by Jeannie Watt
She gave a small sniff before saying, “I’m just checking on you as a friend, not as a business associate.”
“Ah. In that case, I can tell you that living alone in a rural area is trying my patience. I need to find a hobby.”
“What about the park you’re designing?”
“Done.”
“Design another.”
“I’m working on a spec project.” It was a design he doubted he’d be able to use, but just in case Stewart was amenable to moving Dani’s house, he was trying to come up with suitable surroundings. It seemed a logical way to fill downtime.
“I see.”
“So, how’s vacation?”
“Good. Good.”
“Great.” A healthy stretch of silence followed, which Serena finally broke by saying, “If I had called about business, what would you have said to me?”
“I would have said that getting to know Dani is slow going. I don’t really have a reason to hang out with her.”
“After getting shot down.”
“Yes. Twist the knife, Serena. You know how much I like that.”
She laughed softly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that getting shot down does limit your options a bit, unless you two join the same club or something.” She paused for a thoughtful moment before going on to say, “How did you originally plan to make and keep contact?”
“I planned to wing it.” He figured if he could dig up some information on her, he could decide how to proceed. It had seemed to work the first few days—the horse sale, her call to come and help her with the standpipes. Even the horse escaping had been fortuitous. But since calling her to make certain that everything was okay on her property—nothing. Not one bit of contact and Stewart’s call had only served to remind him that the days were slipping away.
“And now?”
“I’m buying a horse.”
“Great idea. Do you know which end to feed?”
“Yes. One of the few things I do know.”
“So...you’re going to buy a horse and have her train it.”
“Yes.”
“And somehow not let her know you don’t ride.”
“I’ve ridden.” In fact, some of the happiest days of his life had revolved around a big brown gelding of uncertain breeding, owned by the only foster family who’d treated him like one of their own kids.
Serena made a disparaging noise. “When?”
“A long time ago. Okay?”
“So what are you going to do? Ask her to give you brush-up lessons?”
“She prefers horses to people.”
“And therein lies your problem,” Serena said on a note of amusement.
“Maybe I could flip the horse.” The idea struck him out of nowhere, which was why he needed to talk to actual human beings sometimes. “Then my rusty riding ability won’t be an issue.”
“Is horse flipping like cow tipping?”
Gabe frowned, wondering what the hell she was talking about. “It’s like flipping houses. I could buy a young horse, have Dani train it and then sell it at a profit.”
“Not a bad idea,” Serena said slowly. “Except I kind of wonder how cost effective that would be. And flipping horses might sound kind of mercenary to a horse lover.”
“Okay, forget flipping. Maybe I had a traumatic horse incident as a child that I want to get over.” And maybe he needed to be careful not to stack up too many lies. Or any lies for that matter, other than those made by omission, which really weren’t lies in this case. Stewart needed the land. Dani and her sisters had once been on the brink of selling. Timberline personnel couldn’t find out about the prospective purchase. Given all those factors, omission was the only sane course of action.
“From what I hear from Neal, your entire childhood was a traumatic incident.”
“I overcame,” he said darkly, and then he smiled as the perfect answer struck him. “I’m going to give the horse to you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes. I am. You can keep it here. Sell it. Whatever. That way I can have it trained and not have to ride it.”
“Well, this has been a great hypothetical conversation. Would you keep me posted so I don’t have to call and not ask about business?”
“You bet, Serena. Enjoy the rest of your time off.”
“I hope I can,” she said softly. “Bye, Gabe.”
“Bye.”
Gabe pocketed his phone and started the car, waving at the horse owner, who’d started toward him and was possibly wondering if Gabe had changed his mind about the nasty beast he’d advertised as being the perfect mount for the right person. The right person apparently needed to be able to mount a horse that skittered sideways and reached back to try to bite the rider’s knee. Granted, the owner had been suitably embarrassed by the animal’s performance, but Gabe had no doubt that the guy would sell to anyone just to get rid of the horse.
He turned onto the main highway and started following the GPS directions to the final place on his list. Now that he had a plan, as in giving Serena a horse whether she wanted it or not, he felt better. More confident.
More honest.
He didn’t like lying to people and now he wouldn’t be lying to Dani. He just wouldn’t be telling her the entire truth. And if he didn’t owe Stewart a debt of gratitude, he didn’t know that he’d be doing any of this.
CHAPTER FIVE
DANI HAD THOUGHT it would take time to grow her business, but less than a week after putting out her advertisement, she booked her last training slot. Feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, she finished the notes she’d made while talking to her client, then shoved her feet into her boots and headed for the door. Later that evening she’d make up an official work schedule, and in the future she’d have to stagger her clientele. She was okay right now because she had four thirty-day clients, three sixty-day clients and one that wanted a two-week tune-up. That filled eight hours a day and when she added on care and feeding...yes. Full schedule. And the best part was that she wouldn’t need to touch her severance pay for living expenses. If things continued like this, she could probably take on a few more horses and hire a part-time assistant until Jolie moved back home to join the business.
