“Payton, seriously, stay. I can do your chores. You can’t work all the time. You need to relax and to kick up your heels. Go to the dance. Listen to Jake Kohl sing.” Cordell summoned what he hoped passed as a relaxed grin. “After all, I’m pretty sure you have a pulse.”
A smile touched her lips. “When I’m not saving my ranch, I most definitely have a pulse.” The laughter in her eyes dimmed and she stepped away from Mossy to return the brush to the grooming kit. “But it’s best I go home. Rhett doesn’t need any encouragement. Hanging out with him tonight would send the wrong message.”
“He’s the blond and the one you gave a shiner to?”
She grimaced. “Henry’s been talking?”
“He has.” Cordell walked around Mossy to also put his brush in the kit.
“It was an accident even though Rhett was out of line. He was sitting next to me in Grey’s Saloon and when I stood, he grabbed my butt. My elbow automatically jerked back into his face.”
“Ouch. He won’t be doing that again.”
“I hope not. It’s not like him. His family are going through a rough patch and for whatever reason he’s gotten himself mixed up with the wrong crowd. I’ve talked to him and so have his sisters but he won’t listen.”
“Sisters? Henry said he had a twin?”
“Yes, Kendall. They then have an older sister, Peta.”
“That’s a name you don’t hear often for a girl.”
“I know. Her father was so hoping for a boy that when she arrived he changed the spelling of the only name he’d chosen. Even with Rhett being born, Kendall also scored a second-hand boy’s name.”
“You can bet if Peta and Kendall ever had daughters they’d choose a very girly name.”
Payton laughed. “Maybe. I know I would.”
“With two sisters and you on his case surely Rhett will come to his senses. And if he doesn’t, Mossy and I can sort him out.”
“Thanks but I don’t need any help handling Rhett. He’ll realize soon enough he has zero chance with me.”
“How did I know you’d say you didn’t need any help?” Cordell said with a grin as he broke eye contact to untie the lead rope and hide his relief she wasn’t interested in Rhett.
“I’ll see you at the ranch.”
He nodded. “Will do.”
He watched her go. Mossy rubbed his forehead on the front of his shirt. “I know, Mossy, I like her too.” He kept staring at Payton, even though she was now a spot of moving color in the crowd. “And that’s exactly why the cattle can’t arrive soon enough. We’ll be too busy to see her. That’s the way it has to be.” He looked away from Payton to tug Mossy’s black forelock. “We haven’t secured Henry’s land and come to Marietta to find the answers we need, only to fail now.”
Chapter Six
‡
“Mossy, I don’t care how big and grouchy you are, you’re in huge trouble,” Payton said, her hands on her hips. She’d come to check on Gypsy before she did her morning’s chores only to find Mossy in with the buckskin. Somehow he’d escaped the corral beside the barn and jumped the wire fence to be with the mare. Payton sighed. Not that Gypsy seemed to mind. Eyes closed, she dozed beside Mossy.
“Does that mean I’m in huge trouble too?” Cordell asked from behind her.
Even before she turned, she knew the only one in trouble was her. The sound of Cordell’s slow and deep drawl made her insides curl with warmth. So much for her dawn pep-talk she needed to stay in control if she were to survive living three doors down the hall from him.
“That depends. I heard banging so I assume you’ve fixed whatever fence Mossy demolished making his great escape.”
Head bare, Cordell nodded. “All fixed. Baxter and I will now tackle the far corner of Gypsy’s paddock where the fence dips and Mossy would have jumped over. But before we start, I’ll get him out of there otherwise you’ll never be able to work with her.”
“Thanks. Maybe he can go in the next-door paddock. Then at least my corral will remain intact.”
“Good idea.”
She bent to rub Baxter’s neck as he leaned against her legs. She hadn’t seen him since breakfast. Cordell hadn’t been there a full day and already the kelpie followed him like a shadow. She glanced at Cordell’s tanned profile as he opened the gate. Not that she could blame Baxter.
