by Mary Leo
The trail wound down a forested hillside with a view of a river where some guests were busy panning for gold while others cast their fishing lines in the lazy water. It was truly a beautiful day, and with each movement of her horse, Cori’s appreciation of the moment grew by leaps and bounds, especially knowing that Hailey was enjoying it as much as she was.
“Don’t panic,” the teen wrangler yelled from behind her. “Hold on to the reins and keep your balance!”
Cori heard the thunder of hooves hitting ground before she could see them. Then in a flash of color she saw her daughter whiz by on her runaway horse, leaning forward, holding on for dear life. The horse kicked out its back legs but kept going. Before the group leader could get his bearings, Gage took off after Hailey with the group leader right behind him. She could see Hailey leaning off to the side, looking as if she was going to topple over. In the next instant, Gage had reached out and guided her back up on her saddle, motioning for her to hold on to the horn with both hands. She must have done as she was told, because she was able to right herself and stay on the horse.
Cori’s heart clattered against her chest as she took off after her daughter without giving it a single conscious thought. She knew exactly how to get her horse to run and how to position her body for the speed. It seemed almost second nature to her and she realized that all her apprehensions about riding had been a waste of energy. When push came to shove, those childhood riding skills that her grandparents had drummed into her had kicked in. “Hold on, Hailey,” she yelled as she rode after her baby.
Then, just as quickly as Hailey’s horse had taken off, it stopped. Gage had managed to get in front of it with his chocolate-colored stallion, and when Hailey’s paint approached, it slowed to a trot and nuzzled up to Gage’s horse as if it knew it had done something wrong.
“Hailey, are you all right. Are you okay?” Cori yelled as she approached.
“Woo-hoo!” Hailey yelled. “Was it supposed to do that? That was really fun.”
“No,” Gage told her. “We’re only supposed to be walking. What the heck happened?”
Hailey seemed breathless. “I don’t know, but I think it didn’t like the big ugly rat we saw back there on the trail.”
“It was probably a possum,” the group leader said. “You did everything right, Hailey. You’re one brave little girl.”
“I only did what you told us to do.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Cori asked as she tried to calm her fears. “I think that’s enough riding for one day. Maybe we should return to the barn.”
“But I don’t want to quit yet. Besides, that mean ol’ possum is probably hiding under a bush by now. I like this, Momma. Can we please keep going?”
“I’ll ride alongside her,” Gage said. “She’ll be fine. I promise.”
Cori didn’t want to cause her daughter to fear riding a horse. It was one of those moments in life when you either kept going or retreated forever. Cori believed in moving forward, and she wanted her daughter to have the same values.
She turned to Gage. “You’ll stay right with her?”
“All the way,” he said.
The rest of their group of ten had gathered around them, all waiting for Cori’s reply. Even Grandma May had backtracked when she’d heard the commotion and was encouraging Cori to say yes. “She’s got your spunk, Corina-May. You can’t discourage her now.”
“Fine, but I’ll be right behind you,” Cori told her daughter.
A loud whoop went up from the group as Hailey cheered and whistled her excitement. Soon all the horses were back in line behind the leader making their way along the grassy path.
Cori guided her horse up next to Gage. “Thank you,” she told, him while thinking a mere thank-you could never be enough. “That was some pretty fancy riding for a New Yorker.”
“Hailey was right. You never forget how.”
“Sometimes kids know more about these things than adults do.” Cori took a deep breath, then let it out. “I’d like to do something to repay you for stopping her horse.”
“Not necessary. I didn’t do anything special.”
“Sure you did. How ’bout if I buy you dinner tonight? I don’t think there’s much going on this evening for the conference—a light business meeting and a book discussion. We wouldn’t be missing anything too important.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think your grandmother likes me very much.”
“After what you did, she probably loves you. But she won’t be joining us. She’ll be attending the activities at the conference.”
“Sure,” he said before she could tell him that Hailey would be joining them.
“Five o’clock in the lobby?”
“Perfect,” he said, then tipped his hat and smiled over at her. In that instant, Cori knew her determination to stay away from this man was going to be more difficult than she ever thought possible.
* * *
ON THE DRIVE BACK to the hotel, Gramps didn’t seem to want to let up on what he called Gage’s heroism.
“You done good, son. Made me proud to be your grandfather. I knew you had it in you to be a hero. It’s just been stifled for a spell. How’d you know what to do to stop that spooked horse? Did I teach you that?”
Gage wasn’t sure he liked all this adulation. He’d gotten his fill at the ranch, when not only did all the wranglers want to know where he’d learned to ride like that but the owner came out and congratulated him while he was grooming his horse.
“I really didn’t think about it, Gramps. It just happened. And yes, I believe you did teach me to ride in front of a charging horse. I never had use for that technique when I was visiting you, but I guess I tucked it away in my subconscious. If someone had asked me about that move before I did it, I don’t think I would’ve been able to remember anything. Funny how your mind retains certain things and you can conjure them up whenever you need them.”
