by Cindi Madsen
“Yep. Guess Cory was heading that way eventually, but I told Royce that I could use a drive, so he hopped on in. He was pretty quiet, though. Not that it’s any of my business, but I heard you guys had been at the Triple S, so I thought you might wanna know he got home safe and sound.”
After the falling-out, she’d worked to erase last night from her mind, so she hadn’t really thought about it, but it was good to hear all the same.
Grandpa turned his attention back to the fence, asking her to pull the wire tighter as he secured it on the other post. She marveled at how he could still jump up on fences and the strength he possessed. She wondered if cowboys ever really retired. From what she’d seen, they didn’t. They became part of their land and animals until there was no separating them.
Royce was a cowboy through and through. He’d told her having her at the ranch helped, and he looked less tired and stressed than he had when she’d first started working there. So maybe it’d be hard, and maybe there’d be no more kissing, but she couldn’t quit on him.
Even if working at the ranch constantly reminded her of everything she’d sacrificed for her music.
…
Sadie walked out of the stalls and over to where most of the teens were gathered around watching something. As she neared the fence, she realized that Royce and Eli were on horses, practicing roping.
Funny how the kid claimed it was lame, and now he was racing across the land on a horse, lasso swinging over his head. He snagged the calf’s head, and a few seconds later, Royce got the back hooves. They both glanced up at Cory perched up on the fence, who yelled out their time.
Royce and Eli jumped off the horses and went to work undoing the ropes.
Addison glanced at Sadie. “Royce told us we get to go to the rodeo if we’re good these last few weeks, and I can’t believe how excited I am for a rodeo. Also…” Her eyes moved to Eli as he draped the rope over his shoulder. “I never thought I’d say it, but cowboys are kinda hot.”
Sadie crossed her forearms on the middle rung of the fence and watched Royce herd the calf toward the gate. His jeans were caked in dirt, and his hat was slightly crooked. “Amen, sister.”
Addison looked at her, and she seemed to realize they’d actually agreed on something. Sadie wasn’t sure who was more shocked. Come to think of it, they hadn’t clashed as much lately. The chip on Addison’s shoulder had lessened, along with her attitude, and the last time they’d brushed down horses, Sadie noticed Addison took great care to make sure the horse she usually rode got properly taken care of. She’d noticed Addison and Eli were pairing off now and then, too—never going far, since that wasn’t allowed, but putting enough space between them and the rest of the group so they could chat without being overheard.
As opposed to Sadie and Royce. Their casual conversations were gone, although he was always polite. Distantly polite.
She’d been tempted to start a fight with him just so he’d show a little emotion around her. But they’d all been busy, and she supposed it was unfair for her to tell him not to be an ass to her only to pick at him until he broke. This past week had definitely been a lot longer than most, especially with Quinn back in Cheyenne, not due to visit again until the rodeo.
The buzz of a motorcycle broke through the sound of the horses and the conversations going on around her. The black bike pulled up in front of Royce’s cabin, and Royce ducked between the gaps in the fence and headed over to talk to the guy. Caroline called the kids for lunch, but Sadie hung back, wondering if she should saddle up one of the horses and ride to the river. Maybe that’d help clear her head.
Only then her stomach growled, reminding her how long ago breakfast was. She’d have to take her ride later this afternoon, after her work was done—Royce didn’t seem to mind her taking the horses out whenever. Not like he’d actually talk to her if he did. But they needed exercise, anyway, and it got her away from him, so she figured he counted that as a bonus.
Whoever was on the motorcycle buzzed back down the driveway, and Royce headed toward the cabins, which meant they were going to have to be near each other without a bunch of people between them.
Not talking seemed weird, and honestly, keeping her mouth closed just wasn’t in her skill set, so she asked, “Who was that?”
“You remember Heath Brantley?”
The guy had been in the class two years ahead of theirs and had a motorcycle, tattoos, and piercings—basically he was the town bad boy. She was pretty sure he played guitar for some band, too, so add that to the irresistible-to-women category. “He’s still around here?” She looked in the direction he’d gone, even though he was too far away now to make out any details. “Pretty sure every woman with eyes remembers him.”
Royce gave her a sidelong look, a hint of annoyance in his features.
“Quinn was the one with the mad crush on him. I had you, so…” He tensed, and, as she had many times before, she wished for the ability to stuff words back in her mouth. Instead, she blurted out more to try to keep the conversation going. “What was he doing here? Motivational speaker for the kids?” she joked.
“He’s moving back to town, apparently. You remember Mountain Ridge Bed and Breakfast just down the road?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Quinn always talked about how sad it was that it was just sitting there getting more and more run-down. She even said that someday she was going to restore it—we actually broke in one night to check it out.”
Royce ran his fingers across the stubble on his jaw, and Sadie got a little lost in the motion. “Well, rumor is the family’s finally going to put the land up for sale. Heath wants to buy it, and since it borders the ranch, he wanted to discuss plans and make sure it works for what we’ve got going here. We set up a meeting for later in the week.”
“That was nice of him to check with you.”
