by Raeann Blake
Clay glanced at him then back down to what he was doing. “What do you mean if I was still breathing?”
“Some of the guys said you drug Hailey out of that bar…well, no, that’s not quite right. They said you ordered her out of the bar and then she had to drag you out to keep you from getting into a fight with the Anderson boys.”
His hands stopped momentarily but then he nodded slightly. “True enough, I guess. I’m still breathing. I want you to saddle Soldier for her.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. She’s right. There’s nothing wrong with testing him on this ride. If he acts up or doesn’t work out, she can switch horses with one out of the remuda,” he said quietly as he started the sausage frying.
Laine chuckled softly and said, “Saved myself a hundred bucks.”
Clay turned back to face him with a frown. “How’s that?”
“Shack. He tried to get me to bet him a hundred dollars whether or not she’d be riding Soldier today. I decided it wasn’t a smart bet. Good thing,” he said then smiled broadly when Clay chuckled and turned back to the stove.
“That old man is the biggest hustler I know. Anytime he starts a sentence with ‘I’ll bet you’, you’d better hang on to your wallet.”
He started going through the food that Isobell had left and stopped when he realized there were biscuits in one of the covered bowls. He decided he could warm those up and set it back on the counter.
“How’s your head?” Laine asked.
“My head’s just fine. You want some breakfast?”
“I’ve eaten. I sent the other guys on ahead. Is she awake?” he asked. He was trying to figure out where Clay was this morning. He wasn’t the guy who had been laughing and smiling two days ago. But he wasn’t snapping and snarling like he had been yesterday.
“Yeah. I knocked on her door earlier and gave her some aspirin. She’s probably in the shower,” he said as easily as he could. None of that was a lie.
“Okay. I’ll go get…oh, hey. Good morning. How are you this morning?” Laine asked quietly.
Hailey rubbed her head slightly and said, “I’m fine. Or I will be very soon. Please tell me there’s coffee.”
Laine and Clay’s eyes met and Clay pulled his grin back down but Laine was standing behind her and didn’t even bother.
“It’s close enough. Sit down and I’ll get you a cup,” Clay said.
“I’ll get it,” she said then swallowed hard and pressed a hand against her stomach. “What is that God-awful smell?”
Clay cleared his throat and waited for a few seconds before he could answer her. “Sausage. There are some biscuits that Isobell made yesterday I can warm up. Can you try a few bites?”
“I don’t know. I’ll let you know after I have this,” she said as she poured some coffee then held it with both hands as she lifted it to her lips.
Laine quickly ran a hand down his face when he realized she was watching him and had narrowed her eyes into a steady glare.
“Don’t you say one damn word,” she muttered.
He looked down at the floor to hide the grin that just wouldn’t stop and he shook his head slightly. “Wouldn’t think of it, darlin’. I’ll just, uh…I’ll go get your horses ready,” he said then spun and went out without saying another word.
Clay glanced at her and then away. It suddenly felt much more awkward to be alone with her and he didn’t know what to say. He worked silently as he put the biscuits in the warmer then turned the sausage.
“Do you have coffee?”
“Not yet,” he answered.
He didn’t turn around and mumbled his thanks when she set a cup down beside him. “This is not much, but if you can get it down, it’ll keep you from starving before we reach the herd.”
“Yeah. I’ll try. Thanks for the aspirin. I really didn’t think it was that bad until I tried to stand up and the room started spinning,” she admitted as she crossed to the bar and slid onto a stool. She propped her elbows on the bar then held the cup up to her lips, just breathing in the steam.
“Are you gonna be okay to ride?”
“I’ll be fine. It’s actually getting better.”
He wasn’t sure which direction to go. She didn’t sound mad or upset. She didn’t sound happy. But she did have a hangover. It wasn’t easy to sound happy with a hangover. If he was honest, he’d have to admit it wasn’t easy to shout with a hangover either, so maybe that wasn’t such a good barometer of what she was thinking. He knew he had to apologize to her. How do you apologize for taking advantage of somebody? He knew she was drunk. Not falling down, but definitely enough to impair her judgment. Where she’d been sitting and what had happened without her taking both of the men’s heads off cleanly was evidence of that. He might not have known her long, but he knew enough to know that she wouldn’t have tolerated that behavior from either of the men if it hadn’t been for the drinks she’d had. And she wouldn’t have had the drinks if he hadn’t said what he did the night before. Dammit, he’d made such a mess out of everything.
“Clay?”
“What?” he asked as he jerked his thoughts back.
“I was just asking exactly how well done you like your sausage?” she asked quietly. She couldn’t tell anything from his face. But he’d definitely been deep in thought. She was positive that she’d been right. He had to think that she had let that happen as part of the game he thought she was playing.
