The Dreamer and the Cowboy: A Contemporary Christian Romance NOVELLA (The Rancher's Daughters Series Book 2)

by Debra Ullrick

  Teagan couldn’t believe how much she opened up to this man. And yet there was something about him that made her feel like she could do that. Without judgment. Without criticism. Because for some odd reason, they shared a connection of some sort. Whatever that connection was, she couldn’t explain it even if she tried to.

  “From what I was privy to watch this morning, your dancing will be a blessing to many.”

  Knowing he understood, her gaze lifted to his once again. Moisture filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, and she did nothing to stop the tears. It was nice having someone who understood her need to dance. Her mom was the only other person in the world who ever did, and it was hard to carry the dream by herself.

  Kage removed his leather glove. Reaching across the cab of the truck, his fingertips tenderly spooned the moisture from her cheeks. “Must be tough.”

  Teagan fought the urge to clutch his hand and hold it there.

  To hold onto it securely.

  To reach inside the very depths of his soul and siphon his strength and confidence into herself.

  Their eyes met and the world ceased to exist.

  At least for her anyway. She nodded as more tears crumpled across her face.

  All of the turmoil in her soul melted away into the compassionate, understanding pool of his silver-green eyes.

  Outside her truck window, Chester whinnied, breaking the spell that had taken hold of them. She wanted to snatch back the moment, but it was gone the instant she blinked. Just like that, Kage’s hand left her cheek, and she suddenly felt shivery cold despite the warm temperature.

  Her chest rose and fell with discouragement and sadness as the lifeline to understanding her dream severed from between them. Time to get back to work. She wiped her eyes off on her shirt sleeve and inched her chin up a notch, pretending nothing had just happened. It was best that way. “Guess the boys are hungry. We’d better get them fed,” she said, forcing a perkiness into her voice that wasn’t anywhere in her being.

  “Oh, yeah? What gave you the first clue?” he asked with a smirk.

  She loved how he seemed to understand her need to not say anything about her emotional outbursts and to move on. It gave her the stamina she needed to do the same and to press forward.

  Chester whinnied again.

  Teagan hiked a thumb toward his pen. “Chester.”

  Kage’s brows disappeared under his hat. “Chester?”

  Teagan gave a slight shrug. “It seemed like a good name at the time. You know… chestnut horse. Chester.” She shook her head. “Never mind. Dude and Charcoal will join him if we don’t shift into high gear. And those two are even louder than Chester.” As if the horses had heard her, they all started whinnying.

  This time, his eyebrows completely disappeared under the brim of his cowboy hat. “You weren’t kidding, were you?”

  “Nope.” She grinned.

  ~*~ ♥ ~*~

  Later, when they finished all the morning chores, they headed to the main house for lunch.

  When they stepped inside the kitchen, Kage scanned the room for the rest of her family members, but the room was empty. “Where is everyone?” He looked over at Teagan who was leaning over, peering into the refrigerator, opening and closing the refrigerator drawers.

  “Maisy and Teddi were going to check on the cows on the forest lease, and Dad and Payton went over to help the Gentrys,” she answered as she continued rummaging through the fridge. “So it’s just you and me for lunch today. How does leftover bacon sandwiches sound? Or better yet, I can make us some BLT’s.”

  “Bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich sounds great.” He didn’t care what they ate as long as he got to spend more alone time with her. He really enjoyed her company. “What can I help with?”

  “You can set these over there on the breakfast bar.” Teagan nodded her head in the direction of the L shaped counter with six high back chairs placed in front of it. She pulled out a platter of leftover bacon and a head of lettuce and handed them to him.

  “What would you like to drink? Coke? Mountain Dew? Pepsi? 7-Up? Grape? Milk?” Holding the fridge door open, she looked over at him. “Or I could fix some tea if you’d like. Or coffee.”

  “Mountain Dew sounds good.”

