‘Bit stiff?’ Travis had an undisguised hint of laughter in his voice.
‘Yeah, no, I’m fine.’ She arched her back, and heard it crack.
And that brought a wide smile to his lips as he huffed out a breath. ‘Epsom salts in the tub. Works wonders for me when I’ve been in the saddle too many hours.’
She kind of wished he hadn’t said that because now as she looked at him it was difficult not to picture him naked, soaking in a bathtub. She quickly dropped her gaze and began walking. ‘How many hours a day do you generally ride?’
‘Depends on what I’m doing. I don’t normally work any one horse for much more than a half hour, but some days I end up working close to a dozen, depending on what’s coming up. Like the rodeo in two weeks.’
‘Ah, yes, the rodeo. Will Denver ride too?’
‘You bet. He and I will ride the youngsters, and when we’re in a three-person team our cousin, Nick, will ride Sally.’
‘Oh, so the other day when I saw you riding that horse, Sally does that too?’
‘Yep, Sally can do pretty much anything you ask her to do.’
Alex reached across and stroked Sally’s neck, having even more respect for her than she’d had before. ‘And do you take the horses to other rodeos, or just this one?’
He flashed a slow smile. ‘We go to a few each year—have to keep our name out there.’
‘That must be exciting.’
He hesitated before replying, a faraway look crossing his face. ‘Sometimes.’
It dawned on her he could be thinking about his wife. Denver had said she’d run off with a bull-rider. Would they be at the rodeo at Angels Camp? That would have to be awkward, travelling in the same circles. At least she hadn’t seen Liam since the divorce was finalised. Perhaps Travis would bump into his ex, and her new boyfriend at the rodeo. Perhaps she should change the subject.
‘And your cousin, does he have horses as well? You said he’ll ride Sally?’
‘He grew up next door,’ he said, nodding toward a house just visible down the road. ‘We all rode as kids, but now that he lives in Sacramento. He hasn’t got any horses of his own, but he’s happy to come out here and gives us a hand when we need him.’
‘You’re lucky to have him, to help out I mean.’
‘Yes, he’s a big help that’s for sure. He’ll be at Denver’s birthday, then stick around for the week and work with us in the lead up to the rodeo.’
‘And his family, will he bring them too?’
Travis cocked his head as another slow smile touched his eyes and lips. ‘He isn’t married, if that’s what you’re asking. His sister lives next door now—he’ll stay there with her.’
‘Oh, I wasn’t … I mean, I was just curious,’ she said, feeling like she’d put her foot in her mouth.
He chuckled, but kept walking.
When they reached the barn, Travis took Sally’s reins and led the horses over and tied them to a post, and then removed their saddles and bridles and carried the gear into the barn.
When he returned, she helped him hose off the horses, and put them into a yard with some hay.
‘Now, can I get you a cool drink?’ Travis rubbed his face with the back of his hand. ‘I could sure use one.’
‘I’d love one.’
They made their way out to the back of the house and sat at the same table where they’d eaten the night before. Travis disappeared inside, and then returned with two glasses of iced tea.
‘Was there a business card in the kitchen? Denver said he’d leave one—for a bookkeeper he’s recommending.’
‘Yeah I did see that sitting there and wondered why. She’s good.’
Alex took a long drink of the tea, watching out of the corner of her eye as he did the same. Then, what started out as a pleasant silence soon became awkward, and she pushed her seat back to stand. ‘I should get going … you probably have a lot to do for the rest of the day.’
He stood too. ‘Let me grab that card for you.’
When he returned with the card, he walked her to her car. ‘So, have you caught the bug?’
She turned, just as she reached the car door. ‘Bug?’
‘Horses. Did you enjoy the ride?’
‘Oh, very much so. Thank you for taking me. They’re magnificent animals, aren’t they?’
He reached around her and opened the car door. ‘They are indeed. Perhaps we’ll do this again sometime.’
