Last Chance Cowboy

by Cathy McDavid

  “That wasn’t nothing.”

  Sit. She needed to sit before her knees gave out. “It’s personal.”

  “If you have issues with Dan Rivera, I want to know.”

  Sage had to get out of sight. Immediately. Dan may not have recognized Isa, but if he saw her, he’d put two and two together.

  She spun on her heels and hurried to the stables, praying Dan wouldn’t decide to go in there.

  Gavin was right behind her. The moment they were inside, he reached for her arm.

  “Sage.”

  “Can you go ask Cassie to bring Isa here?”

  “Not until you tell me—”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  His intense blue eyes drilled into her. Held her in place. “If this involves Dan, it most certainly is my business.”

  “Why?” she snapped. “Because he’s the local horse trainer?”

  “Because he’s my partner in the stud and breeding business. The one I’m starting with the mustang. And he’s also my financial backing.”

  Shaken to her core, she retreated a step. “No, no, no. We’re not working together.” She shook her head vehemently. “The deal’s off.”

  “The hell it is.” His voice rose. “You agreed.”

  Her reply was cut short by Cassie leading the old horse into the stables, Isa still sitting astride him. Both the girls’ faces registered alarm.

  “Dad? What’s going on?”

  Chapter Four

  Sage was still shaking. She only half heard the exchange between Gavin and his daughter, too caught up in her own whirling emotions.

  “Everything’s fine,” he answered Cassie’s question with admirable calm.

  “It didn’t look fine.” She faced him, her puppy tucked beneath one arm, the old horse’s reins wrapped in the fingers of her free hand. “It looked like you were arguing.”

  “We were just talking.”

  “Yeah.” Cassie’s narrowed gaze pinged between Sage and her father.

  Fortunately, Isa was oblivious to everyone and everything around her save the horse.

  “Chico, you’re such a good boy.” She leaned forward over the saddle horn and gave the horse’s neck an affectionate squeeze. He lived up to his reputation by bearing the attention with gentlemanly grace. “Did you see me riding, Mama?”

  “I did, mija.” Sage went over and placed a hand on Isa’s knee. “You were awesome.”

  The minute Dan paid the back child support—and he would, she’d see to it—she was going to buy Isa that pony. She should have purchased one sooner, but the cost of keeping and feeding a second horse was more than she could comfortably afford on her income.

  Damn Dan again for denying Isa the money that was rightfully hers. And damn him for putting both her and Sage through the ordeal of a paternity test—though she suspected it was just another postponement ploy.

  Last evening, her cousin and Roberto had tried convincing her that a positive paternity test would only strengthen her case against Dan. They were right, of course. The knowledge, however, didn’t lessen her angst.

  “Are you sure?” Cassie demanded, returning Sage to the present.

  “Ms. Navarre and I were just discussing the best method to go after the mustang.”

  “Loudly.”

  Sage bit back a groan. Gavin talked to his daughter as if she was Isa’s age. Did he not see how astute Cassie was and that very little got past her?

  The sound of distant voices reminded Sage of her and Isa’s precarious situation. She had to remove them from sight before Dan noticed them. She began looking for another way out of the stables.

  “You okay, Mama?”

  “Just a little tired.” She sent Isa a reassuring smile. In truth, Sage was perspiring profusely, probably from the giant invisible fist squeezing her insides.

  She still couldn’t believe Dan had failed to recognize his own daughter. Granted, children changed a lot between two and six. But even so…

  “If it’s none of my business,” Cassie grumbled, “say so.”

  Gavin quirked an eyebrow. “If I do, will you get mad?”

  “Honestly, Dad.” She expelled an irritated sigh.

  Sage didn’t blame her. She’d tried reasoning with Gavin, too, and it had gotten her nowhere. How he managed not to chase away every customer on the place with his confounding obstinance was a mystery.

  “Fine.” Cassie deposited Blue on the ground by her feet. He immediately stumbled over to Gavin and launched an assault on his boot, gnawing the rounded toe. Gavin bent and scratched the puppy behind the ears.

