Wilde Horses

by Jannine Gallant

  “Exactly.”

  He laughed. “Then you’re going to love Blue Valley. We have a grocery store, an old-fashioned five and dime and a feed store. Oh, there’s also a gas station, a bar and a diner. That pretty much covers the downtown area. The only school holds kindergarten through eighth grade in three rooms. We had to go twenty miles to the next town over for high school.”

  She smiled back. “Sounds perfect to me.”

  “I couldn’t have asked for a better place to grow up, and I didn’t lack for companionship. I had a couple of good buddies, along with Josie, the girl I’d been in love with since second grade, but I wanted more.” He let out a deep sigh and focused on the nearly empty highway as they left the congestion around Boise behind. “After graduation, I went to UCLA to study acting. No one in town understood my choice. My friends were going to the local junior college. Only Josie got me. She was a year younger and had Ivy League aspirations. Too bad she never got to live out her dreams.”

  He flinched when Eden reached over to cover the fist clenched on top of his thigh.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, Blake. Josie sounds like a special person.”

  “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “She got accepted to Brown. Josie was funny and smart and beautiful and full of ambition the summer I came home after my freshman year in college. We talked about how we could make a long-distance relationship work.”

  “Not an easy proposition. I guess life got between you.”

  “Not life. Hers ended that summer.” He breathed hard through his nose. “There was an accident. The man who hit us head on was someone we’d known all our lives. He wound up in the hospital with a crushed pelvis and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. I walked away with a few cuts and bruises and a sprained wrist.”

  “Oh God.”

  He glanced over. Tears brightened Eden’s blue eyes.

  “Josie never woke up from the coma, but machines kept her breathing until a few days ago.”

  “How utterly horrible. For you. For her family. For the man in the other car.”

  “Yeah, it was. Years later, Hank committed suicide. Or at least that’s what was suspected when they found him drowned in the creek behind his house. Officially, the police called it an accident. Josie’s dad took off six months after the car wreck, left his wife and second daughter to deal with the situation alone. Her mom had a fatal heart attack five years ago, and Priscilla’s had the burden of caring for her sister ever since. All I could do was visit when I had free time. After I started making a decent wage in Hollywood, I paid the bills that had piled up over the years.”

  Eden wiped tears off her cheeks. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Me, too.” He stared straight ahead at the highway bisecting the prairie. “I realize this is a blessing, all things considered. Josie’s death wasn’t unexpected since she had a few complications over the last couple of years, but knowing she’s gone still hurts. Maybe not as much as it did when the doctors finally convinced us she’d never wake up, but I feel…numb.”

  “You’re a good man, Blake, to have stood by her all these years. Your entire adult life. Most people would have taken the easier path and walked away.”

  He glanced over before returning his attention to the road and tightened his grip on the wheel. “I haven’t been a martyr. Obviously my life wasn’t ruined, despite the guilt that ate at me. I’ve had relationships with a number of women, but I couldn’t make a commitment.” A harsh breath rushed out. “I don’t know. Maybe now I’ll be able to.”

  “Why would you feel guilty? If the other driver was at fault—”

  “Hank swerved to miss a deer. It was late, and Josie was driving because I’d been drinking at a party.” He pulled his hand out from beneath hers. “If I hadn’t had so many beers…”

  “Survivor’s guilt? You think you should have been the one in a coma instead of her?”

  “It’s what I wished for a long time. I damn well don’t drink anymore, that’s for sure. Haven’t since that night.”

  “Sounds like a horrible, tragic accident. Nothing more. You were acting responsibly and gave up your keys. You made the right decision.” Eden turned in her seat to face him. “If you’d been driving drunk, who knows what might have happened. All three of you might have wound up dead on that road.”

  “Maybe.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m going to lay Josie to rest today, along with all the baggage I’ve been carrying around for years. She wouldn’t want anything but happiness for me.”