‘I’d like that,’ she said, supressing a sudden desire to lean forward and kiss his cheek. Then she remembered the hat. ‘Oh, here, I shouldn’t take this with me.’ She started to remove the hat but he reached out and touched her hand.
‘Hang onto it, it suits you.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘Absolutely.’
She shrugged, getting behind the wheel. ‘Thank you. It feels so comfortable I’d forgotten I had it on.’
As she drove off, she watched him in the rear-view mirror, surprised by the longing that washed over her.
Chapter 13
Alex kept busy the next few days with getting the saloon repairs back on track, making contact with suppliers for the fruit and veggie shop, and meeting with the local bookkeeper. She also had a meeting in Sacramento with her accountant to make sure she could access the cash to make it all happen, and by the end of the week she was confident that whether she remained in Masons Flat or not, her assets would only grow in value.
The other thing Alex did in Sacramento was shop for a new outfit for Denver’s party and now, at quarter to seven on Saturday night, she checked her image in the mirror yet again while waiting for Harrison to pick her up. She loved the summer dress she’d found, with its pale blue background covered with splashes of red, white and orange flowers and emerald green leaves. She’d thanked her lucky stars when they had it in her size because it wasn’t only the colours of the retro dress which suited her; its sweetheart neckline, capped sleeves, empire waist and flared skirt showed off her trim figure better than any dress she’d ever owned, while at the same time covering the scars across her collarbone and shoulder. Set off with a pair of ivory sandals with gold trim, she felt like Cinderella preparing to go to the ball.
She paced back and forth—one moment excited at the thought of seeing Harrison, and the next regretting she’d agreed to go as his date. It was thoughts of Travis, not Harrison, that had preoccupied her most of the week. The tingle she’d felt, when he’d touched her leg, his warm smile, the laugh lines around his eyes, the bits of grey in his temples, the slow easy manner he had around the horses, the strength he demonstrated as he propelled himself onto the back of his horse—all those images had been flitting across her mind, often at the most inopportune times. And in less than an hour she’d see him as she arrived at Denver’s party with another man.
She checked her lipstick one last time as she heard the car pull up in the driveway, then grabbed her purse, picked up the gift she’d bought and locked the door behind her.
~~*~~
Travis watched as a young man flipped burgers and steaks on a huge barbeque, grateful Denver had decided to get the party catered so that he didn’t have to stand there and cook all night. The smoke wafted up to his nostrils, the delicious scent reminding him he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
The young man turned to him. ‘Hey, would you mind putting this platter over on the main table?’
He set it on a long table next to huge bowls of salads and stacks of bread rolls, then turned to face the party and began doing what he’d been doing regularly for the past half hour—scanning the crowd looking for long red hair. But instead of finding her, he spotted a group of children playing on the slide and swings, while another group paddled in the pool, under the watchful eye of a few hovering parents. For the most part, the adults mingled on the lawn area, or sat at tables set up along the edges. E
veryone seemed to be having a good time, especially Denver, who was surrounded by a group of women.
When he spotted his cousins at a table on the opposite side of the lawn, he loaded a plate with a burger and a brat, topped it off with some potato salad and corn and headed across the lawn to sit with them.
And that’s when a flash of long red hair caught his eye.
Nick looked up as he approached, and shifted over, but sitting where Nick indicated would’ve put Travis with his back to everyone. Instead, he walked around to the other side of the table across from Nick, and tapped his cousin Stacy on the shoulder to get her to move over for him. She glared at him for a second before shifting.
‘Sure you’ve got enough to eat there, Trav?’ Stacy said, nodding toward his heavily laden plate.
‘I haven’t eaten anything since six this morning, if you don’t mind.’
‘Oh, I don’t mind. I’m not paying for the food. Besides, you’ll need energy for all the dancing once the band gets started. Tim hates dancing so I’ll be relying on you to partner me.’
Travis took a messy bite of his burger, all the while keeping an eye on Alex. She was saying hello to Denver as she handed him a present.
