So Tough to Tame

by Victoria Dahl

  An immediate, exciting thought popped into her head: Ability Ranch. This could be her chance, her reason to press the issue with Walker one last time.

  She pulled up the website for the Ability Ranch and frantically read through every page, paying special attention to the page about donations and sponsorship, then she wrote back to Keith with the idea.

  A few minutes later, her in-box dinged again. That sounds promising. Go ahead with contacting them since you already have a connection. Or if you’re not comfortable with that, I can forward this to Public Relations.

  She immediately wrote back that she’d be thrilled to take on the responsibility of contacting the Ability Ranch about sponsorship opportunities. In fact, it would probably be best to visit in person, get a feel for the place.

  Charlie looked up at her door, wishing she and Walker were close enough that she could just barge into his apartment and jump on his bed and wake him up. Was he really asleep? Was he just watching a movie?

  She grabbed her cell and pulled up his name, hesitating before she hit Text.

  She squirmed. She shook her head. Then finally, grimacing, she texted Are you awake?

  Nothing happened. She waited. She drew a breath and then another. Five minutes later, heart still pounding with excitement, she forced herself to relax. Okay. Text me in the morning? I need to ask a favor. Night, Walker.

  If she could just talk him into going out to the ranch with her, at least she’d know he’d seen it. She would’ve done her very best to point him in the direction of somewhere he belonged.

  And if he wouldn’t go, she’d go herself. She’d talk to the staff, and gather up a stack of brochures and flyers, and she’d very subtly shove them all under his door.

  It wasn’t right that he thought of himself as “just” a cowboy. It simply wasn’t okay. She was the one who’d started off bright and then burned out too young. Shit, it had been her destiny. But Walker...he’d gotten a slow start, sure, but he would build to something great. She could see it in him every time they met.

  For the first time in a long while, Charlie felt like things were going well. She was slowly puzzling things out at work, Dawn had backed off, Charlie was on better ground with her brother and her life was going well. And soon? Soon she was going to be sure that Walker’s life was even better.

  Tomorrow couldn’t come quickly enough.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  WALKER FELT NUMB. He felt...disconnected. His pulse stayed slow as he drove Charlie north on the highway out of town. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t demand an answer. He’d been with her for fifteen minutes, and he’d said all the right things, but he couldn’t remember a word he’d spoken.

  The morning was oddly still for the mountains. There was always a breeze here, and usually way more than that, but today the whole world was holding its breath, waiting to see what Walker would do.

  He was waiting, too. So far, his brain hadn’t offered even a hint of an idea.

  Charlie had neglected to tell him a lot about her life, and even though there was no solid evidence that Nicole had spoken the truth about her, everything pointed right in that direction.

  Walker hadn’t known what to think last night. He’d tried just going to bed, but his mind had spun with thoughts of the stories he’d read online. Of a massive embezzlement scheme that had involved Charlie’s lover, a married man who’d seemingly promoted her to help with his crimes. The charges against her had been dropped, but several other employees had been implicated. It hadn’t been a one-man operation. She might have been involved.

  When she’d texted him, he’d ignored it, hoping he’d know what to say in the morning. But dawn had come and gone with no help from his brain.

  Had she done something wrong in Tahoe? And was she still doing it here? If Nicole was right and her own brother had brought her on to the job...

  Damn.

  “I’m still surprised you agreed to do this,” she said, her hand spreading over his knee. “I thought I’d have to beg.”

  “Save your begging for other things,” he said automatically, throwing in a wink before he could stop himself. He felt a little dizzy with the strangeness of it all.

  “I know you don’t want to work there, but I really need your knowledge about ranches to tell me if it’s a worthwhile setup. I hate to throw the resort’s money at a charity that’s not worthy.”

  “It’s no problem,” he said, the words sounding far away. “I hadn’t picked up any work today.” Was this really about a charity for her? Or was this another scheme to steal money?

