by Jen Peters
There was something intriguing about the woman. She seemed to be a bit of a contradiction, and it wasn’t just her crazy corkscrew curls that didn’t belong on a real person’s head. During those few moments, she’d gone from cowering to feisty.
Adam leaned his head against Mister’s neck and inhaled the familiar horsey smell. “Lord, give me strength,” he murmured. Then he chuckled. He’d been taught young that if you asked God for something, He was likely to give you a situation to teach you. He shouldn’t have said that out loud, or Maddy could become his opportunity to learn strength.
Nah. He fully believed God had a sense of humor, but sending Maddy to teach him a lesson seemed a little too trivial. Adam would just do his own work, let her do hers, and hope she kept her little girl out of harm’s way.
“What do you think, Mister?”
The horse flicked an ear at him. Adam reached into his pocket for a piece of carrot. Mister lipped it from his palm and crunched contentedly.
2
Turmoil rocked Maddy’s stomach like a herd of stampeding cattle as she stormed off, pulling Mia behind her. Her daughter could have been killed. What had she been thinking, to take her eyes off a six-year-old in a strange place?
“Why in the world were you in the field with the bulls? Didn’t I just tell you to stay away from them?” Maddy wanted to continue her scold, but Mia was half-crushed by Adam’s yelling already. She didn’t have to complete the job just to vent her own frustration.
“There was a bunny in the pasture,” Mia explained, jogging to keep up. “It was way far away from the daddy bulls.”
Maddy jerked to a stop. “Mia, just being in the pasture was dangerous. It didn’t matter how far away they were.” She forced back the image of a rampaging bull trampling her precious girl, but it kept returning in full color. “Promise me you’ll never, ever go in any pasture again.”
“Not even with you?” Mia’s eyes filled with tears. “I can’t pet the baby horses?”
“After all this? Not for…” What was an appropriate grounding? “For the next two days. You can’t go anywhere near any animals. After that, only if you’re with me.”
Back in the cabin, a much-subdued Mia quietly picked out a book and retreated to her bed to read. Maddy leaned against the kitchen counter and rested her forehead against the cupboard above.
She was still shaking with nerves over Mia’s close call, but that wasn’t the only reason. Adam Black had been furious, and Maddy had responded with fire of her own. She was amazed she had actually stood up to someone’s anger. When Brock had lashed out, she’d had to melt into the wall. Stay still, stay quiet, don’t set him off any further.
She must be feeling safer than she expected at Black Rock Ranch, or she wouldn’t have talked back to Adam. He hadn’t raised a hand to her, hadn’t even come close, but still…it was obvious he had a temper, and she didn’t want to stick around to see it build. She could pack them up in one evening and go look for another job.
Maddy moved to the living room and slowly sank into an armchair as reality set in. This job at the ranch was a huge blessing, considering that she didn’t have to use her real name in day-to-day living or to sign a rental agreement for an apartment. Where else would she find someone who would go along with her subterfuge and provide housing as well?
And who was she to turn away from a blessing that had so obviously come from the Lord? She needed to work through what she could on her own instead of running away from relatively minor issues. She was as safe as possible right now; she had a comfortable home, a place for Mia to play outdoors, and a job that would challenge her.
She’d just have to get on with that job and do her best to avoid Adam.
Maddy woke to the alarm clock Monday. She shut it off, turned over and stroked her sleeping daughter’s hair. Mia hadn’t wanted to be by herself in a new place, but Maddy didn’t mind.
Technically, she should be getting Mia settled into school today, but there was only so much adjusting a child could do at once. She figured Mia could spend this week relaxing into ranch life instead. They’d tackle registration on Thursday or Friday, and the daily school bus rides could wait until next week.
At six years old, with a mostly obedient nature, Mia should be happy to color or read in her office while Maddy worked.
Speaking of work…
“Come on, little one, time to get up.”
Mia smiled sleepily. “Hi, Mama,” she murmured. Then she opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around Maddy’s neck.
They ate croissants and Nutella for breakfast—not quite the cornetto that Nonna made, but close enough. It was one of Mia’s favorites, and although it went straight to Maddy’s hips, she didn’t care—the flavors and the memories that went with it were worth it. Besides, she could always do an extra twenty minutes of exercise.
She rolled her eyes to herself as she dressed. Twenty minutes of daily exercise wasn’t going to change her body shape. She normally ranged anywhere from curvy to plump, but right now was on the slender-curvy side—all the stress had worried ten pounds right off her.
She wouldn’t trade her shape for the world, though. Her Italian heritage was part of her, and if it gave her more flesh than northern Europeans, it also provided her olive skin and luscious curls. Glorious tiny spirals that fell well below her shoulders. Her hair made people turn their heads for a second look, and she’d rather be known for that than have to live on salad just to fit a size eight.
Maddy swiped a coat of gloss over her full lips, then dabbed some on Mia’s mouth, too. “Do you have enough coloring stuff? Your mystery?” Mia was only in kindergarten, but she was already reading books.
The young girl nodded, holding up her T-Rex book bag. She was seriously into dinosaurs, as well as princesses and ponies.
