Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to make herself relax. “It was nice of you to bring the horses. Thank you, Joseph.”
“You’re welcome.”
A few seconds of awkward silence stretched between them before Hannah finally spoke up. “We thought you’d like to go for a ride with us, Tessa. Would you? I haven’t got to see any of the Bar X in ages.”
“Oh.” She glanced down at her casual jeans and tank top then over to Joseph. “Do we have time for a ride?”
“Sure. The sun won’t set for a couple more hours.” He glanced down at her strappy sandals. “Did you bring a pair of riding boots?”
“I did. Let me go change.” She started to hurry away and then paused. “Sorry. I’m forgetting my manners. Would you two like to come in and have something to drink? Soda? Ice water?”
“Thanks, but we have cool drinks in our saddlebags. We’ll wait for you out here,” Joseph told her.
“Right. Okay. I’ll be right back.”
* * *
“I think she was happy to see you, Uncle Joe. Her eyes were all sparkly when she looked at you.”
Joseph reached over and playfully tugged the brim of Hannah’s straw hat farther down on her forehead. “You’re silly. And before Tessa comes back, I’m warning you that you’d better not be playing cupid. If you do, it’ll be the last ride you ever take with your uncle Joe.”
Completely unfazed, Hannah giggled. “I’ll be nice. Just don’t be a stuffed shirt with Tessa. Or you’ll never get her to go out on a date with you.”
Joseph frowned at his niece, who, in his opinion, was growing up far too quickly. “What do you know about it, anyway, young lady? And I’m not here to ask Tessa on a date. We’re here to deliver horses and be neighborly. You’re only ten years old. Your mind shouldn’t be on boy/girl things.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and sighed. “You’re so hopeless, Uncle Joe.”
He was hopeless, all right, Joseph thought as he watched the horses switching and stomping at the pestering flies. For the past three days his thoughts had been consumed with Tessa and the kiss they’d shared in the moonlight. He still didn’t know what the hell had come over him. It wasn’t his nature to grab a woman and kiss her as though he’d known her for years instead of two short days.
Don’t you mean kiss her like you wanted to carry her straight to your bed, Joe? That’s the thing that’s really nagging at you. The moment your lips had settled over hers it was like you’d been swept up in a fiery tornado and your feet still haven’t returned to solid ground.
“Mom says Tessa is from Nevada. That’s a far ways from here. Is she going to live here for very long?”
Hannah’s question pulled Joseph out of his musings and he glanced down at his inquisitive niece. “I don’t know how long she plans to stay. Except that she won’t be here permanently.”
“How come? Does she have a boyfriend up there?”
Joseph grimaced. “Hannah, one of these days when you become a grown woman, you’re going to realize there are more things to life than having a boyfriend.”
She pulled a face at him and started to spout some sort of retort, but was interrupted by the sight of Tessa hurrying down the steps to join them.
While she’d been gone, she’d donned a pair of red cowboy boots along with an old brown cowboy hat with a bent brim and sweat-stained band. Her long hair was fastened into a low ponytail at the back of her neck, while a pair of aviator sunglasses shaded her eyes. She looked beautiful and oh, so touchable.
Thank God, Hannah would be along as a chaperone, Joseph thought. Otherwise he’d have a hell of a fight trying to keep his hands off her.
“So which horse am I supposed to ride?” Tessa asked. “Rosie or Rascal? Or does it matter?”
“Ride Rosie!” Hannah chimed out. “She loves to long trot. Rascal is so lazy he just wants to clop along.”
Tessa chuckled. “Fine with me. I’ll ride Rosie.” She glanced at Joseph. “Do you want to leave Rascal in one of the corrals while we’re gone?”
“Not unless you want the fence kicked down. Rascal wouldn’t be too happy if we left him behind. At least, not until he gets used to his new home,” Joseph told her. “Don’t worry. I’ll lead him behind me. It’s no problem.”
Seeing Hannah had already climbed into her own saddle, Joseph turned to Tessa.
“Need some help getting mounted?” he asked.
