by Jeannie Watt
Okay, he hadn’t expected a list, but apparently Tim had had some time to think while driving in circles around the field.
He sucked in a breath. “All right. What needs to be done first?”
“Gravel, then posts, then planks and if Liv hasn’t kicked you off the property or you’re not sick of paying your debt, you can tackle the sheds.”
“You think she will? Try to kick me off the property?”
“I think it’s a good possibility.”
“Then why are you letting me help?”
“I got no beef with you.” Tim pushed back the Zimmatic emblazoned ball cap he wore. “But if she kicks you off the property, then you should probably go.”
“As in gives me a direct order as opposed to just hinting she doesn’t want me around?”
“Yeah. Direct order.”
* * *
WHEN LIV GOT BACK from work on Friday, the driveway was freshly graveled.
“Hey,” she said to her father as she came into the house. “Did Walter finally get his dump truck fixed? The driveway is nice.”
“Matt did it. Borrowed the truck off his dad’s ranch.”
Liv sat down on the arm of the sofa. “Dad, why are you letting Matt help around the place?”
“I think I answered that already.”
She let out a sigh. “Fine.” As long as she wasn’t here when he was, she didn’t care. It was a help to her father—although it irked her that he’d let Matt do stuff he wouldn’t let her do. “But if he’s just looking for a time to steal Beckett, I’ll never forgive you.”
Tim snorted. “I think he’d have done it by now.”
“He still wants him,” Liv said.
“So he’s said.”
“He has?” Liv’s stomach instantly knotted.
“Yeah.”
“He has other horses.” One of them injured, but hey, he shouldn’t be roping anyway.
“Some horses are special.”
“You don’t even like horses.”
“But I once knew a woman that did.”
Liv felt her mouth start to fall open, but caught it before any uncensored questions popped out and caused her father to clam up. “Beckett is one of the special ones,” she agreed. “I’d hate to lose him.”
The thought made her feel a little sick inside.
Which might well be what Matt had felt upon losing the horse himself.
Liv didn’t want to think about it. Instead, she went to her room to get ready for practice. She brushed Beckett before saddling him and loading him in the trailer.
Once upon a time Tim had known a woman who’d loved horses.
Was that woman Margo Beloit?
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING—Saturday—Liv slept in and once again she found Matt’s truck parked under the elm when she walked out onto the porch with her coffee.
She was simply going to have to stop sleeping in. It was too unnerving having him on the place. Where was he this morning?
A clatter near the shed answered her question and a second later she heard the distinct sound of an aluminum ladder being put into place, followed by scraping.
Painting? Really? She could paint.
Both Tim and Matt were beginning to piss her off.
She walked around the shed to where Matt was halfway up the ladder.
“How long are you going to be doing this?” He opened his mouth and she added, “And don’t give me a time estimate on the shed. How long are you going to keep coming here to ‘help’ my father?”
“A couple more days.” He was wearing a ball cap and with the sun behind him, she couldn’t see his face. But she thought he might be smiling. “Why does it bother you so much that I’m here?”
“Because Tim never lets anyone help him and it unnerves me that he’s letting you,” she said in a low voice, since she didn’t know where her father was. The tractor wasn’t running, so he could be anywhere. “Finish whatever it is you’re here to do and then leave. Just...don’t play games.”
“I’m not here to play games, Liv.” He started down the ladder and Liv had to force herself to hold her position until he got to the ground. “I’m here to pay a debt.”
“Screw the debt!” Liv sucked in a breath through her teeth and once again did a surreptitious check for Tim. “I don’t trust you,” she said.
“No!”
“I’m not sure what your agenda is, but know this...I’m not giving up my horse.”
“I’m not here for your horse, even if I want him back. There. How’s that for honesty. I admitted that I’d like to have the horse. But I probably won’t get him.”
“Probably,” Liv said, jabbing a finger at him. “You said probably. That means you’re going to try.”
One corner of his mouth tilted up. “Maybe it means that you’ll someday see the light and sell him back.”
“Ha. Fat chance.”
“A guy can always hope.”
“Don’t waste your energy,” she snapped.
“This isn’t about the horse, Liv. Tim needs the help. I have a few hours I can give him in the morning before I practice. Maybe he’s more comfortable with me helping him than with making his daughter do manual labor. Has that ever occurred to you?”
“I happen to like manual labor.”
“But does Tim like having you do it?”
No, he did not. Which was an outdated notion, but one he’d never successfully shaken.
“Liv, I’m not here to make you miserable.”
“Well, you are.”
“Sorry.”
“Ha,” she said again before turning and stalking toward the house.
* * *
“ARE YOU STILL working here?” Tim asked as he sauntered around the corner of the barn. Together they watched Liv march off toward the house, sloshing coffee out of her cup as she went.
