Dancing With Danger: Book 8: Dancing Moon Ranch Series

by Patricia Watters

  "You're on your way," Josh replied.

  In the barn, Josh removed Ferdinand's tack, and after he'd turned him out into the pasture, they headed to the stable. With Abby running ahead, Josh said to Genie, "She's got good balance and she's smart. Given a couple of months and she'll be riding like she was born on a ranch. They learn fast at that age."

  "That's all well and good," Genie replied, "but we're leaving here in three weeks."

  "Then you're going back to work," Josh said, in a glum voice.

  "I don't know," Genie replied. "I'm still trying to decide."

  "Would you consider going to a rodeo?"

  Genie eyed Josh with curiosity. "What made you bring that up?"

  "The Pine Grove Rodeo's coming up in three weeks. Jeremy's entered in bull riding and I'm one of the bullfighters. I'm also entered in the freestyle bullfighting competition and I'd like you to be there. You've formed an opinion about rodeos but you've never been to one. They might not be as bad as you make them out to be."

  "I've been to a rodeo," Genie replied."

  "When?"

  "Last week."

  Josh looked askance at her. "Why?"

  "I, umm… went with friends. They talked me into it," Genie replied.

  "Which rodeo?"

  Genie looked at Josh with a start. She hadn't intended to bring it up. It just slipped out. "The… umm… one near where you live."

  "St Paul?" Josh asked.

  Genie nodded vaguely.

  "How did you think I did?" Josh asked.

  Genie looked at him, baffled. "Your name wasn't on the program and I didn't see you anywhere."

  "That's because I wasn't there," Josh said.

  "Then why did you ask what I thought of you?"

  "To see what you'd say." Josh eyed her with amusement. "The only reason you went was to see me."

  "That's just not so," Genie replied. "I told you I went with friends."

  Josh grinned. "If Abby wasn't around I'd kiss you, and we'll pick this up later."

  "No, we won't," Genie said, but Josh had already stepped up his pace and was catching up with Abby, who he scooped up from behind and lifted onto his shoulders.

  Giggling, Abby grabbed his head and turned and gave Genie the widest grin yet, and Genie knew there was big trouble ahead when it would come time to leave, and maybe the trouble wouldn't just be with Abby.

  It was a sobering thought, not wanting to leave a man whose profession tempted fate, while her profession picked up the pieces when fate turned on such men, men like Cal, who'd promised her the world and ended that world by flipping head over cycle in front of her eyes, a scene that replayed in her mind for months. It wasn't until she was caring for Josh in the hospital that she was finally able to put Cal aside. But then, another scene began to emerge, one of a bull goring a man who was slowly making his way into her heart, and she didn't know what to do about it.

  CHAPTER 6

  Josh sat on his horse with Abby in the saddle in front of him. From his vantage point lay a wide canyon with steep-sided buttes, and a view that stretched as far as the eye could see. Looking at Genie, who sat on her horse beside him, he said, "So, what do you think?"

  "It's breathtaking," Genie replied. "I had no idea it was so beautiful here."

  "It took me a couple of months to get used to this country," Josh said, gazing across the vast openness. "Back home we have mountains covered with evergreens so you have to get to the top to see the view, but here, every turn in the trail brings a new vista. I guess I have the wanderlust in me because I have the itch to see what's around every bend and over every butte. There's a lot of open land out there to explore."

  "Would you want to keep moving and exploring if you could?" Genie asked.

  "If I didn't have to make a living, yeah, I'd probably want to do that," Josh replied. "I guess we males would just keep wandering aimlessly around if you females didn't plant our boots in the soil and force us to put down roots."

  "Then you have no desire to settle down?" Genie asked, looking askance at him.

  Josh met her gaze. "I don't think any man does, except maybe my brother, Adam. His boots are planted firmly in Dancing Moon soil and it would take a bulldozer to pry them loose."

  "And Ryan? Do you think he still has the wanderlust?"

  Josh laughed. "Not any more. Annie clipped his wings but good."

  "And you just want to trail along after rodeos, no wish for a home or family?" Genie asked.

