by Tanya Hanson
Date? He all but rolled his eyes as he grinned at her. This was nothing but a trail ride, same as he took with any tourist. He rubbed his hand over the beanie and grimaced.
“Mallie, on second thought let’s get to the house.” He managed to talk normal. “You’ll need a warmer coat, and we got a ton of extras.” More than that, he needed to grab his Stetson. No way he’d ride off wearing this beanie with a girl who announced she loved everything about the cowboy life.
“You betcha.”
Her smile almost knocked him to his knees. This time, the weakness in legs had nothing to do with chemo beating the life out of him. In a polite host way, he caught his breath and offered her the crook of his elbow as they headed back to the house. Polite, yeah, but his ribcage was sure taking a beating from his pounding heart.
At the hall tree in the entryway, they helped themselves, Mallie whooping with delight as she waggled a brown Stetson at him.
He nodded as he plunked it on her head, and his heart rate picked up speed. It looked perfect with that pale blond hair. “It’s Ma’s. You’re welcome to it.” He could hardly find words to speak as she shrugged out of her short, black leather jacket and burrowed into one of the fleece-lined wool coats. Might as well frame a picture of her and stick it on the piano, she looked so much at home.
She struck a runway pose. “Don’t I look official now?”
“Yes, ma’am,” was all he could manage. Hot, too. Her well-worn boot-cut jeans hugged her curves just right; the pink toes of brown leather boots peeked up from the hardwood floor.
Perfect. And sixteen months stable. That had to mean something, too.
Outside, the cool breezes seemed to breathe new life into him. Or maybe…he felt a teenage flush coming. Maybe it was the woman at his side. She stretched her arms high.
“Oh, Hoop. It’s absolutely perfect being here. And to think you get to see this every day. All day.”
He reckoned he understood her feelings. Most first-timers extolled the tidy ranch and rugged scenery as far better than any Western movie. “I am lucky,” he said simply and meant it. This was turning out to be one wonderful day.
“Me, I’ve got a view. Of the St. Bonaventure Hotel. And that’s a selling point!” She chuckled as she followed him into the barn where the horse in the first stall nickered softly and nudged him with her nose.
“Here she is,” he announced then he headed to Alamo, his cantankerous buckskin.
“Ah. My crazy girl. I can’t wait.” Her face glowed as she swiveled her head between him and the horse. “I can saddle her up myself. I remember how.”
Quickly, Hooper readied Alamo and from the corner of his eye, watched Mallie cinch a saddle about her pretty sorrel quarter horse like she’d done it a million times before. Next time he’d finish quicker so he could watch her the whole time.
Hooper knew well there’d be a next time. Just in case, though, he checked her handiwork.
“Awesome.” Pride at her accomplishment swelled in him. “You need the mounting block?” With Mallie’s long legs, he doubted it. She sure showed the chops of a horsewoman, but it was a dutiful question for a greenhorn who might know the ropes but hadn’t ridden in a long time.
“No. I think I got it.”
Liking what he saw, he watched her mount up Crazy Horse just fine. He checked her stirrup length first, and then he swung on Alamo, wincing a bit at the tweaks of pain in his lower right quadrant, around the orchiectomy incision. He didn’t like not feeling the stirrup with his foot or the horn with his hands. But he held on tight anyway and forgot his troubles when Mallie’s face glowed again as they set off.
“How was the trip from L.A.?” he asked.
“Good, but a lot of connections. There is no such thing as a direct flight anywhere close. I feel like a pioneer just getting here.”
“At least our little airport has a shuttle.”
“Oh, Brian rented a car.”
“Well, I’m glad you got here. Mountain Cove is pretty remote. Just how we like it.” He led her out under the gates to Hearts Crossing, where their two-heart brand hung, the cross of Christ obvious where the hearts intersected. “Don’t get any complaints from our visitors.”
“Wow. I can see why.” Mallie stretched tall in her saddle as she looked around, right to left then back again. Foothills of aspen and alder wearing fall colors wrapped around the ranch with peaks from the Rockies’ Northern Front Range looming behind, their top notches already dusted with snow. “I forgot how much I missed being here.”
