by Kat Brookes
Just like she had done with her mother, Tucker thought regretfully. If he had known that, he absolutely wouldn’t have suggested it. The last thing he wanted to do was stir up painful memories for his daughter. But how was he to avoid it? He had no idea what kind of memories she had since he’d never been a part of them.
Tucker had just opened his mouth to tell his daughter that she didn’t have to go with him to the barn when she surprised him by saying, “I like to feed them apples.”
His heavy heart lightened at her words. Blue hadn’t written horses out of her life completely. There was, much to his relief, a glimmer of hope that his daughter might yet come around. “They love being fed apples,” he told her, a smile stretching wide across his face. “In fact, I think I have a small bucket of apples out in the barn. If you like, you can give them each a couple of slices before they eat their breakfast.” His gaze shifted to Autumn. “And it would be a pleasure to show you ladies around the barn afterward. Not that there’s much to see.”
Blue giggled as she sidled up against her aunt who was still seated at the table. “I’m not a lady.”
Tucker raised a brow, fighting to hide his amusement. “You’re not?”
Her head of springy curls shook from side to side. “No.”
He sat back in his chair and pretended to study her. “Well, I know you’re not a cat. You don’t have any whiskers.”
She giggled harder and then swiveled her flannel-nightgown-covered backside around in demonstration. “No tail, either.”
“True,” Autumn joined in. “Not even the tiniest little bobtail that I can see.”
“A peacock?” he teased.
“Nope,” his daughter said with a determined shake of her head. “No feathers.”
He sighed as if in exasperation. “Then I give up. What are you?”
She smiled up at him. “Your little girl.”
She’d said it with such pride and happiness, Tucker felt an unexpected rush of what had to be love fill him. Clearing his throat to push away the knot of emotion that had gathered there, he said, “That you are.”
“If we’re gonna go out to the barn with your daddy, then you need to go get dressed,” Autumn told Blue. “We can eat breakfast when we get back.”
“Okay!” Skipping excitedly, his daughter bounced out of the room.
“You need to dress warm!” Autumn hollered after her as Blue scampered away. Then she looked to Tucker. “I will go offer my assistance, but Blue’s taken a mind to dress herself these days.” She stood to leave.
Tucker sprang to his feet, as well.
Autumn laughed softly. “You don’t have to do that you know.”
“Do what?”
“Stand every time I enter or leave a room.”
“Can’t help it,” he said. “It’s how my mother raised us. When a lady enters the room, you stand. Same goes when she takes her leave.” He reached for his cowboy hat, placing it atop his head.
“If only all mommas could install such manners in their sons,” she said with a smile as she walked away.
“I’ll wait for you and Blue out on the porch,” he called after her. He needed to call Jackson and let him know he was going to be a little late getting to the main barn that morning. And for a very good reason. Blue was going to give his horses a chance. If only he could get Autumn to let down her walls and give him a chance. And he wasn’t so sure he meant that solely in regard to his daughter.
* * *
Autumn handed Blue her jacket and then grabbed her own from the chair by the guest bed. “We’ll need these. Fall mornings can be quite chilly.” Unlike the weather she’d grown up in down in Texas.
Her niece slipped her coat on and then waited while Autumn bent to zip her snuggly inside it. “Can Bitty go with us?”
Her gaze drifted over to the tiny ball of speckled white fur perched atop the deep-set windowsill looking out. “I think she’s content to sit on the windowsill, soaking up the warming rays of the morning sun. You two can play together after we get back and have had our breakfast.”
Blue looked disappointed, but only for a moment before her attention was drawn elsewhere. “Can I take my doll?”
Autumn smiled. “If you want.”
Blue ran over to grab the well-loved rag doll from the bed. Then she turned back to Autumn. “We’re ready.”
“Your daddy is waiting for us outside,” Autumn told her as she opened the bedroom door and motioned for Blue to lead the way.
Tucker was standing in the front yard, talking on his phone when they stepped out onto the porch. He gave a wave as he hurried to finish his call. A second later, he shoved the cell phone into the front pocket of his jeans and started toward them. “All set?”
“All set,” Autumn told him, taking Blue’s hand in hers.
“I see you brought a friend,” Tucker said to Blue as they headed for the barn. His normally long strides were noticeably shortened, Autumn had to assume, for their benefit. Always considerate.
Blue appeared pleased that her daddy had noticed her prized possession. “Miss Molly,” she told him.
Tucker’s step faltered at his daughter’s pronouncement.
“She named her doll after something her momma used to say,” Autumn explained, sensing he may have already known that by his reaction.
“Good golly, Miss Molly,” Tucker muttered as if the saying caused him discomfort. And maybe it did. Her sister had hurt him. He had to be sensitive to things that brought back memories of his runaway wife.
“Did Momma say it to you, too?” Blue asked, looking up at him as they crossed the yard.
“Not to me in particular,” he answered. “It was something your mother would say when she was frustrated or surprised over something.”
A nearby whinny had Blue’s head snapping in that direction. As soon as she saw the two horses watching them from beyond the fence, she sidled closer to Autumn, clutching the floppy rag doll to her chest.
