He chuckled and rubbed his forehead. “How can I forget? My pride still stings from time to time.”
She couldn’t stop the smile stretching across her face. “And I hope you never forget it.”
She studied his teasing grin. For some reason, the polite man she talked with last night had disappeared, replaced with the Mr. Grayson she’d come to know. This man she could handle. “Mr. Grayson? Other than arguing with me and driving me to distraction, why are you really here?”
He arched an eyebrow. “I thought I asked you to call me Gage. We will soon be family, so I’d like you to call me by my first name.”
“Fine...Gage.” She nodded. “So why are you really here?”
He shrugged. “I just want to help.”
“Isn’t there some other place you need to be? Do you not have anything else to do right now, like get your cattle ranch going?”
“Well, the past week, I have been trying to build a house on my new land, but I thought today I’d spend it helping Marvin.” He motioned his hand toward her. “Or you.”
“Thank you, but as I mentioned before, I have things under control.”
“Why do you always refuse my help?”
“Because...well, because you and I don’t get along, and I would rather spend the day with someone I don’t argue with.”
“Ah, come now, Duchess.” He picked up a strap-brush and moseyed past her to Buck’s stall. “Don’t you think our conversations bring excitement into our hum-drum day?”
As she watched him stroke the brush through Buck’s mane, she tried really hard not to admire how well he looked in those work clothes today. So different from when she first met him back in Lewiston.
“Excitement, you say?” She strolled past toward him and leaned against the beam by the stall. “I know for a fact that our arguments upset your day as much as they upset mine.”
“True, but we are not in Lewiston any longer. Can’t we leave those two hard-headed people back there for a while?”
She caught herself gazing over his rugged features again, and she quickly blinked and pulled her thoughts back to their conversation. She wished she’d stop gawking at him as if he were a real man. “Do you honestly believe we can?”
“We can try.”
“So are you saying you want me to forget how badly you insulted me when we first met?”
He frowned. “I was only getting back at you for what you said to me.”
“True.” She sighed heavily. “I wasn’t very nice, either.”
He gave her a soft smile and her heart melted.
“Neither of us was nice,” he said.
She gazed at him a second longer, not believing how incredible his eyes were. So dreamy, and such a beautiful hazel color...
Adella stopped the inappropriateness of her thoughts. This was her cousin’s fiancé, for heaven’s sake—and she wasn’t supposed to like him.
Straightening her shoulders, she took the brush away from Gage and carried it back to the wooden shelf. “Gage, if you’d kindly leave, I have a lot of work to do.”
He pulled away from the wall and walked beside her. “Come on, Duchess.” He bumped his elbow into hers. “Let me help you, if just for today. I know how much work there is for you, and I want to help you exercise the horses.”
Riding Buck definitely sounded like a great idea, but could she possibly enjoy herself with Gage? She lifted her chin in decision. “Fine. You can saddle up Thunder, and I’ll take Buck.”
“Buck?” Gage glanced toward the horses. “That’s not Buck. He died a few months ago. This here is Buck’s offspring. The family calls him Junior.”
Although it hurt her knowing Buck had died, the strange name confused her. “Why Junior?”
Gage chuckled. “Because he looked so much like Buck, I suppose.”
She nodded. “All right, then I will ride Junior, and you can ride Thunder.”
Gage flashed an assured grin before she moved past him to the tack room and lifted a saddle. He followed behind and copied her actions. She couldn’t believe their conversation had turned sappy just a moment ago, and she promised herself not to fall in his trap again. Suddenly, an idea sprang to her mind that she just couldn’t dismiss.
“I have a suggestion,” she added as she flipped the saddle over Buck’s back. “Let’s not just exercise the horses, but have a race. I haven’t been racing for quite some time.”
“I don’t know, Adella. I would think being a schoolteacher would keep you out of the saddle for a while.”
She tilted her head and met his eyes. “It hasn’t been that long.”
His grin widened as he stepped closer to her. “Fine. We’ll have a race, but will you promise me something?”
Her heart leapt from his nearness. Flipping up the stirrup, she grabbed the cinch. “What?”
“That you won’t hate me when I win.”
She laughed aloud, propping her hands on her hips. “What makes you so all-fired sure you’re going to win?”
He shrugged. “I just think you’re a little rusty is all.”
She laced up the latigo, and commented over her shoulder, “Well, Mr. Grayson, you think entirely too much, in my opinion.”
“Oohh, so mean.” He saddled Thunder. “And I think you give your opinion entirely too much.”
She laughed again, but didn’t give him the satisfaction of replying. Once the saddle was in place, Adella took off the heavy leather apron before mounting. She urged her horse forward into a trot until she was out of the barn facing down the road toward the end of town. Within seconds, Gage was by her side.
“How far?” he asked.
“Until we reach Poppy’s meadow.”
“Agreed.”
Adella leaned over her horse’s shoulders, her body crouched low as she tightened her knees. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Gage copying her actions—to annoy her, she was certain. She couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear. Gage was right when he told her she’d been out of the saddle too long, but there was no way she’d forget how to ride a horse. To her, it was like getting dressed each day.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Count it down, Mr. Grayson.”
