Learnin' The Ropes

by Shanna Hatfield

  “I can tell you right now there isn’t someone else. His heart is in his eyes every time he looks at you. He’s as tormented and hurting as you. Only he can tell you what made him change his mind, but if you keep waiting for him to come forward and share his feelings, you’ll spend a long time waiting, honey. That’s just not the way of men, especially not men like Ty. That’s one bull you are going to have to grab by the horns.”

  Jan’s words made Lexi smile. She reached across the table to the older woman and squeezed her hand.

  “Thank you, Jan. I appreciate your concern and your advice. I should have listened to Aunt Bertie a couple of months ago,” Lexi said, taking a bite of her biscuit.

  Jan offered her an inquisitive look. “What did she tell you?”

  “To slap my brand on Ty and not let him out of my sight,” Lexi said with a grin.

  Jan took another sip of coffee. “Smart woman, your aunt.”

  Ty felt sick. He had for weeks, since the day of the rodeo when he decided to let Lexi go. It was the single hardest thing he’d ever done.

  He wanted her in ways that defied logic and sense, but more than that, he wanted her to be happy. In his mind, he knew someday she’d realize he was nobody, a nothing, and be sorry about falling in love with him. By breaking things off with her now, he’d save them both a lot of heartache later.

  Only he wasn’t sure how much more his heart could hurt as he watched her from afar.

  He was more than happy to spend time out riding fence and checking the cattle because he generally did that alone. Out there, he didn’t have to see Lexi, hear her voice, and smell her enticing scent. Despite his efforts to stay away from temptation, her scent was ensnared in his brain and the vision of her lovely face filled his mind every time he closed his eyes.

  The depth and intensity of his feelings for her, his sense of loss at not being near her, were beyond his ability to comprehend. All Ty knew was that the idea of a life without her in it, without her by his side, was too painful to consider.

  It wasn’t just that he wanted her. He needed her. The very core of his being craved her presence. Ty didn’t think he would ever get past that desperate longing.

  If he had a way of working to better himself, to provide something better for her than what she had, he might hold out a hope for their future. But there wasn’t a single thing in the world he could offer her that she didn’t already have or couldn’t buy if she wanted. The only thing he had to offer her was himself and his heart. To his way of thinking, that was nothing.

  Mindful he shouldn’t let it get to him, what the men at the café said about him being a kept city boy really bothered him. Ty didn’t want Lexi to go through life making excuses for him or having people speak badly about her because of their relationship.

  And, if he cared to admit it, he didn’t want anyone thinking he was one of Lexi’s pets. He had no plans of being “kept” by anybody.

  Stubborn pride factored into his decision to step away from Lexi’s love although he told himself he did it for her benefit. Even the look of hurt in her eyes and her palpable pain didn’t change his mind.

  With a deep sigh, he pulled his thoughts back to his work. He rode past one of the ponds on the ranch used for watering the cattle. He stopped Delilah under a tree and stared at the water. The heat was nearly unbearable for June and Swede assured him it was nothing compared to how hot it would be in July and August. As Swede would phrase it, Ty was panting like a lizard on a hot rock.

  Determined to take a quick swim to cool off, Ty set his new straw hat on the saddle horn. He walked to the edge of the pond, stripped off his clothes, and dove into the water. It was tepid, but cooler than the air around him. The water wasn’t exactly sparkling clean, but right now he didn’t care. Anything felt better than the sticky heat of being in the saddle.

  When he broke above the surface, a dog barked. He turned and spied Baby sitting on the bank.

  “Hey, Baby, what are you doing out here?” Ty asked as he continued to tread water. “Want to swim?”

  The dog backed up a few steps and barked again.

  “Not a fan of the pond, huh?” Ty asked with a chuckle, diving back into the water. After several more minutes in the water, he decided he better get back to work. He swam to the bank, but when he started to get out, Baby was gone along with his clothes. That obnoxious dog had taken his clothes! All she left behind were his boots.