She turned a warm smile on him and Joseph’s chest swelled with emotions that made absolutely no sense. A pretty girl with a sweet smile shouldn’t be making him feel like he was king of the mountain.
“Thanks. I could use a little help. Rosie is rather tall.”
He moved up behind her and was instantly enveloped with the scent of wildflowers and the memory of her soft lips moving against his. If Hannah wasn’t looking on, he’d be sorely tempted to pull her into his arms.
“Uh, go ahead and put your foot in the stirrup and I’ll give you a boost up,” he instructed. Then, clamping his jaw against the taunting thoughts, he wrapped his hands around either side of her slim waist and lifted her up and into the saddle.
She was as light as a feather and graceful, too. As he handed the reins up to her, he couldn’t help but notice how comfortable and right she looked in the saddle.
“Thanks.” Stroking her hand along the mare’s neck, she looked down at him. “Before we start, is there anything I need to know about riding Rosie?”
He forced his gaze to move away from her lips. “Her mouth is soft. And you don’t have to give her much of a nudge to make her go.”
Hannah suddenly reined her sorrel mount closer to Tessa’s. “Don’t worry, Tessa. If you need help I’ll be right beside you.”
Tessa gave the girl a grateful smile and it was plain to Joseph that she’d been around children and knew how to interact with them. No doubt she’d make a great mother. One that would be loving, but also have a firm, guiding hand. But that fact had nothing to do with him, Joseph mentally chided himself. He wasn’t looking for a wife or a mother for his unborn children. The only reason he was here at all was to keep two promises. One to take Hannah riding and the other to deliver the horses to Tessa.
Swinging into his saddle, he grabbed Rascal’s reins and motioned for them to follow. Once they reached the ranch yard behind the house, he steered his horse onto a dim path leading off to an eastern section of the ranch.
“We’ll take this trail,” he said. “I’ve been over it with Ray before. It’ll be easy riding.”
“Where does it go, Uncle Joe?”
“To grazing land. Down near the river.”
Hannah let out a disappointed wail. “Oh, do we have to go that way? I wanted to go to the bluffs. We might find a rattlesnake den there. I’ll bet Tessa has never seen one of those.”
Instead of appearing squeamish, Tessa merely laughed. “When the weather is warm, we have plenty of western rattlesnakes on the Silver Horn. But not any sidewinders like you have down here. We don’t have Gila monsters, either. I’d like to see one of those—at a distance, of course.”
Hannah let out a happy laugh. “Yay! Tessa’s going to be fun!”
Fun? Joseph figured she was going to be downright dangerous. But he was a deputy sheriff, he reminded himself. He could handle anyone in any situation. Even a beautiful woman with a warm, sexy smile.
“We’ll save the venomous reptile hunt for another time,” Joseph said dryly. “Unless we’re unlucky enough to accidently run into some.”
Hannah let out an exaggerated sigh then winked at Tessa. “You’re going to find out that Uncle Joe can be really boring. But I love him anyway.”
* * *
For the past three years Tessa’s time had mostly been divided between housekeeping duties on the Silver Horn and attending college classes. She’d not had many opportunities to go horseback ridin
g. Now as she rode along with Joseph on one side of her and little Hannah on the other, she was reminded how pleasant it felt to have a horse beneath her and the warm summer wind in her face.
With its tall, stately saguaros, blooming sage and jumping cholla, the stark beauty of the Bar X was incredibly enchanting. Yet Tessa had to admit that even the majesty of the land couldn’t distract her attention away from Joseph. Long-legged and tall in the saddle, he handled the gray gelding with a deftness that impressed her. Obviously he’d grown up being a cowboy and the years of experience showed in his knowledge of the land and the horses carrying them over it.
“When Ray still had cattle, I’d sometimes ride with him and Sam to check on the herd,” Joseph commented as the three of them skirted around a large rock formation. “Ray loved being a rancher as much as he loved being a sheriff.”
