Roping the Rancher (Harlequin American Romance)

by Benson, Julie

  “There’s water all over the garage. I don’t know what’s wrong or what to do.”

  “Can’t Grant help you take care of it?”

  “He’s at a friend’s running lines to prepare for the audition he has on Monday. I can’t bother him. He needs to focus all his energy on that. You have to help me. Now the water’s starting to come into the den. It’s going to flood the whole house. I know it. It’s going to ruin all the furniture. What should I do?”

  “First of all, you need to shut off the water. Get a screwdriver and a wrench. The box to shut off the water is in front of the house by the sidewalk. Use the screwdriver to take the lid off the water box. Then use the wrench to turn the brass knob—”

  “I can’t do that.” Andrea’s voice skipped up another level in pitch. Stacy guessed one notch from hysterical. “I don’t know where the tools are or what a wrench looks like. I need someone to help me. You’ve got to do something!”

  How could any person be so helpless?

  “Mother, there’s nothing I can do from here in Colorado.”

  “Don’t yell at me!”

  She wasn’t yelling. Her mom always accused Stacy of that when she didn’t do exactly what Andrea wanted or became the least bit forceful. Stacy counted to ten and vowed to keep her voice emotionless. “Ask one of the neighbors to help you shut off the water. If you can’t find one of them, call the plumber. Tell him you can’t shut off the water and you need him to come to the house as soon as possible.”

  She refused to think about what an emergency “drop everything and come right now” fee would be as Colt returned. “I’ve got to go.”

  “I don’t know where the plumber’s number is.”

  “I’ll send it to you.” Then she ended the call before her mother could ask her to call the plumber for her. After she texted the phone number to Andrea, she turned off her phone’s ringer and shoved it in her back pocket.

  “Problems?” Colt asked.

  Just the same old, same old. My mother can’t cope with the smallest problems and wants me to take care of everything.

  “My mom’s got water all over the garage, and expects me to fix everything for her from here.”

  “All she needs to do is shut off the water and call a plumber.”

  “That’s what I told her, but from the way she reacted you’d think I asked her to build a nuclear reactor.” Stacy rubbed her temples in an attempt to ease her pounding headache.

  Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Her mother would have deal with the problem on her own.

  “Your butt’s buzzing.”

  “I know. At least I’ll get a good minimassage from all her calls.”

  “You aren’t going to answer?”

  Guilt tickled her conscience. She could give the plumber a quick call, but then irritation kicked in. Her mother could make a simple phone call and deal with the plumber. “No, I’m not going to talk to her right now.”

  “Good for you. Sometimes you have to be tough. If I did everything for my daughter she’d never learn to stand on her own. Sounds like your mom needs to deal with the water problem or learn to swim.”

  His validating words lifted the brick off her chest. She wasn’t being the worst daughter ever by expecting her mother to deal with this problem. “You’re absolutely right. Thank you.” Her phone vibrated again. “What’s next on the training schedule?”

  “Now comes the big test. We’re going into the stall. I’ll get Babe bridled and then you’ll lead her to the arena.”

  Her stomach plummeted. “You said all I’d have to do was walk beside and help Ryan.”

  “Which means you will actually have to stand beside the horse.” He started to walk toward the stall, then stopped and glanced over his shoulder at her. She couldn’t move.

  “You want me to go in a closed space with a horse?”

  His gaze softened as he returned to her. When he stopped in front of her she couldn’t breathe. The confidence in his eyes reached out to her. Confidence in her, but not in the way Andrea looked at her as though she’d do whatever needed to be done. The look in Colt’s eyes was different. He believed in her.

  “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  This time when he headed toward Babe’s stall, she followed. Once inside, she scooted to a corner as far away from the pony as possible.

  “You stay there until you feel comfortable. There’s nothing to worry about. Babe’s a sweet girl.” He patted the animal’s neck. “I can’t believe you’re starring in a movie about women who own a horse ranch. Won’t your fear of horses be a problem?”

  “I was worried about that until I read the script. My character doesn’t have any scenes where she needs to ride. Of course things can change, but when I auditioned for the role, I told Maggie about my issues. She said she didn’t think it would be a problem, but if it was, we’d work through it.”

  “That’s another reason why you need to get more comfortable around horses. Your character will be more believable if you don’t break into a cold sweat when a horse is within ten feet of you.”

  “I’m not sweating.”

  “Liar.”

  “You’re such a gentleman.”

  “Have you forgotten about how I came to your defense at Halligan’s?”

  “That was then. This is now.”

  He nodded toward her and smiled. “That’s better. See, you’re almost next to Babe and you’re still breathing.”

  She hadn’t realized that as they’d talked, she’d moved closer to him, and thus, to the horse. The man could make a nun feel comfortable in a strip club.

  He slipped the bridle on as he explained important things she needed to know about horses. Never stand directly behind one. Don’t duck under the animal’s neck. Go around him so he’s not startled. “The best place to stand is by the horse’s shoulder where you both can see each other.”