  Teagan brought two cans of Dew and a jar of mayo and one of Miracle Whip over and set them on the counter. “Grab the potato chips out of the pantry and a couple of paper plates from out of the cupboard, will ya?”

  Kage did what she asked. By the time he got to the breakfast bar, she had the bread out and a tomato cored.

  Minutes later, they sat down on the bar stools.

  Teagan bowed her head, and Kage followed suit.

  It both surprised and pleased him when she reached for his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  When she finished praying, they fixed their sandwiches and piled potato chips on their plates.

  “So what’s up for this afternoon?” he asked, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite.

  “Dad wanted us to get a couple of horses and head on up to the south BLM lease to doctor a few calves.”

  “Great. I get to ride up the mountain then?”

  ~*~ ♥ ~*~

  The hope on Kage’s face brought a smile to Teagan’s heart. “Yep. We’ll saddle up and leave straight from the barn.” Teagan took a bite of her BLT. The crunchy bacon, juicy tomato, lettuce and mayo ravished her taste buds. When she finished chewing, she asked, “Don’t you have mountains in Amarillo?”

  “No. It’s pretty flat. We have hills, but no mountains. We don’t have trees like y’all have here either.”

  “There is definitely no shortage of trees here. Or wildlife.”

  “Wildlife? As in badgers? Coyotes? Raccoons?” He popped a chip into his mouth and rubbed the crumbs from off his fingers.

  “No.” Teagan chuckled. “As in mama bears and her cubs. Bobcats. Mountain lions. Moose. A lot of deer and elk too.”

  “Have you yourself come across any mountain lions and bobcats?”

  “Lots of times.”

  He looked around the area then back at her. “Do you carry a rifle with you?”

  “Only if I’m hunting.”

  “You hunt?”

  “Yep. I love it. But, I only hunt for food. Not for the sport. Dad’s a real stickler about that. He doesn’t think it’s right to hunt just to kill an animal for its rack. And I completely agree. I hunt mostly because we donate the meat to the senior center and to families who are needy.”

  “Is that the only time you hunt or shoot?” Kage picked up his Mountain Dew and took a drink, never taking his eyes off of her.

  She liked how interested he was in her activities. Unlike her father who never seemed to ask her anything about her life or her day. “No. Every year my sisters and I enter the shooting contests around here. We only shoot clay pigeons. But I won’t hesitate to shoot an animal if it’s a threat to either me or my horse or whoever I’m riding with.”

  “Are you a good aim?”

  “With clay pigeons. Uh, no. Animals. Yes.”

  “Why’s that?” He picked up his sandwich and took a bite. Miracle Whip clung to his lip until he licked it off.

  She liked the shape of his lips. They were nice and firm, yet soft looking.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe because one has a purpose and the other doesn’t. The one that doesn’t, I’m thinking about quitting. I really hate losing to my sister Payton all the time.”

  “She a better shot than you?”

  “She does everything better than me. Payton can shoot the wings off a mosquito from fifty yards away.”

  “Remind me never to mess with her or get on her bad side.” Kage laughed, and so did she. “I bet Payton can’t dance as well as you.”

  Teagan’s eyes drifted to his smiling face.

  She returned his smile, the one that had dropped into her heart when he mentioned her dancing. As the middle sister, she’d always been the one who
’d never done anything quite as well as Payton, or Cheyenne, or Teddi. They all went out of their way to please her dad, whereas Teagan was the rebel. And all because she wanted to dance and not ranch. Ranching was what she was born into. It wasn’t her choice.

  Dancing, however, was her choice.

  A choice that this kind man sitting next to her seemed to appreciate and understand. She liked that about him. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

  He laid his sandwich back onto his paper plate, and his eyes honed in on hers. “I meant every word of it, Teagan. I’ve never seen anyone dance like you before. You make it look effortless and yet I know it isn’t. That kind of talent is a gift from the Lord that is only perfected through lots of hard work, lots of practice, and extreme dedication. And from what I’ve seen, you definitely have a gift and you work hard to perfect it.”

