At Long Last; Book 4 of the Long Ranch Series

by Michel Prince

  Harper looked over her shoulder to the living room, then spun in the chair and got up too. “She was right here. I’ll check the bathroom. I doubt she wandered off.”

  “She’s been testing her limits lately,” Ashleigh replied as she beat Harper to the bathroom and felt her heart flutter. Her hands trembled and she attempted to gather herself. It’s going to be okay, she prayed. “She has to be in the house,” she rationalized. “There’s no way—”

  A squeal carried through the screen door and Ashleigh stormed out of the house with the screen door screaming in protest before it snapped back closed. The light from the late afternoon sun blinded her. Bringing her hand over her eyes, she scanned the open area with the barns and vehicles all in a place that could block where her sister had wandered. “Sierra,” she called out. “Sierra Jane Wood, I swear if you don’t come out here right now, you’re grounded!”

  The hair on the back of Ashleigh’s neck stood up and the warmth of the summer was lost on her. How long had her sister been gone? That squeal it could have been from one of the Long kids, not her sister. Her hand pressed against her chest as visions of her sister’s mangled body in a ditch somewhere flashed through her mind. She gulped for air, hoping it would slow her heartrate, only to have it step up to a quicker clip. Now, the vice was not just on her chest, but squeezing her temples making her vision fuzzy.

  “Sierra,” she called again as acid burned up her throat.

  A whiney and stomp came from the barn followed by a deep voice saying whoa there.

  Gathering herself, Ashleigh headed to the barn to find Miles holding the reigns of a golden colored horse that towered over Sierra. “Sierra,” she snapped and her sister jumped back, dropping a brush she’d been using in the process. “Get back in the house.”

  Miles leaned down and retrieved the brush that was too close to the horse’s front hoof for Ashleigh’s comfort. Instead of keeping the brush, he passed it to Sierra. “Finish her up,” he said then tied the reign around a post before abandoning her sister.

  “Sierra, did you not hear me?”

  “She’s earnin’ her keep,” Miles said as he approached Ashleigh.

  “I’m sorry, at what point did Sierra have a keep to earn?”

  “She wants to ride Gideon.”

  “Yeah, Ash, Miles says I can,” Sierra beamed.

  Now, Ashleigh’s left eye twitched. “I’m your guardian. I say what you can and can’t do.”

  “I’m not a baby.” Sierra stomped her foot and the horse gave a snort in approval.

  “I didn’t say you were.” Keeping her voice tempered, Ashleigh tried to calm her sister before she snapped.

  “Sierra,” Miles stated. “What did I tell you about getting excited around Gideon?”

  “I keep calm, he’ll keep calm.”

  “Now finish brushing him and then we’ll put his saddle on.”

  “Excuse me,” Ashleigh snapped and slapped Miles’ shoulder. “I said she can’t ride him. And she shouldn’t even be brushing him.”

  “Why?” Miles asked as he looked over his shoulder at Sierra. “She’s going with the nap.”

  “That is a wild animal.” Ashleigh crossed her arms.

  “She seems pretty tame to me, but she did tell me she’s twenty-one now.”

  Miles’ twinkling deep brown eyes made Ashleigh’s breath catch.

  “Has she been dancing on tables at the Hard Root or something?”

  “You know what I meant.”

  “Knowing and caring are two different things. Your sister wants to ride. You’ve got a few hours’ worth of work in there. Is watching Nick Jr. with Nessa really a better way to spend her time? It’s not like Tina is going to let her watch for more than thirty minutes.”

  “It’s not safe.”

  “Have you met Gideon?”

  “Look, he’s a beautiful, big horse.” If anything Ashleigh knew a cowboy’s ego was tied to their horse.

  “He’s also one of Nessa’s and needs to be exercised. As in my cousin trusts this horse with his four-year-old daughter.”

  “She rides it all by herself?”

  “How else would she ride him?” Miles scanned the animal. “He doesn’t have a sidecar or backseat.”

  Ashleigh uncrossed her arms and waved her right one at the horse. “You’re going to tell me that little Nessa just jumps up on that beast and gallops off into the sunset.”

