Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
KAREN
“ T his is bullshit.” I pulled the pillow over my head. I didn’t think I could get out of bed.
My head was pounding and my mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. Every inch of me screamed to stay buried under the warmth of the comforter. But another part of me, the self-loathing part was whispering in the back of my brain that I needed to get up. I needed water. And aspirin. Lots of aspirin.
And coffee. God, I needed a gallon of coffee. Back home, I knew some people that called for a home IV. I never needed it, but I heard it was like a miracle cure.
I peeled the pillow off my face and squinted at the too bright morning light leaking through the curtains. Ugh. What time was it, anyway?
I tried to focus on the clock on the bedside table. The numbers were a blur of red digits. I blinked twice, forcing my eyes to focus. “Shit.”
It was after ten. I had no doubt in my mind everyone else was already up. They were probably at work and perfectly fine. To be fair, I didn’t drink whiskey. I didn’t drink that much in general. Regular taco and margarita nights with the girls had been fewer and farther between once they started falling in love. Life moved on and so had my tolerance.
I forced myself to walk to the bathroom and grimaced when I got a glimpse of my reflection. My hair was sticking up twenty different ways and the puffy bags under my eyes were the size of hay bales.
With every ounce of strength I could muster, I took a shower and managed to get dressed. My head throbbed with every heartbeat but my stomach was holding strong. Aside from a couple of dry heaves while I brushed my teeth, I had been just peachy.
I shambled downstairs like a zombie, except instead of brains, I needed coffee. I caught the scent of it and went directly to the pot.
“You’re alive!” Ginny’s perky voice cut through my haze.
“I’m not so sure about that,” I said, shaking my tender head.
“Oh girl,” she said when she got a look at me. “You look like scrambled squirrel shit.”
“Then I look the way I feel.”
“I’m headed into town, want to come?”
“I don’t know. Can I get this coffee to go?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Come on. It’ll bring you back to life.”
“Something has to.” I nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”
The sun was too bright for my splitting headache. My dark sunglasses weren’t dark enough. Ginny hummed along to a song on the radio. Her good mood felt impossible given my hangover.
“Your liver must be made of stainless steel,” I mumbled, nursing my coffee.
Ginny laughed. “I paced myself last night. And I ate half an apple pie out of the kitchen before bed.”
“You are officially my hero.” I smiled despite the throbbing in my head. Maybe this place wasn’t all bad. Ginny felt like one of my friends from back home. Her sunny demeanor was helping my hangover more than the coffee.
We pulled into town. I noticed the ratio of pickups to cars was fairly lopsided. There were very few cars around. Then again, sturdier vehicles did better in the snow.
I followed Ginny through some sort of winter market. It was busy despite the cold. People were bundled up, chatting with vendors and talking like they’d known each other for their whole lives. They probably had. The air was filled with the smells of fresh bread, roasted chestnuts, and apple cider.
Ginny grabbed me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. “How are you feeling? Are you up for helping with the shopping yet?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll survive.”
Ginny handed me a list Bodie had given her and pointed toward a produce stand. “Grab what you can from here. I’m going to the feed store.”
I nodded, heading toward the stand. The vendor, a plump woman with rosy cheeks, smiled as I approached. I chatted with her briefly, picking out the freshest vegetables for Bodie’s kitchen. I moved on to the next stall. I was checking the firmness of a tomato when I noticed someone watching me.
Earl Hoyt. He stood across the way, leaning casually against a post and watching me like he was checking the firmness of my tomato.
When he saw me looking, he smiled and sauntered over. There was something about the way he moved I didn’t like. It was too smooth, like he should be leaving a slick snail trail behind him. He had a smile like a politician or a car salesman.
“Well, hello again,” he greeted me. “You’re Don’s niece, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s me.” I smiled politely, though his eager gaze made me uncomfortable. I wished I had worn a thicker coat.
“I’m Earl Hoyt.”
“I’m Karen Vale,” I said.
“Where are you from, Karen Vale?”
“Dallas.”
“Karen from Dallas.” He nodded. “Are you living out at the ranch?”
“I’m staying with my uncle for a while.” I kept my answers short, trying to maintain some distance, but he wasn’t put off.
“It’s a shame about Rocking Horse Ranch,” he said, almost casually. “Place has seen better days, hasn’t it?”
I tensed up and my head pounded again. “It definitely has.”
“I have a lot of respect for your uncle for trying to keep things going, but it must be tough.”
I nodded again. “I’m hoping to help him find a way through.”
“Oh?” he asked. “How so?”
“I’ve been going over his books, looking for a way out of the hole the ranch is in. I’m worried about him. That ranch is his whole life. I just don’t know if there is any saving it.”
It wasn’t until the words were out of my mouth that I realized my mistake. My stomach dropped. What was I doing? I barely knew this man, and here I was spilling confidential family business.
I quickly backpedaled. “But, uh, that’s all between us, okay? It’s really not my place to talk about it.”