  “From what you’ve said about her, I’m sure she wouldn’t.” Eden brought one knee up and wrapped her arms around it. “Goes to show perception is nothing like reality.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I figured you were just another actor living the good life without a care in the world. Your personal struggle doesn’t show in the face you put on for the public, although maybe it makes acting out the emotional scenes in your films easier.”

  “Maybe so. I never really thought about it. I’m just thankful to have kept Josie’s existence out of the media all these years, which is one of the reasons I didn’t spend more time in Blue Valley. The paparazzi would have gotten suspicious, which was the last thing I wanted.”

  They were silent as the sports car ate up the miles through the desolate prairie and crossed out of Idaho into Oregon. When the sun broke through the clouds and blue sky spread before them, Blake retracted the roof.

  Eden turned her face up to the warm rays and smiled. “I love this, but my hair will be a disaster.”

  “Want me to put the top back up?”

  “No, I’ll braid my hair instead.” With swift movements, she wove the shiny mass into a single thick plait then fastened the end with a band she dug from her purse. “Perfect. Let the wind blow.”

  Warmth seeped into him, and it wasn’t all due to the sun burning bright overhead. Eden had an easy genuineness about her that allowed him to relax and enjoy the moment.

  “The air smells wonderful.” Her voice carried over the rush of tires on pavement. “I love the scent of sagebrush.”

  “I do, too. Nothing like the high desert on a beautiful morning.”

  She nodded. “Do you still have family in Blue Valley?”

  “No, my sister and her kids live in Portland, and my parents retired to Northern Arizona. They like it there since they have the same high desert environment but without Oregon’s frigid winters. They aren’t coming for the service. Pris wanted to keep it small. Just a few local friends. She said she couldn’t deal with a big production.”

  “Pris is Josie’s sister?”

  “Yeah. Priscilla Lewis. She’s a couple years younger than Josie is…was. I know she took her death hard. Pris has spent her whole life caring for her sister.”

  “Hopefully she’ll come to terms with her loss and be able to move on soon.” Eden leaned an elbow on the open window. “Priscilla sounds like a woman who deserves some happiness.”

  “Without a doubt. She never had a chance to go to college or learn any skills other than the practical care involved in nursing Josie. I’ll do what I can for her once she decides what she wants to do with her life.”

  Eden’s gaze was sober as she regarded him. “You really are a nice man. I’m sorry I misjudged you.”

  He glanced back at the road. “I didn’t know you had.”

  “Oh, yeah. I was positive you’d be a selfish idiot, expecting all us mere mortals to jump at your every whim.”

  A grin slipped out. “Don’t I wish? Every time I want something that has to do with the film, I’m forced to battle it out with John. As the director, he has the final say unless one of the producers overrides his decision.”

  “So, you aren’t at the top of the pecking order?”

  He snorted. “Not even close.” Flipping on the blinker, he sailed around a slow-moving van. “So, have you given your dad’s suggestion any more thought?”

 
“Huh?” She straightened and glanced over.

  “You know, pretending you’re crazy about me.”

  Her cheeks took on a pink hue. “I feel like a fool just for mentioning it.”

  “Why? I like the idea. We’ll come back from the concert as a newly established couple. If your ranch foreman—what did you say his name is?”

  “Zane.”

  “If Zane gives you any trouble, I’ll make it clear you’re my woman.”

  “Oh, God.” She covered her eyes and let out a sigh. “I don’t know which would be worse, Zane’s unrelenting belief that we’ll eventually get back together, or having everyone I know think I’m your latest fling.”

  “I don’t have flings. Ask anyone who knows me.”

  “That’s my point. No one here does know you. The locals will assume I’ve lost my mind and become just another groupie.”

  He shook his head. “Doubtful.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’re forgetting my exceptional acting skills. If I can’t make everyone we meet believe I’ve fallen madly in love with you, then I might as well pack my bags and leave Hollywood.”

  A giggle escaped before she pressed a hand over her lips. “You have an odd sense of humor, but I guess there’s some truth to that claim. What do you get out of the whole charade?”

