Carissa reached her hand out tentatively and rubbed her velvety nose. “Sorry, I’m late. I was lazy this morning. You understand, don’t you?” Sterling nuzzled her hand, pushing on her slightly.
“You know what she wants. Something sweet. Look in the jar over there.”
“Thanks, Trey. Good morning, by the way.”
“Good morning, Carissa. Are you working with me today?”
“I’d like to, if I may. What are you doing exactly?”
He smiled at her over the horse’s sleek back. “I’m going to ride the perimeter and look at some fences.”
“Are we repairing them?”
“No, we’ll leave that to Coleman. We’re just calling them in.”
“Okay, I’m game. Does that mean Sterling gets to go for a ride this morning?”
“We’ll take the horses this morning to check the fences on the east but this afternoon we’ll have to take the quads. It’s quite a ride to the back of the pasture though. You up for it?”
Carissa nodded eagerly.
“Good. Take Sterling out and put her blanket on her.”
Sterling didn’t give her a hard time. She came out of her stall peacefully even though Carissa’s hands shook and her heart pounded. Sterling was a nice animal but she was still a horse. A big horse that could stomp her to death if she wanted to. Carissa felt Trey’s dark brown eyes watching her but he didn’t offer to help. She was glad for that.
“Now, stay,” she whispered to Sterling who acted as if she didn’t hear her and stood looking bored. Carissa grabbed the heavy blanket and tossed it on the horse’s back. Sterling shuffled her feet at the awkward toss and Carissa froze. “Okay, give me a break girl.” With some work, she got the blanket on straight without any comments from Trey. Next, she reached for the saddle and lifted it up off the stall rail. Hmm … he must have known I was coming. Well, I am not going to ask him for help.
Carissa stood next to the horse struggling with the saddle. Oh wait, I need to stand on something, she thought to herself. She set the saddle on the nearby fence rail and went to fetch a nearby stool. Now if the horse cooperates, this will work. Stepping on the stool, Carissa stood next to Sterling and slung the saddle perfectly into place. It took all she had not to jump and down and clap her hands.
Play it cool, girl. Trey Montgomery is watching you.
Suddenly, he was there smiling at her. “Good job. Now get those straps secured and let’s walk ’em out.”
Carissa tried not to grin like a possum but it was hard not to glow with the compliment. Five minutes later, they were riding down the trail, past the trailhead that led to Painted Rock. According to Trey, only a small portion of the property was used for pasture but escaped cattle was a common occurrence—even poaching. “Really? I never thought about that. People steal cows?”
“Sure, they do. All the time. The fewer gaps, the less loss.” They chatted a bit back and forth, stopping every couple of hundred feet to examine fence lines. One was obviously broken; the wire had been cut, it looked like.
Trey slid the walkie-talkie off his belt and clicked the button. “Melody, this is Trey. Over.”
“Go ahead, Trey. Over.”
“Jot it down. We’ve got wire cut on Primrose Ridge. Over.”
“Should I send Coleman out? Over.”
“No, not yet. Let me ride the rest of this. He might have more than one section that needs attention. Over.”
“Okay, handsome. What about me? Over.”
“We’re riding up the rest of the ridge. I’ll report if we find anything else. Over.”
Melody didn’t answer and Trey slid the walkie-talkie back on his belt, shaking his head. Carissa rolled her eyes and rode Sterling back to the trail. That girl had some nerve! It was such a lovely place; it was easy to get distracted by all the woodland scenery.
They rode on for fifteen minutes and Trey turned in his saddle to look at Carissa. “I was thinking, since you plan to spend so much time up here, you should probably get your own saddle. Not that Nancy minds that you use hers but there’s nothing like owning your own. I know a guy in Collinswood that will make you a beautiful one.”
“Maybe I should do that. I’d hate for Nancy to miss her saddle.”
“I don’t think she’s going to be riding for a while. She barely did before Uncle Robert got sick.”
