Maverick

by Irish Winters

  Hell no. You can’t have her. I’ll fight you to the death this time. Both of you. Or I’ll run and I’ll take Kyrie with me. You’ll never see me again.

  “Hey, c’mon now. Mellow out, babe. Why don’t you and me go grab us a bite of breakfast and talk about it?” Reardon’s voice softened. He had his helmet back on and the kickstand up. “You know you like an early morning ride.”

  He knew Leezel to a T as well. Just like clockwork, she strutted straight back to his side and sidled onto the seat behind him. He lifted his chin and tossed a final sneer toward Maverick. Leezel refused the helmet he offered, but ran her fingers through her hair as if putting on a show.

  The bike rumbled. She stretched both arms wide and blew Maverick a kiss behind Reardon’s back as they roared away.

  China bit her lip. Reardon had no more business with a child than a pig had with wings. There had to be a way to keep her niece safe. Her brain pinged over solutions. Maybe it was time to have that custody fight. Better yet, sell the ranch and move someplace where Leezel and Reardon couldn’t find her. Non-custodial parents did it all the time. They kidnapped their children to give them a better life. Not all countries allowed extradition. She would change her name. Kyrie’s, too. It could work.

  “You is squishin’ me, Andy China,” Kyrie complained.

  “Oh. Sorry.” China loosened her desperate grip. “I’m sorry. I just... I just…” I’m just scared to death what could happen to you.

  “You okay, ma’am?” Maverick asked.

  She jumped, startled at his hand on her forearm. “No, I mean, I’m, umm, yes. I’m fine. I’m just...” Scared.

  The odd mix of emotions she read in his eyes took her breath. His sunglasses were up high on the brim of his cap. This morning his pupils were darker and dangerous, yet full of concern at the same time. And fire. Fire that could bring warmth as easily as pain.

  She opened her mouth to tell him how scared she was, how bad Leezel could make Kyrie’s life, but snapped it closed again. Bosses didn’t do stuff like that. They kept the line between them and their employees. Besides, he was a short-timer. Here today. Gone tomorrow.

  He tipped two fingers to the brim, replaced his dark glasses and turned to leave.

  “Umm, breakfast?” China couldn’t believe the stupid words she had just blurted out. What made her an idiot when Maverick was around? She cleared her throat and tried again. “What I meant to say is that I’m going inside to make breakfast. Are you hungry? You’re welcome to join me and Kyrie.” She blew a loose twirl of hair out of her eyes while she composed herself and waited.

  Maverick pivoted on his heel to face her. “No thanks, ma’am. I’m in the middle of something right now.”

  Darn, why did I give him all those chores?

  “Bacon?” And now she wanted to smack herself. Yes, men like bacon, but he’s not a dog. “I’m going to fix bacon and eggs, and you need a good breakfast to start your day. Please join us.”

  “And pamcakes,” Kyrie declared proudly. Her body relaxed the second her mother and Reardon rode away. “Andy China is makin’ me puppy pamcakes. Want some?”

  “Yes. Pancakes, too.” China grimaced. By now, he probably thought she was as big a flirt as Leezel. At least she hadn’t wiggled her ass yet. Or had she? She wasn’t so sure.

  His shaded face beneath the brim of his cap remained as expressionless as before. No hint of a smile or a frown. Just—nothing. Once again, his lack of conversational skills struck her. This man didn’t have a clue about small talk, and she could sure use some.

  She got the point and waved him away. “That’s okay. Never mind. You’re busy.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I am.” He stood there, as if waiting for her to finish.

  Her brain kicked into I-own-this-ranch gear. “I’ll leave some food on the table. Come and eat when you’re ready.”

  “Thanks. I will.” He turned and walked toward the tractor shed, and it was her turn to look twice. This man had shoulders. He walked with purpose, as if he knew where he was going even though he didn’t. This was her place, yet somehow he had walked into it as if he had work to do here, and one way or the other, it would get done.

  Damn. He’s growing on me whether I like it or not.