As she stepped back, she introduced Denver to the man next to her. She needn’t have bothered; both he and Denver knew Harrison. He’d grown up in the area, and most people in town knew him. What he didn’t know was why they’d arrived together. Was she his date?
Stacy said something to him, and when he didn’t reply, she smacked his arm. ‘Travis? How’s your filly doing? The pretty one who cut her leg? Are you taking her to the rodeo next week?’
‘Sorry Stacy, I was … concentrating on my food. The filly is on the mend, but she won’t be ready to be worked for a bit longer.’
‘Well, if it ends up that she’s too injured to be a competition horse, you could, you know, offer her to a friend … or a relative … as a pleasure horse. Someone who would take good care of her and only ride her lightly.’ Stacy rolled her eyes and smirked.
He cocked his head. ‘Yeah, that’s a thought. Or I could keep her to breed from. Like you say, she’s awfully pretty.’
‘Well, Tammy’s been pestering me about getting her a horse of her own, so if you want the filly to go to a good home, let me know.’
Nick chimed in now. ‘Give it a rest, Stace. That filly’s worth too much as a brood mare to become a kid’s pony. I’ll help you find something for Tammy if she’s serious. She’ll probably want a Welsh pony to start with anyway, not a valuable Quarter Horse.’
Travis gave Nick a look of gratitude, then turned to Stacy. ‘I’ll keep it in mind, Stace. Speaking of Tammy, where is she?’
‘She’s over by your horses, where else? Tim’s over there with her.’
‘Ah,’ he said, and then, as nonchalantly as possible began to look for Alex again, but couldn’t see her anywhere. He quickly scoffed down the rest of his food and then used getting a refill as an excuse to leave the table.
As he approached the spread of food, he spotted her. She and Harrison had each grabbed a burger and were standing not far from the house, talking while eating. He’d have liked to have gone over to interrupt whatever Harrison was saying that had put a smile on Alex’s face, but as soon as he grabbed another burger and turned back, they’d moved away.
Movement near the dance floor caught his attention as the band members made their way to their equipment and began doing a sound test. Denver grabbed the mike and joined them.
‘I want to thank all of you for coming tonight to help me celebrate this milestone birthday, but don’t make the mistake of thinking me too old just because I’m thirty. I plan to dance the night away, and I want to see all of you up here at least once. Now, I’ll hand over to Tommy and the Tripods to get this party started.’ He let out a whoop at the end and grabbed a girl to join him on the dance floor.
The band kicked off with a loud one, and Travis stood back as couples made their way to join in. That’s when he finally spotted her again. Harrison held her hand as he led her onto the dance floor, and they were both smiling.
Maybe it was a date. Whatever it was, Harrison knew how to dance and soon had Alex twirling around, her dress flowing and swishing as Harrison spun her out and back in again. They looked pretty good together, as much as he hated to admit it, making him wonder if they had been on a date prior to tonight. His jaw tightened as that thought took hold. He couldn’t watch any longer.
A tap on his arm brought him back to the moment, and he turned to face Stacy with a big grin on her face. ‘Come on, we’re dancing.’
He allowed Stacy to drag him onto the dance floor, and they squeezed in toward the middle. There wasn’t really enough room to do any fancy steps now, as the area had packed in a bit, but that was a good thing because even though he enjoyed dancing, it had always been more about connecting with a partner. Dancing with his cousin would hardly be that.
As the song finished, another started. Stacy seemed to have gained confidence, pushing back to do her spins regardless of the crowd. It was about midway through this song that Stacy backed up a bit too far, and collided with a man who lost his footing and ended up pulling his partner down with him.
Travis stepped up to find Harrison and Alex sprawled on the dance floor, laughing their heads off. He extended his hand to Alex to help her while Harrison scrambled to get up on his own.
‘I am so sorry,’ Stacy apologised to the pair, running her hands down the side of Alex’s dress to remove a bit of dirt. ‘Your dress is so beautiful; I hope I haven’t spoiled it?’
Alex looked down to inspect it, but then smiled at Stacy. ‘It’s okay; I know it was an accident.’
