.
Laura looked over at Owen. “What is that?”
Owen shook his head in the way he did when he seemed exasperated with the girls but was doing his best to go along with them. One of the things she loved about him as a father. “The girls were afraid the rooster would run away if they let him outside. Apparently, he hasn’t taken a liking to learning manners.”
Laura had watched the girls work with the rooster. At first, she’d been afraid that, because they were children, they might be torturing the poor creature. But the more she observed them, the more she noticed that they took the same gentle approach with the rooster as Owen had been taking with Laura and acclimating her to the horse.
True, the rooster didn’t seem to like any of it, but as he walked around the yard with the girls in some kind of leash-and-harness contraption, he wasn’t squawking like he was in pain. Actually, he didn’t even seem that put out. Mostly he just seemed annoyed when he’d go one direction, and the girls would gently ask him to take another.
“Can you imagine?” Owen shook his head as he grinned. “Who would’ve thought you could train a rooster?”
“Does that harness thing hurt?”
Owen turned in the direction of the girls and the rooster and observed them for a moment before answering. “I was concerned at first because I didn’t want them to hurt him. I helped them make the adjustments necessary so that the rooster wouldn’t be harmed. They know not to jerk too hard, and if I see them doing anything that seems cruel, the rooster goes back in the henhouse.”
It didn’t seem like the girls were tormenting the rooster, especially since now and then one of the girls would give the rooster a reassuring pat. Just like they did with horses. They’d clearly spent a lot of time with their father and the animals, so it was no wonder they were taking the same approach to taming a rooster.
Owen returned his attention to Laura and patted the horse beside her. “Now let’s get you going.”
Owen helped her onto the horse, and even though she could’ve done it all herself, Laura felt it comforting to have Owen so strongly supporting her. His hands were gentle and warm, and she couldn’t help but think of how safe they made her feel. James had cold, hard hands, and they always seemed to be used in violence. From hitting her to tearing open things with no regards for their contents. Sometimes the little gestures were the most telling.
The longer she stayed with Owen, the more she wondered if she had been too hasty in judging him for the forceful way he handled her at the boardinghouse. He hadn’t physically harmed her, nor had he physically threatened her. And even now, she couldn’t see him as being violent.
Could she let go of that one fight?
As Owen explained to her how to adjust her seat, and how to hold the reins, Laura wondered how she’d ever seen this gentle giant as a threat. Of course, James had also been kind and mild mannered before the wedding.
“Now lean forward, make a noise like I showed you and gently squeeze your legs against the horse’s belly.”
Laura did as he asked, and was rewarded by Rascal taking a few steps forward. Owen had told her that while many people thought that to get a horse to go, you had to kick it, most horses, at least the well-behaved ones, just needed a gentle encouragement to go forward.
Rascal continued moving as Owen walked beside them. With each step the horse took, Owen gave them more room, making Laura feel more confident that she was riding the horse all on her own.
“You’ve got it,” he said. “You’re a natural.”
The praise made Laura sit up straighter in her seat. She could feel herself relaxing with Rascal’s gait, and enjoying the movement of the horse.
Anna came running to them. “You did it,” she shouted.
Rascal’s ears pricked up, and she gave a little jump. Laura tried to remember what she was supposed to do, and she pulled on the reins, but Rascal shook her head and gave another hop.
“Rascal!” Anna shouted, waving her arms.
The girl’s chastisement seemed only to anger the horse more. Before Laura knew what was happening, Rascal took off on a run. Attempting to remember what Owen had told her about keeping calm, Laura tried to relax her hold on the reins, only they slipped through her fingers, and she lost her grip on them. The reins flapped against the side of the horse, but Laura couldn’t grab hold of them again.
Rascal jumped and went even faster. Laura grabbed the saddle horn and held on as tightly as she could. As Laura tried to steady herself to stay on the horse, she could feel her heart pounding. Rascal was no longer bucking or doing anything crazy, just running. Laura could see Lena coming toward them, waving her arms. Rascal turned, and Laura could see Owen standing nearby. As Rascal ran toward him, Owen grabbed a loose rein and brought Rascal to a halt. At the jarring stop, Laura was finally able to catch her breath.
“Are you all right?” Owen asked, concern lining his face.
Laura nodded. “Surprised. I think if I knew what I was doing, that would have almost been fun. There was something exhilarating about going so fast. But I didn’t like being out of control.”
As she saw the doubt on Owen’s face, Laura added, “I would like to be able to do both.”
There had been a certain freedom in the speed at which Rascal had gone. In the short moments of Rascal’s flight, Laura’s hair had come loose. It was now flapping in the breeze. Everything about her felt ruffled, and she was sure she looked quite the sight. And yet, Laura had never felt so free.
“I can teach you to go fast, but let’s master the basics first.” Owen handed her the reins again. “First thing, don’t drop your reins.”
His smile made her wish things were different between them. Sometimes she could almost fool herself into believing this was genuine. Were they friends? Could they be friends? As his hands brushed hers to give her back the reins and show her how to hold them properly, the warmth she felt made her wish for something more. It seemed wrong to even entertain the idea. Not just wrong, but foolish. She was a fool to believe that there had been anything else between them. Believe wasn’t even the right word. Hope, wish, maybe even dream. Because he’d given no evidence that he had any of those ideas for himself.
So what was this happening between them? All on her side again, she supposed.
Owen continued to make his lack of personal feelings for her clear and couldn’t have been plainer when they’d spoken. It made her seem all the more foolish for feeling the things that she felt.
She gave Owen a nod, and he stepped away. Once agai
n Laura asked the horse to move forward, and Rascal obeyed. This time, they walked around the yard at a slow and easy pace. They hadn’t gone far when Rascal had run off on her, and it hadn’t lasted as long as it had felt. It didn’t take long for them to go the same distance at a walk. From time to time, Laura would reach down and pat Rascal.
“Good girl,” Laura said giving the horse another pat. It was such a beautiful day, and Laura could see why the ranch was so much more appealing to Owen than the city. Here, they were far removed from the smoke of the smelters, the noise of all the people and the way the air seemed always to be full of something unpleasant. Until now, Laura had never considered the air in Leadville foul. But here at the ranch, where everything was so clear, she understood the difference. Understood why Owen would leave a successful career as a lawman to become a rancher. She hadn’t asked him, and he hadn’t volunteered the information. But now, she wasn’t sure if they even had to have that conversation.
Laura chuckled to herself. They hardly had any conversation at all. If it weren’t for Owen teaching her about the horse, she wasn’t sure he’d even be talking to her.
Circling, Laura returned to Owen, who looked pleased. Why did her heart always have to jump at that sight?
“You did great,” Owen said. “You looked very comfortable.”
Lena approached them, also smiling. “Indeed you did. I’ll admit I was nervous when Rascal took off on you like that. She usually isn’t one to spook, and Anna knows better than to come running and yelling in the direction of the horse. I can assure you that she got quite the talking to, and it won’t happen again.”
“I’m sure that wasn’t necessary,” Laura said. “She’s only a child, and she meant no harm.”
“But she did know better,” Owen said. “Here, around the animals, it doesn’t matter what you mean to do. Rules are rules, and they’re in place for a reason. The most important being for safety.”
Honor-Bound Lawman Page 8
