“Just warning you in advance that this outfit manufactures lemons. Come on, Cade, maybe you can jerry-rig that confounded hose one more time.” Herb started toward the back of the barn.
“I’m at your service.” With a tip of his hat to Matt and Geena, Cade followed Herb.
“You’ll have a horse on your ranch?” Geena’s eyes lit up.
“At least two.” Now that his brother and his dad were at the other end of the barn, he felt more comfortable putting his arm around her as they walked over to Navarre’s stall.
“You must be planning to take people out riding. That sounds like fun.” Her comment sounded wistful, as if she’d like that.
“You’re invited anytime.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“But, to be totally honest, that’s not the main reason I’d buy two. Horses get nervous if there’s only one of them. They’re herd animals.” He stopped in front of Navarre’s stall and clucked to the dark chestnut. “Hey, boy. Come on over and meet Geena.”
“Look at you, Navarre,” she crooned. “You’re a handsome guy, just like your namesake.” She reached out to stroke the nose that Navarre poked over the stall door.
“I take it your mom owned Ladyhawke, too.”
“She did, but I bought my own copy. I watch it every year or two. Now when I do, I’ll think of this beautiful horse.”
He hoped she’d think of him, too. No guarantees on that, though. A crisis had thrown them into close contact, but once the crisis was over, who knew what would happen? Maybe she’d fall in love with Wyoming and want to spend more time here with him, and maybe she wouldn’t.
He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Ready to meet Isabeau?”
“Sure. And there she is, right there waiting for us.” She moved closer to the stall door. “Hi, Isabeau, sweetheart.” She stroked the mare’s glossy neck. “You’re a dainty girl, aren’t you?” She looked up at Matt. “Why aren’t they in the same stall?”
“I doubt they’d want that.” He tried not to smile because she was adorably serious with that question.
“Navarre and Isabeau don’t like each other?”
“They do, but that doesn’t mean they want to share a stall. As you can see, that would be close quarters. They enjoy having their own space.”
“Were they ever in the same stall?”
“Truthfully, I doubt it. They might not mirror the Ladyhawke movie script, but they like each other. I’d go so far as to say they’re devoted to each other. They’re a good choice to take out for a two-person trail ride. If there’s time, maybe we could...oh, wait. Lexi offered to give you a lesson. That’s probably a better idea, to start with her. She’s an excellent teacher and I want you to have a good experience.”
“Are you offering to take me on a trail ride?”
“I was, but then I remembered about Lexi. And I’m sure your time here is limited. When do you fly back?”
“When we’ve figured out how to deal with Briana.”
He stared at her as he processed the meaning of that statement. “You didn’t buy a round-trip ticket?”
“Nope. We need a game plan and I don’t see the point in flying home without one. I can’t predict how long it will take to come up with something, so I didn’t buy a return ticket yet.”
“That makes no sense. You have other clients. You can’t hang out with me in Wyoming and ignore them.”
“I won’t ignore them. I’ll check in with Larissa on a regular basis. She’s in charge while I’m gone, but I intend to keep tabs on things by phone and email. She’ll let me know if anything major happens.”
“I suppose most things can be handled that way.”
“Most things.” She gazed at him. “But not this issue.”
“Because I turned off my phone. I’m surprised you haven’t yelled at me for doing that.”
“How could I? You turned it off because I wasn’t being helpful. Cutting off communication forced me to dig a little deeper and figure out why you didn’t want to talk to me. I knew we had to work it out in person, so here I am. The more time we can spend doing that, the sooner I can get back.”
Now, there was a challenging puzzle. The more they were together, the less time she’d be here. “So a trail ride with me would suit you?”
“I’d love it, especially if I can take my phone to keep tabs on the office.”
“Absolutely.”
“You were right about horses being incredible animals. There’s no doubt Lexi has a lot to teach me, but I’ll bet I could sit on a gentle horse and ride down the trail without falling off.”
“I’m sure you could. I want to put in some time cleaning cabins first thing today, but we might be able to pack a lunch and go out around noon.”
“I’ll help with the cabins. We can brainstorm while we’re cleaning.”
“Yeah, no.” Laughing, he shook his head. “Not happening.”
“Why not? Scrubbing and thinking go great together.”
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think my mom’s going to let you muck out cabins. Just a guess.”
“I know how to clean. My nanny, Beatrice, used to let me help her. It was fun, although Beatrice made me swear I wouldn’t tell my mother.”
“I’m sure you’re amazing with a mop, but you’re a guest.”
“Uninvited guest.”
“Trust me, nobody thinks of you that way now. You won’t be allowed to clean.”
She frowned at him. “I didn’t come here to sit around like some princess while everyone else works.”
“You feel strongly about this.”
“Yes, I do. Your family needs us to help, not hinder.”
“Then maybe we can work out a compromise with my mom. We’ll offer to tackle a few jobs together in the morning, and then as a reward we’ll pack a lunch and take off on a trail ride. She might go for that, especially if you tell her you like to clean.”