Cordell’s dark hair had grown a smidge longer and was tousled as though he’d dragged his hand through the front. His denim jacket, red plaid shirt and jeans had long ago lost their store-bought creases and now fitted like a second skin. Heat fired in her cheeks as she caught herself admiring his denim-clad rear as he walked toward the horses. She tore her gaze away and whistled to Baxter who’d snuck after Cordell. She was getting as bad as Trinity ogling cowboys.
“Stay with me, Baxter Boy. You’ll frighten Gypsy, not to mention Mossy will eat you for breakfast.” Payton looked to where Mossy had angled his hindquarters toward Cordell and lashed out with a lightning fast hoof. “That’s if he doesn’t eat Cordell first.”
Unfazed, Cordell ran his hand along Mossy’s back to his neck, steadying him even as a nervous Gypsy cantered away. Cordell then turned toward the gate with Mossy following. Payton shook her head. One minute Mossy was set to kick Cordell to California and the next he followed Cordell without a lead rope.
She and Baxter stood a safe distance away as Cordell walked Mossy out of Gypsy’s paddock and into his new one.
She then joined Cordell at the gate to watch as Mossy kicked and bucked his way over to where the buckskin mare stood on the other side of the fence.
“Mossy gave me such a look,” Payton said, “when he went past that I think if I didn’t put him next-door to Gypsy I’d be on the top of his hit list.”
Cordell laughed. Without a hat brim shading his face, she had an open view of his expression. Amusement crinkled the corner of his eyes and lightened his irises to a clear blue. Again a memory hovered on the edge of her subconscious. Who did he remind her of? Maybe Rhett, as they both had brilliant blue eyes?
Her gaze lingered. But Cordell’s mirth couldn’t completely erase the bruise of tiredness that smudged beneath his eyes. She had her suspicions it didn’t depend upon where he slept, he always failed to sleep well.
“You know,” he said, “Mossy does actually like you. You’re the only person, other than Ethan, he’s let brush him besides me.”
She groaned. “Now you tell me he doesn’t like anyone else brushing him.”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have had to tell you, if he’d didn’t like you getting up-close-and-personal with him.”
Cordell gazed at Mossy with unconcealed affection. Despite Mossy’s contrary nature, Cordell loved his horse. And he’d love a woman with that same unconditional depth and conviction.
She swung away from the man beside her. She had to get away from Cordell as well as her thoughts. She had a ranch to save and a drought to survive. Nowhere on her chore-list did it include falling for a cowboy who didn’t plan on hanging around.
“Payton?” He caught up with her, his intent gaze examining her face. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I’ve got work to do.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re not heading into town for the rodeo finals?”
“Nope. I took half of yesterday off.”
“So no chance of you coming for a ride to look at the fences on Henry’s land and to show me where all the springs and creeks are located?”
“No, sorry. I’ve got cattle to check.”
“Aren’t your cattle on the edge of Henry’s land near where my leasehold starts?”
She nodded slowly.
“Then come with me. I was going to take the truck but it’s a clear day and perfect for riding.”
She glanced at the sky Montana was famous for. Brilliant blue, the cloudless canopy stretched above them like an airbrushed canvas. Cordell was right. It was a beautiful fall day. She felt the tug of the natural beauty that she took f
or granted. She couldn’t remember the last time she rode for pleasure or felt the wind on her cheeks and the sun on her back. Tash, her barrel-racing mare, also deserved a ride longer than the quick jaunt to the main gate.
She arched a brow. “Will Mossy behave himself?”
“Absolutely.”
It would be madness to spend more time with Cordell. He already affected her in ways she didn’t want to contemplate but after today he’d be busy with cattle work. Besides a ride might be what she needed to clear her head. With Cordell away from the ranch and her self-control refreshed and restored she could then refocus on Beargrass Hills.
She drew a quick breath. “Okay.”
*
The spring in Tash’s hooves and the excited bob of her head as she weaved around the cattle told Payton she’d made the right decision. Cordell rode beside her. Mossy appeared to be on his best behavior. Apart from a small buck when Cordell had settled into the saddle, he hadn’t put a hoof wrong.
She smiled as a sleeping calf saw them approach, stood and bolted, tail upright, over to his mother.
