“He was a guest at your cousin’s dude ranch.”
“Wow. I’m surprised she still works there after all these years. She always wanted to own her own ranch. I guess I figured she would by now.”
“That’s what makes it even worse.” Ally swabbed under her eyes with her thumb. Probably looked like a raccoon, but seeing her younger cousin so shattered put an ache in her soul. “She and her fiancé planned to buy a bed-and-breakfast in Denton.”
“I’m getting madder by the mile.”
“It just proves we’re not missing out on a thing by staying single.” She gripped the steering wheel tighter, turning her knuckles white, wishing it were her cousin’s ex’s neck.
“That’s a blanket statement. I’ve never heard of this happening in real life before.”
“No. But if the wedding actually happens, so many couples end up divorced. And if they stay married, one up and dies.”
“Not always.” He placed his hand on hers, gave a squeeze. “Both my folks are still kicking. There are several young couples I know who are still going strong. Widows who remarried like Raquel. Even your mom finally seems to be moving on. And lots of folks are still married into their golden years.”
“But the uncertainty of it makes it not worth bothering with.”
“You really believe that?”
“More and more every day.” Especially when Cody compromised her determination for independence. Time to change the subject. “You and Garrett seemed deep in conversation before we left.” She pulled into his drive, parked and faced him.
“I got a job.” Enthusiasm sparkled in his eyes.
Something she hadn’t seen since he’d been home. “What kind of job?”
“An instructor at Garrett’s new bull-riding school.”
“What?” A vein in her neck throbbed. “How could you do something so stupid! You’re barely walking, you can’t drive, it’s a wonder you’re alive, and you’re going right back in the arena.”
“I’m—”
“I can’t believe you.” She jerked the door open and climbed down.
Gravel scattered as Cody scrambled to catch up with her as she stalked toward her house. “Ally, I—”
“That you’d torment your family all over again.” She wheeled around toward him. “That you’d put me through worrying about you. You barely survived your last bull wreck. Why do you always have to push the limits?”
“You’re concerned about me?” A cocky smile settled into place.
And her arteries went hot lava. “Of course I am, you idiot. Why wouldn’t I be when you insist on cavorting around on the backs of mammoth beasts who’d just as soon kill you as look at you?” She spun away from him and started for her porch.
“Ally, wait.” His hand caught her wrist.
“What?” She stopped, rather than dragging him along limp and all, but kept her back to him, terrified the tears forming in her eyes might spill. She’d expected Cody to go back to the rodeo. But she’d never thought about how much his riding again would petrify her.
“I won’t be riding.”
The dread in her chest eased up. “How can you teach bull riding and not ride?”
“I’ll review videos of professional riders with students and explain technique. I’ll give advice while they practice on a stationary bull and then graduate to real bulls. But my feet stay outside the arena the entire time.”
Relief sucked her lungs empty. She blinked several times and turned around. “Oh. Guess I overreacted.”
His smile widened. As if he was onto her.
Had she revealed her feelings?
“It’s almost time for evening church.” She hurried the rest of the way to her door.
Even if she’d let her feelings show, he wasn’t interested.
Even if he were, she had to get a handle on this. She could never take the chance of someone leaving her at the altar. Or cheating on her. Or dying on her. She couldn’t allow herself to need Cody. Or anybody else.
Chapter Eight
Barren hay fields surrounded the house and barn. Ally moved her stethoscope over the creamy horse’s chest.
A typical Monday. Lots of sick pets. Nothing serious. No loose animals. No strays. No surprise inspections. Finishing up with a house call. All in all, a good day.
“Have you seen poor Landry since the almost wedding?” Raquel’s sympathetic tone interrupted the steady whump whump, whump whump of the horse’s heart.
“No. I called to check on her, but my aunt said she didn’t feel like talking.”
“Poor girl. Hunter’s dad and I stayed at the dude ranch years ago and I’ve gotten reacquainted with her since moving to Aubrey.”
“Landry has lots of people to love her through this.” Ally removed her stethoscope and stroked the mare’s velvety neck. “This one’s strong and healthy as a horse.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Raquel blew out a sigh. “Why couldn’t Slade have gotten Hunter a pony for his birthday? I mean, every kid wants a pony. Not a full-grown—way-too-tall—horse.”
“You can’t tell me—” Ally pointed to the weathered gray barn behind Raquel’s house “—you don’t realize that barn and pasture are crying out for a horse. This is Aubrey, Texas. I’m surprised it’s even legal to live here and not own a horse.”
“But Hunter’s only eight.”
Ally’s humor fell flat in the face of a mother’s anxieties.
“She’s a nice horse.” Ally checked the palomino’s teeth. “Gentle and she doesn’t spook. She barely even flinched when I vaccinated her.”
“She’s just so big.” Raquel shivered. “It’s a long way to the ground from up there.”
“Hunter will be fine. Has he ever ridden before?”
“Not alone.”
