by Iris Abbott
None of what had happened had been her fault anyway. She had been immensely grateful for Landon’s interruption and dismissal of the drunken cowboy. Feeling how she did about alcoholics she’d have never agreed to dance with the man in the first place if she’d known he’d been drinking. Not that Landon believed that or had even let her explain what had actually happened. He had taken one look at her in the young man’s arms, drawn his own conclusions, and started spouting threats and accusations.
Emma took a deep breath and pushed open the door. If she were going to be staying on the ranch for the next couple of weeks she’d have to visit the stables sometime, might as well be now. Besides at one time she’d loved visiting with the horses. The stables at James Ranch had been her favorite retreat during her college years.
Jim, the sixty-something-year-old ranch hand, who had been in charge of the stables when the older Mr. James was still alive smiled at her. “Now aren’t you a pretty sight for these old eyes. It’s been so long since you came to visit. I figured you had forgotten all about us by now.” He softened the good-natured complaint with a smile.
Emma smiled at the welcoming gleam in the old hand’s eyes. “I have just been busy with work and all. You know how it can be, Jim. I had to volunteer to teach summer school my first two summers, mainly because no one else wanted to do it, but I needed the money too. Beginning teachers don’t make all that much anyway, but especially not in rural Georgia.”
“Well it’s good to see you’re back and don’t be such a stranger next time,” Jim told her with heartfelt sincerity. “I could always tell you had a soft spot for the horses and they liked you too, especially Bluebonnet.”
“It’s good to be back,” Emma said and realized she meant it. She had really missed the ranch, the people that lived and worked there, and its homey atmosphere. And that she figured was probably due to a lack of a comforting, homey feel in her own childhood house.
“I have a minor problem with the wedding plans, and I really need to talk to Landon. I tried his cell phone, but he didn’t answer. Do you happen to know his whereabouts on the ranch?”
The old man scratched his chin for a minute then looked back at Emma. “I think Henry mentioned something about them mending fences over in the old south pasture today. Do you remember where that is?”
Emma smiled her delight. “The south pasture was always my favorite. It includes the creek and has the prettiest wildflowers in the spring.”
“So I’ve been told, don’t have much use for wildflowers myself,” Jim confided. “Oh, I almost forgot to mention the creek and I do believe the boss would kill me if I let something happen to you.”
Yeah right, Emma thought. He’d probably be more than happy to see the last of me for good. Emma realized that Jim was still talking and she hadn’t been paying attention. Oh well, he was probably just giving her last-minute safety instructions. She didn’t really need those, did she? After all, she and Lynn had gone riding on the ranch many times during the four years they were at university together. It couldn’t have changed that much in the two years she’d been away.
Emma watched Jim disappear for a few minutes and then return with an old familiar friend. “You best be careful now,” Jim ordered once he had helped her into the saddle. “Like I said earlier, it’s my butt on the line if anything happens to you.”
“I will,” Emma promised. Once she was settled in a comfortable position, she lovingly petted the blond mare’s mane. “Hello, Bluebonnet. It’s been a long time old friend. I can’t believe Landon kept you.” The horse nickered and pranced around in a small circle.
“She hasn’t been this excited since your last visit, Miss Emma. Mr. Landon and I always make sure she is well taken care of and exercised, but he never lets anyone else ride her. He always said she was your horse.” The old-timer chuckled. “Once one of the younger hands suggested Mr. James sell her. And he was mucking out stalls without help for two weeks.”
Emma felt warmth radiate through her body at the thought that Landon hadn’t wanted to get rid of Bluebonnet. “Well, I’m glad he kept her,” Emma confided to the stable keeper. She pulled in the horse’s reins, and with one last wave at the ranch hand, she let Bluebonnet trot through the gate and into the pasture. They were headed down by the old creek. She was surprised Landon hadn’t gotten rid of the horse after he had ordered her off the ranch. He was a complete enigma to her. Sometimes he was unbelievably nice, and other times he was a complete jerk. Emma was pretty sure there was something about her that brought out the jerk in him.
