by Joann Baker
“I ain’t no friggin’ plumber.”
The red stain on the younger man’s face told Amelia that not only was he angry, but he was embarrassed as well. She told herself not to find joy in the fact, but deep down, she did.
Gabe turned, facing the smaller man. “Like I told you about working with Naola, you either do what you’re told, or you pack your shit and get your ass off my ranch.”
The look he cast Gabe spoke volumes, but all he said was, “Yes, sir, whatever you say, sir.”
Amelia watched as he stomped toward the waiting horse, taking the lead with a surprisingly gentle hand. Only after he’d entered the barn did Gabe turn back to her, the scowl on his face replaced by an apologetic expression. “Look, I’ve got a lot going on. Maybe…”
“I can do it. I can make it to the Mesa.”
With her chin stuck out and a mutinous look in her green eyes, Gabe pursed his lips to keep a surprised grin from stretching his lips. He’d seen that look a million times. The memory was like a punch to his gut. Dammit, she wasn’t going to give up. Not that he’d thought she would.
“Sure you can,” he shrugged, “if you don’t mind not being able to walk tomorrow.” She blinked and her head tilted in the way that always got to him. And just like he had in the past, he caved to her will. “Okay, we’ll do a few circuits around the corral today just to let you get the feel of being in the saddle and how to keep your balance.”
“Okay.” Amelia felt as if her head were floating about ten feet above her body. She hadn’t expected Gabe to actually be the one to teach her. The fact that not only was it him, but he actually seemed willing—albeit grudgingly—made her dizzy with anticipation and excitement.
To learn to ride?
Of course, she scoffed at her inner self. What other reason could there be?
“Follow me.”
Taking a deep breath, Amelia fell into step beside him. He shortened his stride as he always had so that she could keep up with him. The thoughtfulness of his action was bittersweet. He’d done it so many times in the past.
No, she wasn’t going to dwell there today. She was going to have her first riding lesson, and she needed to pay attention. Maybe someday they would discuss the past and why he’d left without a word, but today wasn’t that day. Maybe coming to Devil’s Spur was the universe’s way of finally allowing her broken heart to heal.
“Why didn’t we use horses from the barn we just left?” Amelia glanced at the huge red barn they were walking toward, noting the difference in the size and construction compared to the much bigger and more modern looking structure they’d just come from.
“Because the horses in the barn near the arena are training horses.”
“Training horses.”
“Sure.” Gabe removed the wooden bar and opened the huge double doors. The hinges made a creaking sound and he made a mental note to oil them later. “They’re either being trained as cutting horses, show horses or for rodeo events. A few of the two-year-olds will even make a run in some of the bigger racing events.”
“You mean, like the Kentucky Derby?”
“Yep.” Gabe flicked a switch inside the door. Light chased away the shadows to reveal a wide aisle with several stalls on either side. Over the stall doors, horses of various sizes and colors poked their heads out.
“Oh, they’re beautiful.” Amelia stroked the head of a nearby bay, mesmerized by the liquid brown eyes and the softness of the horse’s coat.
“Daisy is one of the best horses on the ranch.” He opened the stall door, leading the big horse out as Amelia stepped back.
“Daisy?” Amelia followed Gabe as he led the horse to the front of the barn.
“As in Daisy Duke.”
He threw a grin over his shoulder, and Amelia’s stomach clinched. This was the Gabe she remembered. Carefree and slightly mischievous. “Let me guess, she has great legs.”
“See,” Gabe grunted as he finished cinching the saddle, “you know more about horses than you thought.”
Amelia eyed the horse, a little intimidated by its size. “I know she’s a lot bigger out here than she looked in there.” She nodded toward the stall.
“Don’t worry,” Gabe threw her a look as he led the horse from the barn, “I’ll be right there with you. Besides, Daisy is as a gentle as a newborn calf.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that since I know as much about cows as I do about horses.”
Gabe opened the corral gate and led the bay inside. “Close that behind you.”
He waited until the gate was securely latched before leading the horse to the opposite side, stopping near a small platform in the corner. “Come on over here and step up on the mounting box.”