“One of my clients gives riding lessons. I’m sure she could teach Hunter. And maybe you, too.” Ally patted the horse’s shoulder. “Maybe if you learn to ride, you’ll feel better about Hunter riding.”
“I already made arrangements for lessons. Wait—how did you know I don’t ride?”
“Um...you cringe every time the mare moves.”
“Okay, I admit it—I’m afraid of horses.” Raquel covered her face with both hands. “And I live in Horse Country, USA. Is there a support group for that?”
“Admitting it is the first step.” Ally laughed.
“Thanks for coming over here.”
“No problem. When the horse is five minutes away, it just doesn’t make sense for y’all to load her in a trailer and bring her over to my place.”
“I’m surprised you have time for house calls.” Raquel handed her a check. “Are you still doing the hospital and rehab visits with the dogs?”
“I am.” Ally stroked the horse’s silken muzzle. “Thanks for coming up with that. I’ve adopted a dozen or so dogs out and the patients love the visits.”
“Now that we’ve settled into newlywed bliss, I’ll volunteer to help again soon.”
“That would be great. I’ve gotten a few volunteers signed up, but the more, the better.”
“I noticed you and Cody attended the wedding that wasn’t. Together.”
“We didn’t plan to. It just worked out that way.”
“He told me about the second break-in.” The horse swatted its tail and Raquel flinched. “Don’t worry—I won’t say a word. But have you ever thought of dating Cody?”
Ally’s breathing stuttered. “I’ve known him forever. Back in high school, he was the brother I never had.”
“Back in high school.” Raquel’s brows lifted. “But what about now?”
“We’re friends. Neighbors. That’s all.” Ally put her supplies back in her bag.
A truck pulled into the drive at the front
of the house.
“Here’s Hunter and Slade. They went to buy a saddle.” Raquel shook her head. “Who buys a horse when they don’t even own a saddle?” But when her smile landed on Slade, Ally could see that all her frustration over the horse melted away.
“Tell them I said hey.” Ally waved to the man and boy and headed for her truck. To go home. Alone.
She placed her supplies back in the mobile clinic in her truck bed, then climbed in the cab. The engine purred to life and she backed out of the barn lot onto the highway.
No, she wasn’t alone. She had a plethora of stray dogs and cats to keep her company, plus a few furry friends of her own. Though now that Mom’s relationship with Lance was out in the open, Mom hadn’t been home as much. She was losing the one person she could talk to at home.
Truth be told, she’d been lonely for years. Even living with Mom. But it was even worse with Lance in Mom’s picture. Nothing was the same. Ally liked Lance. He was a nice man, a conscientious vet, and he treated her mother well. But he wasn’t Dad.
And Raquel’s happiness put an ache in Ally’s heart. A longing for her own romance. Her own forever after with Cody.
Her road appeared. Almost home and she didn’t even remember the drive there.
Stop thinking about him that way. He was already obviously bored playing ranch. How long before he got bored teaching bull riding? It was only a matter of time before he’d be raring to get back on the road. She needed to remind herself often of Landry’s attempt at happily-ever-after.
Her phone rang as she exited her truck. She dug it out of her pocket. “Hello?”
Silence. The uncomfortable sensation of someone watching her. She scanned her property.
“Hey.” Cody on his side of the fence, holding his phone up. “It was me calling, but I saw you pull up, so I figured we’d talk in person.”
“About?” She tried for a casual tone. Didn’t quite pull it off.
“If we’re gonna build a float, we need to git ’er done. It’s almost the middle of September already, less than three weeks away from the parade. I’ve been researching and figured out the design. Feel like coming over to talk about it?”
How could she not think about Cody if he kept popping up with one idea or another? And now they were going to work on a float together? But her participation in the parade would help her animals.
“Sure. Let me get cleaned up a bit and I’ll be right over.”
How could she say no? She’d just have to pull up her big-girl boots, concentrate on her strays—not Cody—and get the job done.
* * *
Cardboard and two-by-fours surrounded Cody on the hay-strewn floor of his barn. He’d almost tripped once already. Had he bitten off more than he could chew? No. Not for Ally. He’d do anything for her. He’d even told her so. She’d figure him out—his iffy health and how he felt about her—if he didn’t keep his guard up better.
Not in all his almost thirty years had he ever built a float. But he’d found help on the internet and managed to cut the cardboard into a pretty convincing ark shape. All he had to do was build a frame, staple the cardboard to it, and work out where to cut windows and how to stack the kennels without endangering any animals. That was where Ally would come in.
“Wow. I thought we were just going to talk about it.” Ally. Behind him.
He turned to face her. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
“How did you come up with all this?”
“YouTube.”
“I’m impressed.” She held the frame for him as he used his nail gun. “Where did you get such huge sheets of cardboard?”
“There’s a manufacturer in Fort Worth. One of my hands was going there anyway for ranch supplies.”
“How much do I owe you?”
“Consider it my contribution to your shelter. All I require in return is some work and sweat. I need your brainpower on where to put the windows and how to stabilize the cages in place.” He finished securing the cardboard and she stepped away.