It was still early in the day, but the sun was already heating up. The air felt sticky and even the yellow butterflies that pranced around them seemed sluggish.
Carissa swatted at a fly and asked, “Was your father like your Uncle Robert? You know, the tall, quiet type? You said you all had a ranch?”
Trey stopped his horse and leaned against the horn of his saddle. “Yes, they were a lot alike—they were twins too.”
“That’s pretty neat. Twins run in your family?”
“I’m not sure but they sure were. It broke his heart when Pop died.”
A shadow crossed over them and Carissa shivered. “It’s hard when you lose someone close to you, but he’s got you and your aunt. I like her. She’s got spunk.”
He laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.” They spent a pleasant morning riding Primrose Ridge, but by the time they rode back to the ranch, it was threatening to rain.
“Well, that explains why it was so sticky,” she mused as she watched the rain showers moving across the golden plain.
“Let’s go eat some lunch, weather girl, and we’ll talk about plan B.”
“Do we have a plan B?”
“Pretty lady, I always have a plan B.”
Carissa didn’t know how to respond to that. She led Sterling to a teen hand and slipped away to freshen up before lunch. She’d just entered her cabin when she heard her cell phone ringing on the counter. It was Clare.
“Hey, boss lady!”
“Hey, cowgirl! How is it going on the Easy R?”
“Wonderful! I went for a ride this morning. I’m getting the hang of it and I’ve decided on the two families I’ll be taking out first. I sent you the info late last night. Did you get it?”
“I did. Looks perfect to me. Is there anything we need to do?”
“No, the Montgomerys have been very hospitable and they seem as excited as we are about all this.”
“That’s good to hear.” Carissa detected hesitancy in Clare’s voice but she wasn’t sure what was happening. “Is there something going on?”
“I’m not sure. I ran into Devon. Actually, he came by the office this morning.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I take it you two are no longer an item?”
“No, we’re not.”
Clare sniggered in the phone. “I told him not to go down there.”
“You knew he was coming?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised you two lasted as long as you did.”
“I hope this doesn’t affect Audrey House in any kind of way. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. You two might have busted up but Devon’s been a total professional about it. I signed a half-dozen grant applications today, and I think he’s still on board. Even if he wasn’t, we’d still survive. We have each other, right?”
“Right!” Carissa breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that Devon wasn’t behaving like a jerk—at least not to Clare. He liked her, of that she was sure. She rubbed dampness away from her eye. “Well, I better go. I smell like horse and I have to go to the dining room if I want some grub. I missed breakfast this morning.”
“Grub? You are getting into this aren’t you?”
“I am. Thanks for sending me, Clare.”
“You’re welcome. Make us proud!”
“I’m doing my best.” No need to tell Clare she’d been thrown from her horse and snake bit. Let her think everything was perfect. She hung up the phone feeling good about her decision to stay at the ranch. Yep, this was a good idea.
Chapter Twenty
After dinner, Carissa t
old Trey she needed an early night to get some much-neglected work done. Back in her bunker, she flipped open her laptop, answered a few emails, sent a few, and then closed the computer off for the night. She decided to leave the radio on tonight. It was peaceful and quiet out—the total opposite of what she was used to. Dallas was anything but peaceful and quiet. At her apartment you could hear the sounds of constant traffic, the occasional siren, and a host of various other noises. She’d never thought she would missed those but in a way she did. And Rudy. How sad to miss your parrot, but she did. Even his midnight screams and constant string of words.
She stepped out on her porch for some fresh air and smelled the fragrance of a cigarette burning. She turned to see Melody on the porch of the dining hall. Her tennis shoes were kicked up on the wooden porch rail and she was leaning back in a chair. The cigarette tip glowed red as she puffed on it and stared at Carissa in the fading moonlight. The two didn’t speak. What was there to say? The two women would never be buddies; that much was clear. She’d slapped Carissa in the face in front of God and everyone. No, she had no desire to be pals.
