Ty did his best to pay attention to what Lexi was telling him. It was extremely difficult when her touch on his thigh nearly made him fall off the opposite side of the horse. Her warm, delicate hand on his back seared through his shirt and branded his skin.
Swede cackled and drew near on Ty’s other side.
“What she’s tryin’ to say is keep yer butt on the saddle. Pretend your back is a broom handle and your rear is the broom, sweepin’ back and forth,” Swede said, enjoying the lesson and the resulting look of discomfort and annoyance on Ty’s face. “Ya look like one of them bobble-head toy things, bouncin’ all over creation.”
“Yes, sir,” Ty said under his breath as Lexi drew her hand away. She gave him a warm smile and an encouraging nod. Visualizing a broom, Ty tried hard to follow their direction. After a while, he found himself moving with the horse instead of fighting against it.
“That’s awesome, Ty. You’ve got it,” Lexi said with a triumphant grin. “Look at him, Swede.”
“Yer doin’ just fine, dude,” Swede assured him.
They rode in silence a few more minutes and then Lexi told him they were going to try a gallop. She explained that it was like cantering, only faster and smoother.
“Instead of three beats, you’ll hear four.” Lexi continued riding close to Ty.
“Beats?” Ty asked, trying to maintain his successful movements on Delilah.
“Hoof beats,” Lexi said with an indulgent look on her face. “When a horse canters, you hear three hoof beats hitting the ground. With a gallop, you’ll hear four. You like music and drums, so listen and see if you can hear it.”
Lexi and Swede urged their horses ahead and Delilah picked up speed, following their lead. As they hit full gallop, Ty realized Lexi was right. The gait was smoother. As he listened, he heard four beats that sounded drum-like. The world zoomed by and Ty almost felt like he was flying as the horses raced along an open pasture. He could get used to this.
As Lexi and Swede reined in their horses and gave Ty instruction in doing the same, he couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
“This is cool,” he said as they slowed the horses back to a walk.
“You’re doing very well for your first lesson,” Lexi said, looking at Swede for confirmation.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say yer a natural at this, son,” Swede said with a wink.
“Thanks, sir. That means a lot, coming from you.”
They rode back to the house a different direction. Lexi alternated between cantering and walking all the way back. Much to his surprise, Ty enjoyed the experience. In fact, he was looking forward to his next lesson. Not just for the opportunity to spend time with Lexi, but also because he’d had fun riding.
“I can’t wait to tell Beth about this,” Ty said as they stopped at the barn and dismounted.
“What will she say?” Lexi asked as they removed the saddles.
“That she can’t believe I not only rode a horse but liked it.” Ty followed Lexi into the barn, carrying his saddle. They stored them in the tack room then Lexi showed him how to brush down the horses before turning them loose in the fenced pasture by the barn.
Lexi walked with him back to the shop, stopping at the door before he went inside.
“I’m really proud of you, Ty. You were a wonderful student and Swede’s correct, you took to that like you were born to it. I look forward to another lesson with you soon.” She pressed a quick kiss to Ty’s scruffy cheek before hurrying toward the house.
Ty watched her go. A fleeting thought about shaving more frequently flipped through his mind, lifting the corners of his mouth in a grin.
Lesson Seven
Clothes Make the Man
“Ya got to walk the walk, talk the talk,
and wear the boots, pard.”
Although Ty was a little sore as the day wore on from the ride, he didn’t give it another thought, until he woke up the next morning in agony.
Muscles he didn’t even know existed burned and cried out in protest of being forced into use. From the neck down, he was a hot, aching mass of sore muscles. After multiple efforts, he finally managed to sit up in bed. After taking an inventory of his pain, Ty decided the worst of it was between his waist and his knees.
Slowly dressing, he had to sit on the bed and gingerly pull on one jean leg, then the other. He rested before attempting to pull on his socks and boots. Not only were his muscles aching, his baggy jeans had rubbed sore spots on his inner thighs and backside.
With a groan, he stood and zipped up his jeans. He certainly hoped Lexi didn’t have plans for a lesson today. He didn’t think he could get in the saddle, let alone sit on it.