  He ran out of the water, grabbed the boots and looked around, trying to see where the dog and his clothes had gone. Hastily attempting to dry off his feet on the grass, he yanked on the boots and started walking toward the horse.

  “Baby,” Ty shouted. “Baby, get back here right now. So help me…”

  “You definitely look like you need some help,” Lexi commented as she rode toward him.

  A flush began at the top of his head and went all the way to his feet. Ty hustled to Delilah and used her as a shield from Lexi.

  “What are you doing out here?” he ground out, looking over the saddle at Lexi. She reined in Rowdy a few feet away.

  “I could ask you the same thing, buckaroo,” Lexi said with a teasing smile. Ty’s muscled calves and part of his thighs were visible below Delilah’s belly and the tops of his shoulders peeked above the saddle. “You do know the pond has leeches, don’t you?”

  “Leeches?” Ty scrambled to remember any information he’d heard or read about leeches. Were they as bad as ticks?

  “Yes, leeches. They attach themselves to warm bodies and suck blood. They are slimy and gross, which is why I stay out of this pond.” Lexi removed her hat and fanned it in front of her face. “You want some help checking to see if you have any?”

  “No!” Afraid she might make good on her offer, and half hoping she would, he lifted a hand and made a shooing motion. He needed her to turn around and leave even if everything in him wanted her to stay.

  “Since you can’t run away from me, how about you tell me why you’ve spent the last month acting like nothing happened between us,” Lexi asked, riding a little closer and staring at Ty with narrowed eyes.

  He glared back, setting his hat on his head.

  Lexi grinned, knowing there was a whole lot of very attractive man exposed between his hat and boots, hidden behind the horse. “Well?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” Ty broke their eye contact and looked away.

  “That’s obvious.” Lexi nudged Rowdy closer. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “No.” He wasn’t about to share what the men said at the café. He certainly wasn’t going to spell out all the reasons he was completely wrong for her.

  “No? That’s not the right answer, buckaroo. Try again.” Lexi leaned out of her saddle toward Delilah.

  “I said no, boss, and I mean it.” Ty scowled at her.

  He rarely called her boss, and that fact wasn’t lost on Lexi. She sat back in the saddle and stared at him.

  “Guess I’ll have to get off Rowdy and come over there to talk some sense into you.” Lexi started to swing a leg over the saddle. Only she couldn’t because Baby grabbed hold of her foot on the other side of Rowdy.

  “Baby! You let go this instant,” Lexi demanded, regaining her seat in the saddle and shaking her leg, trying to dislodge the dog.

  Ty laughed. “Looks like Baby knows as well as I do you have no business getting out of that saddle. Now, scoot. I’ve got clothes to find and a fence to finish riding if you don’t mind.”

  “I do mind. Besides, I consider this payback for when I was sick and you undressed me.” She turned Rowdy back in the direction she’d come. “I’ll leave, but don’t think this is over, Tyler Lewis. It’s a long way from over.”

  Lexi urged Rowdy off into a gallop and Ty waited until he was sure she couldn’t see him before he moved from behind the horse, calling to Baby. The dog slunk over, dragging Ty’s shirt in her mouth.

  “Thank you, Baby,” Ty said, snapping the shirt into place. “Now, I’d like the
rest of my clothes, if you please.”

  Baby ran off, returning with Ty’s jeans, socks, and underwear. He hurriedly dressed, hoping Lexi was teasing about leeches.

  The last one in the door for dinner that evening, Ty looked around when the conversation stopped as he sat down at the table.

  “Dude, how was your day?” Jimmy asked with a glint in his eye that meant Ty was in for some teasing.

  “Just fine. Yourself?”

  Jimmy snickered. “Dandy. But then I didn’t have an afternoon swim or spend time mooning the boss, either.”

  Ty’s head snapped up and he glared at Jimmy across the table.

  “If ya know what’s good fer ya, ya better shut yer trap, Jimmy boy.” Swede settled a restraining hand on Ty’s arm. The hard muscles tensed beneath his fingers. There was one thing Ty wouldn’t take any teasing about and that was Lex.