“You staying on?” Hooper said, casual as he could over the horseshoes clip-clopping against the rocky driveway. “I mean, after the wedding? With your relations?”
“Oh, yeah. Brian’s got to head back to work Sunday, but I’m going to visit Uncle Teddy and Aunt Jeanette for a week. Don’t think we don’t see them, though. They escape the snow and come to California for a month or two every Christmas. They’ve got good people running the flower shop while they’re gone. They say winter isn’t all that busy anyway. It’s summertime with weddings that keep them in the black.”
They cantered down the main road for a bit before turning onto one of the maze of trails carved around the ranch through the range and foothills. Riding ahead, he leaned back as they headed uphill on a narrow trail. Her lemony scent on the breeze, he couldn’t help thinking of her, of a few days more than just the wedding festivities. Promise was only ten miles away.
Sure as shootin’, a woman who was a survivor herself would share his hopes and fears, his faith, his nerves. You couldn’t face such a thing as cancer without the Lord at your side, but even in the warmth of His care and love, doubts and dread slipped inside your head every time a medical test loomed. The words “cancer-free” didn’t mean permanent, and Hoop above all knew one didn’t want to waste time.
Prayer always calmed him down, though, and he said a silent one right now then turned back in his saddle to face her. He’d gotten used to the pose when he led trail rides of tourists, so he could shoot the breeze with them and keep an eye out at the same time.
She gave him another of those knee-dropping smiles before her pretty forehead scrunched. “You’re foot isn’t in your stirrup.”
“What?” He sat upright and fussed with his foot, jabbing it back where it belonged. Then he turned back to her. “Nerve damage. From the chemo. Can’t really feel my feet. Although they burn from the inside sometimes.”
Her eyebrows rose like wings in flight. “Oh, the joys of chemo.” Lids shuttered her eyes for a second. “I’m off it now, which is a good thing of course. But sometimes I feel I’m not doing anything to fight it, you know?” Then she smiled again, waving her hand as if meaning, enough said about that. “Sure is beautiful around here. We don’t get four seasons in Southern California.”
Hoop nodded, taking her lead, reckoning more cancer talk could wait. Right now was just a regular ride between a man and a woman. “Fall’s just about my favorite. Things quiet down after the summer, and we aren’t snowbound yet.”
Mallie barked out a laugh. “Snow. Sometimes I miss it.” At his raised eyebrows, she continued. “I spent four years at Boston University. Lived through many a nor’easter.”
“I reckon we get our share. Reckon we get nor-westers, though.” He gestured in the general direction of the autumn spectacle going on around them. It sure reminded him of just Who was in charge. “The Lord sure knows how to use His paintbrush,” he said almost with a sigh.
She didn’t say anything, so he prodded. “Doesn’t He?”
“Yes, He does. That’s for sure.” Another of those blinding smiles, and Hoop relaxed. It was hard to imagine anybody going through a life-threatening illness without God at her side. Whoever he fell for next would sure be grounded in faith. Oh, he and Lynn had gone through the pre-marriage lessons with Pastor Hale, and she’d seemed on board, but something he’d never understand had derailed her. How could anybody leave behind her own child?
He shoved the ugl
y thoughts away and turned in his saddle to lead the way downhill. Having observed Mallie, he was convinced she had good riding skills.
On a little turnout, he paused while she caught up and reined in. From here, the view of Hearts Crossing was prettier than any artist’s imagination. After all, God had a huge part in Hearts Crossing. No decisions were ever made without praying for His guidance.
“Oh, my. This is your spread. Hearts Crossing. You are one lucky man.”
“Not me. Ma’s ancestors homesteaded here over a hundred-and-fifty years ago.”
Mallie sighed. “I can’t even wrap my head around that. My folks have lived in their house since I was born, and thirty years is practically a record for suburbia. There’s always a bigger, fancier development going up somewhere. So tell me more.” She pointed. “What’s that big warehouse?”
“We store the covered wagons in there for the winter. The chuck wagon, too. During the summer, we run wagon train trips around the ranch for city slickers.”
