Chapter Four
T he next day, her twin brother Will drove her into town to put a new tire on her wheel, and as they waited for the mechanic to change it, they walked to the Java Café for a coffee. They sat talking and nursing their drinks by the front window overlooking the street in a pair of comfy armchairs. Thick velvet curtains framed their view of the street and seemed to insulate their conversation.
Will’s deep auburn hair, his cornflower-blue eyes only highlighted that smile that melted hearts everywhere. Though he was her brother, even she could appreciate the man he’d become. It didn’t hurt that a woman like Izzy had made him feel adored and had put some of his broken pieces back together again after a few tough years, including a divorce and the loss of his NFL career to injury.
Though Will was still something of a celebrity around Marietta after his storied football career, the locals mostly just accepted him now as one of their own after being back in town for the past year. Which was good because Will didn’t love the spotlight here. But he still loved football, and last fall and this, he’d volunteered in his spare time to help coach the players at Marietta high school and middle school—including Ryan—which had endeared him to the community and the many football-loving parents in town. So, he’d earned a little privacy when he came to local places like the Java Café.
Shay loved this place and came here often by herself when she was in town between jobs. There was something intimate about it, even though the place was usually filled with the regulars, working on their laptops or phones and indulging in a moment’s peace. The place’s old, red brick walls felt like they’d been here forever and practically had, as it was one of the earliest buildings in Marietta.
But today, Shay still felt distinctly unpeaceful after last night’s adventure on the dark road.
“I’m telling you, it unnerved me,” Shay said, agitating her mocha latte with a stir stick. “I swear I saw him in town the other day, too. I felt like I was being watched but as soon as I turned, he walked around a corner. I decided I imagined it but...”
Will took a long sip of his coffee, considering what she’d told him about last night. Shay had missed these kinds of talks when he’d been gone for so many years. Having him back in Marietta with Izzy, his fiancée, felt like all was right with the world again, as if a piece of her had been lost and found again. That was what it had always been like between them. Maybe it was the twin connection, something more spiritual than physical. But she only knew that his steady presence in their lives had, in the last year, turned things around in so many ways.
“Maybe it was just a coincidence?” he offered. “This is a small town. Sometimes, just becoming aware of someone can make you noticed them more.”
“True. But I just know I’ve never seen him around here before. And he certainly didn’t look like a tourist,” she said.
“Sounds like a guy like him would kind of stick out like a sore thumb here in Marietta and be noticed by more than you. I’ll ask around, see if anyone has noticed. But could it just be your imagination running wild that he was looking at you any sort of way, what with everything that happened last night? The tire. Nearly running off the road. Cooper. ”
She looked at him askance. “This is not about Cooper.”
“Maybe it is a little bit? Maybe he threw you off your game? All that knight in shining armor stuff?” Will’s clear blue eyes twinkled as he teased her.
“Hey. I was not a damsel in distress for heaven’s sake. I would have gotten that tire changed,” she assured him. “Eventually. It was just lucky he happened by. But truthfully, I am glad I wasn’t alone out there when that guy drove past. Anyway, it’s over now.” She took a long sip of her coffee, shaking off her paranoia. “Tell me, how’s the wedding planning coming for this Christmas with you and Izzy?”
Will’s expression visibly brightened. “I’m just trying to stay out of her way. She’s got that all under control. Her grandmother is coming out for a visit soon to help her with some of the details. But we’re excited to have the ceremony on the ranch. The old round barn up the road is starting on renovations between all the other chaos going on. When it’s done, it will really expand our ability to have year-round celebrations on the ranch.”
“It’ll be perfect for weddings in all seasons. Cozy and warm in the winter. Cool and airy in the summer. And it will free up our large barn for more important things. Like our horses.” She laughed. “She-Ra and Lulu have been a little bent about getting kicked out of their stalls every other weekend because of weddings.”
Will chuckled, too. “And Izzy can’t think of a more perfect answer to her parents’ desire for a splashy, expensive Dallas wedding than setting it in a rustic round barn in the middle of Montana.”
“It’ll be great. They’re coming, though, right? Her parents?”
