Cowgirl Fever (Novak Springs Book 1) (10 page)

“You know me too well. I do have some stuff on my mind. I can’t talk about it right now.”

“You know where to find me when you’re ready. I may be an ass at times, but you’re my family. I’ll always be here if you need me.”

“I know that. It’s not something I like to admit to. If anyone would understand, it’d be you. When I’m ready, I’ll find you. It may be a while.”

“Good. Go and have fun, but be warned. Once you get back, I’ll have a list of chores for you to do tomorrow. I have a few fences that are going to need mending. I’m sure it will help you keep your mind from rolling over your problems.”

“Okay that sounds like a plan.” Wes laughed and stood up. He slapped Dallas on the back and said, “Fine, I’ll drive into town and see what kind of trouble I can find.”

“It shouldn’t take much. Everyone knows you’re the real trouble as soon as you walk in the door.”

“Ha ha. I’m outta here. Talk to you later, bro.” Wes waved at Dallas and walked out of the kitchen.

Dallas was alone in the kitchen with his own thoughts. It was never going to be easy being the oldest sibling. At least he got them both calmed down. Now he needed to find something to relieve his own stress levels. He thought of Ginnifer and knew what he needed to make himself feel better. When he was around her, he felt lighter somehow, like he could be more of the person he used to be before all life had landed heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. He knew he was way too serious at times. It came with being prematurely the head of his family. It was time to start looking out for himself. His timetable was about to be pushed up where the sexy writer was concerned. What he needed to figure out was how to push her in the direction he was looking for her to go. He smiled when an idea occurred to him. In a few short days he was going to head a scavenger hunt, and he was going to make sure Ms. Zeiss was on the team he was leading. When he saw Emma again, he was going to insist that she be put on the same team as him so he could keep an eye on her. For good measure he decided that Vitoria needed to be on the same team as Wes. For some reason, she stirred something in him, and if anyone was going to keep a good eye on the publicist, it would be his brother.

Time wasn’t on her side. That was what Ginnifer was thinking as she woke up from a four-hour nap. She had only meant to sleep for a couple hours and then get up to write her article on Colt Lewis. When she had lain down on the bed, it had been barely noon. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was already four o’clock in the afternoon. A quick perusal of the cabin showed that Tori was nowhere in sight. Her overly large suitcase was open on her bed, clothes spread everywhere, indicating Hurricane Tori had decimated the tidiness of the cabin. A smile formed on her lips recognizing that at least some things never changed. Ginnifer got up and walked to the window and looked outside. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky. It was possible to get something out of the day, but with a sigh, she resigned herself to knocking out her article on Colt first. There was no way she would be able to enjoy the day with that hanging over her head.

Strolling over to her bag, she pulled out her small tablet and folded out its keyboard. Opening up her word processing application, she began to type her article. She detailed Colt’s struggles and his denial at Missy Claybourn’s claim that he was her baby’s father. Ginnifer weaved a tale of tragedy-filled heartbreak and betrayal. Once she had it written, she double checked her grammar and spelling. Feeling satisfied it was one of her best pieces of work, she sent it off to her editor for approval. Stretching her arms above her head, Ginnifer caught a glance at the clock from the corner of her eye. Damn it, had it really taken her two hours to get that article done? Dinner was in fifteen minutes, and she would have to practically run to get there in time. With a rush, she grabbed her shoes and slid them on her feet. She ran out the door, practically knocking Tori down in her haste to get there in time.

“What the hell, Ginny, you tryin’ to kill me here?” Tori asked.

“Of course not. I lost track of time and didn’t realize it was dinner time. Are you going to eat?”

Tori wrinkled her nose up in distaste. “I’m hoping that Wes is nowhere to be found during dinner, but I need to eat, so yeah I’m going. I need to grab my phone. I forgot it in the cabin. I need to see if Colt called me and check up on him. If you wait a sec, I’ll walk back with you.”

Nodding her head at Tori, she agreed that she would wait outside for her to retrieve her phone and asked, “Do you have your key? I forgot mine inside the cabin.”

“Yeah it’s in my pocket. Do you want me to nab yours while I’m inside?”

She thought about it and told Tori, “It might be a good idea in case we come back separately. It’s on the table by my tablet.”

Tori laughed as she headed inside the cabin to retrieve her phone and Ginnifer’s key. Once she came out of the cabin, they started their journey to the dining hall. While they were walking, Ginnifer told her, “I did finish the article on Colt and sent it to my editor.”