“Apparently the town committee gets to vote on what happens to it, since it’s been declared a historical site. A lot of the older ladies were sure he belonged here at the alternative camp—or in jail—so I think he wants me to help convince them to let him buy it. Apparently I’m upstanding enough to be a good personal reference.”
Right before they reached the cabins, Royce gripped her elbow, pulling her to a stop. Between the tense eyebrows and the way his mouth tightened, she knew it was going to be bad.
“Don’t say it. I can’t hear it again. I know I screwed up, and I’m trying to give you your space, but I hate that I’ve pushed you to the point that you completely ignore me, and—”
“Like ignoring you is even a possibility.” A hint of a smile ghosted across his lips. “I was actually going to ask if you wanted to ride up with me and Cory to a horse sale in Rawlins this afternoon.”
It took her brain several seconds to process the words. An hour and a half each way with her seated between Royce and Cory in a truck? Or maybe they’d take the extended cab and she’d sit in the back alone. Yeah, that was probably more the way he’d go.
“If you’ve got other plans, no worries,” he said. “We won’t get back till late, but you’ve got a good eye for horses and their dispositions, so I could use your opinion.”
His hand was still on her elbow, warming the skin there, and he was so deliciously dirty from roping. “I’d love to go.”
“All right, then.” He gave one sharp nod and dropped his hand. “Let’s get some food and then we’ll take off.”
…
Royce figured having Cory with them would act as a safe barrier between him and Sadie—a barrier that he was coming dangerously close to breaking every time he looked at her. The truth was, he couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss on the dance floor.
He’d meant what he said about her having a good eye for horses, but he’d also decided he was distracted enough wondering about her, he might as well have her with him. And this way, he’d be in control of the situation. Only the horse trailer had already been attached to the single-cab truck, and there was no way Cory was going to stradd
le the gearshift, which meant Sadie ended up right next to him, her thigh against his and her light floral perfume impossible to escape.
“That’s enough classic rock for one day,” Sadie said, switching the radio to a country station as if she owned it, just like in high school.
“Hey, I like classic rock.” Royce reached for the buttons.
“How many times have I told you? That’s just cowboy blasphemy!” Sadie shoved his hand away. “It’s a good thing I’m here to help you see the light.”
He lifted his hand toward the radio again, and she grabbed onto his wrist and yanked his arm down. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he was tempted to show her how easily he could overpower her. That’d mean not having her hand on his arm, though, and he was enjoying the way she’d grip it tighter every time he made the smallest movement.
“Ooh, I love this one!” she yelled as a new song started, and, holding his arm tightly with one hand, she cranked up the music even louder with the other.
Since it meant her smiling, bopping in her seat, and singing, he’d always let her control over the radio slide. He supposed the bopping around was still cute enough—and heaven help him, her voice never failed to unravel him. As she was singing “She Ain’t Right,” he thought it was the perfect song for her. Except that’d be him admitting that she was just right for him.
She nudged him. “Cory’s singing, and I’m singing. Stop being a fuddy-duddy and sing with us.”
He rested his wrist on the steering wheel and glanced at her. “Fuddy-duddy?”
She leaned in and sang, her face so close to his that he almost forgot to pay attention to the road. He shook his head. She poked a finger at his cheek. “I’m gonna do this the entire way unless you sing. Come on. Sing. I know you’ve got a perfectly good voice.”
“The voice is okay, it’s being on key that I’ve always had trouble with.”
“Whatever.” She poked his cheek again, so he sighed and then went ahead and sang a few lines. She looked so proud of herself that he couldn’t help returning her smile. Although he’d never admit it out loud—because he’d never hear the end of it if he did—he liked that she pushed him to remember how much fun the little things could be. For so long all he’d been focused on was work and fixing problems, and it was nice to relax a bit. Now that he thought about it, it was probably the other reason he’d asked her to come today.
After the song ended, Sadie turned to Cory. “So, let’s talk ladies, Cory. Where you at with them these days?”
“I’m a fan.”
She giggled. “But is there a special girl? You know, I could try to set you up.” Her eyebrows drew together. “If I knew any girls who lived here.”
“And therein lies the problem,” Cory said. “There aren’t a whole lot to choose from. Besides, the bachelor life suits me just fine. I’m looking for fun more than serious.”
“Lame!” Sadie crossed her arms. “I’m not setting you up with any of my nonexistent friends now.”
“Damn,” Cory said, snapping his fingers, and she laughed again, the sound echoing through Royce’s chest.
Then she turned to him, opening her mouth like she was going to ask him something—possibly the same thing—then thought better of it. Which was good. No way he was talking women or dating with her.
Especially not with that one line from the song repeating in his head over and over. She’s just right for me.
He pulled up to the grounds where the horse sell was going on and got out of the truck. They got a pamphlet with all of the horses listed and walked through, checking them out in person as they read off their stats.
Cory split off to look at a dun mare, and Royce headed over to the stallions. When they got to a tall buckskin, he glanced at Sadie. “This was the one that caught my eye when I was scanning through the list.”
The horse ambled over and stuck his head over the gate, sniffing at Sadie. She patted his head. “Well, he’s definitely not shy.”
