Take the Reins (A Cowboy's Promise Book 2)

by Megan Squires

  “More like I stepped on yours,” Seth corrected. “I’m clumsier than a growing puppy.”

  “And arguably just as cute.”

  His dark eyes clouded in bewilderment. “I just want to point out that you’ve called me both a hot rancher and a cute puppy tonight, which—I’m not gonna lie—is a little confusing. So what exactly is your type, Josie Friar?”

  “In order to generate a type, that would mean I’ve dated several men in my past to compare with one another. Since you’re my first boyfriend—and a pretend one at that—I’d say I can’t really have a type.”

  “Please don’t tell me I’m setting the standard for your future dating life. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a fake boyfriend.” He called the bartender over to close out the tab and then his demeanor shifted as he got serious. His gaze latched onto Josie’s like a tangible grasp. “I didn’t realize you’d never been in a relationship before. If I had, I wouldn’t’ve pushed for all of this.” He waved his hand in the space between them.

  “Just to be clear, I’m the one who suggested it. You didn’t push.”

  The bill came and Seth clicked open the pen to scribble his name onto the receipt. He lowered off the stool and Josie did the same.

  “Plus, I’m having fun,” Josie said, but she couldn’t stave off the insecurity that started to creep in. “Aren’t you?”

  “Absolutely.” He held out a hand to indicate he would follow her through the bar and toward the exit. The establishment was now at—if not over—capacity and they had to thread their way through a thick sea of white cowboy hats, big, dolled-up hair, and enough cologne and perfume to suffocate them before they even reached the door. “Lots of fun. I just don’t want to make things weird for you.”

  “Well, I didn’t think things were weird, but I sorta feel like now it’s inevitable since you mentioned it. Like there’s going to be a big, weird elephant in the room.”

  Seth grabbed her hand and shouldered open the door. “No elephant. Forget I ever said anything about the elephant.”

  She would try, but what she couldn’t forget was the way her mouth went dry when he took up her hand of his own volition. This wasn’t for show. There was no one around now. They’d squeezed their way out the entrance doors and now it was just the two of them alone in the dim parking lot. A single lamp flickered above the collection of cars parked there and it buzzed as moths darted in and out of its triangular funnel of light. Josie thought it was odd that her ears rang in a similar, buzzing way.

  “I’m sorry.” Seth dropped her hand like a hot potato. “Funny how quickly habits can form, huh? I didn’t really mean to do that.”

  “I like holding your hand, Seth.”

  His feet planted even though his truck was only a few paces away. “You know what I like about you, Josie? You’re not shy about sharing what’s on your mind. That’s a rare and admirable quality.”

  “I don’t know about that. It’s gotten me into a lot of trouble in my past.”

  “Maybe, but I imagine it’s also served you well.”

  “Debatable.” She wondered how it served her now. If her vulnerability pulled Seth closer or if it would eventually push him away. She wasn’t sure what she wanted. The thought played tug-of-war in her head.

  “Don’t change that, okay?” He picked up his stride again, but rather than stop at the driver’s side, he followed Josie to the passenger’s and unlocked her door first, his hand hooked on the frame until she was safely tucked inside. He closed it into place.

  Josie glanced around the quiet cab. A crystal cross dangled from the rear view mirror, swaying from the jostle of the shutting door. Shards of light caught and reflected in small, rainbow beams like a miniature disco ball. There was a torn packet of mint gum on the dashboard. When Seth entered from his side and removed his hat, he shoved it onto the dash next to the gum like that spot was specifically reserved for it. He fit his keys in the ignition, then turned his head to look at Josie. “So, where are we headed?”

  It was cold out—the coldest night of the season by several degrees—but Josie only had one thing on her mind. “How do you feel about ice cream?”

  “Vanilla?” Josie ran her tongue up the sugar cone to slurp off the dripping ice cream melting down the side of it. “With all of the baking you do, I would’ve expected something a little more…I don’t know…interesting?”

  “I don’t understand why vanilla gets such a bad rap. It is a real flavor. It’s not like it’s the absence of flavor or anything.”

