Home to Wind River

by Lindsay McKenna

  Groaning, Shay said, “Yes. We have twenty-five leases and poor Reese, Noah, Garret, Dair and Harper have been putting in dawn-to-dusk work. I don’t know how you handle a hundred of them.”

  “Got a lot of wranglers who are busting their butts just like yours are. The rush is over soon enough. At least until mid-September.”

  Reese came over, shaking Jake’s hand. “Good to see you. I told Shay that I was going to start calling you Ghost because we’ve not seen hide nor hair of you for so long.”

  Lily watched Jake’s cheeks grow a dull red. Reese was an affable man, easygoing, highly intelligent and a good manager of people. So was Jake, but he wasn’t as affable as Reese. When the men released each other’s hands, she saw the friendship in their expressions. Everyone she knew respected them both mightily.

  “Too late,” Charlie called out, “Shay and Reese, you just missed the last two cinnamon rolls Pixie made.”

  Shay groaned. “Oh no! I love Pixie’s cinnamon rolls! She doesn’t make them often enough,” and she pouted.

  “I got half mine left,” Lily said, grabbing her hand. “Come on, you can sit with me; we’ll eat and talk.”

  Laughing, Shay said, “What a deal! Lead on, Lily!”

  Jake watched the two women take off for the coffee area. “Reese? Tough luck. I already ate mine, so there’s nothing left for you, pardner.”

  Reese smiled. “No worries. I think Shay will love getting even half of one.”

  “Yep, I know how much Shay loves ’em,” Charlie said. “Right nice of Lily to share hers. Right nice.”

  Reese watched his wife, his expression tender. “Those two are good for each other. Shay’s been having a time carrying the baby. She’s been really uncomfortable. I know Lily can be a better support than I can in some cases.”

  “Oh,” Charlie said, “there isn’t a woman who doesn’t suffer a fair amount while she’s carryin’ a young’un. With Lily comin’ to town, bein’ a nurse and all, that’s made Shay feel a lot better, I’m sure.”

  “Hey,” Jake said to Reese, “have Shay call Lily at my cabin any time she has a question or wants her to come and stay with her.”

  “How’s your mother?” Reese asked.

  “She’s on the mend,” Jake assured him. “Lily has been really good for her and Jenna is ahead of her healing schedule because of it. Lily has more time on her hands than she likes to admit, I think.”

  “Well,” Reese murmured, taking off his Stetson momentarily and pushing his long fingers through his dark hair, “it might be nice if Lily could find a way to drop by once a week. I think Shay needs someone like her who has a medical background right now. I can feel her worrying, and she knows I don’t have the answers she needs.”

  Jake nodded. “I’m fine with Lily taking one of the ranch trucks and driving over to her for a visit whenever she wants. I’ll let her know she can talk with Shay and set something up.”

  Reese heaved a sigh. “Lily is becoming a guardian angel in Wind River,” he murmured. “I’d welcome her over anytime so long as she’s done with helping your mother first.”

  “I’m sure we can work something out,” Jake said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Being a father is something to get used to, huh?”

  Reese gave him a dry laugh. “In a lot of ways. I feel like I have two left hands with Shay pregnant. I wouldn’t know what to do except for the classes we’re both taking over at the community college. If I didn’t have them, I’d feel lost and be of no help at all to Shay.”

  “Two more months, hombre,” Charlie counseled wisely, shaking a finger toward the two men across the counter.

  Chapter Ten

  June 29

  “Could you come over for a visit sometime soon?” Shay asked Lily.

  Lily nodded, watching Shay slowly savor the last of the cinnamon roll. “Sure.”

  “I have your cell phone number. How about I call you tomorrow?”

  “That would be fine. I’ll be done helping Jenna with her exercises around nine.”

  Shay sighed, watching her husband, Charlie and Jake jawing at the counter. “I often wondered when Jake would get interested in living again,” she murmured, giving Lily a keen look.

  Frowning, Lily asked, “What do you mean?”

  “It’s no secret a very high percentage of the employees in this valley are ex-military. And they all have PTSD. Heck, I have it myself, although it seems to have lessened since I got pregnant.” She swallowed the last of the roll. Wiping her lips with a paper napkin, she said, “When Jake came to Wind River Valley three years ago, he was in rough shape. Maud hired him, and I didn’t see what she saw in him.”

