Authors: Cerian Hebert
Quinn wanted to relax, but her whole
body was rigid. She managed a smile. “I’m glad I could help. Sunny will make a
good mount for Marisol.”
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Craig said
softly.
With one last lingering look, Craig got
back into the SUV. Quinn could barely move as he pulled away. She snapped back
to reality when she saw Marisol staring at her through the tinted window, her
hand up in a wave. Quinn returned the gesture.
Quinn woke before the sun crept over the
eastern horizon. She bypassed breakfast, grabbed a bagel and headed for the
barn. Before retiring for the night, Jacob had asked her to do a barrel racing
demo and lessons during the day, so she wanted Piper groomed and ready to go.
She’d go the whole nine yards and show the guests what a rodeo queen looked
like.
She fed Piper and the other horses when
Lance and Robby put in their appearance. Immediately she sent them out to clean
the paddocks and the big outdoor arena where the demonstrations would take
place. She and Becky, one of the other grooms, took brushes and combs to the
horses and Quinn finished up by polishing her show tack. By then, the sun
hovered over the hills and the rest of the ranch was stirring.
She snuck back in through the rear
entrance and headed to her room for a shower before coming down for a full
breakfast.
Thea, the ranch’s fantastic chef, big
sister type and surrogate mother rolled into one, sat with three of the
California guests and summoned Quinn to join them. Thea had been with the
Emery’s from the time Quinn’s parents died. She had been her mother’s best
friend and stepped in when Quinn and Jacob needed her. She was the closest
thing to a best girlfriend Quinn had.
Quinn gave the ladies a quick smile.
They seemed as unlikely as anyone to be vacationing on a dude ranch. A little
too glamorous for the rigors of riding and chasing cows.
“I hear Jacob is getting you to show off
today,” Thea commented.
Quinn nodded, a half-smile on her lips.
“It’s my thing,” she replied. “Then I’ll go back to being inconspicuous.”
“What kind of showing off will you be
doing?” Charlene Tatreau asked. She was a petite blonde with a perfect, golden
tan. Probably worked hard to get that tan.
Quinn swallowed her coffee quickly.
“Barrel racing.”
“You’re looking at a three time state
champion,” Thea added proudly.
The women responded with appropriate
appreciation.
“I should hardly say you’re
inconspicuous otherwise,” Charlene mused.
Quinn frowned and glanced at the woman,
wondering what she meant. “Believe me, it’s a talent I’ve always possessed.”
“Looks like yours would get you far in
L.A. My boyfriend’s sister is a casting agent. She’s always on the lookout.”
With a shake of her head, Quinn
swallowed the last of her coffee. “I don’t want to go far. I want to stay right
here in South Dakota. As close to Falstad as I can get. But I thank you for the
compliment.”
Charlene nodded. “Still, I bet you could
make those Hollywood types go nuts. If you, well, fix your…” Charlene hesitated
but she stroked her own perfect little nose.
Quinn frowned. Her nose. She willed
herself not to touch it like Charlene has touched her own. The woman didn’t
have to finish her sentence to know she suggested that Quinn get a nose job. She
let out a humorless chuckle. “I’ve already fixed it twice. Damned thing about
barrel racing, I keep breaking it. What’s the point of getting it straightened
when I know it’s just going to get broken again?”
All three California guests stared at
her, their mouths open. Quinn chuckled again.
Thea came to her rescue. “I hope you
ladies plan on coming into the spa today. We’re getting ready for our grand
opening but we’ve got lots of goodies over there now.”
While the topic changed, Quinn took
advantage of the attention being off her while the other ladies discussed
facials and nail treatments. She glanced over at Thea, who gave her a wink,
gathered her breakfast plate and excused herself.
***
Craig was ticked. No, it went beyond
that. He barely contained his anger and only managed to rein it in for
Marisol’s sake. She was getting ready for the barbeque and he stood alone on
the porch, glaring in the direction of his family’s old ranch.
Bastard.
It would’ve been better if he hadn’t
gone over there yesterday afternoon, but when he found the two head of cattle
at the edge of the Shady H fence line, one with its leg tangled in the wire, he
thought he’d be neighborly and bring the animals back. Yeah, they were on the
thin side, something not quite right when the grazing was good, but he didn’t
get too concerned until he got closer to the buildings.
What was left of the white picket fence
tilted one way, then the other, missing slats all the way down and there was no
sign that grass or flowers ever grew. Three rusted-out cars sat abandoned next
to the garden shed. Bits and pieces of metal and plastic littered the yard.
Whatever couldn’t fit on the sway-backed porch tumbled over the side and lined
the front of the house like a metallic growth. Once, Craig and his family had
spent evenings in the summer on that porch. He’d had nothing but happy memories
whenever he thought of Emerald Ranch.
Now this image would be stuck in his
head. A dustbowl of a ranch yard, a few chickens, as scrawny as the cattle,
scratching around, a dog, flat on its side in a strip of shade by the barn, and
a corral with a handful of listless, thin cows. And horses. Too many horses to
comfortably fit into the paddock space they had been given. Craig had ridden
closer to the paddocks to get a better look at the horses. At least three of the
mares were clearly pregnant, though not the picture of health. Two more mares
stood next to foals, also visibly underweight.
Craig pushed back the anger stewing in
his belly. What good would it do? Emerald wasn’t his place anymore. But he
wouldn’t be getting the image of those horses out of his mind too easily. He
planned to ask around about what the owner did with the horses. He couldn’t
possibly be a breeder, at least Craig didn’t want to think that.
Maybe he could make it his problem. Last
night, as he sat at his desk in the study to pay bills, he thought of the
dilapidated porch that had once been the spot for family gatherings after a
long day of hard work. Where they’d played lots of games of Monopoly and
checkers. Memory of what Ted Penney had done ate at his insides. His
grandfather once sat in an old rocker on that porch, telling stories of his
past. Everything Craig knew about ranching he’d learned at Emerald.
