Sugar and Sin Bundle

by Stacey Joy Netzel

Man, Mason had nailed her right in the left thigh with that kick. Gave new definition to the term Charlie horse. Now she was supposed to get up into the saddle by herself? She snuck a glance over her shoulder to see Tripp still watching her, waiting until she was off the ground before releasing his hold on Mason.

  Taking a deep breath, she grit her teeth and hiked her foot into the stirrup. With her left hand anchored on the saddle horn, she pulled with every ounce of strength she had. Oh, God.

  Finally, she gained the saddle and lifted the reins in her shaky left hand. She had to take a moment to even out her ragged breathing before giving Tripp a tight nod. He leaned forward, balancing his weight on Mason with his hands while he got his feet under him. Then he pushed up and let the horse free.

  By the time Mason scrambled and lunged to his feet, Tripp had swung astride Lucky and made sure the rope remained tight. Mason stood on trembling legs, his nostrils flared, sides heaving.

  “Head up top,” Tripp ordered, keeping his focus on Mason. “Hopefully, we’ll be right behind you. I want him where he can’t hurt himself anymore, or either of our horses if he bolts.”

  Reggie couldn’t help looking back time and again as Prince picked his way through the gully debris before laboring up the steep slope. Tripp was making progress with the stallion and only a few minutes later, he topped the rise after her.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Fine. How’s Mason?”

  “Nothing wrong with his memory, that’s for sure.”

  Indeed, the stallion walked when Tripp pulled on the rope, showing he recalled the first two years of his life when he’d been domesticated like his mares. He became a little antsy when they reached the pasture with his herd, but after a brief battle between him, Tripp and the halter, he followed along with minimal resistance.

  Reggie halted Prince at the creek. She surveyed the mares and foals, then shifted her gaze to Tripp. “Can we bring them, too?”

  He frowned. “I planned on riding straight through so Mason doesn’t have a chance to rest up and get his fight back.”

  “I don’t want to leave them here.” She watched the paint colt, trying to come up with a good reason other than she felt bad taking his dad away.

  “You ever worked a herd with Prince?” Tripp asked.

  Reggie turned to look at him with surprise. No straight out refusal? She’d been preparing to do battle. “The cattle herds.”

  He watched the mares for a moment. “It’s not going to be easy keeping them together—especially when it gets dark.”

  She lifted her chin. “I can handle it.”

  His gaze shifted to her injured shoulder, then her face, as if assessing her resolve. She knew it’d be hard, but was willing to do the work. Hopefully her expression conveyed her determination. A brief smile crossed his face before he turned in his saddle and started east again.

  “All right then, bring ‘em along.”

  Reggie’s heart thumped from the affect of his smile. She’d swear he was proud of her. She sat for a moment with a silly smile of her own, relishing the surprise feeling of joy soothing her sore body.

  “Time’s wastin’, Princess.”

  Her gaze snapped back to his retreating figure to see he hadn’t even turned in his saddle. She made a quick face at his back, and spun Prince to go round up the mares. It took a little work at first, but her gelding was up for the challenge, and, soon the horses figured out what they were supposed to do. She figured she and Prince weren’t much different from Mason when he moved the herd from one place to another.

  About half way back to the ranch, as the sun was starting to set, a couple of the foals started to lag behind. She held off saying something to Tripp, but just when she decided they had to give the little ones a break, he slowed Lucky and Mason until the mares passed. Keeping a healthy distance from Mason, Reggie drew even with Tripp.

  “We’ve got a good four hours to go yet,” he said. “How you holding up back here?”

  She gave him an apologetic look, knowing he was asking about the horses, not her. “I’m sorry we’re slowing you down. Why don’t you ride ahead?”

  “Leave together, return together, remember?”

  “It’s not like we wouldn’t eventually trickle in.”

  “No way I’m leaving you alone. You seem to either be cursed, or just a magnet for trouble. Which reminds me, how’s your leg?”

  She cast him a quick glance. How the hell did he know?