Tucker, whose green-eyed gaze was fixed on the pair of horses, was grinning from ear to ear. “Will you look at that?” he said. “They’re excited to see you.”
Blue eyed them cautiously. “They are?”
He looked down, no doubt seeing the fear on his daughter’s face, and his smile deflated like a party balloon that hadn’t been knotted well.
“Maybe Molly can help you feed apples to the horses,” Autumn suggested, smiling reassuringly when Tucker’s grateful gaze lifted to meet hers.
“Does she have to ride them?” Blue replied, biting at her bottom lip.
“Not if she doesn’t want to,” he said. “To be honest, I’m not sure I’d have a saddle small enough for her to sit on.”
“Can she ride with you?” her niece asked as she released her hold on Autumn’s hand to reach for Tucker’s.
He was winning her niece over, Autumn thought sadly. And she was helping him to succeed. How foolish was she?
“With me?” Tucker replied, his brows lifting in unison as he looked down at his daughter.
Blue nodded. “In case she’s scared.”
“And that would make her feel safe?” Tucker queried as he studied his little girl.
Her niece whispered something in her baby doll’s ear and then looked up at her daddy once more. “She says it would. ’Cause you’re big and strong and wouldn’t let her fall.”
Was Blue still talking about her doll? Or was this conversation more about her niece’s wants and fears? Autumn prayed it was the latter. Her niece used to beg her momma to take her for rides on her horse. It was said that time healed all wounds. Maybe, just maybe, this was the case for Blue.
“If it would make her feel safer,” Tucker began, “then I would be more than happy to let Miss Molly ride with me anytime she wants to.”
Blue brought the rag doll up to her face once more and the
n lowered her again. “She says she wants to feed them apples first.”
He chuckled. “Miss Molly certainly knows her mind. Why don’t you run on into the barn and grab a couple of big fat juicy apples from the bucket sitting just inside the door?”
She hesitated, her gaze fixed on the nearby barn where the wide red door stood partially open.
“There aren’t any horses inside,” Tucker hurried to assure her. Reaching out, he ran a hand down the nose of the horse closest to him. “I only keep these two here at my ranch. The rest of the horses live at the main ranch where the chickens live.”
“Where we collected eggs that day,” Autumn reminded her, not that it was necessary. Blue’s memory was as sharp as a tack.
“Okay,” her niece said, her anxiety about venturing into the barn apparently put to rest by her daddy’s reassurance. Blue took off in a happy skip across the yard, her doll flopping around at her side as she went.
Autumn stepped up beside him, watching her niece make her way to the barn to fetch the apples. “I never thought I’d hear her asking to ride a horse again, or see her entering a barn for that matter.”
Taking his gaze off Blue, he glanced down. “Blue didn’t ask to ride.”
Autumn looked up at him in confusion. That was certainly what she’d gotten from the conversation.
“Miss Molly did,” he said with a warm chuckle.
Laughter escaped her lips. “I suppose she did. And what a visual that brings to mind. A big, strong cowboy riding around on his horse with a tiny, well-loved rag doll held securely in the saddle in front of him.”
He shot her a playful grin. “You forgot handsome.”
“I figure that goes without saying,” she told him, her words promptly followed by a warmth spreading through her cheeks. She wasn’t supposed to notice things like that, even if he had prompted it.
Thankfully, Tucker let the comment go, carrying on as if she hadn’t just admitted she thought him handsome. “If it comes down to my having to give Miss Molly a ride, my brothers aren’t to hear one word about my doing so.”
She couldn’t resist. “And if they happen to catch wind of it?”
“They’d never let me live it down. Not to mention the hit my rough and tough cowboy reputation would take.”
She appreciated the way he turned things around, joking about his own embarrassment to save her from her own discomfort. “No need to worry,” she said with a smile. “Your secrets are safe with me.”
Those green eyes studied her for a long moment before Tucker replied, the teasing leaving his tone, “As are yours with me.”
Blue came racing out from the barn with an apple in one hand and her doll in the other. She handed Tucker the apple. “This is for the brown horse.”
“That’s Hoss,” he told her.
“What’s the other horse’s name?”
He glanced toward the pen. “That handsome fellow would be Little Joe.”
“I’ll be back.” She took off for the barn again.
“Where are you going?” Autumn called after her.
“Molly and me gotta go get an apple for Little Joe, too,” Blue hollered back over her shoulder as she raced away.
“Yes, we mustn’t forget Little Joe,” Autumn said, looking to Tucker with a grin. “You wouldn’t happen to be a fan of old Westerns, would you?”
“You know Bonanza?” he said in surprise.
“You sound surprised.”
“I might have expected Summer to have known where my horses’ names came from, but not you.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “And why ever not?”
He looked her over. “Well, because you aren’t exactly the type I picture watching old cowboy shows.”
“I’ll have you know I’ve watched several seasons of Bonanza. All reruns, of course, but I’m very familiar with the Cartwrights,” she told him, chin lifted high.
“I’m impressed.”
“Summer had a thing for Little Joe,” she admitted. “Myself, I was more partial to Daniel Boone.”