  The full blown smile on her lips came from deep within, punching out like the sun through the clouds after a storm.

  They stared into each other’s eyes. A downy, feather pillow erupted inside her stomach giving her a case of the warm fuzzies. She liked this man. Enjoyed his company. If only she wasn’t leaving and he wasn’t so intent on being on a ranch in Colorado, she could really fall for him. But, her chest heaved, they were different, and she needed to keep reminding herself of that lest she fall and not be able to retrieve herself.

  She couldn’t bear anymore heartache. Her mother’s death was still much too raw. She gave him a small smile and turned back to her food; her mind plagued with thoughts of how different things could be if the “if onlys” weren’t such insurmountable problems.

  They finished their meal, chatting about the ranch and what all needed to be done. It was nice in a very not-that-kind-of-relationship kind of way.

  Chapter Four

  Outside, the midday sun was warm, but not nearly as warm as it would have been back home in Amarillo. Kage kind of liked the cooler temperature up on the mountains.

  They hopped inside Teagan’s truck and drove over to the corrals. Once there, they headed to the tack room. It impressed Kage at how big and clean and organized the room was. A mixture of horse sweat, leather, saddle soap, and grain filled the large room. All of the scents reminded him of home as so many things did even here.

  Teagan grabbed two halters from off the hooks and handed him one. “You can ride Duff. I think you’ll be able to handle him.”

  “That bad, huh?” he asked teasingly as he took the halter from her.

  “Well, let’s just say Duff can be a challenge.”

  The word challenge got his attention. He loved a good challenge.

  “But in a good way. Once he gets the hang of what we’re doing, he wants to take over. Sometimes it can be rather challenging because he doesn’t always get it right.” She grabbed a curry comb and brush, handed them to him, and then reached for another set.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, for instance, during calving season if we’re sorting pairs, once Duff knows that’s what we’re doing, he’ll just take over and start heading toward another pair. When he does that, you just sit tight in the saddle and hang on.”

  He already liked this horse, and he hadn’t even met him yet. “Kind of like a well-trained cutting horse.”

  “Yep. Duff will even get the calf up if it doesn’t get up on it’s own.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. He nudges them with his hoof or leg.” She bent her arm and shoved her hand out as if to demonstrate the movement for him. He found it rather endearing and rather cute. “Once he gets the calf up, then he herds the pair into the corrals or one of the other pastures, depending on wherever it is we’re sorting them into that day. Same with when we doctor. He thinks every calf needs doctoring, so he’ll go after the closest one. That’s where he can be a bit challenging…” She smiled up at him. “And stubborn.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll just have to be stubborn right back then, won’t I?” He grinned.

  “See, I knew you could handle him. Now we’d better get them saddled and get busy. We don’t want to be out there all day.” She headed out of the tack room and toward the corrals.

  “We don’t need a bucket of grain?”

  “Nope. We trained all the horses to come to us. We never chase them down, and we don’t get them with grain. Grain comes afterward.”

  It was nice knowing someone else trained their horse’s right. His neighbor chased his horses with an ATV four wheeler. That bugged Kage to no end. “Same here. I hate chasing horses down. When I need them, I expect them to come to me.”

  Teagan stepped up to the corral. Kage reached around her to get the gate and she laid her hand on his arm. “I know you’re being gentlemanly and all but you don’t have to out here. Here on the ranch there isn’t time for that. Besides my dad didn’t believe in coddling his girls. So, while I appreciate the gesture and all, I can get the gate. You can get the next one.” She smiled at him again. Only this smile had him wondering what he was getting himself into.

  Still… He removed his hand from hers and saluted her. “Got it.”

  They stepped inside the corral. Teagan put her fingers to her lips and whistled. Every horse’s head rose, and they all trotted toward them.

  “That big bay,” Teagan pointed toward a well-muscled quarter horse heading toward them. “That’s Duff.”

  “Sweet. Nice piece of horse flesh.”

  “Too bad dad had him cut. He threw some nice foals.”