  China smoothed Kyrie’s hair out of her eyes and pulled the screen door open. She closed it and opened it again, looking the piano hinge up and down. It hadn’t squeaked. Not once. Someone oiled it. The door fit smoothly into the frame, too. The hydraulic hinge actually worked. The door didn’t even slam. Instead, it closed silently and slowly for the first time since she installed it.

  She cast another glance at Maverick’s retreating backside. He had been busy, but damn. He had nice pockets.

  Chapter Eleven

  “She’s a purdy little thing.”

  Old man Foster glowed with pride as he studied China Love with her mother.

  Maverick had just cleaned their stall and stood watching. He missed breakfast, but that was nothing new. He went without most days.

  The old codger rubbed a hand over his whiskered chin. China must’ve called him, and Maverick suspected the reason why. Foster tipped his dusty old cowboy hat back on his forehead when he talked with China, but he couldn’t take his eyes off his prize. He already owned the foal, damn him.

  “Whatcha gonna name her, Miss China?”

  “I’m registering her as China Love. Course, it is up to you, Mr. Foster. Name her whatever you want.”

  So, she had taken his suggestion for a name for the foal to heart, just not enough to keep the baby that went with it. Maverick growled under his breath. The feeling they’d shared last night, that feeling of tenderness or whatever it was, changed to a stone in his gut. This newborn meant nothing to her but another buck in the bank. The ranch was a moneymaking business. A place where horses were bred, raised, and sold. That was all. Kids, my ass. Damn her.

  He steeled his heart again. Should’ve known better, Carson. You never learn.

  “I was thinking something like Opal or Pearl cuz she’s so purdy and so white.” Foster grinned, a funny sight amidst all the wrinkles and lines on his old face. The man had to be eighty if he were a day. “Yer daddy would sure be proud of you, little girl.”

  China beamed. “I’ll wean her in six months. She’ll be ready to go a month or so after that if you want to handle the socializing yourself. Are you okay with that timeframe?”

  Foster stepped away from the corral. “Sure glad you’re letting me have her.”

  “She comes from good stock, Henry. Her sire is Hex, and you already know her dam. China Love will do a good job pulling for you when she’s old enough. I’m sure of it.”

  “Can’t go wrong with bloodlines like that.” The old man grinned and took China’s hand. “Thanks again for the call. Wish I’d been here when she was foaled, but...” he chuckled. “Ladies always seem to be on their own time schedules, don’t they? If I’d a been here, we’d probably still be waiting.”

  China shook his hand. “You come see her anytime you want. You’re always welcome.”

  “I will. Thanks again.” Mr. Foster waved once more before he climbed into his rattletrap of a pick-up truck and drove away.

  Pearl? Opal? Hell no. They’d fit an old woman, not a spritely young foal that danced on air.

  “What’s he need her for?” Even Maverick heard the accusation in his voice.

  “Foster?” China turned with a gentle smile on her lips. “Henry runs the street trolley over in Cody. He lost one of his Clydesdales, Whiskers, last winter. China Love will pull the trolley once she’s old enough.”

  “Sounds like hard work for a young horse.”

  “It’s a small trolley.”

  “He won’t work her until she’s ready?”

  China’s face softened. “Foster’s a decent man. He’ll take good care of her. I don’t sell my kids to just anyone.”

  Maverick stood with one boot on the lowest rail, unhappy with this turn of events, and damned if he kn
ew why. It wasn’t like he intended to buy her. The minute he placed his arms on the top of the fence, the foal bounced over to him and stuck her head through the rails. He scratched her ears, and in turn, she wiggled them as if she was half-rabbit instead of all horse. Foster better take damned good care of you or I’ll kick that old man’s ass.

  “You like her, don’t you?” China had that light in her eyes again, as if she could see right into his head and might know exactly what was going on in there. Good luck with that.

  “She’s okay.” Maverick stepped away from the corral. Truth was, China Love was more than okay. The danged little thing had wormed her way into his heart the minute he laid eyes on her, and sleeping in her stall had only made her friendlier. He guessed the foal thought he was another horse or something. And sometimes the way Gorgeous acted, he wasn’t sure who was the pet—him or her. They nibbled at him as much as he had handled them. Damn. It had only taken one night to get his heart wrapped around the axle again. I should’ve kept on walking.