“Oh, hell,” he said as he quickly turned out the fire and scooped the sausage patties onto a plate. “I guess maybe my head’s not so great either. You want jelly?”
“No. Just the sausage and biscuit is fine.”
“Okay. Let me just get these out…ow, damn. Hot,” he said as he quickly dropped the pan on top of the stove and rubbed his fingers across his jeans.
She couldn’t help the smile that tried to show and said, “You do know they make these things called hot pads, right?”
“Oh, shut-up,” he muttered but turned to look at her and chuckled softly when he found her trying not to smile.
He carried the plates to the bar and then slid onto a stool with one empty one between them. “Okay, try one. If it doesn’t work, we’ll wrap them up and take them with us. You might want one later.”
They ate in silence. She wasn’t sure it was going to stay down, but she thought it might. She drank one more cup of coffee as they ate then cleaned up together. Neither of them said anything else as they parted in the living room to gather their things and start for the door. They were almost to the stables when Laine came out with his horse, Clay’s, and Soldier.
Hailey’s steps slowed and then stopped as she lifted angry eyes up to Clay’s then shook her head and blew out a short laugh.
“I’ll be goddamned. Take him back, Laine. I won’t ride him.”
“Do what?” Laine asked.
She spun on Clay and said, “I won’t ride him. If you think that last night was…”
Clay immediately slapped a hand over her mouth and wouldn’t let go as he held her eyes steadily. “Before you say something that we’re gonna both regret, I was wrong. I was wrong about the horse. I was wrong about what I said. And I was wrong about what I thought. And I’m sorry. For all three. Now get on your horse and let’s go. Okay?” he said quietly.
Laine looked away and then back to them. He wondered what it was that Clay had said but he wasn’t going to try to figure it out. Instead, he waited silently to see what Hailey would do and let out the quiet breath when she finally nodded slightly and he saw Clay tentatively move his hand.
“Okay. Let’s mount up,” he said as he turned away from her. The tears were swimming in her eyes and she was trying very hard not to let them fall. He didn’t know if it would hurt or help if he wasn’t looking at her. He had to pick one so he turned to his horse.
Hailey stayed where she was until she was sure her eyes were clear then turned around. She glanced once up at Clay where he was tying his jacket and small pack to the back
of his saddle then back to Laine. She squared her shoulders and met his gaze steadily. She had come very close to blurting out exactly what she’d thought and Clay had known that. Instead, he had apologized. She’d been wrong, too. She hadn’t given him enough credit.
“Let me tie that stuff on for you, sugar. Then it’s off to the open range,” Laine said easily then let his smile widen when he saw her eyes brighten just slightly.
“I’m ready. It’s only been a couple of days. But it seems like I’ve been waiting for today for all of my life. I’m ready to ride,” she said, working hard to keep her voice even and light.
“Then mount up. Let’s get moving. The other guys are already on the way. We’ll catch up with them in a bit.”
She handed Laine the pack that she had and her jacket. The pack was just the bare necessities. She was wearing the leather vest, neckerchief in her back pocket, the felt hat, and her work boots. As she waited for him to tie those on, she walked up to the front of the horse and leaned her head against his.
“You be good. My head hurts. If you wanna play, let’s wait a while. Okay?” she said softly then smiled slightly as Clay and Laine both snickered without bothering to keep her from hearing it. She ran a hand down the horse’s face then led him away from the others and spoke to him softly as she mounted smoothly then waited. She felt his muscles twitch, but not because he wanted to buck. He was ready to go.
She lifted a steady gaze to Clay when he dropped his head and shook it. It would never cease to amaze him that the horse wouldn’t even flinch at her mounting it. But you let him or Laine get on him, and you’d think you walked into a rodeo.
“I believe he’s yours. Damn sure can’t anybody else ride him without having to fight him to do it,” Clay said as he lifted his gaze back up then chuckled softly when he found a wide grin on her face and heard Laine laugh right out loud.
“Mount up, son. We’re burnin’ daylight,” he said and turned his horse to lead the way out of the yard. He waved one hand at the men who would be staying at the ranch and had all lined up against the corral. Probably to watch Hailey mount up and ride out. The frown happened quickly when he thought about that and cut a glance over to them again. Sure enough they were watching behind him where she was riding. He set his jaw slightly then relaxed it. He could hardly blame them. She stole his breath every time he saw her on the horse. And it hadn’t been the worry about the horse hurting her that did it. It was the image that had flashed through his mind of her above him in the same way. A quick, fleeting fantasy that had become reality only a few short hours before. He cleared his throat and shifted slightly in the saddle when just the memory of the things they had experienced had him quickly aroused again.
Once they were out of the yard, they kicked the horses into a quick canter and kept them there until they reached the other riders. They had just slowed when they heard a shrill whistle and they all turned to look. The man who had whistled was named Davey and they saw him point back at the three of them then ride across the group with a wide grin to pull his horse in beside Charlie and hold out his hand.
