She closed her eyes briefly then opened them with regret and pain. “You’re a better man than you think you are, Trey. I wish you could see that you have more staying power than most men I know.”
She walked out, leaving him bereft, not from the aching hard-on in his pants, but from words spoken straight from the heart.
Ten
“That’s a good wild stallion,” Maddie joked, holding a loose rope and walking with Storm along a path behind the ranch house. She’d finished work early and decided that a pleasant afternoon walk would do them both a world of good.
Maddie had made mistakes while living here at 2 Hope Ranch, but she planned to rectify what she could. And Storm had been high on her list. She’d never come up against an animal with so much resistance. Normally Maddie could coax a horse to do her bidding, but not Storm. He was definitely and infinitely a stallion with his own obstinate mind.
While she thought she’d gained the horse’s trust, she really hadn’t. She realized that she’d rushed him, thinking the little leeway he’d given her had been enough. So now, Maddie used a different tactic. She didn’t want to destroy the animal’s spirit, only settle him somewhat.
“You’re not so different than Trey, you know,” she said, speaking freely along the path, with no worry of being overheard. “You’re both headstrong and feisty as all get out.” Maddie let loose a quiet chuckle, a good release for her pent-up frustration. Last night, she’d wanted Trey as much as he’d wanted her. But Maddie was too much of a realist not to understand that until Trey came to grips with his heritage and his past, she’d only be letting herself in for more heartache.
As difficult as it was, she’d pushed Trey away last night for both of their sakes.
She moved along the path with Storm keeping her mind off Trey, speaking in a level voice with patience and care, hoping to create a special bond with Storm, hoping he would learn to accept her. “And afterward, if you keep up this good behavior, I’ll give you a nice rubdown, a soothing little massage for your muscles.” Maddie worked out a kink in her shoulder. “I only wish you could reciprocate,” she said with a smile.
Maddie felt comfortable with this approach, taking small steps and bonding with the stallion as if he were hers. She understood Storm better now and realized he had a long way to go before he would relinquish his trust.
After thirty minutes, they headed back toward the ranch, Maddie feeling a great sense of accomplishment that Storm hadn’t rejected the interaction between them. The stallion actually seemed content. She walked Storm into the barn, heading for his paddock, the largest in the building and Maddie’s instincts took hold. As they bypassed a docile bay mare named Julip, one of Trey’s cutting horses, she slowed her steps, careful and a bit wary of Storm’s reaction.
Maddie had watched this particular mare during her stay here, and she knew her to have the sweetest of natures. When Storm approached her stall, Julip sauntered over slowly until the two came face to face.
Storm bristled, breathing out nosily, stomping his feet. Maddie’s heart pumped hard, hoping she hadn’t made a big mistake. Normally, Storm stayed outside in his corral, too unruly and quite frankly, too lusty, to be thrown in with female horses.
But Julip merely stared at him, and if a horse could shrug and roll her eyes, Maddie was sure this mare had done just that. Julip turned her back on Storm and moved to the far end of her stall, clearly not impressed with the stallion.
To Maddie’s amazement, Storm’s little outburst nearly all but disappeared and she had to really tug on the rope she held to get Storm to move away from Julip’s stall.
“Hmm. Interesting,” Maddie said, as ideas stirred around in her head.
“What’s interesting?” Trey’s low voice from behind gave her a start.
Maddie turned slowly, both she and Trey behaving carefully, aware of Storm’s unpredictable nature. She stared into the deep disapproving eyes of Trey Walker. “Oh, nothing. Storm and I just went for a walk.”
Trey’s brows furrowed and he winced. “You went for a walk alone with him? Not a good idea, Maddie. I thought you’d learned your lesson.”
Maddie took her eyes off Trey. Looking at him standing there with hands on hips, wearing a black Stetson, dark shirt and leather-fringed chaps, the handsome cowboy stole all of her breath. Instead, she focused on the stallion, patting his neck gently. “Storm and I came to an understanding.”
“Yeah? And what was that?”