  Josh eyed her curiously. That question coming from most females meant they were nest building and the guy the question was aimed at better set things straight or find himself trapped. He'd been there twice, and each time, the woman he thought was right for him because she didn't have issues with bullfighters or following the rodeo circuit, dumped him for bull riders. But Genie made it clear that rodeo cowboys need not apply. "Maybe after I've run out of bends and buttes and rodeos I'll be ready to settle down," he said.

  "Then it's good you're single so you can follow your dream." Genie returned her attention to the panorama, and as Josh looked at her firm profile, he could imagine having her in his life on a daily basis, something he hadn't expected. The thought was a little disconcerting.

  Feeling a small hand on his chin, he looked down at Abby and saw her peering up at him with big trusting brown eyes that told him he was important to her, and he felt a strong sense of protection, the way Adam said it was when he'd first learned that Jesse was his son.

  As they rode along the high range, Josh found himself thinking about his brothers and their wives and what they'd gone through to become a family. Adam wanted Emily above all else and would have given everything he owned to have her. He'd even staked his life on getting her and was prepared to fight to the death a man who was trained to kill, a man far superior in strength to Adam because he'd trained himself to be that way. And Marc, who'd been following digs into the jungles of Mexico and had his heart set on uncovering mounds in Central America, quit it all for a woman, and seemed content living in a house with Kit and an imp of a little girl who Marc would lay down his life for in a heartbeat. And for Annie, Ryan quit his dream of making it to the National Finals. Yet each time his brothers gave up their dreams for women, Josh lost a little respect for them. Now, he could understand it some. Not completely—with his brothers and their women it seemed an all-or-nothing choice—but having done that, his brothers seemed happier and more fulfilled than ever…

  Something crawling on his chin had him swatting at it, only to hear Abby giggling. He looked down to find her palm up and her fingers wiggling, like an upside-down crawly bug had just tickled him. He grabbed her hand, kissed the tip of each little finger, and said, "I kissed the big bug's feet this time but next time I'll gobble then down."

  Abby laughed and rested back, and when Josh felt her small body against him and saw her little hands wrapped around the saddle horn, he realized how completely helpless she was. Impulsively he curved his hand over hers and kept it there.

  After crossing over the high rangeland, Josh said to Genie, "Ahead is a break in the rim and a trail that takes us down through a number of switchbacks. It's easy going, and Dewey's a good trail horse. Are you okay with it?"

  "I'm fine," Genie replied. "Maybe by the time I leave here I'll know what I'm doing."

  "You'll know," Josh said. "I'll make sure of that." In fact he had some long-range plans for these two sisters, plans that included a pony, one Abby could ride and groom. At the Dancing Moon was the perfect fit. Fancy was a cross between a miniature horse and a Welsh pony, and she stood thirty-eight inches at the withers. Grandma Maureen gave her to Maddy for Maddy's third birthday so she'd have a kid-size horse. At the time, their dad was opposed to the idea, insisting Maddy learn to ride on a standard horse, but before long, Fancy was a member of the family, and Maddy brushed her, and groomed her and all but took her to bed with her.

  Fancy was still there for kids to brush, but the Dancing Moon could do without her for a while.
He'd talked to Adam about it the night before, and Adam agreed to bring Fancy the morning of Abby's birthday and pick up a bull their father bought from Matt. Adam would have Jesse with him too, and Seth and Gabe and Deke's wives could bring some of their younger grandchildren. He'd also buy Abby a cowboy hat and her first pair of boots. Maybe Abby's father was too busy to be there, but Abby would have a party with kids and presents and balloons and a clown. He couldn't help smiling, just imagining Abby's face…

  "What's so funny?" Genie asked.

  Josh looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

  "You were riding along and smiling. I'm curious to know why. Or maybe I shouldn't ask."

  "It's okay," Josh said. He gave Abby's shoulder a little jiggle. "We're going to have a birthday party for Miss Abbydabby, and there will be kids and balloons, and a clown, and Abby and Grandma Ruth can bake the prettiest birthday cake in Harney County."