  “First, Gideon is old and barely trots. Second, her dad puts her on him, then lets her go. The only danger your sister would face is if Gideon fell asleep and went into a coma.”

  Ashleigh wasn’t buying the sweet old horse that only gets rode to church and back routine. The likelihood of her sister panicking and being thrown was too high for her. “My sister isn’t a rough and tumble type girl.”

  “Have you ever let her try?”

  Ashleigh glared at Miles hoping laser beams would escape and burn through his soul.

  Instead, he leaned against a post and adjusted his stupid cowboy hat.

  “Do you have any idea the health concerns with a person who has Downs?”

  Miles trained his eyes on his shoes for a moment then gave her a shameful shrug. “When I was in college, I tutored kids with disabilities, but most times their biggest disability was their parents.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ashleigh hissed.

  “It means,” Miles said as he shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Until you let her try something, you’ll never know what she’s capable of.”

  “I’ve raised her since—”

  “Hey Sierra, are your bones made of glass?” he hollered at her sister.

  “No.”

  “Has Ash ever let you ride anything besides a bus?”

  “We went to a carnival once,” her sister’s garbled voice should have been Miles’ first indication that Sierra shouldn’t ride. “She let me go on the spinning strawberries.”

  “The spinning berries go faster than Gideon.”

  “They’re enclosed and less than a foot off the ground.”

  “Guess I’ll have to ride Gideon tonight.” Miles sighed and glanced over at Sierra who looked heartbroken.

  “What if you led him around?” Ashleigh suggested. “And I watched the whole time.”

  “I don’t know,” he said as he went over to Gideon and pet his nose. “You’re twisting your fingers so tight, tryin’ to tamp down your nerves, it might pass to ole Gideon. He’s very sensitive. That’s why he likes your sister.”

  “He likes me?” Sierra gushed as she passed Miles the brush.

  “Horses know good people. He hasn’t backed away from you or shook you off. That’s a pretty good indication in my book.”

  Ashleigh unlocked her fingers and shook them out. She’d been a bit out of sorts for the last few days. Walking a line between two sides was hard. Hamilton had her practically living in the coroner’s office, waiting on the final decision when it came to whose gun did what damage. Only something had come up, one bullet in Yahir wasn’t from a Long gun. That could have been the kill shot. The Longs could have been shooting into an already dead or dying body.

  “Please Ash,” Sierra pleaded. “Please let me ride the horse? I’ve ridden before.”

  “A pony that was locked into a circular pattern,” Ashleigh reasoned.

  “Those horses aren’t any good. They aren’t loved and spoiled like old Gideon. He’s helped Walt Jr. and Vanessa get into riding. In a year, I bet he’ll be taking Quinton out.”

  “He didn’t train you?” Ashleigh countered.

  “He’s not that old, but he was the one I broke in, after I learned on his mama.”

  “Another born and raised on the Long Ranch.”

  “Something wrong with that?” Miles asked and took a saddle off its stand. Only in a t-shirt and jeans, his biceps flexed as he rested it on his thick shoulder.

  That orange jumpsuit the other day had hid more than she realized. He may be the leanest o
f the Long men, but he still had the muscle required to run a ranch.

  “Sierra, remember what I said about the blanket.”

  “Yep,” Sierra hopped to and placed a thick padding over Gideon as if she’d done it her whole life. “This the right spot?”

  “Perfect.” Miles placed the saddle on Gideon’s back and began to cinch up the straps underneath.

  “Make sure they’re tight. The last thing I want is for my sister to be upside down under a horse.”

  Miles looked over his shoulder at Ashleigh and shook his head before bursting out in laughter. Unable to finish what he was doing, he fell back on his ass and sat there.

  Sierra started laughing too, but Ashleigh could tell she didn’t get the joke. Come to think of it, neither did Ashleigh. “What is so funny?”

  “Damn,” he said as he struggled to catch his breath. “Thank you, I needed that. You have no idea.”

  “Needed what? A lesson in saddling a horse?”

