The Reluctant Wrangler

by Roxann Delaney

  Nikki had to laugh. He knew exactly how jumpy she was feeling. “I trust you. And thanks.”

  “They’ll do great.”

  She knew they would, but knowing it didn’t settle her nerves.

  MAC LOOKED AT HIS WATCH. What was keeping Nikki? It was getting close to one o’clock, and people from around Desperation were already arriving, but he hadn’t seen Nikki since their quick lunch, when she’d wished the boys good luck.

  “We’ll have to build bleachers if we continue to do this,” Jules, beside him, said with a laugh.

  Although he knew he probably shouldn’t be, Mac was surprised at the number of people who had come to watch the exhibition. “Looks like we’re going to have quite a crowd.”

  “They’re ready, aren’t they?” she asked. “The boys, I mean. I know Nikki has faith in them and says they are, but…”

  “They’re ready. She’s kept the whole thing simple. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

  “Oh, I know I will,” she said. “I guess I’m feeling the same nerves the boys must be. Nikki, too. And shouldn’t she be here by now?”

  Mac looked around the area near the corral, feeling the same nervousness Jules was, until he spied Nikki. “There she is,” he said, pointing to the other side of the corral.

  They watched as she spoke with some of the guests, all friends and neighbors. Mac quickly chided himself for being worried. Nikki wasn’t the type to let the boys or the O’Briens down. Even as upset as she’d been about Kirby, there wasn’t a hint of it now as she helped find chairs and greeted everyone.

  “I should go give her hand,” Jules said. “She’ll lose track of time if one of them starts bending her ear.”

  Mac laughed, agreeing, and started for the barn, where he found the boys talking in loud whispers. “Are you all ready?” he asked, and noticed that several of them jumped at the sound of his voice.

  “Where’s Nikki?” Ray asked.

  “She’ll be here in a minute,” he assured them all. “Is anybody nervous?”

  Five heads shook, while one remained still. Kirby appeared to have emotionally detached himself from the others, although he stood in the midst of them. Mac knew he needed to bring him out of it, at least until the exhibition was over. “Ready to put on a show, Kirby?”

  For a moment the boy remained still, his eyes wide. “Yes,” he finally answered.

  Mac nodded. “Good.”

  Nikki walked into the barn, her steps brisk and self-assured as she approached them. “Five more minutes.”

  Mac looked around at the smiling yet nervous faces of the six boys. “They’re ready to put on a show,” he said, smiling at each of them.

  “Just so you all know,” she said when she reached them, “there’s quite a crowd out there. Don’t let it bother you. Everyone out there is cheering for you, so everything you do will be special to them. Jules will welcome our guests. After that, Mac is going to make the opening introductions, and you’ll know what’s next when he announces it. Any questions?” Six boys shook their heads. “Okay, then. I’ll be close by, so if you have a problem, don’t worry. I’ll be there to help.”

  The horses waited, tied along the fence on one side of the corral, when the group stepped out of the barn and into the bright sunshine. The crowd quieted. Each boy walked to his own horse, while Jules welcomed the friends and neighbors who’d come to see the show. When she was done, Mac took the cordless microphone from her.

  “It’s great that all of you have come out here to the Bent Tree Boys Ranch to meet our boys and see what they’ve learned,” he told the crowd. He went on to explain how hard the boys had worked on their riding skills and how far they’d come since the first day Nikki had introduced them to the wooden horse. The crowd enjoyed the story, eager to see for themselves what the boys could do.

  The boys began by saddling their horses. Mac, with Shawn’s help, had built a set of steps for Kirby, and Shamar helped lift the saddle when the time came. The crowd loved it.

  The show continued with the boys taking their horses from simple walking to trotting and loping. They formed two teams and rode a relay race along the length of the corral, passing off bandannas to the next rider. The exhibition ended with pole bending, as the boys formed a line and loped their horses in an intricate pattern around the six poles Mac and Shawn had placed in the ground.

  The boys beamed with pride when they dismounted, and the crowd cheered them. Even Kirby smiled, Mac noted.