  He glanced at her, still utterly confused. It was Charlie. She smiled at the road, her eyes bright with anticipation, her hand a warm brand on his thigh. Her pretty brown hair fell over her shoulders in waves.

  He thought of the scent of that hair when he tucked his face into her neck. She couldn’t be bad. She wasn’t. It made no sense.

  But she’d had a tough life. Her dad had never been around. There’d been gossip about her mom going through men the way other women went through clothes. And she’d said herself that her brother was an asshole. So maybe Walker didn’t know enough about her to judge.

  You never really knew people, after all. He’d lived eighteen years with his mother, and he couldn’t say he’d known much about her beyond that she was good at gardening and sewing and she didn’t like cussing or muddy boots in the house.

  But Charlie had been... When she was his tutor, she’d been that high school girl in cute movies. Smart and innocent and awkward and ready to break into the world and learn her way. She’d seemed untouchable. Too good for Walker and his hands that had already been calloused and stained with dirt. Could she possibly have stumbled down such a steep path in those few short years?

  “Do you miss Tahoe?” he asked. He glanced toward her, but she kept her eyes on the road.

  “No.”

  “Not at all? It must have been more fun than Jackson.”

  She shrugged. “I’d had my fill of Nevada, I guess.”

  “The resorts there are a lot bigger. It must have been a different kind of job, with the gambling.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’d think this would be boring.”

  She finally turned to look at him. “There’s nothing wrong with a little quiet. Especially when I have you to entertain me.”

  “Happy to be of service.” He didn’t mean for the sharpness that edged his last word, but it was there.

  Her hand tightened on his knee. “I’m sorry I left without a word yesterday. I had to get in early, and I didn’t want to wake you when I knew you were working.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “I wasn’t... I mean, I didn’t know if I should bother leaving a note.”

  Their eyes finally met. Hers were wide-open and clear, as if she’d never hidden a thing from him and never would. Yet she never, ever wanted to talk about Tahoe. Damn her.

  Walker cleared his throat and faced forward again.

  “Ah,” she said. “See? I was right.”

  No, she hadn’t been right. He hadn’t wanted a note, though. He’d wanted her. Snug against him, hot and naked and soft with sleep. That’s what he’d wanted. To wake up to her just like that.

  “Here it is,” he said, relieved to change the subject.

  “Oh!” She pointed at the sign ahead, iron and old wood spelling out Ability Ranch in simple letters.

  Right away, he spotted a huge indoor riding arena and a large stable next to it, bigger than any he’d ever worked in. “Wow.”

  “It’s big,” Charlie breathed. He shot her a look and she met it, and suddenly the worst of the tension between them dissolved.

  “That sounds familiar,” he drawled.

  “Shut up, naughty!” she shrieked, smacking him on the arm. He loved hearing her laugh. If everything had been fine, he would have stopped the truck and pulled her in for a kiss until her laughter turned to sighs. For him.

  Instead he drove on, all the way to the larg
e parking area next to a building with glass doors and a bulletin board posted next to them.

  “I’m going to run into the office,” Charlie said. “Are you good with looking around?”

  “Absolutely.” There were plenty of vehicles in the lot, and he could see horses being led from the stable to the yard, so he helped Charlie out of the truck and set off toward the stables.

  They were damn impressive. The aisles were wide and clean. Doors were thrown open on every wall to let in sunlight. There was a faint scent of manure, of course, but it was far outweighed by hay and the comforting smells of leather and horseflesh. The horses hardly reacted at all as people moved past the stalls. Only one seemed skittish, but the gelding was hardly alarmed; he was just obviously ready to get out of his stall.

  Hell, Walker would’ve been ready to give the place a thumbs-up based on the stalls alone. Looking over the stables was like checking out the bathroom at a restaurant. If the barn was meticulously clean and maintained, you didn’t have to bother looking any further. Management ran a tight ship.

