by Cindi Madsen
She gathered the pictures from the floor and hovered them over the trash can but couldn’t drop them in for reasons she didn’t care to think about right now. So she stuck the stack on the back of the dresser, out of sight. Unfortunately, that made her face her reflection. She hadn’t bothered with makeup or even changing out of her pajamas yet.
Yikes! Not going to the ranch looking like this.
At least this time, she’d get to prepare herself before seeing Royce. She shimmied into her tightest jeans—one of the Miss Me pairs with the rhinestones on the pockets that she was obsessed with—threw on a white tank top and a filmy purple blouse, and pulled on the way-too-expensive boots she’d gotten when she thought she’d landed a record deal. The boots were all looks, no function, but a little dust wouldn’t hurt them.
After curling her hair in uniform waves, she switched over the laundry. Then she grabbed the pie, check, and truck keys and drove the familiar road to Second Chance Ranch.
This year was a bit dry, the grass browner than usual, which both Royce and Grandpa had no doubt worried about. With each mile closer she got to the ranch, her heart beat a little faster, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened that much more. The wooden sign over the entrance was new, done in the same print as the sign on the door of Royce’s truck. The quilting stands in the back bumped together as she took the turn.
Sadie caught movement behind the cabins where the teens stayed, so she pulled up next to the nearest one, took a deep breath, and got out of the truck.
She was sidetracked when she saw a familiar figure filling the water trough. Since going to say hi to Cory would be much easier than seeing Royce, she chose to start with him. She walked over and tapped his shoulder, grinning when he did a double take.
He scooped her into a hug. “Hey! I heard you were in town.”
“You heard right,” she said, squeezing him back. Then she stepped away and looked him over. Same deep dimples set in tan skin, piercing blue eyes, and jet-black hair peeking out from under a beat-up cowboy hat. The thick, dark scruff was new, though, and like Royce, he’d filled out quite a bit since high school.
The hug had knocked his hat crooked, and he readjusted it with one hand on top, wiggling it back into place. “So, how’ve you been, big shot? I guess I better get an autograph before I lose my chance.”
“Oh, you’re definitely not at risk of that. As you might’ve noticed, I’m not exactly a big shot yet. And even if I were, you know I’d always have time for you.” She flashed him a smile, glad that despite all the time away, things were still easy between them. “It’s been an interesting few years, though. Ups and downs and everything in between, but I’ve managed to hold my own. How about you? How’s life?”
“Good, good. Playing cowboy. Same old.”
Not exactly playing from the looks of things. She bet he was still a total heartbreaker, too—he had Native American somewhere in his bloodline, and between his coloring, those blue eyes, and the natural good ol’ boy charm, the girls went crazy for him.
The water spilled over the side of the trough, and Cory moved to shut it off. “Hey, I gotta go hop on a tractor before it gets too dark, but let’s catch up later, okay?”
“Sure,” she said, though she doubted there’d be a later. It’d be too weird to meet up without Royce, and she couldn’t picture them all sitting around like old times. “Is Royce or Caroline around?”
“They’re both behind the cabins with the kids.”
She nodded, delaying the inevitable for a moment, but when Cory took off, she forced her feet into motion. As she made her way to the shared backyard of the camp cabins, she spotted a bunch of teens holding ropes. Royce was in the middle of the action, teaching one of the guys to lasso. She could tell he was explaining the movement and the feel, like he had with her all those years ago, when she’d asked him to teach her.
It was amazing watching him from this perspective. He was so patient, laughing it off when the guy missed and giving him a pat on the back as he handed the kid the rope to try again. He moved to the girl standing next in line and started taking her through the steps. There was a tall, dark-haired kid in back with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
Now that just wouldn’t do. She’d seen the change this place made in kids’ lives before, but sometimes they needed an extra push, and cheering up grumpy people was one of the things besides singing that she did well. Sadie slowly moved over to him. “What? You’re too cool for this stuff?”
He turned toward her, and she was sure he was about to let her have it, but then his mouth just sort of hung open. “I…uh…yeah.”
She flashed him the grin she’d used in waitressing to win over people when she accidentally messed up their orders—she’d had to use it a lot. “When I first moved here, I thought it was lame, too.” But then she’d seen Royce doing it, and it was different in competition, when the entire crowd leaned forward, waiting to see if the throw would land. “Where are you from?”
“Fort Collins, Colorado.” He crossed his arms and the attitude crept back in, his lips pursed together.
“And your name?”
“Eli. You gonna ask me why I’m here, too?”
“Only if you ask me first. Trust me, this is the last place I expected to be.”
That earned her half a smile.
“I’m Sadie.” She eyed the discarded rope at his feet. “You want me to show you how to rope? I learned way back when, and I kind of suck, so don’t show me up after I teach you, ’kay?”
Eli rolled his eyes and sighed, but she picked up the rope anyway and bumped her shoulder into his. “Come on. What else are you gonna do?”
“Fine. But it’s still lame.”
