by Dakota Star
“Can we talk?” she asked when Mitch strolled in and grabbed a cold bottle of water out of the fridge. Sweat dripped from his face, and his clothes were covered with dirt and horse manure. He was still the sexiest man she’d ever seen.
“What’s up?” He dropped himself into one of the kitchen chairs.
“This is going to sound insane, but I think someone is trying to make me look bad. I’ve seen it happen all the time in the city, but wasn’t really expecting it here.”
He angled his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
She sat down next to him at the table. “You know how I keep messing up.”
“I told you, it just takes time.” His hand covered hers.
She pulled away. “But then there was the accident in the woods. I swear I’m doing things the right way and yet they still end up wrong. I didn’t leave the gate unlocked for the horses to escape.”
“I never said you did.”
“But I know you think that. Don’t deny it.”
Mitch remained quiet, so Alexis continued.
“Janine’s the one who always finds my mistakes and always tells someone like you about them. Maybe she or one of the other wranglers wants me to look bad.” Alexis stared at the table, searching for the right words before she continued.
“Janine is the sweetest thing around.” Mitch’s lips were set as stiff as a long dash. He wasn’t buying it. “I can’t imagine she’d ever do such a thing. I’ve worked with all the wranglers for a while, and they’re good people.”
“Maybe.” She pressed the issue. “Maybe not. People can change when they want or need something.” She touched her ear. A few stitches at the ER and she was as good as new, at least on the outside. “Can you at least talk to them about it? See what they have to say?”
“Absolutely.” He put his hat on the kitchen table. “Anything for you.”
“Thank you.” She stood and walked into the bedroom to finish packing.
He slipped away from the kitchen table as well. “I need to shower. Can I interest you in joining me?”
“I have to get going.” She peered between him and her suitcase.
“I’ll wash you off quickly if you’re concerned about time.”
She laughed and relented. “Take all the time you want.”
He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the bathroom.
***
Although Mitch had talked with the wranglers, weeks had passed and nothing had changed for Alexis. After returning from work one evening, Alexis and Mitch enjoyed a few beers on the deck.
Alexis looked into the fading sun, glorious pinks and oranges streaking the sky, and could only think about how exhausted she was trying to be competent. She couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t want to.
Alexis grabbed his hand and rambled, her third beer loosening her tongue. She attempted to say everything at once. “I’m not sure where I belong anymore. I don’t feel at home in the city. I’ve subleased my condo so it’s not like I can go back there anytime soon, but I feel jinxed out here in the country.”
“Jinxed? What are you talking about?” His eyes were intent. A look of hurt crossed his face. “Alexis, what’s going on?”
“The country gods hate me! During my first visit there was a crazy storm, then the car accident, and now this. And that doesn’t include all the little stuff with the horses and computers that you tell me will get better with time.”
“Maybe you’ve been having a little bad luck, but it brought us together. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. And we’ll get married soon, pop out a few kids…”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Envisioning myself as a housewife?”
“No one said you had to be a housewife.” Mitch threw up his hands. “I thought you’d like the idea of kids.”
Alexis slumped in her chair. “I don’t know what to do.”
“It will get better.”
She looked at the beautiful two-carat stone in her ring. “I’m not even sure I can keep this.”
“What?” He ran a hand through his hair, his movement jerky from disbelief.
“I can’t live this way, always feeling incompetent and unsure of myself.”
“What can I do?”
“Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“I’ve said it before. Someone is trying to make my life hell here.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s all beginning to make sense. I think I know who it is too.”
“No one caused the thunderstorm, and no one made that idiot driver crash into you.”
“True, but there have been other times, when I’ve messed up the feed or when a girth came undone, that I wondered. I know I locked the horse’s gate and I know there were footsteps in front of me in the woods before I fell down that stupid cliff.”
“Accident.”
Alexis shook her head. She knew better. “Help me find out if anything is going on. It’s the only way I’ll feel comfortable staying.”
“I can’t believe any of my staff would try to hurt you, but I’ll do whatever you think is necessary. I never want to lose you.”
“Then here’s the plan.” Alexis filled Mitch in on who to watch closely.
A week flew by. Alexis and Mitch were enjoying a late lunch in the bar. A few vacationers had started drinking early, but for the most part it was empty and quiet, until Janine found them.
The wrangler sauntered close, dusting strands of hay from her shirt. She didn’t ask if they wanted her to join them, but she tugged out an empty chair at the table and sat. Her blonde hair had been thrown into a messy bun at the top of her head. Freckles littered her nose and cheeks and dotted her arms, which were exposed in the skimpy spaghetti strap tank top she wore. The same tank top revealed a horse tattoo that traveled from the top of her neck to her shoulder and arm.
“It’s been a long day already,” Janine said.
“I’m sure it has. You have a lot of children out on the rides this weekend,” Mitch said. “Anything I can do to help?”
The woman didn’t say anything for a moment. “There is, but I think we should talk in private.” Her eyes darted between the two of them.
