by Liz Isaacson
“I have to go for work,” he said. “And since you told me about the bet, I’ll say that I normally don’t take a date when it’s for work, but….” His words stuck in his throat.
“Another woman,” Renee said. “You need me to look pretty on your arm so she’ll be jealous.”
Justin didn’t like the way that sounded. “That’s almost right,” he said. “But I don’t care if she’s jealous. I just don’t want her to think I haven’t moved on.”
“So she was a serious girlfriend.”
“Yes,” Justin choked out. He hadn’t finished his ice cream, but it sounded unappetizing after this conversation so he set the bowl on the ground. He didn’t need to bring up the word fiancé right now.
“I’d love to go to the rodeo with you.” She slipped her arm into his elbow, and the gesture reminded him of how old he was. He wondered how old Renee was—she was clearly much younger than him. The way she dressed, and spoke, and acted testified of it. Her relation to Leah wasn’t the only reason he’d walked away from her at the diner the other night.
He’d actually found her giggling annoying. Her hair fluffing juvenile. Her inability to leave her gaggle of girlfriends to have a real conversation infuriating. So he’d left her, disinterested in being her latest boy toy.
But now, sitting with her in the shade, she didn’t seem to be the same woman at all.
“How old are you?” he asked.
She tilted her head back and met his eyes. “Twenty-four. You.”
He gulped and pushed his cowboy hat forward with his free hand. “A lot older than that.”
A hint of a smile touched her lips. “How much older?”
“Eight years older,” he said. Almost a decade.
“Ever been married?”
“There you are.” Graham, Tess’s son, came skidding up to him. “We’re leavin’. You ready to go?”
He stood, glad for the interruption. “Give me two minutes, okay?” Graham ran off, and Justin saw Walker waiting on the sidewalk. Though his cowboy hat obscured his face, Justin knew he was watching.
He turned back to Renee, who had also risen to her feet. “Maybe you’ll give me your phone number, and I can call you.” He gazed at her evenly, his heart bobbing against his voice box.
She giggled, and he imagined he might have to get used to the sound if he wanted to be with her. “Of course you can.”
He held out his phone and she plucked it from his fingers. She tapped and swiped and handed the device back. “There you go. I’m a night owl.” She turned and pranced across the lawn, turning back to give him a finger wave when she reached the doorway. Then she disappeared inside.
Justin sighed and faced his friends, sure Tess would question him relentlessly on the way back to the ranch. It was only fifteen minutes; surely Justin could weather that. He crossed the lawn to the sidewalk, and no sooner had his boot hit cement did Tess ask, “Who was that? She’s pretty.”
Justin ducked his head. “Her name’s Renee Martin.”
“Isn’t that—?”
“No,” Justin said loudly over Walker’s question. He’d mentioned Renee to Walker while they worked in the horse arena the day after the dance. He knew the words he’d used, and he didn’t want to hear them. Annoying brunette.
“She’s too young for me,” he said as he got in the truck. “So it’s not a big deal.”
“But you got her number,” Tess persisted.
“How do you know?”
“I saw you give her your phone.”
Justin glared at her. “We’re going to the rodeo together, all right?”
“Because of Paulette?” Walker asked. “I told you I’d go to the rodeo.”
Justin shook his head. “Tess has to go to Evanston that same weekend. It’s fine. I’m going with Renee. I can handle Paulette.” Justin spoke with confidence, but he didn’t feel it inside. He was over Paulette; he didn’t want her back in his life. But he didn’t want her to know that he didn’t have anyone in his life.
Several minutes passed, and Justin thought maybe he’d escape the questions tonight. Then Tess said, “How old is she?” and Justin pressed his eyes closed and prayed for patience.
The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Justin clucked at the horse, a pretty little mare that shone red in the approaching sunlight. She eyed him with a wildness he’d coach out of her over the course of the next six months. He’d named her Red Star, and he had an inkling she’d win a team roping event or two. Or twenty. She had the powerful legs to be a heeler, if she’d just trust Justin.