“Not if you think about the most annoying people you know and imagine you’re roping them and jerking them off their feet.” She gripped the knot—the honda, she remembered—fed the rope through, and flipped the loop back, repeating the move until it was about armpit height, the way she’d been taught by Royce. “I don’t want to give names, because chances are you might run into her, but there was this snotty girl in high school—you know the type?”
“Sure. Know lots of them.”
“So you just picture them…” Sadie gripped the loop and lifted it above her head. “You swivel your wrist and—” The rope smacked her on the side of the head, but she was already trying to throw.
It landed on the ground in front of her, not even coming close to the bale with the plastic cow head stuck into it. “Shit.”
Eli laughed. “You do suck.”
“Hey.” She gave him a playful shove. “I said kind of.”
“Oh, and there’s a swear jar, and you need to put a dollar in it.”
“Seriously? A swear jar?”
“It’s bullshit, right?”
“I’m so telling on you,” she said with a laugh, and he laughed again.
…
What the hell?
Royce stared across the yard at Sadie and Eli. First of all, what was she even doing here, and second, how did she get that kid to laugh?
She glanced up and her eyes met his. Her smile faded and she swallowed. Was he really that scary? Realizing he was frowning at them, he worked to soften his expression and walked over.
“Sadie.”
“Royce.”
Eli glanced between them. “I’ll just…” He pointed toward the other kids. “I think I need a new teacher anyway.”
“Oh, sure, I let one little bale of hay get away, and you think I don’t know what I’m doing?” She threw her hand over her heart. “That hurts.”
Damn if the kid didn’t smile at her again before heading away.
“How’d you do that?” Royce asked.
“I’m just a little rusty, and you know I was never good at roping anyway. I always secretly cheered for the calves to get away. Not when you were competing, of course, because I wanted you to win, but—”
“I’m not talking about the roping—although I real
ly did think I taught you better than that.” He’d only seen the end of the throw, if you could even call it that.
She raised a haughty eyebrow, one corner of her mouth hinting at a smile, and now he was thinking about her confession that she’d cheered for the calves and trying not to be amused by it. Not that it was a big surprise. In high school he’d repeatedly assured her all the animals at the rodeos were well taken care of, and she’d often chased calves down to try to pet them like overgrown puppies. He resisted the urge to tease her more, because that’d only lead down a road he wasn’t going with her again.
He jerked his chin toward Eli. “I’m talking about the kid.” While her ability to make people happy was something he’d seen—and experienced—before, getting through to someone that hell-bent on being angry was a whole new level.
“Eli? Seems like a good guy.”
Good guy? Really? He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to see if she was serious. She stared right back, and he could see her jaw clench, the stubbornness setting in right in front of his eyes.
“I’ve never seen him smile before today,” Royce said. “I was starting to wonder if he knew how.”
She shrugged a shoulder, a smug quirk to her lips. “What can I say? People love me.”
Royce took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it and pulling the brim low. People loved her. Angry cats loved her.
“Sadie!” Mom’s voice was about a hundred octaves higher than usual. She ran over and threw her arms around Sadie.
Moms loved her.
They spoke quickly, right over the top of each other. His mom was fawning over Sadie, telling her how happy she was to see her. It was borderline annoying, actually, but it—along with what had just happened with Eli—was giving him a horrible, awful idea.
“…wanted me to bring back your quilting stands, and she made a pie, too.” Sadie glanced at him and swiped her hair behind her ear. “And I have a check for you from my grandpa.”
“Well, let’s go get the stands.” Royce called for the kids to help, and they all walked toward the truck. It didn’t take them long to load them into his mom’s place, and big surprise, the rest of the teens took a shine to Sadie, too. For the most part, the kids sent here were just a bit misguided and used to people treating them like troublemakers. Pretty soon, they started shutting out all adults and living up to the name. One of the hardest things about finding someone to work with them was getting the right mix of tough love and respect.
Right now I’d settle for respect and the ability to get through to them, though…
He told the kids they could have some free time, Mom disappeared along with them, and then it was just him and Sadie, her at the bottom of the porch stairs and him at the top.
She kicked at the ground with her fancy boots. “So, um, I noticed you’ve got wifi now,” she said, gesturing to the sign in the window of the cabins that reminded the kids they could have internet time on the community computer if they completed their chores. “Fancy.”
“Yeah, and we stopped churning butter just last month. Super excited about it.”
She shot him a scowl, and man, she was cute when she was mad, something he really wished he didn’t notice. They say it takes about a month to break a habit, but even after all these years, he had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and find a way to wipe the frown from her face.
He gripped the porch railing over his head to make sure he didn’t accidentally try it. Then he stared at her for a beat, telling himself not to say anything besides good-bye. All those thoughts about her people skills were just that, and they needed to stay locked away. “So, did you find a job?”
She gave a humorless laugh. “Not so much. I filled out a bunch of applications, but apparently no one in the town is hiring—working fast food is starting to look like my only option. I’m probably going to have to swallow my pride and fill out applications for that next week.”
