The Bull Rider's Homecoming

by Jeannie Watt

  “Let’s walk for a ways, so the horses don’t spook.”

  The girls agreed then put their chins down and started leading the horses through the bouncing hail balls. If it had been warmer, they probably would have stopped to play with them, but it was nowhere near warm. Trace’s face was growing numb from the stinging ice balls, and even though they had big hoods with furry ruffs, he knew the girls had to be getting pelted, too. They didn’t so much as whine.

  The hail stopped as abruptly as it started and then the clouds opened, allowing shafts of light to shine through, tinting the landscape shades of amber and gold. The effect was breathtaking.

  “And that’s Montana for you,” Annie said from behind him.

  Trace tossed the girls back into their damp saddles and mounted Snuff. By the time they got back to the farm, the only sign of the storm was the melting hail balls that covered the yard.

  The girls helped unsaddle their horses and brush them down, even though their little hands were red with cold.

  “You did really good today,” Trace said after the tack was put away and the mares released to the pasture.

  “We’re used to being cold,” Katie said in an offhand way as the four of them walked to Annie’s car.

  “Yeah?”

  He saw Annie flush, but before she could intercede, Kristen interjected matter-of-factly, “Our furnace doesn’t work and the heaters eat money.”

  Trace shot Annie a look. “So you’re going home to a cold house?”

  “No,” she said coolly. “I’ll let the heaters eat some money when we get home.”

  “What’s wrong with the furnace?”

  “As near as I can tell, it’s the blower motor.”

  “As near as you can tell?”

  “I checked a book out of the library and there aren’t really a lot of things that can go wrong with an oil furnace. I cleaned the filters and replaced the nozzle last week, but it’s still making the noise, so now I have to explore more expensive options. I’m ninety percent positive that the bearings are going out of the blower motor.”

  He stared at her. “You haven’t had anyone look at it?” He stopped next to Annie’s car.

  “Nope.”

  “I think I’d be hesitant to tackle a furnace.” Of course, his mechanical abilities were pretty much limited to fixing the old baler on the ranch and changing the oil on his truck. He’d been too busy training to get too deeply into mechanics.

  “My repair guy assures me that this is a simple transplant operation.”

  Uh-huh. “Would you like me to stop by while you do this operation? Just in case...?”

  “Just in case of what?”

  “You need someone to hold the book open to the right page or something?” He wasn’t about to say because he didn’t like the sound of her tackling the furnace alone or to ask if Grady knew she was doing this repair. He liked his head right where it was, on his shoulders, instead of being taken off.

  Her expression shifted, and was that a flash of relief he saw? “I can’t say that I’d mind some backup. I have more than just myself to think about.” She shot a look over the hood of her car where the twins were digging patterns in the gravel with the heels of their boots.

  “And I don’t mind backing up. Not one bit.”

  “I was going to tackle it today.”

  “How about I follow you home?”

  “Yeah. How about that?” she asked wryly, but she smiled at him, taking the sting out of the words, and Trace found himself feeling pretty good about that. Maybe too good.

  “I’ll take off as soon as the operation is over. You don’t need to worry about what to do with me afterward.”

  “Am I that transparent?”

  “You’re cautious, Annie. You have to be.” As if to punctuate the remark, the girls laughed and crouched down to start building a path through the wet gravel for a slow-moving beetle that had just come out of hibernation. “You have more than yourself to look out for.”

  “There was a time when I wasn’t so cautious,” she said in a low voice. “Kind of got myself into a situation because of it. I can’t afford to do that again.”

  He reached out and touched her, brushing his fingers against the smooth, cool skin of her cheek without thinking. “I understand.”

  She didn’t look as if she fully believed him, but she didn’t move away from his touch. Slowly he dropped his hand back to his side. “I’m only here for a matter of months, Annie. I like spending time with you, but I will not push my way into your life. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

  “Hearing that makes me feel better,” she admitted. “I have too much at stake to play games.”

  * * *

  AS SHE DROVE home Annie seriously debated as to whether or not she’d fallen victim to temporary insanity when she’d agreed to let Trace follow her home. Or was it hormonal insanity?

  She most definitely wanted someone there while she did the blower-motor transplant. For safety. So why had she invited the man most dangerous to her peace of mind?

  He’s only dangerous because you don’t trust yourself.

  No, she did not.

  She’d spent most of her twenties raising little kids and ignoring men and sexual urges and now, boom! It was as if everything had been quietly building inside her and was now seeking release.

  Well, it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

  The girls were happily planning their next mountain excursion—warmer coats and gloves were mentioned, as well as emergency survival rations—and seemed oblivious to the mini panic attack their mother was having.

  Drawing in a calming breath, Annie loosened her death grip on the steering wheel and told herself the damage was done. Trace was coming to her house—in fact, he was right behind her, so now she had to work with the situation.

