He wouldn’t call the look on their new guest’s face a greeting, more like an acknowledgment of his presence. He seemed older than his file had indicated, although maybe that was the gray in his short-cropped brown hair.
“Bryan Vance.”
That was all he said. Didn’t reach out to shake his hand. Didn’t do anything other than spin his chair toward the truck that approached. The skin on his hands was a mix of pink and white flesh. Scars. Probably burns from the IED, and for a moment Colby flashed back to the moment that had changed his life forever. The explosion. The screams of his men...
“What the—”
Jayden’s words made him start. He opened his eyes to see Bryan staring at him curiously.
“I think that’s my ex.”
Ex. Not married. Not that it mattered.
“He said something about dropping Paisley off,” Colby explained.
“What?”
She charged toward the moving truck. She reminded him of a soldier in a battlefield. No fear. Shoulders square. Hands clenched to the point that blood leached from her fingers.
“This ought to be interesting.”
Colby glanced down at their new guest, privately agreeing. He should move the man along, continue where Jayden had left off. Instead he found himself curiously held in place.
“I can’t believe... That no-good, sorry son of a—” She placed her hands on her hips.
The driver’s-side door swung open; a lanky man with patchy-looking blond sideburns got out. He slapped a tan cowboy hat on his head.
“What are you doing here?”
The man was all cool cockiness in his store-bought tattered jeans and purple paisley shirt. Colby disliked him on sight.
“I can’t watch her anymore.” He pushed the hat down low. “Got a call from Dusty. He’s up at Redding this weekend. Told him I’d go up early and pull slack when he rode.”
Jayden seemed incapable of speech for a moment. “You’re going to a rodeo a week early to help your friend ride a bull?”
The man splayed his hands. “I told you I might have to leave. You can’t expect me to drop everything and watch Paisley all the time.”
He could practically hear Jayden count to ten. Her hands clenched and unclenched in time with the unspoken numbers. She glanced toward the truck, where he could see a little girl strapped in a car seat.
“Yes, I can.” Her words were far more civil than her body language implied, probably for the little girl’s sake. “It’s called parenting. She’s your daughter. And I’m working, which is way more than I can say for you.”
“I might work, too. I’m on the wait list for Redding. Someone might draw out.”
Ah. A rough stock rider. That explained a lot.
She snorted. At least, that was what it sounded like. The man ignored her, sauntering like a star quarterback over to the passenger-side door.
“You can’t leave her here.”
“I have to.” The man emerged with a little girl in his arms, one with the same blond hair and blue eyes as her dad. “Take her to your aunt Crystal or somethin’. I’m out of here.”
“Mama?” the little girl said, a smile bursting onto her face when she spotted Jayden, and then, “Mommy!”
Paisley squirmed like a puppy. The man seemed only too happy to set her down. She ran—well, toddled—to her mom, who scooped her up and held her close.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Levi.”
Levi hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and smiled, and something about the way he did it made Colby think he used the grin a lot. Here was a man who knew his effect on women and wasn’t afraid to use it.
“She’s looking forward to spending time with you.”
“Oh? Did she tell you that?”
Levi ignored her. “I’ll see you next week, Goldy,” he said to his little girl, leaning in, but he didn’t close the distance to touch her or kiss her goodbye. “Daddy has to go off and make some money.”
“Ha,” Jayden huffed.
The man straightened again. “Don’t get snarky.”
“Just go.” Jayden shifted Paisley to the other hip.
The man didn’t need to be told twice. He sauntered back around the beat-up old truck and hopped in. Exhaust clouded the air. Jayden stepped back and watched him drive away.
“Something tells me you’ll be my tour guide today.”
Colby glanced down at Bryan. He had a feeling the man was right. “You mind if we postpone it a little bit?”
“It’s your call.” His words were coated with a Southern accent laced with the same sugar as a beignet. “My sister’s the one paying for this whole ridiculous thing.”
Oh, yeah. They would have their work cut out for them with Bryan, but that would have to wait for later. Right now Jayden was walking toward him, her little girl in her arms, tears of frustration in her eyes.
Damn.
He’d never been proof against a woman in tears.
Chapter 6
“I’m so sorry.” Jayden pulled Paisley closer, almost afraid to look Colby in the eyes. Behind him, she saw Bryan roll his way toward his cabin. “I can’t believe this happened. I’ll call my aunt Crystal right now. I just need to go get my cell phone.”
“Use the ranch phone.” He pointed to the barn wall behind her. She tried not to wince at the look on his face. He was not happy.
“C’mon, Pais. Let’s go call Aunt Crystal.”
She wasn’t home.
Colby still stood where she’d left him, in the middle of that aisle, hands on his hips. He wore the same straw cowboy hat he always did, but she would swear he’d pulled it down low on his brow, like some kind of cowboy in an old Hollywood Western.
“I had to leave a message,” she confessed.
“I heard.”
Paisley wiggled in her arms. “Horse,” she announced.
