“You should bring her out to the ranch,” he said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I want to ride a horse, Auntie Mal.” Lily’s little face was full of eager and earnest anticipation.
Mallory’s attention apparently slipped when her heart went all mushy for a minute. “We’ll see.”
“That’s what you always say when you don’t want me to do something. You think I’ll forget, but I promise I won’t. Since we moved here I’ve been wanting to see the horses but you’re always too busy.”
“That’s to be expected,” Caleb said quietly. “Your aunt works and takes care of you, Lily. That doesn’t leave a lot of time left over.”
“I know. It’s just—” She looked up. “Sorry, Aunt Mallory.”
“It’s okay, ladybug.” Mallory gave her a quick hug. “Obviously this means a lot to you, so we’ll just have to find the time to make it happen.”
“How about today?” Caleb said.
Mallory hadn’t expected that. “What?”
“After breakfast,” he said. “Bring her to the ranch. I’d be happy to show her what I do.”
“I want to know if the barn smells icky,” Lily said enthusiastically.
Was this what a flood felt like? Mallory wondered. Because she had the sensation of being swept away without anything to grab on to and stop the momentum.
“I thought you had chores to catch up on,” she said to Caleb.
“They’ll keep.” He grinned. “Rust Creek Falls is ranching country. You’ve been here over six months and haven’t been to one. If that’s not illegal, it should be.”
“Please, Auntie Mal.” The pleading on Lily’s face was just too much to resist.
Finally she said, “If you’re sure we won’t be a bother.”
“I’m sure.”
* * *
Caleb was sure, all right. Sure that he needed his head examined.
No one had been holding a gun, ordering him to invite Mallory and Lily to the ranch. The idea had just popped into his mind and next thing he knew the words were coming out of his mouth.
Now they were here.
He watched the woman and child walk toward him after parking the car by his truck near the one-story ranch-style house where his brother Anderson lived. Mallory had stopped to change from her feminine, floral cotton dress into jeans and sneakers. Caleb couldn’t decide which look he liked best, not even if there was a gun to his head. Way ahead of her aunt, Lily was wearing jeans now, too, and had on a pink baseball hat. She looked cute as could be.
“Hi.” He was leaning against the hitching post in front of the house.
Lily was practically quivering with excitement. “Caleb, there’s nothing around here but empty land!”
“That’s sort of the point. On a ranch we raise big animals and they need a lot of room.”
He was looking at the little girl but knew the exact moment Mallory caught up to her. She smelled like lemon, roses and sunshine. His reputation with women was no secret and it followed that he was something of an expert, at least in rating the scent of a female’s skin. He was pretty sure that in a pitch-dark room full of women where he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, he would know Mallory was there and find his way to her. He was also pretty sure he’d never waxed that poetic about the scent of a woman before.
He lifted his gaze to hers and felt a confusing twist in his gut. She just looked so darn pretty with her auburn hair pulled into a ponytail and sunglasses pushed to the top of her head. She was small and curvy and smelled great, a triple threat as far as he was concerned. Watching his back seemed like an excellent idea.
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?” he asked.
“No. Your directions were good. And as Lily said, there wasn’t a whole lot around to confuse me.”
Lily grabbed his hand. “Show me the barn.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned at her enthusiasm. “Are you always so bossy?”
“Aunt Mallory calls it determination.”
“Good for Aunt Mallory,” he said. “I bet you’re always right.”
“Not so much.” Mallory watched her niece run ahead of them toward the barn, then called out, “Wait for Caleb. Don’t go inside.”
Caleb couldn’t read her expression because she’d pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. “Are you upset that she said you’re always too busy?”
“Yes and no.”
“Okay.” That was sufficiently confusing. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant.” She put her hand on his arm.
The warm softness of her fingers nearly distracted him enough to keep him from asking what she did mean, but he pulled himself together. “Care to explain?”
“Yes, it bothers me that she thinks I’m too busy. But the fact that she verbalized it is a very big deal.”
“Why?”
“Since I became her guardian, her response to things that upset her is measured, which means there’s no pushback. As if she’s afraid to be herself.”
“Why would she be?”
“In counseling I learned a lot about what to watch for.” She took a deep breath. “When her parents died, her safe world changed. She came to live with me but we’d only seen each other a handful of times and I was a virtual stranger. She’s a smart kid. She knows you can return a puppy if it doesn’t fit into the family. What if she made waves, popped off about being told no? What if I decided I didn’t want her?”
“You wouldn’t.” There was no explaining why he was so sure, but he knew that as surely as he knew his last name was Dalton.
“Of course I wouldn’t. I love her so much. And I think—I hope—she knows that. But devastating loss happened once, which in her mind opens up the possibility that it could again. I think she feels that expressing her discontent could make her world change again. So most of the time she’s too good, if that makes any sense. But today she behaved like a normal kid.” Mallory grinned at the memory. “She let me know how much this trip to the ranch means to her and that it’s inconvenient for her that I have obligations. I was really happy she did that.”