Gage still had a hard time believing that had been him on that horse: that his riding had come so naturally and he hadn’t even thought about not going after Hailey. If this had been six months ago, he wouldn’t have been able to go after her.
He would have been too drunk.
“And how’d it make you feel savin’ that there little girl?”
Without missing a beat, Gage said, “Like a cowboy. Like a real cowboy.”
Chapter Four
Cori had tried on every outfit in her suitcase, but none of them seemed appropriate for her dinner date with Gage. She told herself a million times over there was nothing more to this date than thanking him for saving her daughter, and still she’d taken three antacids trying to get her stomach to behave. It wasn’t as if they’d be alone in some dark romantic restaurant. Hailey would be there with them. Still, Cori couldn’t seem to let go of the nerves.
“You look beautiful, Momma,” Hailey told her each and every time she’d modeled a new ensemble for her.
“You’re not helping. If I look beautiful in the black outfit and beautiful in the gray outfit, how can I trust your opinion?”
Hailey threw up her arms. “Because you look beautiful in everything!”
Love bubbled up for her sweet daughter. “How about if I wear my pajamas? Or Grammy’s robe? How would I look in those?”
Hailey giggled. “Don’t be silly, Mom. You know we can’t wear pajamas outside. Only babies can wear their pajamas to a restaurant. You need to wear regular clothes.”
“And which regular clothes do you like best?”
“I like your black cowgirl boots, your purple swirly skirt and the red blouse you bought in that little store with the white chair I could sit on while you tried on clothes. The store near Grammy’s house.”
Shopping for a dress or something other than slacks and a shirt had been something Cori rarely
did at home. She never had the time. Her closet was filled with casual work clothes and little else. She rarely went out on a date, and even when she did, she had gone right from work and worn her usual black dress pants and a dark-colored blouse. The same clothes were worn when she’d meet a friend for drinks. Not that she had liked going out for drinks with her friends. All they seemed to want to do was fix her up with someone they thought would be “perfect for her.” Her friends were well-meaning, but the dates had been disastrous nonetheless. Eventually, she’d stopped accepting drink invitations, and her friends stopped all the matchmaking.
When she quit her job and told her friends she was moving to Colorado they gave her a going-away party. And once again, she’d worn dress slacks and a white blouse.
Truly pathetic.
“But I haven’t tried that combination on for you. How do you know I’ll look good in it?”
Hailey grinned. “I just know.”
“Fine,” Cori said as she hurriedly changed into the suggested outfit, thinking purple and red would never look good together. Plus, she didn’t want to wear a skirt. She felt more comfortable in pants, and above all, she wanted to feel relaxed.
Just as she tucked in her blouse, she turned back to her daughter, who’d busied herself with the latest book she’d uploaded to her touch-screen tablet.
“So how does this look?” she asked.
Cori shifted her feet, uncomfortable with the skirt that showed her knees, sure it looked unflattering or that she was trying too hard...the one thing she absolutely did not want Gage to think. After all, this was simply a friendly dinner. Payback for his quick thinking on a horse.
Nothing more.
“Oh, Momma, you look spectacular!” Hailey’s face lit up with a great big smile.
“Spectacular, huh?”
Hailey eagerly nodded as Cori walked past her to the full-length mirror hanging on the back of the bathroom door, certain the colors clashed and she’d be changing once again. Instead, as soon as she stood in front of the mirror and gazed at her reflection, she liked what she saw. The blouse and skirt blended together perfectly, as if she’d purchased them as a set. And the boots gave the outfit just the right amount of sassy country flair. It made her feel like a woman, instead of a faceless doctor.
“You’re pretty good at this fashion stuff,” Cori told her daughter.
Hailey shrugged, deadpan. “Just one of my many talents.”
Then she giggled again and Cori couldn’t help but giggle with her.
“How did you know these colors would work?” Cori asked as she twisted to see the back of her outfit in the mirror.
“Mom, I know fashion. I read about it all the time. Why do you think I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up?”
“You do?” As soon as Cori said it she wanted to take it back. How could she not know what her own daughter’s aspirations were?
She went over to Hailey and sat on the bed next to her, stroking her silken hair, feeling sick over the fact that her daughter had probably told her about these fashion plans, but Cori had been too distracted by fatigue from her long hours in the ER to focus.
“I’m sorry. I should have known that already. Can you forgive me?”
“Oh, Momma. You couldn’t have known, ’cause I never told you before this very minute. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Susan’s mom helped me find some schools.” Hailey sat up, crossed her legs and brought up some pictures on her tablet. “She said the easiest school for me to get into would be Parsons back in New York.” She turned the computer toward her mom, then ran a finger over the screen to bring up the next picture. “But London has a lot of fashion programs and that’s where Stella McCartney studied, and I love Stella’s clothes. Then there’s a school in Paris that I can’t pronounce, but if I went there, they only speak French, so that’s a problem. I haven’t made up my mind for sure yet, but doesn’t it sound like fun?”