  "Yeah!" Abby cried. Tipping her head back, she looked up at Josh, and the grin across her face said it all.

  But when Josh looked at Genie, he didn't see the response he'd expected. Instead, she looked disturbed. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

  "Not intentionally," Genie replied, "but you should run things past me first before making plans for Abby. I have some concerns, which we need to talk about, in private."

  "Suit yourself," Josh replied. "I'm just trying to fill in where someone else in her life isn't."

  "That's what we need to talk about," Genie said.

  Josh had no idea what this was all about. Filling in for Sebastian the Illusionist, or whoever the man held himself out to be, wasn't something that should ruffle Genie's feathers, though he decided to err on the side of caution and not say anything about the pony or Abby's hat and boots and let them be part of a birthday surprise.

  "Can Ferdan come to my party too?" Abby asked.

  "Sure," Josh replied. "He'll be bringing the clown."

  Abby clapped excitedly. "It's gonna be a weal party."

  When Josh looked at Genie, she too was smiling. He didn't know if she was coming to terms with him as a substitute father for the day, or if it was because Abby's joy was contagious, but man that smile had his heart revving up some. It also had him wanting to pull Genie into his arms and have her kiss him the way she had at the lodge, something that could become addictive, just as having the little half-pint cowgirl in front of him in his life could become addictive.

  Seeing the break in the rim of the butte, he said to Genie, "We're about to start downhill so heels down, and brace your feet in your stirrups. About two-thirds of the way down we'll tie up and hike the rest of the way. There's a foot path that winds its way down to the main canyon, and from there it's only about a five-minute walk to the box canyon with the petroglyphs."

  Genie glanced up at the early evening sky, and asked, "Will we be back before dark?"

  "Sure," Josh replied. "We still have a couple hours of daylight left and we're less than an hour from the ranch."

  A few minutes later they started down the trail. Josh frequently looked back to see how Genie was doing and saw that, not only was she keeping her balance in the saddle, she seemed at ease on the horse as they made their way downhill. After tying the horses, they headed down the foot trail, with Abby ahead, picking stalks of wild rye and other weeds along the way.

  When Abby was out of earshot, Genie said to Josh, "I know you meant well in planning a party, but you need to talk to me before making plans that include Abby. She's getting far too attached to you and it will be hard on her when we leave. Just last night she said she wants to stay here with you and Ferdinand forever."

  "I don't see a problem," Josh said. "Annie's your half-sister so you'll be coming back."

  "Abby's not talking about staying with Annie," Genie said. "You're starting to fill the void left by our father because of unforeseen circumstances. When Mom was alive, Abby had a fulltime father. Dad loves her and she loves him, but that life's no longer an option. Dad and I promised Mom we'd do right by Abby by my settling in one place so Abby can attend a regular school instead of travelling around the country on a bus."

  "It's just a birthday party," Josh groused, but realized it was much more than that. He wanted to fill the void left by Abby's father. He had no idea where he'd go from there, but at this particular moment in time it was important to him that a little girl who'd just lost her mother, and had an absentee father, have a smile on her face that one important day.

  Genie looked at him, and said, with concern, "I didn't mean to get after you for doing something nice for Abby, and you're right about it just being a party, but after that, please run things by me first."

  "After the party it won't matter," Josh said, "because my off hours will be taken up with conditioning for upcoming rodeos and going to buckouts at a ranch near Pine Grove."

  Genie eyed him with curiosity. "What's a buckout?"

  "It's where bucking-bull stock contractors rent their bulls to bull riders and bullfighters for practice sessions," Josh replied. "The upcoming rodeo's an NPRA-sponsored event, so I want to make a good showing in the freestyle bullfighting competition."

  "Freestyle bullfighting competition?" Genie said, looking at him blankly.

  "Basically what it boils down to is spending seventy seconds with a bull that's intent on killing you while you egg him on so you can get as close as possible without getting hooked," Josh replied, then realized he'd just set off a keg of Nurse Ratched dynamite.

  "That's absolutely insane," Genie said, as predicted. "And it's exactly what I said before about you and your brothers having no sense of self preservation."