Determined to walk normally, he sauntered out to the breakfast table and joined in the good-natured teasing. Mustering every ounce of bravado he possessed, he walked to the shop and collapsed onto his padded stool. It was going to be a very long day.
Mid-morning, Lexi poked her head in the door and watched him shuffling around the shop. At the sound of movement, Ty assumed it was Baby and didn’t even look up to see what the dog was up to.
“Hey, Baby, come give me some love,” Ty said when the dog didn’t lean against his leg like she usually did when she came in.
“What did you have in mind?” Lexi teased as she walked over to him.
Ty’s neck turned a bright shade of red and his face felt hot as he turned to look at his boss.
“My apologies, ma’am,” Ty said, embarrassed. He should have noticed Lexi’s scent wafting across the shop, but it was so ingrained into his brain he randomly smelled it when she was nowhere around. “I thought you were the dog.”
“Is that your customary greeting for Baby?” Lexi asked, finding it amusing to see Ty flustered. He was usually so calm and cool, she didn’t know he could get so rattled.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Ty admitted. He had a soft spot the size of Texas for that darn dog and now everyone would know about it.
“I think it’s sweet.” Lexi leaned against the counter next to where he worked on some small part that looked like a foreign mass of metal to her. “No wonder Baby thinks you’re the best thing to come along since the invention of dog food.”
Ty laughed and turned to look at her. She was so beautiful. With her leaning against the counter and him sitting on the stool, their eyes and lips were at the same level. He could see the warm flecks of gold shining from her deep green eyes and noticed, for the first time, a little mole at the corner of her left eye. He had the most intense desire to kiss the mole then work his way around to her rosy lips.
As her warm, floral scent floated around him, he swallowed twice just to keep his thoughts from spiraling out of control.
Lexi should have stayed at the door instead of getting close to Ty. Every time she did, she seemed to lose her ability to think with any degree of sense. All she wanted was to feel Ty’s arms around her and his lips on hers. Just once. That’s all she needed.
When he thought he was talking to the dog, Lexi wanted nothing more than to comply with his order and give him some love. She wouldn’t mind having him call her baby, either. The sound of that deep voice saying her name made her toes tingle every single time.
Instead of giving in to her desire to sit on Ty’s lap and kiss him senseless, she got down to the matter at hand that brought her to the shop in the first place.
“I was wondering how you were feeling today. You did so well with the riding yesterday, I realized too late we probably overdid it,” Lexi said, looking at Ty and trying to decide if he would admit he was in pain. Her guess was probably not.
“I’m fine.” He shot her what he hoped was a convincing smile.
“Good. I wouldn’t want you to be sore or anything.” She knew Ty wasn’t telling her the truth as he moved uncomfortably on the stool. “Because if you were, then I’d tell you to rub some liniment into the muscles and put some antibiotic cream on any open sores you might have. But I’m glad to hear you’re fine. I don’t
have time for a lesson today, so we’ll plan on resuming tomorrow. Okay?”
“Yep, that’s fine.” Ty tried to keep his tone even, wondering how Lexi could possibly know he ached so badly he could hardly stand it. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“Anytime, buckaroo,” Lexi teased as she walked to the door, noticing Ty didn’t get up and walk with her like he always did. “Maybe we can discuss giving you some love another time.”
Ty watched her retreating form, wondering if she was teasing or serious. Before he had time to get worked up about it, his sister called.
“Hi, Beth! How’s my favorite nephew and his mama?” Ty hoped his sister had more photos to send him. Nate had kept up a steady stream of pictures, but he didn’t get any yesterday.
“We couldn’t be better, unless you were here.” Beth’s voice sounding excited.
“What’s up? You sound like you’ve got good news,” Ty said, attuned to his sister’s tone of voice.
“Nate got a job!” Beth near shouted with enthusiasm. “He’ll be able to mostly work from home, so he can take care of Jax and we won’t have to leave him with a sitter very often. Isn’t that great?”