The wistful note in his voice had Tessa glancing over at him. “From the way everyone talks about Ray, I’m getting the impression he was good at both jobs.”
“He didn’t do anything in half measures,” he replied. “I admired him for that.”
So when it came to his job, Joseph liked for a man to give it his all, Tessa thought. Was that the way he’d feel about loving a woman? Would he throw all of himself into the relationship? Or maybe his job as a deputy got all of his attention?
Determined to put the questions out of her mind, she said, “Earlier this afternoon I found a photo album in the study. His uniform and her wheelchair made it obvious the pictures were mostly of Ray and Dottie. The pics had me wondering if either one of them ever had relatives living close by. They might have a clue about Ray’s will.”
He slanted her a thoughtful glance. “The only relative of Ray’s I ever knew about was an older brother. He lived over near Apache Junction. But he died several years before Ray. And Dottie wasn’t originally from Arizona. She came here from South Carolina and had a few relatives living there, but none of them ever came around. From what Ray said, her parents never approved of Dottie marrying him. And they blamed him for the accident that left her paralyzed. I doubt any of them know anything. They didn’t even show up for Ray’s funeral services.”
“What a sad situation,” she mused aloud. “Do you happen to know how Ray and Dottie met?”
“I think she’d come to Arizona to visit a college friend who’d moved out here. From what I understand, she ended up meeting Ray at the Wickenburg Rodeo.”
“Wickenburg has a rodeo? I love rodeos!” Tessa exclaimed.
“I do, too!” Hannah practically shouted with glee. “And Wickenburg has a big one. We take our horses and ride in the parade, too. You’d love it, Tessa! There’s a carnival, too. And all kinds of fun stuff to do on Valentine Street.”
Joseph cast his niece an indulgent smile before he turned his attention to Tessa. “Hannah isn’t exaggerating. For the past seventy years or so, the town has a celebration called the Gold Rush Days. The rodeo is just one of the highlights of the festival.”
“It must have been a real highlight for Ray. The big, strong lawman meeting a woman, falling in love, and making her his wife.” Tessa sighed and then shook her head. “Sounds like a modern-day fairy tale—until you get to the part where Dottie was paralyzed. Unfortunately life isn’t always perfect.”
“At least they were together.”
He suddenly turned his gaze on the distant horizon and as Tessa took in his solemn profile, she wondered if his thoughts were on his parents and how their time together had been cut short.
Wanting to ease the awkward moment, she asked, “So when does this Gold Rush Days take place? Maybe I could take in part of the fun.”
“The first part of February,” he replied. “So this year’s festival has already taken place. Maybe you can go next February. That is—if you’re still around.”
The month of May was just getting started. Several months would pass before February rolled around again. Was he thinking she’d still be living on the Bar X next year? Right now her future plans were little more than day-to-day.
“I have no idea where I’ll be in another year,” she admitted.
He leveled a pointed look at her. “No. I don’t suppose you do. You have another life back in Nevada to think about.”
Yes, she did have a life back there. But since she’d arrived on the Bar X, everything about her old life had faded into the background. Sure, she thought about the Calhouns and the Silver Horn and all her friends, but she wasn’t exactly aching to return. In fact, she was becoming very comfortable in her new home. The feelings left her guilty and torn.
“I have quite a bit to think about here,” she said.
One corner of his lips curved wryly. “Yes. For right now you do.”
So he figured once she found some answers about Ray’s will, she’d be skedaddling back to Nevada. His reaction stung her a bit, although she didn’t know why. She wanted to tell him that she didn’t take her inheritance lightly or the reason behind it. But with Hannah riding within earshot of them, she decided it best to keep her thoughts to herself.
The next few minutes passed in silence and then Joseph gestured toward a green strip of trees in the distance. “We’re almost to the river,” he said. “We’ll take a break beneath the willows. And let the horses drink.”
Riding a few feet ahead of them, Hannah twisted around in the saddle to look at her uncle. “I’m not tired, Uncle Joe. Can I ride Rooster over to the top of that ridge?” She pointed to a landmark about a quarter of a mile away, but still well within view.