Marti Kendall wasn’t going to like this one bit. Oh, well. As far as Dani was concerned, she was due. She’d always had to work pretty damned hard for everything she’d ever gotten and even then she had a way of catching things at the tail end of success. SnowFrost was an excellent example. It had been a thriving business when she’d first been hired, but the owners were slow to change and the market had passed them by. Other more nimble companies had filled the available niches and left SnowFrost in the dust, which was a lesson in itself. She needed to pay attention to the business end. Sudden success could evaporate at any time, leaving her struggling to make ends meet.
Jolie would have smacked her for thinking like Allie, but Dani couldn’t help herself and Jolie didn’t need to know.
The day was hot and sweat was trickling down her back between her shoulder blades when she finally brushed down the piebald filly, her last horse of the day. All in all, she was satisfied. Exhausted, but satisfied. She tossed hay and scared a few mice out of the grain barrel. They practically ran over Gus’s feet and the dog watched them go by with a bemused expression. Small rabbits, perhaps? Dani made a mental note to check the Humane Society for cats, then closed the barn door. She was halfway across the drive when she heard a vehicle pull into the drive and stopped dead in her tracks.
Kyle.
Great.
Calling Gus close, she waited under the poplars that edged the front yard until Kyle pulled to a stop and got out of his vehicle. Gus pushed his big body closer to Dani’s legs and lifted his head, zeroing in on the man crossing the drive. He made no sound, but there was no mistaking the fact that he was in full protection mode. Kyle, smart man that he was, stopped a few yards away.
“How’s it going?” he asked casually, glancing around as if looking for ch
anges before bringing his attention back to Dani. He still had his golden-boy good looks, but they were somewhat marred by the grim set of his mouth.
“Going well,” she said noncommittally. Now that he was here, she couldn’t help but flash on the standpipes. The horse escape.
“Good.” He attempted a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Hear from Allie lately?”
“I have,” she said, the same noncommittal note in her voice.
“Is she doing okay?”
“Starting school is an adjustment, but yes. I’d say she’s doing okay.” She and Kyle had gotten along just fine until Allie had become so unhappy with her marriage. After that, things had gotten awkward. And now that she was wondering if he’d been vandalizing the ranch out of spite, she wanted him off her property. Now.
“She did say that you were bringing the tractor back soon,” Dani said, pushing back a few strands of windblown hair as she tipped her chin up at him.
His face started to go pink as it always did when he was confronted on an issue. “I’ll bring it back this weekend. I’ve been on vacation at the Washington coast.” He spoke with an edge of challenge in his voice, making her wonder if he expected her to question his whereabouts. It also made her wonder if she was in for more retribution via property vandalism if she crossed him. “I heard you made a call to Dispatch while I was off.”
“A week ago.”
“Today was my first day back and when I heard, I thought I’d stop by and check out the situation.”
The fact that he was doing that made her wonder when exactly he’d left and if he’d stopped by the Lighting Creek on his way out of town to stomp a few standpipes, let a few animals go. It’d be a passive-aggressive way to give Allie grief...or maybe to take out his frustrations on the ranch he wasn’t going to get a piece of.
“Nothing to check out,” Dani said. “A neighbor helped me with the problem and he was the one who suggested that I make a report.”
“A neighbor?”
“Yeah.” She turned to point across the field. “A guy who designs parks is renting the Staley house for a vacation.” As if Kyle wouldn’t already know this. Sheriff’s office personnel knew everything in this county. “Long story, but we’d met a couple of times and when I found the standpipes broken off, I called to see if he could help me find the water main.”
Kyle frowned in the direction of the house for a few thoughtful seconds before turning his gaze back to Dani. “You don’t think that’s a little suspicious?”
“What?”
“He moves into the place next door, then strange things start happening here?”
Dani frowned back. “No. I don’t find it suspicious because I don’t think he had anything to do with it.” Yes, he could have let out Lacy, because she didn’t know his whereabouts when that happened, but she knew exactly where Gabe was when the standpipes were snapped—with her.
Kyle didn’t look convinced and Dani had to bite her lip to keep from saying, “Nice try, Kyle, but I think I know who’s responsible for doing those things...and so do you.” He’d only deny it and right now her objective was to get him off the property.
“I heard Jolie is moving back,” he said as if she hadn’t spoken.
Dani smiled, wondering when her ex-brother-in-law was going to get the hint that he wasn’t going to get a lot of family information from her. She didn’t want to burn any bridges, but she wasn’t going to open up to him, either.
Kyle glanced down at his dusty boots, his eyebrows drawn together in a thoughtful frown, then back across the field at the Staley house. “I might just see what this guy’s about,” he said.
“He’s not about anything,” Dani said, earning herself a sharp cop look.
“You don’t know that.”
She let out a barely audible sigh. “No, I don’t. But I haven’t seen him in a week.”
“And nothing’s happened in a week.”
“Are you trying to make me nervous?” she asked.
“I’m trying to keep you safe. Allie and I might have split the sheets, but that doesn’t mean I can shut off feeling protective just like that.”
Dani had never noticed a lot of protectiveness before the divorce, but she wasn’t fool enough to say that when all she wanted was to get rid of him. “Look. I just want to be a good neighbor. I don’t feel threatened. Would you mind holding off on seeing what the guy is about until something else happens?” Which she was pretty damned certain wouldn’t.