  This isn’t a big deal. Not as big as she was making it in her head. And she was only making it a big deal in her head because Trace Delaney was playing hell with her hormones...but he didn’t know that. He would never know that.

  But you are still taking a chance by letting him come home with you!

  By the time she got home, Annie was totally on edge. The girls undid their seat belts and piled out of the car while Trace parked his truck several yards away, as if he was afraid that Katie and Kristen would dash in front of him if he parked any closer. She kind of appreciated that.

  “When you get done helping our mom fix the furnace, do you want to play games?” Kristen asked Trace as she skipped alongside him on his way up the walk. He shot a look at Annie, as if seeking reassurance, but before she could save him, he came up with his own answer.

  “That sounds like a lot of fun, but I have chores to do before dark, so today’s not a good day.”

  “Well, maybe another time,” Kristen said easily.

  Annie opened the door and Trace reached over her to take hold of the edge, holding it while the girls walked in under his arm. Once inside, he took off his hat and glanced around.

  “I’ve never seen the place dry.”

  Annie couldn’t help but smile.

  “It hasn’t been wet in days,” Katie told him proudly.

  “True story,” Annie replied. The house felt different with him there, just as her car had felt different. She felt different...and as she went for her tool kit, she couldn’t help but wonder whether she had the same effect on Trace.

  * * *

  TRACE FOLLOWED ANNIE down the stairs into a neatly kept stone-walled cellar. There were wooden shelves along the two side walls, which held rows of home canning. Along the wall opposite the staircase stood a hot water tank, a small chest freezer and the oil furnace.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked as she set her book and a box on the freezer. He put the tool kit he carrie
d for her beside the box.

  “No.”

  He smiled but did not reply. After flipping off the main electrical breaker and then testing the circuit to make certain it was indeed dead, Annie propped open the book, opened the tool kit and then pulled the new blower motor out of the box. Trace glanced over the book while he waited for Annie to familiarize herself with the new motor, and decided that it was a fairly straightforward job. He had a feeling her mechanical abilities exceeded his own, so he saw no need to offer suggestions simply for the sake of conversation. With a frown of concentration creasing her forehead, Annie removed the old motor, disconnecting wires and unfastening the mounting screws. Once it was free, she looked it over and then set it aside.

  “I can’t tell you how much I hope this is the problem because if it isn’t, then I haven’t got a clue.”

  She picked up the new motor and proceeded to wire it in and then screw it to the mounting.

  When she was finished, she wiped her hands down the sides of her jeans and then carefully set the screwdriver and socket set back into her toolbox.

  “This is the scary part,” Annie said as she went back to the breaker box. “I have this fear of wiring something wrong and setting the house on fire. That’s why I have more than the average amount of smoke detectors.”

  “It didn’t look like there were too many areas for you to mess up on this job.”

  “No, thank goodness.” She flipped the breaker and then punched a red button on the furnace panel. A few seconds later the pilot lit and then the furnace came to life. “My other fear is that the furnace will somehow catch fire. It’s not logical, but it concerns me.”

  “It seems to be running well,” Trace said.

  “It always ran well right after I restarted it.” She dusted her hands off then glanced over at him. “This was easier than I thought it would be. I’m sorry that I dragged you over here.”

  He wasn’t. “Better safe than sorry.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I had nothing better to do.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I like watching you work.”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “And I promised I would take off once the furnace was running,” he added.

  Was that a whisper of disappointment he read on her face?

  Maybe...

  The girls were waiting at the top of the stairs when Annie opened the cellar door. They high-fived their mom, and Trace grinned as they went to stand on the heater vents when the furnace began to blow.

  “No more dollar eating,” Katie announced.

  “Just the normal amount of dollar eating,” Annie corrected before shooting a look Trace’s way.

  Dismissed?

  “Well...those chores are waiting,” he said.

  “We can play a game next time you come by,” Kristen assured him.

  Trace crouched down in front of her, feeling only a little awkward as he said, “I look forward to that. And it was a lot of fun riding with you guys today.”

  “We’re not guys. We’re girls,” Kristen informed him.

  “I stand corrected,” Trace said as he got to his feet. Tough crowd.

  “I’ll walk you to your truck,” Annie said.

  Escorted from the premises. So much for that whisper of disappointment he’d thought he saw cross her face. Maybe he was the one who was disappointed. But he’d promised to leave as soon as the furnace was fixed and he was a man of his word.

  Annie slipped into her coat and followed Trace out of the house. The air was still brisk from the storm, but the setting sun cast warm golden light over Annie’s neatly kept yard. Everything about her place was warm and homey, the exact opposite of what he knew when he’d been growing up. He hoped the twins would look back in the years ahead and appreciate the home their mother had made for them.

  Trace stopped before opening his truck door and looked down at Annie, who was wearing a cool expression. The woman was hard to read. On the one hand, he thought maybe she liked him. On the other, she couldn’t hurry him out of there fast enough.