“Brian told me about that sideline. I’d love to go on a trip like that.”
“Come on then. We get guests from age four to…last summer, Peggy was eighty-one! We start June first. Snow permitting.” He sent her a grin. It did happen sometimes.
“Goodness.”
“My sister Kelley, the chef, and Pike’s fiancée, Daisy, are chuck cooks, and me and all my brothers take turns as wagon master. Over there…” He pointed now to another corral past some outbuildings. “Those are our draft horses. The black ones are Percherons, and the Belgians are tan. They pull the wagons and in winter, pull sleighs full of tourists through the national forest. There’s an elk herd that overwinters nearby. Folks like to go see them. We have a lot of snow mobilers and Nordic skiing around here.”
“They’re gorgeous.”
“Come on. Wait till you see them up close. Always named in pairs. Pip and Estella. Penelope and Odysseus. Romeo and Juliet.” He grinned at her. “Kenn named them, too.”
“I thought he taught American Lit. Those are definitely Dickens and Homer and, well, Shakespeare.”
“Aw, guess he’s more well-read than any of the rest of us.”
The rocky trail took them down to the western perimeter of the ranch.
“I’m surprised we didn’t meet up with any of the other riders,” Mallie mused abreast of him. “All those taking off when Brian and I arrived.”
“We’ve got some thirty miles of trails around the ranch and through the hills, and we have permits from the national forest.”
“Oh. This is quite a place.”
“Yep.” Pride might be a deadly sin but Hoop felt a huge flash of it. Pa had sure left his family a terrific legacy. “Around 3,000 acres and five to six hundred head of cattle. We just thinned the herd sending about half to market. Happens every October.” His spirits fell. This time around, he’d had to watch from the sidelines. That reminded him, and he checked his boots. This time, his numb foot was doing its thing just right in the stirrup. It might take several years for the nerve damage to clear up, but on a day like this with brisk wind under his brim, warm sun on his back, and a beautiful woman at his side, he didn’t much care.
They cantered along the path adjoining Fortress Creek, and he checked his watch for the time. Rats. Much as he loved Ella, this ride was coming to a close too fast.
“Brian told me Kenn met his bride on one of those wagon trains of yours,” Mallie mentioned with one of her smiles.
“Yep. Christy’s amazing. Kenn said he knew right when he saw her, she was it. How lucky is that?” Hoop all but smacked his mouth. Where had that stupidness come from? This was a girl he’d just set eyes on today. No way he should start feeling things he shouldn’t. He’d fallen for Lynn quick and look where that had gotten him.
“Yeah, some people do get lucky.”
The sudden sadness in Mallie’s voice unnerved him, and he quickly pointed out a stand of apple trees. “There’s Orchard Bluff. Legend has it, our ancestor Old Joe, who first settled here, planted those trees. Get pretty decent apples off ’em.”
Mallie’s lips puckered with a touch of doubt. “Ah, come on. They can’t be that old.” She winked at him.
“Well, whatever. Kelley makes apple cider vinegar from ’em and uses it in her award-winning barbecue sauce. Which you’ll taste tonight at the rehearsal dinner. Nothing like it in this world.”
“I can’t wait. Right now, everything’s so perfect I’m afraid I’ll wake up and it’ll have been a dream.”
Everything perfect? Did that mean him? Hooper felt a happy flush, but sadly, the trail and ride ended too soon. Of course, if Hoop had his way, there would be others. Many others.
****
Mallie pulled ahead, afraid of her emotions. The horses knew their way home and headed right for the corral.
The funny sadness burbled again deep down. Hooper was completely wonderful, everything she might have looked for in a man in her past life. A devoted family man. Successful business operation. A broken heart in there somewhere.
Not to mention everything cowboy.
She had to get rid of the notion quick. Although she had promised herself one weekend of flirtation. That couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? Surely she deserved that much. After she dismounted, her brother Brian came over with the bridegroom to get the horses.
“Any saddle sores, sis? It’s been quite a while.”
She shook her head. “I’m just a bit shaky, but I’ll get my legs back in a sec.” She punched his arm, then turned to Kenn with a tease. “You getting nervous, Kenn?”