“All right. We’ll try that approach.”
“Great. Now, let’s get these critters out to the pasture.”
“Will I get to see them run?”
“Linus will run, for sure. Sometimes he convinces Hematite to play chase with him. But let’s start with Navarre and Isabeau. Want to help me lead ’em out?”
“Yes!”
So he fetched a couple of lead ropes from the tack room. She took to the process as if she’d been doing it her whole life. When all the horses had been turned out, he leaned shoulder to shoulder with her at the gate as they watched Linus and Hematite kick up their heels.
She followed their movements, laughing as they bucked and spun, gold and ebony coats gleaming in the sunlight. “So beautiful.”
He studied her profile—the high, intelligent forehead, deep-set eyes and determined chin. She’d chosen to wear glasses instead of contacts, and he thought that suited her straightforward personality. Her smile dimpled her cheek and a breeze coaxed strands of her hair out of her ponytail to curl at her nape. “Yes, ma’am,” he murmured. “Beautiful.”
She glanced over at him, her green eyes filled with happiness. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“It’s not flattery. It’s the truth.”
“Thank you, Matt. I feel beautiful when you look at me like that. I also want to kiss the living daylights out of you.”
“I’d be fine with it if I didn’t see my dad and Cade coming out of the barn.”
“I thought they might be, which is why I didn’t lay one on you.” She pushed away from the gate. “Let’s go have some of that breakfast Lexi’s so keen on. Where is she, by the way? I can’t imagine her sleeping in.”
Matt took her hand as they walked back to the house. “Cade said she’s updating her website. She never seems to find the time, and she’s added some new fea
tures to her riding clinics.”
“Clinics, huh? Obviously there’s more to her job description than just riding teacher.”
“A lot more. She gives clinics all over, even out of the state. Sure you don’t want to take a lesson from her before we go on a trail ride?”
“Let’s do the trail ride as planned. If she’s so busy she doesn’t have time for her website, she might have trouble working me in.”
“She’ll make the time.”
“I know she will. She doesn’t seem like the type who reneges on a promise, but a simple trail ride sounds easy enough unless you think I can’t handle it.”
“You can and it’ll be fun.” His body warmed with anticipation. She might be focused on discussing their PR problem on that trail ride, but he had some ideas that had nothing to do with business. Cade had brought a box of condoms down to the barn this morning. Matt had hidden it in the tack room behind some old blankets, but not before he’d pocketed a few.
He’d planned to take her over to his ranch, but he didn’t know what he’d find there. Last night, desperate for private time, he’d thought a trip to his recently purchased ranch would be perfect. In the light of day he couldn’t picture making out in dusty, empty rooms.
A trail ride had all kinds of things going for it, though—fresh air, wildflowers and grassy meadows. If he wanted to do a subtle sales job on Wyoming, a trail ride to a picturesque clearing he knew about and a picnic on a soft blanket should do the trick.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said, “but being around horses feels very natural to me. Maybe that’s because of all the movies I watched, although somehow I never imagined that I could ride. My life was crammed with lessons aimed at making me a performer. My mom would have considered riding a hobby, like knitting or scrapbooking. I didn’t have time for hobbies.”
“How about now?”
“What a thought! I’ve been concentrating on building my business, but why not have some hobbies?” She glanced at him. “Do you have any?”
“Not yet. But I figure my ranch will qualify once I get everything set up.”
“Oh, it will. I imagine it as a place to de-stress and get back to basics.”
“That’s exactly my vision. You just nailed it.”
“Matt, I have the best idea.”
“What?”
“Your ranch is nearby, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I wanted to be close to my folks.”
“That’s perfect, then! We can ride to your ranch and have lunch there. Your first meal in your new home. Can we do that? I really want to see it.”
“Uh, okay, but I don’t know what shape the place will be in. The house is empty of furniture, far as I know, and I’ll bet there’s dust an inch thick on—”
“I don’t care about that. We can open the windows to let in fresh air. I’ll bet Rosie has a dustpan and whiskbroom we could take along. We’ll clear a spot and spread a blanket on the floor. I would be so honored to be the first person you entertain at your ranch.”
“And I’d be honored to have you.” So much for his picnic in the meadow, but maybe this would be better.
“I think everyone needs a place to get away from the pressures of a job, but judging from my experience, actors may need it more than most.”
“I wouldn’t have thought so, but now I do.”
“Do you regret getting into the business?”
“Never. I had some bad moments after the story broke, but it’s my life. I love what I do.”
“I’ve never asked why you chose this kind of work.”
They’d reached the steps and he paused to glance at her. “No, you haven’t.”
“Is it the wrong question to ask? I can withdraw it.”
He could smell bacon and coffee. He was hungry and wanted nothing more than to head on inside to enjoy the breakfast Rosie had prepared. But he and Geena were making a connection, and this would come up eventually.
“No, don’t withdraw it.” He held her gaze. “Just know that none of this can ever go in a press release.”
“I would never repeat something you told me without your permission.”