“She didn’t give a direct order to leave,” Matt said. “Just wanted to know how much longer I was going to be here.”
“And you told her...?”
“A couple more days.”
“Then your debt will be paid?”
“In a way.”
Tim was silent for a moment. He reached out with the toe of his ancient boot to nudge a dirt clod. Then he cocked his head as he looked up at Matt. “Why don’t you just ask her to dinner or something?”
Matt wasn’t going to hedge. If the old man had figured out part of his motive—to get a bead on Liv—then so be it. “Don’t think she’d go with me.”
Tim once again fixed his attention on the clod. “Probably not.” And that was that. Tim was not going to elaborate on why she probably wouldn’t go out with Matt and Matt wasn’t going to ask questions. Nope. Better to leave things as they were.
“Well, if you could tighten up those gate posts before your debt is paid, I’d appreciate it.”
Matt grinned. “You got it. And, Tim? If you ever need help again, give me a call.”
“If you’re here.”
Matt snorted. “Actually, I hope I’m not.” He hoped he was back on the road pursuing his title. “If I am, though, I’d be glad to lend a hand.”
Matt spent a good two hours on the sheds, prepping them for painting. He figured tomorrow he’d get that job done, the next day he’d reset the three gate posts and then his time here was through. Debt paid.
And no more excuses for running into Liv.
* * *
CRAIG HAD DINNER—two fr
ozen entrées—in the oven when Matt got home from roping practice with Jed. Clancy had not done well and Jed’s wife, who’d run the chute for them, still hadn’t had her baby. Everyone was antsy, so it wasn’t the best practice ever, but it was practice. Matt’s swollen knee was proof.
“You’re late,” Craig said before Matt got in the door. “Off seeing that lady friend of yours again?”
“I have no lady friend and no. I was roping. Like I told you.” Matt pulled his hat off and hung it, now well trained in the put-your-stuff-away department.
“Right. No lady friend. Then why do you keep hanging around her ranch?”
“I’m not— Never mind.”
“I talked to my mom,” Craig said, unfazed, “and she thinks she knows of a horse you can lease up in Belgrade.”
“Great.” Clancy was coming along, but Matt needed something more reliable during the weeks while Ready healed. “By the way,” Matt said as he washed his hands at the kitchen sink, “did she say how the job is going?” Translation: Will you be starting school here? Not that Matt minded having the kid around. As time passed he discovered that he appreciated not being alone all the time.
“The job’s going good.” He swung the monitor around. “Here’s the horse email.”
Matt leaned over and quickly scanned the message. Yes, she was doing well—or at least that was what she was telling her son—and planned to come and see him on her first free day.
“She hasn’t had a day off?”
“She’s been volunteering to work extra days. There are only a couple of full-time positions and she wants one.”
“I understand. And next time you write, tell her you can stay as long as you want.”
“Really?”
“What can I say?” Matt asked, straightening up again. “You’re good company.” And his cleaning lady would be quite happy if Craig stayed on for a while. He could probably tell her to stop coming, since all she did was to vacuum the already clean carpet and wash down the already clean kitchen. But once Craig left, he was going to need her, so he let her enjoy her easy days and paid her full price.
Matt jotted down the number of the horse owner—a guy whose name he recognized—then went outside to call while he checked Ready’s bandage.
“Yeah, hi,” he said when the man answered the phone. “This is Matt Montoya from Dillon and I’m looking for a rope horse to lease. I heard that you might have something available.”
“Matt Montoya?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile in his voice. There were some perks to being known.
“Um. Well, unfortunately, the horse is no longer available for lease.”
“You’ve already placed him?”
“No.”
“Then...” Suddenly Matt knew why the horse was no longer available, and why the guy was speaking in such a clipped, no-nonsense tone. The story about Beckett. How far had it spread?
I have people who will vouch for me....
But Matt wasn’t going to beg. “Thanks,” he said before abruptly ending the call.
“Already gone, eh?” Craig asked.
“Yeah.” Matt set down the phone.
“I’ll have Mom keep an eye out.”
“Thanks,” Matt said just as the timer went off. Craig jumped up from the computer and put on two oven mitts before taking the aluminum trays out of the oven.
“Go wash up,” he directed. “I’ll set the table.”
“Thanks.” Matt walked down the hall to the bathroom, closed the door and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. He had dirt on his face from the arena. Automatically, he reached for a washcloth, dampened it and rubbed it over his face.
He was irked, but wasn’t able to bring himself to fully blame Liv anymore. Trena had done this to him, to make him pay for crimes he may or may not have committed.
No. He’d committed some crimes. He’d left her alone for too long. He could tell himself all he wanted that she’d agreed to the deal, but when she found she hated the road, he hadn’t tried to make any concessions. Her revenge seemed over the top, but maybe that was just how bitter he’d made her. He’d probably never know because they’d probably never cross paths again.
