Finding Joy (Love's Compass Book 5)

by Melanie D. Snitker

  She was cute.

  He sobered. So what if she was cute? She still didn’t belong on a ranch. As soon as he’d laid eyes on her, he’d acknowledged she had a pretty face. But Mom was normally picky about who she hired. Chelsea had no experience on a ranch. Where had Mom found her? What on earth had inspired Chelsea to take this job? Was it because she’d be working for a high-profile employer? Was she hoping to get her foot in the door and work her way up to where she was getting a larger piece of the Wilson Ranch money? The questions swirled around in his mind.

  Yesterday, he was certain if he got her out and showed her the messy side of ranching, she might decide this wasn’t the job for her. And if she quit, maybe Mom would let things be. But Chelsea dealt with it far better than he’d thought she would. And right now — boots aside — she appeared to belong there.

  That was dangerous on so many levels.

  Parker strode toward Chelsea. As he got closer, her expression stopped him. He’d expected to see disgust. Or exhaustion. The interest and contentment surprised him. It seemed like, just when he thought he had a good handle on the type of woman Chelsea was, she’d go and change things up.

  He stepped up onto the bottom rung beside her.

  Three of the yearlings chased each other at the far end of the enclosure. Chelsea laughed. Another breeze blew through, carrying with it the scents of sunshine and honeysuckle he was coming to associate with her. Was it her shampoo or a perfume? He fought to keep his eyes on the herd and not get another peek at her.

  “I never knew cattle could run so fast. Calves, yes. But not adults.”

  Parker scratched the back of his neck. “They can surprise you. You should see the whole herd run. Not as graceful as a herd of horses, but still amazing.”

  “I’ll bet.” Her voice was wistful.

  “Have you ever ridden a horse?”

  “Never.” She used her fingers to rake the hair away from her face.

  Parker sensed hesitation in that one word. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of them.”

  She refused to look at him and shrugged. “I’m not afraid.” She squared her shoulders and Parker wasn’t convinced. “I’m not good with animals. I haven’t been around many of them.”

  Parker couldn’t imagine not having animals. “You didn’t have a dog or cat growing up?”

  Chelsea barked a humorless laugh. “My sister and I begged for a puppy for years. Our parents said they were too dirty.”

  Now that was sad. She might be good at the computer-aspect of this job, but a respect for the animals and at least a limited knowledge of them were nearly as important. He checked his watch. “It’s after five. Time for you to get out of here. I’ve got fences that need mending.”

  He stepped away from the pen and toward the pickup truck. He heard her scramble to catch up with him, her large boots clomping against the ground. It was a fight to keep his face neutral.

  Several of the ranch hands had stopped what they were doing to admire her. Obviously, Parker wasn’t the only one who found her pretty. Which meant there was even one more reason to hope she quit her job. None of them could afford the distraction.

  Well, if she didn’t seem to mind the outdoor work, maybe it was time he switched gears.

  Parker dropped her off at the barn with a nod of farewell and went back to the house. Poor Happy had been cooped up off and on through most of the day. Now that Parker was finally heading out to make repairs, he could bring Happy with him. Some mindless, physical work was exactly what he needed to get his new employee out of his head.

  Chapter Five

  Chelsea was bored out of her ever-loving mind. She slowly let her head tip backwards until it rested against the top of her chair. When Parker had first dragged her outside on Monday, she thought this would be the worst job she’d ever had. Well, aside from her short stint at a perfume store where the fumes had about done her in. But she’d dressed differently, bought new footwear, and she thought things went well on Tuesday. Aside from insinuating her boots were odd looking, Parker hadn’t criticized her choice of attire, and he answered her questions about the longhorns. She’d gone home that night and didn’t hesitate to put a mark in the win column.

  In fact, when she got to work Wednesday morning, she’d anticipated going out and checking on the new members of the herd.