“Assuming they can drag themselves away from politics for the weekend,” he said with not a little sarcasm.
Izzy’s divorced parents were mutually unhappy about her running off with the limo driver—namely Will—on her wedding day to another man, no matter how justified. They were only slightly mollified to learn that Will was a former NFL player who didn’t survive on a limo driver’s—or a cowboy’s—salary and that their daughter was madly in love with him. Just the thought of that made Shay smile.
“And Isaiah?” she asked, meaning his partner in the limo company. “Will he be able to come?”
“Oh, yeah. He’ll be standing up with me. And Emma, his wife, will come, too. And his kids if they want. I’ve asked Liam to be my best man and he said yes. I’d like to ask Ryan, too, to stand up there for me, if that’s okay.”
Shay bit her lip, emotion crowding her lashes. Ryan would be thrilled. “He’ll love it. Thank you, Will.”
“And don’t think you’re left out. But I’ll let Izzy tell you that.”
“Really?” She swallowed thickly, so happy he was home for good and so happy for another sister in Izzy. “I can’t wait to see you two married.”
“Thanks,” he said, covering her hand briefly with his. “I guess I don’t have to say this, but I want the same for you, Shay.”
She winced and shook her head. “Probably would’ve happened by now if it was going to happen at all.”
He leaned back in the chair. “After my divorce, I was pretty sure that was the end of it for me, too. But clearly, I was wrong. Hey, love rarely comes at you directly. It’s usually a sideswipe when you’re least expecting it and doesn’t exactly announce itself until you’re under the wheels and wondering what the hell hit you.”
“I guess. Maybe I’m just too old.”
“You’re thirty-one!” he argued, his eyes sparking with humor.
She grinned at him. “Should I warn Izzy she’s about to marry an old man?”
“Call her crazy, but I think she knows exactly what she’s getting into,” he said, chugging his last sip of coffee. “And far be it for me to dissuade her from marrying into the dysfunctional chaos known as the Hardesty clan.”
“But it’s a lovely chaos, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “It definitely is.”
*
After a day split between working on the glamping tent site with Liam, which they’d nearly completed, and training the newly adopted dun mare they’d named Delilah for her long, dark mane, Cooper had watched Ryan work with Kholá as evening crept over the ranch. With days growing shorter and Ryan’s early mornings taken up with football practice for his school team, he’d already made remarkable progress with the filly considering his time with her.
The days spent in quarantine were not wasted on Kholá as Ryan had spent the time earning the horse’s trust. The filly had come with some trust issues, mostly a fear of being struck, and Ryan had worked a lot with her to convince her that she could trust him not to hurt her. All this had to happen before any attempts to train her were possible and, while Ryan had watched Cooper work with the other horses, he’d never seen such a quick study as Shay’s boy. He had a natural affinity for horses and seemed to have some instinctive ability to calm them.
Training a horse from scratch, Cooper had learned long ago from Birdy, his old mentor at the Four Sixes, wasn’t simply about getting them to do what you wanted them to do. It was really about getting them to want to do what you wanted them to do. By the end of quarantine, Kholá was following Ryan around the ring like a puppy. Sure, he had treats, but more than that, she was learning to trust the hand that fed her and began to let go of whatever she’d suffered through at the hands of her previous owner that had sent her on a path to the kill pens.
After watching Cooper working with Delilah to get her over her fear of the rope by brushing it over her everywhere as she would tolerate it, Ryan had gotten Kholá to the point where he could throw the saddle blanket over her back now without spooking her. Next would be the saddle and the cinch. For now, he worked with just the halter. The reins and bit would come later. Ryan wanted the filly to learn the feel of his body on her first and not fear a bit in her mouth. If he could have competed in the Youth Encounter bareback, he would have preferred it. Cooper had to hand it to him, the kid had no fear. But he was enjoying watching Ryan’s training process grow and develop.
After Ryan had put Kholá up and fed her, he lingered in the barn as Cooper groomed Delilah with a curry comb and then cleaned out her hooves. He did this as much for himself as for the horses, who loved getting fussed over. They craved attention that didn’t involve actual riding. They enjoyed the touch and the grooming and even the affection human bonds could bring. So often, horses were viewed as utilitarian animals, born to simply work and earn their keep.