Earl nodded, looking serious. “Of course. My lips are zipped.”
Ginny appeared out of nowhere, her eyes narrowing when she saw him.
“Earl Hoyt, will you stop harassing decent folks?” she said, her voice as icy as the wind whipping through the market. “I think it’s time you moved along.”
Earl flashed a toothy smile. “Just making conversation, Ginny. No crime in that.”
Ginny didn’t budge, her stare hard and unwavering. I could feel the tension crackling, just like it had when Earl approached Cassidy. Earl hesitated for a second before backing off with a nod in my direction. “Good to meet you, Karen. I’ll see you around.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, Ginny turned to me, her expression stern. “What was that scavenger talking to you about?”
I blinked, still trying to shake off the fog from my hangover. “He seemed friendly enough. We were just?—”
“He’s trouble,” Ginny interrupted. “A leech and a bully. Earl Hoyt doesn’t do anything without an agenda. Trust me, Don won’t want you talking to him. And Cassidy? Well, it’s best you don’t mention Earl around him at all. That guy is an asshole with a capital A. Bad news. Really bad.”
I frowned, wondering why everyone seemed to have such a visceral reaction to him. “What’s the deal with Cassidy and Earl?”
Ginny paused, glancing around as if making sure no one else was listening. Then she sighed. “They grew up together, sort of. Both orphans, both at that boys’ home that used to be down the road. Earl made Cassidy’s life a living hell. Always picking on him, pushing him around. Cassidy was smaller back then, didn’t grow into himself until his late teens, but he was a scrapper. Got into a lot of fights because of Earl.”
I stared at her, absorbing this new information. Cassidy, the tough, silent cowboy who always seemed in control, had once been bullied? It didn’t fit with the image I had of him, and yet, it explained so much.
Ginny continued. “If it weren’t for Don and the ranch, who knows where Cassidy would’ve ended up? The ranch saved him, gave him a purpose, a place to belong. That’s why he’s so protective of it. Why he works with those boys on Sundays.”
“The boys on Sundays?” I asked, feeling like I’d missed something.
“Yeah, the boys from the group home come out to the ranch every Sunday. Cassidy teaches them how to ride, work with horses. He’s tough on them, but he knows what they’re going through. He doesn’t want them to turn out like Earl.”
I was quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. Cassidy working with troubled kids? It was hard to reconcile that with the man who seemed to barely tolerate my existence. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. There was something about him. He was a natural protector. I felt it last night when he walked me to the lodge and made sure I got to bed safe.
“If you’re smart, you’ll mind your own business when it comes to Earl and Cassidy. Trust me, that’s a hornet’s nest you don’t want to stick your head in.”
I nodded, but inside, my curiosity was burning brighter than ever. I hated how every little thing I learned about Cassidy only made me want to know more. It was like peeling back layers of an onion, each one revealing something unexpected, something I hadn’t seen coming. I realized my initial first impression was wrong. Or at least a little harsh.
“I didn’t know,” I said. “He was watching me. It was kind of weird.”
Ginny softened a bit. “Yeah, he does that. Just be careful, okay? Earl is a snake. You don’t even realize he’s going to strike until you’re bleeding on the ground.”
People certainly had strong feelings about Earl. I would do better. I wouldn’t let the man catch me off guard again.
We loaded up the truck and headed back to the ranch, but my mind was spinning the entire drive. This place was more complicated than I’d ever imagined. And as much as I wanted to keep my distance, I couldn’t help but feel drawn into its tangled web. There was something about Rocking Horse Ranch and the people.
I wanted to know more about the inner workings. I wanted to feel like one of them. Last night, I had gotten a little taste of what it was like to be one of the ranch hands. It was fun. It reminded me a lot of the old days with my friends.
When we got to the ranch, Bodie was thrilled with the fresh produce. He checked every potato, tomato, and bunch of herbs. After helping unload the truck, I found myself kind of drifting. I needed to get to the books but my brain wasn’t that focused.
Instead, I found myself standing by the kitchen door, watching Cassidy. He was chopping firewood like he had done it a million times. He had removed his coat and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt that was very, very form-fitting. He may as well have worn nothing. His muscles flexed with each swing of the axe. He looked like he belonged here.
My mind wandered back to what Ginny had said about him. The ranch had saved him. I wondered if that was why he was so protective of it, so guarded. Maybe underneath all that gruffness was someone who’d been hurt one too many times. Someone who didn’t trust easily.
I shook my head, forcing myself to look away. Why was I staring at him like some kind of lovesick teenager? Or a woman at a male dancer show? I had enough on my plate without adding Cassidy to the mix.
He glanced up, catching me watching him. Our eyes met for a brief second. Something flickered in his gaze—something I couldn’t quite place. But before I could figure it out, he turned back to his work, as if nothing had happened.
Ginny was right. I needed to mind my own business. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that keeping my distance from Cassidy was going to be a lot harder than I thought.