Taming Clay

by Raeann Blake

  Laine pointed off the right. “Through those trees. Ride straight through there.”

  She turned Soldier and urged him into the woods, weaving in and out through the dense stand of trees. When they came out the other side, she quickly reined him to a stop with an audible gasp.

  “Oh, God. Laine, this is…oh, my God,” she whispered as she let her eyes sweep the area in front of them. The clearing was surrounded by the trees but was open straight above it to the clear blue sky. The ground was completely covered by a thick carpet of grass and at the far side crystal-clear water tumbled down over rocks into a slow-moving creek that flowed across the clearing and disappeared into the trees.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it? This is Mystery Creek.”

  “It’s…rapturous. It’s…solitude. Worshipful,” Hailey said softly as she urged Soldier forward then dismounted and dropped his reins. She walked a few steps forward then turned in a circle, taking in everything around her then lifting her head to look straight up.

  Laine watched her, caught by the way she became a part of the secluded clearing. He waited until she looked back down at him with that bright smile before he dismounted and walked to stand beside her.

  “Told you. God’s Country,” he said quietly.

  “Oh, you are so right,” Hailey breathed. “Why Mystery Creek?”

  Laine motioned for her to bring Soldier with her as he started to the creek to let the horses drink.

  “Because it is a mystery. It took me a while, but I finally found where this creek comes up out of the ground a few miles north of here. The mystery is that it comes and goes for no apparent reason. Wet years, dry years. It doesn’t seem to matter. One time you can come in here and this creek is flowing just like this. The next time you come back…it’s dry. Not even a trickle. Wait a few days and come back, it’s running again. It would take somebody smarter than me to figure out why, but to tell you truth I don’t really want to know. The mystery of it just adds to the specialness of it.”

  “I agree. And it is special,” Hailey said as she pulled two bottles of water out of the saddle bags and handed one to him.

  “Thanks. There are a thousand places like this on the ranch. Special places. But this one…there’s something different about this one,” Laine said.

  “I hope I get to stay long enough to find them all,” Hailey said quietly as her mind flashed back onto Gail Cardell.

  “I guess there wasn’t any reason for you to have known he was married,” Laine said softly.

  Her head jerked back to him then she looked away. “No. I guess not. I take it she doesn’t live here.”

  Laine shook his head. “No. She hasn’t been here for about two years now, I guess. She wasn’t here long. They got married all of a sudden. I never heard of her before. Then one day, there she was. And he said they were married. She was here for about a month before she had a wreck on her way into town one day. She was in the hospital a couple of days then Clay brought her back here. She stayed a month then she just walked out and didn’t come back. As far as I know, this is the first time he’s seen or heard from her since.”

  “That must have hurt him terribly,” Hailey said sadly.

  Laine shook his head and looked into the distance. “I don’t think so, Hailey. He seemed to be almost relieved when she left. I don’t think he loved her. He never would talk about why they got married, not even to me. Shack, maybe. I don’t know.”

  “Shack?”

  “Yeah. You haven’t met him I guess. He was the old man standing by Clay when we rode out.”

  Hailey turned back to him slowly. “He was outside? But I thought…”

  “Yeah, he was there. You can thank Shack for you getting to ride Soldier. He had a hand on Clay’s shoulder, holding him back. Shack is…what’s the word? Shack is this ranch. He’s been here forever. Whatever good there is in Clay, Shack probably had a hand in. For all the damage old man Cardell did to his son, Shack tried to offset it. Least that’s the way I heard it. And there is a strong bond between them.”

  “He’s one of the hands?”

  “He is, but he doesn’t ride the range anymore. He does all the cooking now and does what he can around the ranch yard. He says he’s gonna die in the saddle, but his old bones are just too tired to stay in it for long. I’d say he’s gotta be in his seventies at least. I’ll introduce you to him.”

  “Is that why you’re the foreman and not him? Because he can’t ride the range?” Hailey asked.

  Laine shook his head and said, “No. Clay offered it to him. But he refused. He said it was time for younger blood to take over the reins and take the ranch to the next level. All he wanted was to just be here to watch it, not lead the charge. That’s when Clay came to me. Surprised me, let me tell you. I’d only been here about a year and some of these guys have been here longer than Clay is old. But I took it. I listened to all the plans he had, what he wanted to do. And I damn sure wanted to be a part of it. I didn’t see what his old man did to him growing up. I wasn’t here for that. But I damn sure saw the last year of the old bastard’s life. Damn shame he died on his own. Somebody should have killed him a long time ago,” Laine said evenly.