Which was true of ranch horses to a large degree, just as it was true for the humans who worked the ranch. But often forgotten was this simple, extra effort that strengthened the bond between human and horse. And if, as often happened, that quality was lost in the shuffle of everyday labor and busyness, then he was happy to spend a little time after work filling in that void with a little grooming.
He ran a hand over Delilah’s jaw and stroked her soft nose, enjoying the contented quiver of the horse’s skin in response. Delilah’s eyes were half closed with pleasure. “There’s a good girl,” he murmured. He tossed the curry comb at Ryan who caught it handily and dropped it in the bucket beside him.
“You did real good today with Kholá, Ry,” he said. “Your plate’s pretty full these days. How’s school going?”
“Okay.” The word was more of a sigh than an endorsement. Ryan was usually tight-lipped about whatever was going on in his life, but he seemed to be wanting to talk.
“That sounds a little less than enthusiastic.”
“I guess. School sucks.”
“Can you be any more specific?”
“We have check-ins coming up in two days for team sports and I’m failing math. If I do, I can’t play, and if I can’t play, I lose my position on the team.”
“Math, huh? That’s a tough one. How close is your grade to failing?”
“Two points. I have a math test tomorrow and, really, there’s no point. I just can’t do it. So, I’m just gonna fail.”
Cooper put Delilah up in her stall. Ryan had already filled up her water and alfalfa. “I was pretty good at math when I was in school. Maybe I can help you.”
“Nah. I’m just no good at algebra. It probably won’t help.”
“There’s always that chance. But on the other hand, what have you got to lose? And two points? Phhffft! You got this. What’s got you stumped?”
“ X ,” Ryan said, and laughed. “Basically, X .”
Cooper laughed, too, remembering solving equations in beginning algebra. There was a chalkboard there in the stable they used for keeping track of medications, feedings, etc. and he erased last week’s entries to make space for an equation. “Okay,” he said, putting one on the board. “Let’s see you solve this for X .”
*
That was where Shay found them as she came looking for Ryan a half hour later, huddled together in front of the chalkboard, scribbling equations. Damned if Cooper wasn’t actually teaching Ryan some complicated strategy for solving compound equations—something her son absolutely wouldn’t attempt with her. Because... why? Because she was his mom.
But with Cooper, there Ryan was, shoulder to shoulder, his face alight with concentration, solving the equation like a pro. After, the two high-fived each other like bros on the football field.
Shay covered her smile with her fingers, not wanting to break this scene up, but they turned and saw her standing near the doorway, watching. Ryan grinned up at her as he pointed to the equation as if he’d mastered quantum physics.
“I see,” she said, smiling now. “That’s awesome, Ry. I knew you could do it.”
“Cooper just showed me a different way of looking at it.”
“Did he?” she asked, noting the pleased look on Cooper’s face. “I’m not surprised. I bet you didn’t know he was our class valedictorian back in high school.”
Ryan slid a surprised look at Cooper. “He was?”
“Oh, yeah. And very, very good at math. Don’t be fooled by his mild-mannered appearance. Under all that cowboy paraphernalia lurks a true brainiac.”
Cooper got to his feet, brushing chalk dust from his hands. “I definitely wouldn’t go that far.”
She exchanged a knowing look with Ryan. “Mimi’s got dinner ready, Ry. Why don’t you go on in the house. I’ll be up in a minute.”
He turned to Cooper. “Thanks for the... you know, help.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck on your test tomorrow.”
“Thanks. I think I got this,” Ryan said with new confidence, and headed up to the house.
She stood there for a long minute, arms crossed, shaking her head. “How did you manage that?”
“What? Helping him solve for X ? He kind of asked.”
Shay bit her lip. “Well, thank you. I mean that. I try to help him, but I’m his mom and there’s like this... chasm of—I don’t know—not wanting to need me, I guess? It usually ends in a frustrated stomp up to his room.” She rolled her eyes. “Teenagers. Anyway, thank you. You’re really the perfect one to help him. He doesn’t see you as a threat to his... independence, I think.”
