Last Chance Cowboy

by Cathy McDavid

  Except it wouldn’t be permanent.

  Javier told her Gavin had gotten a phone call a little bit ago and went into the house. She resisted the urge to run, choosing a brisk walk instead. At the back door, she knocked. And knocked again. In between she chewed a thumbnail. Where was he?

  At last, Gavin answered the door. His cell phone dangling from his fingers.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  “I dropped by to—” The stunned look he wore stopped her. She stepped over the threshold, afraid Steve had changed his mind and called Gavin about the mustang. “Is everything all right?”

  “No.” He motioned her inside. “I just got off the phone with—”

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted, and threw herself in his arms.

  “You know?”

  “Yes, my boss called me. I told him I wanted to tell you myself.”

  Gavin set her gently aside and held her at arm’s length. “Tell me what?”

  “About the mustang.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “That wasn’t my boss on the phone with you?”

  He frowned in confusion. “Why would your boss call me?”

  Oh, no! She’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. This wasn’t going anything like she’d planned.

  “Then who was it you were talking to?”

  “Dan,” Gavin said solemnly. “He’s terminating our partnership agreement. Said he doesn’t have the money now that he has to pay you the back child support.”

  The strength went out of Sage’s legs. She stumbled to the table, pulled out a chair and dropped into it.

  “That bastard,” she said, covering her face with her hands. “That dirty bastard.”

  “I don’t care. Not that much. He’s been a pain in the ass from the beginning. And now I’m not so sure I need him anymore. Not with the mustang.”

  Sage groaned.

  Gavin sat in the chair next to hers. “What’s wrong, honey?”

  He was being so nice. She didn’t deserve it. “This is terrible. Awful. I’m still in shock.”

  “Forget it. Dan’s not worth the trouble.”

  “Not Dan.” She reached for Gavin’s hand and folded it between hers. “My boss called me right after I talked to you. He’s ordered me to transport the mustang to our Show Low facility. Tomorrow.”

  He sat back. “Why?”

  “Because he’s…the mustang…is going to be publically auctioned a week from Saturday. The department head changed his mind. They aren’t going to let you adopt the mustang outright.”

  He stared at her, disbelief written on his face.

  “You’ll have to bid on him like everyone else. I’m sorry.” She squeezed his fingers. “I would give anything for this not to have happened.”

  Gavin stood, went over to the sink and looked out the window.

  Sage sat, waiting quietly, respecting his need for a few minutes to himself.

  When he turned to her, his expression was that of a defeated man.

  She rushed to him and hugged him fiercely.

  While he held her in return, the strength and passion and conviction that was Gavin had seeped out of him.

  THE MUSTANG DIDN’T WANT TO GO in Sage’s trailer. That made two of them. Gavin didn’t want the mustang to go in Sage’s trailer, either.

  As she’d informed him yesterday, Gavin had no choice. According to the law, the mustang belonged to the federal government. If he tried to harbor the horse illegally, there would be serious repercussions. So, he complied, as much as it galled him.

  “Watch out!” Ethan called a split second before the mustang’s right rear hoof sliced the air in what was two inches shy of a deadly kick.

  It had taken five of them, Gavin, Ethan, their dad, Sage and Javier, forty minutes to put a halter on the horse and drag him to the trailer. Gavin’s shoulders would be sore for a week, and his dad sported a bright red welt across his wrist. If not for the gloves they all wore, their palms would be ripped to shreds from rope burns.

  “Let’s try this again.”

  Gavin positioned himself to the right of the mustang and tossed his rope to Javier on the other side. Ethan gripped the rope attached to the mustang’s halter and wound it around an opening in the side of Sage’s trailer. The two of them proceeded to engage each other in a game of tug-of-war, with the mustang having the advantage.

  Slowly, Gavin and Javier drew their rope taut across the mustang’s hindquarters. They were ready for him when he bucked. They were also ready for him when he stopped.

  “Now!”

  Knowing he’d want to escape the rope irritating his back legs, they forced him forward one reluctant step at a time. Ethan aided the process by pulling on the lead rope. The mustang resisted, grunting and squealing and putting all his weight in his back legs until he was almost sitting on the ground. Exhaustion eventually wore him down.

  No graceful entrance into the trailer for him. He charged ahead, landing with a resounding thud and banging into the sidewall.

  Sage, who had been waiting for just this moment, slammed the trailer door shut behind him.

  They breathed a collective sigh of relief. So did the crowd that had gathered to watch.

  “Good job, Dad.” Cassie ran over to peer at the mustang through the open slats in the trailer.

  “Not so close,” Gavin warned her, taking off his gloves and wiping his damp forehead with his sleeve. To Sage, he said, “I’ll be glad when school starts up again next week.”

  “No, you won’t. You like having her around.”

  She was right. “Maybe I should go with you. He could give you trouble on the drive.”

  “I’d like that except…” She smiled sadly.

  “More BLM policy?”

  “’Fraid so. I can’t even take Isa with me.”

  “Call me when you get there.”

  “I will.” She made her farewells to Gavin’s family, promising to see them tomorrow.