  There was that tone again. The one that said that conversation was over. “We should probably get back. I’ve still got some bills to sort through. Laine, if I get to a good place on taking care of the bills, do you think he’ll let me go with you to move the herd?”

  Laine smiled at her and didn’t answer her until he was in the saddle. “Hailey, do you honestly think there is any way he could stop you if you decided you wanted to go?”

  Hailey smiled slightly then looked up at him and said, “Well…he could fire me.”

  Laine burst out laughing and shook his head. “No, honey. I don’t think he could. Mount up. Let’s see if this guy’s gonna act up again or if he’s decided he’s in love.”

  Hailey waited until he backed his horse up some before she put her foot in the stirrup and mounted, talking to the horse quietly all the time. As soon as she was in the saddle, she felt the horse twitch once then flick his ears but nothing else.

  “I’ll be damned. Yep. I believe he’s in love,” Laine said then laughed when the bright smile flashed across Hailey’s face and she turned twinkling eyes to him.

  “I swear, Hailey. You’re just like the sunshine. I sure hope you never leave this place because if you do, I don’t think it’s gonna be quite the same again.”

  Chapter Five

  She took a deep breath as she went up the steps but she didn’t hesitate to open the door and walk through it only to find silence inside. She glanced once upstairs then to Clay’s office before she turned and went to her room. She dropped off her gloves and her hat then started to the kitchen. She heard some papers shuffle from his office but kept walking until she reached the kitchen. Isobell wasn’t in sight but the coffee pot was full. She wondered if Clay made it because his cup was sitting right beside the pot. She filled it then hers and walked straight to his office.

  “Thanks, Hailey,” he said quietly as she set the cup on his desk.

  “You’re welcome,” she said then turned to go.

  “Did you enjoy your ride?” Clay asked quickly.

  Hailey stopped and turned back to him with a smile. “I did. Very much. This is a special place, Clay. And that’s a special horse.”

  Clay snorted and glanced at her then away. “Wonder you didn’t break your damn neck. Bigger wonder that he’s not glue right now.”

  “He’s a sweetheart,” Hailey said softly then scanned his face. The jaw was still firm but his voice had that softness to it again. The way it had been earlier before she showed up.

  “Sure he is. Go to work,” he said gruffly.

  “I’ll be in my office,” she said then started through the door but stopped about halfway across and turned back to find him in the doorway when he called her name.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed your ride. But seriously…be careful with that horse.”


  The smile spread just a little before she caught it and met his gaze. “Does that mean I can ride him again?”

  “Do you think I don’t know that if I said no that you’d be out there on him the first time I turned my back?” Clay asked.

  Hailey laughed in surprise then shrugged her shoulders. “No. Not that I wouldn’t. Just no I didn’t think you knew that.”

  Clay’s eyes narrowed just briefly and she swore he wanted to smile. Instead he shook his head and disappeared back into his office.

  She went back to work and made her way through the rest of the bills. Fortunately, there were no more that were late. Unfortunately, there were several that were going to have to be paid by Friday or they would be. She stacked those together then put the ones that remained in a separate stack in order by the due date.

  With that done, she turned her attention back to the bill from Yates and started going through it line by line. Something was off about it. She opened the software program and looked at the totals for each month of the last year. There was a real spike in the numbers just about six months before. She frowned as she studied it. She could have found everything on the computer if the program had been used to its full potential. Instead, she had nothing but totals. She rose and walked to the filing cabinets then searched through them until she found the folder that contained all of the bills for that account and pulled it out. Turning back to her desk, she stopped just briefly when she found Gail in her doorway.

  “Something I can do for you?” Hailey asked as she walked back to the desk and flipped the folder open.

  “Do you always work this late?” Gail asked.

  “I do what needs to be done,” Hailey answered.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Mrs. Cardell, is there something that you need? If not, I am busy,” Hailey said then lifted a level gaze to her. She didn’t miss the slight flicker of temper that flashed in the woman’s eyes before she spoke again.

  “I need the password to Clay’s computer.”

  “I’m sorry. You’ll have to talk to Clay.”

  “Perhaps you didn’t understand me. I want the password. Clay is my husband and you work for him. That means you work for me. Now tell me what the password is.”

  Hailey rose slowly without letting her gaze waver. “And perhaps you didn’t understand me. If you want the password to his computer, talk to your husband.”

  “So you don’t know the password. Fine. I can use yours.”

  “No, ma’am. You most certainly cannot,” Hailey said then hit one button to engage the password screen and looked back at her defiantly.