Hands on hips, she strolled around the supplies a few times, then tapped her chin with a forefinger. “We can put the smaller animals higher up. Maybe stack hay bales for support and build a shelf between the beams where the cages will sit.”
“I knew you’d figure it out.” He started the next side of the frame and again she held it for him.
“Did I tell you about my big event this Saturday?”
“I saw a flyer on the bulletin board at church. Something about people getting pictures with their pets and a concert featuring Aubrey’s own Garrett Steele and Brant McConnell.”
“Kendra came up with it months ago.” She waited while he sank three more nails. “When Garrett and Brant heard about it, they offered to do the concert and donate all profits to my shelter. And when Kendra picked up Charcoal last week, she decided not to charge me for her photography services.”
“She must have been happy to get her cat back.”
“She was. I can’t believe he wandered this far.”
“There’s no telling where tomcats wander.”
“Yeah, but he’s neutered. Usually that tames them a bit and they stick closer to home. He’s never wandered so far before.” She frowned. “I’m just glad he ended up here. Her kids were really happy to get him back.”
“Sounds like a great opportunity. Getting all those people here will advertise the shelter and maybe drum up adoptions.” He drove the final nail into the frame.
“I’m just standing here rattling, while you work. What can I do?”
“No, you weren’t. You were helping me hold the frame.” He pointed to a bale of hay. “There’s a pack of black Magic Markers over there. The float I saw on the net had lines drawn across the cardboard so it looked like slats of wood. Maybe you could make it look like there’s wood grain.”
“I’ll try.” She grabbed the markers and an uncut piece of cardboard to use as a guide and got busy. But after a few lines, she set down the marker. “I’ve got a better idea. Let me run to the house and see if I can find some wood-grain contact paper.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s adhesive shelf liner. Comes in a long roll.”
“Who knew?”
“Apparently not bachelors. I donated it for our church’s Vacation Bible School last summer and had several rolls left over.” She hurried out of the barn, taking her scent with her. “I’ll be right back,” she called.
An emptiness filled his chest as she disappeared. As if he missed her. And she’d be gone only a few minutes or so.
He was getting way too used to having her around. If only he could tell her how he felt. If only he could plan a future with her. If only he had a future to plan.
Should he have the surgery? Risk ending up in a vegetative state? Or keep living so carefully he wasn’t really living?
* * *
The sweet hay smell permeated the air. Why were barns so peaceful? Peaceful except when Cody was around, anyway.
“Stop,” Ally shouted as a huge wrinkle formed.
“What?” Cody stopped unrolling.
“We’ve got a wrinkle and it’s getting crooked. Just stay put while I fix it.” She gritted her teeth as she carefully pulled the paper loose, tugged on each side of the crease until it disappeared, then pressed the paper onto the cardboard again. “Don’t take any more backing off until I get this part stuck good.” On hands and knees, she crawled around smoothing the paper in place.
“It looks a whole lot better than the one I found on the net.” Cody slowly began pulling the back off again as she neared him until they reached the edge of the cardboard. “Now what?”
“Does it look straight?” She stood and surveyed the side of the ark they’d just completed.
“I think so.”
&nbs
p; “I’ll make sure it’s all stuck good with no wrinkles and you can trim around the edges. Just leave a couple of inches to fold over so it’ll stay securely in place.” Back on her knees, she crawled the length of the cardboard until spicy aftershave filled her space. She looked up—right into Cody’s aloe-colored eyes. Soothing just like the plant, and for the life of her, she couldn’t tug her gaze away.
“Am I leaving enough, you think?” The smell of coffee on his breath sent a shiver over her.
Oh, to get a coffee-flavored kiss from Cody.
“The edge. Am I leaving enough?”
Unwillingly, she looked down at his hands. “Yeah, looks good.” But not as good as he did.
She crawled in the other direction. They still had to cut the windows in the contact paper, then line a whole other half of an ark, then attach the cardboard to the frame and stack tons of hay in the trailer. And on their first night of working together, he was already way too hard to resist.
Twelve years and he tempted her heart just as much as he had back then. She needed to put it in high gear, get this float done, stop spending time with Cody and pray for him to move it along. Out of her life again.
“Hey, Ally.” Lance stepped in the doorway. “I’m heading out.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Could I talk to you a minute?”
“Sure.” She stood, brushed off the knees of her jeans. “Did the last patient visit go okay?”
“Fine.”
So if it wasn’t about the clinic, did he want to talk about Mom? The conversation she’d dreaded since seeing them together at Moms on Main. Which was worse—being alone with Cody or discussing her mom with Lance? A toss-up. Straightening her shoulders, she stepped outside.
“I think we need to talk about your mom and me.”
The thwack of the staple gun started up in the barn.
“I don’t want to have this conversation.” Ally leaned against the wall for support.
“We’ve always worked together really well, but lately you’ve been stiff, conversation stilted. Seems like it all happened about the time you caught us on our date.”
Reuniting with the Cowboy Page 9