Brian had brought Kenn home to California once or twice during their college days, but she didn’t know him well. She did know he was a man of faith and conviction who had helped Brian during her ordeal. She’d said enough prayers to Somebody up there, to be sure. Hard not to do when you’re diagnosed with stage-four cancer. But now, it was hard to accept a God who allowed perfectly decent, innocent people—and their families along with them—to suffer while murderers and drug dealers and other scum of the earth remained unscathed.
She must have frowned, for Kenn gave her a quick hug. “Yep. I never imagined I’d be so nervous about something I’m so sure about.”
“Well, you’re getting harnessed for life.” Brian grunted. She heard a twinge of bitterness in his tone. Although Mallie had seen the breakup coming, it had blindsided him.
“I’m glad you could make it, Mallie,” Kenn told her, and his eyes were kind. After all, she hadn’t quite been invited.
“She only came because Danielle dumped me.” Brian groused then coughed as Hoop’s big hand slapped him between the shoulders in a masculine greeting.
“How’s it going, Brash? I’m Hooper.”
“I see you met up with my sister.” Brian’s eyes narrowed. “You take care of her, ya hear?”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ll catch up later. Gotta pick up my daughter now. And you, brother—” Hoop pointed at Kenn and not in a good way. “We need to talk.”
For some reason, Mallie warmed at his words, about agreeing to take care of her. Then she remembered Kenn’s slip of the tongue. And her weekend-only promise.
Hooper followed her toward the house. “Hey, Mallie. Wanna go to town with me and get Ella? I could show you the bustling metropolis of Mountain Cove.” He looked toward his feet like a shy schoolboy. “We could grab a cup of coffee at the Butterbean Café. Harass my baby sister, Chelsea.”
As he said the name, his lips curved in a tender smile. She’d seen the same expression on Brian’s face from time to time even though he was barely a year older. Hoop must be…goodness? How old was he? She knew Kenn was almost thirty-one like Brian…and there was a whole slew of siblings. Hoop did have a child in school.
Well, inquiring minds did want to know. “Sure. I’d love to.”
“I’ll get my keys.” He loped alongside.
“I’ll grab my purse. How are your feet?”
Hoop nodded. “Honestly, I di
d better than I thought I would. Ma’s been warning me of disaster, so I’m downright glad to prove her wrong.”
On their way to the big ranch house, they passed a small building already decorated with Christmas lights. A closer look, she saw they were chili peppers.
“Used to be our Grim-Gram’s granny flat. Now it’s our new gift shop,” Hoop said. “And it’s doing pretty well, too. Pike’s fiancée, Daisy, and her ma run it for the ranch.”
“So everybody pitches in.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. Scott runs our online store, too.”
She ran a finger over the “closed” sign. “Hmmm. I’d like to buy some souvenirs for the folks back home.”
Hoop guffawed. “Really? Ma feels it’s grasping to open it right now. Feels wedding guests would be obligated to buy stuff they don’t really want to. If you stick around, I think it’ll be open on Monday.”
Grabbing his keys inside as well as two bottles of cold water, he settled her in a big-cab, bright red pickup truck with a child’s booster seat in the back.
As he drove under the gate with its hanging brand, an odd sort of peace swathed her. The hearts, that cross. It all had to mean something.
“I like the brand.”
“Ma’s design. She said life is all about love and faith. Works for me. In spite of...” His voice trailed off. “Well, truth is. My wife left me when Ella was three months old. I reckon I’m ready to move on. After, you know. Cancer.” His voice slowed at the word as the truck braked to turn onto the main road. “I gotta say. Without my faith, I’d never have gotten through any of it.”
“So sorry about that,” was all she could think of. “But you’ve got a lovely, close family to help you through.”
“That I do.”
“Tell me about it. Them, I mean.”
“I’ll go back to front, bottom to top. Chelsea’s the baby. Freshman at Boulder. She’s home for the wedding, and her boss at her summer job is always happy for some extra help. During the rodeo season, she’s a champion barrel rider.”