  “You impudent little…”

  “What do you want, Gail? Hailey’s busy,” Clay said coldly.

  Gail turned quickly and then looked down at the two cups of coffee in his hand. “Thank you, Clay. I guess you forgot I don’t drink coffee at night.”

  “I haven’t forgotten a damn thing. It’s not yours,” he said as he brushed past her and set the cup on Hailey’s desk.

  “Thank you,” Hailey said quietly and sat back down in the chair.

  “Now what was it you wanted?” Clay asked as he turned back to Gail again.

  “I need the password to your computer,” Gail said as she flicked a cold gaze to Hailey then back to him.

  “Why?”

  “Is there a reason you don’t want me to have it?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I want to check my email. Do you mind?”

  “No, I don’t mind. As long as I stand behind you and make sure that’s all you do. Problem?” he asked harshly.

  “You’re going to stand behind me and read my email over my shoulder?” Gail asked incredulously.

  “I don’t have the slightest interest in your emails. But if you want to use my computer, I will watch what you do. Otherwise, I hear they have Internet access at the library in town for a fee. Maybe you could check there tomorrow on your way out of Montana.”

  “Who said I was leaving Montana?”

  “I don’t give a damn where you go. But you’re not staying here. Do you wanna use the computer or not?” Clay barked.

  Gail shifted her gaze to Hailey then back to Clay. “Oh. I see.”

  “Now wait just a fucking minute,” Hailey snapped and shot up out of the chair.

  “You don’t see a goddamn thing, Gail. And if you did, it wouldn’t be any of your business. If you want to use the computer go to my office, I’ll be there in a minute. Otherwise, go wherever you want to, but get out of Hailey’s office. She has work to do and you’re interfering with that.”

  The chill even went down Hailey’s back from the coldness of Clay’s voice. She waited several seconds as Gail held his gaze then turned and walked across the room to Clay’s office silently.

  She sank slowly back down in the chair and waited until Clay turned back to face her. “I’m sorry, Hailey. She had no right. I’m sorry,” he finally said simply then started for the door.

  “Clay…thanks for the coffee.”

  “You’re welcome. Go back to work,” he said quietly then disappeared.

  He walked slowly back across the living room and into his office. His jaw settled into a firmer line when he found Gail sitting directly behind his desk waiting. He shook his head and said, “Get up.”

  “I thought you said…”

  “I said you could use it. I didn’t say I was gonna give you the password. Get up and move around to the other side of the desk,” he said flatly.

  Gail blew out a short laugh and rose gracefully then moved around the desk and waited silently as Clay typed in the password then backed up to the credenza behind him.

  “Go ahead.”

  “You’re seriously going to sit behind me?”

  “I don’t have all night, Gail.”

  She watched him for a few seconds then walked back around the desk and settled in the chair. He watched as she opened a browser window then typed in an address. As she waited for the site to load, she glanced back at him once then looked back at the screen.

  “If you wanted to be close, Clay, you could have just said so.”

  Clay snorted in disgust and said, “I’ve touched you exactly three times in my life. The one and only time we had sex. When I put a wedding ring on your finger. And when I helped you up those stairs the day I brought you back here after you had that wreck. What could possibly make you think that’s changed?”

  “People change, Clay. Things change.”

  “I haven’t. Who’s Woodrow?” he said as he glanced at the screen.

  She turned her head to look at him. “I thought you said you weren’t going to read them.”

  “My computer.”

  “Our computer,” Gail countered.

  “There is not one thing in this house or anywhere on this ranch that was ever yours by any means other than in name only…including me. Finish what you’re doing and then get the hell out of my office and my life,” Clay said heatedly.

  Gail turned back to the screen and finished reading the email then closed the browser and rose slowly. “You’re still a cold bastard, Clay Cardell.”

  “And you’re still a conniving little bitch. I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I want you gone. I never wanted you here in the first place and you know it. You knew it then and you know it now. You walking out of here two years ago was the best damn thing I could have asked for. And I goddamned sure can’t wait for you to do it again. Now get the fuck out of my office,” Clay shouted as he advanced on her, backing her up until she was outside the door and he slammed it in her face.

  Hailey closed her eyes for just a brief second then went back to work. She had not one clue how that marriage had come to be, but it was plain he hadn’t wanted it. At first she had thought that his actions and words were dictated by a hurt that the woman had caused and he was lashing out at her now for that. What Laine had told her and more importantly what she had heard tonight changed her mind.

 
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