by Jeannie Watt
“She owns the horse Katie rides. Maybe if Katie had some one-on-one, it would help.”
Annie gave a considering nod. “It might.” She leaned forward, her hands on her knees. “I’m not sure how I feel about asking Lex for special favors after they did me the favor of hiring me.”
“It’ll be a favor to me, and I have no problem asking.”
“Do you think she’ll do a favor for you? When you were dating Danielle, I think it’s safe to say that she hated you.”
“She thought I was going to hurt Danielle. She told me that to my face. A couple of times.”
“You did hurt Danielle.”
“And let me tell you, that hasn’t helped things between me and Lex.”
“You kissed her.”
“She kissed me. It was short.” Too short. “Like a peck.”
“That’s not what I heard.” He frowned at his sister, and she added, “Not one version of the story involved a peck.”
“How many versions did you hear?” he asked wearily.
“At least three. You know that cowboys gossip like old ladies.”
“Unfortunately.”
She looked back up at the stars. “I don’t have a clue as to what’s going on between you two.”
“Don’t try,” Grady advised. “And as to favors, I’d be doing the tutoring, but I want to use the horse Katie rides in class, and that’s where Lex comes in.”
“I do not want my daughter in the middle of cross fire between you two.”
“No cross fire.” He glanced down at his hands, clasped loosely between his knees. “I think it’s important to see if we can address this fear of Katie’s, but you’re her mom.”
“I don’t want her to grow up nervous about horses. She’s already afraid of big dogs.”
“So I can ask Lex?”
She studied him as she used to when he was trying to put one over on her when they were kids. Finally she said, “If you think it will help.”
Chapter Six
“You have to go already?” Danielle’s great-grandmother asked as Lex gathered her purse and jacket. They’d had quite the summit today, during which the proper shade of pink was agreed upon.
“Vet appointment,” Lex said, hating to leave Danielle with no backup as the Perry women went over catalogs and fabric samples from various bridal houses. There was definitely a wide range of tastes in the Perry family, and poor Danielle spent as much time protecting feelings as she did trying to choose proper dresses. Originally she’d wanted the bridesmaids to choose their own dresses in any shade of pink they wanted. Her grandmother about fell over, having come from the everything-matching era, and after Great-granny had shown up at the store with the paint chips, they compromised on allowing the five bridesmaids to choose their own styles of dress in the exact same color. Then the fight was on for length. Mom wanted formal length. Danielle wanted tea length. Great-granny, surprisingly, agreed with Danielle, and Grandma was undecided. Lex knew she’d never wear her dress again, so she was all for whatever made Danielle happy and cast her vote for tea length before announcing that she had to go.
“Nothing serious, I hope.” Danielle’s mother looked up from where she was laying out ever more samples.
“Just routine teeth floating. I scheduled before I knew we were meeting,” Lex said.
“You’ve cleared your calendar for the Bozeman trip, right?” All three older Perry women waited for Lex to answer Great-granny’s question.
Lex smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it.” Who wouldn’t want to travel with three opinionated women to visit several bridal boutiques?
“I’ll see you at work,” Danielle said as she walked Lex to the door.
“Good luck,” Lex murmured. “Wish I could stay.”
“No, you don’t,” Danielle replied wryly. “But I know you would have.” She glanced over her shoulder at the kitchen table, just visible through the arched doorway, then let her head fall forward in a comical gesture of defeat. “I love them, but...elopement sounds so inviting right now.”
“Elopement would kill them.”
“I know. So I forge on.” She smiled. “Enjoy your vet appointment... Kind of wish I could go with you.”
Lex got home and had barely changed into her old jeans before the veterinary utility truck pulled up next to the barn and a tall guy with dark blond hair got out. Dr. Caldwell, her regular horse vet, was easing into retirement, and she’d yet to meet the new vet who was buying into the practice.
After quickly pulling her hair into a ponytail, Lex headed out the door, crossing the driveway to where the vet was unpacking his tools from a side utility panel. He straightened as she approached and flashed her a smile. “Good to see you again,” he said.
Lex frowned as she searched her memory for good-looking, blond vets and came up empty. “You don’t remember me, do you?” he asked after shutting the truck door. Lex shook her head. Surely she would remember a guy like this. He was tall, muscular and had excellent bones.
“Pete Randall.”
Lex’s eyebrows shot up. “Petey?” The kid who’d spent summers with his grandparents a few miles down the road. He’d been awkward, skinny and had never seemed at home in a rural setting. They’d met at various community functions, but he’d always stayed close to his grandparents and if she recalled, he used to be reading a lot.
“One and the same,” he said with an easy grin. “Although I’d like to forget the Petey handle.”
Lex laughed. “All right. Peter.”
“Just plain Pete. I bought into Dr. Caldwell’s practice.”
“I’d heard about that, but I had no idea it was you, or that you’d become a vet.” Lex frowned a little as she came to his side of the truck. “Weren’t you afraid of horses?” She vaguely recalled a 4-H event where he’d tried to avoid them.