Tori stopped dead in her tracks. Turning toward Ginnifer, she stated, “I had hoped you’d let me read it before you sent it off to get published. Why didn’t you run it by me first?”

“Because my job is to write articles as I see them. It shouldn’t matter whether the publicist likes what is written or not. Besides I didn’t write anything that would harm Colt. Why don’t you trust me to do what is right?”

“Probably because sometimes we have a different idea of what is right and what’s not.”

Ginnifer had to agree with that. “True enough. That’s probably because your version is skewed.”

Tori’s face started to turn scarlet as she attempted to control her temper. It was a wasted endeavor because she had anger issues. A burst of fury sprouted from deep within Tori as she shrieked at Ginnifer, “Well excuse me, Miss Perfect. Have you ever stopped to take a long look at yourself in the mirror?”

Ginnifer was baffled at that. What could she possibly mean? So she raised her eyebrow at her questioning, “I’m at a loss here, Tori. I don’t have a freaking clue what you’re talking about.”

Sarcasm was weaved through her words as Tori articulated them. “Well we’re being honest here, right?”

Ginnifer’s heart skipped a beat. Hadn’t they always been honest with each other? She looked into Tori’s eyes, sadness reflected out from under the anger. They needed to stop fighting, but Ginnifer had no idea how to stop it. It had already gone past the point of no return. So she looked her best friend in the eye and said, “I thought we were always honest with each other.”

Tori tilted her head and with a lot of bitterness uttered, “Only as much as you allow me, Ginny.”

“When have I ever held you back, Tori?”

“Always. Tori don’t do that, or I can’t believe what you did. The list goes on. You’re a straight-laced prude. If I flirt too much, I get an evil eye from you. God forbid if I take a guy home with me. When did you get like this? Do you hate yourself, or is it just me?”

A look of pure shock took over Ginnifer’s face. She couldn’t believe Tori thought she hated her. What did she do to make her ever think that? It was a horrible thing for her to believe. Surprise washed over her face. Ginnifer attempted to reassure her, “Of course I don’t hate you. Why would you think that?”

Tori had tears forming in her eyes and turned away from Ginnifer. “I need to call Colt, so I can’t deal with this right now. I’m going to have to take your word that the article is good for him.” Tori stormed in the opposite direction of Ginnifer to gain some distance between them. She had an easier time of it than she had earlier trying to escape Wes. A pair of sneakers now graced her feet, having traded her stilettos in for something sensible for once. “Tori, wait. We should talk about this.”

Tori stopped and turned around, looking at her with sadness permeating her expression. “No, I think we talked it all out.” With that she continued her trek toward the cabin, leaving Ginnifer stunned. How had this happened to their friendship? How evil am I to make my best friend feel this way? Maybe they needed a little space for now. She would try talking to Tori later after they both had time to calm down.

In the meantime she would go and eat dinner. Ginnifer continued to walk to the dining hall and met Emma on her way over.

“Oh good, Ginnifer, I’m glad I ran into you. I have some things I’d like to talk to you about.”

“If it’s about Colt, I’m sorry it disturbed you. He won’t be coming back.”

“No. I mean, yes it disturbed me, but you didn’t know about our previous relationship. I can’t hold that against you. It’s a different matter I need to talk to you about.”

“What do you need to discuss?”

“I had a small mishap come to my attention in one of the other cabins. The pipes in the bathroom broke and flooded the room. I am going to have to relocate the guests.”

“Oh that’s terrible.”

“I hope you don’t mind. I need to move two of them into the cabin with you and Vitoria. I know I promised you your own cabin…”

Maybe having two other people in the room would be a good thing. Normally the idea would have irritated Ginnifer, but having a buffer between her and Tori probably would be a blessing in disguise.

“No, that should be okay.”

“Oh thank you. I hate that this has happened. Everything else has gone so well.”

“These things happen. It’s part of starting and owning a business. Don’t let it worry you too much.”

“I know. I have so much I want to prove to my brothers. I probably shouldn’t be telling you all of this, but I think maybe you understand on some level. With everything that happened with Colt, I needed this program. It gave me something to focus on when everything else was falling apart.”

Ginnifer understood. She didn’t want to, but she did. Her interview with Colt had told her a lot about their relationship. Maybe she could help her with more than allowing two people to move into her cabin.

“Maybe you should try focusing on more than this business.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I know Colt hurt you, but maybe you should consider letting that go.”

“I can’t. It hurts too much.”

“Are you sure you can’t forgive him?”

“Yes. I tried. The betrayal was more than I could handle.” Emma hugged herself as she said the words.