He shook his head. “You can back out any time, you know.”
“Count it down,” she repeated, “or I’ll do it for you.”
“On your mark,” he began. “Get set...”
“Go,” she shouted as she kicked her heels into Buck’s belly and the animal took off down the dirt path.
Gage’s laughter rang through the air behind her, but she concentrated on guiding her horse over the rutted road. There was no way she would let Gage see how out of practice she really was. But within minutes, she doubted her ability to prevail when Gage’s horse raced neck to neck with hers. The wound in her shoulder throbbed along with her head, and she silently cursed. Angrily she growled and crouched closer to the horse, trying to ignore the pain.
She pushed Junior to run faster, but it seemed as if Gage’s horse was just as fast. Her heart burned with the knowledge that she might have to tell him she’d been wrong about being out of practice. Impossible! She had to beat him to prove she was right. Losing was not an option.
Quickly mapping out the route to Poppy’s field in her head, she remembered a back road. The dirt path twisted sharply in a few spots, and there was a fence, and that way was quicker. It wouldn’t be cheating if she took that direction. Besides, they hadn’t made up any rules for this race, so maybe she should...
Adjusting the reins, she maneuvered the animal to the right up a side trail. She laughed when Gage remained on the original road. Now her goal was in sight. As she turned a corner, he cut through the trees and up the little hill toward her. From the seriousness on his expression, he meant to catch up. She grumbled under her breath.
Once again, the horses were neck and neck, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free. The road turned and she spotted the fence. If she jumped the obstacle, she�
��d come out ahead. Without a second thought, she pulled the reins sharply to the left and headed toward the fence.
The closer she came, the more confidence expanded in her chest. She’d show Mr. Self-assured Grayson once and for all, but within mere feet of the fence, Junior came to a dead stop. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to think about grabbing his mane. She flew through the air at an incredible speed and landed flat on her stomach, spread eagle in a huge mud puddle. Pain from her head and previous shoulder injury sliced through her body, but she ignored the throb and concentrated on trying to peel her face out of the sticky goo.
“Adella!” Gage’s shout was laced with panic as he rushed to her side, slushing through the mud. He knelt beside her, wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her. Mud dripped disgustingly from the front of her body as she wiped at her eyes. Gage used his handkerchief to gently remove the muck from her face. “Are you all right?”
If not for the great amount of embarrassment that filled her, she’d have laughed. She also realized this saved her from having to admit defeat for almost losing the race.
“I’m fine.” She spat mud out of her mouth. Blinking, she focused on his furrowed brow, and worried eyes. He appeared genuinely distressed.
“Are you sure?” His hands moved to her shoulder to inspect the bandage from underneath her soiled shirt. “It doesn’t look like you’re bleeding.”
“Oh, good.”
“How is your head?” His fingers gently brushed by the bump still there.
“It hurts a little, but I’ll be fine.”
He blew out a gush of air then the corner of his mouth lifted in a grin. Curse his hide. He was going to rub it in. She just knew it.
“Duchess? Why did you decide to jump the fence?”
“Because I knew I’d win.”
“I didn’t think you’d be the kind of person to resort to cheating.”
She huffed and rested her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t cheating. If you remember correctly, we didn’t lay down any rules.”
He nodded, his grin expanding. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“Next time? Are you challenging me to another race?”
“No. I thought about doing something I know you can handle.”
She gave him a scowl. “Like what?”
“How long has it been since you’ve been fishing?”
“Not as long as you might think. My sisters and I went at least once a week.”
“Then how about going fishing tomorrow?”
She smiled, feeling better as the tension eased. He might think she cheated on the horse race, but she would certainly show him how well she could fish...and she’d catch the biggest for certain. “I would really like that.”
His smile softened. “First thing in the morning?”
“The earlier, the better.”
“Good.”
Her heart sped at the thought of being alone with him again, but she couldn’t allow that to happen. She didn’t like the tingles spreading throughout her whenever she caught his gaze. “What do you say we bring Violet?” she added. “In fact, maybe Uncle Marvin would like to come with us, too?”
His smile widened and relief swept over his expression, making his face relax. “That’ll be great. I’ll ask Violet tonight.”
“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow at six o’clock in the morning,” she replied with entirely too much excitement.
He gave her a wink. “It’s a date.”
IT’S A DATE? IT’S A date? Gage repeated the phrase in his mind as he paced the floor in the small cabin where he stayed until his house was built. Tomorrow’s fishing event was most certainly not a date. What had he been thinking calling it that? Why would he want to court Adella when Violet suited him just fine? Of course, courting Adella wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. She was a very beautiful woman. But it was hard to forget about her stubborn ways and how she had to prove herself the better person.
So, if she really annoyed him, why did he act like a smitten schoolboy now? Why would her beauty completely knocked him senseless now when it hadn’t before? Then again, he’d gotten to know her a little better here in Bonner County than in Lewiston. Not only that, but she had changed a little. He liked the woman she was here better than the up-tight schoolteacher in Lewiston.