  Interesting, thought Sage. He was tolerant of small, defenseless dogs, passionate about the plight of wild horses and hadn’t mentioned her meltdown to his daughter.

  Which meant he wasn’t all bad.

  Figures.

  If only he weren’t in partnership with her ex.

  That was one shortcoming Sage couldn’t overlook or dismiss regardless of how good-looking she found him.

  Fresh thoughts of Dan squashed whatever fleeting and irrational attraction she felt toward Gavin. Her glance strayed yet again to the stable entrance, and her ears strained for the sound of his truck starting up and leaving.

  No such luck.

  Sage began to fidget, her mind searching for an excuse to leave—if not the ranch, then at least the immediate vicinity.

  Gavin beat her to the punch. “Cassie, why don’t you take Isa inside for a little while?”

  “What about Chico?”

  “I’ll unsaddle him and put him away.”

  She frowned. “You told me if I rode a horse, it was my responsibility to walk him out, brush him down and put him away.”

  “We’ll make an exception today.”

  “This is pure bull—”

  “Cassie.” His expression grew dark.

  “—droppings,” she finished with a glare.

  He took the reins from her and turned to Isa. “You ready to get off, young lady?”

  “Do I have to?” Her bottom lip protruded in a disappointed pout.

  “’Fraid so.” Sage lifted Isa from the saddle, relief surging through her.

  “Tell you what.” Gavin patted the little girl’s head once she was standing. “You can ride Chico again the next time your mom brings you out.”

  “Really?”

  “As much as you want.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  He laughed. “Okay by me, but you’ll have to wait until we get back from our trip into the mountains.”

  “Can I, Mama? Please?” Isa clasped her small hands in front of her.

  “We’ll see.”

  Sage was doubting the wisdom of bringing Isa back to Powell Ranch ever again. Not with Dan coming and going like he did. “Tia Anna and Tio Roberto were going to watch you. Take you to the movies.” She put a hand on Isa’s shoulder and nudged her along. “Come on, I’ll go with you and Cassie. We both need to wash up.”

  Was there a less conspicuous route to the house? She’d ask Cassie the second they were away from Gavin.

  Before she took so much as a step, he said, “Stay. We can finish our…talk.”

  Not exactly an order, but more than a request.

  Sage’s stomach sank. She should have expected this— Gavin wasn’t a man easily put off. And any objections she made would only further delay the girls leaving.

  Choosing the lesser of two evils, she murmured, “All right, I’ll stay,” and sent Isa off with Cassie, praying Dan was too preoccupied with his clients to glance in their direction.

  “SORRY ABOUT THAT,” GAVIN told Sage once they were alone. “She doesn’t generally use bad language. Or if she does,” he added wryly, “it’s not around me.”

  Sage fought the need to pace. Gavin’s problems with his daughter didn’t concern her. She had enough of her own to worry about. “Isa’s been around livestock enough to have heard the word droppings.”

  How long would it take the girls to reach the house? Three minu
tes? Five?

  “I should probably have another talk with my brother. He’s the bad influence on Cassie. Too many years in the Marines.”

  Gavin led Chico over to the hitching rail and slung the reins over it. The old horse just stood there. If he did realize he wasn’t tied, he didn’t care. Gavin unbuckled the girth and let it drop. Chico heaved a tired sigh, and his eyes drooped closed.

  “I’m also sorry I raised my voice earlier.” Gavin pulled the small youth saddle off Chico’s back and held it in one hand by the horn. “When you said you weren’t going with us to capture the mustang, I lost my temper.” He removed the saddle blanket next. “But you gave as good as you got.”

  She didn’t disagree.

  “Cassie and I are still working out the kinks in our relationship,” he said after returning from the tack room, minus the saddle and blanket.

  “My mother frequently reminds me that’s why children were put on this earth.”

  Sage was tired of discussing Isa and Cassie. They weren’t the reason Gavin had detained her. Trying not to be obvious, she peered over her shoulder. No sight of Dan or Isa. Still, she couldn’t relax.

