Riding Hard

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  After all they’d shared, she found it odd that he didn’t know that simple fact about her. She rented a small apartment above Spirits and Spurs from Josie. Josie had lived there originally, and after she’d moved to the Last Chance, Caro Davis had stepped in to help run the bar. Caro had also rented the apartment because it was so close to work.

  Now married, Caro and former Chicago Cubs star Logan Carswell traveled the country, using Logan’s invested earnings to do good works. Logan ran baseball clinics for disadvantaged kids and Caro supervised quilting circles in senior centers.

  Tracy had grabbed the apartment the minute Caro had moved out. She loved living in the middle of the tiny town where she’d grown up. Before she started her shift, she’d check on her houseplants. She glanced at the digital clock on her phone. Time to get moving.

  She’d rather not have to explain being late. She wasn’t good at lying, and because of her caretaking chores at Peaceful Kingdom, she couldn’t use oversleeping as a legitimate excuse. That would imply she’d neglected the animals.

  After quickly making the bed, she returned to her own room to shower and dress. Lily and Regan’s bed was a king and more suited for wild sex, but Tracy had made a decision to keep the action in the guest room. That seemed more respectful. Drake hadn’t questioned her choice, and she’d bet that he’d agree with her. Southern manners and all that.

  Having him gone felt strange, which wasn’t the least bit logical. He hadn’t arrived to check on Dottie until late in the afternoon, so he’d been on the premises less than twenty-four hours. It seemed longer, no doubt because of all they’d experienced. And all they’d talked about.

  She hoped he wouldn’t back out of the shopping trip. She’d never known a man who loved to buy clothes, and a hat was an article of clothing. For Drake, though, it was far more than that. She’d stumbled into that discussion out of pure curiosity, and thank goodness she had. He’d helped her leap the boundaries of her comfort zone, and maybe she could help him forgive himself enough to buy a hat.

  Holding that thought, she hurried down to the barn to make sure Dottie and Sprinkles were doing fine. They were snuggled together, both sound asleep, so she hopped in her little white truck and drove to Spirits and Spurs. It wasn’t a muscular truck, but it ran well and people in Shoshone tended to drive pickups. She felt more a part of the community having a truck instead of a sedan.

  She adored this quaint town with its one stoplight and a typical main street lined with a few established businesses. Shoshone had a diner, a general store, a gas station, a real-estate office, an ice-cream parlor and the bar. Folks who needed to do serious shopping went to Jackson about an hour away, just as she and Drake planned to do tonight.

  Congratulating herself on coming up with a plan that would give them some anonymity on their outing, she pulled into the side parking lot next to Spirits and Spurs. Josie’s truck was there, so her employer must have decided to work on the books today. Maybe she’d brought Archie in. Tracy adored that little towhead. Archie was the only person in the world who could turn Jack Chance into mush. It was fun to watch.

  She entered the bar through the front door, which all the employees did except Josie. The building was old and the design was quirky. The only back door opened straight into Josie’s office. That meant at closing time all the garbage had to be taken through there, and all food supplies came in through her office, too.

  Josie kept talking about remodeling, but that would require some structural changes that would permanently alter the look and feel of the bar. Nobody wanted that.

  Some said that the “spirits” who’d inspired Josie to change the name of the bar would stage a revolt if she remodeled. It was said that the bar was haunted by the ghosts of miners and cowboys who’d patronized it during its century-long existence. Tracy had never seen a ghost, but she knew people who swore that they had, including Josie.

  The bar wasn’t busy at eleven in the morning, either with live guests or dearly departed ones. The lunch rush would start in another hour. Archie’s cheerful little voice piped up from the office and Tracy smiled. She’d take a minute to say hello before starting her shift.

  At age two and a half, Archie was speaking in complete sentences and getting into everything. Tracy admired Josie for bringing him to her office, where he could quickly create chaos if she turned her back on him for even a second. But Josie seemed to have a sixth sense about that.