She wasn’t in any hurry to knock heads with Landon this morning, especially since she was the bearer of bad news. She decided to take Bluebonnet on a leisurely ride around the creek. It was early enough in the day not to be too hot yet. And she had missed the scenic beauty of James Ranch.
After about forty minutes of soaking in the sight of the natural foliage and the shade of the large oaks surrounding the creek, Emma turned Bluebonnet back toward the fence line. It was time to find Landon and fill him in on the latest wedding preparations and the trouble with the catering company.
The horse had only taken a few steps when both horse and rider heard a distinctive rattle. The sound much like sizzling bacon sent a chill down Emma’s spine. Bluebonnet peeled back her ears and whinnied. The horse began to prance sideways away from the noise. Emma tightened her hold on the reins just as the rattle sounded again, louder this time. Bluebonnet, a usually docile horse, rose on her hind legs. Emma was thrown to the ground. Luckily the ground near the creek wasn’t hard packed earth. Also luckily for her, she’d been thrown away from the angry snake.
Emma had the wind knocked out of her, and it took her a few seconds to register the sound of galloping horse hoofs. She thought at first that the sound was Bluebonnet leaving her behind. Before she had a chance to worry about how she was going to get back to the house, she noticed Bluebonnet was still in the area. It was almost as if she was keeping guard over her downed rider. Emma knew Landon trained all the horses on the ranch. She figured he must have trained them to stay near a fallen rider. She struggled to sit up and caught sight of Landon on the back of his huge black stallion, Obsidian. He was galloping toward her at an alarming rate of speed.
Landon reined in the stallion a few feet from Emma. He pulled out the rifle he kept on his saddle in case of an emergency. He took aim and fired at the agitated rattler that had been slithering closer to Emma. Then he put the rifle away before he dismounted and stomped toward Emma. “What do you think you’re doing down here?” he demanded in a strained voice.
Emma felt her cheeks turn red. She was embarrassed that Landon of all people was the one to save her. He didn’t make a very gracious knight. She tried to bluster her way out of such a mortifying situation. “Don’t worry I’m fine,” she informed him. “Thank you for getting rid of the rattlesnake. And don’t worry I can get up by myself.” She narrowed her eyes, “so don’t bother to offer your assistance.”
Landon became contrite almost immediately. “I’m sorry Emma. You are right of course. I should have asked if you were all right before lecturing you.” He’d just been so scared when he’d seen that deadly snake so close to Emma. He knelt down beside her and lightly ran his hands over her arms and denim-clad legs.
Emma trembled at Landon’s touch and her breathing deepened. This was the closest physical contact they’d ever had. She’d imagined his touch before, but the real thing was much more electric. She closed her eyes and willed her body back under control. Being thrown from her horse was enough embarrassment for one day. She didn’t need to add to it by throwing herself at Landon. He’d never shown one ounce of interest in her as a woman, heck he barely noticed her at all.
Landon felt her body tremble under his touch. It was causing him to have thoughts that would only lead to trouble! He quickly stood and reached out a hand to help lift her to her feet. “I just don’t understand what you’re doing down by the creek in the first place.”
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sp; Emma held back the smart comment that leaped to mind. Her body’s instant reaction to Landon’s nearness was confusing her. She had to work hard to act like herself. “I haven’t ridden since the last time I was on the ranch,” she offered as an explanation. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it and I wanted to take my time and enjoy the scenery. The southern part of the ranch was always my favorite, and I thought Bluebonnet and I could both use a leisurely ride around the creek before I had to approach you with a bit of unpleasant news.”
She realized she was rambling and stopped. Landon didn’t say anything, and her nerves kicked up another notch. She twisted her hands together and rushed on. “How did you know I’d be here anyway or was this meeting pure dumb luck?”