  “Oh?”

  Shay gave her a painful glance. “He was really jumpy. You sure didn’t approach him from behind. He broke one guy’s jaw who did that, when he was here to buy some stuff in Charlie’s place. The wrangler didn’t know what hit him. Charlie understood, of course, but the guy was a civilian and new to the area, so he didn’t realize how many combat vets are in our valley. You don’t come up behind them, pure and simple.”

  “Did Jake get thrown in jail?”

  “No. But you know how fast word flies around here. After that, you could see men and women giving Jake a wide berth, no matter where he went.”

  “It must have been a really painful adjustment for him to make, too,” Lily said, watching Jake laugh with the two men. He was all male. Hard muscle. Tall. Well-proportioned. She always enjoyed watching Jake’s facial expressions since he rarely let that mask dissolve and she could read him better.

  “I’m sure it was. I know you said you had PTSD also.”

  “Still do. But for some reason, it’s been getting better since I came out to live with Jenna and Jake.”

  “Hmmm . . .”

  Giving her a wry look, she saw a sparkle in Shay’s blue eyes. “What?”

  “I think Jake’s sweet on you.”

  Her heart hammered once to underscore her surprise. She saw Shay’s smile grow. “I don’t think he is, Shay. Really.”

  “I saw him give you a very special look when you weren’t aware just a few minutes ago.”

  “What look?” Lily demanded, confused.

  “A man who’s claimed his woman and is just checking to make sure she’s okay. You know that look?”

  “Of course I do.”

  Shrugging, Shay said, “It’s the first time I’ve seen Jake interested in a woman. He’s pretty much of a loner. He’s had no love life since landing here in the valley. Did you know that?”

  Squirming, Lily said, “I sort of guessed it because his home is pretty sterile-looking, no decorations and only two photos of loved ones or family. I never see him talking to anyone other than wranglers. He doesn’t go out at night after he comes home, so I figured he didn’t date.”

  Patting her thigh, Shay said, “He’s a good guy, despite his gruff demeanor. He’d give the shirt off his back to anyone who asked. He’s decent and honorable. You could do a lot worse, Lily.”

  Rolling her eyes, Lily whispered, “I’m not looking for a relationship, Shay. I’m nowhere near being whole enough to deal with someone else, much less myself. You know how our symptoms consume us.”

  “Ugh, tell me about it. When I first met Reese, he was looking for a job as a wrangler. I could tell he had PTSD. And later, when things calmed down a bit at the ranch, he owned up to knowing I had it, too. I didn’t see how I could live with anyone, but it got to the point where I was really drawn to him. I was so scared. But he’s so easygoing and patient, and he waited me out. He felt that despite our symptoms, we could have a wonderful life together. I didn’t think we could. I’m glad I was wrong.”

  “Is the PTSD making your marriage more stressful?” Lily wondered.

  Shay pushed back a curl from her cheek. “This may sound silly, but because we both have it, we know when to leave the other alone, or be a listener, or simply be supportive in small yet important ways. It’s nice to be able to share with Reese all t
he horror I experienced, and what it did to me in Afghanistan. He understood. He helped me make some serious breakthroughs that have really cleaned me out emotionally and made me feel better. And I’ve helped him in the same way.” She blushed. “I guess you could say we’ve been the best therapists we’ve ever had because we love each other. Love heals, I’ve discovered.”

  Lily nodded. “I don’t believe I could ever get close to anyone again, Shay.”

  “Maybe with the right person, huh?” Shay gestured toward the men. “Jake’s a very patient man, like Reese. And I’ve been around him. The way he’s reacting and acting around you is different. I truly think he likes you. Has he said anything to you?”

  Lily grimaced. “Gosh, no. We have a professional relationship. I’m there to take care of his mother. In another month, my work will be finished.”

  “And then where will you go? Don’t you have a position at the animal shelter?”

  Giving a painful shrug, Lily whispered, “I honestly don’t know. I have to get a job that pays my bills. I have to find a place to live. Kassie, bless her heart, has given me the small room at the back of her café rent free, but I can’t keep living there. I’ve always earned my way, paid for everything. I won’t go back and ask her for free help again. That wouldn’t be right.”

  “Have you talked to Maud about a job at their ranch?”

  “No . . . because I can see that what they need are wranglers.” She opened her hands. “I’m not one. I came from a spud farm in Idaho.”

