Baby Girl: Dare to Love

by Celya Bowers

  He laughed. “It was her request,” he said. “She’s really good.”

  “Okay, I’m trusting you two,” she said. “I don’t know if I can watch.” She waved at her daughter.

  “You won’t be sorry. Promise.” He ended the call and completed the obstacle course. He turned his attention to Kassie who was watching him.

  “Are you in trouble with the police?”

  “No, honey. Everything is fine. I promise.” He walked toward her. He pat the Nutmeg on her back. “Remember how we did it last time?”

  She nodded. “Twice around the arena, then take the jump.”

  “Good girl.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Go for it!”

  Turner walked into his home and smiled. After taking off his work boots and stowing them in the laundry room, he strolled into the kitchen. Tesla was seated at the kitchen table going through one of her cookbooks.

  “Hi, honey.” He kissed his wife gently on the month. He sat down next to his wife. “What are you doing?”

  “I thought we’d have something different tonight. Did you invite Jemma and Kassie to dinner?”

  She always knew his thoughts before he had. “I told Kyle to bring them. He wants Kassie to represent the ranch in the competition. She’s got some great skills.”

  She smiled at him. “That’s good. I was thinking about fried chicken. Kids love that.”

  “So does your husband.” He took a deep breath. “He’s falling in love with her, but he’s fighting it. Especially with Ava turning up dead. He’s afraid of making another mistake.”

  Tesla nodded. “We’re going to have to get Kassie on our side,” she said. “I know Jemma’s family lives around Dallas, so a spontaneous date isn’t going to happen. If she felt comfortable enough leaving Kassie with us, they could have more private time.”

  He nodded. When Tess got an idea, it was always best just to go with it. “True. She’s also a widow. She still wears her wedding rings.”

  “Oh that’s just because she hasn’t had a reason to take them off. I can tell something is changing within him. He’s seen her twice this week, before Kassie’s lesson. Normally, he wouldn’t leave the ranch.”

  Turner knew this. “Maybe after all this mess is over, we can convince him to take some time off.”

  “Maybe you can convince him to hire a second in command or at least promote one of the ranch hands so he wouldn’t feel like he was tied to the ranch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s here, but he’s only 43. He has a full life ahead of him,” Tesla said, rising. She reached into the over-sized fridge and took out the cut-up chicken and set it on the counter.

  “Speaking of hiring more help, where’s Harriet? Maybe we should increase her schedule so she can help you with the meals. Cooking for us and the ranch hands might be too much. He’d been fighting this particular battle with Tess for about ten years, but each time he brought up the idea of increasing their part-time housekeeper’s hours, his wife always refused.

  “Turner Cosgrove, are you saying that I can’t cook in my own kitchen? I’ve been cooking for our family and the ranch hands for years and I don’t plan on stopping until you retire. Besides, I’m only cooking for four more men. The other two men are married and don’t live on the property.”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay.” He rose and went to the sink to wash his hands. “No more talk of more help. We’ll keep Harriet part-time.” He hugged his wife as she reached for the spices needed for the chicken. “I’ll go read the paper.”

  “Now that’s better,” she said, smiling. “You let me run my kitchen and I’ll let you run the ranch. At least for another six months.”

  He nodded and left the kitchen. Poor Kyle, he mused, he has no idea what he’s in for!

  ***

  Jemma elected not to watch her baby girl jump obstacles riding on a gigantic horse. She decided to cool her heels in the office. She walked inside the office and the teenagers smiled at her.

  “Hi, Mrs. Patterson, is everything okay?” Tiffany asked as she straightened the stacks of t-shirts for sale.

  “Yes,” Jemma said, taking a seat at the table. “Kassie is practicing jumping hurdles and other heart stopping things that I couldn’t just bare to watch. So I decided to come in here.”

  “She’s jumping already?” Chutney asked. “My dad says she’s very good for someone who’s never been on a horse.”

  “That’s what everyone keeps saying. Kyle wants her to enter the Junior Competition. I’m just not sure.”