Cordell chuckled. “I see what you mean. He doesn’t even look like the calf we took to the barn.”
“He’s such a little glutton but I’m glad he’s doing so well.” She inclined her head toward a tiny calf who staggered after her mother. “That’s the newborn I helped deliver yesterday. She looks so fragile in comparison.”
Payton checked the herd for any cows who were on their own and whose udder was swollen. Thankfully there were no further cows that showed signs of calving.
“Fingers crossed,” she said to Cordell as he continued to ride beside her, “there’s only the three cows to calve as I usually plan to have spring, not fall, calves.”
“What happened with those three?”
She pulled Tash to a stop and pointed to where a large black bull emerged out of a gully.
“Trouble, happened.”
Cordell stopped and frowned at the bull.
“He has his name for a reason,” she continued, “last Christmas he went through four fences to get to the cows and now he’s with them again when he shouldn’t be.”
The bull caught sight of them, stopped and pawed the ground. Cordell flashed her a sharp look.
“I thought you said I was the one living dangerously. Payton, what are you doing with an aggressive bull like him?”
She shrugged. “He was cheap and he has good genetics.”
The bull pawed the ground again and his head lowered.
Cordell urged Mossy forward so he stood between her and the bull.
“Payton,” he said his voice a low rasp, “turn Tash and go.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“Now,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument.
She turned Tash and headed a safe distance away. Hooves pounded behind her and she swung around to see a cloud of dust and the back end of the bull as he retreated to his cows. Cordell and Mossy approached in a slow canter.
As Cordell drew near, his face was as serious as she’d ever seen him. “That bull isn’t just trouble he’s dangerous. Promise me, you won’t take him on yourself.”
“Tash and I’ll be fine. Besides I usually check the cattle in the truck and he doesn’t seem to have a problem –”
“Payton …” Cordell’s word was almost a growl.
“Oh, all right. Joe has already told me I’m not to go near him unless there are two of us and Henry keeps reminding me to call Brock Sheenan to see if he wants him to breed rodeo bulls from.”
The tension ebbed from Cordell’s rigid torso. “Just as well Joe and Henry have some sense.”
“Hey, I have sense. Bucket loads. Need I remind you I’m not the one riding a horse who will chew my arm off the first chance he gets?” Her words lost their heat as she caught the white flash of Cordell’s grin. “Okay, funny-boy,” she continued with her own smile. “The cattle are checked, so let’s go see some fences.”
*
Cordell followed Payton through the various gates that led to the land he’d leased from Henry. He turned for a last look at the bull. The black Angus stood at the fence line, eyes trained on them. Payton might believe she’d be fine handling him, but his gut told him otherwise. He’d ridden enough badass bulls on the rodeo circuit to know the bull might be genetically superior but he was still dangerous.
Fear continued to chill his veins at the thought of Payton possibly being crushed by the bull. He’d already lost a good mate to a brutal rodeo bull. Mossy might appear relaxed but Cordell could tell the veteran horse shared his unease. He could feel his disquiet in every step the horse took.
Cordell rolled his shoulders and focused on the hypnotic swing of Payton’s long ponytail across her slender back as she rode in front of him. He should be checking fences and looking for a flat spot to locate portable stockyards not worrying about the self-sufficient cowgirl’s welfare. She’d made it more than clear she didn’t need his help for anything.
So why then did he feel so compelled to lighten her load and to keep her safe? His attention stemmed from more than his mother having raised him to respect women and to do the right thing. What was it about Payton that undid years of self-restraint? Just when it was crucial that he not feel, his emotions refused to remain banished.
He drew alongside her as she stopped at the top of a rise. Before them snowcapped peaks cast shadows on the lower foothills that rolled into a valley of green. The north wind rippled through the tops of the lush grass that would soon feed Luke’s hungry cattle.
“There he is. I can’t believe he’s still around.” Payton shaded her eyes with her hand and gazed into the cloudless sky. A bald eagle floated on a wind current, his white head and tail a dazzling contrast to his dark body.