  She started to relax. The horse seemed pretty calm.

  “When you’re leading a horse, make sure you’re the leader. You move first. The horse follows you.” Then he held out a rope to her. “Here’s the keys.”

  She wasn’t sure she was ready for this, but if she couldn’t get near a horse, she couldn’t be part of Ryan’s therapy. Needing Colt’s reassurance that she could do this, her gaze sought his.

  “Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Her heart tripped. Heaven help her, but she believed him. That’s the kind of man he was. When he gave his word, it meant something. Not like most of the people in her life. In her life? She had a handful of friends, but would they be there for her if she asked? More like she had close colleagues, and in her business, a promise meant something could be counted on unless things changed or a better deal came along.

  Hand shaking, she took the rope from him. “What do I do now?”

  “Start walking to the stall door. She’ll follow.”

  You can do this. Don’t let fear rule you.

  Muttering the phrases like a mantra, she started walking. The pony fell in step behind her.

  “You’re doing great.”

  Colt kept offering encouragement, and she made it through the stall door. As they walked down the hallway to the arena, the pony’s hooves clicked on the cement floor like a drumbeat. A sense of accomplishment bolted through her as they left the barn and entered the arena. Her breath came out in a soft rush. She glanced at Colt. “I did it.”

  “You sure did.” The pride in his eyes drilled into her. The man made her feel as if she could do anything.

  For the next hour they worked together. She led Babe around the arena and Colt gave instructions as he would during a therapy session. They talked about various situations that could come up.

  “I’m feeling comfortable with Babe, but what ab
out Chance? He’s so huge.”

  “We screen our horses and they go through training, too. People don’t realize, only one out of fifteen horses works for a program like this. What I’m trying to say is, the animals in my program are the safest horses a person can be around.”

  She’d take his word for it.

  As they walked back to the barn, Colt said, “If you really want to understand what Ryan’s going through and get over your fear, you should get on a horse. You’d realize what great animals they are.” He opened the arena gate for her to lead Babe through. “You and I could go riding some day.”

  “Riding?”

  “More like walking through the national park like the tourists do. We could make an afternoon of it. Stop along the way and have a picnic.”

  She froze. As if him asking her to go riding hadn’t thrown her enough, he’d gone on to explain. He couldn’t be doing what she thought he was doing. She knew that, but had to ask. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  Chapter Eight

  Colt hadn’t meant to ask Stacy out. The words asking her to go riding jumped out before he considered what he was saying. He almost winced. Obviously he’d botched the invitation, since she wasn’t sure he’d asked her out, but now that he had, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.

  He’d been strung tighter than a barbed wire fence since he’d kissed her. Hell, since they’d met he found himself thinking about her at the oddest times—sitting in the carpool lane waiting to pick Jess up or while he tried to write grant proposals. The fantasies were getting so bad this morning he’d taken a cold shower to get his body under control.

  He needed to get her out of his system. If he spent time with her, got to know her, he’d see she wasn’t any different than he expected—a fancy city woman. He’d see she’d never be happy in his life. He’d see how much her career meant to her and how much she loved California. Then she’d quit driving him insane. He would be able to stop dreaming about her. He’d quit imagining what it would be like to make love to her.

  “I don’t think us going out would be a good idea.”

  From the look of almost horror splashed across her face now, he wished he could take back what he’d said. In an effort to salvage his tattered pride he said, “Did you hear me mention the word date?”

  “No.”

  “I offered to help you get over your fear so you could understand your brother’s therapy better and because it would help you do a better job in your movie. Think of it as research.” He couldn’t believe he’d said those words with a straight face. God ought to be striking him with lightning for that whopper.

  “Since my character doesn’t need to ride a horse or even sit on one in this movie, I think I can call it good with what I’ve done today.”

  “Not even if I put you on a horse that’s so old she couldn’t do more than walk if I lit a fire under her? It can’t get much safer than that.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  “Chicken?”

  “Absolutely. The closest I’m getting to a horse is being Ryan’s sidewalker.”

  That was probably for the best. He’d finish her training. They’d see each other around town and at Ryan’s therapy. Fine with him.

  * * *

  THAT NIGHT COLT sat at the kitchen table with Jess and tried to find the words to talk to her about what she’d confided in Stacy earlier. Damn, parenting was hard work and seemed to get more difficult as she grew up. He’d thought figuring out why she was crying as a baby was tough? That didn’t come close to talking to her about sex, dating and her mother running off on them. They’d discussed her mother leaving before, but when Jess said she was fine and understood her mother leaving wasn’t her fault, he left things at that.

  Because he hadn’t really wanted to deal with the truth and her pain. Or his. But he couldn’t do that any longer.

  Never one to go around the fence when he could open the gate, he decided on the direct approach. “I heard what you said to Stacy about the last conversation you had with your mom. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “You were eavesdropping?”