  But to everyone’s surprise, and especially to Mac’s, the show wasn’t quite over. Nikki appeared at the opening of the barn, dressed in Native American attire, her hair twisted into two braids and wrapped with rawhide and feathers. The horse beneath her danced, as if impatient to get moving. With a loud yell, she urged her mount forward, and the crowd watched, enthralled, as she raced around the poles in a fine exhibition of pole bending.

  Tanner, who’d arrived right after Jules’s welcome to the guests and now stood with her and Mac, suddenly turned toward the house and walked away. Jules caught up with him, and Mac heard bits and pieces of what they were saying.

  “…leave now,” Jules said.

  “I can’t watch it,” Tanner answered.

  “Nikki worked hard on all of this,” Jules pointed out. “You can’t just leave.”

  “I’ll be back.” He breathed out a heavy sigh. “It reminds me too much of Sally. I remember watching her practice in that same corral. It’s just too much.”

  “Tanner,” Jules called as the crowd whistled and applauded at the end of Nikki’s ride.

  Mac turned to look, but Tanner was nearly to the house.

  “I apologize for my husband,” Jules said when she rejoined Mac. “He has some issues from his childhood that he can’t seem to deal with or get over.”

  Mac picked up the microphone to close the program, intending to forget what he’d heard. “We all have something,” he told her before turning on the mic. “Don’t worry about it.”

  But Jules wasn’t the only one who’d noticed Tanner leaving. As friends and neighbors gathered around the boys, chatting and congratulating them on a job well done, Nikki walked up to join Mac, a slight frown on her face.

  “Did Tanner leave?” she asked, searching the crowd.

  Jules, standing nearby, joined them. “He had a call he had to take.” She glanced at Mac and shook her head when Nikki’s attention was diverted. “He’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

  “You certainly surprised us, Nikki,” Mac said, changing the subject. “Very impressive riding.”

  “The boys have been nagging me about what they refer to as my ‘trick riding.’ Maybe someday I’ll show them the real stuff. But for now, they have something to work toward.”

  Before Mac could comment, Bridey walked up and announced there were refreshments. “Be sure to get a piece of the special cake for the boys,” she told them.

  Mac noticed that Nikki was surrounded by guests, praising her and the boys. It was her moment, hers and the boys, and he couldn’t have been prouder of all of them.

  “YOU’VE MET Kate and Trish, haven’t you?” Jules asked, opening the door and stepping inside the white, two-story farm house.

  Nikki followed her into the home of Kate McPherson, one of Jules’s closest friends. “Yes, at the fall festival and today at the boys’ riding exhibition.”

  Kate appeared in the entryway. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you decided to join us, Nikki.” She looped her arm with Nikki’s and led her away. “We try to do this once a month. It’s our ladies’ day in, our time to get away from the guys and the kids.”

  “Are your twins awake?”

  “Tyler and Travis are at Trish’s, with Krista. One of the high school girls is there with them,” Kate explained.

  “I still can’t believe you both had your babies on the same day.”

  “It’s Trish’s fault,” Kate said. “All the excitement of Krista’s birth put me into labor.”

  “It was perfect timing for Paig
e,” Jules chimed in.

  “This is so beautiful,” Nikki said as they stepped into a brightly lit room, filled with flowers and plants.

  “Dusty added it onto the house last fall, while I was busy with wedding plans. He’s become quite the do-it-yourselfer since retiring from bull riding.” She picked up a remote control from one of the glass-topped tables and held it up. “I can even bring shades down at the touch of a button. They help keep the room cool in the heat of the day.”

  Nikki was in love with the room. “I’d spend every minute out here.”

  Jules laughed. “Oh, believe me, she does.”

  Kate nodded, laughing, too. “Every chance I get. But let’s go sit on the deck. Trish is out there.”

  Nikki stepped through the glass French doors Kate opened for them and walked out into the September evening. Trish Rule, seated in a large, white wicker chair, waved to them. “Hi, Nikki! I’m glad you joined us today. We enjoyed the riding exhibition this afternoon. You’ve done wonders with those boys.”