She dodged right, and Justin let her go. She paced, and he kept the pole tapping on the ground, kept her moving. Red Star finally settled into the circle, though she kept up the trot for several more minutes.
“Walk,” he commanded her, and her step slowed. Her head lowered. The crazed look in her eye had died as she expended her energy. He retracted the pole to urge her closer to the center. The bag rustled along the dirt and Red Star snorted.
After another half hour of waiting for her to give in, she finally nosed him, her feet straddling the pole she seemed to hate so much. Justin gave her the affection she’d earned. He just wished she’d get there a little faster. She hadn’t been making progress in about a week, and it still took her about an hour to come to him. Until she’d trust him right out of the gate, he couldn’t train her to be a rodeo champion.
He brushed her down and fed her an extra slice of hay from a nearby bale. “There you go. No oats today. Gotta come in faster.” She hung her head over the stall door like she really felt bad. He chuckled and stroked her nose before heading back to the barn. Walker would have more for him to do, as the chores around the ranch seemed never-ending.
But Justin wouldn’t have his life any other way. He adored working outside in the fresh air. He loved everything about horses. He’d competed in the pro rodeo circuit for eight years, winning every year in team roping, before retiring to Brush Creek. He wasn’t in the rodeo, but he was near enough not to miss it.
In the barn, Walker stood over a table with Landon Edmunds. Walker was the foreman, which meant he made sure the four other cowboys who lived on-site showed up and did the jobs he assigned to them. Landon owned the ranch, which meant he financed everything and held the vision he wanted for Brush Creek Horse Ranch. He’d started it six years ago, with two horses and a dream. The ranch now produced about a dozen horses for the rodeo circuit every year, and they each brought a pretty penny to the trainer who worked with them.
Landon only employed former rodeo stars, and Justin felt lucky to have gotten on at Brush Creek immediately after he’d decided to leave the circuit.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asked as both Walker and Landon looked concerned. Justin glanced at the table, where a blueprint sat. “What is that?”
“New watering system,” Landon said. “For the hay fields behind the cabins.” He leaned away from the table and then took several steps away, one hand rubbing up and down the back of his head.
“It’s expensive,” Walker said by way of explanation. “But it would cut down on the hours we spend out in the fields.”
“By fifty percent,” Landon said. “And with that much extra time, we could train two more horses a year. And that would pay for the system in just two years.”
“Sounds like it’s worth it.” Justin thumped the table with a fist. “What’s next for me?”
“The disc mower is on the fritz again, and I need you to work your magic on it.” Walker reached for a folder on the back corner of the table. “And then you have a customer coming at three.”
“A customer?” The two horses he was currently training wouldn’t be ready for months, and Walker didn’t usually have his men train three horses at a time.
“Yeah, an Abby Guzman. She wants to know about horseback riding lessons for her son. Guess his dad was a header, and the boy’s interested in it as well.”
Justin made a face. “I don’t do horseback riding lesso
ns.”
“She’d eventually need a proper header horse,” Walker said, snapping the folder closed and handing it to him. “And you’re our team roping expert, so I gave her to you.”
Justin flipped open the folder but didn’t really read anything. “Does she live in Brush Creek?”
“Vernal, but she’s comin’ up here. Three o’clock.” Walker started to walk away with Landon, and Justin looked at the folder. He scanned until he found how old the boy was. Five.
Justin’s stomach fell. He definitely didn’t want to do horseback riding lessons with a five-year-old. He’d just have to find a way to get rid of Abby Guzman.
Chapter Three
Justin: What’s your favorite color?
Renee: Pink. Or maybe yellow. Something bright. You?
Justin: Blue.
Renee: You seem like a blue person. You were wearing a blue shirt at the ice cream social.
Justin: That was a bar. Did you get your money for winning the bet?
Renee: Yes, all $115, so we can eat out somewhere nice before the rodeo!