  Peeking through the office door, Tracy discovered her boss wasn’t trying to work, after all. She sat at her desk with Archie on her lap while he colored enthusiastically on blank sheets of paper Josie had provided.

  “Looks like Rembrandt in training,” Tracy said.

  Josie glanced up. “Maybe. I’m thinking he’s more of an impressionist.”

  Archie finished drawing with a purple crayon and held up his picture. “I made a doggie.”

  Tracy gave him thumbs-up. “You totally did, Archie!”

  The little boy turned the paper around and nodded with satisfaction at what he saw. “Yup. I totally did.” He mimicked Tracy’s thumbs-up before grabbing another piece of paper so he could start his next masterpiece.

  Josie sent Tracy a look. “Does that attitude remind you of anybody?”

  “Yep.” Tracy smiled.

  “It’s as if Jack spit him right out of his mouth.”

  Archie looked up and giggled. “You’re silly, Mommy!”

  “I get it from you, you little munchkin.” Josie blew a raspberry against his cheek.

  He giggled some more. “Stop it, Mommy. I gotta work.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” Tracy said. “See you guys later.” She turned to leave.

  “Just a sec, Tracy. I wanted to ask you about something.”

  With a sense of foreboding, Tracy faced her boss. “What’s that?” But she knew.

  “I understand you have a pregnant mare out at Peaceful Kingdom.”

  Tracy gulped. Then she stammered. All in all, she reacted exactly like someone who had been doing something clandestine. And the whole story was about to come out.

  “I took her in yesterday. How did you know?”

  Something flickered in Josie’s blue eyes. “A guy named Jerry Rankin came into the bar last night to ask around and find out if anyone knew of a job.”

  “He came here? Do you have a contact number for him?” Maybe this wasn’t such a disaster, after all, if Josie had a number for Jerry.

  “He’s at the Last Chance. Jack put him on the payroll temporarily. He wasn’t happy that the guy dumped a mare about to foal on an unsuspecting house sitter. Jerry admitted he knew the foal could come any minute, which was one of the main reasons he brought her to you.”

  “He knew that? I wish he’d told me.”

  “He was afraid if he did, you wouldn’t take her. In his defense, he didn’t fully understand the awkward situation he was sticking you with. He just knew he didn’t have the resources to deal with it. Jack wanted me to ask you about the mare when you came in today.”

  “Well, she’s fine.” Tracy felt her cheeks warm. “She delivered her foal last night.”

  Josie swore, and then quickly covered Archie’s ears, as if she could keep him from hearing. “Sorry, munchkin.”

  “It’s okay, Mommy.”

  “So she foaled.” The sharpness in Josie’s blue eyes didn’t match her casual pose. “But surely you didn’t try to handle that yourself.”

  “No, but since I’d taken in an animal against Regan and Lily’s instructions, I didn’t want to call the vet in Jackson because that would cost a bunch of money.”

  “You called Drake Brewster.”

  “Yes.” Tracy took a shaky breath. “He did a terrific job, Josie. He’s a good guy who made a terrible mistake. I think maybe we should all—”

  “I agree with you.”


  “You do? I thought everybody at the Last Chance hated Drake.”

  Archie held up another picture that looked pretty much like the previous one. “I made a kitty!”

  Tracy summoned up a cheerful comment. “You did, Archie! That’s a great kitty!”

  Archie shrugged. “I know.” He grabbed another sheet of paper.

  Josie glanced down at her son. “You know what, buddy? I think you need to relocate to the bar. You can show Steve your pictures, okay? I’m sure he’d love to see your work.”

  “Okay.” Archie seemed perfectly happy to attract a new audience.

  Josie gathered his supplies and took him by the hand. “Don’t go away,” she said to Tracy as she herded the little boy out the door. “I’ll be right back once I get him settled with Steve.”

  “My shift’s about to start.” Steve could handle the bartending duties for a while, but Tracy liked to organize her supplies before the rush began and she and Steve were both frantic to fill orders. Besides, she didn’t look forward to the coming discussion.