  “Thanks again,” she said.

  “Anytime.” One corner of his mouth quirked up before he said, “I mean that, you know.”

  Annie’s lips compressed and she nodded, then she raised her hand and brushed her fingers against his cheek, just as he’d done to her earlier. He felt his breath catch at the light touch. Then he captured her hand with his and leaned down to take her lips in a kiss that surprised both of them. And while the kiss had been soft, his body was now hard.

  Annie dropped her hand and took a step back, her blue eyes wide and cautious as they held his. “I’ll see you later.” Her voice was a bit husky and she didn’t wait for him to reply, but instead took another backward step then turned and walked briskly toward the house, leaving Trace staring after her.

  Damn.

  Chapter Seven

  It all came down to what did he want and what did she want?

  Annie sat up straighter and tried to pay attention to Brad Olsen, the Parent-Teacher Organization president, as he outlined the year-end school events. They’d just covered the lower elementary play and Annie had volunteered to help with costumes, and now it was on to career day. But despite her best efforts, her thoughts kept drifting back to the conundrum sparked by one simple kiss. A kiss she hadn’t been expecting.

  Her first kiss in what? Two years? Had it really been that long since she’d gotten an obligatory good-night kiss after an obligatory blind date with one of Danielle’s friends? Yes. Two years and a few months.

  So had it been just a spur-of-the-moment thing? Was Trace interested in exploring further? Was she?

  It seemed as if she should know the answer to her side of the equation, but she didn’t. Even though she had no definitive answer, she was becoming more and more aware of an urge to explore. To experience new things...or maybe even some old things she hadn’t experienced in a long time—like dating a guy she found attractive. Did she dare?

  Annie was not going to overthink this...even though she’d been overthinking it all day. Now was the time to stop.

  “What do you think, Annie?”

  She jerked as the mother sitting next to her whispered her name. “I, uh, was a million miles away. I’m sorry.”

  “Brad just asked about canvassing the local store owners for prizes for the end-of-year family picnic.”

  “I can’t do both costumes and canvassing,” Annie whispered back. Last year she might have done both, but she had been working part-time at the library then. As it was, she was probably going to have to get help from Danielle to make butterfly costumes.

  After the meeting broke up, Annie drove to Danielle’s house to pick up the girls.

  “Do you have time for a quick cup of tea?” Danielle asked. “The girls are helping Curtis in the workshop.”

  “I should get home.” She was exhausted and looking forward to getting the girls bathed and in bed so that she could do the same.

  “I hear you invited Mr. D’laney home to watch you work on the furnace,” Danielle said, perfectly mimicking the girls’ abbreviated version of Trace’s last name with an amused lift of her eyebrow. “Funny, you didn’t say anything about that today at work.”

  “It didn’t seem important.” Annie had been fairly certain that the girls were going to spread the word, but hadn’t seen much she could do about it. Telling them not to say anything would have made them curious, which would have been even worse than their happily telling Danielle that she’d invited Trace to the house. “I wanted backup for the furnace operation and—” she shrugged nonchalantly “—he is Grady’s buddy.”

  “Wise to have backup,” Danielle murmured. “The girls said he didn’t stay very long. They seemed disappointed.”

  “He stayed
long enough,” Annie said mildly and left it at that. She would love to pour her guts out to Danielle and ask advice, but she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. There was still a chance she was misreading things.

  He kissed you.

  But still...

  The girls burst in through the door, followed by a slightly bedraggled Curtis. Annie smiled at him as she put an arm around each girl. “Thank you for entertaining.”

  He gave her a rueful grin in return. “Good practice for the future.”

  Annie didn’t have the heart to tell him that nothing could fully prepare him for the future. Parenting was a learn-as-you-go adventure, one she was still feeling her way along on. It was all trial and error and Annie was trying her darnedest not to make many errors.

  Which brought her back to Trace. What to do, what to do?

  * * *

  WHEN TRACE GOT home after kissing Annie in her driveway, the first thing he had done was dig out the old-fashioned phone book and look up the number for Jasper Hennessey. If the man had a bull-riding practice pen, Trace wanted to be there, even if he couldn’t ride. He had to do something to fill his days besides working out and thinking about Annie and what his next move—if any—might be.

  He wasn’t the kind of guy who just kissed women on the spur of the moment—especially a woman he wasn’t even dating. He didn’t know why he’d kissed Annie and he certainly didn’t regret kissing her, but now he wanted to do it again and he wasn’t certain following that road would be a good idea...although part of him said it was Annie’s decision as to which road she wanted to take. She didn’t want complications in her life, but she’d certainly kissed him back.

  This was a puzzle he wasn’t going to solve by kicking around the house. He wasn’t going to solve it at the practice pen, either, but he could distract himself there. When he got hold of Hennessey, the man was more than welcoming, even when Trace explained that he wouldn’t be taking part, but was going more to get out of the house than anything.