  “I get to hang out with you. I like you, Eden. You’re the real deal.” He regarded her for a long moment. “Coming from a world of fake everything from boobs to smiles, I appreciate your candor more than you realize. I don’t need any other reason to help you out of an awkward situation.”

  “Fine, we’ll give it a try. I really would like to settle the situation with Zane, once and for all. It’s gone beyond irritating straight to disturbing.” She turned toward him with a shy smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  When Eden flipped the radio on and hunted for a country station, he was content to let her take control. She certainly wasn’t a chatterbox, apparently only feeling the need to talk when she had something relevant to say. A refreshing change after the mindless social chatter the Hollywood crowd delighted in rehashing at every party. As he drove along with only the music and her presence for company, he found some much needed peace.

  Blake finally interrupted her quiet humming. “Tell me more about your life. I know you have two brothers—both great guys, by the way. They left the ranch, but you didn’t?”

  She broke off mid-chorus of a Keith Urban song and smiled. “I heard you met my two oldest brothers on a raft trip in Utah. Griff and Sawyer are both getting married next month.”

  “Oh, yeah? That’s great. Is Griff marrying the woman he rushed back to California to rescue while we were on the river?”

  She nodded. “Ainslee’s a sweetheart. Sawyer’s marrying her best friend. They met on a different raft trip in Idaho. Devin’s great, too. They’re planning a double wedding at the ranch.”

  “Very cool. I’d like to stick around long enough to congratulate them both.”

  A grin tilted her lips. “If we’re still pretending to be involved, you can be my date for the wedding. Hannah would be thrilled.”

  “Deal.” He glanced over. “Who’s Hannah?”

  “Remember the college roommate I mentioned, the one who’s smarter than me?”

  He nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Hannah’s dating Tripp, the youngest of my three older brothers. They’ll be coming for the wedding, obviously.”

  “I didn’t know you had a third brother.”

  “Tripp’s an extreme skier. He and Hannah live up at Lake Tahoe.” She hunched down in the seat. “It’s a little weird for me, knowing my best friend and my most irritating brother are now a couple, but I’m doing my best to get used to it. Hannah is smoothing out Tripp’s rough edges, and they may be in it for the long haul.” She grimaced. “If they do get married, I’ll be maid of honor. Again. What’s that old saying about always a bridesmaid but never a bride?” She tapped her chest and made a face. “You’re looking at her.”

  He laughed out loud. “I can’t feel too sorry for you. If your only goal was matrimony, all you’d have to do is give that Zane guy a shout.”

  “True. I guess I’m not all that pathetic.” A sigh slipped out. “I turned twenty-seven last month. I may not be an irrevocable old maid quite yet.”

  “I’m thirty-one and unattached. I’ve never felt any pressure to tie the knot.”

  “That’s because you’re a man. Thank God my mom is focused on my brothers right now and won’t expect me to produce grandchildren any time soon.”

  “So, you’re happy being single and working with your wild horses?”

  “Pretty much. I also have an online leather goods business. Belts, purses, wallets, that sort of thing. Orders have picked up lately, so much so that I’m swamped with work, but I enjoy making original, quality products. I know it may seem weird that I still live at home, but my whole life revolves around the ranch.”

  “Not weird at all, considering what you do. You definitely have your act together.” He slowed then turned off the highway onto a two-lane county road. “What do you do with the horses once they’re tamed?”

  “I adopt them out to families.” A smile brightened her eyes. “It’s incredibly rewarding to send my horses to a family I know will care for them. I thoroughly vet all my applicants.”

  “Hmm, you save horses and bring kids joy for years. I might give a couple on a date pleasure for an hour or two. Makes me wonder about what I do for a living.”

  “Millions of couples on dates around the world forget their troubles for those two hours. There’s nothing wrong with entertaining people. You can’t overrate happiness or its power to spur on a positive attitude that lasts long after the date is over.”