When Travis suddenly realised that he hadn’t yet let go of Alex’s hand he did so quickly, taking one step back. He didn’t drop his gaze however.
Stacy still sounded apologetic. ‘And I haven’t even been drinking. Best I don’t get started if this is what I do when I’m sober.’
Harrison, who’d been checking out his pants, now turned to Alex. ‘You’re okay, I take it?’
‘Yeah, of course,’ Alex said, brushing his concerns aside.
‘That’s good, because I seem to have landed in a bit of ketchup.’
Stacy bent over to inspect the leg of Harrison’s pants. ‘Oh, Harrison, I’m so sorry. Let me help, you don’t want that to stain.’
‘No, I’d rather it didn’t—these are my favourites,’ Harrison said to Stacy.
‘Come on, there’s bound to be some soda water at the bar.’ She took Harrison’s hand and pulled him off toward the makeshift bar, leaving Travis standing with Alex.
When he looked down at her, she quirked an eyebrow and gave him an awkward grin.
~~*~~
Being left there on the dance floor with Travis staring at her questioningly was awkward, but she couldn’t deny the tingle of anticipation that washed over her. She sighed, giving him an awkward smile.
‘Shall we?’ he asked, holding out his hand and flashing a smile in return.
The moment he took her hand they became a couple, swinging to the lyrics of Rockabilly Redneck as if they’d been doing it all their lives. Harrison had danced well, but it had been obvious he was more interested in showing off—stepping back and doing his own thing at every opportunity—but Travis was dancing with her. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as he swung her around and pulled her in close with his strong arms. That first song was followed by a similar one, and they continued dancing, picking up the pace a bit. But when the second song ended, the band took the tempo down a notch, and as the lead singer sang out “Hey … hey, baby …” Alex couldn’t resist swaying slowly to the song—one she hadn’t heard in a long time.
They kept dancing, only this time Travis pulled her in even closer, and when her chest pressed against his it stirred feelings inside her that sh
e hadn’t dared to feel for a long time. When she again swung out wide, she had to remind herself it was just a dance, and that Travis was simply being a gentleman, dancing with the woman who’d been stranded on the dance floor because of his partner.
As the song came to an end, he cocked his head toward the bar. ‘That’s thirsty work. Can I get you a drink?’
When she nodded, he placed his hand ever so gently on the small of her back and guided her off the dance floor. She halfway expected to find Harrison there, perhaps still fiddling with the ketchup stain or talking to Stacy, but neither of them were anywhere to be seen.
‘What can I get you?’ asked a young man from behind a table that tonight made do as a bar.
Alex thought hard for a moment, finally asking, ‘Have you got a light beer?’
‘Absolutely. And you sir?’
Travis cocked his head. ‘I’ll have the same.’
The man turned and grabbed the beers, popped the tops and handed them the cans. ‘Did you want a glass?’
‘No, I’m right thanks,’ Alex replied, nodding.
Travis smiled, and pointed toward what looked to be a small gazebo where only a few people stood. ‘Do you want to catch your breath over there for a moment?’
Alex smiled and shrugged her shoulders, pleasantly surprised he wanted to talk. ‘Sure.’
As they approached the gazebo Alex realised that on the other side of the small rise were a tennis court and a pool. Did all ranches have pools and tennis courts? She wouldn’t have thought so, but then again, this was California.
When they stopped walking, she turned to him. ‘You sure seem to know your way around a dance floor.’
Travis gave her a crooked smile. ‘My ex was a big dancer, so I learned enough to get by.’
‘Oh, I’d say you were doing better than just getting by. I’ve barely got the hang of it, but you made it easy—all I had to do was hang on.’
He smiled and took a mouthful of beer. She did the same.
‘You say your ex liked to dance? And is she here tonight?’ She was surprised that she’d dared to ask that, but he was the one who’d brought up his ex-wife. She glanced toward the dancers, assessing the women and trying to pick out one who might seem his type. When he didn’t answer, she turned to him.
Discovering Gold Page 10