Taming Clay

by Raeann Blake

  “Yeah, she’s nice. How the two of them turned out to have any decency in them at all is beyond me. They damn sure didn’t learn it from their old man.”

  “She told me about what he did. The night he moved to the bunkhouse,” she said softly.

  “Yeah? Did she tell you that Clay didn’t get to her before he’d already left three bloody welts across her back?”

  Hailey’s head turned to him slowly and she finally shook her head. “No. She didn’t tell me that. Just that he took the belt away from him and gave him at least part of what he deserved.”

  “A part is right. He should have killed him. She should have killed him. Hailey?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What did he do?”

  She hesitated for several seconds then shook her head. “He didn’t do anything, Laine. I didn’t sleep well.”

  “That’s why you still haven’t spoken his name, I guess. By the way, don’t quit your day job. You’d never make it as an actress,” he said softly.

  * * *

  “Okay, that’s the last of it. If you need me, I’ll be in the stables,” Laine said quietly.

  Hailey nodded without saying anything and started out but then turned back to him. “Oh, did you ask? About me getting a ride with some of the guys tonight to the bar?”

  “Yeah, sugar. I asked. Be ready about eight or so. There’s a group going. You can ride with them.”

  “Good. Thanks. Isobell, I’ll be in the office. I have some work to do,” she said then went through the door without looking back again.

  Laine turned to Isobell and whispered, “What the hell happened?”

  “I don’t know. I asked Clay this morning and he bit my head off. Everything was fine when I left yesterday.”

  “Hell, everything was fine last night. Kathy came out and brought the boys for a few minutes and he had them out at the stables, laughing and talking. And then first thing this morning, it was like they were two different people. I know he talked to her about not letting her take Soldier tomorrow, but…”

  “Why wouldn’t he let her take Soldier?” Isobell interrupted.

  “He doesn’t think it’s safe. And he’s not entirely wrong. But if anybody can handle that horse, it’s that woman in there. Where is he anyway?”

  “He rode out about the time the two of you left this morning.”

  He nodded and started to turn then looked back at her. “He what? That was five hours ago. He’s not usually gone that long if he’s just going out for a ride.”

  “I know. But he’s not back yet.”

  Laine sighed and ran a hand down his face then around to the back of his neck. “Okay. I’m going out to the stables. I’ll find out where he went and if he’s not back before long, maybe I’ll ride out and see if I can find him.”

  He went out the side door then crossed to the stables. He stopped several of the men and asked where Clay had said he was going and finally realized that he had refused to tell anybody.

  “Goddammit. He knows better than that,” he muttered and stalked back to his office. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he called his cell phone anyway. When it went to his voice mail, he slammed the receiver down and swore again.

  He paced back and forth for several minutes then finally sank down in the chair. There wasn’t a lot he could do. He could be anywhere of a thousand places. And just as sure as he rode out in one direction, Clay would ride in from the other.

  “He’ll be fine, Laine. Go back to work.”

  Laine glanced up at the door to find Shack leaning against the doorframe. “Do you know what happened?”

  Shack shook his head. “Nope. I didn’t even see him this morning. But I heard the guys talking. They said he looked mad enough to chew nails and he wouldn’t say one word to anybody. He’ll be back when he’s ready. Go on about your work.”

  “Yeah. Hailey’s upset. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if they had a fight or what. She won’t say.”

  “Maybe. You know, Clay’s never spent much time around women other than to pick up a few in the bar. He could have easily said something that she took the wrong way, but she doesn’t seem to be the type to get her feelings hurt over something little. I can’t tell you. Maybe after a time he’ll come talk to me, but right now I don’t know.”

  Laine looked away then back to him again. “You should have seen her in town, Shack. Shut the door. Let me tell you what she said to old man Yates.”

  He went back over all the things that had been said and before he was done he and Shack were both laughing.

  “She’s a firecracker. I’ll say that. If Yates was smarter he might have picked a day she wasn’t already upset to yank her chain,” Shack said then laughed again.

  Laine sobered slowly then nodded. “Yeah. I thought it was about Soldier, but I think it’s more than that. She won’t even say his name. He this, and he that. Never Clay.”

  “He’s wrong about that horse, you know.”

  “Maybe. He’s right about him not being tested with the herd. You gonna tell him he’s wrong?” Laine asked.

  Shack shook his head. “Nope. He’ll figure it out. Hundred bucks says she’s ridin’ that horse tomorrow morning.”

  Laine thought seriously about it for several minutes then shook his head. “You ain’t gettin’ my money, old man. You’ve known him all his life. I ain’t takin’ that bet.”