  Except she’d arrived at work to find a dozen boxes waiting for her in her office. She’d barely had time to count how many there were before Parker appeared.

  “Good morning. I see you’ve found the boxes. We’ve had these in storage for years. These are the bills of sale, some land records, and other invoices from the eighties that never were computerized. I’d like for you to scan them in so we have digital copies of it all.”

  Chelsea’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, ma’am.” Parker hefted one box and set it on her desk. He pulled a handful of files out. “Let me show you where you’ll want to save these.” He then took the next thirty minutes to walk her through the steps and their filing system.

  There was nothing complicated about it. But five boxes… Chelsea seriously doubted she could get through them by the end of the week. The end of the month, maybe. She bit back a sigh. Paperwork was necessary in any job, but she detested it.

  Parker wished her a good day and took his leave. Chelsea stood glaring at the boxes, willing them to spontaneously combust. Five minutes later, they were still there, mocking her. Obviously, they would not scan themselves. She lowered herself into her chair with a groan.

  All day, she kept hoping Parker would stop by and suggest an outing to check on the longhorns or something similar. She never did hear a peep from him. Thursday was a carbon copy of the day before. By the time Friday rolled around, she was going stir-crazy being stuck in the office.

  Maybe the beginning of the week hadn’t gone as well as she’d thought it had. Had she done something wrong? Was it silly she kept hoping Parker would appear and rescue her from this file-scanning prison? It didn’t matter. She’d do the job he’d given her without complaint if that’s what it took to be offered a permanent position.

  By lunch, Chelsea decided she had to get out of there. She had an hour — and that was her time, which meant she could do whatever she wanted with it. And she was sick of eating there at the desk she sat at all day long.

  Parker had warned her to stay far away from the animals. She wasn’t about to go against that. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t watch them from a distance. The moment she stepped outside, it was as though a weight were lifted from her shoulders. Chelsea walked toward the longhorn pasture and found a tree that offered the perfect vantage point. She sat on the ground and zipped up her coat. She’d been warm enough walking but now the cold in the air permeated the layers of fabric. Still, it was worth it to get out of that office for a while.

  Chelsea settled in and ate her lunch. The antics of the yearling heifers had her laughing several times. The trunk of the tree she was leaning against soaked up all the tension that’d been building in her neck and shoulders over the last couple of days. Yes, this was how she planned to spend her lunch hour every day from now on.

  Her cell phone pinged, and she shifted to pull it out of her back pocket. It was a text from Laurie.

  “Hey, sis! Tuck’s working tonight. You want to come over for dinner? I’m making enchiladas.”

  Chelsea studied the remains of her sandwich and pictured the frozen meal she’d planned on eating that night. Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Are you kidding? I’m there. I’ll bring tea and chips. What time?”

  “Six.”

  “Can’t wait!”

  She slid the phone back in her pocket. It would be the perfect end to a tumultuous week.

  She’d finished the last bite of her sandwich when a sound pulled her attention toward the barn. A large horse clip-clopped its way in her direction with Parker sitting in the saddle on its back. It was the first time she’d seen the guy in two days. Where
had he been?

  “What are you doing out here?” he asked when he’d reached her location.

  “Eating lunch. I had to get out of that office for a while.”

  He nodded slowly. “Making much progress on the old invoices?”

  Chelsea could’ve sworn she detected a half smile, except that the sun shining down from above made it hard to see his face clearly. Well, she wouldn’t let on she was completely bored to pieces.

  “I am. I won’t have it done for you this week, but hopefully they’ll all be scanned in the next week or two.” She hoped she appeared carefree.

  He frowned and took in the field behind her. After a few moments, he brought his focus back to her. “Well, I’m doing a fence line check and could use some help if you have time this afternoon.”

  You mean, not be stuck in the office the rest of the day? Yes, please. “Sure. What can I do?”

  “Get a notebook from the office and a pen. Keep track of the panels we need to either repair or replace. I can saddle up a second horse for you.”