“Yes, they are, baby. But they’re not ours.” It was like trying to hold on to a wet seal. Once Paisley got an idea in her head, it was impossible to stop her, and today was no exception. She’d spotted her favorite animal in the whole wide world and she wanted down. Now.
“Paisley, stop.”
“She can pet them if she wants.”
It was either drop her or let her down, so she set her on her feet, but Paisley slipped from her grasp before she could grab her hand.
“Horse.” She headed straight for the bay mare in the first stall.
Colby swooped her up as she passed, swinging her around as though he’d done it a million times before. Paisley loved it, giggling.
“Whoa there, little one,” he said, smiling as he turned her around to face him, settling her on his hip with an ease that spoke of lots of experience with kids. How strange. She’d never thought of him as a family man.
“Horse.” She reached her hand toward the animal in question.
“She loves them. Always has. I wish...”
She shook her head. This was no time to think about her dad and how he’d been the one to teach her to ride and how Reese Gillian hadn’t seen Paisley since she was an infant. Aunt Crystal said he never came up to the house when she was babysitting. It broke her heart.
“You wish what?” Colby said.
“Nothing.” She forced a smile. “I’m so sorry.” She held her arms out, prepared to take her daughter off his hands. “Paisley, come here.”
“No, it’s okay.” He turned toward the first stall on the right. “You want to meet Bentley?”
“Bentley?” she said, giggling. “Yay.”
He stopped in front of a stall with a pretty bay mare who had a small white spot on her nose and a forelock so thick and long her eyes peeked out from behind it.
“It looks like she’s wearing a wig, doesn’t it?”
Jayden couldn’t help but smil
e. She’d had the same thought over the past week. She’d never seen so much hair sprouting down a horse’s face.
“What wig?”
“It’s something people wear on their head.” He moved closer. “You can pet her if you want.”
And all Jayden could do was stand back and watch. It’d been so long since she’d watched a man hold her daughter like that. Lord knew Levi spent as little time as possible with her. Uncle Bob played with her, but he was too busy to spend a lot of time with her. Sure, she had lots of brothers, but they were all off living their lives, having their own children. Their time on the rodeo circuit meant their visits were few and far between. Carson was off building his new house, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was focusing more and more on training rodeo horses and leaving the cattle operation to her other brother Maverick. And Flynn was always traveling with her dad showing horses. Shane was off traveling with his race-car-driving wife. Clearly, though, Paisley needed some man time. Her little girl soaked up the attention. Colby captured Paisley’s hand, his bulging biceps making his brown T-shirt ride up his thick arms, and she caught a glimpse of a tattoo.
A tattoo.
She never would have figured he’d be the type. He seemed...too straitlaced. The kind of man who would never mark his body with permanent ink.
Sunlight from the end of the barn aisle drew an outline around the two of them, her daughter’s hair so light, his so dark. He guided Paisley’s hand toward the mare, but as she was about to touch her, the horse sneezed.
They both jumped back.
“Euuuw,” Paisley said, and Jayden couldn’t help but laugh. “Bad horsey.”
Colby glanced over at her, and they shared a smile, and it made Jayden’s heart do something strange.
“How old is she?” he asked.
“Nearly four.”
He nodded. “Why don’t you use the phone again to see if you can find someone else to watch her?”
Was he sending her away?
“Okay.” But she stood there for a moment longer. She couldn’t help herself. Here was a man who seemed so chilly at times, and yet he held her daughter so tenderly and so carefully that she finally turned away out of self-preservation. Too many crazy thoughts had entered her head. She had to force her feet down the aisle, but she was back less than fifteen minutes later.
“I can’t reach anybody.” She ran a hand through her ponytail. “It’s like there’s a zombie apocalypse or something. Everyone’s gone.”
“What ’pocolypse?” Paisley’s eyes were wide.
“Nothing, honey.” She splayed her hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Nothing you can do but go home.” He set Paisley down, catching her hand before she dashed off again, and then leading her toward Jayden. “I’ll call the boss and let him know what’s up.”
“Please don’t do that.” She took Paisley, her tiny fingers sliding into her own in a way that always left her feeling protective. “I can stop on my way out.” She swallowed. “But you’re right. I should probably take her home. She’ll only get in the way here. But I’ll make it up to you, Colby, I swear. I’ll work extra hours tomorrow. Or I can come back. I’m sure someone will return my calls. Eventually.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. We only have one guest. No big deal.”
She had to reform her opinion of him right then. He wasn’t the tough-nosed son of a gun she’d thought him. Behind his stern countenance was a man with a soft heart. It was like waking up in bed and realizing you were all twisted about and facing the wrong direction. She had to right the image in her head with the reality of the man who stood in front of her.
“I’ll call you and let you know if I’ll be back.” She touched Paisley’s soft blond hair. “Say goodbye to Colby.”
“Bye-bye,” said her daughter with a smile that would have melted the Grinch’s heart. “He’s nice,” she said as they turned away. “I like him.”