“No. Sorry, Freckles. You know the rules.”
The girl’s lip pushed out in a disappointed pout. “Yeah. But the rules stink.”
Joseph said, “I’m not your parent. So I can’t be the one to let you break the rules. If your mother was here—”
“Oh, sure! She’s just as bad as you are.” Hannah reined her horse alongside Tessa, then said a bit sheepishly, “Sorry. I’m sounding like a spoiled brat.”
“Yes. You are,” Joseph bluntly agreed.
The child shrugged one little shoulder and if they’d been standing on the ground instead of riding, Tessa would’ve been tempted to give her a comforting hug.
After a moment Hannah said, “See, Tessa, my grandpa had an accident and died. His horse spooked and he fell from the saddle with his boot still hung in the stirrup.”
Shocked by this revelation, Tessa turned a stunned look at Joseph. Why hadn’t he explained this to her the night she’d visited Three Rivers? Was there something about the tragedy he didn’t want her to know? A connection to Ray Maddox somehow? Judging by the grim expression on his face, it was clear he had no intention of saying more on the subject.
She turned to Hannah. “I’m very sorry you lost your grandfather, Hannah.”
The girl let out a disheartened sigh. “See, that’s why I can’t ride alone anymore. Everybody is afraid it could happen to me or somebody else on the ranch.”
The fact that Joseph hadn’t wanted to share the details of his father’s accident bothered her, but she did her best to ignore the feelings. After all, she’d only known Joseph a few short days.
But he’d kissed you like a lover, Tessa. Didn’t that count for something? Or had he just been playing with you?
Shaking off the pestering thoughts, she studied the disappointment on Hannah’s face.
“Your family made the rule because they love you and want to keep you safe,” she gently explained. “Besides, it’s really more fun to ride with someone. Don’t you think?”
After a moment a smile slowly spread across Hannah’s face. “Yeah, it is more fun with you and Uncle Joe along,” she agreed.
From the corner of her eye, Tessa could see Joseph staring off to the east, where green, jagged peaks were covered with giant boulders and tall saguaro. His features matched the hard, unforgiving land and Tessa could only guess why hi
s mood has taken such a dark turn. Was he simply annoyed with Hannah or thinking about his father?
“You know, I’d like to see that ridge, too,” she said to Hannah and then cast a thoughtful glance in Joseph’s direction. “After we give the horses a breather at the river, do you think the three of us could ride over to the ridge?”
Several moments ticked by before he finally acknowledged her. The blank look on his face told her he’d been so lost in thought he’d not even heard her question.
“I’m sorry, Tessa. What did you say?”
Tessa repeated her question and to her relief he responded with an easy smile. And just like that the brooding shadows on his features vanished with the warm, desert wind.
“Sure. We’ll all go,” he said, winking at Tessa. “Maybe we’ll even see a Gila monster.”
Hannah let out a happy yelp. “Tessa, you’re the best!”
Joseph teased, “Hey, I thought I was the best. Aren’t I the boss around here?”
Tossing her head, the girl pulled a playful face at him. “We’re on the Bar X now. Tessa’s the boss on this ranch.”
Joseph chuckled then slanted Tessa a sly look. “I’ll have to remember that. So, what do you think, boss? Think the three of us ought to kick our horses into a long trot? Or can you hang on at that speed?”
Laughing, she shot him a daring look. “A trot, huh! I’m thinking it would be more fun to canter. That is, if you can hang on going that fast.”
Overhearing the exchange between her uncle and Tessa, Hannah shouted gleefully, “Yippee! Let’s go!”
The girl quickly kicked her horse into a canter and as she moved ahead of them, Joseph looked over at Tessa and grinned.
“Come on, Lady of the Bar X. Let’s see who gets to the river first!”
The two of them urged their mounts into a faster gait and as they cantered side by side over the open range, Tessa felt a connection to Joseph that was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. It was strong and warm and something she never wanted to end.
The Arizona Lawman Page 7