  Tiffany sat at the table with her. “Oh, the competition is awesome. People come from all over the US for it. It’s awesome.”

  “Oh dear.” Jemma wondered how that would sit with her daughter. Would this send her fragile baby over the edge? “I didn’t know that many people would be here.”

  Tiffany quickly rose and retrieved the portable lap top. She quickly booted it up and photos quickly filled the screen. “These are pictures from last year’s show. They are really fun. Some parents volunteer.” She turned the computer so that Jemma could see them better.

  The child was right. This was the big time. She also notice the contestants were all in equestrian gear. “This is a lot of people.”

  Tiffany nodded. “I’m sure Kassie will enjoy it. Some of the shy children really seemed to flourish under competition.”

  “Have you ever competed in this?”

  Tiffany smiled broadly. “Yes, I think I was about Kassie’s age. My dad trained me. Is Kyle going to train her?”

  “Yes, he said we could do it on Sundays.” Jemma hoped he wasn’t breaking a rule that would get him fired. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

  Tiffany laughed. “Around here, whatever Kyle wants, Kyle gets. So if he wants to train her, she’s going to be in good hands.”

  Jemma hoped so. “Well, it be up to Kassie. She might not want to devote more time to riding horses.” She knew that wasn’t the case. That was all she talked about home.

  “I bet she’s going to want to do it.”

  Jemma continued looking at the pictures. She didn’t see many African-American children in any of the photos, but she could easily imagine her baby girl riding to victory. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents, and Jared’s parents about the contest. “Yes, she seems fearless these days.”

  The door opened and Kyle and Kassie walked inside the office. Kassie ran to her mother and hugged her. She took off her helmet and her curly hair sprang free. “Mommy, you missed it!”

  “What honey?” She raised her hand to flatten her daughter unruly hair.

  “I jumped three times!” She sat next to Jemma. “It was so awesome! Mr. Kyle said I’m the bestest.”

  “The bestest?” Jemma glanced at Kyle. “I’m sorry I missed you jumping. I will watch the next time, okay?”

  “Mr. Kyle said we could practice on Sunday after breakfast with his Mom,” her daughter announced to the entire room.

  Kyle cleared his throat. “Well since it’s out there, why don’t you guys stay for dinner? Mom always cooks a lot.”

  Jemma opened her mouth to respond, but Kassie beat her to it. “Yay!” Kassie clapped her hands. “It’ll be like eating at Granny’s.”

  She couldn’t say no. One, because Kassie was so excited, and two, because Kyle was so excited. “Sure, that’ll be fine.” She glanced at the teenagers as they pretended not to eavesdrop. They were hurriedly putting their things away to leave for the evening.

  Tiffany and Chutney made a hasty exit, not even giving Kyle the opportunity to walk them outside.

  Kyle sat on the other side of Jemma. “You missed some awesome jumping today. I told her about the competition and she seemed very excited about it, but knows you have to give your approval.”

  She wanted to approach the subject delicately, but now that wasn’t an option. “I saw the pictures from last year. I’m worried about all those people.”

  “She’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

  NINETEEN

&
nbsp; “You and Kassie had dinner with his family?” Janna asked as she settled on the sofa in their parents’ home. “That’s big stuff, Jem. What’s next?” Kassie and her cousins were in the kitchen with the grandparents.

  Jemma sighed. That was the big question. What was next for them? “Well, right now he’s in Houston picking up some horses. They’ll be back this afternoon. He wants us to come for Sunday breakfast tomorrow.”

  “Wow. Another meal with the family. I’m impressed,” Janna said. “You know it’s not just about sex when the family is involved.”

  “That’s only part of the problem. He wants Kassie to ride in the Junior Competition they have at the ranch at the end of January. He says she a natural on the horse. What do you think?”

  “I think this is great. She’s doing well in school, so you know she’s not afraid of people. She’s made such an improvement in just a few short weeks, I think she can do it. What does Kassie say?”