  “Aw, I was just funnin’ with you. The boss said she caught you at the swimming hole and that monster ya’ll call a dog ran off with your clothes. Looks like you found them,” Jimmy said, helping himself to a heaping portion of mashed potatoes and gravy.

  “Baby brought them back to me.” Forcibly, Ty attempted to bank his anger and irritation. He should have known better than to go skinny-dipping in the pond. That was one mistake he’d never make again.

  “I bet the boss would have been more than happy to help you. I bet she would have…” Jimmy’s teasing was cut short when Ty jumped up and grabbed his collar from across the table, bringing Jimmy to his feet.

  “You can say whatever you want about me, but you leave her out of it,” Ty ground out, giving Jimmy a shake before turning him loose and storming out the door.

  He stalked to the shop and slammed the door as an array of thoughts and feelings swirled through his head. If the hands were making comments about him and Lexi, maybe he needed to pack up and leave. It was the very last thing he wanted, but he didn’t know what else to do.

  The sun was starting its evening descent when Swede strolled inside the shop, shaking his head.

  “Son, I don’t know what’s eatin’ at ya, but let’s get it out here in the open where we can clobber it down to a manageable size. Jimmy was just funnin’ ya.”

  “I know he was,” Ty said, not looking up from the part he put back together. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper.”

  “Well, I suppose he should be glad all he got was a good shake rather than a fist to that smarty mouth of his,” Swede said with a grin.

  Ty looked over at him and nodded his head, a small smile working at his lips. “I’ll apologize to him when I go in.” Carefully tightening the nuts into place, he wiped his hands on a rag.

  “Thet would be good. He thinks the world of ya and he’s plumb beside hisself thet he made ya mad,” Swede said, sitting down on a stool and studying Ty. “Ya might as well git whatever is makin’ ya tied up tighter than widow Johnson’s knittin’ off yer chest. Out with it.”

  “What makes you think something’s bothering me?” Ty asked, cleaning up the workbench and putting the tools away.

  Swede liked that about Ty. He always put everything back in its place and made sure his work area was clean before he called it a night. He did it in the shop, and anywhere else on the ranch they asked him to work. Most of the boys weren’t as careful in keeping things clean and organized. The cowboys on the ranch could learn a few things from their city mechanic.

  “The way I see it, somethin’ happened when ya went with Lex to the rodeo a few weeks back. Ya been avoiding’ thet gal like she is a live carrier of the plague ever since and it ain’t right.” Swede pinned Ty with a fatherly scowl. “What’d she do to deserve the cold shoulder?”

  “She didn’t do anything wrong, Swede.” Ty sat on stool near the foreman and ran a hand through his already mussed hair. “It isn’t about what she’s done, it’s me.”

  “Well, what about ya?”

  “It’s… I don’t…” Ty stood and paced back and forth by the counter. “I just can’t talk about it. For Lexi’s sake, though, I need to keep our relationship strictly professional.”

  Swede cackled at him, shaking a gnarled finger his direction. “It’s way too late for thet, pard. Way too late. In case ya ain’t noticed, ya both have fallen in too deep to try and go back now. If’n it were me, I’d keep right on swimmin’.”

  “You don’t understand.” Exasperated, Ty wanted to hit something. “Lexi’s association with me isn’t ever going to be beneficial for her.”

  “Who are ya to decide thet? Did the boss tell ya thet?” Swede asked. When Ty shook his head, Swede continued. “Thet is for Lex to decide, not yerself or nobody else. Give her the choice. Yer breakin’ thet sweet lil’ gal’s heart and I can’t hardly stand to watch. She cares for ya, son, more than ya realize. Don’t let what others think influence yer decision. Sometimes ya jes got to follow yer heart. Believe in yerself and follow yer heart.”

  Swede got to his feet and ambled to the door. “Jan saved ya some dinner and a big piece of pie, if yer of a mind to come get it.”

  “Thanks, Swede. I’ll be right in.”

  Follow his heart.

  Ty mulled over that idea as he finished cleaning up for the night and closed the shop door. It was much easier said than done because following it would lead him right to Lexi’s arms.