  “No, a good laugh. What spaghetti western parody have you been watching?” Miles dusted off his jeans and knelt by Gideon to get the back straps. “You’re part of my prosecution. Dear lord, I’ll have this anklet off me, sooner than I thought.”

  “You killed a man,” she spat then instantly felt his mood shift again. “I’m sorry, it’s just—”

  “You killed someone?” Sierra’s eyes widened and Ashleigh knew her sister would lose it soon. “Were they bad?”

  “What?” Ash asked not sure when her sister stopped freaking out about everything.

  “He’s a cowboy. Cowboys kill the bad guy, especially when they wear white hats,” Sierra reasoned. “Unless you are the bad guy. Did you rob a bank when you did it?”

  “No ma’am,” Miles replied. “And he was bad.”

  “See…told you.” Sierra stuck her tongue out at Ashleigh. “Can I ride now?”

  “Of course, you can,” Miles said and placed a small stool by Gideon’s side to help Sierra up and on the beast. He made sure she felt secure and knew to hold the horn of the saddle for support. Taking the lead he reached for his white cowboy hat and walked the animal out into a pen. “You comin’ Ash?”

  * * * *

  “You know I’m sorry about…well the whole killed a guy thing,” Ashleigh fumbled after she caught up to him walking Gideon around the ring. “Look this is one of those weird cases.”

  “Where you want to root for the bad guy,” he suggested.

  “Yeah.”

  “You ever find in those narratives that the bad guy isn’t really bad at all. Not deep down.”

  Ashleigh let out a sigh. “I know you’re not bad, bad, just wrong place and time. It’s not like you went to Las Cruces to kill the guy. But we need a line drawn. We can’t have vigilante justice.”

  “What if it had been you and me on those steps with Sierra there as your maid of honor?” He peered into her eyes and saw something he hadn’t expected. Her pupils dilated and she licked at her top lip. Had he just suggested he was marrying her? Well, that’s one hell of a comparison!

  “That’s not the same—”

  “It’s exactly the same thing,” he said cutting her off. “If I’d been an off duty cop being shot at—”

  “But you weren’t. You aren’t trained.”

  “I’ve lived out here, at least twenty minutes from any cop racing to a scene for my entire life. You think I have time to wait? Let me guess, you think all our guns should have locks on them too.”

  “Yes, they should. You have small kids living around here. Not to mention my sister—” Ashleigh turned quickly to see Gideon had gone on his own adventure with Sierra. Miles had dropped the reigns when he started fighting with her.

  “Shit,” he spat and took off after the horse who true to form was barely trotting with Sierra on his back. Following the same pattern he had in the pen, walking along the edge right by the gate. “Get back over here.” He gathered up the reigns as Ashleigh came full steam ready to kill him and the horse who’d just been doing his job.

  “Are you okay Sierra?” she asked as he pulled the animal to a halt.

  “I’m fine. Can I keep going?”

  Ashleigh looked from her sister to him and back to her. “I guess.”

  “How about you take these,” he suggested and brought the reigns over Gideon’s head and handed them to Sierra. “Here’s the deal, keep them loose, but just like with a car. If you need him to turn just gently tug one way or the other. Not snapping the reigns or kicking his sides okay? It might make your sister faint and we wouldn’t want that.”

  “Can you teach me that stuff later?” Sierra asked in a hushed whisper.

  “Yes,” he said with a wink. “Once we lose the fun police. Now, if he decides to go too fast what do you do?”

  “Pull back and say whoa.”

  Even with her obvious speech impediment, he was sure Gideon would understand. “You got this. You ready?” he asked and when she nodded, he gave Gideon a little slap on his hind quarters and he took off in his normal, fine I’ll move fashion. Sticking with the pattern he was used to. Miles felt comfortable to go to the fence and watch as Ashleigh gaped at him. “I’ve noticed since we got rid of our cattle, the fly population has dwindled, but I’d still close that giant fly trap of yours.”

  Ash’s jaw snapped shut. “I said you had to walk the horse.”