  Grinning, Shay patted her knee. “That’s nothing to sneeze at. A farm or a ranch are the most demanding of all jobs as far as I’m concerned. Why not talk to Maud? She’s always got plans, along with Steve, to expand into new and different areas. Maybe there’s a job waiting for you that you don’t even know about.”

  “It seems hopeless, Shay. I can’t go back into the medical world because the sight of blood snaps me into a flashback. And when it happens, it can take me two or three days to come out of it.”

  “Don’t sell Maud short, okay? Go see her. She might have a job in which you’ll flourish.”

  “I’m not a cowgirl. That’s the problem.”

  “But a ranch runs on more than just wranglers, trust me. Reese is our accountant, and that’s a full-time job for him. Dair and Kira are always doing odd jobs other than wrangling for us at the Bar C. You could be a jack of all trades, perhaps, filling in here and there when needed. Sort of like them. I call Dair and Kira our troubleshooters. If there’s a loose end, one of them or both go fix it.”

  “I’ll bet they have a lot of mechanical skills, though.”

  “They do. But if they can’t fix it, they come to me and we call in a specialist to do it.”

  Glumly, Lily wanted to believe Shay. “I know I need a skill where I’m seen as necessary. All I know is farming and nursing.” And she couldn’t go back to either one. Looking up, she saw Jake sauntering in her direction, his gaze on hers. Feeling a warm flush surround her heart, she saw a different look in his eyes. It startled her. It was tenderness. Lily had a tough time linking Jake with such an emotion. But there it was, in his eyes. She noticed the relaxed way his mouth had become as he held her gaze. Grief moved through her because she knew she wasn’t ready for any kind of a relationship with a man. And yet, there it was in Jake’s unshielded expression. It fed her hope. But it also fed her fear.

  “Hey, can I steal Lily from you for a bit, Shay? We’ve got some shopping to do to get her ready for riding around the ranch.”

  “Go ahead!” She gently patted her swollen belly. “I stopped riding at five months. Poor Reese was terrified I’d fall off a horse or something, so I stopped.” She smiled faintly. “I still miss riding, but that’s something I can do after our baby is born.”

  Lily stood and reached out, squeezing Shay’s shoulder. “Soon . . . just two more months.”

  Shay smiled. “I can hardly wait!”

  “Hang in there,” she murmured, walking away with Jake.

  He slanted a glance in her direction. “You need several things.” He picked up a wire basket and handed it to her. “First, a good set of leather work gloves.”

  Lily enjoyed being close to Jake. He was such a solid, grounded person that just being in his energy field calmed her. It was an important epiphany for her as she tried on several sizes of elkskin gloves.

  “I like these,” she said, holding up a pair for Jake to look at.

  He took them, examining the stitching on the fingers, the thickness of the tanned hide. “These will work. Good choice. Okay, next is a cowboy hat.”

  “Oh,” Lily groaned. “I’m not a cowboy, Jake!”

  He gave her a patient look. “But you need to shield your eyes from the sunlight when you’re riding.”

  Desperate, she looked down the long row. “There!” she said, turning on her heel and hurrying toward large stacks of colorful baseball caps. She liked red, so she picked one up, settling it on her head. Turning, she saw a slight tug at one corner of Jake’s mouth. He halted.

  “Baseball caps are worn by a lot of the wranglers. You’d rather have one of ’em?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can’t persuade you to buy a real hat?”

  She ruffled over the word real. “I’m fine with this one,” and she dropped it into the wire basket. Lily knew Stetsons cost a lot of money. This cap was $6.99. And it would work just fine.

  “A straw hat is a lot less money than a Stetson, Lily. Why not try one on? The brim will not only protect your eyes and upper face, but if you get caught out in the rain, it will keep the water from running down your neck.” He pointed to the baseball cap. “This one won’t do that. Come on, just give it a try . . .”

  She felt her resolve starting to erode. Jake could be very persuasive. His mellow voice washed right through her. “Well . . . okay ... I’ll try it, but no promises.”

  They walked down to the end of the aisle, where all the straw hats were stacked. Lily picked through them, feeling Jake’s interest in her search for the perfect fit. Finally, she found one, liking its wide brim. Hesitantly, she went over to the long mirror and settled it on her head. She could feel Jake watching, but he didn’t say anything. The hat reminded her of a straw hat her mother always wore when outside, not a real cowboy hat. Taking it off, she looked at the price: $12.98.