“It’s better than great. It’s fantastic,” Ty said, joining in her excitement. “When does he start? Who’s he working for? What will he be doing?”
Beth filled him in on the details. They chatted for a few minutes, before the baby began to cry, ready for a feeding.
“Take care of Jax and give him a kiss for me, Beth.” Ty wished he could see the baby in person. “Tell Nate congratulations. I’m so happy for both of you.”
“I will,” Beth said. “Oh, and Ty?”
“Yeah?”
“You need to stop sending us money. Now that Nate is employed, we’ll be fine. You need to start building your nest egg back up. You never know when you’re going to need it.”
“But Beth, I’ve already told you…” Ty was exasperated by his sister’s stubbornness. She and Nate helped him out when he lost his job as much as they could. It was his turn to help them.
“I don’t care what you’ve told me. Nate and I both appreciated all your help, but we truly are going to be fine now. You hang onto your money. If we get in a tight spot, I promise to tell you to hand it over.” Beth tried to joke to lighten things between them.
“Just be sure you do,” he said, deciding to bank his money and save it for whenever Nate and Beth might need help. “Love you, sis.”
“Love you, too. Bye.”
After hanging up with Beth, he got lost in his thoughts. The growling of his stomach a couple of hours later alerted him that it was nearly noon. Quickly washing up, he made a sandwich and took a cold bottle of soda pop from the refrigerator, slowly moving back toward the stool.
If anything, he felt worse instead of better. He had no idea how he’d make it through the rest of the day. Contemplating what to do, Swede yanked him from his musing when he bustled inside the shop with a grin.
“Ya about done with yer lunch?” Swede asked as Ty took the last bite of his sandwich.
“Yep. What can I do for you?” Ty tossed the paper plate into the trash and his empty soda bottle into a box he kept for recycling.
“Lex told me to get ya properly outfitted before yer next riding lesson. Let’s get goin’.” Swede stood in the shop door, waiting for Ty to put some hustle in it and step outside.
“Right now?” Ty bit back a groan as he slid off the stool and attempted to shrug out of his coveralls. Apparently, he didn’t hide his grimace as well as he thought when Swede released an amused cackle.
“Yer as stove-up as a three-legged mule in a mud hole. Let’s get ya to town and we’ll pick up something to help them sore muscles while we’re at it.”
“Yes, sir.” Ty shuffled out the door and followed Swede to the ranch truck.
An hour later, he stared at row after row of cowboy boots in a big feed store. Swede made him try on half a dozen pairs before Ty started getting a feel for what he wanted. It took a dozen more before he finally narrowed down his selection to a pair of brown boots that would serve him well on the ranch. Should the occasion warrant, he could clean them up and give them a bit of polish to wear to mandatory cowboy functions. The boots were sturdy, yet comfortable, and affordable.
“Ya made a good choice, son.” Swede led him to the men’s clothing department. “Now we need to get ya some jeans. Those baggy-butt things you been wearin’ are fine in the shop, but ya can’t ride in them. Bet ya got some friction sores from ridin’ yesterday, don’t ya?”
“A few,” Ty said, trying to hide his discomfort, both from the sores and the conversation. Overwhelmed by the stacks of blue jeans, he tipped his head toward Swede. “Show me what I need and I’ll try them on.”
Swede pointed to a table full of Wranglers, helped Ty find his size, and waited while he tried them on. Ty thought they felt strange and way too tight, but when he stepped out of the dressing room wearing a pair, Swede nodded his head.
“Are you sure they’re supposed to fit like this?” Ty bent over, concerned the fabric would split along the back seams.
Swede snagged the attention of a nearby salesgirl. “Do you think those jeans fit him okay, miss? Does he need a bigger size?”
When she turned around and saw Ty squatting down to make sure the jeans would move with him, her eyes grew wide and her cheeks turned pink, but she smiled broadly.
“I think those are the perfect size,” she said, unable to take her eyes off the handsome man or the way the Wranglers fit him like a smooth leather glove. She hadn’t seen him in the store before, but if he was with Swede, that must mean he’d be out at the Rockin’ R Ranch. Lex Ryan was one lucky girl. “Absolutely perfect.”