He moved to the window and looked out. The dusky velvet sky highlighted the descending sun and brought serenity to him. Clint’s cabin was far enough away from town, and living her was quite peaceful. Just what Gage wanted right now.
Thoughts of this afternoon with Adella eased and a smile claimed his face. It had been a long time since he’d been in a horse race. She had been a semi-good sport, an evenly matched competitor, but he had to admit he enjoyed more than just the race. He liked bantering back and forth and trading sly glances—a major transformation from their usual exchange of insults.
Adella had changed since arriving in Bonner County, he’d give her credit for that. Perhaps it was being back with her family that she hadn’t seen for all these years. Or maybe it was because she wasn’t a schoolteacher out here and didn’t constantly have to present herself as a role model.
He rubbed a smudge off the dirty window, turning his thoughts to Violet. Now, there was a real lady. A sweet, genteel woman who always thought of others. So much like her mother. Totally uncomplicated and predictable. She’d make him a good wife. She’d keep his home immaculate. Yes, she’d be the perfect wife.
Boringly perfect.
And lately, he didn’t know if he wanted perfection.
He growled. The stuffy cabin must be warping his mind. He shoved open the screen door and stepped out. Looking over the peaceful land; the property going as far as the eye could see scattered with tall trees in the distance, and he tried to capture some peace for himself. The setting sun spread a deep golden red tint over the land. He took a deep breath of air, enjoying the breeze at the end of a hot day. Spring was in the air, and the weather was abnormally warm this year.
In the distance, a rider came his way. It was his friend, Clint Slade, the sheriff. Gage had only been in town a few days when he happened upon a bank robbery. Actually, it wasn’t quite a robbery, but one about to happen. That’s when he met the sheriff. With Gage’s assistance, both he and Clint had stopped the robbery and had two men thrown in jail. After that, Clint treated him like a younger brother. When Gage needed some place to stay until his own house was built, Clint offered his place. Clint had become a brother to Gage...the brother he missed having since Joshua and Peter were married and had lives of their own.
It surprised him that Clint wasn’t married yet. He was a strapping man with dark hair and eyes, and such a friendly fellow. Gage wondered why a woman hadn’t snatched him up. The Lancaster family seemed to love him, too.
Gage scratched his chin. So why hadn’t Violet fallen in love with Clint—or any man in Bonner County? It made no sense to Gage.
When Clint galloped up to the porch and stopped, Gage nodded. “Howdy, stranger. Where have you been for the past week?”
Clint dismounted and tied his horse to the rail. “The Deputy Marshal has had me runnin’ all over Idaho lately. It seems they are trainin’ me to be a Marshal.”
“That’s exciting news, my friend.”
“I’m hesitant to take it, but I’ll make more money doin’ that than bein’ a sheriff.” He smacked the dust off his pants. “The biggest reason I’ve been gone for a while is because I just completed a project I’ve been workin’ on, and I couldn’t wait to come home and tell you about it.”
“You’ve been working on a project?”
Clint laughed, removed his hat, and swiped his gloved hand over his sweaty forehead. “You have been so busy helpin’ Marv and his family, I didn’t want to bother you.” He shrugged. “’Sides that, I’ve been buildin’ somethin’ for you. I planned on givin’ it to you as a weddin’ present, but that lovely woman of yours keeps postponin’ the happy day, so I guess I might have to give it to
you early now that the project is finished.”
Gage moved closer to his friend. “Now you’ve got me curious. What is it?”
“Why don’t I show you and Violet at the same time? In fact, why don’t you round up whoever might want to come along while I get cleaned?”
Excitement danced in Clint’s eyes and Gage didn’t want to disappoint him. “Are you sure?” He glanced toward the sun as it dipped below the horizon. “It’ll be dark soon.”
“’Course, I’m sure. Now, skedaddle before we lose any more sunlight,” he ordered as he hurried inside the cabin.
Chapter Ten
Adella sat upright in the rickety wagon while Sheriff Slade led the group to the unveiling of his wedding gift to Gage and Violet. She combed her gaze over the sheriff, admiring the way his jacket stretched across his wide shoulders. Very nice. Why didn’t Lewiston have men as handsome as Clint Slade? The only handsome man she knew in that town was Albert Owens. The more she stared at Mr. Slade, the more she couldn’t remember what Albert had looked like.
For years she had liked the more well-dressed man, not the sloppy cowpoke. Yet, here in Bonner County, she had seen more casual cowboys than well-dressed businessmen. She grinned. She could become accustomed to these types of men, especially if they looked like Clint Slade. He wore his hair longer than most men she knew, but on the sheriff, it looked almost charming. Not bad for an older man. Although, ten years her senior wasn’t that old. His tanned face and large physique also let her know how much he enjoyed working outside and doing arduous work.
Her focus slowly moved to Gage. He looked like a man who enjoyed hard labor as well. His fawn colored shirt had been nicely tucked into his jeans, which emphasized his muscular build that much more.
Growling inward, she shook that inappropriate thought from her head. Somehow, some way she needed to make herself stop thinking of Gage as a real man. She also needed to remember that she had to try and keep him and Violet from marrying. Adella’s cousin deserved much better.
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