The Wrangler

by Lindsay McKenna

  “Gus and Charley are like oil and water. They don’t get along at all. I think if I make an appointment with Charley and coax him into working as a team member to resolve this problem, we might get somewhere.” Val managed a one-sided smile. “At least, I hope I will.”

  “You’re a cool cucumber under fire,” he said. “Not much ruffles your feathers.”

  Distracted, Val drank in the tenderness she saw glinting in Griff’s eyes. Her ear still tingled in memory of his gloved fingers brushing those strands behind it. The gesture had been gentle. Intimate. “Oh, I can get my dander up, believe me.”

  “Ah, the military officer coming out?” he said in a teasing voice, warming as she smiled at him. The sunlight danced across Val and she was relaxed standing near Socks. Griff wasn’t sure what was going on between them. One moment she was remote; the next, available. It made him anxious.

  “I can bring out my military side if I have to.”

  “I hope you never bring it out against me. Hey, it’s noon. About time for lunch?”

  She saw the little-boy eagerness in his expression. “Sure, let’s eat,” she agreed, leading Socks over to a shady area near the bank of the water.

  As Griff dismounted Freckles, he saw a horse and rider in the distance on the forest-service side. “Hey, we have someone on horseback coming around the lake toward us,” he called to Val, pointing in the general direction.

  Val tied her horse’s reins to a nearby tree limb and walked up to where Griff was standing. Squinting, she let out a harsh breath. “That’s Curt Downing on his endurance stallion, Shah.”

  Hearing the rancor in her voice, Griff turned and looked over at her. He saw anger leap to her eyes. “What’s he doing out here?”

  Shrugging, Val muttered, “I don’t know.”

  “He’s coming our way.”

  “Yeah, and he probably thinks we should open the gate to let him ride through.” Val walked over to Socks and detached the saddlebags. “He’s got another think coming.”

  Griff tied up Freckles and walked up to the gate to meet the approaching rancher. Downing, on his Arabian black stallion, was dressed in a tan Stetson, Levi’s and a short-sleeved white shirt. The animal shone like polished ebony as he trotted along the road parallel to the lake. The hair on the back of Griff’s neck rose as Downing approached. His stallion was fighting the bit, wanting to run, but the man was keeping the animal at a steady trot.

  “Afternoon,” Griff called as the rider pulled up on the other side of the gate.

  Downing scowled and nodded to Griff. He saw Val spreading out a red blanket beneath the shade of a huge old oak tree, completely ignoring him. The bitch. There was no love lost between them.

  “Are you riding Shah to keep him in shape?” Griff rested his hands in a relaxed fashion on the top of the gate.

  “Yeah, I use this particular trail once a week.” Downing motioned to the gate. “Would you mind opening it?”

  Val straightened, overhearing the conversation between the two men. She walked up to the gate and glared up at Downing. He sat on the pawing stallion looking like a conquering hero. The arrogance written across his face made her even more angry. Reining in her feelings, she said, “Mr. Downing, this is Bar H property. No one is allowed to come onto it without my permission.”

  Curt forced a smile. He lifted his cowboy hat and settled it back down on his head. “Why, Miss Hunter, I have no wish to upset you. It’s just that for the last ten years I’ve ridden my stud here, down your road and back up it. We stay on the road. I don’t wish to harm any of your property.”

  “Is that why our gate is always open?” Val demanded in a dark tone. Downing was a rancher. He knew damn well if you opened a gate, you shut it behind you.

  “I know enough to keep gates closed,” he told her amiably. Looking around, he pointed to the lake and the fishermen. “It’s these local yahoos that do this, Miss Hunter. Not me.”

  Val didn’t believe him for a moment. Downing was smug and treating her like a recalcitrant child. “It doesn’t matter. This is Bar H property and our gate now has a solid lock on it. We really don’t want anyone on our property from now on, Mr. Downing.” She saw his eyes flash with anger for a moment and then he tamped it down and, instead, gave her a lazy smile.

