He had to get the kid acclimated to the ranch. Small things like fighting over syrup didn’t bother Morgan. But struggling to fit in did. He’d seen the look in Sammy’s eyes as he’d let go of the syrup. Fear laced everything the boy did. Something about Sammy seemed different, but Morgan just couldn’t put his finger on it.
Maybe Jolie would be able to help with that. The notion struck him as totally counter to what he’d been thinking since she’d arrived. He was still worried about her leaving—more so since seeing how the boys, especially Sammy, had taken to her.
But he knew he had to ease up. Fact was, Jolie was here and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Except pray that she did more good than damage before she left—and that his heart was still intact when she went.
Chapter Seven
The week flew for Jolie. She and the boys settled into a routine, though it did take some getting used to. Jolie wasn’t teaching just one or two subjects, or even one age group. She was teaching all subjects to sixteen boys in grades one through twelve, all at varying skill levels—even those in the same grade.
She had every available teaching tool at her fingertips, though, and access to whatever she needed. The purpose of the private school was to give these boys a step up when it came to academics. Some of them had had such terrible home lives before coming to Sunrise Ranch that they either hadn’t gone to school much at all, or their grades were far below passing. Morgan’s mother had dreamed of not only giving boys the opportunity to live and experience life on this beautiful ranch, but also to see to their spiritual needs and provide the chance for them to thrive in all aspects of life. The boys Jolie had gone to school with had gone on to become doctors, lawyers, businessmen, ranchers, rodeo champions—the list went on. There were even a couple of preachers in the mix, and a missionary, too. Lydia’s vision had been a blessing in so many ways, and this week Jolie had gotten to experience it from the other side of the desk.
She was tired, but her spirit felt peaceful. She’d come to the decision that she needed to move into the farmhouse that Randolph had offered. Maybe if she settled into a real home for a few months it would help ease the nightmares and she could get some much-needed rest. Despite the lingering worry that Morgan might have a problem with her moving to the property, she was excited to make the move that evening.
Friday had come quickly. She was cleaning off the chalkboard prior to heading to the inn to grab her meager belongings. The creak of the front door had her looking over her shoulder, to find Morgan.
Immediately her pulse skipped as it had on the mornings she’d run into him briefly at the chow hall. Each time she’d been unable to gauge what was going on behind those deep blues of his.
Her nerves jangled, and it felt as though butterflies had taken flight in her stomach.
“Hey,” he said, closing the door. He crossed the room in a few quick strides, coming to stand beside her desk with his hat in his hands. “Are you done for the day?”
The butterflies fluttered more. Morgan McDermott still had the ability to shake up her world. It was maddening—the man should be outlawed. Dressed in worn jeans and a loose turquoise button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves showing off his corded forearms...Morgan was all cowboy.
“Yes,” she forced herself to answer, trying to get her focus off just how handsome a man he was. “And I might add that my first week as teacher has been a success in my book. I loved it.” She pushed on, ignoring the butterflies. “It felt so good reaching for ways to ignite those curious minds.” Wrapping her arms around her waist, she tried to find the right words to express her feelings. “Your mother, she had such vision, Morgan. I’m just so glad to have this opportunity.”
She thought she saw shock flash in his eyes, but the shield he seemed to wear when he was around her clicked into place almost instantly. Except for the mornings she’d run into him in the chow hall, he’d stayed clear of her since the mugging. The connection she’d felt between them—if only for a moment—had disappeared just as he had.
“I’ve heard from the boys that you are one cool teacher.”
“Ooh,” she cooed, giving him a teasing grimace. “I know it had to hurt you to hear that. Worse having to repeat it.”
That actually won her a smile that tickled her insides—and suddenly she was remembering being kissed by Morgan.
As if she’d ever forgotten it.
She’d been kissed a few times over the years by the men she’d dated, but there hadn’t been many, and their kisses had been like cola without the fizz. No one had ever appealed to her—or affected her—like Morgan. Her gaze shifted to his lips and her pulse paused. She leaned slightly toward him, drawn by an invisible cord.
“The boys expressed what I’ve been worried about from the minute I learned about this deal you and my dad worked out,” Morgan said.
Jolie prayed for patience with capital letters. Looked as if there was no reason for her to be thinking about Morgan McDermott’s kisses after all.
“Morgan, come on. This bad attitude...” She let her words trail off. She’d had little sleep, leaving no patience for this.
“I’m just worried—”
She pinned him with a glare and cut him off. “I get that you are worried that I’m going to run off and they will feel abandoned. But I’m here to help them, not hurt them. I’ve signed a contract for the semester and I plan to honor that.”
Clamping his mouth shut, he said nothing, instead absentmindedly tracing a finger across the front of her desk. Despite her anger, Jolie shivered, thinking of his fingers tracing her cheek as they had so many times, so long ago. When he glanced up at her, his expression was less guarded.
“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to fight. I’ve been watching Sammy ever since the calf wrestling and I think you’re helping him,” he admitted.
Had she heard him right?
“I came to tell you that I’ll do whatever I need to do to help you help him,” Morgan continued. His amazing blue eyes softened—he was actually conceding.