“Anything you need to say, you can say in front of Alexis,” he countered.
“I’d rather speak in private.” Janine stiffened in her chair.
“Then we’ll have to do it later.” He held up two french fries. “I’m in the middle of lunch.”
“Fine,” she huffed. “I didn’t want to do it this way, but you’re going to make me. I can’t work with Alexis anymore. She messes everything up down at the barn.”
“What?” Alexis eyed her enemy. The other woman’s expression was smug. But Alexis already knew this woman was responsible for everything that had gone wrong. “You did this to me, didn’t you?” She pointed a finger at her face.
“What are you talking about?” Janine’s eyes were wide with feigned innocence.
“You’ve made me appear incompetent,” Alexis said.
“How could I do that?” The blonde wrangler smirked. “You do it well enough on your own.”
She thought about the last few weeks and the security camera footage Mitch and she had been watching. “You’re there nearly every day when I feed and tack. It would be pretty easy for you to change around the grain or loosen the horse’s girth.” She played dumb to see what the other woman would say. “I knew someone was doing it.”
Janine gasped. “I would never.”
Mitch appraised both women. “Alexis said things haven’t been going well, but I put it down to her learning about the farm. I know otherwise now.”
“Are you accusing me of lying?” She pretended to be hurt by the implication.
“Are you?” His voice filled with annoyance. “We need to talk. Alexis, stay here.”
He dragged the wrangler away before she could say anything. Alexis didn’t want to stay and find out what Mitch planned t
o do.
She exited the bar and headed inside the bathroom. Alexis stood washing her hands when the door slammed open. Spinning around, she was not at all surprised to find Janine standing there.
“You bitch,” the wrangler spat. “You got me fired.”
“You did this to yourself.” She contemplated making a run for it, but would never make it past the woman blocking the exit. “We saw you mix the horse’s feed up and unclip a stirrup on the security footage. How could you? Someone could have been seriously injured.”
“Don’t think you two are going to end up staying together. You two are different. He’s got this life in his soul. You’re never going to get him to live in the city. You should just go back there and leave us alone.”
“I don’t want him to live in the city. I don’t want to live in the city anymore.” Alexis couldn’t believe those words were coming from her, but she knew in her heart they were true. “Everything I need is right here.”
The woman’s argument died in her throat. “That can’t be true.”
“Please leave,” Alexis said. “Don’t make this any worse than it already is.”
The wrangler considered her options for a long moment.
Alexis hoped Janine wasn’t really considering a beatdown. She might be from New York City, but she was no street fighter. Alexis would go down hard and fast at the first punch.
“I’m done with you and this stupid ranch. I hope it goes bankrupt after all.” Janine grabbed the door, yanking it shut with a slam as she left.
Alexis hands shook for a moment and then she noticed Mitch’s ring. The next ride she was scheduled for started at three, and she couldn’t wait to be on it.
***
“What do you want to do?” he asked her as they snuggled in the hammock strung between two large oak trees in the backyard three weeks later. He tugged at her flaming red hair.
Since Janine’s departure, everything had been going so right. Her life had become a romance novel. She paused in thought. “I’m not sure. I’ve always been so work-driven. My life has been an afterthought.”
“Do you like it here?” His hand found hers.
“I love being with you. Adjusting to life in the country wasn’t easy, but I can’t imagine going back to the city now. I know I belong here, I’m just not sure of my role.”
Mitch’s other arm, roped tightly around her, felt like a hug, and she snuggled into it.
“But do you like the work you do on the ranch enough to want to stay, possibly forever?”
“I’ve enjoyed helping you and your dad with the marketing and the barn. But will there be more for me to do? I guess I’m asking if you and your dad see a long-term job for me.”
“Ranch life isn’t about one thing. It’s about doing whatever needs to get done. Yes, you can help us rebrand…that the right word?” He waited until she affirmed it was. “You can help us rebrand the ranch, but if cattle go missing or it’s the holidays and decorations need to go up, or the veterinarian needs to be called, you’ll have to be part of that too.”
She placed her hand on his chest. “It does make for an interesting day.”
“Then you don’t mind committing to the ranch along with me? Even if it means crazy hours and even crazier patrons?”
“I’ve already said yes to you and your ring. I knew that included everything on the ranch too. You are the heart and soul of this place.”
He beamed at her. “Forever?”
“If you’re here. Definitely, yes.”
“Did I ever tell you how much I love your hair?” Mitch twirled another strand between his fingers.
She wriggled on top of him and kissed him. “Did you know only two percent of the world are natural gingers. And I’m rocking it.”
“Yes, you are.”
His hands locked her in place on his stomach as the hammock swayed in the summer breeze. Then his kiss took her away to much sweeter places.
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About the Author
Dakota Star lives in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters. Both her daughters have finished college and moved away so her dogs, cats, and retired horse now keep her busy. When not outside hiking or horseback riding, she loves to read and travel.
She has worked as an editor, a freelance writer for local newspapers, and an educator at local environmental non-profits like aquariums and The National Audubon Society.
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