So what now?
He didn’t want to sink thirty thousand dollars, at the minimum, into a new horse, but he needed something that would put him in the money until Ready was, well, ready.
All he could do was put the word out that he needed a horse temporarily—at least until the Bitterroot Challenge was over. The problem was that most of the guys he knew who owned horses of the caliber he was looking for were using those horses and were also his strongest competition.
Maybe he could ask Liv to borrow Beckett. Not to take him back permanently. Just to borrow him. Or lease him.
Would she agree?
Maybe he shouldn’t have been pushing things with her the way he’d been recently. It didn’t strengthen his position, but he hadn’t realized just what kind of position he was going to be in.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SINCE MATT HAD STARTED working around the place, Tim had become distant in a way that Liv couldn’t quite define, but still felt. He was preoccupied rather than defensive. As if he were thinking deep thoughts, coming to important decisions.
Did it have to do with his health? With other issues? What other issues could he have?
The crazy thing was that he’d also become more open in some ways. He occasionally asked her questions about work and the people she saw there, about drill practice and her teammates. He didn’t ask specific questions, but instead set the stage and then let her rattle on, encouraging her with a nod or a word or two. Strange for a guy who’d never been much of a conversationalist. Not that he was conversing, but he was listening and not retreating behind a book or newspaper. It was odd, almost as if he were trying to get some quality fathering in at the last minute—a thought that totally froze her up. Tonight, however, would not be one of the new chitchat-at-dinner nights.
“I have an unscheduled practice this evening,” Liv said when she came in the door after work. “A dress rehearsal. If it’s okay with you, maybe we could just reheat the rest of the spaghetti from yesterday?”
“Fine,” Tim called as Liv headed past him to her bedroom. “But why do you need a dress rehearsal? It’s going to rain tomorrow. Surely they’ll cancel the performance.”
Liv shook her head. “From what I hear, the show goes on even if the arena is a giant bog.”
Tim lowered his book to his lap. “Should be interesting.”
Liv sincerely hoped that the performance didn’t go beyond interesting. “Will you be coming to see us?” she asked. “I’m sure you’ll run into some of your buddies there.” And she really wanted Tim to spend some time with other people instead of keeping himself holed up on the ranch.
“I don’t think so. Not this time anyway.”
Liv felt a pang of disappointment, but she smiled. “I guess I can understand wanting to stay home warm and dry.”
* * *
IT DIDN’T TAKE long for Liv to understand the need for a dress rehearsal. It took time to deck out the horses. The manes and tails were braided in a certain way that Gretchen demonstrated to the newer folk, and Linda wanted to make certain all the equipment was on right.
After the equipment check, they went through the drill once slowly, mimicking the speed they’d have to travel in a muddy arena if it did indeed rain the next day.
/> “Now, ladies,” Linda bellowed after the run through, “do it that way tomorrow.”
“Shall we do it again?” Ronnie called.
“Good heavens, no.” Linda looked horrified. “We don’t want to risk jinxing ourselves.” Linda smiled tightly, then dismissed the team.
Once at her trailer, Liv removed Beckett’s bridle, put on his halter and tied him before heading off to use the facilities before the drive home. A few minutes later Susie breezed by her, going into the restroom as Liv came out.
“You have a visitor at your trailer,” she said brightly. “Matt Montoya.”
Liv’s first instinct was to race back to reclaim her horse, but instead she walked. Rapidly. She slowed her pace as she rounded Margo’s trailer, which had up until that point blocked her view. Sure enough, Matt was standing next to her trailer, rubbing Beckett’s ears and talking low as the big sorrel leaned into him. She instantly sensed a familiarity between man and horse, a bond, and she didn’t like it one bit.
“What are you doing?” She spoke calmly, considering the fact that she wanted to order Matt away from Beckett.
Matt simply smiled at her. That crooked, make-the-knees-go-weak smile he used so well. Well, it wasn’t going to work. “I’m early for the roping.”
Liv put a hand on Beckett’s neck without conscious thought. It was only when she felt his solid muscles beneath her palm that she realized she was in essence claiming him.
Matt, taking the hint, stepped away from the horse and then gave Liv an exaggerated once-over, taking in the red silk shirt with the long white fringe, shimmering jeans, giant sparkly belt buckle. He smiled slightly but didn’t make a comment. She was glad she wasn’t wearing the hat with the tiara—only because she’d forgotten the tiara in the truck, much to Linda’s displeasure.
“So the big day is tomorrow.”
“Yes. And I’m nervous, which probably seems stupid to someone like you who’s spent so much time in front of crowds.” There. She was making conversation. She was in control.