  He glanced over. “Wow, you actually make me sound important. I like how you think.”

  “Not exactly the profound stuff of philosophers, but it doesn’t hurt to look for good where you can find it.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Even on a day like today.” He hesitated for a moment then pointed. “We’re almost there. Blue Valley sits at the base of those mountains.” The sadness she’d helped him keep at bay throughout the drive encroached. Without warning, tears pressed behind his eyelids, and he drew in a ragged breath.

  “Pull over.”

  “Huh?” He blinked a few times before glancing her way.

  “Just do it. There’s no traffic.”

  “There never is.” He didn’t question her again but did as she asked and braked to slow the car to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

  She released her seatbelt and held out her arms. “Come closer.”

  He eyed her with uncertainty before unfastening his belt. “What’s going on?”

  “You look like you need a hug. I’m here to provide it.”

  His grief spilled over as he wrapped her in his arms with the center console between them. He couldn’t speak, just held tight to her warmth and vitality for long minutes and let the tears seep out. “Thank you, Eden. I’m so glad you’re here. If you hadn’t come—”

  “You would have managed just fine because you have a strong heart. If I can make things a little easier, I want to.”

  He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head then released her to wipe a hand across his eyes. “I’m thankful. Honestly.”

  Her smile shook a little, and her eyes shone with sympathy. “Better?”

  “Yes. Let’s do this.”

  She nodded.

  Releasing a long breath, he took his foot off the brake and eased back onto the road that led home to Blue Valley.

  Chapter 6

  Eden stood off to the side of the crowd gathered in the cemetery behind a small white church. She’d intended to take a walk during the service but was drawn back by the words of the preacher, ringing in the still afternoon air. He spoke of Josie as everyone in the town had known her, a young gir
l full of dreams for the future. A future that had ended on an unfortunate night twelve years before.

  “The Lord has finally welcomed Josie home.” The preacher’s voice rose, and his long, white beard waggled. “We can all rest easier tonight knowing she’s in a better place.”

  Fine lines bracketed Blake’s lips as he stood beside a blond woman who wore a simple black dress. She had on no makeup, and an unhealthy pallor tinged her skin. On her other side, an older man, thin to the point of gauntness, swayed now and then as if he were no match for the light breeze. His hands shook as he clenched and unclenched his fingers at his sides. When the woman Eden assumed was Josie’s sister glanced his way, hazel eyes darkened with an emotion that looked a lot like anger.

  Was the scrawny man the prodigal father come home to bury his daughter? If so, he didn’t appear to have been welcomed by the one who still remained.

  “Would anyone like to say a few final words?”

  Eden’s attention jerked back to the preacher as he eyed the mourners.

  Priscilla shook her head. “I just can’t.” Her voice broke. “Blake?”

  He nodded and stepped up beside the man clutching a Bible to the front of his faded suit. Blake had changed out of the jeans and T-shirt he’d worn on the drive, into a pair of black pants and a pewter-gray jacket. The overhead sun highlighted his pale blond hair and the stark angle of his jaw. He was so handsome it almost hurt to look at him. Eden pushed her hands into the pockets of her slacks and let out a breath.

  “Josie was pure goodness—a generous, sweet, thoughtful girl. I don’t know a single person who ever had a bad word to say about her, and I feel honored to have been her friend for most of her life.”

  His rueful smile tugged at Eden’s heart and nearly brought her to tears. She wasn’t sure how he kept his composure, but there was no hint of the emotion he’d displayed earlier in the car.

  “I fell in love with Josie when she was six and I was seven, and she’ll always hold a special place in my heart. During the years we spent together, she made me a better person, and she continues to do so every day. When I’m frustrated or angry, I’ll ask myself how Josie would handle the situation. The answer is always with grace and courage. I try to live up to her example.” He stopped speaking to glance over the gathering. “Josie isn’t gone. The best part of her lives on in all of us.”