by Jeannie Watt
Was she afraid he’d touch her again? It had been meant as a friendly gesture, but the contact had sent an unexpected jolt of deep awareness surging through him. He wondered if she’d felt it, too, or if he was the only one feeling this strong pull. Life would probably be simpler that way, and, frankly, he couldn’t read her.
“Where did you go after she died? Relatives?”
“My father’s place. He was kind of a distant relative.” Her eyes widened at his response, and Trace sucked in a breath. That had sounded awful and he hadn’t asked her to have a drink with him to rehash his past...or hers, for that matter. “I didn’t have a lot of contact with him before that. I barely knew the man when I moved to his ranch.”
“That had to be rough.”
He smiled as carelessly as he was able. “It got me into bull riding, so no regrets.” Except for never really knowing the guy who’d given him his name.
“Your dad taught you to bull ride?”
He managed not to snort at the idea of his father spending that much time with him—or his stepmom allowing it. “The neighbor taught me. I used to go hang out there...long story.” One he didn’t feel like telling, so instead he smiled, watched as her gaze traveled over his face, wondered what she saw there. A winner? A loser? A guy who considered his father a distant relative? In many ways he was all of the above, but when he’d asked Annie to have a drink with him, he hadn’t expected the conversation to take this route. Judging from the speculative expression on her face as she studied him, neither had she.
“I hadn’t meant to get all serious,” he said.
“I don’t mind serious.”
“What do you mind?” he asked, more to fill the silence than anything.
“People who say things they don’t mean and make promises they can’t keep.” She spoke lightly, but there was an underlying edge to her voice. Annie had some hidden scars, and he assumed they were related to the father of her twins.
“I tend to err in the opposite direction,” Trace said with a touch of irony. “I tell people things they don’t want to hear.”
Annie raised her glass in a mock salute. “At least they know where they stand.” After taking another small drink, she asked, “Why’d you ask me out for this beer, Trace? Because I get the feeling from our first encounters that you’re more of an introvert than an extrovert.”
So much for faking small talk. But at least her question had an easy answer. “Opportunity to get to know you better.”
The color rose in her cheeks, but her tone was matter-of-fact when she said, “You couldn’t have done that tomorrow?”
“I thought it might be easier alone.”
“You’re right. It is.” She pushed her half-finished beer aside. “You’re really okay with the girls coming over to ride tomorrow?”
“I don’t mind.”
“You say that now.”
He smiled at her. “You know, Grady never came out and said it, but I think he did want me to keep an eye on you—” Annie’s expression cooled, but he put a hand up before she could speak “—not because you’re not capable, but because he’s your brother.”
Annie rolled her eyes toward the pressed tin ceiling. “I know. He was gone for almost two years, building his career, and I think it still bothers him that he came back and the place was in pretty bad shape.”
“It looked all right to me.”
“Smoke and mirrors. The house is old, and while I’m fairly handy with repairs, I have this thing about power tools, so I’m not much of a carpenter.” Her mouth tightened ruefully as she spoke, as if having a thing about power tools was somehow embarrassing. “It’s the earsplitting noise, I think, and the possibility of cutting off a digit, so I never learned to use anything except a cordless drill. There’s only so much you can do after a tornado with a hand saw, a hammer and a power drill.”
“You had a tornado?”
“Damaged two of the outbuildings. Thankfully, the girls and I were in town at the time. Grady came back to put them together last spring.”
“We were all surprised that he chose to leave the series.” He’d been healthy and riding well, but had made it clear that his family needed him.
“I think the time off did him good. He’s riding better than ever.”
That he was. Trace checked stats frequently, which only fed his growing impatience to get back into the series even if his chances of qualifying for Nationals were next to none.
Annie didn’t finish her beer but she told him it was because she drank so rarely that she was now officially a lightweight. After Trace walked her to her car, she smiled up at him. “Well, friend of Grady’s. Thank you for the drink.”
Friend of Grady’s. Again.
“Anytime.” He touched the brim of his cowboy hat and then waited for her to unlock her door before heading to his truck. As he unlocked his own door he couldn’t help but wonder why she kept laying down that boundary. Was it for him? Or for her?
Chapter Five
Annie told herself that there was no reason that she should feel an edgy sense of anticipation as she picked up the girls at Danielle’s house prior to taking them riding on Sunday morning...but she did. The girls raced for the truck, backpacks bouncing, thrilled that they had back-to-back big events—being spoiled rotten at Danielle’s followed by horseback riding—while Annie hefted the large tote bag they’d left behind.
“This seems heavier than before.”
Danielle smiled. “I cleaned out my costume jewelry last night. I had a lot of help.”
“I bet.” Annie shifted the bag to her other shoulder. “I had a beer with Trace Delaney last night.” She figured she may as well come clean, since Danielle would get wind of the matter before the close of business on Monday. “We met by accident in the parking lot after I finished painting.”
“Again?”
“Yes. Strange, huh?” Annie shifted the bag then forced herself to hold still. “You should see the quilt room. It’s gorgeous. Great color.”