“Yeah. It kind of held me back early on in my studies,” he admitted with a half smile. “But I got over it. So, where are my patients?”
Lex took him to the corral where the mares and Snuff stood sunning themselves. “Give me a minute to catch them and we can get started.” She disappeared into the tack room to get the halters. “I was at a wedding-planning summit and got back later than expected.”
“Anyone I might remember?”
“Danielle Perry.”
“I remember. All the boys had a crush on her.”
“Did you?”
“I was afraid of girls,” he said. “I got over that, too.”
That was a win for the female population. Little Petey had grown into one heck of a man.
In short order Lex had the three older mares and the cranky gelding caught and tied to the hitching rail. Peter went to work smoothing their teeth so that they could eat effectively, and Lex watched, impressed with his technique.
“They’re all in pretty good shape,” he said when he was finished and had put his files away. “And I see by their records that you keep them on a regular schedule.” Horses tended to need more dental care as they aged, and Lex stayed on top of it.
“I’m a vet’s dream,” she said. Peter leaned against the hood of his truck and swept his gaze over the pens where the donkeys were eating their morning rations. The dogs were pressing their noses against the front yard fence, and Felicity was sunning herself on a fence post nearby while the goat ate weeds at the base of the post. Out in the field her three young horses grazed.
“Is this the entire crew?” he asked.
“I have four cows that I run with the neighbor,” she said, pointing at the fields adjoining her small property. The cows were coming in to water at the stock pond with their calves by their sides. There was a bit of an awkward pause; then Peter glanced down at his watch.
“I need to get moving if I’m going to make my next call on time.” He push
ed off the hood and held out a hand. “Good to see you, Alexa. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
“And again and again,” she agreed with a smile. She took good care of her animals.
As soon as Pete was in his truck, she started cleaning the goat pen, then stopped when another truck pulled into her driveway.
Grady.
This was an interesting turn of events, Grady coming to her turf. She crossed the pen to the gate as he parked next to the barn, thinking that he’d better have a good reason for being there.
He got out of his truck and came around the front, and Lex couldn’t help noticing that while he wasn’t as tall as Pete, he somehow had more presence. And that she responded to that presence.
“I need to shut off a faucet,” she said before he said hello or whatever it was he’d come to say. Water was pouring over the side of the donkey tank, so she brushed past him on her way to the pen. Grady followed, his boots crunching on the gravel behind her, making her wonder why she hadn’t noticed the sound of Pete’s boots when they traveled almost the same route.
Because she wasn’t so freaking aware of Pete.
“You have a lot of animals,” Grady said once the faucet was off and she’d turned back to him.
“I like animals,” Lex said drily as the goat wandered up behind Grady and sniffed curiously at his pant leg.
He tipped back his hat so she could get a good look at his gray eyes. And the scar along his dark hairline. “I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Yeah?” Her eyes narrowed. What kind of favor could he possibly ask of her? And why was her heart beating faster?
“Would you consider giving my niece Katie, the one that’s having a hard time in lessons, some one-on-one time in the evenings?”
Not at all what she expected...but then she’d had no idea what to expect. “Why me and not Jared?”
“I think if Katie spent time with the horse she rides—which happens to be your horse—in a more private environment, she might get over her fear of falling.”
Great. A legitimate reason. Lex dropped her chin and studied the ground between her boots as she debated over options and realized she only had two. Saying yes and helping a kid, or saying no because the kid’s uncle set her on edge.
“Well?” he said after a few long seconds, and she had to give him credit for sounding less than confident.
Lex’s mouth tightened as she brought her gaze up to his, saw that there was no hint of challenge in his expression. Only a question. Would she help his niece? “How can I say no to something like that?”
“Because I’m involved?”
“I have to say that it doesn’t exactly sweeten the deal.”
He laughed, and something inside her did a bit of a free fall. Which in turn irritated her. She was not going to be one of the many sucked in by Grady Owen’s charm and good looks. She started back to where she’d left the manure fork, Grady walking a few feet away from her, even though it felt closer.
He’s just a guy.
A guy there about his niece. This had nothing to do with Danielle or old vendettas or getting back at her for kissing him in the parking lot at Hennessey’s in front of his rodeo buddies. She stopped near his truck, hoping that once she gave her answer, he wouldn’t prolong the visit. “Fine. When do you want to stop by?”
The goat chose that moment to rub the side of her head on the back of Grady’s thighs, knocking him a few steps forward. Lex automatically moved back, keeping a good distance between them. “Tomorrow evening after Annie gets home?”
“I’ll be covering for Danielle at the store all this week.” Her friend was escaping to Wyoming with her fiancé for a much-needed break from wedding planning.
“Oh.” A shadow crossed Grady’s face.
“But I don’t mind doing this,” she said gruffly. “For the kid.” And only for the kid. “How about six o’clock?”
“Six it is.” He reached down to rub the goat’s bony head. “See you then.” The words were barely out of his mouth before he was moving toward the driver’s side of the truck, apparently making good his escape before she could change her mind.