  “Sure, but it’s the absence of excitement.” Josie took another lick of her ice cream, savoring the cold sensation on her tongue that felt only a few degrees cooler than the wind swirling around them. “If you’re going to indulge, why not go all in?”

  “That’s some pretty dangerous advice right there.”

  “Maybe when it comes to life, but it’s still pretty safe when it comes to ice cream.”

  Seth screwed up his mouth into a smirk and then ran his gaze up and down Josie’s upper half. He pointed his ice cream cone at her and squinted. “I think your jacket would beg to differ.”

  Josie dropped her eyes to her coat. Like a messy toddler wearing their meal, she had a sticky trail of bright orange ice cream trickling down the front of her jean jacket. She was a mess that no number of napkins could fix.

  “I’m just reenacting more from our first non-existent date. But instead of spilling my beer, looks like I’ve spilled my dessert.”

  “Then, in keeping with that, I suppose I should offer you my jacket.” Seth moved to start unbuttoning his thick canvas coat.

  “Nah. I’m fine wearing mine. As long as you are okay being seen with me like this.”

  “Right. ‘Cause a guy is totally going to be embarrassed by being seen with a woman that looks like you.”

  Josie tucked her chin back. “A woman that looks like me…?”

  “A woman as pretty as you, Josie.” He held his cone out a few inches from his mouth and then paused like he wasn’t sure what part of his sentence she couldn’t understand. “Has no one ever told you how beautiful you are?”

  “I’m not the pretty one, Seth.” She blotted at her jacket even though it was a lost cause. “You haven’t seen my sisters.”

  “Why would I need to see your sisters to gauge whether or not you’re beautiful? I’m looking at you right now, aren’t I?”

  A flash of heat flamed Josie’s cheeks. She wondered if they radiated enough to make the ice cream melt even more but at this point it didn’t really matter. She was a certifiable disaster. “You’re really good at this whole fake flattery thing, Seth. Really good.” She crumpled a napkin and tossed it next to her on the sidewalk.

  “The relationship might be fake, but my words aren’t.”

  She didn’t know how to—or if she even should—answer that, so she angled her gaze directly ahead rather than on Seth at her side where they sat huddled together on the curb just outside the ice cream shop. They had been the last customers of the night, likely the only people crazy enough to crave something so cold this time of year. Sure, they could’ve taken their desserts to go and eaten them in a cozier space, preferably one with heating, but Josie suggested they hang back a few minutes more. She loved this particular view from outside the small establishment. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the memories it held were treasures.

  The empty arena where her father had worked frequently as a rodeo pickup man nestled against the backdrop of low, swelling foothills on the other side of the two lane road. If she quieted her thoughts enough, she could hear the roar of the stands, feel the energy of the thundering crowds, hear the National Anthem sung over a crackling, outdated sound system. Heck, she could even pull from memory the earthy smell of livestock waiting in pens. Bulls, broncs, steers. Josie grew up on those rodeo grounds.

  Sometimes she’d slink away during the barrel racing portion—her least favorite event—to buy herself an ice cream cone with a week’s worth of scrounged up po
cket change. She would sneak back in and devour the sweet treat under the bleachers. Sure, there were all kinds of sugary options available at the rodeo concession stands, but Martina’s Ice Cream Shoppe was her favorite. They had mouth-watering seasonal flavors from a patriotic red, white, and blue sherbet for the fourth of July all the way to peppermint bark for the holiday season.

  Tonight she’d splurged on the pumpkin caramel crunch—one of their premium fall flavors—and savored every bite. Well, every bite that made it into her mouth.

  Seth knocked his shoulder into Josie’s, snapping her from her sugar-filled reverie. “I’m sorry. It’s obvious I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

  “It’s not that. I’m just…I don’t know.” Josie shrugged. “I’m really awkward, Seth. And I don’t want you to feel like you have to pretend to be my boyfriend when it’s just the two of us. There’s no one here we need to convince right now.”