  He continued out through the far door to the gate of the outdoor riding area. There were four horses in the yard and a dozen kids. All the kids were in wheelchairs. All of them wore helmets and held grooming brushes.

  Walker shot a look over his shoulder to be sure Charlie wasn’t standing there, waiting to see his reaction to the scenario she’d set up. But no. Charlie was still off somewhere, setting up a charity donation or possibly stealing money from these kids.

  Cursing under his breath, he started to turn back to the arena.

  “Walker Pearce? Oh, my God, is that you?”

  Startled, he searched the area for the voice, then finally spotted a woman crouched down by one of the kids, a horse’s hoof cupped in her hand. He didn’t place her for a moment, but then he smiled. Her black hair was in long braids beneath her cowboy hat, and her full lips were painted as red as ever. “Marlene?”

  “Hey!” She stood and gestured another adult over before walking toward him. “Get on in here, Walker.”

  Marlene had taught riding at the Fletcher Ranch for a few months when Walker had first started. They’d had a couple of friendly nights together and then she’d moved on. He hadn’t seen her since then, which would’ve been odd in another town this size, but not in Jackson. Not only was it spread out, but it was packed with strangers for a good eight months of the year.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, going up on her tiptoes for a hug.

  “Just checking the place out for a friend. How’ve you been? Holy shit!” He grabbed her left hand and looked down at the giant rock on her finger. The pale metal band stood out against her dark skin.

  “Ha!” Her grin was clearly self-satisfied. “I got hitched a year ago. He’s pretty good to me.”

  “I guess so. Congratulations. You living in a big house up on the mountain now?”

  “Maybe,” she answered with a smile that screamed Yes! “What about you? Have you settled down?”

  Before he had to answer, she turned back to the kids. “Hold that thought. We’ll catch up later. Come on.”

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, following her back to her group.

  “They’re learning how to groom. You want to help?”

  He glanced over his shoulder again, but it still didn’t seem to be a setup. “Sure.”

  “They all know to stay away from the back of the horse, right, kids?”

  “Yes, Miss Marlene!” they answered.

  “Still, keep an eye on them, and remind them to be careful of the horse’s blind spots. Otherwise, just show them how to groom the horse. Hooves and hide. They may not be able to do all of the currying and brushing, but this is about building a relationship with the horse. Learning responsibility. It’s not about a perfect job.”

  “Sure. Got it.”

  He headed over to the next group of kids.

  “Say hi to Mr. Walker,” Marlene called.

  “Hi, Mr. Walker!” they shouted. Luckily, the horse’s ears barely twitched. Walker couldn’t help smiling at their eager little faces.

  “Not so loud around the horse hooves, kids.”

  They giggled and the girl with the currycomb went back to carefully stroking the horse. “You can be a little firmer, darlin’. He has a lot of hair and you’ve got to get the dust out.”

  “Yes, Mr. Walker,” she whispered.

  Christ, this girl was adorable. She was tiny and delicate and missing both her legs from just above the knee, but she put her whole body into the effort while Walker held his breath and hoped she didn’t fall out of the chair. That helmet looked as if it might make up half her body weight and could pull her over at any moment. Her little blond braids swung with the effort she put into the work.

  “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Jessica.”

  “Okay, Jessica, let’s try a dandy brush now, and I’ll show you the direction he likes to be brushed the best.” Walker curled his hand carefully over her tiny one and showed her how to do it. She beamed and ignored Walker to pat the horse with her free hand.

  “He’s so sweet.”

  “He’s very sweet,” Walker agreed. The horse looked to be somewhere in his late teens, so he might be more tired than sweet, but he certainly tolerated the children well.

  Walker glanced over at Marlene to see that she had one kid currying and brushing while she showed the other two how to pick hooves. He knelt next to the foreleg and ran his hand down the horse’s leg. “Boys, the first thing you do is ask the horse for its hoof.”

  They both giggled.

  “I’m serious. You don’t want to be rude, do you?”