  “No. I came into the barn to meet her for our training session and heard you talking. I was going to let you know I was there, but then I heard what she said and stopped. She said pretty much what I would’ve. I figured you needed to hear that from someone else. Your mom knew you loved her. If she were here, she’d tell you she knew you didn’t mean what you said. She wouldn’t want you feeling guilty over it.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I was so mad at her, and I never got the chance to take back what I said.”

  “Stacy was right. You’ve got to let it go.”

  “Why did she have to leave town? If she’d stayed here...”

  Jess’s words trailed off, but he knew what his daughter had been about to say. If she’d stayed here she would still be alive.

  If he’d said Lynn could come back that day she might still be alive, too, but that’s something he’d have to live with. He wouldn’t burden his daughter with that. “I’ll be honest. I think she was searching for something and she didn’t think she could find it here.” His hand covered his daughter’s smaller one. She laced her fingers with his and held on so tight his fingers started to go numb. “I don’t want you thinking it was your fault she left.”

  Lynn wanted the freedom she’d have had if she hadn’t gotten married so young and had a baby right away.

  He never felt as if their decision caused him to miss out on life. He’d already decided to go into the Air Force and getting married didn’t change that. Lynn had felt differently. She’d planned on going to college. When she tried attending later when Jess was a toddler, juggling motherhood, classes and studying with a husband who wasn’t always around proved too much for her. He’d mentioned her trying again a few years later when Jess went to elementary school, but Lynn hadn’t been interested.

  “Your mom left me. I truly believe when she was more settled, she’d have asked you to live with her if you’d wanted to.” He wasn’t really sure about that, but his daughter needed to hear the words, and he figured God would forgive him for that lie. “Then you would’ve had the opportunity to tell her you didn’t mean what you’d said. Fate took that chance away from you.”

  “I miss her so much some times, especially when I hear friends talking about all the stuff they do with their moms.”

  Nothing he could do could ever change that. There were events in a girl’s life she wanted to share with her mother—picking out a prom dress, planning a wedding, the birth of her first child—and Jess would have to navigate those milestones without her mother’s guidance. He recalled Reed telling him while he was in Afghanistan how he’d taken Jess shopping for a dress for the Spring Fling. The experience still gave his brother nightmares, and he’d been forced to call Avery in as a reinforcement. That’s the best Jess would ever have—stand-ins for her mom.

  That’s what angered him most about Lynn’s leaving, what she’d left her daughter alone to deal with.

  “I wish I could tell you that will get easier, but I’m not sure it will. Things will happen in your life, and you’ll wish your mom was there to share them with you.”

  “I’m just so glad I have you.”

  “But it’s not the same,” he said. “When you’re missing your mom, it’s okay to talk to me about it.”

  “I know it hurts you to talk about her.”

  He’d tried to keep his daughter from seeing how much, but apparently he hadn’t done as good a job as he thought. “I don’t need you to protect me. It’s not your job. I loved your mom. She was a big part of my life. We had some wonderful times together and the best thing we ever did was create you. I don’t want to erase that part of my life. Got it?”

  He needed
to let go, too. Of his anger at Lynn for leaving him with such an awful mess to clean up. Of his guilt for the fact that she’d been so unhappy with him she’d felt the need to leave town and had gotten herself killed. Of his grief over the death of the love of his youth.

  “Now since we’re talking about you feeling the need to protect me, what were you thinking when you asked Stacy what was going on between her and I?”

  “You haven’t dated in forever.”

  When she emphasized the last word he cringed. “That’s right. Dinosaurs roamed the Earth when your mom and I were dating.”

  “You’re a great guy, but Stacy’s used to Hollywood actors.”

  Ouch. When his daughter thought he couldn’t compete with the guys Stacy normally dated that really hurt. “While I get to get to give your dates the third degree, you are to stay out of my love life.”

  “What love—”

  “Don’t even say it.”

  He didn’t need to hear his fifteen-year-old daughter say he didn’t have a love life. He knew the fact all too well.

  * * *

  DESPITE THE SUCCESS of her training session a few days earlier, Stacy’s nerves started getting the best of her as she drove to Healing Horses.

  “You don’t have to do this, you know,” Ryan said, his face etched with concern for her.

  She released her death grip on the steering wheel and flashed him a tight smile. “I want to.”

  “No, you don’t. I can tell because that’s your too-big smile again.”

  “You’re seriously making me doubt my skills as an actress.” He was right. She hadn’t wanted to, but that wasn’t the only thing she was nervous about. She wasn’t sure how to deal with Colt now. Ever since he’d kissed her she didn’t know what was going on between them, and the other day only ratcheted up the attraction between them.

  “You’re great on a movie set, but not so hot at hiding your feelings in real life.”

  “I want to be there for your therapy sessions.”

  “You mean in a way other than from the opposite side of the fence or hanging over Colt’s shoulder?”