Royce knew there were people who were good with animals, but he couldn’t believe the way all of them seemed to automatically trust Sadie. She was already talking to the horse, her voice calm as she told him how pretty he was and that he was “Such a good horsey.”
She put her hands on either side of his face and peered into his big eyes. “I think I love him.”
“What about his build? He’s got good strong muscles in his legs, but sixteen hands? He’s a little on the tall side for roping. I also gotta think about the birthrates and if the height will cause a problem for my mares.”
Sadie jumped up on the gate and ran her hands down the horse’s neck as she studied him, her lips twitching one way and then the other. The horse kept bumping his nose into her, wanting more attention. Royce wasn’t sure he needed a horse that followed her around like a puppy, but it was pretty damn endearing.
“Tall and lean, but he’s still got the muscles for the quick start roping requires, so I think you’d be good. Just a sec.” She pulled out her phone and took a picture and then sent a text. “Now we’ll see if my lessons to my grandpa on how to text paid off.”
They were still standing in front of the pen when her phone rang.
“That’s him. Maybe I failed at the texting lesson.” She answered, and her face lit up as she talked to him. Her grandpa was one of the best guys Royce knew, not to mention he also had a sixth sense when it came to horses. Royce knew that in a lot of ways, Gene Manning was more Sadie’s dad than her actual dad. All in all, she and her father had a good relationship, but Gene was the man who’d really raised her.
She hung up and spun around. “He said he approves. You know I’m attached now, right? Me and”—she took the pamphlet out of Royce’s hand and read off the name—“Duke are destined to hang out more.”
“Destined, huh?”
A grin curved her lips, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Written in the stars and shit.”
Royce laughed and then held out a hand to her. “Looks like we gotta go see a man about a horse, then.”
She gave an adorable little squeal, slapped her hand in his, and jumped down. Her body bumped his, and for a moment they froze like that, the same way they’d done on the dance floor, and he was thinking about that kiss again.
Pushing her away the other night had taken all his strength, and right now he wasn’t sure why he was bothering to hold back, or if he even wanted to. This time around, there were no illusions of rodeo wins with Sadie by his side and a family in the future. He knew they had different goals that’d eventually take them down different paths.
Actually, he was sure that what he wanted to do was take her to bed and work out the tension between them. He’d sworn he’d never let his life get so wrapped up in another person again, and he was planning on sticking to that. But he could keep his feelings in check, just like he’d done for years.
“Did you de— Never mind.” Cory turned to go in the other direction, and Royce let go of Sadie.
“We’re gonna go make an offer, actually,” Royce said. “Sadie claims she and Duke are destined to be friends, and I don’t know how to argue with that kind of logic.”
“The answer is simple. You can’t.” Sadie gripped his hand and headed toward the entrance. He pulled against her a little—just so she didn’t go thinking she was in charge. Plus, there was the added benefit of the view of her butt in the tight jeans she had on.
Cory raised his eyebrows in a silent question as they passed him. Royce shrugged, and then he went to buy a horse for a girl who might not even stick around long enough to help take care of it.
Chapter Ten
When Royce got done loading Duke into the trailer, he went to find Sadie. He found her tossing horseshoes with a boy who couldn’t be more than five or six. She was also laughing, that loud, infectious, head-turning laugh that drew people to her wherever she went.
She glanced up as he approached. “This kid’s a horseshoe hustler! I just lost five bucks!”
The kid grinned up a
t her. His white hat was big enough it wobbled on his head. He gathered up the horseshoes and looked at Royce. “Would you like to play, sir?”
He was going to say that was okay, but Sadie grabbed his arm and yanked him closer. “You’ve got to see this. It’s like that trick-shot kid who beats all the celebrities at making baskets. Deacon makes amazing tosses instead. He’s like a machine. A pint-sized, accurate machine.”
Royce took the horseshoes from the kid—Deacon, apparently.
“One point for close, two for a leaner, three for a ringer.” Deacon gestured for Royce to go first.
His toss was a little too far.
Deacon grinned and threw. The horseshoe clanged against the spike—a ringer. His grin widened.
Sadie placed her hand on Royce’s shoulder and leaned in so her body was against his back, and tucked her chin on her hand. “Isn’t he the cutest?”
Royce glanced over his shoulder at her. “He’s pretty damn cute.”
She shoved him forward. “Okay, go again.”
He got one leaner, one point for coming close, and—finally—a ringer. But the kid had thrown all ringers, and as the last one fell over Royce’s, he glanced up and said, “Mister, that means my ringer cancels yers. But good try.”
Patronized by a grade-school cowboy. Royce laughed and handed over five dollars. Deacon shoved it into his pocket. “Why don’t you two play? You could use the practice.”
“No, I—”
“Good idea,” Sadie said over the top of him, gathering up the horseshoes. “Royce is much closer to my level, and I could use a win after you wiped the floor with me.” Her eyebrows scrunched up, her tongue came out, and she kept swinging her arm backward and forward over and over, before finally letting the first one loose.
Her tosses were all over the place. Close and then way over. Short and long. As usual, though, she just grinned or laughed her way through each success and failure, bouncing on the balls of her feet, energy radiating off her. Her last toss hit and leaned against the spike. She pumped her fist and then turned and high-fived the kid.