“G-good,” Jolie stammered. She thought about trying to apologize again, telling him that she hadn’t meant to hurt him. But she knew he would only deny that she’d hurt him in the first place. “That’s the way it should be. Our past, what happened between us—”
“Is the past,” he said firmly.
“Yes. We should still be able to help these boys even though we once had feelings for each other and it didn’t work out.”
What else could she say? She’d just come up against one wall after another with him—he’d made it clear there was no sense in rehashing old history that he had no desire to revisit. So she stopped trying. For now.
They stared at each other as if both trying to figure out where they went from here. He raked his fingers through his black hair and she could almost feel the sensation on her skin.
Slapping his hat on his thigh, he nodded, then strode out the door. On the steps he turned back toward her.
“I hear you’ve decided to move into the farmhouse.” Topic changed. “Do you need help moving?”
“No, I’m fine. I didn’t bring much with me, and your dad told me it was semifurnished.”
“Yeah, it should be okay to get you by till you leave at the end of the semester. If you decide you need help, call and I’ll bring some boys over to lend a hand.”
Jolie rubbed her temple, watching Morgan stride away into the distance. Oh, what a tangled web they’d woven.
She missed him. She’d not only given up her fiancé, but her best friend, too. Had she chosen the wrong road that day?
The question was irrelevant—she’d had to leave. She just wished it hadn’t cost her Morgan’s friendship. She’d hoped that coming here to apologize would give her back her friend.
A soft bump and then a creak sounded from the back st
oreroom. She headed to investigate and found the back door standing open. Someone hadn’t closed it properly, she thought with a smile. Kids.
Deciding it was time to be practical—no more drifting back to the past—she locked up and headed out. She had a house to move into and a man to boot from her thoughts.
Good thing she’d worn her riding boots today.
* * *
“Guys! Hey...guys,” Caleb huffed when he finally made it to the horse stable where the other boys were tending to their horses. “Sammy...” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I think Morgan likes Jolie!”
Joseph spun around, the cool-down brush he’d been using on his horse still in his hand. “Whoa, slow down, slick.”
“Yeah,” Wes urged, putting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “Breathe, dude, before you keel over.”
Caleb gulped air, feeling as if his eyes were going to pop out he was so winded. He needed to tell this, to make them understand!
“Now, what were you saying?” Wes asked after Caleb had sucked in a couple more huge gulps of air and calmed down a little.
“Okay,” Caleb said slowly, looking around the group, trying to harness his excitement. “I was over at the school, and I heard Morgan and Jolie talkin’.”
“And?” Joseph urged.
“And guess what? I think they used to have a thing.”
“A thing?” Sammy asked. “What’s a thing?”
“Yeah, what thing?” Wes asked.
Caleb grunted, impatient for them to get it. “You know, a thing. For each other. Back when they were young.”
Caleb noticed Joseph and Wes look at each other all serious.
“You sure about that? Like, what did you hear?”
“Jolie, she said— She was talkin’ to Morgan and said, just because they used to like each other and it didn’t work out, that shouldn’t stop them from helping us.”
“Well, what do you know.” Joseph crossed his arms and got that look in his eyes that told Caleb he was thinking something over.
“Swweeet.” Wes grinned.
Joseph looked thoughtful. “You know Morgan’s been like a dad to us for a long time and he’s never been sweet on a girl.”
“Well, there was that woman we saw him with once in town.” Wes hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “We never saw her again, so I figure that didn’t work out so good.”
Joseph nodded. “Yeah, he never talks about anyone.”
“I heard he got left at the altar or something one time and it gave him a broken heart,” Tony offered. “I’m just sayin’, you know, like, do you think it coulda been Jolie?”
“Naaah, she wouldn’t do something like that,” Wes scoffed.
“I wonder, though.” Joseph’s eyes widened. “I heard Nana saying she left six years ago, then I got here not long after she left. And, you know, back then we didn’t see much of Morgan.”
Caleb waved his hands. “I ain’t much on knowing what love looks like. I can tell you that Jolie looked real sad, though. And well, Morgan, he kinda looked weird, like he’d just swallowed some nasty cough syrup. Then he told her that that was the past and it should stay that way.”
Wes whistled. “This is good. I feel romance in the air.”
“That’d be cool.” Joseph’s grinned at Caleb as all the other kids started talking.
“You mean like if they fell in love,” Sammy said, looking weird, too.
“But,” B.J. piped up, “you said Morgan wanted it to stay in the past and he looked all mad.”
“You’d have to have seen Jolie, the way her shoulders were all hunkered down like she’d just lost the rodeo or something. She was sad. That’s all I know, though, because I got out of there. Fast.”
“Sounds good to me.” Wes wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yeah.” Caleb grinned. “I think it would be neat to see Morgan with a girlfriend. Oh! She’s moving into the farmhouse, too, and Morgan said something about how it would be fine till she left at the end of the term.”
“It’d be like having a mom,” B.J. said.
Caleb heard the wish in his voice and knew what he meant. Morgan and his dad were like their dads—they were the ones involved in running the foster care program. The house parents were great, but they were more like grandparents than dads. It would be nice to have a mom around the ranch.