She slung back the quilt on the bed. It was a warm night; she only needed a sheet tonight. She listened to the music play and felt sleepy, her mind drifting back to the kiss she’d shared with Trey earlier. Were they moving too fast? Maybe, but she believed the cowboy was a man of honor. Of course, he was a red-blooded, American man with wants and desires, but so far, he had been a gentleman. Unlike Devon who pressured her for sex from the first date on. Wait … had she and Trey actually been on a date yet? Well, sort of, if you count their trip to Firehouse Burgers. Oh well, it was what it was, and she didn’t mind moving slow. Eventually she dozed off to sleep.
Carissa rose before the sun, got out of bed, and stretched. She missed her trips to the gym but she did some stretching exercises to limber up. There was no doubt she’d get plenty of cardio in today. She’d heard something about moving hay.
She reached for another pair of jeans and a T-shirt and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she went out to her porch feeling good that she was up before the roosters. She laughed at herself; the place was hopping already. “Ma’am,” a hand said to her with a tip of his hat as he passed by her cabin.
“Good morning,” she called to him. She followed the guys into the dining hall and sat down at one of the tables waiting for the food to come out. Trey was there; he smiled secretively when he saw her. Carissa noticed that he held Uncle Robert’s clipboard.
“Since we’re all here this morning, I want to share some news with you. Robert has to have surgery today. As a matter of fact, he’s already at the hospital.” The guys appeared shocked at the news; some asked questions. “No, he’s going to be fine. He’s had some heart problems and the procedure they are having today will clear that up. He asks that you don’t come to the hospital and he says specifically that if he sees your faces you will all be fired.” The guys laughed and made some funny comments before Trey continued. “Seriously, you know my uncle. He doesn’t want to make a big deal out of this so please guys, let’s respect his wishes. In the meantime, we’ve got two drives to do—” The meeting was interrupted by a sheepish-looking Chase who bounded in, removed his hat, and sat at the table without looking at his brother. A few people welcomed him; some of the others stared at him, including Coleman. Carissa could feel an uneasy vibe between the two younger men.
“As I was saying, we’ve got two drives, we’ll be moving seventy-five up Acorn, and Uncle Robert wants to put the other three hundred up at Millsville. That’s a four-day drive with that many head, but the pasture is better. At my uncle’s request, Chase will be taking the smaller herd to the Acorn. I want Pete, Ames, Thomas, and Phil to ride with him. For the Millsville trip, it’s Drew, Edgar, Coleman, Roger Dee, and I need two more. Who wants to ride?”
The roster filled up quickly with a few guys raising their hands. “Okay, that’s all we need for Millsville. Today everybody eat up because we’re going to be tossing hay, except Drew and Edgar. I want you guys to finish up the branding and tagging. Chase?”
“Yeah?”
“I’d like you to help Ames replace the spigots on the watering tanks. They’re old and don’t stay off half the time. We’re wasting too much water.”
Chase didn’t answer but he nodded his head. About that time, food began to arrive from the kitchen. Baskets of biscuits and pans of eggs and bacon were set on the table. One thing Carissa could say about ranch living—you sure did eat good. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen Melody all morning and that made her happy.
Carissa only had six more days here. She planned to stay in the saddle as much as she could so when her families arrived this weekend, she’d feel confident enough teaching them some lessons before riding the Painted Rock trail.
As always the food was delicious and she left the hall feeling stuffed. Trey had to answer a dozen questions so Carissa hung back until he was ready to talk to her. “I’m sorry you have to fool with me when you’ve got so much to do already. It hardly seems fair.”
“Aw, it’s no big deal. I think the hard part is over though. You’ve conquered your fears and Sterling loves you.”
Her bright green eyes flew up. “You knew?”
“That you were afraid of horses? Yeah, I knew.”
“How?”
“I just did but you’ve done good. I know I’m just a friend but I’m proud of you and I’m happy to help you.”