Heat climbed up Ty’s neck at her obvious perusal and approval. Convinced the jeans were too tight, he supposed Swede knew more about how they should fit than he did.
“Good. He’ll take three pairs,” Swede said, pointing to Ty’s size. The salesgirl took the jeans and Ty’s boots up to the counter, but looked back their direction several times.
“Is that it?” Ty asked as he came out of the dressing room with a pair of jeans in his hand.
“Nope. Ya need a hat. Ya can’t be out in the sun without one and yer ball cap just ain’t gonna cut it.” Swede moved over to a display of straw cowboy hats.
“Should I get one like yours?” Ty said, pointing to a display of felt hats. He wasn’t sure about the straw hats and if he was going to have to wear one, he’d rather get one he liked.
“Ya can,” Swede said, looking at Ty. “Git a felt hat now and when summer hits, ya can git a straw hat. The felts git a might warm in the summer, but they’ll serve ya well the rest of the year. If ya git a good one, it should last ya a long, long time.”
“Well, let’s get a good one then.” Ty tried on a variety of styles, finally settling on a black cattleman style hat with a wide brim. He felt completely stupid wearing the hat, but decided he would look at the new cowboy clothes as part of a uniform required for his job.
“Thet’s a dandy!” Swede said with a cackle as Ty adjusted the hat on his head. “A real dandy.”
“All right. I have boots, jeans and a hat. I suppose shirts are next on the list?” Ty wondered how much this shopping trip was going to cost him.
“Yeah, we better git ya a few. Ya’ll be glad for these in another month or so when it’s hot enough to fry a lizard on the sidewalk.” Swede browsed through a rack of cotton shirts with snaps. Ty choose four, all in shades of blue or gray.
“Are we done now?” Ty asked as they neared the front of the store. He never thought he’d see the day when he’d be dressing like a cowboy. Or trying to become a cowboy, however reluctantly.
“Almost. Ya need a good pair of leather gloves and ya better grab a couple pairs of boot socks. I’ll git yer socks while ya try on some gloves. One of these will work fine.” Swede pointed to a display.
Ty tried on several, selecting a pair that was smooth
and soft. They made him think of the way Lexi’s skin felt beneath his hands the few times he’d touched her. Thoughts of her made him smile. He wondered what she’d say when she saw him in his new clothes.
“You should do that more often,” the salesgirl said from beside him.
Confused, Ty looked down at her. She was a pretty girl, dressed in western wear with a canvas apron emblazoned with the store name across the front tied around her waist. She looked up at him with a smile that was more invitation than friendly gesture.
“Pardon?”
“You should smile more often. It makes you look not quite so dangerous,” she said, stepping around him to the cash register. “You ready to check out?”
“Not quite, but thanks,” he said, looking around for Swede. He finally spied the foreman deep in conversation with another rancher who appeared to be Swede’s age. Briskly walking that direction, Swede waved him over and introduced him.
“Ty, this is Jim Gardner. He’s one of our neighbors. His place borders ours on the west,” Swede said as the men shook hands. “Ty is our new mechanic.”
“Mechanic you say? What can you fix?” Jim asked.
Before Ty could answer, Swede grabbed his arm and hustled him toward the cash registers. “Sorry, Jim, didn’t realize how late it was gittin’ to be. Talk to ya soon.”
“What was that all about?” Ty asked as they stood in line and Swede handed him several pairs of socks.
“If Jim finds out how good ya are, he’ll try to steal ya away from Lex.” Swede glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one listened to their conversation.
Indignant, Ty shook his head. “He could only steal me away if I was willing to go, and I’m not.” Annoyed Swede thought he’d jump ship that easily, Ty wouldn’t even entertain the idea of doing such a thing. “I came to work for the Rockin’ R Ranch and until you or the boss tells me otherwise, that’s where I plan to stay.”
Swede looked at him a moment then gave him a broad smile along with a slap on his shoulder. “I knew ya were a keeper. Jes knew it.”
Learnin' The Ropes Page 12