“Good job. Now remember, you’re Mia Ricciolino, not Mia Johnston, right?”
“Right. I’ll remember, Mama.” Mia zipped her lips and turned an imaginary key.
The ranch admin building boasted a wide open space with a desk against one wall and a few scattered chairs, all empty at this time of day. Beyond that were two offices, a large one for Mr. Black and Adam, and a smaller one for the accountant. Once Maddy had settled Mia in a corner of her office, she turned to her new workspace in dismay. Haphazard papers covered the desk surface, an old vase of dried-up flowers sat on one corner, and dust coated the computer. And two sets of taxes were due.
She took a deep breath, wiped her hands on her jeans, and sat down to see what order she could bring out of the mess.
An hour later, Maddy had one stack of invoices and statements to be entered, a smaller pile of correspondence, and too many leftover papers. Not quite the order she craved.
She wiped off the computer keyboard and the monitor, then turned it on and opened the accounting system. She ought to make some headway if she just entered one invoice at a time.
The problem was that she couldn’t really tell what the invoices were for. Gasoline was easy, but what were ivermectin and tags, for goodness’ sake?
She looked over at Mia, engrossed in coloring a dilophosaur’s crest pink. Maddy started to rethink her decision about school, but surely a few days off wouldn’t hurt. “You doing okay, sweetie?”
Mia nodded without looking up.
Whatever. Maddy stood, two invoices in hand. “I have to go ask some questions. I’ll be right back. Stay in here, okay?”
“Okay, Mama.”
Maddy trotted down the steps of the admin building, out into the wide, paved area that spread to the equipment shed, the loading chutes and another barn.
She poked her head into the equipment shed, although shed didn’t seem the proper term for this huge building. She heard some clanging in back and walked in that direction.
Two men, both of them with grease covering their hands and a smear or two on their faces, held wrenches and pry bars and were trying to get something to move. She backed quietly away. These invoices seemed to do with l
ivestock anyway, not machinery.
Back in the yard, she spied a figure coming from Caleb’s stables. Finally!
It turned out to be Adam, who undoubtedly judged her as useless and irresponsible. There was nothing for it, though, so she took a deep breath and walked toward him.
“Can you help me with some information about these invoices?” She thrust the papers out to him. There, that wasn’t so bad.
He scanned them with a frown. “Looks pretty straightforward to me. Ivermectin and tags.” He held them back out to her.
Maddy crossed her arms. “Yes, I can see that. But just what are they? Feed supplements? Veterinary expenses? I can’t categorize what I don’t know.”
Adam’s sigh was so put-upon that she wished he would just give the snarky comment he was obviously holding back. “Ivermectin is for worming livestock—veterinary,” he said. “Tags are ear tags for the cattle, so that’s ranch supplies.” He canted his head. “Did Dad know you were such a greenhorn when he hired you?”
“Of course. It didn’t bother him. And I learn fast.”
Adam shook his head and muttered something, then held the papers out to her. “Anything else?”
She snatched them. “No, that’s all, thank you. I won’t trouble you again.” She turned and managed several steps before he called after her.
“Better to ask questions than not!”
Maybe, but Maddy would go elsewhere for her answers.
A man lifted a greasy hand in greeting as she passed the equipment shed—it must be Micah, but she couldn’t remember if he was the middle or youngest brother.
She watched him for a few minutes. “You really like fixing things, don’t you?”
He just smiled and shrugged.
Micah really was a man of few words. The three brothers were all so different, but all so good looking, especially when they smiled. It didn’t matter much to her—she’d dated some since her divorce, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking about romance—but she wished her sister could come out. Maybe some interesting sparks would fly.
She shook her head at her foolishness. She couldn’t even tell her sister where she was; there was no way she could have her visit. They’d been such a close-knit family back in Denver, and it was killing her to have to make do with just phone calls. From a burner phone, no less!
But it was what it was, and she’d just have to deal with it. As long as she had Mia with her…
Unfortunately, as soon as she opened her office door, she had to close her eyes and count to ten. Her daughter’s artwork now adorned not only the coloring pages but both walls in the corner.
“Oh, Mia. Couldn’t you be good for five minutes?”
“But Mama, it said to draw a big picture of the dinosaur. And an apatosaurus is very, very big—I had to use the walls!”
Maddy closed her eyes. This precocious six-year-old would be the death of her yet. Reading at second or third grade level, questioning everything, but not having the maturity to make good decisions. She opened her eyes and squatted down to meet Mia eye to eye.
“Sweetheart, I’m glad you’re reading the directions, and I’m glad you’re trying to follow them. But you need to use some common sense, too. Does Mr. Black want his walls to become drawing paper? Or would he want them to stay white, like a business?”
Mia sighed. “White, I guess. But if I scrub it off, will you get me some BIG drawing paper?”
“I will. I’ll even help you scrub. But we need to do that when I’m done with work today. So can you stick to the coloring pages or read your new book while I do my work?”
Mia colored sixteen dinosaurs in the time it took Maddy to work through a set of invoices and statements and prepare a list of questions. She didn’t need to go running for one answer at a time.
It would be easier if she knew anything about ranching, but she knew a whole lot more about Italian cooking than she did about beef on the hoof.