  Panic gripped Chelsea’s stomach, and she immediately shook her head. “I’ve never ridden a horse. That’s not a good idea.” She’d take the boxes of unending files any day.

  “I thought you said you weren’t scared of them.”

  ~

  Chelsea hesitated. She might have told Parker she wasn’t scared of horses, but even the other day the truth had been written on her face. She’d probably never even touched a horse, much less ridden on one.

  As much as he’d love to see her ride a horse for the first time, he wasn’t about to put someone with no experience — and a big dose of fear — on one of their mares.

  Apparently, the mountains of paperwork hadn’t pushed her over the edge of quitting. The only thing left, as far as he was concerned, was pushing her past her comfort zone. And clearly, riding horses was way beyond that.

  “Then you can ride with me.” Okay, maybe that wasn’t such a great idea. But her frown revealed she didn’t like that option any more than the first one. And if this is what it took to get her to quit, he could handle the inconvenience. She’d certainly made it longer in his employment than he thought she would. It was time to make sure she didn’t return next week. He wouldn’t give her room to object. “I’ll meet you outside the barn in ten minutes.” With that, he tipped his chin and rode away.

  Ten minutes later, she was waiting for him like he’d asked her to. When he stopped in front of her, she was gripping the notebook tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. He fought against the guilt that tried to push its way to the surface. “Hand me the notebook and pen until you get up here.” She did as he asked and took a step back. “Eloise won’t hurt you,” he assured her. He certainly wasn’t going to get the woman onto the horse’s back if she wouldn’t come within three feet of them.

  Parker talked her through how to mount the horse and then held his hand down. She grasped it, and he pulled her up until she was sitting behind him. After handing the note-taking supplies to her again, he urged Eloise forward.

  Chelsea gasped at the same moment her arms went around his waist as she tried to keep her balance. She tightened her hold until his ribs protested. Without thinking, he put a hand over one of hers. “Hey, I won’t let you fall.” What was he doing, comforting her like that? Didn’t he want her to get frightened?

  Yes, he did. Except that it was impossible to ignore the innate need to keep a member of the fairer sex safe. The idea of scaring her into quitting had been entertaining. But now that she was leaning into his back, hands trembling, he felt like a real jerk.

  He kept Eloise’s pace slow and steady, continuing to cover Chelsea’s hand with his own. After a few minutes, she’d stopped trembling. “We’re going to go around the property’s fence line.” It was something he’d been meaning to do, although it wasn’t a high priority. “If we see anything that needs repairs, I’ll tell you the locations and you can write them down.”

  He felt her nod against his back. “I don’t know how anyone gets used to riding a horse.”

  Parker bit back a laugh. “It takes a while. I grew up on horses.”

  “I saw online that you used to rope.”

  He hadn’t expected that to come up in conversation. He considered ignoring the comment. But she’d put so much trust in him by even getting on Eloise that he responded. “I did. My dad used to be a big name in team roping before he retired to focus on the ranch.” He paused. “He took me to a lot of rodeos and taught me to rope steers at an early age.”

  “So you followed in his footsteps.”

  Parker shrugged. It was much more complicated than that. He had followed in Dad’s footsteps in a lot of ways. But joining the rodeo circuit and all the advertisements he did for endorsements had been as much about escaping the ranch after Dad died than it was anything else.

  He located a spot in one of the fence panels that needed to be tightened. Nothing that had to be addressed immediately, though. He told Chelsea what to write down, and they continued on their way.

  Chelsea’s hold around his waist had loosened, probably because she was getting used to Eloise’s movements. Parker tried his best to ignore the feel of her arms but it was next to impossible. That, in conjunction with her warmth against his back and the scent of honeysuckle occasionally reaching his nose, and Chelsea was about all he could think of.