“Mounting box?” Amelia was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea after all as she neared the big animal. In the morning light, gentle little Daisy looked as intimidating as a fifteen hundred pound bull.
“Here,” Gabe pointed, taking her arm to assist her onto the wooden box. “We built this for the kids. It helps them mount the horses easier.”
“Kids?” Amelia questioned with a slight squeak as Gabe placed her left foot in the stirrup and with one hand on her backside, propelled her into the saddle.
“Twice a year, in the spring and fall, we open up the ranch for some of the local children’s hospitals. They bring kids that are…really sick for a day of riding and camping. It’s nothing too strenuous. Just a few of the hands leading everybody down to the south pasture. There’s a small creek there where we cook out and generally just let the kids be kids.”
Amelia forgot to be nervous as she looked down at Gabe’s dark head. His strong hands on the lead rope reassured her and she loosened the death grip she had on the reins. The saddle wasn’t uncomfortable but she was having a hard time not sliding to the side. Riding a horse was not as easy as it looked.
“Like a Make-A-Wish thing?”
“Something like that,” Gabe nodded, concentrating on keeping Daisy’s steps slow and his thoughts away from pulling Amelia from the horse and into his arms.
Damn, he’d missed her.
“That’s remarkable. Is it something that your family has done for a long time?”
“Just the last couple of years.” Gabe swallowed hard, wondering why he’d brought up the kids. He couldn’t tell her that the whole reason had been because he’d noticed the child she held three years ago was missing her hair. After he’d gotten over the hurt and the anger had simmered to a slow boil, he’d realized the child was ill. Since no mention had been made about a child, he realized Amelia must have lost her little girl.
He couldn’t imagine the heartache she must have endured. He knew his brother Ryder would go off the deep end if anything happened to his child—and it wasn’t even born yet.
Is that what had happened to Andy, the man who had apparently taken Gabe’s place in Amelia’s affection? Had he left, unable to handle the grief? Leaving Amelia all along to deal with hers? His hand tightened on the rope and Daisy snorted. He’d wanted to continue to hate him—hell, both of them—for ripping his life apart, but he couldn’t imagine the hell they must have gone through watching their child suffer. Part of him wanted to ask, just to know the answer for sure. However, his heart wouldn’t let him. It would be too painful for Amelia.
As if she’d read his mind, she said, “Gracie would have loved something like that.”
His stomach clenched and he took care not to stumble. “Gracie?”
Her sigh sliced through his chest like a knife. “Andy’s little girl.”
Andy’s? She hadn’t said ‘mine.'
“Andy,” Gabe faltered with the hated name, “had a child?”
“Um-hmm.” Amelia concentrated on repositioning herself in the saddle. “He and Mona—you remember Mona from across the hall?” Without giving him time to answer, she continued, “they started dating after…” She stopped, suddenly realizing where her babbling had taken her. She rushed on. “Anyway, they e
ventually got married and had Gracie. They found out she had cancer right before her second birthday.”
Gabe couldn’t process the fact that the child hadn’t been Amelia’s; that she and Andy hadn’t been together. “What kind?”
“The medical term is intraocular medulloepithelioma. It’s a—”
“Tumor in the eye,” Gabe finished somberly.
“Yes. How did you know that?”
“What?” He cast a glance at her over his shoulder, his breath catching at the way the sunlight reflected off her shiny hair, giving her an ethereal appearance. “Surprised that I read?”
Amelia refused to be baited. She was having a nice time in spite of the underlying tension between them. “Nothing about you surprises me, Gabe. You were always one-of-a-kind.”
When his feet shuffled, she realized that she’d once again dove head first into off-limits territory. Her fingers clenched around the saddle horn. “Anyway, Gracie lost the eye, but regained her health.”
A million questions buzzed in Gabe’s head. How long after he left had her relationship with Andy ended? What exactly had their relationship been? Had she loved him the way she’d loved Gabe, giving everything she had each time? The last thought had sweat popping out on his brow in spite of the cool wind that blew. “I’m glad the kid is okay.”