Danielle gave her a wry look. “I can’t wait.”
“Don’t read anything into this,” Annie said darkly. “The beer, I mean.”
“Why would I?”
“Because I haven’t been out with anyone forever?” Not since she’d given in and gone on a blind date arranged by well-meaning coworkers at the library where she’d worked part-time. “I only went because he’s Grady’s friend.” And her casual mention of her night out was turning into a case of she-doth-protest-too-much. So she shut her mouth.
“See you tomorrow,” Danielle said on a note of gentle amusement.
“Right. Thank you. For everything.”
“Mom, I’m going to need new boots,” Katie announced as Annie got into the car. “My toes are touching the ends.”
“Mine, too,” Kristen added, as if that wasn’t a given. Her girls were truly identical, except in temperament.
“Noted,” Annie said. She’d try to squeeze boots into the next paycheck, which meant nothing was allowed to break down. Nothing beyond her fix-it capabilities anyway, such as the furnace, which had made a funny noise that morning. After she’d turned it off and pushed the reset button, it’d whirred back into action without so much as a hiccup, warming the house against the spring chill, so she hoped that was merely a fluke. The washing machine had given her no further problems now that it had its new hose. It was too warm for the pipes to freeze and her mechanic had just given her faithful little car a clean bill of health—in return for the promise of a bounty of harvest from her garden during the summer. Marlo did love fresh tomatoes.
She turned into Lex’s driveway and the twins instantly undid their seat belts and leaned over the front seat, pointing at the corral.
“Look! Mr. D’laney has the horses caught,” Katie said from behind her.
He a
lso looked pretty spectacular standing next to the fence, wearing worn jeans, a blue plaid flannel shirt and a black Carhartt work vest. Annie’s throat went dry. The guy was not only handsome, he was built, too. Long-legged. Lean. And those shoulders...
He’d looked sexy at the bar last night, which was one reason she hadn’t finished her beer—she’d wanted to keep her inhibitions firmly in place—but in the light of day...oh, yeah. He truly was something. One of those guys who got better looking each time you saw them.
Last night while they’d talked, she’d dealt with the fact that for the first time in a very long time, she was physically drawn to a man. And since that man had no idea as to the direction of her thoughts, she’d allowed herself to enjoy the feeling. It was delicious, dangerous, a touch bewildering—Why now? Why this guy?—but she saw no reason to fight it because all it would ever be was a feeling. The twins bouncing in the seat behind her were walking, talking reminders of where her priorities were centered for the next several years. As far as Trace Delaney was concerned, she was simply Annie Owen. Sister. Mom. Chauffeur to injured parking lot fighters.
Annie turned off the ignition and opened her door as the twins spilled out of the passenger side. “Hi,” she said as Trace approached, congratulating herself on sounding so amazingly normal and unaware of the fact that he looked like he’d just stepped out of a hot cowboy Pinterest board. “Thanks for catching the horses.”
“I didn’t know what you wanted me to do ahead of time, so I brought the horses in—except for that gnarly gelding. I couldn’t see any reason to have him in the corral.”
“Snuff?” Annie asked on a laugh. “He’s Lex’s dad’s old horse. He runs the pasture in pretty much the way Lex runs her farm.”
“I noticed.” He smiled easily, meeting her gaze and holding it for a few long seconds. Annie wondered how she remembered to breathe. He’d been sexy in the bar, but in the light of day...
A tug on her sleeve snapped her back into mom-mode. “Can we catch Daphne and Lacey?”
“Good idea,” she said, shifting her attention to Katie and Kristen. The girls exchanged happy looks and headed for the tack shed as Annie followed.
“I hung the halters on the fence,” Trace called.
The twins didn’t look back, but they instantly changed course as they spotted the halters hanging from the fence posts. They climbed the fence rails to take the halters down and were back on the ground by the time she and Trace caught up with them.
The old mares were already ambling toward the gate before the girls got it open. “It’s a good sign when the horses come to the riders,” Trace said.
“They have a good relationship. And the mares get a lot of loving out of the deal.”
And he was supposed to be hiding out in his house while they were there, not standing next to her, smelling all delicious. Anyway, that had been the impression she’d gotten when he’d extended the invitation—pre-drink. Had the drink changed things?
Annie pushed her ponytail over her shoulder and chanced a glance at the man. Trace smiled a little and then Annie turned her attention back to the girls and called, “Watch the lead ropes, ladies.” She looked back at Trace, a matter-of-fact tone in her voice as she said, “Lex doesn’t like the lead ropes dragging in the dirt. She had the girls wash them in a bucket of soapy water the last time.”
“She runs a tight ship.”
“The girls loved it so much they want to wash lead ropes every time we come.”
“Well, they can certainly wash lead ropes today if they so desire.”
“We probably won’t have time for that.”
“Tight schedule?”
Annie gave Trace another sidelong look before focusing back on the twins, who were leading the mares back to the gate. “I have a lot to catch up with on Sundays, so as much as I’d like to avoid my chores, I probably shouldn’t.”