“Is that why you agreed to bring her here today?”
“Partly,” she admitted.
“What’s the other part?”
At that moment, Lily came running up to them. “You two are slowpokes. Hurry up. I’ve been waiting forever to go in the barn.”
Although Caleb really wanted to know what else had factored into her decision to take him up on the invitation, he knew the moment to find out was gone.
“Okay,” he said to the little girl. “I’m hurrying.”
He opened one of the big barn doors and led them inside. “So, does it smell icky?”
Lily sniffed. “Yes.”
“That’s because you’re a city slicker.” He met the serious dark-eyed gaze and said, “But stick with me, kid. We’ll fix that.”
In front of them was a long, packed-dirt corridor with stalls on either side, several of them containing horses. The scene was as familiar to him as the face he saw in the mirror every day when he shaved, but this was a chance to see it with fresh eyes.
Lily’s voice was barely a whisper when she asked reverently, “Is there a horse in every single space?”
“No.” As they moved into the shady interior, the sound of whinnying and the stamp of hooves greeted him. “Hear that? They’re telling me hello.”
“Really? They know you?”
“Sure do.”
“Where are the rest of the horses?” Mallory asked.
“Working.” Confusion in their eyes made him explain. “We have a couple of cowboys on the payroll and they’re out checking fences and cattle.”
; “Don’t cattle just kind of hang out and graze?”
“They do. But stuff happens. Some of them are pregnant and that needs supervision in case there’s a problem. It needs to be done several times a night, seven days a week.”
“So the cattle don’t recognize federal or religious holidays?” Mallory’s voice was teasing.
“Nope. And if someone has the flu, they’re completely unsympathetic.”
“This job isn’t for sissies.” The words were teasing but there was respect in her tone.
“When you’re raised to this life like my brothers and I were, it’s just what is. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
“I can imagine riding,” Lily said.
He looked at Mallory. “Did you know you’re raising a smart aleck there?”
“Key word being smart,” she said.
“If it’s all right with your aunt,” he said to the little girl, “I’ll pick out a horse for you and saddle him up.”
Mallory’s expression revealed that protective instinct was battling with her longing to give this child whatever she wanted. She was weighing risk and reward, like any mother would. “Is it dangerous?”
“I’ve got a horse in mind who’s gentle and sweet. And I’ll be right there the whole time.” He pushed the brim of his hat up a notch and looked at Lily. “But it’s important to always follow directions and pay attention to what you’re doing.”
“Why?” Lily asked.
“Because the animal is always thinking, just like you are. If you’re distracted and don’t outthink him, that’s when you can get hurt.”
“I promise to outthink him,” she vowed.
“What do you say?” he asked Mallory.
“All right. But be careful,” she warned.
“I will.”
Caleb showed them around the barn first. The tack and supply rooms and where the tools were stored. He picked out a saddle and bridle, then went to the stall where the horse patiently waited.
“This is Shorty,” he said, opening the gate.
Mallory checked out the pinto, who was only a little taller than her. “He is small.”
Caleb heard the note of relief in her voice before he went inside and patted the horse’s neck. “Hey, Shorty. You’ve got visitors.”
The animal lifted his head slightly, then brought it down as if he was nodding agreement. “That’s a good boy,” Caleb crooned.
After sliding the bit into his mouth and securing it, he settled the blanket and saddle on the horse’s back. He checked that the cinch wasn’t too loose or too tight, then led the animal outside to the corral.
“Can I touch him?” Lily asked.
“You bet.”
Caleb took her small hand and showed her how, letting her get used to the feel. When she was ready, he lifted her into the saddle.
“But I wanted to do it myself,” she protested. “I didn’t get to put my foot in that thing—”
“The stirrup.”
“Yeah.”
“Next time I’ll get the step stool out.”
“Why? He’s small. I don’t need it.”
“You do, honey. Even I do sometimes.”
“But you’re big,” she said, stating the obvious.
“Sometimes the horse is so big that to get my boot in the stirrup, I’d have to pull the saddle sideways. That would hurt him.”
“I wouldn’t want to do that.” Lily looked subdued.
“Of course not. I know you wouldn’t.” He squeezed her shoulder, then took her hands and set them on the saddle horn. “Hold on to that. Grip his sides with your legs so you don’t slide sideways. Get the feel of being in the saddle with the horse moving slowly.”
“Okay.”
Caleb led the horse slowly around the enclosure and frequently glanced over his shoulder to watch Lily, making sure she was relaxed and comfortable.
“This is fun,” Lily said.
“You have to grip his sides,” he reminded her. “Remember to pay attention. Outthink him.”
“Okay.”
