Chapter 9
Hawk
I nstead of figuring out all these feelings I was having about and around Carter, I concentrated on work.
The next day, around lunchtime, I called Demi who was still at home with the twins while Luke brought Aria to hang out with Mom on most days while he was at work.
“Hey, sis. This a good time?”
“Not better or worse than any other time, but it’s quiet so….” There was humor in her tone, which was definitely good news.
“So, I’m sure you’ve heard all about Carter by now,” I started. “He needs riding lessons. Basic stuff. He’s done trail riding a bit. I took him out on one of our trails, but he can’t even really sit in a trot at the moment.”
“I’ve definitely heard things,” she said, the amusement coloring her voice still.
“I think I need a couple of more weeks before I can come there even part time with the boys, but you should ask Mal. He did a few of my lessons for me when I was having bad days just before the twins were born. He knows what he’s doing. ”
“Okay, I’ll do that. If he’s not too busy.”
“Yeah, figure out your schedules and all that. My regular lesson plan is on hold until I’m ready to come back, but you need to get Carter to a point where you can eventually put him up on his own horse when she is ready.”
I snorted softly. “There’s time. But you’re right.”
“I usually am,” she quipped in her big sister tone.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll talk to Mal. Thanks, sis. Kiss the babies for me.”
“Will do. Talk to you later!”
“Bye!”
I had been walking and talking, so before I put my phone away, I glanced up ahead. Yes! Luck was on my side, because I saw Mal and Crew strolling toward the house for lunch, too.
They were holding hands, and for a while I just watched them. My big brother had never been as happy or as at ease as he was now.
It was funny, in a way, that he’d been the foreman of the ranch and settled in that way, but finding Mal—and Payton—had still changed him a lot. He just seemed so damn chill now. Like finding his person had just slotted something into place within him.
Malachi, on the other hand, still had the occasional moment of insecurity, mostly because of his past and his sensitivity, but the two of them with Payton were as perfect of a little family as I felt was possible for anyone to have.
I wasn’t na?ve enough to think they didn’t have troubles or that anything could really be perfect for real, but I also wasn’t one of those people who chased happiness.
No, I was more in the camp of contentment instead.
Most of the time, in most aspects of my life, I was content, and that was just fine with me.
Happiness was fleeting. I didn’t need to chase something like that.
“Hey, Mal!” I called as I jogged after them.
They both turned and smiled.
“What’s up?” Mal asked, his expression open in a way that told me he was having a good day. It hadn’t always been his default, and I felt grateful for the universe to be seeing it now.
“You did some of Demi’s riding lessons, right?” At his nod, I asked, “Would you have time to give Cahill some pointers?”
“I don’t see why not. It’s not time sensitive, right?” he asked as I fell into step with them.
“No, it’s not. But sooner rather than later, so I can take him on the trail and have him handle riding different types of horses. Right now his form is shit and he needs to learn how to gentle his hands. Eventually I’ll have to let him ride his own horse….”
Crew chuckled. “Seems like you’re reluctant to do that.”
“Right now nobody is getting on her. She needs muscle before I want to even try. As for Carter? He has a couple of months to learn before I would let him on her even for a slow walk around the arena.”
“Sounds fair. I think I have time tomorrow afternoon. Around two good?” Mal raised a brow.
“He said whenever is good for us is good for him, so I’ll send him a message. Just put him on one of the teaching horses and see where he’s at. Slow progress is good, as long as there’s progress.”
The next afternoon, I snorted softly at the message Carter sent me.
First, I texted Mal.
He’s going to be late. No ETA.
Then I sent one to Carter himself.
I’ve let Mal know.
I held myself back from telling him off about being late for his first lesson, but I also had a horse to ride, and that took all of my concentration.
I turned the sound off my phone, grabbed a two-way and hooked it on my belt, and took the young gelding I was trying to bomb proof and off we went.
He was to be the 16 th birthday present for a client’s daughter, and the parents wanted him to be bomb proof and for me to figure out what the horse liked to do.
They were good people, they weren’t going to let their daughter do show jumping, for example, if the horse hated it. Not on this horse, anyway.
He was to be as safe as possible, a clean slate with a little experience in a lot of things so that whatever she picked to do with him, it would be easier for them.
They had a long life together ahead of them, given that he was just five years old, and since she didn’t have great big plans of being the next whomever in any discipline, I felt they’d do just fine.