“Daniel Boone?”
“Gotta love a man confident enough to walk around in a coonskin hat,” she said, making him chuckle.
“I have to confess that out of all the tips my brothers gave me over the years on ways to stir a woman’s interest, a coonskin hat was not among them.”
“Here we go!” Blue exclaimed as she hurried back with the remaining apple, handing it to her daddy.
“Hoss and Little Joe will be so grateful to you for these apples,” Autumn told her as she lifted her niece, placing her atop her hip.
“But God made them,” Blue said as she held her doll to her.
“Yes, He did, and I am quite sure your daddy’s horses are very grateful to the Lord as well for this sweet feast they are about to receive,” Autumn told her as Tucker pulled out his pocketknife and cut into one of the apples. “But you’re the one who’s bringing these gifts from God to Hoss and Little Joe. I think they’ll be mighty grateful to you, as well.”
“Your aunt Autumn is right,” Tucker said. “Feed them apples and they will love you forever.”
“But I’m not gonna feed them,” Blue said, her gaze shifting to the horses. “Molly is.”
He seemed a bit taken back by the confusion, but recovered quickly. “I think Miss Molly might need a little help holding the apple slices,” he told her. “They practically weigh more than she does.”
Blue dropped her gaze to the ground, biting into her lower lip.
“Sweetie,” Autumn said, “if you decide not to feed your daddy’s horses the apples, you and Molly can watch while I feed them.” Blue had already taken a huge step by even considering just getting close to the awaiting quarter horses, let alone possibly hand-feeding them.
Her niece’s green eyes lifted as she looked sheepishly to Tucker.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You can do it another time if you aren’t feeling up to it today.”
Blue seemed torn by indecision, looking from her daddy to the horses and back. Then she said something to her doll before saying to Autumn, “You and daddy can feed them. Molly and me will watch.”
“I’m guessing your aunt would probably prefer to stand with you and Molly and watch while I feed Hoss and Little Joe some apple slices.”
“Your guess would be wrong.” She could tell Tucker was surprised by her words and decided to let him in on a little secret. “I might look the business professional type most of the time, but I did grow up in Texas with a sister who lived and breathed horses.”
“Momma breathed horses?”
Autumn laughed. “No, sweetie. It’s a saying that means she loved everything about them.”
“Oh,” she said.
She returned her attention to Tucker. “I sometimes helped Summer care for her horse when we were in high school, feeding, watering and grooming him, depending on our work schedules. You might even be shocked to learn that I have even ridden a horse before.”
Tucker chuckled, shaking his head. “You are just chock-full of surprises, Miss Myers.”
“Just goes to prove you can’t always judge a book by its cover,” she said with a sly smile. “Shall we go feed those poor horses before they whinny themselves hoarse trying to get our attention?”
“Good idea,” he said, walking alongside her to the pen. “I apologize for the assumption I made.”
“Apology accepted,” she said softly. “And it’s understandable. While most identical twins tend to share the same likes and dislikes, my sister and I were two very different people.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he commented. “God might have created the two of you as mirror images of one another, but He also chose to give you each your own special individuality.” He glanced her way. “You are who you were meant to be.”<
br />
She had spent so many years growing up dealing with comments that made her feel like she and Summer had somehow failed God by not being alike in every sense. Maybe the separate paths they had taken in life had been gently guided by the hand of God.
“Watch your step,” Tucker warned, drawing Autumn from her thoughts. “The ground’s a little uneven around here. Don’t need you two taking a tumble.”
Heeding his warning, Autumn trod carefully, Blue balanced securely on her hip. When they reached the fence, she lowered her niece to her feet just far enough away from the fence so that the horses couldn’t reach her with their investigative sniffs unless Blue was ready for them to.
“Boys,” Tucker said, “I’ve brought these pretty ladies...” He paused, his gaze sliding over to Autumn and Blue before amending his words. “Make that one pretty lady and my beautiful baby girl to see you. I’m expecting you both to be on your best behavior around them.”
The horses nickered in response.
Tucker nodded. “Why, yes, they do have a special treat for you.”
“We do!” Blue exclaimed, stepping closer. “We brought you apples!”
Tucker looked as pleased as punch with his daughter’s sudden change of heart where his horses were concerned. He held up one of the apple slices. “You probably already know that it’s best to feed horses smaller pieces of apple to avoid their choking on them. Hoss and Little Joe don’t always mind their manners as best they should and would most likely try to swallow their apples whole if given the chance.”
Autumn watched as Tucker held out his hand, offering the bit of apple to the larger of the two horses, a beautiful sorrel-colored gelding.
“Here you go, Hoss,” he said in a soothing tone as the horse sniffed at the apple, finally helping himself to the crunchy slice.
Little Joe whinnied, attempting to nudge his way in past Hoss.
Tucker chuckled. “Okay, okay, you get one, too.”
“Can I feed him?” Blue said unexpectedly, drawing everyone’s attention her way.
Face beaming, Tucker said, “Sure you can. Step on over here beside me.”
Blue edged her way over to him, her nervous gaze fixed on the two horses.