  “I know, but hardly anyone’s out there. And this is important.”

  That was what Tracy was afraid of. She didn’t want to have an important discussion about Drake.

  Josie came back in, and instead of sitting behind her desk, she leaned against the front of it. “I won’t kid you. Drake doesn’t have a lot of fans out at the ranch. But I always think there are two sides to every story, so yesterday I paid him a visit. That’s when I first found out about the pregnant mare. Jerry Rankin only confirmed what I already knew.”

  “You went to see Drake?” Drake had failed to mention that important incident. It wasn’t quite lying, but it wasn’t exactly being open, either. Her stomach churned.

  “I’m guessing from your expression that he didn’t tell you about that. Good for him. I specifically asked him not to, because I knew you wouldn’t appreciate that I’d gone over there.”

  “Why would I mind? In fact, I’m glad you were willing to make friends with him.” So Drake had been keeping his word to Josie by not saying anything. Tracy felt a little better, but she wondered why Josie had made him promise to keep quiet. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  “I am willing to be his friend on the condition that he doesn’t do something stupid regarding you. You were my main motivation for going over there.”

  Tracy groaned. “Josie...”

  “Okay, I’m guilty of meddling. I admit it. But I could tell you were fascinated with him, and he doesn’t have a good record when it comes to women.”

  “He made one mistake.”

  “Maybe that’s true, but I’ve met the man. He’s charming as hell. I understand the type, because Jack’s a lot like him, and years ago, Jack had a terrible record when it came to women.”

  “But look how well that all turned out for you and Jack!”

  Josie took a deep breath. “I said Drake reminds me of Jack, but he’s different in two important ways. Jack had roots. No matter what, he wasn’t going anywhere. After his dad died, Jack had focus, too, because he had to step up and keep the ranch on an even keel. By Drake’s own admission, he doesn’t have any direction, but he’s not planning to go back to Virginia, so he has no roots, either.”

  “That doesn’t mean he won’t get those things.” Tracy hated hearing what she knew was the truth. She’d even told herself that Drake could end up breaking her heart and that she was okay with taking the risk. But hearing it spoken aloud by Josie, a woman whose judgment she trusted, made her wonder how okay she would really be if Drake left her high and dry. And he might.

  “Maybe he’ll settle into a groove eventually,” Josie said. “But he’s not a very good bet right now when he’s flailing around. I went over there basically to ask him to leave you alone. He said he’d already planned to do that.”

  “Josie!” Tracy’s cheeks grew hot with a combination of humiliation and anger. Josie was her boss, so she had to be careful not to be disrespectful, but...how dare she do that!

  As for Drake, although he’d kept his word about not mentioning Josie’s visit, he hadn’t kept the other part of the bargain. Thinking back on the course of events, she couldn’t really blame him. She’d made the first move, and it had been a doozy.

  “I knew you’d be fit to be tied if you found out I warned him off. I didn’t ever plan to tell you, but now that I know Drake’s probably going to be over there a lot, it’s only fair you know what was said. I knew if the mare went into labor you’d call Drake. I hoped that wouldn’t happen, but after listening to Jerry Rankin, I had a bad feeling that it would.”

  Tracy had no idea what to say. Josie’s worst fears had come true. She’d become involved with Drake, and maybe it would end up in a mess. But Drake had given her the courage to reach out for the passion she’d been denying herself out of fear. She cherished that he’d given her permission to be sexually adventuresome, but it wasn’t the kind of thing she was ready to tell Josie.

  Josie’s expression was filled with compassion. “The thing is, I don’t...I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I appreciate that.” Tracy knew her friend’s motives were pure, but she’d left Tracy’s shiny new view of life somewhat tarnished. Not completely, but she didn’t feel as joyous as she had earlier this morning. She wished Drake hadn’t assured Josie he would stay clear. But she tried to imagine how she’d have felt if he’d told her then what he’d said to Josie. What if he’d rejected her because of that?