  “Perhaps we could strike a monetary deal, Miss Hunter? I would genuinely like to ride the four miles down your road and back once a week. It’s a good road and easy on my stud’s legs.”

  Val saw Griff frowning. He was staying out of the conversation but his hands resting on top of the steel pipe gate had tightened. “Mr. Downing, I’ll ask my grandmother about your request.” Val knew damn well she’d turn it down.

  “Great,” Curt said. He pulled a business card out of the pocket of his shirt and passed it over the rail to Griff. “I’m appreciative. If I remember correctly, you’ve just come home?”

  “I have,” Val gritted out. She really didn’t want to talk to this jerk who thought he was king of the valley. Val knew he was worth millions and owned a local trucking company. He sat on his horse with his chin slightly lifted, imperious and condescending.

  “Well,” Curt said smoothly, adding a warm smile, “do come over for a visit. I’d like to show you my endurance training facility. I know you have a good eye for horseflesh and would appreciate Shah’s offspring.”

  Downing was a smooth operator, Val decided. He was very good-looking, clean shaven and in top shape, his red hair trimmed military short. But when Val looked over at Griff, Downing was drab in comparison. She could literally feel the protective energy exuding around Griff toward her. Right now, he reminded her of a big, bad guard dog on alert. That made her feel safe and gave her the confidence to confront Downing. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have been so bold and forthright.

  “Thanks for your invite, but I really don’t have time right now to do that, Mr. Downing.”

  “Perhaps a rain check?” he suggested. Curt appraised her with appreciation. Indeed, Val Hunter was one hell of a good-looking woman. She was curved in all the right places and the tee she wore beneath the denim jacket couldn’t hide her breasts from his hungry gaze.

  Shrugging, Val said, “We’ll see.”

  Tipping his hat to her, he said, “I’ll wait for that day, Miss Hunter. And I appreciate you talking with Miss Gus about allowing me to use your road once a week. Just call me and let me know. I’ll be happy to pay her any sum she wants. It’s important we remain good neighbors.” Turning Shah around, he trotted off in the opposite direction.

  “That dude is over-the-top,” Val spit out as she walked over to the blanket. “I hated him just from what Gus told me about him. Now, meeting him in person, I can see why he angers her so much.” She handed Griff a plastic container. When their fingertips met, she absorbed the contact. Whether Val wanted to or not, she enjoyed it.

  Kneeling down opposite her, Griff set the sandwich on the blanket and took off his gloves. He tucked them into his belt. “He smirks a lot.”

  Snorting, Val sat crossed-legged and opened her container. “He’s so sure of himself. And he treated me like some kind of child. I hate it when men talk down to me. Who does he think he is?” She bit into the beef sandwich as if she were taking a bite out of Downing.

  Griff smiled a little as he pulled out his sandwich. “From what I’ve seen of Downing, he’s an oily, scheming rich guy who thinks his money can buy anything he wants in the valley.” Not only that, Griff thought, but if the FBI is after you, you can’t be good news.

  “Yeah, well, he’s not getting our ranch!” Val rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I’m really upset. The guy raises my hackles. All I wanted to do was punch him in that smarmy mouth of his.”

  With a chuckle, Griff ate the sandwich. “Well, he didn’t get on your property. It was an important boundary to erect.”

  “
I’m just worried when Gus says no, he’ll come riding up with a pair of metal cutters and use the road anyway.

  “What about putting an alarm of some kind on that gate? That way, we would know if it was being opened.”

  “We don’t have electricity out here.”

  “You could purchase a small solar panel. I could hook it up so an electronic radio alarm goes off in the house if the gate is opened.”

  “You could do that?” His ability to think outside the box and resolve serious problems impressed her.

  “When I worked on Wall Street, we had a solar-panel company in our portfolio. I visited them in Arizona to check out their facility. I was really impressed.”

  “You have the electrical knowledge to do this?”

  “I do.”

  “You are amazing.”