  “Of course she wants to do it.” Jemma heard a buzzing in her purse. She’d put her phone on vibrate.

  “Well there you go,” Janna said. “Who’s texting you?”

  She pulled her phone out of her purse. “I bet it’s Barb. We’re meeting her for lunch today.” She looked at the display and bit her lip to keep from smiling.

  “I know that goofy look. It must be from Kyle,” Janna surmised. She reached for the phone, plucking it from Jemma’s hand. She quickly scanned the message. “My, my,” she said. “He’s texting you while he’s in Houston.”

  “He called me this morning. They were loading the horses into the trailers. He was texting me to let me know they were on their way back home.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet,” Janna cooed. “He’s working and he still called you. Do you know how many women would kill for that kind of communication? Damon only calls me from work, if he can’t pick up the kids or something. Never just because.”

  This was just too real, she thought. “There’s more.”

  Janna rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “What now?”

  “He wants Kassie to practice more, so he wants us to eat breakfast out at the ranch then Kassie can ride.”

  “Jem, nothing you’ve told me is a real problem. Yes, you’re becoming involved with his family. That’s just part of it.”

  She was making a mountain out of a mole hill. She had to calm down and just enjoy the moment. “Okay, I got this.” She took the phone back from Janna and quickly typed a reply to his message. To her surprise the phone buzzed again. He told her to call him when she got home. No matter the time.

  Of course, Janna had to read the message. “Oh, that’s just too dang cute. He gets ten cool points.”

  Jemma laughed. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  “I am on your side. I want you to enjoy life.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. You know I loved Jared, but he’s gone. You need to grab this thing with Kyle and embrace it.”

  Jemma knew her sister was right. She’d been right about so many other things in her life, like moving out of Dallas, the horse riding lessons, and about Kassie. She had thought she’d moved on, but she was still holding on to Jared. She looked down at her left hand. The brilliant diamond sparkled at her. It was part of her past and it was time to let it go. She slipped the rings off her hand and placed them in her purse.

  Janna rubbed her hand. “I know how much courage that took. I’m very proud of you.”

  “Thank you. It feels funny, not having that weight on my hand. In the back of my mind, I knew I should have done it a long time ago. I just kept holding on to them, I really don’t know why.”

  “You were still clinging to Jared. Just like Kassie stopped talking, you had stopped living. We have one cowboy to thank for bringing both you guys back to us.”

  She instantly that of Kyle. He was that man. He had rescued both of them and brought them back to the world. “Looks like I will be heading back home tonight.”

  “Why?”

  “Sunday breakfast.” Jemma smiled, rose and called Kassie. “It’s time to have lunch with Grandma Barb,” she called toward the kitchen.

  “I bet Barb is going to be so surprised to see her talking,” Janna said.

  “She started crying when Kassie talk to her on the phone the other day.”

  Kassie soon joined her mother. “Can we go to the Olive Garden again?”

  “No honey, I’m not sure where Grandma will want to eat.”

  “All right,” Kassie said. “I have to say bye to Granny.” She ran to the kitchen.

  Janna shook her head. “That girl is like an energy drink. She never slows down.”

  Jemma nodded. “Try keeping up with all that energy all the time.” She wouldn’t change a thing.

  ***

  “So what do you think?” Kyle asked Jemma as they walked around the arena. It had been such a big day for them as a couple. Were they a couple?

  Jemma and Kassie had attended Sunday breakfast and Kassie had met three new friends. Ryder liked her immediately, never letting her out of his sight. Turned out Kassie attended the same private school as his nephew. Talk about a small world.

  After breakfast was finally over, Kassie played with her new chums as Kyle and Jemma walked to the arena. He’d wanted the day to go perfect, and so far so good.

  Kassie adapted to her environment very quickly. She talked his mother’s ear off when she warmed up. Initially, she clung to Jemma, and he feared the worst, but it was for nothing. She was so smart.

  Jemma took it all in. “So about how many people attend?”