  They were nearly through inspecting the fence when a leaning pole caught his attention. He was so relieved to have a reason to put some space between him and Chelsea that he brought Eloise up short. “I’ll need to tighten this one before we head back to the barn.” He helped Chelsea to the ground before getting down himself.

  The moment she had her footing, he took in the way her messy hair softly framed her face. Her eyes sparkled, and she rotated her shoulders while rocking back on her heels. “I’m going to feel that tomorrow, I can tell already.”

  “Probably.” Parker took two large steps back and turned toward the fence. “Riding takes a while to get used to.”

  “It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. Eloise is a real sweetheart.” Chelsea’s voice was contemplative. Not at all as frightened or wary as he’d originally thought she’d be if he pushed the issue of riding a horse.

  Parker put a hand on the leaning post and exhaled. Well, either Chelsea had a lot of nerve, or she was desperate to keep the job. Either way, it didn’t appear he would get rid of her anytime soon.

  What surprised him the most was the small dose of relief that somehow mixed itself in with the disappointment that his plans to get her to quit had failed..

  ~

  Parker withdrew a tool from a leather case on his belt. He pulled the post straight and then tried to reach around it to tighten the wires.

  “Can I help?” Parker grunted but didn’t complain. She took that as a yes. Chelsea stood beside him and grasped the post, pulling in the same direction he was. A moment later, he had the wire tightened. They stepped back to examine their work.

  “Much better,” he said with a nod.

  Chelsea battled with whether she should say anything else about his past before curiosity won out. “Do you miss roping?”

  His eyes widened as he raked his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I miss it. But nothing to be done about it.” He lifted his right arm. “Can’t rope with a messed-up arm.” He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “We’d better get back to the barn.”

  Chelsea moved away from the post but something caught the back of her shirt. She paused and turned her head, trying to see what was stopping her.

  Parker noticed and stepped around her. “Hold on. Your shirt is snagged on a wire.” He swept her hair out of the way and cleared his throat.

  She prayed her face wouldn’t flush as she felt his hands against her back. Her shirt was freed within moments. “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” He didn’t quite meet her eyes. He mounted Eloise and then helped her to do the same.

  “I’m sorry
if I overstepped with the questions. My brother-in-law mentioned you used to be involved in rodeos and I was curious.”

  She didn’t think he was going to speak anymore until the barn came into sight.

  “It was fun and intense. But it’s not part of my life anymore.”

  He might make it sound like it was no big deal, but Chelsea could detect the regret in his voice. “I’m sorry.”

  Parker put a hand on hers for a moment before removing it. “It is what it is. Nothing to be sorry for.”

  ~

  Chelsea tried to focus on the paperwork the last hour of the day but wasn’t having a lot of success. She kept thinking about Parker. When he had first suggested she ride Eloise, she’d thought her anxiety would lead to a panic attack. But something had happened the moment she put her arms around him and he’d touched her hand. She’d still been nervous, but his small attempt to reassure her had immersed her in a calmness she hadn’t expected.

  After a while, she found she enjoyed riding with him. She still couldn’t imagine riding a horse on her own anytime soon, but the thought of it didn’t elicit as much fear as it had before.

  She could still feel the way his hand had covered hers. He was her employer and he barely tolerated her, but her heart still tried to pound its way from behind her ribs every time she thought about being close to him.

  Spending time with her sister was exactly the distraction she needed. After work, she had enough time to get home, change clothes, and then swing by the store to grab the tea and chips before arriving at Tuck and Laurie’s house.

  She knocked on the door and heard her sister’s faint, “Come in!”

  The moment Chelsea opened the door, she was greeted by the couple’s black and white border collie, Rogue. Chelsea set the bag down on the floor and crouched to give him a good petting. “You’re a good boy. Are you hungry for some enchiladas, too?” It looked for all the world like Rogue bobbed his head. Chelsea laughed and locked the door behind her. She found Laurie working in the kitchen. “You shouldn’t leave the door unlocked like that. It could have been anyone knocking.”