  When she turned back around, it was to discover Gavin staring at her.

  “What exactly went on back there?” he asked. “I take it you know Dan Rivera.”

  Sage thought fast. If she told Gavin about Dan, he might understand and not insist they work together. One glance at the determined set of his square jaw promptly squashed that idea. He could possibly refuse to help her capture the mustang. After specifically requesting this assignment from her supervisor, she couldn’t return to Show Low with an empty trailer.

  Though it galled her, she was going to have to level with Gavin. At least a little.

  “Dan Rivera is Isa’s father.”

  “Wow.” He pushed his cowboy hat back and rubbed his forehead. “Not the answer I was expecting.”

  “He hasn’t seen Isa in four years or had any contact with her whatsoever.”

  Gavin nodded as if he understood, only he couldn’t possibly.

  “I didn’t want him talking to Isa without me…preparing her first.”

  “Did you know he was here?”

  “I knew he lived in Mustang Village. But not that he was your partner or that he’d be here today.”

  Gavin removed a halter from a peg on the wall and swapped it out for Chico’s bridle.

  “I realize Dan being my partner is awkward for you,” he said.

  “More than awkward.”

  “But I don’t see how it makes a difference.”

  She stared at him over the horse’s neck. “I just told you he’s my ex. My estranged ex.”

  Gavin began brushing Chico. “Look. We capture the mustang this weekend like we planned. Afterward, during the rest of your stay, Dan and I work with the mustang while you and he decide whatever it is you need to about Isa. Then, when you leave, he and I go back to business as usual.”

  Sage was certain it wouldn’t be that simple. In fact, she could guarantee it. First thing Monday she was contacting the Child Support Enforcement Agency and having garnishment papers sent here. If the Powells owed Dan any fees or commissions, she’d be able to attach them. A move like that would surely put a strain on Dan and Gavin’s partnership.

  If all went well and the DES moved at their usual speed, she’d be long gone by the time the papers arrived.

  Something Gavin mentioned earlier came rushing back to her. “Did you say that Dan was going with us to capture the mustang?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, he can’t. Not if you want me along.”

  Gavin considered that for several seconds. “Are you going to sic the authorities on me for capturing the mustang on my own?”

  Sage regretted having made such a big deal about the law. “There has to be another solution.”

  “How about you and Dan put your personal differences aside for one weekend?” Gavin ran the brush over the old horse’s rump and down his back legs.

  Could they? It wasn’t as though Isa would be going with them on their trek into the mountains. “Even if I agree,” she said, “I’m not sure Dan will.”

  Not after yesterday. He’d probably expect her to serve him with the child support orders again.

  “Do you want to talk to him or should I?”

  As much as Sage wished she could refuse accompanying Gavin on the mustang roundup, she had a responsibility. She’d also given Gavin her word.

  A low groan involuntarily escaped her. How had she wound up in this predicament?

  Gavin set the brush on the hitching rail. “Maybe we both should talk to him.”

  Sage shook her head, mortified at the prospect. “I don’t think so.”

  When she’d phoned Dan this morning to tell him the DNA testing facility she’d contacted required a sample from him along with Isa, he’d hung up on her. Yesterday, he’d slammed the door in her face. No guarantee what he’d do if she approached him with Gavin in tow, requesting he put their personal differences aside.

  “You sure?” Gavin asked. “Because he’s coming this way.”

  “What? No!”

  Sage whirled around and panicked at the sight of Dan strolling up the aisle with a woman and a teenage boy about Cassie’s age.

  “I have to leave.” Even as Sage recognized how cowardly she sounded, she started off in the opposite direction of Dan. She refused to deal with him. Not until the paternity test was done and not in front of people.

  People being Gavin Powell.

  This wasn’t like her. She didn’t run away from problems, she faced them. But Dan’s cold treatment of her and unreasonable demands had really shaken her. Sage long ago admitted her part in their breakup. She was hardly a perfect person. But infidelity wasn’t and never had been one of her faults. That he should imply as much outraged her. It also hurt.

