Texas Tango: Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 2

by Cynthia D'Alba

  “Yeah, I guess I need to be getting him up soon. Do you have any idea when you’ll be back?”

  She shrugged. “Not really. Probably early. What time do we need to leave for the dance?”

  “We’re all meeting at Mom and Dad’s about seven-thirty and going together from there.”

  “Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be back here long before then.”

  “Okay.” He snagged her arm as she passed and pulled her in for a kiss. “Have a good day.”

  She licked her upper lip and smiled. “Later.”

  After the front door closed, the house was still and quiet, but he figured that wouldn’t last for long. He finished his first cup of coffee and headed upstairs.

  He knocked on Noah’s door. When there was no reply, he knocked again. The third time he knocked and opened the door, letting the light from the hall into the dark room.

  “Shake a leg, boy. We’ve got work to do.”

  Noah groaned and pulled the covers over his head. “Go away.”

  Travis flipped on the room’s overhead light. “I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. What kind of shoes did you bring?”

  From under the covers came the muffled reply. “Sandals and tennis shoes.”

  Travis shook his head. Mucking out the stalls would be nasty work. The kid needed better shoes. “You got some jeans with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll need to wear those today for working. I’ll see if I can round up some better shoes.”

  The reply was another muffled groan. Travis smiled. He remembered his dad waking him and his brothers up at ungodly hours to work. Their responses had been very similar to Noah’s.

  “Get up. I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. Ten would be better.”

  Noah threw the covers back and stood, a wide yawn stretching his mouth.

  “You drink coffee?”

  Noah frowned. “I’m fourteen.”

  “We’ll find something for you for breakfast.” Travis turned to leave and then said over his shoulder, “Glad to have you here, Noah.”

  The teenager grinned and began pawing through his backpack.

  Travis headed back to the kitchen. If Noah was going to be with them for a while—and it looked that way—he was going to need more clothes. There couldn’t be that much in the backpack. He thought about calling Patrick or Leslie and asking them to send his stuff, but he decided that as touchy as Noah was about his uncle and aunt, he might resent their going through his personal belongings. Later today he’d check with his mom. She probably still had a pair of old boots lying around Noah could use. Probably no old jeans, but that could be easily taken care of.

  For today, John Webster might have something. He rang up the Webster household.

  “Morning, Travis. You’re calling early,” John Webster said when he answered. “Something wrong at your place?”

  “Remember the kid from last night?”

  “You mean your brother-in-law?”

  “Yeah. That’s the one. He’s going to be here for a while. I want you to put him to work.”

  “Okay. What did you have in mind?”

  “Today, mucking out the stalls. Can you get Amy and Rocky to show him the ropes?”

  “Sure. No problem. My kids will love having someone else to help with their chores.”

  “One other thing. Noah only has sandals and tennis shoes. You have some rubber boots you can loan him?”

  “What size?”

  Noah had come into the kitchen during the conversation. Travis looked at him. “What size shoes?”

  “Nine and a half.”

  “Nine and a half or ten.”

  “I’ve got something that’ll work. Got some leather gloves he can use too.”

  “Great. Thanks, John. Tell Amy and Rocky I appreciate their showing Noah what to do today.”

  He hung up and turned to Noah. “Okay. You’re all set for today. You’re going to be mucking out the stalls with a couple of John’s kids. Amy and Rocky.”

  Noah frowned. “I don’t know how to muck out a stall.” He scratched his head. “I don’t even know what mucking a stall means.”

  Travis chuckled. “Don’t worry. You’re going to love it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The boots were a little big, but as long as Noah left his sneakers on they stayed firmly on his feet. The gloves pulled on easily…snug, but perfect for what Travis had assigned to Noah.

  “I’m not going to be with you today,” Travis explained while Noah shoved his feet in to the knee-high rubber boots John Webster had provided. “I’ve got some training to do with a new horse that just came in, so you’ll be on your own working with John’s kids. Amy and Rocky know the ropes, so don’t hesitate to ask either of them what to do.”