“I recall that’s not what you said in the beginning.” She nudged him with her elbow.
“Yeah, but that was before I kissed you,” he laughed, his voice deep and husky. “Let’s go move some hay.”
“Will we need pitchforks?”
“No, today, we’ll be using forklifts.”
“Now that’s cool.”
The hay bales were massive and moving them with a tractor seemed smart. The cattle had chewed up the pasture so the ranchers depended on the hay to keep them fed until they could move them to the two locations on other parts of the property. They didn’t talk much but worked hard. Once the bales got moved, they grabbed the pitchforks and began breaking them up, moving hay around for the cattle they would bring in later. Carissa sweated like a pig but it felt good. She felt good about herself. She found she could easily keep up with Trey, thanks to all her previous workouts. They took breaks several times for water, neither one saying much. Surprisingly, she found that she liked the quiet moments where they just tried to catch their breath, smiling at one another. She liked it lot. They’d moved over half the hay that needed to be moved, but it was time to break for lunch. “Let’s go back to eat. We’ll have to come back to finish tomorrow.” They climbed in the side-by-side and drove towards the barn.
“What should I do? I want to help you anyway that I can.”
“I’ve got to inspect cattle. Make sure that everything is getting done the right way. I’m going to give you the keys to the cabin, the one for your guests. Would you mind making sure they have everything they need like towels and what not? You’ll want to be down here at least a day before they arrive, if you can get someone else to transport them, so you can pick up some food and other supplies in town. Aunt Nancy says although we’ll provide three meals it might be nice to stock up the fridge for them too. You can just keep the keys throughout the summer.”
“I can do that. You sure you won’t need me for anything else?”
Trey stopped the side-by-side at the barn and looked at her. “Not for work.” He smiled, showing perfectly white teeth.
“Oh my,” she said and clambered out of the vehicle. “Anything else will have to wait until later, cowboy. We’ve got jobs to do.” He laughed quietly and then he froze.
“You hear something?”
“No, wait. Yes, I do now,” she whispered to him. She didn’t need a degree to know what she was hearing. Someone was having sex in the barn, and it wasn’t the wildlife. Trey swore under his breath and walke
d to the small office where the sounds were coming from.
“What the hell are you doing in here, Chase? Melody, put your damn clothes on.”
Chase laughed and pulled his clothes on. Melody slid on her jeans and took her time covering up large breasts. Carissa stared at the sight of the two lovers. Wasn’t it just a few days ago when Melody was declaring her love for Trey? Now here she was having sex with his brother. If she thought that would make him jealous, she didn’t know Trey Montgomery. Carissa couldn’t help but smile.
“Don’t be jealous, Trey. We were just fooling around.”
“I could care less if you were screwing. I just don’t want you doing it here, in my office, in the barn when you should be working. After hours you can sleep with whomever you want. Chase, you know better. Did you finish the job I gave you? Those spigots changed out?”
Chase swung his light brown bangs out of his face with a toss of his head. He slapped his hat back on his head. He was pissed about something. Getting interrupted maybe or it could be that his brother was reminding him again who the boss was. “I only got two left. Three is done.”
“I told you to replace them. Now go do it. I don’t want to see your face until it’s done.”
“You upset about Melody? I didn’t know you two had anything …”
“This ain’t about Melody and there’s nothing between us. I told Uncle Robert I wouldn’t be able to depend on you and you’ve proven me right. Always using the wrong part of your body for thinking, Chase.”
Chase put his hands on his slender hips and stared back at Trey. The two weren’t carbon copies of one another but you could tell they were brothers. Everything about Trey was slightly darker—his hair, his eyes, and his tanned skin. Chase had light brown hair, dark green eyes, and a few more freckles. Close in height, Trey outweighed him by at least twenty pounds and a whole lot more muscle.
Captivated By A Cowboy (Canton County Cowboys 3) Page 13