Which was why I took the gelding to the creek and back, even going so far as to show him the cows that were closer to the barns at the moment.
For our cool down, I guided him toward the outdoor arena, expecting to see Carter on a horse.
The arena was empty though, and when I looked around, I didn’t see anyone at all.
Frowning, I got my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. Yeah, it’d been an hour and some change. If Carter was late, he should still be here.
The gelding shifted his weight enough for me to remember what I was supposed to be doing. I registered that there weren’t more messages from Carter, either, and put my phone away.
Instead of using the walkie, I rode the gelding to the stock barn where Demi’s lesson horses stayed.
Mal was on his phone right outside the doors, and he lifted his gaze. “Oh, hey.”
“He hasn’t shown up?” I asked, reading the slight frown on his face.
“No. I assume he hasn’t called, either?”
“I just checked and there’s nothing.” I got pissed off in an instant, which made me tense.
That, in turn, had me making the decision to get off the poor horse so my mood wouldn’t rub off on him.
I was done with him for the day, but there was some distance to cover to get him back to the training barn. I scowled.
“Is Tommy around?” I asked Mal.
“Yeah, I think so. Lemme check.” He walked back inside, and called out for the kid. Soon, they reappeared.
“What’s up?” Tommy asked, smiling widely.
“Can you do me a really big and important favor?” I asked him.
Mal behind him held back a smirk and said nothing.
It was as if someone gave Tommy two inches of extra height suddenly. “Yeah, of course!”
“I need this one back in the training barn. He needs to be brushed and then he can go back to the pasture with Ramona and the others.”
I had several smaller paddocks and had a system of deciding which horses fit together and which definitely didn’t.
“I can do that. He’s one of the newer ones, right?” Tommy approached the gelding and held his hand out for him to sniff.
“Yeah, he’s not skittish though. Just all around inexperienced.”
Concentrated on the gelding, Tommy murmured, “I’m sure you can teach him plenty of things….” Then he caught what he’d just said, his eyes widening and a crimson blush spreading on his face.
I ignored it all for everyone’s fucking sake. “If you can walk him there and—”
“Yeah, I’ll uh, get to that.” He avoided eye contact as he took the reins from me, then gently coaxed the gelding to follow him.
I shot a warning look at Mal who was almost pissing himself from trying not to laugh.
I scowled and hissed, “Do. Not.”
“I’m sure you could teach him a few things, too,” Mal teased as soon as Tommy was out of hearing distance. “I bet he has dreams of you doing just that—”
“Jesus Christ!” I cut him off and kicked his ankle. “Stop it. It’s bad enough with…. Eugh!”
Before he had time to figure out a comeback, a familiar Jeep appeared on the road, headed our way.
“There he is.” Mal’s tone was neutral for my sake.
I took out my phone again and scoffed. “He’s an hour and twenty minutes late.”
Carter parked near us and got out. He rounded the vehicle.
“Hey guys, I’m so sorry—”
“Give me one good fucking reason why you’d disrespect our time like this?” I growled out, my body moving aggressively toward him without meaning to.
This wasn’t me at all, but for the time being, I didn’t care.
“Well that’s me out,” Mal said behind me and retreated inside the barn.
Carter, for his part, didn’t flinch. “Look, I’m here now—”
“Well good for you!” I felt like punching him. “You have any idea how much you’ve inconvenienced us? Mal could’ve been doing a dozen other things instead of waiting for you.”
His jaw tensed. “I did send you a message that I’d be late.”
“That’s something you do if you’re fifteen minutes late, Cahill! You were over an hour late. That’s unacceptable!”
He drew up to his full height and squared his shoulders, practically towering over me. He had to be well over half a foot taller than me.
That pissed me off even more.
“I would never be late like this without a good reason,” he ground out, his eyes making his annoyance obvious.
“And what is that ‘good reason?’” I made sure my tone let him know exactly what I thought of such things.
“I don’t know how you do things on this ranch, but where I come from, when you see a vehicle in a ditch, you stop and see if you can help.
Then you call for help, and try to calm down the crying baby in the back seat while the mother is unconscious!
” His hands were fists now, and I could feel the anger radiating from him in response to mine.
That… that was a good reason. I growled and whirled around, taking a few steps away from him.