Something in his voice made Amelia frown. “She’s a feisty five-year-old now. You’d never know she’d ever been sick.” She shook her head, looking around at the vast ranch, the beautiful pastures, well-kept buildings, and crisscrossed fences highlighted by the snow-capped mountain ranges in the distance. “She would have liked your idea of helping.”
Gabe stopped, staring up into the face of the woman that had owned his heart and soul for the past ten years. “I never said it was mine.”
Amelia blushed but held his gaze. “You didn’t have to.”
The look that passed between them was hot enough to scorch the ground. Caught up in the moment, neither of them noticed the white luxury sedan that pulled smoothly to a stop near her vehicle. The slamming of car doors jerked them both from the sensual spell.
“I’ll be damned,” Gabe shouted, watching as Cal and Kristen walked toward the corral, hand in hand, with cheek-busting smiles on their faces. Without thought, he reached up and lifted Amelia from the saddle. His action breached his conscious within a second of feeling her warm, soft flesh beneath his hands. Her sharply indrawn breath as he sat her on her feet told him she was just as flustered by his move.
“Hey, brother, is there anything you want to tell us?”
He started at Cal’s words, moving his hands from Amelia’s sides as if he’d burned them on an open flame. Ignoring the tingling sensations traveling up his arms, he turned, stretching his mouth into a smile once more. “Just that you two are a sight for sore eyes.” Opening the gate, he allowed Amelia through before closing it behind him. Once free, he was enveloped in a bear hug that had him gasping for air. He returned the affection with equal force.
“We weren’t expecting you back for a couple more days.” Gabe pulled back, slapping his brother on the shoulder.
Cal grinned, pulling Kristen to his side. “We decided to come home early so you could have more time to get ready for the rodeo.”
“Yeah,” Kristen chimed in, laying her head trustingly on Cal’s shoulder, “consider yourself on vacation.”
“What?” Gabe blinked, unsure if he’d heard correctly.
“Well, technically you’ll still be working,” Cal corrected. “But a few more days of practice can’t hurt.”
“I don’t need practice,” Gabe snorted. “That buckle is as good as mine.”
“Which one? Saddle or bareback?” Amelia couldn’t help the snarky comment when she remembered the attention Gabe had been giving the waitress at the diner.
“Oh, hi, doc.”
“Hi, Amelia.”
Amelia grinned as both Cal and Kristen stepped forward to give her a quick hug. She delighted in the easy affection. How nice it must be to have a big family. She’d grown up with only her parents and the occasional visit from Frank. Her parents were both only children, so she didn’t have any extended family. No aunts, no uncles, and no cousins.
“What are you doing here?” Cal’s smile vanished. “Is Pops okay?”
“He’s fine,” Gabe said, allaying Cal’s fears.
“Gabe was giving me a riding lesson.” Discomfited with the silence that followed her statement and the looks on Cal’s and Kristen’s faces at her announcement, she rushed on. “And now, since the lesson is over, I should be going.”
“No,” Kristen shook her head, becoming aware as only a woman could of the underlying tensions between her brother-in-law and the pretty doctor. “Won’t you come in and have an early lunch with us?” She smiled up at her husband. “Cal told me on the drive in from town that he’s starving.”
“I am,” Cal grinned back at his wife. “Breakfast was over three hours ago.”
“You had the Cattleman’s special.” Kristen’s look spoke volumes. “Eggs, steak, gravy, biscuits, and grits. Two,” she held up two fingers, “helpings of grits.” She shook her head, her long strawberry curls bouncing. “I don’t know where you put it.”
“I’m a big boy, sweetheart.”
Kristen blushed at his leering grin, giving him a smack on the arm. “Oh, shush.” She turned back to Amelia. “Can you stay?”
Amelia wanted to say yes, but the stiffness of Gabe’s posture told her she should go. He’d been nice, almost amiable, during her lesson, but things between them would never be friendly. She heaved an inward sigh. Friends with Gabe was something she could never just be anyway. In spite of the way he’d left her, she still loved him. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I had planned to use the afternoon to get things organized for the rodeo.”