Trey was not happy. He wouldn’t take his eyes off of Storm, as if he fully expected the horse to bolt, or worse.
“We had a nice walk and now I’m going to give him a rubdown.”
Trey blinked. He pointed at Storm and spoke with deadly calm. “You will not get in that stall with him, Maddie. To begin with, he’s hardly ever in there. It’s too confining for him. He won’t like you invading his territory. You know well and good that he’s more wild than tame.”
“I think he’s ready.”
Trey folded his arms around his middle and dug in his boot heels. “No.”
“No?”
“I forbid it.” Trey grabbed the rope from Maddie’s hands.
Shocked, Maddie repeated his words, “You forbid it?”
Trey nodded.
Maddie’s eyes grew wide. Her face colored with heat and the hair at the nape of her neck stood on end. “You’re forgetting that I’m an animal doctor, Trey. I know animals better than I know people. I can do this.”
“He’s not ready. He may never be ready, Maddie.”
She planted her hands on her slight hips and spoke forcefully. “I disagree. He’s pigheaded like you, but unlike you, he’ll come around.”
“Don’t fight me on this, Maddie. I won’t change my mind.” Trey led Storm away, turning him around to head toward the opened barn door.
Maddie fumed silently. Normally she wouldn’t be so bold. Trey owned Storm. He had the final say in his treatment and care. Maddie had no rights when it came to the stallion. But still, it irritated her that Trey wouldn’t allow her this. He was as closed off as the first day she’d met him.
“Just who are you trying to protect?” Maddie muttered. And after Trey had left the barn entirely, she added, “Me or the stallion? Or maybe, yourself?”
Minutes later, Trey stood by the fence watching Storm race around the perimeter of the corral, his jet-black mane flying in the fading sunlight. The stallion was too spirited to tame, and though Trey had immense respect for Maddie’s abilities with animals, he couldn’t allow her to place herself in danger. Storm needed gentling over a long period of time—he couldn’t be rushed. No doubt, Maddie had goodness in her heart. She was a positive thinker, believing that she could change things that were unchangeable. But Trey knew better, learning his lessons firsthand. He and Maddie probably would never see eye to eye on the subject.
He’d been harsh with her in the barn, perhaps overly so, to make his point. But the truth remained that he couldn’t abide Maddie getting hurt again. She’d already made one bad judgment call with the stallion the night of the dust storm. She’d been fortunate in not sustaining life-threatening injuries. So he figured that while he couldn’t do anything about the emotional hurt he’d caused her lately, he’d damn well see to it that she wouldn’t get hurt physically while living on his ranch.
Trey presumed she’d be packing her suitcase soon anyway, anxious to leave 2 Hope, anxious to leave him. He’d made one mistake after another with her. With all the best intentions, he’d tried protecting her and wound up hurting her in the process. She’d be better off without him.
Much better off.
A car pulled up, kicking up dry dust and coming to a stop right next to him. Trey turned to find his cousin Jack exiting his patrol car wearing his tan sheriff’s uniform and a big smile. “Howdy, Trey.”
Trey wasn’t in the mood for Jack’s good humor. “Hey, Jack. What’s up? Are you on duty or is this a social call?”
Jack glanced around, searching the prope
rty. “Maddie around?”
“You came out here to see Maddie?” Trey asked, masking his irritation the best he could. Jack didn’t seem to notice, his gaze kept darting around the borders of the ranch.
“Nope. I came out here to see you.” He grinned and Trey’s irritation grew at Jack’s mysterious behavior. “So, where is she?”
Trey shrugged. “She’s probably in her office, working.”
Jack glanced toward the old barn. “Good. I’m here on a mission. Caroline’s throwing Maddie a surprise birthday party this Saturday night. She asked me to come over here to let you know about it. She didn’t want to call the ranch, just in case Maddie picked up the phone.”
“It’s her birthday?”
“Not until next week. She’ll be twenty-eight and Caroline is dead serious about keeping this a surprise. That’s why she’s doing it early. She has this idea to get her over to her place. She wants you to bring her.”