Kyle studied her for a moment and Dani did her best to look unconcerned. “If you have anything strange happen, you call me,” he said, pointing his index finger at her.
“I will.”
He nodded. “All right.” Another awkward face-off and then he headed to his SUV.
Dani walked toward the house, even though she still had outside chores. She needed a drink. Or maybe just to splash cold water on her warm face. What she didn’t need was for Kyle to harass her next-door neighbor. She’d just as soon stay off the guy’s radar, because frankly, she didn’t like how easily she could conjure up that mental picture of him standing on his porch when she’d gone to collect her truck, looking all rumpled and sexy. Or the way she’d found herself leaning across the table toward him when they went to lunch. Oh, yeah, she was attracted. Like a magnet. She knew nothing about the guy, had been recently burned in the worst way, yet her primal instincts were saying, “Oh, yes. We must have some of this.”
Not. Going. To. Happen.
Of course it wasn’t. She hadn’t seen Gabe in a week. He’d made a duty call after the standpipe incident and after that, nothing. For all she knew, Gina, who’d made no secret about finding him supersexy, was having her way with him and he’d never given her another thought... No, she would know that, because Gina wasn’t quiet about her conquests. But that didn’t change the fact that he was keeping his distance and that was exactly the way she wanted things.
She glanced over her shoulder at the Staley house before pulling open the door. Off the radar. That was where she wanted to be.
* * *
“SHE’S A REAL nice little horse,” the older man leaning against the fence said as they watched the dark brown mare with the white legs trot around the round pen. “What exactly are you looking for?”
Gabe shot him a look and the man said, “A trail horse? Arena horse? Cutting? Roping?”
“Ah. Well, to tell you the truth, I’m looking for a horse with no bad habits and I figure if I get one that hasn’t been used and have it trained, then I might just get that.”
The old guy smiled broadly. “You’re on the right track there.” He gestured to the round pen, where a woman with golden-brown hair that fell almost to her waist was putting a horse through its paces. She looked a lot like Dani, only smaller, her hair a shade darker. “Marti is one of the best trainers in the area. If she wasn’t, then she wouldn’t work here...even if she is my daughter.”
Gabe gave a polite nod, watching as the daughter stopped the horse, then walked over to pet its neck and slip a halter onto its head. “We have a partnership,” Paul said, bringing Gabe’s attention back to him. “I raise horses, Marti trains. She brings in outside horses, but she also trains my youngsters for their new owners. Gets them off to a good start, like you were talking about.”
Gabe gave a tight smile and turned his attention back to the mare. He liked her looks. She was quiet and trusting and when he’d scratched her ears, she’d bobbed her head appreciatively. A far cry from the nervous, anxious, skittish and just plain mean horses he’d looked at over the past few days. He knew next to nothing about buying a horse, but even to his unpracticed eye, this mare looked well put together and the price was right because, as the man had explained, the cost of hay had tripled recently due to severe drought, so horses were going cheap.
The bottom falling out of the horse market put a damper on his resale plans, since Serena made it clear that she was not accepting a gift horse, but he’d figure out how to get the mare a
good home later—even if it was at a loss. Right now the connection with Dani was more important than money lost or gained.
“She’s been started under saddle, but she’s still green. What’s your riding level?”
“I haven’t ridden in a while. I want to get back into it while I’m here,” Gabe said without hesitation.
“With a young horse? That’s a wreck waiting to happen.”
A soft laugh came from behind them. “Not necessarily.”
Gabe turned to see Paul’s daughter standing behind them. “Hi. I’m Marti,” she said, running an eye over Gabe as if he was himself a piece of horseflesh. “You look athletic.”
Gabe shrugged. “I run and bike. Swim a little.”
“Triathlete,” she said with a smile. “You have balance then. And stamina.” He almost smiled at the way she said stamina. “Tell you what,” she said, crossing her arms. “You buy Molly from Paul, I’ll train her and throw in a couple weeks of riding lessons. We’ll start you on a finished horse, then shift you over to Molly once I’m confident she’s ready.”
Damn, damn, damn. Gabe forced a smile. “Very generous of you.”
“It’s one way of building repeat clientele.”
Gabe looked over at Paul. “Tell you what—give me a day to think about it. I have another horse to look at later today, then I’ll call and let you know.”
Paul pushed off from the fence where he was leaning. “All right. I’ll hold her until tomorrow for you. After that...” He shrugged.
“I understand. Thanks.” Gabe started for his car and Marti fell in step. “My offer stands even if you don’t buy Molly. I have a few open slots in my schedule and I’d be happy to work with both you and your new horse.”
Gabe stopped at the car. “I appreciate the offer. Thank you.”
“Anytime.” She patted the top of his car, then stepped back as he got inside. Gabe drove away thinking it was too bad he couldn’t take her up on her offer. He had a feeling that Marti could teach a guy a lot.
* * *
“I’M FULL UP.” Dani felt a ridiculous pang of regret as she said the words, but facts were facts. “Eight horses, eight hours in the workday.” She smiled a little. “Not counting all the other things I have to do.”