  Noah looked around, his uncertainty and unease with the new situation evident in every word, every movement. “It smells like horse shit in here.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Can’t you do anything about that?”

  Travis stifled a smile. “Yup. The staff will be tackling that this morning. Oh, here come Amy and Rocky.”

  A pretty blonde teenage girl wearing jeans, a Texas Longhorns T-shirt and rubber boots was making her way toward where Travis and Noah stood. A dark-haired teenage boy dressed in pretty much the same fashion followed.

  “Morning, Amy. This is Noah Graham. Noah, this is Amy Webster and her brother, Rocky. They’ll be showing you the ropes today.” He looked at Noah. “You’ll be working with Amy and Rocky today.”

  “Morning,” the girl said. “Thanks for the help, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “Hi.” Noah’s voice was soft, exposing his nervousness.

  “Hi, Noah.,” Amy gave him a bright smile. “We’ll be glad to have the help, right, Rock?

  “You know it. Good to meet you, Noah,” Rocky said with an upward lift of his chin.

  “I’ll check on you later.” Travis gave Noah’s hair a quick tussle as he walked past.

  As he was walking out of the barn he heard Amy say, “You ever mucked a stall before? It’s gross.”

  Travis smiled and went to find Dustin, the cowboy assigned with cutting horse training today.

  About noon, Travis climbed off the most stubborn horse he’d ever tried to train. The gleam in the horse’s eyes said he thought he’d won. Travis ran his hand down the horse’s nose. “You haven’t won, you sonofabitch. I’ll be back for more.”

  The horse tossed his head as though to say, “We’ll see.”

  He left the horse in the corral and headed for the barn. As he neared, he heard laughter, a couple of shrieks and then more howls. He looked in. The first thing he noticed was the improvement in the smell. The teenagers had made significant progress on the stalls. The second thing he noticed was the big cow eyes Noah was making at Amy. Well, well, well. Noah and Amy. Interesting, like storing gasoline with a blow torch. It was possible that nothing would happen between them, but if it did…ka-boom.

  “How’s it going, guys?” he shouted as he walked in.

  “Hi, Mr. Montgomery,” Amy and Rocky said.

  “Hey, Travis.” Noah wrinkled his nose at Travis. “You didn’t tell me my job was shoveling shit.”

  Amy and Rocky burst out laughing.

  “You said it smelled like horse shit in here and that I ought to do something about it. I told you the staff would take care of it. Welcome to the staff,” Travis said. “Everything going okay?”

  “Yes, sir.” Noah turned his infatuated gaze toward Amy. “I think we’re done, right, Amy?”

  Travis hid his smile. If Amy told Noah to do it all over again, he believed the boy probably would.

  “We’re done. Dad told us to brush down the horses before we brought them back in. We were just getting ready to start. Okay if Noah helps us with that too?”

  Noah gave him a pleading look to not make him leave.

  “Sure. Noah, you ever been around horses?”

  “No, sir.”
/>
  “Tell you what, why don’t we take your sister on a trail ride tomorrow?” He looked at Amy and Rocky. “You guys are invited along.”

  Rocky’s head dropped. “Can’t. Still grounded.”

  Travis nodded. “Right. The spooked stallion. Amy?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  Travis turned to leave. “I’ll let y’all get back to it.” He looked in a couple of stalls as he exited. “Nice work everybody,” he tossed over his shoulder.

  At about three, he headed back by the barn to check on Noah. He wasn’t there. Neither were Amy or Rocky.

  “Webster,” he hollered.

  “In the tack room.”

  “How did the day go?” he asked when he found his foreman.

  “Good. Noah is a hard worker.”

  Travis smiled. “He’s trying to convince me to let him stay. Any problems?”

  “None at all.”

  “Where are the kids?”

  “They got done an hour or so ago. I told them they could go to the pond to swim. I hope that’s okay with you.”

  “Sure. No problem, but I’m surprised you let Rocky go since last I heard he was grounded.”

  John grinned. “I made him take Marshall and Norman with him.”