“Then I’ll make it short, and then we won’t have to talk about that anymore, either.”
“Okay.”
He took a deep breath. He hadn’t told this story in a while. None of his new friends in LA had a clue he was a foster kid. “I never knew who my dad was and my mom didn’t enjoy having me around.”
Her green eyes clouded. “That’s hard to imagine.”
“Don’t worry. Rosie got me counseling and I’ve accepted that it wasn’t my fault. I was in the way of her delusional plan that a guy would come along and sweep her off her feet. Maybe it happened. One day she was supposed to pick me up from school and she never showed.”
“Oh, Matt.”
“I finally got a friend’s mom to give me a ride home and I found a note that said she’d gone to look for a better life. She left the phone number for the foster care division of the town’s social services and I called it. Rosie was still working in that department then, and she offered to take me. End of story.”
Geena swallowed. “Have you ever heard from your mother?”
“No, ma’am, and I’d rather not.” He tugged the brim of his hat lower. “At this point, by her standards, I’m rich and she might think she could cash in.”
“I’d like to see her try!”
Geena’s protectiveness made him smile. It also made him glad he’d told her. “Thanks for that.”
“Maybe you should give me her name in case she has the nerve to contact you through me.”
“Mindy’s her first name, but no telling what her last name is now. It could have changed six times since then.”
“If anybody named Mindy comes looking for you, I’ll let you know.” She gazed at him. “And I had the audacity to whine about my childhood.”
“Money doesn’t make everything okay. You had it tough, too. Don’t forget that I ended up with Rosie and Herb, plus all my brothers. The way I look at it, my birth mom did me a favor. She went looking for a better life, and thanks to her I found one.”
“I suppose, in a way, she did the right thing. She wasn’t a positive influence.”
“Except she was the reason I got into acting. Whenever the school put on a play, I was the first to stick my hand in the air. It was my favorite escape, a chance to pretend I was someone else.”
“But when you came here, you didn’t give it up. That much I do know about you from your résumé. You were in a ton of high school productions.”
“By then I was hooked. If I could make an audience laugh or cry, or even get mad, I was thrilled. Now I’ll have to go to my own movies to get that buzz.”
“Or take a shot at live theater.”
“Maybe.”
She stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss over his cheek. “Thank you for trusting me with your story. It won’t go anywhere.”
Pushing back his hat, he took her by the shoulders and gave her a quick, fiery kiss. Then he noticed that her glasses were fogged and began to laugh. “I see what you mean about steaming things up. Let me help.” He gently took them off and pulled a bandanna out of his back pocket. “I hope I end up doing this a lot.” He cleaned the lenses and carefully slid the glasses back into place. “In fact, I’d kiss you again right now, but it’s almost time for breakfast.”
“Can I have a rain check?”
“Lady, you can have anything you want from me.”
Chapter Eight
She could have anything she wanted from Matt. Geena wished she believed it, but she knew his comment didn’t extend to whatever she had in mind for his goodwill campaign. He’d made it clear that his foster-kid story was off the table. Now that he’d t
old her the details, she understood why.
As she tucked into what was possibly the best breakfast she’d ever eaten, she reviewed the situation. Before hearing that his mother had abandoned him, she’d hoped he’d consent to a heartwarming article or video interview about how Rosie, Herb, his foster brothers and this ranch had shaped his life. She’d discovered that trying to refute bad publicity never worked, but replacing it with good news almost always did.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t use the Thunder Mountain angle. Once she opened that door, celebrity gossip magazines would dig for the story behind the story. An enterprising reporter might find his mother. Or his mother would contact him. Since he didn’t want that, they’d have to take a different approach.
She had no idea what that would be, but the conversation at the breakfast table had shifted from the weather to what everyone planned to do after breakfast. That was her cue to propose the cleaning plan. She glanced across at Matt, who gave her a subtle nod.
Somehow, in the midst of taking seats at the round table, they’d ended up on opposite sides. Herb and Rosie sat on her right and Lexi and Cade were on her left. She focused on Rosie and went into her spiel.
Rosie listened politely as she sipped her coffee. At the end of the speech she put down her mug. “That’s a wonderful offer, but here’s the deal. I didn’t expect either of you to be here during this time, so we have it covered. Matt needs a break and you probably have calls to make. I doubt your business has come to a screeching halt because you flew to Wyoming.”
“No, but I’ll check in with my office before we start. If I have issues to handle I might have to retract my offer, but nothing was critical when I talked with my assistant yesterday. And I really do want to help.”
“I can see that.” Rosie beamed at her. “But you and Matt are both excused from cleaning duty.”
Matt looked at Geena, his lifted eyebrows clearly saying I told you so.
But she wasn’t giving up. “You didn’t expect us, but here we are, consuming food and taking up space. I’m sure I speak for Matt when I say that we’d feel a whole lot better about our unplanned visit if you’d let us do something for the cause. It won’t be a chore for either of us to scrub down a cabin or two. If we hop right on it, maybe we can finish up all four this morning.”
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