“I wish I had that problem.” Annie frowned at Trace and he said, “I like to keep busy and Lex didn’t leave me much to do.”
Annie laughed. “You should come by my place.” She regretted the words the instant they left her lips. He really shouldn’t come by her place. She cleared her throat. “Keeping up with the laundry is a two-man job sometimes.” Her attempted save sounded lame at best.
How was it that she’d held her own last night in an unfamiliar environment even as she became more and more aware of how attracted she was to him, but now, in the light of day, in a familiar environment, she felt so self-conscious?
Maybe because of that dream you had about him last night?
Annie felt color creeping up from her neckline. She couldn’t remember the particulars, but there was no question as to who the hero of the dream had been. And now that she was close to him, it was almost as if it had really happened.
She was having a morning-after moment.
Get a grip. This is not a morning after.
“Are you all right?”
“Hmm?” She innocently shifted her gaze to his handsome face.
“I thought you might have forgotten something the way you were frowning.”
“No. Trust me. I’ve forgotten nothing.” It was all coming back in Technicolor detail. Unfortunately.
He nodded and she smiled at him and hoped it didn’t look too strained. “I actually enjoy doing laundry when my washer doesn’t attack me.” It was true. There was something soothing about sorting and washing clothes.
“Laundry isn’t my strong point. I never have been able to get the arena dirt out of my jeans.”
“Same with Grady. He really grinds that stuff in.”
“The trick is to hit the ground on your feet after disembarking. Then your jeans don’t suffer.”
Annie narrowed her eyes. “How often does that happen?”
“Every now and again.” He opened the gate and the twins led the old mares out of the corral. Annie helped with the bridles, and Trace threw the small saddles up. The girls then led the mares to the edge of the fence where they scrambled up and expertly leaped onto the horses’ backs.
“They seem at home in the saddle,” Trace said as they started riding down the path toward Lex’s training arena. Without Lex or Grady there to ride with them, the twins knew better than to ask to go out on the trail.
“Do you horseback ride?” Trace asked as they followed the girls.
“Not much.”
“Bull ride?”
She smiled. “I stopped at calves.” She moved past the girls to open the gate and they rode into the railed enclosure.
“Tell us what to do,” Kristen said.
“Circle with the rail on your right,” Annie called. She glanced over at Trace. He seemed almost shy around the girls, as if he wasn’t quite certain how to deal with them, but showed no inclination toward leaving. “If you have something else to do...”
“I don’t.”
Her eyebrows lifted at his instant response.
“Well,” he said with a tilt of his head, “I don’t get to do a lot of talking here, except to the dogs. And I enjoyed talking to you last night.”
An unexpected sensation of warmth flowed thought her. “Did you know you’d be isolated when you agreed to watch the place?”
“I did. But I’ve never been in a situation where I had nothing to do. Usually I’m traveling and when I’m not, I lend a hand on the ranch where I stay and train during my time off—or I used to, anyway. The ranch sold, so here I am.”
“Reverse,” Annie called to the girls. The mares changed direction and Annie noticed that it was with very little effort on the part of her daughters. Katie hadn’t even moved her reins. The mares knew the voice commands—as well they should, given the amount of time the girls spent riding with Lex.
“I know that you guys don’t get much time off in the bull-riding schedule. Ot
her than for injury, I mean.” Grady had a couple of months off in the summer and then the series had begun again in August.
“I like it that way. I’ve never been one to stay in one place for long.”
“Even as a kid?”
“No,” he said softly without looking at her. “As a kid I stayed put for the most part. The only problem was that it wasn’t in places where I wanted to be.”
“That’s too bad.”
“That’s life.” He gestured at the arena when Kristen was looking at her over her shoulder.
“Trot,” Annie called. The old mares broke into a slow jog and she glanced back at Trace. “I bet you can’t wait for that shoulder to heal and to get back to your life.”
His expression said more than words. It was killing him not to compete. Grady was the same way. Silence fell between them and Annie did her best to focus solely on her girls, but it wasn’t easy when she was so aware of the guy leaning on the fence a few feet away. And even more difficult when he said, “Would you like to go riding sometime?”
Annie shot him a sideways look as red flags started to wave furiously. “Is that an invitation?”
“It is.”
All right... She hadn’t seen this coming. “Because you’re looking for company?”
“Partly.”
“The other part?”
His gaze traveled over her in a way that warmed her. “Because I wouldn’t mind going riding with you.”
Her heart gave a couple of slow thumps as she grappled with this unexpected development. “I don’t know.” She spoke honestly. “I’m a full-time mom with a second full-time job.”
“No time for riding.”
She went with the truth. Not sugarcoated. “No time for complications.”
“Meaning me?”
She felt the color rise in her cheeks. What if she was reading this all wrong? “I’m going to be honest here. I’m rusty.”
“Rusty?”
“I can’t tell what kind of invitation you’re offering—” She looked over at the girls, who were shifting impatiently in their saddles, waiting for a new cue. “Reverse course and walk.”