“Yeah, until mine comes back to get me,” Sammy said. “I like Jolie.”
Caleb felt bad for Sammy. They all knew his parents weren’t coming back. He’d find out eventually, just as they all did. “Then it’s done.” Grinning from ear to ear, Joseph looked at everyone. “So here’s what we’re going to do.”
Good. Joseph had a plan. He always did—the boys counted on that.
“What are we gonna do?” Sammy asked, and Caleb nodded because he wanted to know, too.
“Whatever it takes.” Wes cocked an eyebrow at Joseph, who laughed.
“Yeah, that’s about it. We’re gonna make those two spend as much time together as possible.” Joseph winked at Sammy. “Short Stuff, if you like Jolie, we’re gonna make it so she sticks around.”
Tony, who was tougher than all of them put together, frowned. “My sister used to love this old movie about some twin girls who did all kinds of stuff to get their divorced parents back together. I think my sis thought it would work on our parents. There wasn’t any saving that train wreck, though.”
“See, that’s the thing. If Morgan fell in love with Jolie, then she might stay and we’d have a cool teacher. Maybe then she’d teach us to kayak, too.” Wes had been talking a lot about kayaking. He craved adventure and wanted to ride bulls, only that was the one thing on the ranch the boys weren’t allowed to do.
“You did good, Caleb,” Joseph said, clapping him on the back. “Real good.”
Caleb grinned, feeling as if his chest was going to explode. “You really think we can do this?”
Wes and Joseph hiked their eyebrows at each other before looking at the rest of them.
“We’re gonna give it our best shot,” Joseph said.
“And that’s a promise.” Wes had a twinkle in his eyes that meant one thing: they were going to have fun doing whatever it was they were going to do. That twinkle was a promise.
And hopefully it was a promise to get Jolie and Morgan back together so Sunrise Ranch could feel even more like a home, with a dad...and a mom.
Chapter Eight
Jolie eyed Salty, the black mare she was about to ride. She hadn’t been on a horse in years and hoped she didn’t embarrass herself.
“You sure are taking your time getting in that saddle.”
Morgan walked up beside her looking all-too-good in his beat-up cowboy hat and checkered shirt. His jaw was scruffy with a five-o’clock shadow and there was some challenge in his eyes as he studied her.
“I’m about to climb up there. I’m just wondering if you could have given me a bigger horse to ride.” Salty was huge—at least sixteen hands tall and very broad.
“She’s a good horse. Not as salty as she used to be.” His lips hitched into a grin. “You can handle her and you know it.”
“If it’s like riding a bike, then yes, I’ll be just fine.”
He turned serious as he studied her. “You look worn-out, Jolie. Are you still having nightmares?”
Lately, Jolie had been fighting hard against the urge to try to knock down the walls that Morgan had put up between them. She knew she wished there were no walls between them. Wished she felt free to talk to him. But would that be a mistake? If there was no wall she might fall for him all over again, and where would that leave her...them? But despite her uncertainties, when he looked at her with such concern, she knew she was fighting a losing battle to keep the wall up between them.
“I don’t want
to talk about that right now,” she replied. “I’d like to hop on this horse and see if I still have what it takes to be a cowgirl.”
“Uh, yeah—you’re being a little too humble. You’re a natural-born cowgirl and that doesn’t ever leave a person.”
She gave a discordant laugh. “My composure is a bit shaken, so that’s all the more reason to hop on this baby and join this roundup. The boys were pretty persistent in getting me to come along. Sammy truly wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“That’s the reason he’s sitting up there on Cupcake looking like he’s about to toss his cookies.”
She laughed. “Poor kid. The good thing is he’s doing it, and that is a really big step for him. If helping in this roundup gets him to push himself, then I’m all in.”
Morgan tipped his hat at her. “Good for you. Load up. You sure you don’t need any help?”
The twinkle in his eye caught her off guard for an instant. Was he teasing her, or...flirting? Seeing the old Morgan for a second dumbstruck her. “I think I can manage. Do you need a helping hand?”
He laughed at her offer, shot her a wink and strode off with his cowboy swagger. Watching him swing into the saddle, a sigh escaped her. Berating herself, she jammed her boot into the stirrup, grabbed the saddle horn and hoisted herself up with ease. It felt like old times. A sense of excitement washed over her—this was going to be a good day.
Only after she grabbed the reins did she notice the boys watching her. Maybe it was her imagination, but they’d sure seemed interested in her past on the ranch this week during class. They’d asked all kinds of questions, even some about kayaking. She’d been happy to have made it through those without falling on the floor again.
She’d been able to put off their push for kayaking lessons, but that wouldn’t last forever—the boys wanted to learn. She hoped she could eventually find her way toward teaching them.
Along with all those questions came some about growing up on the ranch. Even though she hadn’t told them everything, she had given them small peeks into her life. And her life on the ranch couldn’t be explained without stories of Morgan. They’d been inseparable as kids, long before he’d noticed her as a teenager. Long before she’d begun to panic that if she stayed at Sunrise, she would never find out who she really was and what she wanted out of life.
Her Unforgettable Cowboy Page 7