  “I’ve got six more mares ready to deliver, you know.”

  Maverick looked up at that comment, not sure how to respond. Was that supposed to soften the loss of China Love? Did China mean for him to hang around and help with those births, too?

  He tucked both hands in his pockets and waited her out.

  “You didn’t think Gorgeous was my only brood mare, did you?”

  He shrugged. It didn’t matter what he thought. He didn’t plan to hang around.

  “Gorgeous foaled early this year. Most of the mares won’t drop for another month. If you’re still around, maybe you can help out with Misty, Sunshine, Cookie, Frost, Minnie, and Sugar.”

  He raised a brow when she spouted off the names of her mares like a mother runs through the names of her children.

  “You selling them, too?” He meant to soften his tone, but ended up sounding as snarky as before.

  “Well, of course, but right now, I’ve got a fence line to check. My neighbor, Rich Williams, thinks I might have a hole up along the south line of the east forty. You interested in a ride? I promise the hill won’t move this time.” China stood waiting, like a boss who’d just made a request that was really an order.

  He scanned her straw hat, her western shirt and on down to her dusty boots. His Oakleys provided an instant barrier when he needed one, and right now they allowed him to look and not be seen doing it.

  She wore denim. The red-checkered western shirt tied off at her midriff gave her a carefree look, not what Maverick expected in a calculating horse breeder. Her boots were scuffed. She didn’t indulge in those stupid fake nails like her sister did. China’s hands looked sturdy, as if they could help a man dig a half-buried horse out of the hillside when needed. That racked up another couple more points in her favor. If he cared, which he didn’t. Not really.

  “How you getting there?”

  “We’ll be riding Star and Ebony. I’m taking Kyrie along, too.”

  Maverick shrugged. He suspected she would bring the girl since Leezel hadn’t returned from her morning ride yet. “Tell me when.”

  “Now.”

  Now? Great. He had other self-appointed work to do. The ranch house rain gutter sagged off the east end of the house. The roof was missing a few shingles out back. Two windows on the barn were cracked and the birdbath needed a concrete base to make it more stable.

  Once those two hired hands in the bunkhouse stopped snoring, he had a field of grass hay to cut and another to plow. He would’ve taken care of that already if he had found the tractor. Apparently, the equipment shed wasn’t meant for vehicles. The thing was full of tractor and truck parts, but nothing that worked. If he hadn’t been so pigheaded, he would’ve asked China where she kept the tractor, but hell. A man doesn’t ask his boss where she keeps her tools. He just finds ’em and takes care of business.

  China headed into the barn so he followed her straight out the back door where Star and Ebony were saddled and ready to go. Damned if she hadn’t anticipated his answer before she asked. That was kind of sneaky. Or smart.

  China busied herself with the horses. “Would you find Kyrie for me? She was playing with some kittens earlier, so she’s got to be in the barn somewhere.”

  Great. Now I’m a babysitter. He did as he was told anyway. After all, she was the boss lady. He was just the help. Like a dumbass, he hadn’t even negotiated a salary when he accepted this twenty-four-seven job. Not like he needed the money, but still. He should’ve played that hand a little smarter.

  The girl wasn’t hard to locate. She lay tucked between two bales of hay, sound asleep with a couple orange tabby kittens snuggled in her arms. The mother and a black kitten were nestled between her boots.

  Damned if that little girl, her black hair glistening beneath her head, didn’t touch him in a way he didn’t expect. The mother cat yowled a low warning, but he had already stopped moving. It was one of those picture-perfect moments that took a man’s breath away.

  A glimmering shaft of sunlight streaked across Kyrie’s face like a beam from heaven. He looked down on her in her cowboy boots and jeans, wondering how he was supposed to pick up an angel in the first place, and wishing he didn’t have to in the second. She looked—breakable. Too damned sweet for the likes of him.

  China came up beside him. “Aw. She looks cute, doesn’t she?”

  He nodded. Cute was a good word for this tiny little gal, the spitting image of her aunt.

  She dropped to her knees beside Kyrie. Very gently, she reached past the snippy mother cat and stroked her niece’s cheek. “Hey there. Time to wake up.”