Jayden liked him, too. Liked him more and more, and that was a problem. A really big problem for a single mother who’d sworn to be sensible instead of headstrong. Getting involved with a coworker was exactly the kind of reckless behavior her dad had claimed she’d never grow out of, the reason he’d wanted her to move back home. He’d wanted to keep an eye on her, help her to “fly right.” She’d never been so insulted in her life.
She could fly right all on her own.
* * *
Her car wouldn’t start.
It took Colby a moment to identify the click-click-click he heard coming from the parking lot. The woman was having a hell of a day. When he exited the barn aisle, he saw her peering at him from behind the windshield, her eyes filled with disbelief and dismay.
“Battery,” he mouthed. He lifted his fingers to his throat, giving her the universal sign to cut things off, then motioned her out of the vehicle. Paisley sat in the back seat, staring at him curiously.
“It’s just not my day.” She didn’t bother to close the driver’s-side door, just rested her arms on the roof of her silver Ford. “I think I should go home and go back to bed.”
He’d like to join her there.
His cheeks reddened as if the words had been a physical blow. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never allowed himself to even think about having a relationship with a woman. Not after everything he’d been through. Not after all the terrible things his ex had said, things that he’d known were rooted in truth. He’d moved away from Texas and settled in California and shoved Liz’s astute assessment of his character out of his mind.
“Open the hood.”
His words were brusque, and he kept his eyes averted, angry with himself for having untoward thoughts about his coworker. Damn old car. The engine was covered in a film of greasy grime, the scent of burned oil more pronounced once he ducked his head under the hood.
“How many miles you got on this thing?”
She didn’t answer right away. “Over two hundred thousand.”
Yipes. “Your battery cables are completely corroded.”
“Can you fix them?”
She came around the side of the vehicle. A breeze brought her scent to him. Cherry blossom. That was what it reminded him of. “Or maybe clean them?”
“I can try.”
But it didn’t help. He tried jumping her vehicle next, and when that didn’t help, he checked the solenoid.
“Bad starter,” he pronounced.
He’d have to have been a real jerk to be immune to her crestfallen expression. “But I just drove it.”
He shook his head. “Happens that way sometimes. They can short out.”
“How do I fix it?”
“Buy a new one, and I’ll put it in for you.”
It was one of those moments when he instantly wanted to call the words back. What in the heck had he offered to do that for?
“You don’t have to do that.” She glanced at Paisley, who sat inside the vehicle, coloring. “I’m sure one of my brothers will know how to fix it.”
Saved by the bell. And then he heard himself ask, “How are you going to get your car over to them?”
Her mouth dropped open slightly. “I guess I’ll have to call a tow company.”
“Don’t do that. I’ll drive you into town. I’m sure one of the local auto parts stores has a starter in stock. I can fix it right here.”
What the hell?
He should be calling her a tow truck.
“Oh my goodness, if you could do that.” She looked like she wanted to jump into his arms and shower his face with kisses, which might just be wishful thinking on his part, and that had him wondering if he’d lost his damn mind.
“It’s no problem. We can always put the part on the ranch account, too. Mr. Stone won’t mind. I’ll ask him, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”
The flash of relief in her eyes told
him. She clearly had to make her own way in the world. Fixing her car wasn’t in her budget, and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from helping her out.
“I can pay him back.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He took a deep breath. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Why don’t you and Paisley stay here while I go into town? I’ll pop in at the boss’s house on the way out, explain what’s going on and that maybe he should have his chat with Bryan now.”
He saw her take another deep breath. Saw her lashes sweep down and her mouth tremble, and he knew she fought back tears of gratitude, and on the heels of that thought, he knew life hadn’t been easy on her. “I don’t know how to thank you. If Mr. Stone says it’s okay, please tell him thank you, too. Really. You guys have been great to me.”
He could think of a few ways she could thank him. “Stay here. I’ll go call the boss.”
He couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Chapter 7
If she could have kissed him, she would have. Instead she watched him drive away, hoping that he was right and that Jax wouldn’t mind him taking off to help her get her car started.
“Paisley, honey.” She opened the car door, smiling when she caught a glimpse of what Paisley had been drawing. A brown stick horse with a fuzzy forelock that looked more like a giant asterisk. Bentley. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Horsey?”
“Sure.” She un-clicked the car seat, and as always happened, Paisley wiggled out of the thing like a puppy out of a collar. “After we’re done.”
At least she didn’t run into the barn this time. That’d been so embarrassing. Instead Paisley took her hand and said, “Mama, pretty.”
“Do you like this place, honey?”
“Yes.”
It was pretty. Everything so new and clean. The scenery, with acres of pastures and forests of trees, was spectacular. Their veteran guests must find these surroundings soothing after all they’d been through. Before Levi had arrived and spoiled everything, she’d been coaxing a smile from their new guest, trying to get a feel for his personality, hoping to connect with him. He’d need physical therapy and counseling for his PTSD, all of which would be provided for him at the ranch, and since he was the first guest of the season, she’d been hoping to make a good impression, too. Thanks to Levi, she’d blown that within the first five minutes of meeting him.
Home on the Ranch: Her Cowboy Hero Page 5