  Griff wasn’t prepared for her praise. For one moment, Val’s walls came down and he saw the real woman who hid behind them. Her blue eyes had grown soft, her lips slightly parted, as if breathless. His heart thudded in response to the gaze she shared with him. She admired and respected him. Two things Griff always desired from the people in his life, but coming from Val, it felt like the richest reward. “I spent a week out at their facility and the owner showed me all their products.”

  “This is a great idea, Griff. Yes, I’ll talk to Gus about buying a solar panel. If you could put it out here, it should stop trespassers.”

  “I can install the alarm that will be powered by the panel. If it goes off, one of us can drive out here immediately and find out who cut the lock and broke in.”

  “I’m sure the only person we’d find is Downing. He thinks the valley is his and he owns everything and everyone.”

  Griff finished off his sandwich. Val handed him a container with an apple dumpling slathered with caramel sauce. “I can set up the gate so that it has a mild electrical shock?”

  “I like the idea.”

  “We’d have to put a sign up to warn people, though. It will deter most of them, I would think.”

  “Of course. What I’d give to see Downing touch our gate not believing it’s electrified.”

  “Well,” Griff said, “if he thinks the sign is a bluff, he’ll find out otherwise.”

  Her mouth pulled into a wide smile. “Gus said you were the right man to hire and now, I agree with her. You have a lot of different background skills you’re bringing to the ranch. Thank you.” Val saw his face go soft for a moment. The sincere compliment allowed her to see another side to this wrangler. And she liked what she saw. Maybe a little too much.

  Griff finished the dumpling with relish. Val’s compliment resonated in Griff’s heart like nothing else ever had. He wanted her to like and admire him. And now, she definitely regarded him on a higher level than before. Pride and happiness flowed through him. Clearing his throat, Griff got serious and held her gaze.

  “I owe you an apology, Val. I shouldn’t have reached out and touched your hair earlier. I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  Val saw how sad Griff looked. What to say? She wanted to say, No, I loved it! I was surprised, but not angry. Instead, she held back, as always. “Thanks for apologizing. I appreciate it.”

  Risking a glance over at Val, Griff realized her guard remained down. Her blue eyes had softened. Did he see longing in them? For him? Griff couldn’t trust his assessment. His interpretation could be completely off the mark. “Thanks,” he said, meaning it. Nervously, he got up and walked over to the gate. There was so much Griff wanted to say, but didn’t dare. Val was his boss. She could have fired him for what he’d done earlier today, but she hadn’t. And he needed this job too much to risk doing anything else like that again.

  Despite that, Griff couldn’t help wanting to do something other than sit with her on that blanket. She was simply too close, too beautiful, and the urge to tunnel his fingers through that red hair of hers was eating him alive. He made himself get up. Moving to the gate, Griff studied the best possible spot to hide a solar panel from approaching eyes.

  Val ate in silence. She wanted Griff’s company but understood he felt ashamed for touching her hair. Beyond wishing he didn’t feel that way, there was little else she could say. After all, she was the owner. Val studied the lake, the noon breeze riffling its surface. A great blue heron took off from the bank and flew lengthwise down the center of it. For whatever reason, right now, Val felt serene. It wasn’t something she felt often enough.

  Glancing over at Griff, who was busy measuring and taking notes of the gate, Val wondered if it was because of his presence. Was it possible that a man could make her feel safe and secure? And that her constant anxiety could go away as a result of it? Only one other man had ever given her a sense of peace. And the only explanation Val had was that her reactions were due to Griff’s calm and steady presence.

  Val finished off her lunch, stuffed the containers into the saddlebags and stood up. She carried them over to Socks’s saddle. The raucous call of a blue jay filled the air. She saw a red ground squirrel race near the bank of the lake. A trout jumped out of the water after a tasty bug treat. Val rested her hands on the saddle for a moment, absorbing nature and the beauty surrounding her. Maybe it wasn’t so bad being home after all. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Griff ambling toward Freckles, who was tied next to Socks. His brows were drawn and she could tell he was thinking about the solar panel and the gate. He was so easy to read and it amazed Val once more.