Lex wrapped her arms around herself as he opened the door, then realized how blatantly self-protective her body language was and dropped her arms back to her sides. She had no need to protect herself from Grady Owen, of all people. She could hold her own with him just fine, thank you very much.
But there was something in the way he smiled as he waved at her before putting the truck in gear that made her wonder if he wasn’t reading her thoughts and plotting another move to upset her equilibrium after she helped him with his niece.
Well, plot away, Mr. Owen. You are not getting the better of me.
* * *
KRISTEN WAS NOT happy about her twin going to Lex’s farm without her, even after Grady had explained how it would help her if she got to meet the horses by herself.
“But you’ll be there.”
“Yes.”
“And the lady.”
“Yes, the lady will be there.” He had to fight to keep from smiling at Lex being called “the lady.” When he thought of ladies, he thought of women dressed up for afternoon tea or something, and that image didn’t fit Lex one bit. But it did get him thinking about what she might look like dressed up, and he came to the tentative conclusion that she probably looked best as he knew her—dressed in denim, with a button-front shirt and boots, silver earrings flashing through her loose dark hair. Lex definitely rocked that look, better even than Danielle, because Lex had that aura of toughness about her that perfectly complemented denim and boots, yet there was a whisper of vulnerability there, too, which made a guy wonder if she was wearing lace under her clothes.
“I want to go, too.” Kristen yanked him back to the present.
“How about we let Katie go alone this first time? You help your mom like we planned, and we’ll talk when we get back.”
After winning the battle with Kristen, he had to deal with Katie, who was certain she didn’t want to go without Kristen.
“I think it’ll be a mistake to take them together.” Annie said when he had discussed the matter with her over a beer on the porch after she’d returned home from work. “Kristen doesn’t want to miss out on any horse stuff, and Katie will happily let her take over. Do you want me to be the bad guy?”
“I’ll do it.” Parenthood, Grady was rapidly discovering, was challenging on many levels, yet he found he rather enjoyed the challenge. The tears, not so much, but he made his way through the waterworks by sticking to his guns, and eventually Kristen and Katie accepted the fact that only one of them was going to Lex’s farm the first time. After that, they’d talk again. He only hoped the talk wouldn’t involve tears all over again. Kid tears melted his heart, but it wasn’t going to do anyone any good if he caved when one of the girls cried.
“Kristen has got to promise not to get ahead of me in reading,” Katie said. They were getting close to the qualification mark for the library dedicated reader awards. They could practically taste the ice cream, and Katie was shopping for a new swimming suit online for the pool party that followed.
“We’ll read together when we get back,” Grady promised her. “I think we can finish that dog book tonight.”
The next evening after Annie got home from work, Katie and Grady set out for Lex’s farm. Katie was not her usual chattering self, and after a few attempts to cajole her out of her mood, Grady let her be. Sometimes it was best to address fears quietly, as he’d learned during his years of bull riding. Katie was dealing with issues, and he would allow her to do it in her own way.
Lex met the truck as he parked next to the barn, smiling at Katie through the open window. “Hi. I hear you’ve come to visit Daphne.”
Katie nodded glumly.
“Good. You can he
lp me clean her up.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “I thought I had to ride her.”
“Nope. We’re going to brush her. Maybe put some braids in her hair.”
Lex opened the door, and Katie scrambled out of the truck, nearly dropping out of sight as her boots hit the ground. “Will she get ribbons?” Katie asked.
“I can probably find some.”
Lex was dressed, as usual, in worn jeans, scuffed boots, and a dusty blue button-front Western shirt, but now he was wondering what she was wearing underneath. Utility cotton? Satin or lace?
He gave his head a quick shake.
“Are you all right?” Lex asked with a frown.
“Fine.” He reached out to take Katie’s hand and followed Lex to Daphne’s pen. The buckskin mare ambled across the pen toward them, and Katie drew back a little. Grady didn’t say a word, nor did Lex.
Katie stood where she was as Daphne hung her head over the fence to be petted. Lex rubbed her ears and stroked her mane until Katie came up of her own accord and held out the back of her hand for Daphne to sniff, as Grady had taught her.
Daphne bumped her nose against the little girl’s fist, and she laughed nervously. “She did the horse handshake, just like you said she would.”
“Do you want to help me brush her?” Lex asked.
“Maybe I’ll watch.”
“That’s fine. I’ll brush. You watch. And if you feel like helping, there’s a big bucket of brushes there. Remember to always walk up to a horse from the side. Never from the back.”
“’Cause they can’t see behind them, and it scares them.”
“Exactly. Now I want to get the hay and loose dirt off her first, so I’m going to start with a currycomb...”
Grady found a spot of shade near the barn a few yards away and watched as Lex talked and groomed and Katie edged closer, first going through the grooming tools and asking about each one, then delivering them to Lex as she called for them. Especially fascinating was the hoof cleaning, and Grady knew they’d turned a small corner when Katie used the hoof pick to clean out the hoof while Lex held it. And then came the braiding, with Lex doing the braids and Katie handing her bands and ribbons.