Justin: It’s not for two more weeks. Not sure if I told you that.
Renee: You did. I have it on my calendar.
Justin: Great. And we might have to make dinner into lunch. I have a lot to do there, and it’s not usually during the actual rodeo.
Renee: Whatever you need.
Justin: All right, well, it’s late, and I have to work early. Talk to you tomorrow.
Renee: Haven’t heard from you today. You alive?
Justin, seventeen minutes later: Yeah, but barely. Rough day of training today, and I started horseback riding lessons with a kid.
Renee: A kid, huh? How old?
Justin: Five.
Renee: Can anyone take horseback riding lessons out at the ranch?
Justin: Trust me, you don’t want to take horseback riding lessons.
Renee: Why not?
Justin: Just come on out, and I’ll take you for a ride.
Renee: Is that what you do for fun? Ride your horse around in the wilderness?
Justin: Sometimes. I like to hike, fish, and ride four-wheelers too.
Renee: I like to read.
Justin: I literally can’t think of the last book I read.
Renee: I read four last week. Oh! And I’m starting my new job on Monday.
Justin: What will you be doing?
Renee: Working for the National Parks Department at Dinosaur National Monument.
Justin: Fancy.
Renee: I’ll be handing out maps and taking park admissions. LOL. It won’t be anything to write home about.
Justin: Do you do that a lot? Write home, I mean.
Renee: Sometimes.
Justin: Tell me about your family.
Renee couldn’t type that much, so she pressed the call button and waited while Justin’s phone rang.
“Hi,” he said easily, his voice soft and full of a smile.
“Hi.” Her adrenaline rushed through her “I thought it might be easier to just call about the family thing.”
“Oh yeah? Lots to say, huh?”
She laughed, her curls touching her shoulders as she leaned her head back. “I guess so. My family is really large.”
“Define ‘large’.”
“I have nine siblings.”
Justin sucked in a breath. “Wow, that is large.”
She giggled. “What was your definition of large?”
“I have two brothers,” he said. “They’re both married and have a few kids each. It feels like a lot of people when we get together.”
“How often do you get together?”
“I’m from Kentucky,” he said. “I only see them a couple of times a year.”
Renee cocked her head to the side, listening for something in the empty spaces. “How long has it been since you’ve been home?”
“I like the texting version of Twenty Questions better.” A soft rumble of laughter came through the line, tickling her eardrums and accelerating her pulse.
“Oh, come on. I could just tell you weren’t telling the truth.” Renee glanced at the door as a noise sounded beyond it. Leah had probably just gotten home from her evening run.
“You could? How?”
“I don’t know. It’s just like a sixth sense I have.” She pulled the phone from her mouth as Leah knocked on the door. Renee opened it and gestured with the phone. Leah raised her hand and backed away, a knowing smile in her eyes. At least she wouldn’t demand Renee give the money back.
“I haven’t been home in a couple of years,” he said. “But I have usually gone home for at least Thanksgiving or Christmas. Sometimes in the summer, if my boss makes me.”
“Why would he make you?”
“Because.” He exhaled heavily, and she could picture him kicked back with his boots off, his cowboy hat tilted slightly on his head. “The work on a ranch is never over. So I don’t really ever take or get days off.”
“I had no idea.”
“Tell me about your new job.”
Renee had noted that Justin didn’t give many details about himself but continually asked for hers. She didn’t mind. She laid back on the bed and started detailing the first real job she’d ever had—and she hadn’t even started yet.
Renee really hoped she didn’t hate it. Standing in a booth on the side of the road didn’t sound terribly exciting, but anything was better than refilling salad bar containers or getting up at three a.m. to clean the student center on campus.
Justin yawned, and Renee realized she’d been talking for a while now. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “It’s almost ten o’clock.”
That sexy chuckle came through the line again, and he said, “I like listenin’ to your pretty voice. Call me tomorrow?”