  She would have been crushed. If her first attempt at seducing a man had ended in failure, she might not have worked up the courage to try it again. Drake had been in a no-win situation. He could either honor his word to Josie or help a repressed woman break away from her self-imposed restrictions.

  He’d chosen to help her. That had to be worth something. Of course he’d enjoyed himself, too, so his decision hadn’t been totally unselfish.

  “I should probably apologize for prying into your business,” Josie said. “But I think of you as a little sister. I’ve known you ever since you were a kid. You’ve had your share of lumps, and Drake is just not... He’s just not the man I would trust to make you happy. I wish he could be, but I don’t think so. Not right now, anyway.”

  “You’re probably right. He is in a transitional period, and I can see him breaking a woman’s heart without ever meaning to do it. He’s gorgeous and women find him irresistible.” She hesitated, but there was no point in being coy. “Me included.”

  “I know, honey, and I don’t blame you for that. He’s one hot guy. All I can say is, be careful. Be very careful.”

  “I will.” But she hadn’t been at all careful so far.

  Josie pushed away from the desk. “I’d better go fetch my son and let you get to work.”

  “Yeah.” Tracy’s throat felt tight.

  “If there’s anything I can do, let me know. If the foal’s been born, then you probably don’t need Drake to monitor the situation anymore. Jack could do it. He’d be glad to, in fact.”

  “That’s very generous. I’ll let you know.” But inside she was loudly protesting that Drake was the man for the job. She didn’t want Jack or anyone else taking care of Dottie and Sprinkles.

  She and Drake should do it. They’d been there for the birth, and they were the obvious ones to handle the next few days as mother and son became stronger. All four of them had shared a bonding experience, and Tracy didn’t want it to be over. Not yet.

  Besides, tonight she was taking Drake out hat shopping. Buying him a hat wasn’t going to miraculously give him answers for how to live his life. She knew that. But she thought it might be a start.

  11

  DRAKE WAS STANDING at the island in the kitchen chopping veggies for Wilbur and Harley when he heard Tracy’s little white truck pull up outside. Two of his p
oetry journals sat on the small kitchen table. He’d gone back to the cabin for clothes, and after much inner debate, he’d brought his journals, too.

  The decision hadn’t been easy. Right before driving away, he’d turned off the engine, taken the journals out of the SUV and put them back in the cabin. Then he’d called himself a lily-livered coward and thrown them onto the front seat, where his duffel sat filled with clean clothes.

  That had been another difficult call. He didn’t know yet whether he was staying for more than one night. He’d finally decided on clothing for two days, hardly enough to make it seem he was moving in for the duration. If Tracy wanted him to stay longer, he’d run the washing machine. He hoped he’d end up doing that. He ought to wash Regan’s stuff, no matter how things worked out...or didn’t.

  Tonight while they were in Jackson, he’d pick up replacements for the toiletries he’d used. Tracy might decide against telling Regan and Lily that he’d slept over. He’d respect her wishes on that.

  All he knew was that the sound of her truck set his blood to pumping, and when she opened the front door, he had to stop himself from going to meet her. But he had a sharp knife in one hand and a head of cauliflower in the other. He stayed where he was and kept chopping. “I’m in here!”

  When she walked through the kitchen doorway, he could tell something was on her mind. He’d fantasized that she’d come over and lay one on him in greeting, but it didn’t look as if that dream would come true. “Tough day?”

  She managed a smile, but it lacked sparkle. “Not exactly. Let me get rid of my purse and I’ll help you.” She walked over to the kitchen table.

  He held his breath.

  “What’s this? Are these your...” Her voice trailed off.

  When he glanced over, she’d picked up the top journal and opened it.

  “You don’t have to read them now.” He was sweating, and not because the room was particularly hot. “In fact, you don’t have to read them at all. It was an afterthought to bring them.” Then he cursed under his breath. “Actually it wasn’t an afterthought. That was one of the reasons I drove back home this morning.”