“So you’re going to handle patching up the cowboys this year?” Cal’s brows lifted in surprise. “And Frank is going to let you?”
Kristen punched an elbow into her husband’s stomach. “What my husband is trying to say so badly is, is Frank okay?”
“Yeah,” Cal rubbed his stomach, shooting his wife a frown. “I can’t remember Frank ever missing a rodeo.”
“He’s fine,” Amelia nodded, “other than his knee. He’s agreed to give it a rest before scheduling surgery.”
“He’s agreed to replacement surgery?”
Amelia looked into Gabe’s eyes, noting the frown lines that creased his brow. Curling her hand into a fist, she ignored the urge to smooth them. “It took a lot of doing, but yes, he’s finally had enough of the pain.”
“Pops, Gramps, Otis, hell, even Betty, have all been on him about getting that knee replaced. He wouldn’t budge.”
Cal grinned at his oldest brother. “My guess is that the pretty doc here is much more persuasive.”
Amelia could feel Gabe looking at her and wondering if he was thinking the same thing. She hadn’t been able to get him to stay.
“I simply used medical science on him. He couldn’t say no.”
“Pops and Gramps will sure be glad to hear it.”
“Speaking of Pops, we’d better get inside and get lunch before he tries to do it all himself.” Gabe turned toward Cal’s vehicle. “I’ll help with your stuff.”
What did you expect? Amelia asked herself as she watched Gabe walk toward the house, a suitcase gripped in both hands and a bag under each arm, a kiss goodbye?
“I’m glad you guys are back safely.” She made a show of getting her car keys out of her pocket. “Please tell Gabe that I said thanks for the lesson.”
“We will. Bye, Amelia.”
Amelia returned Kristen’s wave as she ducked into the relative safety of her car. The happy feeling she’d had on the way out this morning had taken a very different direction. Pain from the past gripped her. Maybe coming to Devil’s Spur had been a mistake. No, check that. There was no maybe. She had fooled herself into believing her heart had healed. Coming here stripped her of
that illusion. She still loved Gabe. And if she stayed, it would only lead to heartache. She couldn’t handle that again.
As she pulled into the clinic parking lot a half hour later, she knew she’d made her decision. One of the doctors that she’d interned with in Aurora had called her last week, telling her about an opening. It was in a critical care unit and sounded just the thing to take her mind off of an old heartache. If she got the position, she’d wait to leave until after Frank’s knee healed, of course, but she’d submit her application on-line this afternoon.
And she’d stay away from Gabe for as long as she had to remain in Devil’s Spur.
“So, what did we interrupt, bro?” Cal watched his older brother as he unsaddled Daisy and gave her a quick rubdown. Kristen had stayed in the house to help Pops with lunch. Cal had followed Gabe back to the barn. While it wasn’t unusual to see him with his arms around a pretty woman, it was more than unusual to see it happen on the ranch.
As far as Cal knew, Gabe had never brought one of his woman to the Ace in the Hole—except for that one time when he was much, much younger. Pops and Gramps had immediately put a stop to that. But they couldn’t put a stop to Gabe’s philandering ways.
“You didn’t interrupt anything,” Gabe snapped.
“Really? Cause I could have sworn you were about to kiss the pretty doc.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I was simply helping her down from her horse.”
Cal snorted. “Isn’t that what we built the mounting blocks for?”
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Ahh, now, am I annoying you? I just got back and you’re already trying to get rid of me.”
“Yes, you are annoying me.”
“Well, at least you’re talking. That’s a start.”
“A start to what? What have Gramps and Pops been telling you?” Gabe put down the curry brush he’d been using and faced his younger brother. His fists were clenched at his sides and he realized he wanted nothing more than to throw a punch. Anything to relieve this mounting frustration he felt inside. Yeah, Cal was right. He had been about to kiss Amelia. He’d lost thought of everything the moment he’d felt her curvy body against his. And he didn’t like it. Not one bit. She’d broken his heart once and he wasn’t about to let her do that again.