  What she really needed, however, was to convince herself that this feeling currently nudging at her heart was just a manifestation of playing house. Of pretending to have an emotional connection with someone. She barely knew the man, for goodness sake. But looking at him right now, his strong and striking features emphasized in the cresting moonlight, his tender words crawling their way into spaces of her heart that she didn’t even know existed…she didn’t know how to separate reality from fiction in these areas.

  The truth was, they were two grown adults who admittedly found each other attractive. That was allowed. But acting on that attraction? That was another animal altogether.

  “I’m going to change the subject, but I don’t want you to think it’s because I regret what I said. I don’t.” Seth took another lick of his plain vanilla. “New subject: I talked to the people at my grandma’s facility and we’ve arranged a trip for them to visit the ranch next week.”

  Yep. That would do it. Going from mounting attraction to grandmother talk. Josie could already feel the tension slipping from her shoulders.

  “That’s great. What can I do to help?”

  “We’ve got a couple new calves I think they’d like to see. Everyone loves a baby animal, right? But I was hoping you might be able to introduce them to the rescue horses. Show them what you’ve been doing and how you work with them. Maybe even tell them a little about horse shoeing and how you got into that profession. Stuff like that.”

  “Sure. I can do that. Happy to.”

  Gosh, it had been so long since she’d shod a horse. She honestly missed it. The work left her back aching, her hands lined with permanent creases of grease and dirt, and her muscles begging for the warmest bath she could draw, but there was satisfaction in readying a horse for its job. And the sound of a full set of shoes clomping across a gravel road was its own sort of music. A hoof beat felt so close to a heartbeat that Josie often sensed they were one and the same.

  When she turned and her eyes found Seth’s, that heartbeat suddenly became a thundering stampede, trampling whatever hopes she had of keeping things platonic. There was a tension that tugged at his brow drawn tight over half-uncertain, half-expectant eyes. Josie wondered if she leaned over and kissed him right then, if he’d taste like the vanilla that met his lips earlier. A flush of awareness pulsed through her and she shook her head and body to keep it at bay.

  It never occurred to her that playing pretend with Seth Ford might prove to be more dangerous than the horses she’d been hired to train.

  13

  Seth

  “Git on, cows.” Tanner flapped his lanky arm at his side like a one-winged albatross. “Git!”

  Seth galloped up behind the stubborn herd that bunched as one unit, refusing to move pastures. “Come on, now! Let’s move, cows!”

  “I need you on this side, Seth!” With two heels dug into his horse’s flanks, Tanner jolted forward, nearly pitching out of his saddle. The cow and calf closest bolted for the open farm gate and several other groupings followed, but the majority remained stuck in place like their legs were trapped in quicksand. “Gotta help me funnel them this direction. You’re no good way over there. Need to put pressure on them from this side to get them to move on out. Help me out a little, would you?”

  Seth knew exactly what he was doing and didn’t need his brother’s instruction. But Tanner had always been bossy. Not like that. You’re doing it wrong, and Would you just do what I tell you to? was all he had heard growing up. Now it was just noise, not advice.

  “You know, I managed just fine when you all were gone last week.”

  Yanking his reins to the side, Seth cut off a calf that attempted to break loose from the herd. Scout’s dexterity was unmatched, something Seth didn’t take for granted in a ranch horse. That gelding could often anticipate a bolting cow before Seth’s reflexes were even able to kick into gear.

  “You managed,” Tanner sneered. “That’s the operative word here.”

  It wasn’t worth arguing with his brother. Seth could move a hundred herds, deliver twice as many healthy calves—heck, he could even discover millions worth of gold in their foothills—and it wouldn’t change a dang thing about the way Tanner viewed him. That man’s over-inflated ego didn’t leave room for anyone else to have any sort of success. He just couldn’t see around his own self importance.

  “Come on, cows! Move on. Git on, girls.”