  “I heard the kick, Regan. Now answer me.”

  It was stiff as all hell after sitting in the saddle for hours, but she wouldn’t admit that to him. Because her shoulder didn’t allow it, she put the shrug in her voice. “There’ll probably be a bruise.”

  He shook his head with an annoyed look. “Next time I tell you not to do something—”

  “Tripp, you know there’s no way I could’ve held Mason down, so what else was I supposed to do? It’s not like he kicked me in the head or anything.”

  “But he could’ve,” he snapped. Lucky surged forward before she could reply.

  She moved out of Mason’s way, then stared after Tripp, not sure what to make of his sudden switch from asking how she was to obviously being upset with her. What had he expected her to do, just watch him do all the work? There was no way he could’ve held the stallion and untangled the rope. Why didn’t he see—

  Then it hit her. He hadn’t caught Mason alone. Which meant he didn’t get the ranch.

  Damn—why hadn’t she realized that earlier? Because she’d been too concerned about Mason to worry about the ranch. So now what? Of what she’d learned about Tripp over the past week, he’d go by the book. Catch Mason’s Gold together, keep Warner Ridge Ranch together.

  Her heart leapt with joy at the thought, but she tamped the emotion down fast with a harsh reminder. Tripp wasn’t staying. He had a successful business in Galveston, twelve hours away. His life was there, and his sole motivation for agreeing to catch Mason in the first place was to keep her from getting the ranch.

  But after what we shared—

  Reggie cut off the voice in her head. Sex didn’t equal love to men, something she’d learned in college with her first boyfriend. Yeah, being with Tripp had been amazing, and nothing again would probably come close, but he’d made it perfectly clear what happened between them in bed had nothing to do with their competition. He hadn’t slept with her to get the ranch, so he wouldn’t share the ranch because of it, either. Nor would she want him to. It would only make her feel cheap. Pitied even.

  She sat up straighter in the saddle. It didn’t matter anyway. No matter what had happened, the ranch would be his, the way it should’ve been all along. Just because they’d caught Mason together didn’t mean she still couldn’t leave. She’d sign her half over to him and start a new life somewhere else.

  A quick flash of fear of the unknown combined with the thought of never seeing him again. Her chest tightened painfully, but she took a deep breath, then another. She would do what had to be done. Not only because she owed him, but because she loved him. Tripp had made it all alone eleven years ago, much younger than she was now, without a penny to his name. At least she had the money Judd had left her.

  Cold comfort for a bleeding heart.

  ****

  By the time they reached the forty-acre fenced pasture bordering the ranch yard, Reggie was ready to fall asleep in the saddle. She’d gone numb emotionally, and physically she ached everywhere, inside and out. It was almost one in the morning, and she’d never been so relieved to see the light shining above the barn doors in the distance.

  Tripp opened the first gate and Prince herded the mares and foals through without any direction from her. After riding through with Mason, Tripp leaned to close it again, then rode up alongside her.

  “Looks like the pasture’s empty, so we’ll leave the herd in here tonight.”

  Her first thought was of the Longhorns that usually occupied the pasture, but a swift search in the light o
f the three quarter-moon revealed no dark shapes other than the horses. Then she remembered Ernesto had planned to ship the cattle to market this past Monday.

  “You’re not leaving Mason in here with them, are you?”

  Tripp shook his head. “I think it’s a safer bet to put him in the arena. Higher fence, and I want the vet out to look at his leg in the morning.”

  Exactly what she would’ve done.

  Across the pasture, Tripp led Mason through the second gate while she kept the mares back. After she’d slipped through with Prince, they rode side by side into the ranch yard with Mason trailing behind. Reggie watched as Tripp put Mason in the arena and untied the rope from his halter. He even allowed Tripp to run a hand down his neck before sidestepping away with his ears half-heartedly pinned back.

  He didn’t look like the same horse. It wasn’t his bloody leg, or the trail dust covering his coat, making him look mostly brown instead of paint. There was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She mentioned as much to Tripp as he closed the gate.