  They giggled again and shook their heads. Walker noticed that one of the boys had wild curls sticking out from beneath his helmet. “My word,” Walker said, taking off his hat. “I thought I had a lot of hair. How’d you even get that helmet on, kid? Did it take three stable hands to wrestle it down?”

  The boy collapsed into his chair, snorting with laughter while Walker shook his head.

  “All right. Now see how I run my hand down the horse’s leg?” He repeated the movement, then wrapped his hand around the gelding’s cannon. “That lets him know you’re here. When I press back a little, he’ll lift his hoof.”

  He showed them the brush pick and explained why it was important to keep the hooves clean. “And what do you think this part is called?” he asked, pointing to the center of the hoof.

  The horse sighed as if it had heard this joke a million times before.

  Both boys shrugged.

  “Here. Press it, but be gentle.”

  The closest boy tentatively put his finger to the hoof.

  “Ribbit,” Walker croaked.

  The kids tried hard to keep their laughter muffled, but a few squeals escaped.

  “That part of the hoof is called the frog.”

  “The frog?” They all reacted as if it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

  “I don’t know why it’s called a frog, but that’s what it is. That’s the soft part of the hoof, and you run a pick along that triangle to scoop out any dirt. Don’t worry,” he added when he saw them wince. “It doesn’t hurt. Then you brush off the debris. Here. You try.”

  He handed the pick to the second boy, almost jerking back when he realized the boy’s fingers were curled into his hand in a tight spasm. But the kid managed to grasp the pick anyway and he brushed away the dirt that Walker had loosened.

  “All right, then,” Walker said. “Now check the shoe to be sure it’s good and tight.”

  Minutes later, he looked up as Marlene laughed at something. For a moment, the sun blinded him, but then he saw her standing there with Charlie and another woman and they were all watching him.

  Walker sprang to his feet so quickly that the horse shied. “Mr. Walker!” one of the kids scolded.

  “Sorry.”

  Even before Charlie spoke a word, he saw her smile and knew this
had been a setup all along, and he’d been sucked in as if he’d jumped willingly into a black hole.

  “Don’t you think he’d be amazing at this?” Charlie was saying to Marlene, speaking loud enough for Walker to hear.

  “He’s a natural.”

  Charlie nodded. “I know.”

  Walker patted one of the kids’ helmets. “Keep up what you’re doing,” he murmured. “And don’t move behind the horse.” Then he walked over to break up this little meeting.

  “Charlie, are you done here?”

  “I am, but I was just talking to Miss Marlene about you. She says they’re always looking for more instructors here at the ranch.”

  “Thanks,” he said past lips that felt so tight they’d gone numb. “But I already have a job.”

  “Well, sure, but wouldn’t it be more fun to work here?”

  He looked at Marlene and forced himself to smile before he lost his temper. “Oh, I’m no teacher, I’m sorry to say.”

  “But, Walker,” Charlie gushed, “you don’t have to have a degree or anything. You just need a high school diploma and a certificate from a safety course that they do right here! Isn’t that amazing? You can take classes right here for a few weeks and you’d be ready!”

  She was practically bouncing on her toes. Walker wanted to walk away and never see her again. Ever. His heart beat so hard that it was difficult to hear his own voice. “Thanks, but I’m pretty busy.”

  Marlene smiled, so he was almost sure she couldn’t see the rage on his face. “I understand, but you really are good with the kids. If you’re interested, you can get the certificate and do some volunteer work. No pressure. But, Walker...not everyone falls into this as easily as you do, and you know everything there is to know about riding. So think about applying for a position. I mean it. You’d be doing a great service. The kids love you.”

  “Sure,” he said. “I’ll check into it.”

  “Promise?” Marlene pressed.

  He lied without any guilt at all. “Absolutely.”

  He spun and walked away, leaving Charlie to catch up, though he couldn’t stop himself from holding the arena gate open for her. Still, he strode off as soon as she was through. Her footsteps pattered behind him through the stable.