  Nikki’s heart filled with pride as her cheeks heated with a blush. “Thank you. They worked very hard, so it was easy for me. And thanks for including me tonight. I’m glad I came.”

  Jules and her friends had treated her as if they’d known her forever, the moment they met. That sort of thing seemed to come with the territory around Desperation. Since she’d arrived, everyone had been kind and welcoming. But she wasn’t so sure that would be true if they knew who she was. Sally wasn’t a favorite among the O’Briens, and more than likely the community felt the same way. She couldn’t blame them, but her mother had changed, and she hoped would someday be forgiven.

  “Paige said she’d be a little late,” Jules said, settling onto a chair next to Trish, who turned to Nikki.

  “Have you met Paige?”

  Taking the seat across from her, Nikki shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”

  Kate poured tea over ice in a glass and handed it to her. “Oh, you’ll love her. She’s Desperation’s doctor.”

  “And our city attorney’s sister,” Trish said. “He’s single, by the way,” she added with a wicked grin.

  “And good-looking,” Kate chimed in.

  “We’ll introduce you to him as soon as we get a chance,” Jules finished with a wink.

  Nikki couldn’t keep from laughing. “I see you’re all in the matchmaking business.”

  “Kate and I inherited it,” Trish told her. “It’s in our genes.”

  Kate nodded. “Good old Aunt Aggie,” she said with a chuckle. “One way or another, she was going to get me married off to Dusty or die trying, no matter how much I didn’t agree with the idea.” She spun around to face Trish. “Don’t you dare tell her I used the word old.”

  They all burst out laughing. “I swear,” Trish answered, making an X on her chest with her finger. “But it took both Aunt Aggie and Hettie to bring Morgan around.”

  “And you,” Kate reminded her.

  Trish leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Seems like a lifetime ago.” She turned to Jules. “What about Beth? Is she going to make it tonight?”

  Jules shook her head and settled on the chair next to Nikki. “She and Michael had things to do,” she said, turning to Nikki. “While we’re letting you in on how we nabbed our husbands—or they nabbed us—I should tell you that it was Beth who introduced me to Tanner.”

  “Beth Weston, the veterinarian?”

  “One and the same. We became best friends when we were twelve. Then, too,” she went on, smiling at Kate, “Dusty had a hand in it, although some would argue that he was pushing in the opposite direction.”

  “Apart?” Nikki asked, looking from one woman to the other.

  Jules wrinkled her nose. “Not really. He just told me how it was with rodeo and let me take it from there. He was right. But to be honest, it was Shawn who stepped in and gave the last push that led us to take the big step.”

  A few moments of silence followed, and Nikki suspected that each of them was thinking about the not so distant past, wondering what might have happened if something—anything—had been different. She often wondered the same about her own life.

  “I wanted to tell you, Nikki,” Kate said, breaking the silence, “I enjoyed watching you ride today. It was fabulous!”

  Nikki felt her face heat with embarrassment again, but managed a smile. “Thanks. Pole bending is similar to barrel racing, which I did when I was much younger.”

  Jules slowly turned to look at her. “You’re a barrel racer?”

  “Past tense,” Nikki assured her.

  Trish leaned forward. “Where did you get that great costume you wore? It was beautiful. The beads, the feathers… Gorgeous.”

  Nikki knew she was cornered. She couldn’t tell them it had belonged to her mother. “My grandmother made it. If you really liked it, there’s a Native American celebration scheduled for next weekend in Tahlequah.” Feeling brave, she turned to Jules. “Maybe Tanner would like to see some Cherokee history.”

  Jules shook her head, and then let out a long sigh. “Tanner doesn’t claim his Cherokee roots. He resents his Cherokee mother. She abandoned him, his younger brother and their father when Tanner was seven. He avoids anything connected to Cherokees or Native Americans.”

  Nikki’s hopes evaporated. She’d suspected Tanner’s life had been changed when their mother had left, but she hadn’t expected he would feel the way he did.

