Authors: Cerian Hebert
Damn.
Had it been that obvious? Had
anyone else noticed? He remembered Marisol’s friend, Bonnie, and Marisol’s own
questions.
“We’re friends. I like and respect her.
Anything else?” Craig asked tightly. He hoped his voice didn’t give anything
away.
“You know I want her back.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.
Weren’t you out with someone else two nights ago?”
“Yeah, but Kara and I aren’t serious.”
Robby’s voice took on a defensive tone.
“Still, not a very good way to win her
back. And I’m sure she wouldn’t think so either.”
Craig pondered the irony of this
conversation. Was he actually giving his brother advice on how to build a new
relationship with Quinn? She’d surely kick his butt for that. But if it threw
Robby off the scent, so be it.
“Leave her to me.” Cocky Robby returned.
“And seriously, I’m sure I could’ve run Emerald.”
“Until you got bored with the hard,
dirty work. Then what? No, you’re better off over at Long Knife Creek until you
decide what you want to do with your life.”
Which, Craig was sure, didn’t include
staying in Falstad any longer than he had to.
He found Marisol in the living room,
curled up on the sofa with a book. One kitten lay on her shoulder, eyes closed
and looking content. The other perched on one of Marisol’s legs.
“They look comfy.”
Marisol glanced away from the book,
smiling at the kitten on her shoulder. “Glad someone is. Are you done in the
office?”
“Yup. Ready to relax for a little while.
You think you want to go for a trail ride tomorrow? Just the two of us? Have a
proper picnic out on the prairie. It would be good practice for the
overnighter.”
“Quinn isn’t coming?”
“No, just you and I.”
Marisol nodded. “I was wondering. I
think she likes you.”
Craig raised his brows. “Well, I hope
she does. We’re friends.”
Marisol rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not
what I mean. I think she has a crush on you. I know you only like her as a
friend, but I think she likes you a lot more.”
So, his daughter hadn’t been so
impervious to the moods around the place. He could no longer count on her not
noticing. He’d have to tell her the truth about his relationship with Quinn
soon.
“I promise to be careful,” he murmured.
“Uncle Robby says she’s playing hard to
get. What does that mean?”
Craig grimaced. His damned brother. “It
means Uncle Robby needs to watch what he’s saying to you.”
“I’m not a kid anymore. I know about
boyfriend and girlfriend stuff.”
“You’re ten. He shouldn’t be talking
like that around you.”
“Fine,” she replied tersely. “I’ll put
my hands over my ears next time.”
That ended the conversation. Marisol
turned the subject to school shopping. With only a few weeks to go before
school began, he needed to get her stocked up on clothes and supplies.
In previous years, she’d either been
home schooled or gone to a private school in Washington DC. This would be her
first introduction to public school. At least she’d made some fast friends
already.
Marisol chatted endlessly about her
friend Bonnie. Bonnie was learning how to rope, Bonnie had a swimming pool, and
Bonnie had an older sister who was a Minnesota Vikings cheerleader.
Bonnie had a lot of bragging rights, but
it amused Craig. His daughter had a few herself.
“She asked if I could sleep over Friday
night. Her dad is taking her to the movies. Can I go?”
Craig put his arm around her shoulder.
God, she was growing up fast. Too soon, she’d be a teenager and be gone more
often than not.
“Sure, I think that would be okay, but
have her mom or dad call to confirm.”
For the first time in years, Craig felt
real contentment. His daughter settled into life here after a few initial
bumps, the ranch was in order, and he returned Emerald to the family.
Quinn Emery was the icing on the cake.
Quinn stared at the sorrel devil and he
stared right back, bold and stubborn.
“You’re not going to beat me,” she told
him firmly, keeping her voice soft and even. She wasn’t under the impression
that Ted Penney had treated the animal with any care. He may have tried to train
the stallion, then gave up when he and the horse clashed. It would be extra
hard to bring the big guy around, but he was four years old, and it was time
for him to earn his keep.
She didn’t intend to push him, but he
had to get used to a human working around him. Her fingers itched to give him a
good grooming until his coat gleamed like burnished copper under the sun and
his flaxen mane and tail ran like blond silk through her fingers. That would be
step one.
At some point, someone had managed to
put a halter on him, but the blue nylon headpiece looked tight and crusted with
dirt. And his hooves were atrocious.
His name was All Fired Up, she’d
discovered. His papers were in the office inside the house. Good bloodlines,
good-looking horse. Bunches of potential. She could see why Ted had wanted him.
The man had some sense when it came to horses, but not enough to be a
successful breeder. Sadly, Fire was neglected and distrustful, and she had to
fix that.
“It’s okay, Fire. I’m only going to take
that old halter off you. You can let me do that, right?” She kept her voice low
and even, soothing him into security. She hoped.
She took slow steps toward the stallion.
He glared at her, pinned his ears back and stomped a hoof.
The closer she got, the more his height
impressed her. He stood a good sixteen hands. Decent confirmation too. Under his
dirty coat, she observed a muscular, if not thin, frame. His condition wasn’t
hopeless. Why Ted let the horses get into such bad condition was beyond her.
“Okay, be still, darlin’. I promise this
won’t hurt. In fact, I bet you’ll like a halter that actually fits. If you’re
really good I’ll scratch behind your ears. I know you’d like that.”
Another few steps brought her within
arm’s length of the big animal. He hadn’t moved, but he wasn’t in better
spirits either, not even when she held her palm out and presented him with a
bribe of two sugar cubes.
Fire stretched his neck out, his
nostrils flared and his ears twitched forward a bit. Giving in, she thought,
but didn’t move. She kept whispering sweet nothings. His whiskers tickled her
palm, and he delicately lipped at the little white cubes.