Caleb sensed that Mallory was holding her breath as she watched them move around the corral, over and over, for about ten minutes. When Lily started to chatter, Caleb knew her attention and concentration were fading. He was about to change things up when he heard the saddle creaking behind him. About the same time Mallory gasped, Lily squealed and there was a plopping sound that told him she’d slid off and hit the ground.
Instantly he dropped the reins and Shorty stopped as he’d been trained. Caleb went down on one knee beside the little girl, who’d started to cry.
“Lily!” Mallory ran over and knelt beside them. “Are you okay?”
“Does it hurt anywhere, Lily?” Caleb didn’t think so. She’d fallen on her butt, which was good, since it had the most padding. But he checked out her arms and legs. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong. Most likely she was just startled.
“Talk to me, honey,” he coaxed the whimpering child.
“No, nothing hurts.” She sniffled.
“Thank goodness.” Mallory put a shaking hand to her chest. “I think it’s time to get you home.”
Caleb knew it wasn’t a good idea to end her first horseback ride on a negative note. “I can’t tell you what to do,” he said. “But the thing is, anyone who wants to ride a horse needs to know that sooner or later you’re going to fall off. The risk is implied.”
Her mouth curved up slightly. “Spoken like the son of a lawyer.”
“There’s no escaping DNA.” Then he turned serious again. “Getting back on the horse is a cliché, but the psychology is sound. After a mishap, the longer you wait to do what scares you, the bigger that thing becomes in your head. It’s best to get right back on the horse and not let the challenge win.”
“I don’t know. What if—”
“Please, Auntie Mal. I promise I’ll outthink him this time.”
Mallory shook her head slightly, but said, “All right.”
Caleb lifted Lily back into the saddle and within minutes the little girl relaxed. A half hour later you’d never know she fell. She was having a great time, as if she’d been born to the saddle.
Mallory had relaxed, too, smiling at him as if he’d done something remarkable. The expression in her brown eyes made him feel like a hero, and the devil of it was that was a look he could get used to.
But getting in the habit of enjoying that look from a woman wasn’t something he was anxious to do. He was single and liked it that way. Habits could be broken, but a man had better be sure he really wanted to, because life would never be the same, and not necessarily in a good way.
Chapter Five
Mallory walked into the Community Center, where folding metal chairs had been set up for Winona Cobbs’s psychic lecture. Sally at Bee’s Beauty Parlor had been right about almost everyone in town being there, not that Mallory was counting heads, but it looked like standing room only. She ended up standing in the back and could barely even see the stage, let alone an empty chair. So much for being early in order to find a good seat.
It was getting a little claustrophobic. Her statuesque friends didn’t understand, but when you were five feet two inches tall, crowds closed in and people ran into you.
As if to prove the validity of that thought, a big man in front of her backed up and stepped on her foot.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
“It’s okay,” she said automatically. She was used to it.
“Are you by yourself?” he asked.
“Yes.” Mallory had dropped Lily off at a friend’s house and was really glad. The only thing worse than getting stepped on herself would be worrying about the little girl being crushed.
Th
e man pointed to a place she couldn’t see. “There’s one chair in the third row from the front.”
“That’s all right. This is—”
But he was already stepping aside and urging her forward. “Grab it before someone else gets it.”
“Thanks.”
Mallory kept forgetting this was Rust Creek Falls, where folks looked out for one another. Staying in the back would have made it easy to slip out early without drawing attention, but she couldn’t refuse the polite gesture.
The chairs were arranged in two groups with an aisle between. When the crowd parted and the view wasn’t blocked, she saw the empty place and made her way to it. In the row just behind it, she saw fellow members of the Newcomers Club—Cecelia Clifton, Jordyn Cates, Vanessa Brent and Julie Smith. Callie Kennedy was on the end with her new fiancé, Nathan Crawford.
Mallory smiled and waved as she passed them, then moved forward. The man on the end had long legs and she couldn’t get to the seat beside his without asking him to stand.
“Excuse me,” she said. “Is anyone sitting there?”
Caleb looked up at her and did a double take. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Her heart did a happy little dance. Probably for that reason she felt the need to explain she wasn’t stalking him. “Someone in the back pointed out this seat. I didn’t know you were here.”
“Should I be flattered or insulted?” His eyes crinkled in that charming way they did when he smiled.
“Hmm.” She tapped her lip. “Probably you shouldn’t take it any way at all because it’s just the truth.”
“Okay, then. I’m not saving this seat. But—” he stood and looked down at her “—if I was flirting, I’d say I was saving it for the prettiest lady in Rust Creek Falls.”
“How’s that line working for you?” she teased.
“You tell me.” He moved a little to let her get by.
Mallory did her best to keep her body from brushing against his, but it couldn’t be helped because the space was so small. She did her best to be sorry about touching him, but couldn’t manage that, either.
From Maverick to Daddy Page 6