  “But he hired Nikki,” Kate pointed out.

  Nikki, feeling the sting of rejection her mother had warned her about, corrected her. “Jules hired me, not Tanner.”

  Once again they grew quiet, then Jules sighed. “I’m sorry, Nikki. It really isn’t about you, just…”

  Nikki understood completely. If she’d been in Tanner’s shoes, she would probably feel the same. But she’d seen how Sally’s choices had affected her life. She’d been young and hadn’t realized that marriage wasn’t a ticket to freedom and fun. Even as a small child, Nikki had seen the wanderlust in her mother’s eyes when she talked about barrel racing. But Sally had left rodeo and become the kind of mother she knew she should have been from the beginning—sometimes to the extent of smothering. At least now Nikki knew why.

  “Nikki?”

  Looking up, she saw them all watching her. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

  “We’re going inside for some food,” Kate said, standing.

  Nikki nodded and followed them inside, but her thoughts were on Jules’s revelation about Tanner. It made a difference. He might never accept her as his sister, considering how he felt about their mother. Rejection, she feared, was a sure thing, and it might be better if she gave more thought to telling him, at least for now.

  Chapter Ten

  “Come on. Get in.”

  Nikki stared at the classic red sports car and then at Mac. “Why?”

  Mac had expected her to be surprised by the car, but he didn’t think she’d be afraid of it. He also knew she’d insist on knowing how he could afford it on a wrangler’s salary.

  “I thought we’d take a ride,” he answered.

  She’d turned back to look at the car. “A ride to where?”

  “Just a ride.” He wasn’t going to tell her where. She’d never get into the car if he did. Not that she seemed even tempted to. “It’s a nice day,” he said, keeping it simple. “Or haven’t you noticed? And it’ll do you good to get away from here for a while.”

  She took a step back, still gazing at the car, a frown on her pretty face. She turned to look at him, her eyes narrowed. “Whose car is this?”

  “Mine.” He always felt proud saying that and even more so at that moment.

  “You stole it?”

  His first reaction was to stare at her, but when he realized she was joking, he laughed. “Of course I didn’t steal it. It’s mine, so hop in and we’ll take a spin.”

  “But where?”

  His frustration climbed with each question she asked. “Does it
matter where we’re going?”

  Her shoulders rose and sank in a slow shrug. “I guess not.”

  “Then get in,” he said, opening the passenger door of the convertible for her.

  “What about the boys?”

  “Shawn’s with them right now, throwing together a basketball game. And you know how Benito loves his basketball. We won’t be gone all day.”

  After closing her door, he went around the front of the car, climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine. The sound of the motor calmed his exasperation. If nothing else, she’d enjoy a comfortable ride.

  “Just out of curiosity,” she began, “what kind of car is this?”

  He smiled as he turned out of the drive and onto the county road, going slowly so the sand wouldn’t damage his beauty. “It’s a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III BJ8.”

  “The name’s bigger than the car.”

  He glanced at her, but she was looking straight ahead, her mouth still pulled down in a slight frown.

  “You must be the richest wrangler I ever met,” she said with a glance in his direction.

  “I wasn’t a wrangler when I bought it.” He’d decided today wasn’t going to be about him, so he changed the subject. “Better tie down your hair,” he warned. “We’re coming to the highway, and I’m not inclined to baby her today.”

  Once he was on blacktop, he pushed hard on the accelerator, pressing her back in her seat, her dark hair flying in the wind. “Don’t you think you should slow down?” she asked.

  “Believe it or not, we’re under the speed limit.”

  All conversation stopped as he settled in his seat for the drive and noticed she did the same. The countryside around them was ablaze with the colors of autumn. The browns of tilled fields contrasted with the reds, oranges and yellows of the leaves still clinging to trees.

  It wasn’t long before they reached their destination. “Here we are,” he announced, turning onto a long, rock-covered lane.

  “Where’s here?”

  “Someplace I thought you might be interested in seeing.” When she looked at him, he knew she hadn’t seen the sign before they’d turned. “It’s an EAP facility.”