  Maverick took a step back and folded his arms. China seemed different this morning and that shirt she wore was killing him. He liked it. Funny thing was her top button was fastened up good and proper. No cleavage showed, just a couple inches of bare skin around her back and stomach.

  Plus, she handled Kyrie as if she had all the time in the world. As if Kyrie was the most important thing in her life. He liked that, too. After a couple more stokes on her cheek, Kyrie’s nose twitched. She looked up at her aunt through sleepy, dazed eyes.

  “Do you want to go for a ride with me and Maverick?” China asked. Very carefully, she pulled one limp kitten after another out of Kyrie’s arms and set them out of the way, then scooped Kyrie up and dusted the hay off. “You can help me fix the fence, okay?”

  “Uh huh.” Kyrie snuggled into her aunt’s shoulder and went right back to sleep.

  China nodded toward Star. “You mount Star and I’ll hand Kyrie up to you,” she told Maverick.

  “Me?” Why the hell me?

  “Sure. You’re a big guy. You’ll be okay.”

  Maverick grunted and did as he was told, not sure how he would handle holding onto a little kid and a horse the size of Star at the same time. He hadn’t ridden since his eighth birthday party, and that Shetland pony didn’t count. Still, how hard could it be?

  Star didn’t flinch or shift when he grabbed the saddle horn.

  “Come around to this side,” China said. “You always mount from the left.”

  He shifted to the other side of the horse and began again. Clutching the saddle horn where the reins were loosely wrapped, he put one boot in the stirrup and swung his leg over the horse’s broad back. Star didn’t move that time, either. For a draft horse, he was a comfortable fit.

  “I already check the girth and stirrups,” China said, lifting Kyrie up high for him to take. “You look to be about X’s height, but tell me if they’re uncomfortable. I don’t want you falling off.”

  “Feels about right.” He leaned over and scooped Kyrie out of China’s arms. The little girl accepted the handoff without so much as a sigh.

  China mounted Ebony. “You two doing okay?”

  “We’re good.” Maverick reined Star to the right until the horses were neck to neck.

  “Then let’s go.” China urged the black stallion through the barn and out the open front doors.

  Maver
ick tapped Star’s sides with the inside of his boots and followed. He didn’t have to do much other than hold onto the girl and the reins. The horses seemed to know where they were going. Before long, they turned off the gravel road and travelled up the gently swelling hills that circled the ranch.

  China pivoted in her saddle. “How is she?”

  “Sleeping.” The sun was out in full force again. Maverick had already covered Kyrie’s head with his cap so she wouldn’t get burned. The little girl had turned into a sweaty little ragdoll in his arm, but holding her created a surge of feelings he wasn’t prepared for. Kyrie reminded him of the newborn foal, only much more delicate.

  The dichotomy between what he used his hands for in the past and what he held now made him thoughtful. Holding reins in one hand and life in the other felt so much better than squeezing off triggers and ramming ammo.

  “Spring is her favorite time of year. She loves all the new babies here at the ranch.”

  “Yep.”

  The horses plodded steadily uphill. It wasn’t a steep climb. The higher they went, the more the panoramic view expanded into sheer, breathtaking beauty.

  Rolling hills covered in grass and sagebrush, along with quaking aspen tucked into the valleys and ravines, made for a beautiful sight, one a man couldn’t see from the road below. Purple mountains to the west stood snowcapped under a clear blue sky that boasted circling hawks overhead and a light, fragrant breeze in his face.

  The air felt cleaner in Wyoming, or maybe it was just the altitude. He took a deep breath. Star’s ambling gait added to the peaceful morning. Between the warmth of the child snuggled into his side and the scenery, the troubles he had carried from sea-to-shining-sea dropped away.

  “This is where the eastern property line of the Wild Wolf begins.” China nodded at the fence line as she edged Ebony closer to Star. “You want me to take her for a while?”

  “She’s fine.” Maverick looked down at the little girl’s face. His cap had slid over her forehead so he tipped it back with his finger. Thinking of Leezel and Reardon’s argument over child custody sparked a protective instinct, but then, Reardon sparked a lot of other instincts. None of them pleasant.