  Shack snapped his fingers and chuckled. “Damn. Thought sure I had some easy money. I figure she wasn’t traveling around the country with camping gear. I’ve got plenty packed up for her. I’m goin’ back to work. See you later. And quit worryin’. He’ll be on in here before long.”

  “I hope so,” Laine said quietly as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes for a few minutes then opened them and started to work.

  He worked steadily for a couple of hours before he finally heard the approaching hoof beats and let out a slow breath of relief. Of course Clay could take care of himself. But it just wasn’t safe to ride out on a place the size of the ranch with nobody even knowing which direction he went. He waited until the stable doors opened and watched him lead his horse past the office and down the main aisle. He sat where he was for a few minutes then slowly rose and ambled down the wide aisle behind him. When he stopped in front of the horse’s stall and started to remove the saddle he saw him glance up at him once then right back down again.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  “Out,” Clay said lowly.

  “No, shit. Why didn’t you tell somebody where you were going?”

  “Because I didn’t feel like it, boss,” he said sarcastically as he shot him a hard gaze and pulled the saddle off then draped it over the wall to the stall and picked up a brush and started brushing the horse down.

  “What was the fight about? Soldier?”

  “Did she say there was a fight?”

  “No. She wouldn’t tell me a damn thing. I’m asking you,” Laine snapped.

  “There was no fight,” Clay said evenly.

  “Well there was goddamn sure something.”

  “Get out my face, Laine. What the hell are you doing here anyway?” Clay asked as he stopped brushing the horse down and turned a steady gaze to him.

  “What do you mean ‘what am I doing here’? Where am I supposed to be?” Laine asked with a frown.

  Clay held his gaze for several seconds then turned back to the horse. “Figured you’d be out ridin’ with her by now.”

  Laine frowned at him in confusion before he finally got it. “Whoa. Wait a damn minute. Clay, you don’t think…no, no, no. You’re wrong. There’s nothing going on between me and her. Oh, goddamn. Tell me you didn’t accuse her of that. Clay, you didn’t, did you? You can’t say something like that to a woman like her. Is that what you…”

  “Funny, she said she didn’t need any help this morning. But then there you were, climbing in that truck. Figured you’d finish the day with a ride,” Clay muttered.

  “Oh,
fuck. You did. You accused her of…of me and her…oh, hell, Clay,” Laine said hoarsely.

  He stopped brushing again without looking up at him. “Are you saying there’s…nothing?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I can’t believe you thought…goddammit. What did you say to her, Clay?”

  He shook his head then leaned it down to lay against the horses back. “You’re name didn’t come up in the conversation. I didn’t accuse her of that. Laine, please leave me alone.”

  “Clay…yeah. Okay. I’m sorry I snapped at you. I don’t like seeing either one of you like this. Shack and Isobell aren’t the only ones around here that worry about you. Go on in the house, buddy. I’ll finish up here,” he said as he slipped the brush out of Clay’s hand and waited for him to lift his head. When he did he only met his eyes for a heartbeat then shifted them back down to the floor and nodded slightly as he started for the doors.

  Laine waited until he was about halfway there before he spoke again. “Clay? She’s goin’ into the bar tonight with some of the guys. Just thought you might want to know.”

  He watched him as his steps slowed then stopped and his head dropped forward slightly, but he didn’t turn around. It was several long seconds before he answered him.

  “She’s a big girl,” he said flatly then started walking again.

  Both of their steps stopped when he opened the door and met her coming back from the kitchen. She held his eyes for just a second then looked away and walked to her office. He looked down at the floor then back to watch her until she disappeared into the office. He took his hat off then dropped it over the rack beside the door and followed her, stopping in the doorway, waiting silently until she looked up from the computer.

  “Everything go okay in town?”

  Hailey nodded and said, “Yes. It went fine. I might as well tell you, we ran into Yates.”

  Clay straightened from the doorway and walked into her office and settled in the chair across from her. “What did he say?”

  “He admitted he overcharged you. He said he’d put a credit on the books that you could use. I told him I’d prefer cash since that’s the way we paid him, but he claimed he didn’t have the capital to do that. He said he’d put it on the books and it was up to us whether or not to use it,” she said then stopped talking. She had her fingers crossed that Laine had not already told him any more than that.

  Clay thought for several seconds then looked back up at her. “And what you do you think?”

  “I think he’d put it on the books. Until you charged that amount. And then the credit would mysteriously disappear. And you’d wind up owing him a bunch of money that he could say was past due. I think it’s a trap and I don’t think we should bite,” she said as she met his gaze evenly.

  Clay nodded without hesitating. “Okay. Do what you think is best. It’s your ballgame.”