  He slung an arm over her shoulders and walked her to the cab of her truck. No one paid them much attention, evidently accepting that he and Sage were a couple and deserved a private goodbye.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” he asked.

  “This.” She waved a hand at the trailer and mustang. “It’s all my fault.”

  “I don’t see how.”

  “I promised you ownership.”

  “None of us saw this coming.”

  “You have every right to be mad at me.”

  “I’m not.”

  No, he wasn’t mad at her. But Dan? Hell, yes. For his treatment of her and Isa, and the slimy way he’d terminated their partnership agreement.

  Gavin was also mad at himself. Like his father, he’d put his trust in someone untrustworthy, blinded by the prospect of easy money.

  “It’s ironic,” Sage said. “If the girls didn’t wander off, we might not have captured the mustang for weeks. It was them being found in the canyon with him that’s generated all the media attention. Otherwise, he’d be just another feral horse.”

  “Yeah.” Ironic and unlucky.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure.” A lot had happened in the past day, and he’d yet to process it all.

  She circled his waist with her arms and rested her head on his chest.

  He stroked her hair, which she wore loose rather than in her customary ponytail. He enjoyed running his fingers through its thickness, pictured it fanned out on his pillow.

  “I’ll miss you.”

  “Me, too,” she murmured, her face pressed into his jacket.

  One thing they had agreed on last night was that Sage would return to Mustang Valley after dropping off the horse. Not only to finish her vacation but to be with him. Where they’d go with their relationship from there remained to be seen.

  “Not to pressure you, but I really hope you’ll go to the auction. If only so we can spend the weekend together.”

&nb
sp; “Now, there’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

  The truth was, he had a lot to consider before deciding. On the one hand, it would kill him to watch someone else buy the mustang. On the other hand, it would kill him worse if the going price turned out to be something he could have afforded and he wasn’t there.

  If only he was more certain the potential new customers who’d called or come by would still be interested in doing business even if the mustang wasn’t on the ranch. If only he had a spare couple thousand dollars tucked away somewhere.

  “I hate to go.” Sage expelled a long, mournful breath. “But I need to leave now if I don’t want to be driving that highway at midnight.”

  Hooking a finger under her chin, he lifted her face to his. Their relationship was still brand-new and each kiss an exciting discovery.

  Would it still be like this when they’d kissed a hundred times? A thousand?

  If he wanted a future with Sage, and he did, he needed something worthwhile to offer her. Financial stability. A decent home in good repair. A profitable livelihood. Owning and operating a successful stud and breeding business could provide all that and more.

  As long as he had a worthy stallion.

  Preferably the mustang.

  After yet another kiss, a “Drive careful” and last smile, he stood and watched as Sage drove away, the horse trailer bumping along behind her truck.

  Seeing his brother strolling toward the stables, Gavin hollered to him. “Ethan!”

  “What’s up?” he asked when Gavin drew near, buckling the front of his farrier chaps.

  “I’m calling a family meeting.”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah, now.” They hadn’t had one since after their mother died.

  “About what?”

  “The mustang. I want to buy him at the auction.”

  Ethan grinned. “Let’s do it!”

  Their dad made a pot of fresh coffee for the meeting, which took place an hour later at the kitchen table. It was just like the ones they had years before, except instead of Sierra sitting to Gavin’s left, his daughter did.

  She’d been surprised when he asked her to take part in the meeting. “You’re family,” he’d said in response, and she smiled even bigger than when he’d given her Blue.

  Maybe he’d get the hang of this parenting thing, after all.

  Gavin laid out the files containing the ranch’s bank statements and past year’s income and expense reports in the middle of the table.

  “Does Sage have any idea how much the mustang will go for?” his father asked after Gavin had summarized the condition of their current finances.

  “Not really. She says the BLM has never had a situation like this before.”

  “I don’t think the horse will go for that much,” Ethan said confidently. “Sure, he’s a novelty and generated a lot of attention. But once people see what a handful he is, they’ll rethink owning him.”

  Gavin hoped his brother was right. “What we have to figure out is how much cash we can raise without putting the ranch or the family in jeopardy.”

  They debated the issue hotly for some time, rereviewing the income and expense reports, making projections for the next year and brainstorming ideas on how to increase revenues and cut corners.

  Finally, they decided on an amount. Gavin wasn’t sure it would be enough.

  “I have some money set aside,” his father said quietly. “I want you to have it.”

  “You sure, Dad?”

  “It’s not much. Twelve hundred dollars. Leftover from your mother’s life insurance policy. I know she’d want you to have it.”

  Gavin was deeply touched. “Thank you.”

  “I have some money, too,” Cassie piped up. “Fifty-three dollars and twenty-five cents. From babysitting.”

  “Sweetheart, I don’t want to take your money.”

  “You said I was family.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “I want to help, too. I can get more babysitting jobs.” She gazed at him with heartfelt earnestness.

  Gavin tried to figure out what he’d done to deserve such a fantastic kid.

  “Okay. Thank you.” Because it meant so much to her, he’d accept her babysitting money and make it up to her another way.