“What a good brave boy. I knew you had
it in you.”
Just when Quinn thought she’d won him
over, the horse wheeled around. His heavy hindquarters caught her before she
could move away. As he bumped her hard, he lifted his back hooves. The strike
hit right above her knee, a quick blow, but painful enough to elicit a curse
from Quinn.
Fire headed toward the opposite side of
the paddock and stopped at the fence. He kept his backend to her and flipped
his tail.
“Great,” Quinn groaned and pressed her
hand over the sore spot. What had she been thinking? Not paying enough
attention to the horse’s movement. She should’ve been one step ahead of him.
She’d never been caught off guard before.
“You haven’t beaten me yet, Fire. I
don’t give up so easily.”
As she limped out of the paddock, a
little maroon pickup pulled up to the barn. Scott Penney jumped out of the cab.
“Quinn, you okay?”
She nodded and ducked through the fence.
“I’m fine.”
“But you’re bleeding.”
She looked at her hand. A smear of blood
across her palm seeped from what looked to be an inch long gash in the soft
flesh under her thumb. Preoccupied with the hit her leg took, she didn’t notice
the sting in her hand. That troublemaker had tried to take a chunk of flesh as
well.
“Lovely.”
“You need to get that cleaned up.”
He followed her to the house and stood
close when she ran water over the bite.
“It’s not too bad, but I think I should
take you to the emergency room. You could need stitches.”
Quinn looked at Scott and smiled. Lucky
for him he took after his mother and not his dad.
She nodded, grabbed a clean towel and
wrapped it around her hand.
“Why are you here anyway?”
Scott opened the door to his truck for
her. “I was looking for work. I know I’m probably the last person you’d
consider, seeing how badly run down this place was, but I thought maybe you’d
take me on.”
Quinn held up her wounded arm and
glanced at Scott. “I don’t blame you for the condition of this place. I know
you worked your butt off. We can talk, maybe after all this is taken care of.”
Three hours later, Quinn and Scott
headed back to Emerald. Scott with a part time job and a promise for more if
she could talk Craig it. Quinn had four stitches. The bruise on her leg was a
nasty, florid blotch that, at the moment, hurt like hell.
“So, you really going to tackle Fire?”
Scott asked.
“Sure am.”
“He’s a mean animal. No one could work
with him. Dad even brought in some guy from Texas who was supposed to be a
guru. He left after a day, with a hoof print on his backend.”
Quinn tried not to chuckle. She had a
hoof print of her own and it was no laughing matter. “Well, he’s met his match.
One love tap won’t chase me away. I’ll keep up my guard next time. Before fall,
I guarantee he and I will be buddies.”
“If you say so.”
When they reached the ranch, Scott left
her with the promise to return in the morning. Now she could face the day with
a little relief.
Except when it hit her that she’d missed
her lesson with Marisol. With a curse on the tip of her tongue, she ran into
the house for the phone. The light on the answering machine blinked steadily.
Marisol had called, asking where she was. To add to the blunder, she’d
forgotten her cell phone when she’d gone to the hospital. That had a message on
it as well, from Craig this time, wondering where she was, telling her if he
didn’t hear from her by three, he’d be over to check on her. The clock on the
stove said two-thirty-five.
Quickly she dialed the number for the
Shady H. No one answered but she got voicemail.
“Hi guys. I’m so sorry I missed today.
Fire and I had a disagreement but I’m okay. So is he. If you want a lesson now
let me know. I’ll be over as soon as I can. Talk to you later.”
Later came in half an hour when Craig
called back.
“What do you mean you and Fire had a
disagreement?”
“I wanted to switch halters. I offered
him some sugar. I got more than I bargained for.”
“What does that mean?” Craig’s voice was
tight, reining back what sounded like anger or concern. Probably both.
“It means he gave me a nip and I got the
business end of a hoof in my leg.”
Craig started to speak but Quinn stopped
him. “It’s okay. Scott came by. He took me to the emergency room. It’s not
bad.”
“You’re kidding me. Damn it, I told you
I didn’t want you near that animal when you’re alone.”
Quinn gave a short laugh. “I wasn’t
trying to ride him, Craig. I was trying to get a halter off him.”
“He’s a bad seed. I’m taking him out of
there.”
“What?” His decision shocked her. She’d
expected him to be ticked off, but this? “No, you can’t do that!”
“He’s my horse.”
“He’s a part of Emerald. He’s going to
be an important part of the breeding program here. He’s not going to do any
good to us over at the Shady H,” Quinn replied stubbornly. “You can’t take
him.”
“I can if he’s a hazard. He could’ve
done a lot worse to you.”
“But he didn’t and next time, I won’t
let him get the better of me. Come on, I’ve been working with horses all my
life. Four stitches and a bruise aren’t going to scare me off. You should
understand.”
“Four stitches,” Craig muttered.
“
Only
four stitches. Little
stitches. Can barely see them.”
“You’re stubborn.” The sigh in his voice
was clear, and knew she was winning.
“Since the day I was born.”
“Not going to give up?” A note of
amusement worked its way into his tone.
“Never. That’s the thing about me. I
decide what I want and I make it happen.”
Another sigh, then a pause. “What am I
going to do with you?”
“Don’t know. Depends on what’s on your
mind.”
“Nothing I care to discuss over the
phone.”
Quinn drew in a deep breath and closed
her eyes. Words, they were just words. Harmless flirting. Well, she could give
as good as she received. Her voice dropped to a low and, she hoped, sexy tone.
“Well, next time you get a moment I think we should talk about it. Face to
face.”