  “He’s tired,” Tripp said. “It’s been a long two days for him.”

  He watched the stallion for a moment, and though he didn’t say anything more, Reggie saw his frown as he turned to lead Lucky toward the barn.

  “Let’s get these two put away so we can get some sleep. Sun-up will be here before you know it.”

  Reggie rode Prince to the barn, dreading the moment she’d have to slide down. They’d taken a couple breaks on the way home, but she’d only dismounted once when going to the bathroom became critical. Pulling herself back into the saddle had been difficult to say the least, and she’d only accomplished it with the aid of a boulder so she didn’t have to put much weight on her leg or use her shoulder. She’d swallowed four more ibuprofen, and they’d helped, but the relief hadn’t lasted as long as she’d hoped.

  Tripp was right earlier—she had been cursed on this trip. Karma had come around for paybacks for all she’d done in her younger years. It’d be funny if it weren’t so justified.

  So she clenched her teeth, swung her right leg over Prince’s neck, and slid from the saddle after a fortifying breath. The moment her feet hit the ground, a sharp stab of pain up her left thigh buckled her knees. Instinctively, she put out her good arm to keep from falling on her face. The impact jolted through her injured shoulder and a moan escaped despite her best efforts.

  Tripp swore under his breath and, two seconds later, knelt beside her, his arm around her back. “Damn, Regan, why didn’t you say something?”

  He helped her to her feet, but when she stepped away, her legs refused to support her and she lost her balance. Tripp swore again. Then he shifted to her left side and swept her up into his arms. The sudden movement and throb of her leg made her dizzy. It wasn’t until he was halfway across the yard that she was able to protest.

  “Put me down.”

  He didn’t say a word.

  “Tripp, please. Prince—”

  “Will be taken care of.”

  He finally stopped—only to reach for the passenger door of his 4x4 truck.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as he set her inside.

  “Taking you to the emergency room.”

  She turned to halt the door with her left hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. The horses need to be—”

  “I’ll call Ernesto from my cell.”

  He forcibly removed her hand so he could close the door, but she pushed back, opening her mouth to argue again. He leaned in close, his expression furious. She shrank back.

  “You’re going. Now shut up and don’t you dare move.”

  The anger in his voice shocked her into giving up the fight. He slammed the door and hurried around to the other side. She imagined dirt flying from the tires when he executed a sharp U-turn and stepped on the gas. As they approached Ernesto’s small house located just before the main road, Tripp reached for his cell phone.

  “What’s his number?”

  Maybe Ernesto would talk some sense into Tripp. She sat up a little straighter. “You could just stop.”

  “Regan.”

  She sighed and gave him the number.

  “Ernesto, it’s Tripp. Sorry to wake you, but I’m taking Regan to the emergency room and—”

  Reggie heard Ernesto’s rapid speech, but not the actual words.

  “No! Sorry, she’s okay,” Tripp hurriedly assured him.

  “Then why are we going to the ER?” Reggie asked with exasperation.

  He shot her an equally annoyed look as he turned toward Amarillo, but spoke into the phone. “Nothing life threatening anyway. She dislocated her shoulder, and Mason landed a nasty kick to her leg. I left our horses at the barn and need you to send someone to take care of them right away.”

  More muffled words from Ernesto.

  “The herd is in the pasture, Mason’s in the arena,” Tripp told him. “In fact, if we aren’t back by sun-up, call the vet to come have a look at his leg. He got caught up in some rope and I don’t want it to get infected. And listen, don’t wake Nana, okay?”

  They talked another minute before Tripp hung up after promising to call from the hospital. Reggie stared straight ahead, still annoyed with his bullying. “This could’ve waited until morning.”

  From the corner of her eye, she noticed his hands tighten on the steering wheel.

  “My leg is just a little sore from riding all day,” she insisted. “It’ll be fine in a day or so.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me for waiting for the doctor’s opinion since you don’t seem willing to tell me the truth.”