“He’s fourteen,” Cooper agreed with a smile.
“He sure is. But you’re good with him. Kids, horses... What’s your secret?”
“No secret,” he said, gathering up his jacket. “Just helping out where I can.”
“Where did you learn about training horses the way you do, anyway?” she asked, really wanting to know. “You didn’t really grow up with a big operation like ours.”
“No, it was small and contained. My dad had another business—” He cut himself off and shrugged into his Carhartt jacket. “I mostly learned what I know in Texas,” he admitted. “The ranch I worked at had an ornery old cuss called Birdy, who was head wrangler and was, by all accounts, an actual horse whisperer. He claimed to be part Comanche, though which part was hard to say. Still, he had a special gift with horses, and he didn’t believe in the traditional way of breaking them.
“He was convinced that a horse needed his spirit intact to be a trustworthy mount. And once you earned that trust, you couldn’t buy a better partner on the trail. Years ago, as a young man, he managed to convince the ranch’s very reluctant owner to try his methods with a handful of his unbroke broncs. Turned out he was right. They never went back to the old way. And after he taught me, neither did I.”
Shay nodded, watching him, fascinated by how getting to know him was like peeling an onion, layer by layer, only to learn that she might have completely misjudged the man and his motives.
“That’s not to say there aren’t other methods out there for making ridable horses,” he went on, patting Delilah through the bars of her stall. “I’ve just changed my thinking in general over the past few years about what’s possible, I guess.” He turned back to her. “Ryan’s got a little bit of Birdy in him, I think. He’s a special kid. He’ll do great with Kholá, I think. And hopefully, his math test.”
She grinned. “If he does, it’ll be thanks to you.”
He wasn’t likely to accept compliments like that and he ducked his head. “I’d better get—”
“Do you want to come up to dinner?” she blurted, cutting him off. “Mom made fajitas. I mean, she makes really great steak fajitas.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, she heard Cooper’s stomach growl. But he said, “That’s real tempting and kind of you, but I can’t. I’ve got somewhere to be.”
“Another date? You work fast, Lane,” she teased.
“Still not a date,” he said, but looked everywhere but in her eyes. “But I do have to go. See you tomorrow?”
“Okay,” she said, smiling, “but rain check on the dinner.”
He slid his hat on, touched the brim and walked out the barn doors, into the gloaming night.
Shay just stood there for a minute, shaking her head, feeling unreasonably disappointed that he was already dating someone even though he’d just moved back to town. Even though he’d denied it. She was pretty sure that was it.
Crazy.
That was the word that cropped up in Shay’s mind as she left him in the barn, heading toward the house. These feelings she was starting to have for him were crazy. Irresponsible, too. And while we’re at it, let’s call it what it really is—foolish.
She kicked at a rock in the driveway and sent it spiraling down the road and pain shooting up her toe. Limping a few steps, she swore and kept going.
Good grief. She’d just been alone too long. That was it. The fact that Cooper Lane was making her feel things that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time, should have made her step back. Think twice. Be reasonable.
Instead, she’d intentionally put herself in that barn with him, alone. Close enough that even the heady scents of horses and a hard day’s work on him had her imagining what it would be like if he just leaned a little closer and... kissed her!
What?
And there she was, apologizing for her sense of self-preservation, for heaven’s sake. For imagining the worst in him.
But that sensible voice that she had always listened to before Cooper Lane had arrived and disturbed the Fforce was suspiciously silent these days.
And she wasn’t sure what she was going to do about that.
*
That night, Cooper got home with his arms full of groceries, ready to cook a good meal after a long day at the ranch. But, setting the food down on the counter, his father was nowhere in sight. “Dad?”
Nothing.
He called again. Still nothing. Cooper thought maybe he’d gone out to the barn, but since there was no stock there anymore, there was no real reason to—
A sound from the other side of the house caught his attention. A thump. A loud thump.
He found his father on the bathroom floor, unconscious. Pale. Breathing shallowly.
“ Dad! ” He lifted the old man’s head onto his own lap and cradled him there for a minute, trying to wake him before dragging his cell from his pocket to call 911.