  Travis laughed. “I hated having to take my little brothers with me. I think that punishment might be worse than the grounding or even the stall mucking.”

  John shrugged. “It’ll teach him a lesson.”

  Travis leaned on the door frame. “You know, I think Noah’s got a little crush on Amy.”

  John scowled. “She’s too young for boyfriends.”

  “And you were what age when you fell in love the first time?”

  He waved off Travis’s question. “Bah. I was advanced for my age.”

  Travis laughed. “I thought Caroline and I would take Noah to the dance tonight. I wondered about asking Amy if she wanted to go with us. I think it would be easier for Noah if he had a friend there.”

  John thought about it for a minute before slowly nodding his head. “That’d be nice of you. If she wants to go, it’s fine with me.”

  Travis straightened. “Good deal. I’m heading down to the pond then home for the day. Call me if you need anything.”

  The pond was a fountain of many good memories for Travis. The spring-fed pool was on the backend of his parents’ land. The Montgomery kids had spent many summer afternoons swinging on the rope and dropping into the cold spring water. In a way, it was nice to see the next generation carrying on the tradition.

  He made it to the pond in time to see Noah running and then swinging wide over the water before dropping in. Noah had let out a loud Tarzan yell with the swing, which made Travis grin. Amy was sitting on the small pier that jutted out into the lake, her younger brothers sitting with her watching as Rocky did his run and Tarzan yell.

  “Hey, gang,” Travis called and walked down to the pier.

  “Hi, Mr. Montgomery,” the Webster children yelled.

  “Hi, Travis.” Noah’s face flashed with concern. “Am I in trouble?”

  Travis lifted an eyebrow. “Why would you be in trouble?”

  Noah climbed out of the water and shrugged. “I don’t know. Mr. Webster said it was okay for me to come.”

  “As long as your work is done, it’s perfectly fine. I’d rather you…” he pointed to the rest of the children, “…make that none of you swim alone here. It’s too dangerous. But it’s fine that you’re here.” He looked at Noah. “I’m heading to the house. Your sister should be home soon. We have to go to a dressy affair tonight and you’re coming along.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. Caroline is bringing home some clothes for you to try on for tonight. You’ll have fun. It’s a dance.”

  His eyes widened in what appeared to be adolescent fear. Travis remembered the days when the thought of a dance would produce a blinding horror. For Noah to not know anyone would make his dread even worse. But leaving him at home alone wasn’t an option. Noah hadn’t gained Travis’s trust yet.

  He mentally crossed his fingers he was getting ready to do the right thing.

  “I was wondering if maybe Amy would like to come along with us tonight.” He looked at Amy. “You’re more than welcome to ride to the country club with us. You know so many of the kids that’ll be there. Maybe you could introduce Noah around.”

  If Noah’s eyes got any wider, Travis worried the orbs would pop out of their sockets.

  Amy’s gaze darted to Noah and back to Travis. She licked her lips nervously. “I would love to. I’d have to ask my parents first.”

  Travis nodded. “Talked to your dad a little while ago. Said if you wanted to go with us it was fine with him.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Noah cross his fingers. He bit back a smile.

  Amy’s face lit with a broad grin. “Really? I’d love to…” Her voice dropped along with her smile. “If Noah wants me to.”

  Noah’s fingers uncrossed and he made a fist, like he was going to shove it in the air in success. “I…um…I…yeah. That’d be great.”

  Her smile returned. “Cool.” She looked at Travis. “What time do you want me at your house, Mr. Montgomery?”

  Travis smiled. “We’ll pick you up. Say about seven or so.”

  She leapt to her feet and grabbed the hands of her younger brothers. “We have to go,” she said as she dragged them off the pier. “Come on, Rocky. We’ve got to go home.”

  “Geesh, Amy. You’ve got hours to get ready,” Rocky complained. He opened his mouth to say more but the glare from his sister shut him down. “I can’t believe I have to go home so early,” he groused as he followed her up the hill.

  “You too, Noah. Let’s go. I thought we’d give the Rolls a quick wash before tonight.”