  Hurt lanced through her. She twisted in her seat to face him. “Well of course it hurts, Tripp, but what the hell would you like me to do about it? Cry and throw a hissy fit until I get your undivided attention? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t do that anymore. I’m a big girl, I can take a little pain.”

  “You think I don’t know that? That I didn’t see how much you’ve changed while we were out there?” he shot back. “Why do you think I forgave you? I mean, God knows you proved numerous times you’re not the same person you used to be, and yet you still had to go after that frickin’ rope.”

  She faced forward again, slumping in her seat as an overwhelming wave of exhaustion hit her. “We’ve been over this. Would you let it go, already?”

  “You couldn’t even walk,” he bit out.

  “I only needed a moment to get my balance.”

  “Stop it!” He pounded a fist on the wheel, making her jump. “I feel bad enough the way it is without you being so damn stoic.”

  “What?”

  “If I hadn’t made you compete for the ranch—if I hadn’t agreed to go after Mason in the first place—this would’ve happened. I should’ve just let the ranch go to charity. None of it is worth you getting hurt.”

  “This isn’t your fault.”

  “When I think of what could’ve happened—” He broke off abruptly, his fingers clenched so tight on the steering wheel that his knuckles showed white even in the dim light of the dash.

  Reggie frowned. “Tripp—”

  He leaned forward and jabbed the button to turn on the radio without sparing her a glance. Loud country music blared as she wondered if he was mad at her, or himself. But she was too tired to attempt yelling above the noise. Biting her lip, she turned to stare out the side window.

  If she didn’t know better, she’d think he cared.

  Chapter 14

  The moment Tripp realized Regan had fallen asleep, he reached to turn down the radio. The least he could do was let her rest in peace as he dealt with the emotions he could no longer deny. He’d never forgive himself if she was seriously injured. She kept insisting she was fine, but when he’d realized she couldn’t even walk…

  His foot pressed harder on the gas pedal, sending the speedometer needle over seventy-five.

  Another glance at her sleeping form did nothing to relieve his anxiety because even in her sleep, she wore a
frown. His gut clenched at her pain. He never would’ve imagined it’d come down to this.

  Back when he’d proposed the competition, he’d had two objectives in mind. Separate from her to avoid his obvious and distracting attraction, and keep the ranch out of her greedy little hands. It was supposed to be so simple; ride out, catch the damn horse, and the ranch would be his to dispose of.

  He’d never counted on liking the woman...or falling in love with her.

  He swallowed hard, then skimmed his gaze over her face again. She was the most beautiful, brave, stubborn, giving, frustrating, passionate person he’d ever known. In one way or another, she’d driven him crazy almost since the moment he set eyes on her again.

  He had decided she would have the ranch, but since they’d caught Mason’s Gold together, they’d split it fifty-fifty. Now he had an excuse to stay. His heart thudded at the possibility of them making a life at the ranch together, of her hopefully one day feeling the same about him as he did her. After their past, did their future stand a chance?

  The blue H sign for the hospital caught his attention at the outskirts of Amarillo and ten minutes later he pulled up to the deserted emergency room entrance. Tripp glanced inside the hospital while rounding the passenger side, but didn’t see anyone around. Regan blinked sleepily when he opened her door.

  “We’re here.”

  Tripp heard the doors swish open behind him. He turned to see a man in blue scrubs and a white jacket step outside with a wheelchair.

  “What’s the concern here?”

  Tripp glanced at his name tag. Even though the man looked younger than Tripp, he was relieved to see a Dr. in front of the last name Lynden.

  “She has a dislocated shoulder and possible broken leg,” he told the doctor.

  Despite having just woken up, Regan gave Tripp an annoyed look. “My leg is not broken and you put my shoulder back in the socket, so it’s not really dislocated anymore, either.”

  The doctor raised his brows at Tripp, then took a second look at their dusty attire. He motioned Tripp out of the way and reached to steady Regan when she attempted to pull herself up out of the vehicle.