He stopped watching the eagle to watch Payton instead. He still didn’t know what part of his addled brain had asked her to come with him, but he was glad she had. The ride had brought a happy flush to her cheeks and a sparkle to her tired eyes.
He breathed deeply and allowed the crisp air to push aside his tension. He’d never be free but at that moment, riding Mossy in the mountains with Payton, the bonds of his past didn’t bind him so tightly.
Payton cast him a contented smile. “I used to love riding here as a child, the hills would be a carpet of yellow, crimson and purples. It’s no surprise the nearby Gallatin valley around Bozeman is nicknamed The Valley of the Flowers.” She waved an arm to her left. “Over there is a log cabin built by Henry’s grandfather. Like my mom, Henry’s grandmother loved flowers and with her friends started the local tradition in this part of Paradise Valley of naming ranches after the local wildflowers.”
Cordell smiled. “I’d never have guessed of such a tradition, what with Beargrass Hills and Larkspur Ridge Ranch.”
“Then there’s also Bluebell Falls Ranch, Rose Crown Ranch, Hollyhock Creek Ranch and Fire Weed Ranch.” The light in her brown eyes ebbed. “Before my mom got sick we’d come out here when the snow melted and the wildflowers bloomed and think of new ranch names.”
“I’m sorry to hear that your mom fell sick.”
“Thanks.” Payton again stared at the bald eagle. “I don’t think she ever got over losing Dad. She hadn’t been well for quite a while so when the doctor diagnosed breast cancer in a way, it was a relief to know what was wrong. So I left Montana State, nursed Mom, ran the ranch and finished my liberal studies degree online. The chemotherapy and radiation treatment gave us three more years together and I treasured every day.”
Mossy shifted beneath him as the horse sensed his reaction to Payton’s quiet words. He loosened his grip on the reins and forced the tension out of his rigid muscles. He knew all about the anguish of losing a beloved mother.
“I’m sure she treasured them too,” he said in what he hoped qualified as a casual tone.
“She did. When she was bed-ridden and I’d cut all the flowers in her garden, I’d ride out here and pick the buds from Henry’s grand
mother’s pink rose that still grows at the cabin.” Payton’s wistful expression contained a host of precious memories. “They’d brighten Mom’s room for days.”
“So you and Henry have always been close?”
“Yes. My mom and Henry’s sister were childhood friends. They used to ride their horses, meet at the log cabin which is about halfway between the two ranches and swim in the spring-fed creek.” She glanced across at him. “So if you need fresh water, head to the cabin and then right past the big pine tree.”
He nodded. “You need a spring-fed creek near your barn, either that or a working windmill. It isn’t just the bunkhouse that has no water, neither does the barn or the horse troughs.”
“I know. Sorry. I should have mentioned there was no trough water. I saw Mossy had some last night in the corral so you must have carted it from the hose near the garden shed. As for the horse troughs, I’ll fill them tonight by hand.”
“It’s fine. I’ll do it and maybe I could also take a look at the windmill and get it running before Joe gets back.”
Payton gathered Tash’s reins. “Thanks but it’s fine,” she said, voice tight. “Fixing the windmill can wait.”
She nudged the mare forward and he lost sight of Payton’s face but not the impression his offer to help had ended their ride.
“Okay, I think we’ve seen enough now,” she said, her still clipped tone, confirming his thoughts. “The fences all look good and you know where the water is, let’s go home.”
*
Cordell gazed down from his position halfway up the ladder he’d carried from the workshop and rested against the windmill. “If Payton comes out of the house you’ll let me know, won’t you, Baxter?”
The kelpie wagged his tail.
Payton had said fixing the windmill could wait but it could just be a simple fix that would restore water to the bunkhouse and troughs. The sooner the water supply was returned the sooner Payton could stop carting heavy water buckets to her mustang and the sooner Cordell could move out of the main house. After the morning’s ride, he needed to put some physical distance between them. Between worrying about Payton facing off with the bull and grieving for his own mother, he’d lost focus. There was too much at stake for him to allow his feelings to distract him.
Cherish Me, Cowboy (Montana Born Rodeo Book 2) Page 6