  Travis was in a rush to get home. He was sure Caroline had gotten back with new clothes for Noah, but that wasn’t why he hurried. They’d talked by phone at least four times today. Between calls, he’d been surprised to find himself thinking about her, wondering what she was doing, where she was, what time she’d get home.

  As they reached the house, Noah looked at him. “Thanks.”

  “Okay. For what?”

  “Asking Amy to come tonight.”

  Travis smiled. “She’s very pretty, don’t you think?”

  A pink tinge colored Noah’s cheeks. “Yeah.”

  Travis laughed. “Hey, I was your age once. I remember what it was like.”

  “Well, thanks.”

  “Happy to help.”

  Caroline’s car was parked in front of his house when he and Noah arrived.

  “Listen up. Your sister is a little nervous about the clothes she bought for you. Realize that she’s never had to do that before, and I think she’s worried you won’t like them. I’m sure she did a fine job, but whatever she bought, you be sure to thank her. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Amazingly, for a woman who’d never bought clothes for a teenage boy, Caroline had done quite well. Jeans that fit. Rubber boots for mucking. Leather gloves. Work shirts. Underwear and socks. And a suit for tonight.

  The suit was a dark-grey pinstripe. She’d bought a couple of different shirts to go with it. One lighter gray and one white. A couple of ties. A new belt and a pair of dress shoes.

  At six-forty-five, Noah came down the stairs wearing the suit, grey shirt and a red tie. “Wow, Caroline. Thanks. This is totally cool.”

  Travis noticed her shoulders relax at Noah’s words.

  “I’m so glad you like it,” she said. “You look quite snazzy.”

  “You do too.”

  Caroline grinned. “Thanks.”

  Travis didn’t know the first thing about women’s dresses but as a red-blooded male, he knew what he liked, and the emerald-green dress Caroline wore was a libido stimulant. Cut low in the front, he liked how the material—which looked sort of soft and silky—flared out when she walked or turned, giving the appea
rance she was floating a couple of inches above the floor. The tips of his fingers itched to trace the folds in the material from the narrow straps over her shoulders down to where the material crisscrossed over her fleshy breasts. Strands of pearls pulled the material up under her breasts with the rest of the dress hanging in long folds down to the floor. The back was cut much lower than the front, meaning he could tell—and so could every man at tonight’s dance—that she wore no bra. On her left hand, the diamonds in the wedding-ring set sparkled as she held the skirt of the dress out and turned in a circle.

  Even with the rings, he would be fighting the other men off all night.

  “Excuse me,” Travis said with a growl. He held out his arms. “A little appreciation, and not from you, Noah.”

  “Dude.” Noah held up both hands. “I don’t have an opinion of guy attire.”

  Caroline walked over to where Travis stood. She walked around him a couple of times and then nodded. “Yes, yes. You’ll do,” she said with a mischievous grin.

  “Why, I ought to…to…mess up your hair,” Travis replied.

  Caroline backed away, her hands up to protect her updo. “Now, Travis. Let’s not do anything that would make us late.”

  He studied her dress and grinned. He could think of a few things that would make them late, and none of his ideas had anything to do with her hair.

  Noah gagged. “You two are disgusting.”

  Travis wrapped his arm around Noah’s neck and gave him a noogie with his knuckles. “What did you say?”

  Noah struggled to get free but he was laughing too hard.

  “Okay, you two,” Caroline said, laughing. “Break it up. We need to go.”

  Travis let Noah go. Noah immediately began trying to smooth his ruffled hair.

  Travis held out his hand to Caroline. Caroline stared at it.

  “What?” she asked.

  “The keys to the Rolls.”

  She blew out a short breath. “No way, bucko.”

  “Caroline…” Travis was surprised by her response. Hell. He’d been looking forward to driving that car all day.

  “I’ve got to warn you, bro,” Noah said. “She don’t let nobody drive the Shadow.”

  “Doesn’t let anyone,” Caroline corrected. “She doesn’t let anyone drive the Shadow.”