Then again, the whole reason she was out at the ranch was that it was a place where Brock would never think to look for her. His obsession with her hadn’t stopped after he’d violated the restraining order and gone to jail. When he got out, he’d threatened her when he could and stalked her when he couldn’t.
Maddy had been surprised he had done nothing more than verbally run off her almost-boyfriend, but he really wasn’t the type to physically go after anyone else—he saved that for people he considered his.
Namely, her.
She’d had no choice but to leave Denver.
The senior Mr. Black hadn’t cared that she didn’t know ranch work, just that she had enough accounting experience. Especially after their last accountant had quit more than a month ago, and he hadn’t been able to find anyone who wanted to work so far out. She had reluctantly given him her real name for the official paperwork, but convinced him to introduce her as Maddy Ricciolino, her grandmother’s maiden name, instead. If Brock ever came looking for Maddy Johnston, he wouldn’t find her.
As for the handsome, younger Mr. Blacks, they were her boss’s sons and that was all.
3
Adam stared after the infuriating woman. Why in the world had Dad hired her? It would take months for her to learn what she needed. He deliberately ignored the whisper that he’d just had a perfect chance to apologize for the day before and hadn’t taken it.
He watched her stalk away, that incredible mass of curly brown hair swinging with each stride. He wondered if she curled it every morning. The lengths some women went to for fashion…
He shook his head to clear it. He didn’t need to spend time thinking about a feisty accountant, no matter how luscious her hair or her curves. She wasn’t his type—did he even have a type?—and he didn’t have room for those kind of thoughts, anyway. Lately his dad seemed to be doing less, or accomplishing less, so keeping the ranch running well took all Adam’s energy these days.
Adam poked his head into the equipment shed. “Find the leak?” he asked his brother.
“Yup.” Micah wiped his hands on an old red rag. “The plug wasn’t seated properly—shouldn’t have any problems now.”
“Have you welded the hooks on the new bucket yet?”
Micah gave him a look. “Not yet. I will.”
With hooks to carry other loads, the replacement bucket would put another tractor back to full use, and Adam liked things running at full capacity. “Any idea when?”
“It’s on my list, Adam. Leaking oil comes first, though.”
“I know, I know. Just trying to keep things current in my mind.”
Micah nodded curtly before turning back to Jesse. “Let’s clean her up before we put her away.”
Adam watched as they began cleaning the remaining oil off various parts, as well as the grass and debris that had built up. They didn’t need him around—that was obvious.
He couldn’t help himself sometimes. He knew the more he could keep situations and events under control, the fewer chances there were that something could go wrong. Having something go wrong was never good.
Outside, he ran his eyes over the cows that were close. He stopped one of the ranch hands as he walked past. “How many calves are we going to have today, Wes?”
The cowboy shrugged. “We’ve got three in the calving shed now, maybe two more by tonight. Jesse and Luis are taking the night shift.”
Adam nodded. Wes was a good ranch hand, had a way with animals that some of the others didn’t. “Give a shout if you need help.” He’d check in periodically anyway, and probably do one of the night checks as well.
He caught motion from the corner of his eye—the farrier had arrived at the stable yard. He let Wes go his way and headed for Caleb’s domain.
Fifteen minutes later, Adam was filled with the sounds and smells of one of his favorite parts of ranching. He watched the farrier work, trimming and rasping, then shaping steel horseshoes to fit individual hooves, tapping little nails into the hoof wall, then moving on to the next.
He heard the barn
door slide open and looked up to see his father come in. Samuel Black was a tall man still, although his back seemed a bit more bent and his shoulders a bit bonier than in years past. Adam fought the idea that his dad was getting on in years, that it wouldn’t be too long before Adam would need to take over completely. Dad had always said that he’d work until he dropped—preferably somewhere out on the range, but definitely not in any forlorn nursing home.
Now he wondered if his father might need to retire before that time came.
“Hey there, John,” his father greeted the farrier. “Adam, I wanted to ask you…“ His voice trailed off. He looked at the horse being shod, the barn rafters, and finally back at Adam. “Dang it, I don’t remember why I came out here.”
“Must have gone through a doorway,” Adam said, smiling. That had been their standard joke ever since one of Adam’s younger brothers read a quasi-scientific comment about doorways causing forgetfulness. “That’s all right—you’ll remember in a bit.”
“Right,” Dad said sarcastically. “As soon as I get back to the equipment shed. Stupid senior-itis.”
Adam chuckled. “I ought to check on the guys working on that cross-fencing. Want to come?”
Dad’s face brightened, enjoyment replacing frustration. “Sure. Horses or the four-wheelers?”
Adam shrugged. He had loads to do, but it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little extra time with his father. “It’s a nice day—let’s go horseback.”
They saddled Mister and Cobbler, Dad’s black-and-white paint gelding, who both stood quietly for the ritual. Swinging a leg over his well-worn saddle put a smile on Adam’s face—two days in a row on a horse. He’d been using the Gator and the four-wheeler way too much.
They left the homestead and followed the fence line out a mile, the mountains above their little valley sharp against the sky.