Warmth wove through her. She smiled. “Sure. Tomorrow.” She ended the call and stayed still, at least on the outside. On the inside, she quaked with nerves, with emotions she hadn’t felt in the longest time.
She was excited about something for the first time in years. A new job. A possible new boyfriend…. Her heart thu-thumped and she propelled herself off the bed, a smile so large her cheeks hurt on her face. She found Leah in the living room, half-asleep in front of the television.
She sighed the kind of sigh that said, I’m so happy, and Leah glanced at her. “Look at you. Talking to Justin?”
“Yeah.”
“He talk much?”
Renee’s good mood deflated slightly. “He talked a normal amount.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch, a prayer of gratitude in her heart that she’d come to Brush Creek, even if her stay here was only temporary.
Maybe it doesn’t have to be, she thought. But by the time she made the nearly-hour-long drive to work on Monday, she knew she couldn’t live in Brush Creek and work at Dinosaur. She needed a place in Vernal, then the drive would only be fifteen minutes. But then she’d have to drive to see Justin.
She pulled into the appointed staff lot and pulled out her phone. Made it to work! Hope you have a great day. She sent the text to Justin and climbed from her car, ready to face whatever this day held. It was the first day of her adult life, after all, and she wanted to be brave about it.
Chapter Four
Justin didn’t see Renee in the flesh for several days. The horseback riding lessons had quickly become his most dreaded task on the ranch, because they took up his free time in the evenings. The disc mower seemed to have a personal vendetta against him, and it kept breaking down. The prep for planting had slowed to almost a crawl, and Justin wasn’t the only cowboy at Brush Creek Ranch that was pulling double shifts.
He spoke to Renee every night when she called, and they had lengthy text conversations. Justin liked this new, technological style of dating. He could be available even when he wasn’t available. He could take his time to answer questions instead of getting put on the spot, and he could even choose to ignore something he didn’t want to talk about.
Renee didn’t seem to have anything she didn’t want to talk about. Justin entered the barn the night before the rodeo to silence, and he was glad for it. His English shepherd trotted ahead of him, heading straight for the tack room where the treats were. Justin stopped by and grabbed one of the rawhide chews and gave it to Roy, who settled down with the bone between his paws. He’d be good for a while, and Justin gave the dog an affectionate pat on his way to the stables in the back of the barn.
He’d been using a tall bay horse the color of fresh churned butter for the riding lessons. “Hey, Magic.” He unlatched the gate and stepped into the stall with the horse. He ran his hand along his nose and down the horse’s neck and back. “You ready for Carson again tonight?”
The horse didn’t twitch a muscle, a testament to his training. Landon really was a genius with horses, a real-live horse whisperer. Justin saddled Magic and held him out to the outdoor arena. The evening heat hung in the air, shimmering on the horizon. Justin let himself enjoy the view, the red-and-white striped rocks in the butte beyond the ranch, the scent of sage in the air, the sky bleeding all the colors of an old bruise.
The sound of tires on gravel alerted him to Abby and Carson’s arrival, and Justin stuck a smile on his face. Abby had long hair the color of ripe wheat, and her son did too. The little boy bounded toward Justin and the riding ring while Abby hung back by the car. She’d eventually approach the railing and watch as Justin gave Carson commands.
Tonight that happened about halfway through. Justin kept an eye on her, the horse and boy, and his watch. Finally, the lesson ended, and Carson ran happily off with Justin’s dog. Abby dug in her pocket for a twenty-dollar bill, but she hesitated before handing it to him.
She tilted her head, the ranch lamps and her turquoise eyes sparkling. “Hey, would you want to get dinner some time after lessons?”
Justin froze. His mouth turned dry, his muscles sagged. He breathed and he blinked, both involuntary reactions. Abby was closer to his age; only a year younger than him. She was pretty, and she clearly adored her son. Justin had no idea what she did for a living, or where her husband was, or how he could make a relationship work with her in Vernal.