Now it was falling apart.
“Not for long,” he muttered. Not when he
got his hands on the property.
This would eat at him; he knew it,
unless he found something to get his mind off it.
One thing came to mind. A certain
auburn-haired cowgirl with bright blue eyes and a smile that combined playful
and sexy was the only image powerful enough to knock Emerald Ranch and its vile
owner out of his mind.
***
Quinn didn’t have to do her barrel
racing demo until just before lunch so, with stopwatch in hand, she timed the
various races being run on the lawn behind the main house.
She nearly forgot to time Jack as the
old foreman had her nearly doubled over in laughter. He did his best at the
dizzy race; loping across the lawn toward the finish line, zig zagging all the
way. He fell over on his side half way there and crawled the last several
yards. She glanced up through tears and saw Craig and Marisol standing at a
distance, enjoying the spectacle. She wiped away the tears and waved at them.
Both waved back.
Three more runners went, trying to keep
their balance as they spun around the post at the opposite end of the lawn,
before running back. Two went so far off course they nearly ended up by the
picnic tables. In the end, a delighted Tara Bloom, one of Charlene’s
companions, won. Lance placed a medal around her neck. She returned the favor
by planting a very hard kiss on his mouth. It was hard to tell who was happier
with the results.
“Guess we missed the fun,” Craig
commented when the award ceremony finished and people retreated to the riding
arena to admire Lance and Robby’s roping talents.
“Well, if you’d like a run or two I
still have this,” she held up her stopwatch.
Craig laughed and looked at his
daughter. “You want a try?”
Marisol shook her head and shrank
against her father’s side.
Shy, Quinn noted, even after the
previous day, or overwhelmed by the turn out. Several children Marisol’s age
hung out in the play area behind the barbeque pit, kids from town. Marisol’s
gaze found them.
“You want to go over? I’ll introduce
you,” Quinn offered.
Marisol shrugged.
“It might be nice to get to know them
before school starts. Come on. Later I have a surprise for you.”
Marisol took Quinn’s outstretched hand.
Quinn cast a glance at Craig to make sure it was okay with him. When he nodded,
his eyes shining, she gave him a smile and took his daughter across the grass,
Craig following behind.
Once Marisol settled in with a group of
two girls and a boy about her age, Craig and Quinn stood back and watched. At
first, the girl was unsure, but eventually the kids pulled a smile out of her.
“Do you think we should stand here and
stare at her?” Quinn leaned toward Craig and kept her voice low. It was a
mistake because she caught the subtle scent of his woodsy cologne, and combined
with her memories of their moment the day before, Quinn could’ve kept on
leaning until she ended up in his arms.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate that.
Come on. Show me around so I can see what Jacob has done to this place.”
Side by side, they moved away from the
play area. Quinn was torn between wanting to escape his company and never
wanting to leave it. It had never been her style for a man, someone she hadn’t
seen for years, to tie her stomach into knots and turn her legs to jelly. But
there she was, walking next to him, close enough to bump arms, sending sparks
of desire rushing through her like a surging grassfire.
“Maybe we should find Jacob. He’s the
one to show you around. He’s an excellent host and tour guide. I’m the one who
hides out at the barn or out on the prairie whenever I can.”
“I don’t see why. I have a feeling you
know this land every bit as much as your brother. Maybe more.”
Quinn stopped in her tracks and Craig
turned to face her.
“That’s the land. This house is
different. It’s more Jacob’s than mine.”
She thought briefly of the old clapboard
farmhouse they’d lived in before Jacob transformed the place. That was home.
She looked at Craig and noted the
troubled look on his face but it passed quickly and he focused back on her.
Where had his thoughts gone? Maybe living over on the Shady H, he felt kind of
the same. She wondered if Craig was aware of what Ted Penney had done to
Emerald Ranch. She hoped not but he was bound to find out at some point.
“Okay, fine, you can be in charge of
giving me a tour of the barn.”
Quinn stuck her hand out. “It’s a deal.”
Craig took it in a firm hold.
Mistake.
The hold lasted a little longer than a polite handshake should, and the thrills
that raced from his fingers to her heart, and parts beyond sure weren’t polite.
Worse, she couldn’t free herself from his gaze. It was steady and warm. The
smile disappeared briefly from his lips and when it returned, it seemed a
little forced.
Quinn pulled her hand out of his and
shoved it into her pocket. “It’ll, um, have to be later. I have to get Piper
ready for the barrel racing.”
“Good luck.”
Quinn managed a smile and felt about
seven years-old again. To her dismay, a blush heated up her face. She grinned
cheekily, hoping he wouldn’t notice that her cheeks blazed. “It’s only a
demonstration. But thanks.”
She turned away before she made more of
a fool of herself than she had already.
***
Craig admired her from behind. As petite
as she was, Quinn had great curves that she showed off to their best advantage
in the pair of snug Wranglers. Her braid, wrapped at the bottom with fawn
colored leather, fell several inches past her shoulders. She had a swagger to
her that would drive any man crazy and he didn’t think she even knew it.
“You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d
say you were checking out my little sister.”
A rush of guilt washed over Craig. That
was exactly what he’d been doing. There was no way he would admit that to
Quinn’s big brother.
Craig held out his hand and Jacob took
it in a strong grip. “What happened to that little kid who ran wild over the
prairie?”
“You kidding? She’s still running wild.
But now she doesn’t have a curfew.”
Craig wanted to get away from the
subject of his friend’s little sister. The thoughts that had come to the front
of his mind were uncomfortable to say the least. Instead, he looked around his
surroundings in admiration.