  “Ready?” she called, mounting up.

  “Yeah,” Griff said, untying Freckles’s reins from the tree branch. He looked down the long fence line. It stretched along a flat piece of land and then moved upward on a grassy slope and disappeared over the other side of it. “This is a beautiful property,” he said, mounting his horse.

  “The land is healing,” Val agreed, gently nudging Socks forward with her heels.

  Griff followed Val and Socks across the road and up the fence line. There was a serenity around her he’d never seen before. Looking over his shoulder, he took one more glance at Long Lake. Truly, it was a peaceful place. A place where a man or woman could let down, relax and just be. Appreciating Val as never before, Griff turned his attention forward.

  As they climbed through the knee-high green grass, the sun strong and warming, Griff moved his horse beside Val’s. He made sure there was plenty of room between them. The horses breathed heavily as they chugged up the steep slope. Once on top, Val pulled Socks to a stop. “Look,” she said, gesturing to the vista before them.

  Griff had never ridden this part of Bar H property. Now, he could see why Downing wanted to buy the place. The two hundred acres was comprised of hills and gently sloping valleys of green grass. “This area looks like green velvet,” he said, impressed. Southward, he could see the ranch and the outbuildings. Everything sloped toward the ranch. It was perfectly situated, Griff thought.

  “I know.” Val sighed. She hooked her right leg up and around the saddle horn. Resting her elbow on her drawn-up leg, she said, “This is where I always came as a kid. When things got too violent and threatening for me, I’d saddle my horse and ride out here.” She pointed to the ground. “I used to dismount and sit or lay in the grass. It was like a soft, sweet-smelling blanket beneath me.” Looking up, Val pointed to a few soft, white puffy clouds starting to drift across the sky. “I spent hours up here watching the clouds. I’d see shapes in them like fish, deer, bears or other animals….”

  Griff was grateful she was sharing something very private and personal with him. It was a gift, he realized, whatever her reason. “Funny, when I was a little kid, I’d do the same thing over at our Tetons Ranch. My dad would find me laying out in the pasture, hands behind my head, just watching the clouds take shapes.”

  Glancing over at him, Val appreciated the faraway look in his eyes. “Nowadays, kids don’t do that anymore. They
’re hooked into the iPods, iPads or computer games. They’re constantly looking down, not up. Pity.”

  Hearing the sadness in her voice, Griff nodded. “I know. They’re missing a lot.” He moved around and the saddle creaked.

  “When I could escape out of the house,” she said, gesturing to the large hill, “I could cry up here and not be worried my father would hear me.”

  Heart contracting with pain, Griff said, “No child should suffer like you have. I’m really sorry, Val.”

  His words were like salve to the open wounds she still carried within her. “Thanks…it means a lot.”

  “I wish…I wish I could help you, but I don’t know how.”

  Unhooking her leg from around the horn, she said, “Coming home has brought up so much of the past once again. I don’t know if there is any way to help. The memories are right there.” She held her gloved hand up to her head.

  Griff could say nothing. What he wanted to do was hold Val. Hold her until he saw all the sadness and terror leave her eyes forever. Somehow, Griff knew in his heart, he could help her. If only she would let him….

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  GUS SAT AT the cleared table after dinner with a cup of coffee between her arthritic hands. She waited until Val and Griff were done with the dishes before saying, “Grab yourselves some coffee and join me.”

  Griff dried his hands on a towel and hung it up on a hook. Val was busy wiping down the counter until it sparkled. She wore a very old, thin red-checked apron around her waist. Her red hair was loose and damp tendrils stuck to her temples. They’d finished riding the fence line two hours earlier just as evening had begun to fall. Gus had a roast with mashed potatoes and gravy waiting for them as they returned to the house. Griff felt so much a part of their family already. It made him feel good. Wanted. And appreciated.

  He walked over to the coffeemaker. “Want a cup?” he asked Val.