  The brothers spent the better part of the morning rotating pastures, refilling mineral tubs, and taking stock of their herd’s overall health. For the most part, it was repetitive busy work, but in the next week or so, things would undoubtedly get more exciting. It was fall calving season and while most of the time things went off without a hitch, there was always a stubborn baby or two that wanted to enter the world butt first, too early, or not at all. And then there were the ones who gave them trouble even after they were on the ground. A calf that had difficulty latching on made for a precarious situation. Getting colostrum within the first few hours of life was essential. Seth couldn’t tally the number of times he sat out in a cold, wet pasture, nudging a wobbly-legged, newborn calf toward its mama’s full udder. On rare occasions, he would bring them into the barn to bottle feed, but the best case scenario was a strong and sturdy calf, a healthy mama who knew what to do, and a pair that bonded up nicely.

  “We gotta remember to check on this gal later today. She’s looking ready to pop, in my opinion.” Seth tipped his hat toward the big bellied heifer that stood close to the fence line. Her breath labored, heaving in and out in huge swells, and she had a look in her eye Seth could easily read. By this time tomorrow morning, she would have a calf at her side, no doubt.

  “She one of our new girls?” Tanner kept one hand on the saddle horn while he stretched over to secure the gate behind them. It swung closed with a clang.

  “Think so. This’ll be her first time calving. Hoping she can figure it out on her own.”

  “Well, that’s something you’ll have to deal with if she can’t. I’ve got the boys’ flag football game tonight down in Hawthorn and I’m coaching. Mom and Dad will be there, too. You’ll be on your own when it comes to the cows.”

  “I think I can manage.”

  Tanner sneered. “Yeah. I’m sure you can.” He swung his horse around in a full circle. “Looks like we’re all done here. Let’s get the horses put away and head in for lunch.” He sidled over next to Seth and Scout to join up. “Mom’s making Sloppy Joes. Your favorite.”

  “Definitely not my favorite, but I’ll have to pass anyway. I’m meeting Josie and the vet to see about vaccinating and gelding some of the rescues.”

  Seth couldn’t read his brother’s face initially, but the eye roll helped clarify things. “You’re really serious about this woman, huh?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, maybe. Things appear to be moving that direction.”

  “I just think it’s so strange that you’ve been dating for so long, yet you never bothered to bring her around, much less even talk about her. I don’t know. If it were me, I would’ve at least introd
uced her to Mom and Dad before offering to let her live on their property. Feels like something they should’ve had a little input in, is all.” Tanner cut Seth a judgmental glare. “That’s just me though. You and I have always done things differently.”

  When put that way, Seth could almost understand Tanner’s point of view. The hostility tacked on, though, that wasn’t entirely necessary. Expected, but not necessary.

  “I only moved her out here because the land she rented was being foreclosed on. She had no other options, Tan.”

  “None, huh? I find that very hard to believe.”

  Their horses had slowed to a snail’s pace, almost like they were eavesdropping on the brothers’ heated discussion taking place upon their backs. The sputtering snort Scout made in response to Tanner’s comment nearly made Seth snicker himself.

  “Listen, she’s my girlfriend. I’m going to look out for her just like you would look out for Amy. Josie needed a place to park her trailer and we have plenty of room here at the ranch. It’s not like she’s staying totally rent-free, anyway. She’s working with the rescues.”

  “Right. Another thing you brought onto the property without any warning or even a heads up.”

  “Not sure you’ve noticed, but I live here, too, Tanner.”

  “Sure, but this place isn’t yours. It’s not even mine yet. It’s Mom and Dad’s and as far as I’m concerned, they call the shots about who or what gets to come and go on their land,” Tanner stated. “They were pretty happy to finally get Dominic’s old hunk of junk off the property and now there’s another one right back in its place.”

  “Josie’s fifth wheel isn’t a hunk of junk.”

  “Well, it’s not classy, that’s for sure.”

  “Oh, and we are?”

  “I’m not saying we’re classy, but we’re definitely not trailer trash.”

  Seth sat back fully in the saddle, slack jawed, head shaking. Scout planted his hooves beneath him. “If you ever call Josie trailer trash again you’ll have a few less teeth in that mouth of yours to utter the words around.”