Landon decided to ignore her dumb luck comment and addressed the other statement first. “I’m surprised by your admission. If I remember correctly, avoidance was never your style. As for your question about how I knew where to find you, Jim used the ranch’s push-to-talk phone to reach me. I’ve been expecting you in the south pasture for a while now. I finally decided you must have gotten lost and came looking for you.”
“Oh,” was all Emma could get out before Landon began another lecture.
“And what are you doing down here anyway. Jim swore to me that he warned you to stay away from the creek and oak grove. We’ve had a problem with rattlesnakes lately. The unusually large amount of rain we’ve had over the past couple of weeks has driven the snakes out of hiding.”
Emma felt herself blush from embarrassment. She’d been lost in her own thoughts and hadn’t been paying attention to everything Jim had said to her. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault, please don’t blame Jim. I think he did mention something about the creek, but I had my mind on other things. I didn’t catch everything he said to me.” She gave him a shy smile. “I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble. I know the ranch keeps you busy. I’ll just ride back to the stables and spend a little time brushing Bluebonnet. We can talk about the wedding at lunch.”
Emma started to walk toward Bluebonnet, but it was a slow process. She hadn’t broken anything from the fall, but her body was sore all over. The faster she got back to the house and into a hot bath the better. The warm water and a couple of painkillers should ensure she didn’t have any lasting effects from her fall.
“Not so fast,” Landon interrupted her progress. “Henry and I planned to work through lunch to finish those fence repairs. There are supposed to be more storms rolling in tonight. I don’t want to take a chance of any of the cattle getting loose, especially during a thunderstorm. The last time that happened, three of the ranch hands had to help me run down cattle in the dead of night, while we were being pelted with pouring rain.” He frowned at the memory. “I never want to repeat that experience again, and neither do my employees. If what you wanted to talk to me about was important,” he arched a brow. “Then you need to tell me now. I will ride back to the stables with you, so you don’t take any more unexpected tumbles.” He gave her a look that dared her to argue. When she didn’t, he continued. “We’ll talk on the way.”
Emma blew out the breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding. The last thing she wanted was to have Landon dogging her every step as they rode back to the stables. If they went slowly, it would take them a long time to reach their final destination. She didn’t think she could handle so much one on one time with him. She was having a hard enough time trying to maintain her equilibrium around him. “Look, I know you’re busy Landon. I don’t want to keep you from finishing your work, and I don’t want the cattle and ranch hands to suffer from extra work.” Here goes nothing she thought. “I need you home for an early dinner tonight. I can make my way back to the stables just fine on my own.” As long as she didn’t come across any more rattlesnakes, Emma thought.
Landon chuckled. He couldn’t help himself, for whatever reason he just couldn’t help teasing Emma. And she’d left herself wide open with her latest comments. He flashed his best megawatt smile. The one he was constantly told women couldn’t resist. “Why Emma Sharpe, I didn’t know my company meant that much to you. First, you come riding to track me down. I still don’t know why by the way, and now you are demanding I make it home in time for dinner, and an early one at that. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you missed me the last couple of years.” That earned him a glare from his houseguest.
Emma hated his teasing. She had always been sensitive, but for some reason being teased by Landon always hurt the worst. She gritted her teeth and prepared to deliver the bad news. “For your information Mr. James,” she made sure to emphasize the formal use of his surname. “The dinner is business, wedding business. We need to pick a new caterer and menu for the wedding reception.”
“What,” Landon hissed out between clenched teeth. “Lynn and Bruce already took care of all that.” He took his cowboy hat off and ran his fingers through his already tousled hair. “I already paid the caterer of their choice. So what’s the problem?” he demanded.
Emma just sighed. Landon was not taking this news very well, which wasn’t helping the situation. It wasn’t anything other than what she had expected, however. She just needed to state the facts and leave Landon to deal with them as he might. “The problem Landon,” she noted his smile at her use of his first name. “Is that the catering business Lynn chose, suffered a fire last night. Her assistant called this morning to let us know what was going on and to offer their apologies, and a refund of course. The money you paid will be credited to your credit card account.”