  "Maybe it's insane from your viewpoint," Josh said, "but it's not to the committee of bull riders and stock contractors that selects the bullfighters for the National Finals and other pro rodeos. They watch the way we work around bulls and judge us on how we protect the riders. At the upcoming rodeo there will be a bull named Trouble Ahead that's one of the rankest bulls on the circuit and I want a crack at him. He's also a bull Jeremy's hoping to draw."

  Genie looked miffed with the whole conversation, but she also looked confused, which she affirmed when she asked, "Why would either of you want to face a smelly bull?"

  Josh laughed. "Rank doesn't mean smelly, it means the bull's an aggressive, mean-tempered bastard who comes out of the chute like a spinning top and doesn’t wait for his hind feet to hit the ground before he’s already pushing off his front feet for the next buck. "

  "I'm sorry," Genie said in an impatient voice, "but I can't help thinking that the lot of you have death wishes."

  "None of us what to get hooked," Josh replied, "but a rank bull like Trouble Ahead would give Jeremy the best chance for a high score and me a chance to do some serious bullfighting, which helps my standing with bull riders."

  Genie gave him one last Nurse Ratched look, then pursed her lips and said nothing, but the perturbed look on her face said it all. She would not be hooking up with a bullfighter. And he didn't intend to give it up.

  The rest of the hike down was in silence, but on approaching the mouth of the canyon, Josh said, "The canyon borders the Double J Ranch so if fences are down somewhere there could be a few stray cattle."

  "Would they be a threat?" Genie asked.

  Josh shook his head. "They'd head back up the wash. There's a one-acre stock pond up there that's fed by a stream and blocked by an earthen dam, and since that's the only water around this time of year, the cattle tend to gather there."

  When they entered the narrow mouth of a canyon that was faced on both sides with rock walls, Genie said, "There's barely a trickle of water here."

  Josh looked at a stream bed that made its way through the narrow mouth to the main canyon, and said, "It's pretty dry this time of year, but there's a dug out area upstream from the petroglyphs that might have enough water for Abby to wade."

  "Maybe another time," Genie said. "I think we'd better see the petroglyphs and start back."

&nb
sp; Following the rocky stream bed, they walked past a grove of poplars and willows, but just beyond those Josh crouched beside Abby, and pointing toward the side of the canyon where red images were visible on the face of the rock wall, he said to her, "Those are the rock pictures. They're called petroglyphs and they were put there by people a long, long time ago."

  Abby, seeming satisfied, looked down and said, "Can I make a castle out of rocks?"

  Josh looked at Genie, who shrugged, and said, "Maybe for a few minutes, but then we need to head back. Meanwhile I'll pick some poplar leaves for our leaf book."

  While Genie was across the streambed picking leaves, and Abby was arranging rocks, Josh looked toward the mouth of the canyon and remembered the day they'd driven Annie's band of Kiger mustangs across the rangeland and into the box canyon to prevent them from being captured during a helicopter roundup. They'd almost lost the herd that day, when in a panic, the horses headed for the rim of the butte before he and Ryan managed to turn the band. It wasn't the stampede that held his focus now but what happened after they'd contained the horses, when Annie threw herself into Ryan's arms and cried like a baby, and Ryan closed his arms around her and stroked her hair. He'd known Ryan had a thing for Annie, but it wasn't until that moment that he realized the hold Annie had on him. Not an intentional hold. Annie was just Annie. It was the kind of hold that had Ryan giving up his dreams for her…

  "You want to help make my castle?" Abby asked.

  Josh glanced down at Abby's circle of rocks and saw that there was more water than there had been a few minutes before, which puzzled him. He looked toward the mouth of the canyon, but the stream bed remained dry there, and if a flash flood had been triggered in the mountains miles away, it would have to come from that direction. But as he watched Abby arranging rocks, the water where she crouched was unquestionably growing wider. Figuring a spring on the hillside might have opened, he looked up the wash and saw that rocks that had been dry five minutes before had trickles of water cascading around them. Within seconds the flow of the water increased. And then it hit him.