  “Thanks. We could sue him for it, but I wouldn’t. Right or wrong, it’ll leave a bad taste in the other suppliers’ mouths. Plus, by the time you pay the lawyers you’d probably wind up losing money in the deal. Chalk it up to experience.”

  “Yeah. Okay. How’d he take it?” he asked and watched her face. He saw her lip twitch and she looked back at the computer again.

  “He wasn’t happy. I doubt that he ever is.”

  He waited for several seconds then sighed. “Why is it that I have to resort to badgering you into telling me what he said?” he asked quietly.

  She sighed deeply then turned to meet his gaze evenly. “Because I’ve already had to stop Laine from hitting him. Frankly, I just don’t have the strength to do it twice in one day.”

  He didn’t flinch from her gaze but reached back behind him and shoved the door closed then leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms.

  She looked down at the desk and shook her head then told him everything he’d said. She saw his eyes turn colder and his jaw harden so much that it could have been carved from granite.

  “I handled it.”

  “You shouldn’t have to handle it,” he hissed as he shoved out of the chair and jerked the door open.

  “Clay,” she called after him.

  “What?”

  “Keep in mind that I can’t sign checks. I don’t have the money to bail you out of jail. He’s baiting you. And you’re about to walk right into it. He’d like nothing better than to have a reason to file a civil suit against you to go along with the criminal charges you’d be slapped with when you go charging into town to defend my honor. Just let me handle him.”

  She saw him take one step towards the front door then stop. “Fuck,” he finally muttered and turned to walk back across the room to the bar. She let out the slow sigh of relief when she heard him make a drink then stalk across the room to his office. She dropped her head down into her hands then dragged her hands down her face as she lifted it back up. She’d said the first thing that came to her mind to keep him for going out the door. The prayers that quickly went up were thanks for giving her the right words.

  * * *

  She took one last look in the mirror and then slipped her license into her back pocket. The line had been so long at the License Bureau that she had passed on that, deciding to try again later. She picked up her hat on the way by but then changed her mind and tossed it back on the dresser and went through the door. She glanced once at Clay’s office then quickly looked away and went to the front door. Her steps faltered slightly when she stepped out on the porch and found him there leaned against the support post by the steps with a cigarette in one hand and glass half-filled with whiskey in the other. His head turned to look at her and she heard the slow breath that hissed out as his eyes went down her and back up again.

  “Have a good time,” he finally said softly.

  “Thanks,” she said then made herself walk past him and down the steps. She’d only gone a few yards before the truck came from around the stables and pulled up in front of the house. One of the men stepped out with a wide smile and he tipped his hat to her.

  “Miz Hailey, your ride. Hop right in. My name’s Charlie. Guys, introduce yourselves,” he said then waited for Hailey to climb into the front seat and move over to the middle before he slid in beside her with a slight wave at Clay. He saw her glance up at him then away. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even breathe.

  “Clay?”

  “What?” he said hoarsely.

  “You’ve been drinking all afternoon. I figured you wouldn’t eat, but I left some things on the stove. You can eat or just put them away and heat them up later. Okay?” Isobell said quietly.

  “Yeah. Sure. Thanks,” he rasped then quickly turned and walked past her into the house and straight to the office, closing the door behind him.

  I do like the occasional round of sex when the opportunity arises. Men, not women.

  His jaw hardened and he jerked the door back open and walked back to the bar where he poured still another drink then walked out the back door.

  “Sonofabitch,” he muttered when he immediately had visions of her beside him on the steps. He reversed directions again and went back through the house then up the stairs. Bedroom. She’d never been in his bedroom.

  He had no idea how many times he had lain down only to get back up again when he saw her every time he closed his eyes. Only she wasn’t with him this time. She was with somebody else. He couldn’t see his face. He didn’t need to.

  “Fuck this,” he muttered under his breath and grabbed his keys off the top of the dresser then started for the door. He was in the truck and rolling before he knew where he was going. At least consciously.

  * * *

  He ordered a second drink and glanced her way. He was pretty sure she hadn’t even seen him come in. She was busy. He didn’t know how long he would be able to listen to them talking, listen to her laugh. Her voice had just a little slur to it. She’d had far too much to drink to be sitting between those particular two men. She had no idea how sexy she was. The blue in the shirt set o
ff the color of her skin so beautifully.

  He listened to them without seeming like he did as he downed the second shot of whiskey then motioned for a third.

  “Come on, Hailey. We’ll have a good time. Let’s get out of here.”

  “I didn’t say I wouldn’t go. I said I wasn’t ready. I want to dance,” she said then pushed Ken’s hand away from the side of her breast.