“I’m not going to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. I think maybe you are wrong, and you might regret it if you don’t find out. It’s your life and your decision. We all have to do what we think is best for us. At the end of the day there isn’t much else we can do,” Ginnifer said.

“I know. Maybe one day I will talk to him. I doubt it, though. Like I said, it hurt too much.”

“I respect how you feel. Maybe one day you can look at in a different light.”

“Maybe. Maybe in time I can forgive him. I don’t think I can ever be with him again. Right now the wounds are way too fresh and real.”

“I suppose I can relate on a small level. Sometimes it’s hard to look past the pain.” Ginnifer couldn’t help relating to her pain.

They continued to talk as they walked to the dining hall. Ginnifer wished she could take away her pain. It had to hurt an awful lot to have your heart ripped out of your chest. It was clear to her that both Emma and Colt still loved each other. She hoped they could find their way back to each other someday. They clearly cared what happened to each of them. They said time healed all wounds. Maybe it would be kind to the both of them and allow them to find each other again.

“Thank you for listening to me,” Emma smiled. “The subject of Colt isn’t a favorite topic of mine, but you made it easy for me to tell you how I feel. That’s a gift. You listen really well.”

“I don’t mind. If I can help even a little, I can walk away happy. When can we expect our new cabin mates?”

“Soon. Probably tomorrow. I’m not exactly sure. I will let you know when I know more. I do know it will be two women. Probably Melody and Shelly if I remember correctly from my notes.”

“I will let Tori know when I see her later.”

“She isn’t coming to dinner?”

“No. She had some calls to make. A situation to check on.”

“Oh you mean Colt. I may no longer be in a relationship with him, but I don’t hate him. I can’t make myself quite feel that for him. A small part of me will always love him. Sometimes two people just are not right for each other. I wish him happiness, and I truly do hope that Vitoria can help him. Deep down I know he’s a good man. He made some mistakes. Someone doesn’t change that much in such a short time.”

“You’re a very mature young woman, Emma Novak. If I didn’t respect you before, I do now in spades. For what it’s worth, I believe you are right. Deep down he didn’t change. In fact, I believe he was actually taken advantage of. It’s an unfortunate aspect of being thrown into a world you know next to nothing about.”

“I don’t know if he was or not. It’s not for me to say. I just know what happened between us. It’s all I have to go on. It’s up to him to figure out where to go from here. I can’t be that person for him anymore. I need to figure out what I want out of my own life. So far it’s starting the Cowgirl Yoga program. That has to be enough for now.”

“You have time to figure it out.”

“That I do.”

“Well let’s go inside and get something to eat. I’m suddenly starving.”

They both walked into the dining hall and were greeted by the other women. In a short time she and Tori would have to welcome two of them into their cabin. She didn’t generally like to get to know new people and didn’t really plan on changing that outlook for them. All she saw them as was a way of gaining some much needed relief from the tension she had to deal with when she was around Tori. Nothing else really mattered because she had no intention of seeing any of them again. She did truly like Emma and was glad she had a chance to talk with her. It helped her to shake off the uneasiness she carried around after Tori had left her. The talk with Emma gave her something else to focus her energy on.

***

The tension remained thick between Ginnifer and Tori. Staying inside a cabin with her made it difficult to breathe. So instead of going to bed, Ginnifer decided to go for a walk to clear her head. The night sky was pitch black and sprinkled with a bazillion stars. They twinkled at Ginnifer during her walk. The stars didn’t shine quite like this in New York, so she couldn’t help staring at them as she strolled along one of the paths on the ranch. She found herself at one of the main stables and heard a horse whinny inside. A gentle voice followed the noise. It was a decibel barely above a whisper, making it difficult to hear, but she could still make out the sound of Dallas’s voice saying, “That’s right girl, I’m here to help you.”

Ginnifer found it difficult to resist the lull of his voice and wandered inside to find out what he was doing. When she walked inside, she found him leaning down with a white mare having difficulty delivering her foal. The poor horse was breathing heavy as she attempted to expel the baby from her body. Ginnifer shuffled her feet to get a closer look at the horse, causing Dallas to stop and look up at her. Surprise filled his eyes followed with a tiny smile. “Well looky here, Olympia. We have an angel of mercy come to help us out.”

Ginnifer was floored he thought she could help. No way, absolutely not, she knew nothing about horses. She would be useless to him in this situation. So she told him as much by saying, “Uh, I don’t know anything about horses. I doubt I will be able to do anything to help her.”