  “I guess that’s it.” Ethan lifted his coffee mug in a toast.

  Everyone clinked mugs, except Cassie. She raised her glass of juice.

  Gavin glanced around the table, astounded at the differences one short week had made in their lives.

  The mustang had managed to unite them as a family, give them a shared dream, help Gavin and Cassie grow closer and, maybe most important, bring Sage to him.

  This was only the beginning. There were more changes, good ones, on the way. He could feel it.

  All he had to do was outbid the competition at the auction.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gavin fingered the piece of card stock in his hand. On it was printed his number—one hundred and twenty-nine. So many bidders. He’d seen one individual with a number well into the two hundreds. And at least three times as many spectators were in attendance. According to talk, this was the most well-attended auction in the history of the BLM.

  It was also the first one with TV news reporters and camera operators.

  “Where’s Sage?” Cassie asked, holding on to Gavin’s hand as they strolled the auction grounds.

  Ethan and their dad stayed behind to run the ranch. While Gavin was pleased his dad was taking a more active role in the family business, he missed the home-cooked meals. Frozen pizza and microwave lasagna just didn’t taste as good.

  “I don’t know.” Gavin scanned the crowd for Sage. He considered calling her cell phone then decided against it. She was working today. “She said she’d find us before the auction started.”

  Which was half an hour away.

  The knot in Gavin’s stomach tightened. All the assurances Sage had given him this past week weren’t enough to relieve his agitation.

  “Cassie!”

  At the sound of her name being called, both Cassie and Gavin came to a halt. Isa appeared, running toward them and dragging her aunt Anna and uncle Roberto with her. Gavin had met Sage’s cousin and cousin-in-law twice during the past week and liked them very much. He thought they might like him, too.

  “Hi,” Anna said a little breathlessly when they met up.

  “Good to see you again.” Gavin shook Roberto’s hand. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Spur-of-the-moment decision.”

  “Dad and I drove up last night,” Cassie announced over the top of Isa’s head. The younger girl had attached herself to Cassie, and they’d need a crowbar to pry them apart.

  “Have you seen the mustang yet?” Anna asked.

  “Several times.”

  Gavin had planted himself at the mustang’s pen shortly after the main gate was opened and stayed put for nearly an hour. As much as he’d wanted to, he couldn’t prevent other people from inspecting the horse—from outside the pen. No one dared step inside, not if they valued their safety. Gavin secretly cheered the mustang’s aggressive temperament. Anything to make him less appealing to prospective bidders.

  “We thought we’d walk over to see him.” Roberto craned his neck in the direction of the horse pens.

  “Cassie and I will go with you,” Gavin offered.

  He commented on several of the other horses up for auction as they walked down the long aisle between the pens. Anna and Roberto murmured polite replies, typical of nonhorse enthusiasts.

  “Isa, check out these horses.” Cassie and Isa darted to a pen containing two mares, one gray, one paint. “My dad’s buying them.”

  “Are you?” Roberto asked.

  “Maybe.” Gavin came up behind Cassie. “If they sell for the right price. I’m trying to preserve mustang bloodlines, and I’m thinking they might make good breeding stock.”

  All the broodmares in the world wouldn’t do him any good if he didn
’t win the mustang.

  He’d transferred four thousand dollars into the ranch’s checking account yesterday. Surely that would be enough. Sage seemed to think it was four or five times the amount he’d need.

  The mustang had been placed in a separate pen, far away from the other horses. Spectators were standing two and three deep when they got there, an increase from earlier.

  Anna, Roberto and the girls wormed their way closer. Gavin stayed behind, glimpsing the mustang now and again when someone moved. Lights flashed as cameras went off. Annoyed at the unwanted attention, the mustang lowered his head and pawed the ground.

  A young man with more brawn than brains reached through the bars and barely escaped having his hand bitten.

  Soon, Gavin thought, this will all be over and I’ll take my horse home.

  “I’m hungry,” Isa complained some minutes later when the thrill had worn off for her.

  “Me, too.” Roberto pressed a finger to the tip of her nose.

  “If we’re going to eat,” Gavin said, “maybe we should do it before the auction starts.” He wasn’t really hungry but he could use a cold drink.

  After finishing their meal of hot dogs and potato chips, they made their way to the bleachers, which were already two-thirds filled, and found seats that afforded them a decent view.

  Gavin’s phone rang soon after they were seated. “It’s Sage,” he said, and answered, “Hey.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In the stands.” He told her which section. “Can you get away?”

  “No. Not till later, unfortunately.”

  He could hear the disappointment in her voice. It matched his own.

  What would it be like when he returned to the valley tomorrow and she remained in Show Low?

  They’d talk tonight. Make some definite plans. No, tomorrow would be soon enough. He’d rather celebrate tonight, which they would. In style.

  “Call me when you’re done. We’ll meet you by the chuck wagon.”

  “Good luck,” she said, her voice soft and warm. “But I know you won’t need it. That horse is yours, Gavin. He’s been yours from the moment you saw him.”