  “Very nice, Lily.”

  Heat flooded her cheeks as she held it between her hands. “I kinda like it. My mom has a straw hat that looks like this one.”

  “Like mother, like daughter?” he teased.

  All her worry left her. “I guess so. Okay, I’ll take this one. Thanks for pushing me over here to look through them.”

  He chuckled. “No one can accuse you of being a pushover. You’re a stubborn lady. Next, let’s mosey on over to the women wranglers long-sleeved blouses.”

  Lily remembered Red wearing a blue-and-white-checkered cowboy shirt, the sleeves rolled up to below her elbows. She’d look strong, confident and deeply tanned. She knew she wasn’t anything like Red and feeling counterfeit, she allowed Jake to lead her to a long row of women’s blouses. It took her another twenty minutes before she’d chosen seven of them. Jake explained that one didn’t wear a shirt or blouse more than one day around the ranch before it had to be washed. It was dirty, dusty and sometimes muddy work.

  Lily had tried to dig in her heels on seven new blouses. That was a small fortune! “Jake, that’s just too much money!”

  “Maud knows you need a blouse a day when you’re outside working.”

  Sputtering, Lily said, “But I’m not riding Checkers every day!”

  “Okay,” he rumbled, “how many days a week do you think you’ll throw a leg over him?”

  “Maybe three times a week?”

  “Sounds about right. Okay, how about three blouses, then?”

  “Yes,” she muttered defiantly, “three is fine,” and she picked a pink, an orange and a green one.

  Glancing up, she saw a wry sm
ile on Jake’s mouth, his eyes filled with amusement.

  “I’m not going to spend Maud’s hard-earned money for nothing,” she muttered, hanging up the other four.

  “I get that.”

  “Are we done?”

  “No. You need a pair of cowboy boots.”

  Lily considered it. “Won’t my tennis shoes do?”

  “No, and here’s why.” Jake led her over to the shoe department. He went to the women’s wall and chose a pair of boots. Holding it down for her to look at, he nudged her over to the saddle department. Picking up one of the stirrups of the saddle, he placed the boot in it. “The reason this boot is narrower in the front is because if you have to fall off the horse or are thrown off, the tip of it will slide free, allowing you to fall completely off. If you wore a common shoe or work boot, the toe would most likely jam in the stirrup. Then,” he said, arching a brow, “you’d get dragged. And that could break your foot, ankle or some other part of your leg, never mind dragging you over rocks and dirt. Getting dragged can kill you.”

  “I didn’t know that,” she admitted, digesting his argument, taking the boot, running her fingers across the narrow front of it.

  “It’s a safety reason.”

  She considered it. “Okay, let’s go get me a pair of cheap boots. I saw the prices on them, Jake. I’m not paying two hundred dollars. No way,” she fumed as she saw his grin reluctantly increase.

  “Are you always like this, Lily?” he asked, walking with her to the shoe department.

  “Like what?” she shot back, giving him a dark look.

  “Maud is fine with whatever you want. It’s not a question of money for her. She treats all her employees the same. She spends good money on gloves, for example, because we’re always working with barbed wire. In her mind, it’s better to buy a pair of thick elkskin gloves and pay a fair price for them than have one of her people slice open their hand or fingers and be unable to work for a couple of weeks while they heal. It’s a business decision, Lily.”

  Lily didn’t want to admit that Jake’s reasonable answer made sense to her. She handed him the lone boot and went over to look at the women’s assortment, checking out the prices as she went. There were boots made from ostrich and alligator hide, and they were expensive. Instead, she chose a plain pair made of cowhide, the cheapest ones there. “I’d like to try these on.” She dared Jake to protest. To his credit, he just nodded, leaned down after she told him the size of her foot and handed her a box. However, there was an amused gleam in his eyes even if his smile had disappeared. She was glad he respected what she wanted instead of trying to argue her out of it or, worse, shame her into it. That wasn’t the kind of man she wanted around, particularly if she was drawn to him whether she liked it or not. Jake gave her respect, and that was vital to Lily when it came to being in a close relationship. Sitting down, she pulled them on over her sock feet. Standing, she walked around. Coming back, she sat down again.