Cori leaned back on the bed, exhausted by just listening to Hailey. “But you’re not even ten years old.”
“You told me you were eight when you decided you wanted to be a doctor just like Grandpa. I’m already nine!”
Cori reached over to stroke her daughter’s hair. “Sweetheart, I want you to have some fun. To play. To be a kid. To have a pet other than a goldfish.”
“I’d like a dog. A great big dog that loves everybody.”
“Me, too. That’s why we’re here with Grammy. I didn’t get to have a lot of fun once I decided what I wanted to be. Most of my free time was filled with extra classes and summer school. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but what I am saying is you have time to make those decisions. You don’t have to make them now. Give yourself a few more years to decide. Who knows, you may want to be a cowgirl and take up barrel racing or mounted shooting when you grow up.”
“Can I go to school for those things in New York City?”
Cori smiled. “I don’t think so. You’d have to learn those sports on a working ranch.”
“Like the one we were on today?”
“Just like the one we were on today.”
Hailey thought for a moment. “Is that why Gage rides so well? Does he live on a ranch?”
“He used to visit his grandpa’s ranch when he was your age. I think his grandpa taught him how to ride.”
“Do you think Gage or his grandpa would teach me how to ride like that if I asked them?”
A sudden vision swept across Cori’s mind of Gage teaching Hailey how to ride, of the three of them riding under a vast blue sky surrounded by lush mountains. “I doubt we’ll have enough time in Durango for him to teach you. But I can teach you once we’re back at Grammy’s. I’m sure there’s a ranch somewhere near her house.”
Hailey rolled over on her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Now I don’t know what I want to be. I thought I had it all figured out, just like Susan. She knows she wants to be a lawyer exactly like her parents. They even picked out her school. How can I tell her I don’t know if I want to be a cowgirl or a fashion designer? She won’t want to be my best friend anymore.”
Cori sat up. “Would it matter to you if Susan changed her mind and didn’t want to go to law school?”
Hailey shook her head. “Not the tiniest bit.”
“Then why do you think Susan will feel any different about what you want to do?”
Hailey thought about it for a moment. “Momma, you’re the smartest person in the whole world.”
And she gave her mom a great big hug. “The whole world’s a pretty big place. How about if I’m the smartest person in this hotel room? And even then, I think you might be smarter.”
“Nope. Grammy’s the smartest ’cause she told me to tell you to wear your red blouse and purple skirt. She said Gage would like it.”
“What? So it wasn’t because you want to be a fashion designer?”
“Sure I do. Maybe. If I can’t be a cowgirl, but the clock says four-forty-five. Aren’t we supposed to meet Gage in the lobby now?”
Cori glanced at her watch and sure enough they were running late.
“We sure are. Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready for the past hour.”
“Well, then, let’s go.”
Within minutes they were walking out of their room toward the staircase at the end of the short hallway. All Cori could think about as they hurried down the stairs was that vision of the three of them on horseback. She knew that could never happen in a million years. Still, the vision remained as she popped another antacid to help with the constant flutter in her stomach.
* * *
“I DON’T REALLY take kindly to your having a date with Doctor Parker, but seeing as how it’s only payback for some good riding this morning, I’m gonna let it slide...this time.” Buck stood in th
e small bathroom in front of the vanity mirror and combed his wispy hair to one side with what had to be a horsetail brush. Gage remembered those fat brushes from his many visits to the ranch. He had memories of his grandfather brushing his lush brown hair with that very brush, only now Gramps’ hair had turned white and was about as lush as a maple tree in winter.
“Thanks, but this feud you and Cori’s grandmother have needs to be resolved.”
Gage had walked over to his grandfather’s room wanting to get to the bottom of the argument between May and Buck, but so far Buck hadn’t been very cooperative.
“Ain’t never going to happen, son.” He slapped on a few drops of Old Spice aftershave and the scent brought back so many memories Gage had a hard time keeping them organized. The best one happened to be the night Buck was getting ready for his thirty-fifth wedding anniversary dinner with his beloved wife, Rose. The whole family would be attending, along with several neighbors. Grandma Rose had wanted the party at a restaurant in town so she wouldn’t end up having to cook or clean up afterward. It took some doing, but Grandpa Buck finally gave in and the entire party of fifty all met at Sammy’s Smokehouse on the outskirts of Briggs, Idaho. It was the first time Gramps had allowed Gage to wear some of his aftershave, and he remembered how grownup it had made him feel.
He was twelve at the time.
“Can I wear a little of that, Gramps?”
His grandfather stared at Gage through the mirror. “I thought men like you only wore that fancy stuff that costs more than my boots?”
“Not tonight.” Gage held out his hand for the familiar cream-colored bottle.
Buck spun around, and handed him the bottle. “Go easy. This stuff can have a powerful effect on a woman.”
Gage chuckled, taking the bottle from his grandfather. “How so?”
“The first time I wore that there aftershave, I met your grandmother at the train station in Boise. I was getting off the train and she was getting on. We should’a passed each other right on by, but this here scent caught her attention.”