Just as they reached them the two men stopped their horses and Clay saw Charlie dig in his pocket as he shook his head. When he slapped a bill in Davey’s hand, he turned and looked back at Hailey.
“Dang, Hailey. You just cost me twenty bucks,” Charlie said as sadly as he could but couldn’t hide the grin on his face.
“I did? How did I do that?”
Charlie pointed at Davey who was rubbing the twenty between his fingers and said, “I bet him you wouldn’t make it this morning. I thought sure you’d have a hangover.”
Hailey laughed and nodded. “I do. Or I did. That’ll teach you. Never underestimate the power of a woman.”
“I guess you’re right. You were doin’ some pretty heavy drinkin’. And I thought sure Clay was gonna be in jail before you got him out of that bar.”
“You would have bailed me out, wouldn’t you, Charlie?” Clay asked.
“Oh, you bet, boss. Uh—right after next payday,” he said then laughed with the others as they started their horses forward.
“I guess we could have passed the hat. Surely between the lot of us we could have come up with enough,” Davey said quickly.
Clay cut his eyes to Hailey and thought she looked a little uncomfortable. “Alright. What’s the final tally on Soldier?”
He saw Hailey’s head jerk around to him with narrowed eyes, but she held her tongue as Laine started laughing and Charlie shook his head smiling broadly.
“If he got any takers, I don’t know about it. I might not know how much she can drink, but I know Shack. Anytime he wants to make a bet, it’s a sure thing…for him.”
“What are you talking about?” Hailey finally asked.
Clay pointed at Laine and she turned to him, waiting for somebody to explain. “Shack tried to get me to bet him a hundred dollars yesterday that Clay would change his mind about you riding Soldier. I passed. Evidently so did everybody else.”
She turned her head back to Clay again. “Did you know about that?”
Clay immediately shook his head. “Not until Laine came in this morning and I told him to saddle him for you. He told me then.”
“Well, I’m glad he didn’t ask me. I would have lost a hundred dollars,” she said quietly.
Clay barked out a short laugh and nodded. “I would have, too. Sure wasn’t my plan, but I decided you were right. Besides, Ringo told me I was wrong.”
The men around them chortled but Hailey frowned in confusion as she looked around them. “Who’s Ringo? I don’t think I’ve met him.”
They all laughed louder and Clay turned a wide smile to her and pointed at the buckskin horse he was riding. “Him. He’s Ringo.”
The surprised laughter came out quickly and Clay heard more than one quick breath sucked in when her eyes lit up and she urged her horse forward enough to be even with Ringo’s head and she leaned forward to look down at him.
“Thank you, Ringo,” she said seriously then turned a wide smile back to Clay when he joined the others in the ensuing laughter.
Laine’s own smile broadened to hear Clay laugh again. And you couldn’t miss the surprise on the faces of the men around him. He often talked to them, even kidded them when they were out like this. But laugh? No.
“Now, Hailey. Thanks are nice, and I know girls like flowers, but somethin’ tells me that a nice rubdown at the end of the day would be really appreciated,” Charlie said still laughing.
“Oh-ho. Are you talkin’ about Ringo or you?” Davey asked then nearly fell out of the saddle laughing when Charlie jerked his hat off and slapped him on the arm with it.
“Now you cut that shit out. Boy, you’re gonna get me shot,” Charlie said quickly.
“Aw, Charlie. Clay won’t shoot you. Laine might, but…naw. Then he’d be short-handed.”
“But Hailey would. Wouldn’t you, Hailey?”
“Damn straight,” she said then shot him a wicked grin when they all laughed at him. Charlie settled his hat back on his head and sent her a wide smile as he pulled it down over his eyes.
“I’m just gonna sit over here and be good.”
“That’ll be the day,” Laine said quickly.
Clay pulled his face down into a serious look and turned to look straight at Charlie. “Son, I don’t know how to tell you this But it just ain’t in a man’s nature to be good. You’re just liable to strain all kinds places if you start tryin’ to go against nature.”
“Is that the voice of experience, boss?” Davey asked. Every one of them roared when Clay let the sly smile spread across his face and he nodded slowly.
“Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Some of them parts don’t work right yet.”
“Boys, I think that needs to be one of the stories around the campfire tonight. Don’t you?” Laine asked quickly.
When they all agreed Clay started shaking his head. “Oh, hell no. Uh-uh. I’ve told off on myself just a
bout as much as I’m going to. You boys are on your own for entertainment.”
Charlie reached over and tapped Clay’s arm and grinned. “Maybe we could get Hailey to tell us all about backup drives, light switches and electronics store managers.”
Hailey grunted slightly and dropped her head forward. “Laine, you’ve got a big mouth.”
“Wasn’t me, darlin’.”