  On a sweltering afternoon a few days later, Ty worked in the shop making repairs to the older farm pickup the ranch hands used to run around the Rockin’ R. Cal, who seemed to be particularly hard on equipment, busted a tie rod that morning and they needed the truck back in service sooner rather than later.

  The opportunity to pound out his frustrations in repairs suited Ty just fine. He turned up his music, playing John Waite’s Missing You over and over, missing Lexi more each time the song repeated.

  He was nearly finished with the repair when Baby barked outside. Wiping his greasy hands on a rag, he stuck his head out the door but didn’t see the dog anywhere.

  After the encounter at the pond, he carefully avoided being around Lexi if at all possible and knew she was staying close to the house today. He didn’t want to run into her, but Baby’s insistent barking urged him to hurry.

  He followed the sound of her barking to a small shed behind the ranch house where Lexi kept garden tools and the lawnmower. Baby stood in the open doorway, barking and whining.

  “Baby, I told you to hush,” Ty heard Lexi caution. “I’ll get myself down just fine.”

  Ty peered inside and saw Lexi’s jean-clad legs hanging over the edge of a small loft. With no windows in the building, he didn’t know how she could see anything up there with the minimal amount of light that came in through the door.

  The footstool she’d used to climb into the loft had tipped over, leaving her trapped. He righted the stool and turned his face up toward Lexi as the door banged shut, leaving them in darkness.

  “Oh,” Lexi said, startled by the sound and the lack of light.

  Ty placed his hands on her feet, causing her to scream. “It’s just me Lexi Jo. I’ve got you.” His hands slid upward. She stopped screaming, turned over, and scooted to the edge of the loft trusting Ty to catch her as she pushed herself off the small landing.

  She held her hands out, catching herself on his strong shoulders as she left the loft. Slowly sliding down the length of him, she held her breath and thought she might pass out from the sensations rocketing through her. When her feet touched the floor, he let her go.

  “Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, taking a step back. Despite his efforts to open the door, it wouldn’t budge.

  “Thanks. I didn’t expect the door to slam shut.” Lexi reached toward the door and found it fixed in place.

  “It appears to be stuck,” Ty commented.

  Lexi pounded on the door. “Baby! If you’re blocking this door, you’re going to be in so much trouble. This is not okay, Baby. Move!” She pushed against the door and pounded it again. If the dog was on the other side of the door, she
didn’t make a sound.

  “Well, what do we do now?” Ty asked, afraid to move. There was barely room for one body to maneuver around in the small shed and everything from rakes to shovels hung on the walls on pegs. The riding lawnmower, a rototiller and weed eater took up what little floor space was available.

  “Wait, I guess.” Conflicted, Lexi didn’t know if she should be annoyed or pleased with the dog. She could think of worse things than being locked in a shed with Ty. “Since we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, how about we finish our talk from the other day?”

  “I don’t think so.” He tried to distance himself from Lexi, knocking a garden hoe from the wall in the process. Before it maimed either of them, he caught it.

  “Well, I happen to think it’s a great idea.” She leaned against the lawnmower. Enough light trickled in around the edges of the door that she could make out Ty’s form even if she couldn’t clearly see his face. “Talk to me, Ty. Tell me what I did so wrong that you can’t stand to be with me anymore.”

  “Lexi,” Ty groaned, unable to stay away from her any longer. Softly, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You didn’t do anything, babe. It’s all me.”

  “What’s you, Ty. Please, tell me what’s wrong so we can make it right,” Lexi pleaded, stepping closer to him. “I miss you.”

  Her scent filled his senses, her warmth seeped into his soul, and his resolve weakened. He hadn’t counted on being this close to her. Resisting her when she was so real, so inviting, was impossible.

  “Warm in here, isn’t it?” Ty ran his hand through his hair, on the verge of suffocating. In an effort to cool down, he steadied himself against the door and yanked off his coverall. It didn’t help at all. His temperature spiked even higher when Lexi leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding on.