He pictured her behind the counter of McDonald’s. He thought it would give him a sense of satisfaction. Instead, it felt like a lead weight in his gut. She didn’t belong there, and she hated to be cooped up indoors. “I’m hiring.”
“Funny.”
Holy shit, what was he doing? But at this point, he was desperate, not to mention severely sleep deprived, and he couldn’t seem to stop. “I’m serious. I’ve been shorthanded for a couple of months, and with the new batch of kids here for the alternative camp, it’s even worse. I need someone who knows how to work with the teens and with animals, and is willing to do other chores around the ranch.”
She was also female, something his eyes were taking in despite his best efforts to not check her out—another habit he’d apparently failed to break. He cleared his throat and forced his gaze to her face. “You remember how to take care of horses?”
She scrunched up her eyebrows, suspicion clear on her features. “Better than I remember how to rope. But why would you offer me a job?”
Yeah, why, Dixon? Why’d you have to go and open your big mouth? And if she accepted, could he really handle seeing her every day? Then again, could he afford to go another day without her here, helping balance out the gender equation?
He let go of the porch railing and leaned against one of the posts. “Sure, us working together is probably the worst idea ever, but you connected with Eli in record time, you’re good with animals, and I’d get a kick out of seeing if you can still handle a little manure on your clothes or if you’re too prissy now.” He shrugged. “Plus, I give you a week. Two, tops.”
“A week?” She crossed her arms. “Do you not remember how stubborn I can be if I set my mind to something?”
“I remember. It’s another reason I’m offering you the job. Pay’s not great and the hours are long, but if you think you can handle—”
“I’ll take it.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow at seven a.m., then. You might wanna wear something a little more practical.” And hopefully something that wouldn’t show off the fact that while she was far too skinny now, she still had a nice butt.
She lifted her chin. “Great. See you then.” She turned and strode to her truck, those damn rhinestones on her back pockets glittering in the sunshine with each sway of her hips.
And Royce knew he’d just done the dumbest thing in the history of dumb.
Chapter Five
The next morning, hours before she usually woke up, Sadie pulled up to Second Chance Ranch once again. She had no idea what to expect. She wouldn’t be surprised if Royce laughed in her face and told her he’d only been joking about the job.
She was actually ten minutes early, and she wasn’t sure if she should sit in the truck or go ask what jobs needed started, or what. After a moment of listening to silence so loud it was unnerving, she walked up to the large cabin that hadn’t been there back in high school. Thanks to Grandpa telling her about how Royce and his dad were building it the first time she’d come back home for a visit, she knew it was his.
Maybe I should knock on Caroline’s door instead. She glanced at the cabin about twenty yards over, then back at Royce’s door. Stop being a wimp and let’s get this job started.
She knocked on the door so hard it stung her knuckles, especially with the morning chill that wouldn’t burn off for an hour or so.
Just when she’d decided he wasn’t going to answer, the door swung open. Royce squinted against the morning light. His hair was sticking up in several places, and his shirt was unbuttoned, exposing a strip of his chest and stomach, muscles achieved through hard days on the farm instead of hours at the gym. She couldn’t explain exactly what the difference was, but there definitely was one, and it ignited a spark of desire she hadn’t felt in a long time.
She’d managed to sidestep memories of the sex they used to have, but now they lured her in. Blips of pleasure in rapid succession. His hands traveling over her body, kisses that merged into one another, the contrast of the warmth between their entwined bodies with the cool n
ight air.
Royce cleared his throat, and she quickly looked up to his face. Heat burned through her cheeks. “Um, I’m…” She rubbed the back of her neck, which was also too warm now. “I was just wondering…”
“Coffee’s almost done. Come on in, and you can have a cup. Maybe it’ll help with the rambling problem.”
She clamped her lips, sure her face was bright red, and followed him inside. She glanced up at the vaulted ceiling with the thick wooden beams and then at the large, open room. The dark wood of the furniture contrasted the lighter shade of the ceiling and walls. It was all masculine elegance, but not as rustic as she’d expected. Massive windows overlooked the ranch, there was a beautiful stone fireplace in the middle, and the room had red accents all around.
“Wow, Royce. This place is beautiful.”
He turned to her, fastening the top button of his shirt—no more peep show, dang it. He swept his gaze over the room and then gave a tiny nod. “Thanks. It took my dad and me a few years to get it all done…” She could see the sadness flicker through his eyes, but he quickly shuttered it away. “But it’s nice to have a place of my own, even if my mom’s still my closest neighbor. Well, her and a bunch of juvenile delinquents.”
He said it lightly, and it was clear that he had a soft spot for the supposed juvenile delinquents. Sadie took a step toward him. “I’m so sorry about your dad.” When she’d heard he’d had a heart attack, she could hardly believe it. He was so young still. “He was such a great guy, and the world was a better place because of him.” She knew her words were too little too late, but she had to get them out. Royce had always been close to his dad. He’d never been embarrassed to have him around, and they’d gone camping and hunting, as well as worked tireless hours together, and she knew he must’ve taken the loss hard.