  “Why did he geld him?”

  “Because he tore up more fences and himself trying to get to the mares. Dad didn’t have a choice. And now, he’s so docile, we keep wondering if he’s even the same horse.”

  “That’ll do that to a stud.”

  They placed the halters on their horses and headed to the barn. Once they had them brushed down and saddled, they led them back outside. They mounted their horses and headed up the road, riding through groves of aspen and pine trees until they reached a barb wire gate. The scents of the pines was amazing. Kage could definitely get used to this.

  “This gate’s yours,” Teagan said with a smirk on her face.

  “Oh, oh. That can’t be good.”

  Now that same smirk resembled the sneaky Mr. Grinch.

  Kage got off his horse and went to hand her his reins.

  “You can drop them. Duff won’t move.”

  He did and went to open the gate. Pulling the wire off the post proved to be more of a challenge than he thought. He used the pole with the wire and pulled the post back until he was able to flip the wire hook over the post. He glanced over at her, sitting on top of her horse, waiting. “Whoever tightened this thing did one doozy of a job,” he said, opening the gate.

  The smirk returned. “Now you know why I said you could get the next one.” She clicked her tongue twice and her horse moved forward and on through the open gate.

  His horse didn’t follow.

  Kage grabbed Duff’s reins and led him through the gate. Once through, he dropped the reins again, closed the gate and latched it with the same amount of effort that it took to open it. He was strong, but these gates were strung tighter than twine on a large square bale of hay.

  As they headed through the forest, Kage breathed in deep the sweet smell of earth, pine, aspen and fresh air. Sounds of leather creaking and horse’s hooves gliding across the ground was like whimsical music to his ears.

  Along the way, he ducked and dodged several branches that brushed against his shoulders and legs. Duff wove through the dense trees and brush as if it were the most natural thing in the world. To Duff it probably was. And obviously to Teagan as well. But not to him.

  Teagan. He looked ahead and watched as she led her horse through the dense trees.

  As if she sensed him watching her, she pivoted in her saddle, and looked back at him. “You coming?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Just enjoying the journey. This place is beautiful.”

  She shrugged, the same response he’d gotten be
fore when he’d mentioned how beautiful the place she lived was. “I suppose it is. I’ve lived here my whole life, so I don’t give the scenery too much thought.”

  “I think we all take for granted the surroundings of where we live and don’t take the time to enjoy God’s creation. I know I’m guilty of doing that. Amarillo has some nice country, but I never really thought about it because I saw it every day. It’s nothing like this though.” He glanced back down the mountain to the Baxter’s ranch below and to the large green hay meadows and rock cliffs.

  Teagan stopped her horse in a small clearing and remained twisted in her saddle until he rode up alongside her. She looked so natural on a horse. Especially in those slim fit blue jeans, tan leather chinks, pink camo cap, cowboy boots and spurs. “I’m sure you’re right, Kage. But honestly, my heart is just not in this place. Never really has been. I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong here. Like a swan in a desert, that’s what I always told my mom anyway.

  “At least when she was here it was bearable because we knew one day I wouldn’t be here. But now with her gone, I feel even more out of place than I did before.” With those words she shifted herself in the saddle and nudged her horse forward, leaving him to watch her back as she buried herself deeper into the forest, ducking and weaving through the tangle of trees and underbrush.

  If Kage was a betting man, which he wasn’t, he’d wager big that if they were back at the ranch right now, Teagan would head off to her studio and dance.

  Since she couldn’t, he wished there was something he could do to help her let go of whatever was holding her back from following her real dreams. The only thing was, he didn’t have a clue what that something would be. If it was grief, he knew each person grieved differently and in their own time. That was one of the things he’d learned firsthand about death and grief.

  When Kage’s brother-in-law Joel had passed away, his sister Kimberly had cried daily for him. Well-meaning people, and he still snorted at the nonsensical combination of words, told her it had been two years and that she needed to get over it and move on already.