  “Wait.” Gavin drew up beside her, Chico trotting to keep pace.

  She didn’t slow down.

  “Sage, he’s not following us.”

  She dared a backward glance. Dan and his companions had stopped in front of a stall, observing the occupant and conversing. She doubted he’d spotted her. Still, she took no chances and continued hurrying.

  Gavin reached over and, placing a hand on her shoulder, maneuvered her in front of him. “He won’t see you this way.”

  Assistance was the last thing she’d expected from him. Not when two minutes ago he’d been insisting she speak to Dan.

  “Which way to the house?” she asked when they emerged on the other end of the stables.

  “We’re not going to the house. Not yet.”

  “You may not be, but I am.”

  “Come on.”

  Before she could object, he took her hand and guided her toward a fenced pasture with several noticeably pregnant mares.

  Sage might be distraught but she couldn’t help noticing the confident ease with which his fingers held hers. Firm, yet gentle and not entirely unpleasant. Neither was the sensation of walking beside him. Men with his height and brawn could be intimidating and overbearing. If anything, the response Gavin’s nearness evoked in her was that of being sheltered and protected.

  She’d all but forgotten what it felt like.

  His stoic expression gave no clue to what was going through his mind or if being close to her was similarly affecting him.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked in an effort to steer her thoughts in a different—and safer—direction.

  “First, we’re putting old Chico away. He won’t mind spending a night with the girls. Then, we’re heading inside for dinner. Later, you can help me and Ethan pack for tomorrow. Cassie will watch Isa.”

  Just as they’d agreed to earlier. Before Dan had driven onto the ranch. Except now she wasn’t so inclined to go along.

  “And at some point,” he continued, “when we find a few minutes alone, you’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on with you and Dan.”

&nbs
p; “I don’t think so.” Sage came to a grinding halt. The abrupt movement separated Gavin’s hand from hers.

  She told herself she didn’t miss his touch.

  He opened the gate to the pasture, and the old horse dutifully meandered through it, far more interested in what the feed trough might hold than the mares.

  “Look, Sage.” Gavin shut and latched the gate. “I’m going to capture the wild horse. I need your cooperation and you need mine to get your job done. Dan’s my business associate and partner. I’m pretty sure I can convince him to work with you. But I need to know what’s going on. I’m not asking for your life story or all the gritty details. The Reader’s Digest version will do fine.”

  His blue eyes assessed her closely. It surprised her to see compassion and sympathy in their arresting depths. Not judgment.

  Slowly, she relented.

  “Okay. Isa and I will stay for dinner, and I’ll help you and Ethan pack.” She told herself she owed him that much for helping her evade Dan.

  How much of her guts she would spill during their “few minutes alone,” however, remained to be seen.

  Hand-holding aside, Gavin was still Dan’s partner, and she didn’t trust him.

  Chapter Five

  Gavin tried to remember the last time a woman had shared dinner with his family. With the exception of his sister, Sierra, whose previous visit had been almost two years ago, it was…

  No one. Not after his mother died and neighbors and friends stopped coming around.

  The Powell men, he noticed, were all having different reactions to Sage and her young daughter, including himself. Ethan had assumed the role of host, asking Sage questions about her job and living in Show Low. Gavin’s father was polite, though guarded, having not yet decided how big a threat these intruders were to his orderly world.

  Sage had definitely threatened Gavin’s orderly world, but for entirely different reasons. She was a mystery, exasperating one moment and fascinating the next. It had been a lot of years since he’d felt the sweet tug of attraction. That the woman should be Sage, an unsuitable choice for many reasons, confounded him—and intrigued him.

  Once inside the safety of the house, she still hadn’t relaxed. Not until Dan’s pickup rolled out of the ranch some twenty minutes later. Whatever he’d done to her and Isa must have been very hurtful for Sage to have reacted like she had. Especially after four years.