“Me? How am I supposed to do that?”
Jack smiled. “She wants you to ask her out to dinner, so Maddie will dress up pretty and be ready. Caroline figured she’d call with a baby-sitting emergency asking Maddie to come over to watch Annabelle for half an hour before your date. The rest of us will be there waiting.”
Trey began shaking his head. “No. I can’t do that.”
“Sure you can.”
“No, I can’t.”
“You can’t?” Jack wore his stubborn Walker expression. Trey recognized the tightening of his mouth, the set of his jaw. He’d worn that same expression more than a few times himself. “Well, why the hell not?”
Trey confessed, “Because I doubt Maddie would go anywhere with me.”
Jack pursed his lips and eyed him with doubt. “I don’t believe it. You two have been hot for each other since she moved in with you.”
“Believe it,” Trey said firmly.
Jack sighed aloud. “What happened?”
Trey refused Jack the details. He didn’t need to know how Maddie’s coming to live with him had been the best and worst time in his life. He didn’t need to know that they’d lived in turmoil, Trey making one mistake after another with her. He didn’t need to know how much Trey cared about her, willing to do whatever it took to keep her safe and protected. Hell, Trey had just come to that conclusion himself. “Doesn’t matter. Maddie’s not speaking to me.”
Jack’s expression changed to a full out grin. “She’s not?”
Trey cursed. “You don’t have to be so damn happy about it.”
“I’m not,” Jack said, adjusting his expression accordingly. “But I’m sure if you turned on the Walker charm, you could get her to go out with you.”
Trey shrugged a shoulder. “Even if that were true, I’m not going to do it. It’s best this way. Caroline is just going to have to figure another way to get Maddie over there.”
“The party’s in five days, Trey. That doesn’t give her much time. And why is it best that you don’t ask her out?”
Trey shrugged again. “She’ll be leaving soon. I’m sure of it. Moving to Denver is a great opportunity for her.” And he wouldn’t be around to hurt her any longer. He wouldn’t have to yearn for a woman he couldn’t have.
“So, you’re refusing?”
Trey nodded. “It’s for the best. Trust me.”
Jack removed his hat and rubbed the back of his neck, contemplating. “I’m going to have to ask her myself then. Caroline trusted me with this and I’m not going to let her down.” Jack’s mouth pulled down in a frown. “You think she’s mad enough at you to agree to go out with me?”
Trey searched Jack’s eyes. He could see his cousin’s reluctance, but Trey had put him in a bad position. All in all, Trey realized Jack wanted what was best for him and as much as his cousin had teased and tormented, he wasn’t eager to ask Maddie out. “If you ask her today, she’d probably join you on a trip to the moon.”
“All right,” Jack said on a sigh, before turning toward Maddie’s office. “Hell, Trey. Sometimes, you are your own worst enemy.”
Maddie exited the barn leading Julip out, all saddled up and ready for a ride. Maddie needed the distraction and this little outing would help take her mind off the Walker men. They had confounded and confused her enough for an entire lifetime. She was barely speaking to Trey, and just minutes ago, Jack had asked her out. She’d been quite stunned by his invitation to the Sheriff Department’s Annual Benefit dinner, but he’d been so sweet and sincere, promising they’d not call it a date, but merely dinner with a friend. Maddie couldn’t see any harm in going, so she had agreed.
“That’s a girl,” she said, stroking the horse’s forelock and patting her neck before mounting, determined to ignore her frustration and concentrate on the ride. Once in the saddle, she leaned down and gave Julip one last gentle stroke. “You’re the sweetest little lady at 2 Hope.”
She rode toward the corral, keeping a safe distance from Storm and watched the stallion’s reaction. She’d had a hunch about Storm and this experiment would prove whether she’d been right or not. The stallion raced to the fence, snorting air loudly, digging in and sifting dirt with his hooves, until he received what he wanted, the mare’s attention. Julip glanced his way, seeming neither intimated nor interested.