  “Yeah, I’m not really interested in what you have to say when it comes to an adult’s choice.”

  “I thought cowboys were supposed to be gentleman.”

  “We’re only gentle when the time calls for it. We’re men all the time. And as a man, I made a decision.” Turning his head, he caught her moss colored eyes again and wished he hadn’t. “When was the last time someone took that burden off you?”

  Ashleigh’s face softened and he could see her fighting back some emotion. It wasn’t his place to ask, but he’d be here for her if she needed it. Instead of debating the issues, the two of them rested on the fence and watched as Sierra’s face beamed from the horse ride. Both she and Gideon were done after a half hour and he brought them back to the barn.

  “Thank you,” Ashleigh said as he was putting away the gelding. “I haven’t seen her that happy for a long time.”

  “The world is only as scary as we let it be. But two women on their own that has to be pretty frightening at times.”

  “If you tell me I need a man—”

  He put his hand up to silence her. “You don’t, but you could use someone to release the tension you have. Even Gideon could feel it.”

  “And I suppose you’re just the man to do it for me.”

  “I never said it had to be a man,” he countered and entered the heat of her personal space.

  She stepped back only to find she was trapped against another horse stall.

  “And I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole. I’m not strong enough to deal with that chip on your shoulder.”

  “Excuse me,” she snarled. “I will have you know—”

  All he wanted to do was kiss the ever living shit out of her to shut her up. Instead, he cut her off, “Save it, I’m a murdering son-of-a-bitch that you don’t have time for. When you look at me, you only see one thing. Guess what? The feeling’s mutual.” Pushing off from the wooden structure, he went back to Gideon’s stall and took off his bridal. That damn woman with her black and white world. Pissing him off in a way he wasn’t ready to face. Calling him a murder? As if he was one step up from Jack the Ripper. He wouldn’t be treated like this in his own damn barn.

  Turning back to give her what for, he found she had left. Good, he thought before storming out to find her. Damn the woman and her curves. Curves? What the hell, he was a Long. He could have any woman, married or not in the county. Instead, he was chasing after a woman in khaki shorts and a body hugging blue lace cami. “Look here Ashleigh,” he called.

  She turned back around. “No! You don’t get to lecture to me about who and what I am. You don’t know me and you ma
de it more than clear, you’ve already determined I’m not worth knowing.”

  Miles gathered her up in his arms and kissed her before another tirade started. No, he did want to know her. He wanted to change her mind and see he was the good cowboy with the white hat who could save her. He just wasn’t sure he was in a place to do that at the moment. She felt so light in his arms he didn’t even realize he had lifted her off the ground until he felt her feet kicking at his legs.

  “Have you lost your ever lovin’ mind?” she exclaimed as he set her back on the ground. “You can’t just pick a girl up and—”

  This time, he reached for her face and cradled it in his hands while kissing her. Her tongue glided across his lips. Soon, the two feuding would be lovers had fallen into a deeper kiss than he’d been ready for as a charge shot through him so strong he mistook it for grabbing on to an electric fence. Emotions erupted at the feel of her soft hair between his fingers and their fused mouths. Her arms wrapped around his neck as their kiss broke and reconnected over and over. The sharp scratch of her nails bit their way up his neck and knocked his hat to the ground.

  “Told you white hat wearin’ cowboys are the good ones,” Sierra called from the front porch.

  Miles broke their connection.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” Ashleigh scolded with about as much anger as a purring tabby.

  Miles brushed back her hair as the cool spring wind whipped it around and tried to cover the eyes he’d been drawn to. “Tell me something Ash—”

  “I never said you could call me that.”

  “Your tongue was half way down my throat about thirty seconds ago, so let’s stop with the put out woman routine. And, you cut me off, so you don’t know what I was going to call you.”

  Her face was still cradled in his hands and although her words were protesting his very existence, she didn’t seem in a hurry to step away from him. “Look here cowboy, you need to keep your distance from my sister and me.” She finally broke the connection and she might as well have pulled burrs from his chest. It would have caused less pain.

  Once again, Miles Long had fallen for the wrong damn woman.