  “About five thousand. Our competition is regional, but some people attend just to get their feet wet in competing. Registration officially opens next week.”

  “How many contestants?”

  He knew she was going to be a hard sell on the idea of letting her fragile child attend this competition. “We had about fifty over all last year. In Kassie’s class there might be about ten kids competing.”

  She sighed. “I know you think I’m over-protective of Kassie and I am. She’s all I have and it’s my job to protect her. If I thought for one second this would send her to where she was before the horse lessons started, she wouldn’t do this. She assured me that she’s ready and wants to do this, so you have my blessing.”

  “Oh, Jemma.” He pulled her in his arms. “Thank you! I promise you won’t be sorry.” He kissed her softly. He teased her mouth open and devoured her. What was it about this woman that turned him into a horny teenager? He didn’t pull away from her until breathing became a problem.

  “Wow, Kyle.” She was breathing hard. “I’m trusting you with my baby girl. Please keep her safe.”

  “Thank you, Jemma. You know I will.” He put his arm around her waist and guided her back to the house. “We’d better get back or they’ll turn on the monitors to see what we’re doing.”

  “Cameras?” She looked surprised.

  “Yes, there’s cameras all over the ranch. There’s a lot of expensive equipment here, and of course this arena is wired for sound because of the events that are held here.”

  “My goodness, I guess I just never thought of it in those terms,” she said. “How are the new horses?”

  “Still getting used to their new surroundings. Want to see them?”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  He took her inside the stable. They walked past the horses used for training and down to the holding pen they used for new horses. Aubrey, that’s the vet, and Chutney’s mother, is still processing them. She gives them a check-up before they get their own stall. Once that happens, Mom gives them names. Then we start working with them.”

  “Amazing.” She was clearly amazed by the whole process. They walked down another aisle. “These are the family horses.”

  “So everyone has a horse?” She stopped at a stall and looked inside.

  “No, Mom doesn’t have one anymore. Dad’s is down there. This one is mine. Say hello, Ranger.”

 
; The brown horse shook his head at Jemma. She placed her hand on his head and she laughed. “As in Walker, Texas Ranger?”

  “As in Texas Rangers,” he corrected her. “I can’t believe you remember that show.”

  “Blame my dad. He liked all those kind of shows. He can’t get enough of them. I think it makes him feel more Texan.”

  Kyle supposed that was true. “I can see that. If I was transplanted to another country, I could see trying to soak all the local color.”

  “Jared thought it was the craziest thing he’d ever heard. He and Dad had a love/hate thing going on. My dad likes you.”

  “That’s good, because I like his daughter.” He led them back to the house.

  Okay, one thing Jemma had figured out while Kassie was doing this extra lesson was what was going to do to fill the time. Kyle had taken, Kassie, Ryder, Cara, and Sylvia, to the arena to practice. Justin and Turner followed them as well. Now Jemma was alone with the women of the family while Kassie was training.

  She was sitting in the kitchen with Tesla, Krista, and Megan. The ladies were sipping tea and discussing the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. “Jemma, what do you normally do for holidays?”

  “We go to my parents. They live in Dallas,” she explained. “Kassie’s other grandparents are there as well. Last year’s was our first major holiday without Jared and it was hard. Especially, for Kassie. I’m hoping this year is going to be a lot better, since she’s talking again.”

  Tesla nodded. “I can understand. She should always come first. Maybe it’s time for new traditions to replace those memories,” she offered. “I’m not saying that you have to forget your husband, but make the holidays happy again.”

  Jemma took a sip of tea. She had been thinking along those lines, and her mother had suggested a trip, so Kassie wouldn’t always equate the holidays with her daddy being gone. “That’s a thought. My mom suggested a cruise or a trip like to Disney World.”

  “That’s a thought,” Tesla said quietly. “You know, Turner has never been out of the state of Texas. That would be a lovely way to get his feet wet before he retires next year. I think a Disney World cruise sounds fun.”