“They also provided me with contact information for three other caterers in the area. All three are sending someone out to the ranch this evening with dish samples, menus, and prices. Since I can’t get in touch with Lynn and this needs to be taken care of immediately, I need your help. I don’t want to be the only one responsible for menu choices. That means you have to be there too. Besides Mr. Moneybags,” she couldn’t resist the jibe. “I don’t have any idea about the budget for this shindig. Lynn and I never talk about money. Since you’re paying for everything, you need to be there when they start talking cost.”
Landon let the Mr. Moneybags comment go. He loved it when she fought his teasing with taunts of her own. It showed he got to her as much as she was getting to him. If he didn’t know better, he would think they were flirting with each other, but that just wasn’t possible. Emma Sharpe seemed too buttoned down to stoop to flirting. “This is not the best start to the wedding countdown, but it seems like being as organized and efficient as ever, you have everything under control. If this is the only hiccup, we encounter we’ll be doing just fine. What time do you need me back at the house?”
Emma let out an inner sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to argue with her or leave her to deal with this mess on her own. “Well, I scheduled the caterers forty-five minutes apart. That should give us plenty of time to sample their offerings, take notes about what we like and don’t like, and listen to their presentation. The first caterer is scheduled to arrive at four o’clock. Do you think you can finish your work and make it back to the house by then?”
“I’ll make a point of it. Don’t worry Emma. I won’t leave you on your own with this. The perfect wedding is important to Lynn that makes it important to me too. I’ll make sure I’m back at the house in plenty of time to shower and change before the first group arrives. And that means I need to get back to work if I’m going to have time to finish repairing the fence. Are you sure you’re fit enough to make it back to the stables on your own?” He couldn’t help but worry. It had been a hard fall, and as much as she frustrated him, he’d never want anything bad to happen to her. If only for the fact that his sister would never forgive him.
“I’ll be fine,” Emma reassured him. “Bluebonnet and I will take the ride back to the stables at a slow gait. Don’t worry about us. Go mend your fences and let me worry about getting myself and Bluebonnet back home.”
Landon didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t have
all day to argue about it. “I can call Jim or another stable hand and have them ride out here and take you back to the stables if you need me to do that.” Even though he had to admit that the thought of another man, even one as old as Jim, coming to her rescue left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Emma worked hard not to show her surprise at his concern. Probably thinks I’ll sue him or the ranch if I get hurt, she told herself. “Look, Landon, I promise I’m fine. I’m not going to sue you or anything like that. I’m perfectly capable of getting back to the stables on my own. I don’t need a man to come riding to my rescue.” The last was said with a defiant lift of her chin. To prove her point, she swung herself into the saddle and set Bluebonnet off at a trot.
Landon got back on Obsidian and pushed his cowboy hat down low over his eyes. What had she meant by those comments? The thought she might sue had never entered his mind. Did she really think so little of him? Then again he thought to himself, he had never really given her much reason to think anything else. Maybe he should ease up on the teasing because it must make her more uncomfortable than he’d thought.
And what did she have against men in general? If anybody should have issues with the opposite sex, it was Landon James. After his high school sweetheart and fiancée Lucinda Winters had unceremoniously dumped him one month before their wedding, he’d worked really hard to keep women at bay. In the past, he’d had the ranch and Lynn to take care of. They both kept him busy. His sister would become someone else’s responsibility in a few days, however. The thought made Landon want to take stock of his personal life and where it was heading.
He turned Obsidian and headed back to the fence line. He used the time to reconsider his love life or lack thereof. He had been too busy lately to date even casually. Now that Lynn was on the verge of forming a family of her own, he was starting to feel downright lonely. Somehow the empty-headed pieces of fluff he usually surrounded himself with didn’t seem all that appealing anymore. He spotted his ranch hands hard at work and picked up the pace. Soon he was hard at work too, and dating and relationships were the last things on his mind.