Maddie missed working with Storm and had stayed away for two days, keeping busy with her own work and trying to forget about her heated conversation with Trey the other day. She kept telling herself he’d been within his rights. He owned the stallion and she had to respect his wishes.
But Maddie didn’t have to like it. Seems that she and Trey butted heads more than got along these days. But she knew she could get through to Storm. She knew she could get him to trust, without breaking his spirit. And the sweet-natured Julip would be the one to help her.
She guided the mare slowly around the perimeter of the corral, several yards away from the fence. Julip seemed to enjoy the exercise and paid Storm and his initial tirade little mind. They made the turn once, then twice as Storm watched on from his stance inside the corral.
Maddie continued to keep the mare to a slow pace and the third time they’d circled the corral, Storm approached them, and to Maddie’s delight, he began to move along with them from inside the corral, slowly, but taking a slight lead as any dominant stallion would. “That’s it, boy,” Maddie said softly. They continued on this way until Maddie felt it safe enough to guide Julip closer to the fence, so that now, it seemed the two horses rode beside each other, but for the separating fence. She picked up the pace and galloped around with Storm by her side.
“That’s a different approach,” Kit said, minutes later as Maddie dismounted Julip in front of the barn. “I gotta hand it to you, you don’t give up. Nobody around here ever thought that stallion was worth the money Trey paid for it. We all sorta thought the boss made himself a bull-size mistake. But now,” Kit remarked, taking off his hat to scratch his head, “seeing the progress you’re making, maybe it wasn’t but a little bitty mistake.”
Maddie chuckled and patted the mare’s backside. “I can’t take all the credit. Julip is just what Storm needs.”
Kit glanced at Storm, kicking up another ruckus inside the corral. “Maybe so. Maybe what you’re doing is a good thing. Seems the right female will tame the wild in any male.”
Just then, Trey pulled through the gate in his truck, the sound of the engine causing both to turn in his direction. He parked on the side of the house and got out, glancing their way.
Kit waved at his boss then yanked his hat low onto his head. “Maybe you just might have what it takes to settle him.”
“I hope so,” Maddie said, still reeling from the success of her little experiment.
“And I wasn’t exactly talking about the stallion,” Kit said, with a tip of his hat and playful wink.
Maddie’s mouth dropped open but Kit had walked off before she could utter a word.
“Tell me why you feel the need to shop, again?” Maddie asked, needing convincing
that she should have taken the afternoon off to carouse the shops in San Angelo. She and Caroline entered a trendy boutique and began perusing a rack of summertime dresses.
“Because you have a hot date with Jack Walker, that’s why,” Caroline answered. “We need to find you a special outfit.”
When Maddie frowned, Caroline added, “And I need a day away from sandboxes and playgroups. I need a girl’s day out.”
“Just to set the record straight, it’s not a hot date, Caroline,” Maddie insisted. She’d never have agreed to go out with him, if she’d thought he wanted more than friendship. “Jack asked me to this benefit dinner for the sheriff’s department. He made it clear that we’d go as friends.”
Caroline shot her a knowing smile. “The old ‘just friends’ line. Tell me, how is it that you’ve got both of the Walker men lining up. First Trey, now Jack.”
Maddie glanced at a pretty yellow and black two-piece silky suit, before addressing her friend. “First of all, Trey and I are barely speaking. And Jack, well, he’s a sweetheart, but we really are just friends.”
“Hmm.” Caroline’s blond brows rose in doubt.
“Really. I could never…I mean Jack is Trey’s cousin and—”
“I know. It’s always been Trey for you. Too bad, he’s so hung up on his past.”
Maddie lifted a flowery sundress off the rack and placed it under her chin, glancing at the mirror. “It isn’t just his past he’s fighting, but generations of Walker men.”
Caroline shook her head at Maddie’s choice. She set the dress back on the rack, agreeing with her friend’s opinion.
“I’m hoping that maybe one day Trey will wake up and see that he’s not the man his father was.”
“And I’m hoping you’re still around when he finally does wake up. Have you made up your mind about Nick’s job offer?”
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