Chapter 18
Carter
M arielle had her neutral face on. I wasn’t surprised, but I was hoping that once she got a good look at the ranch, she would see the appeal I did.
I wasn’t sure why it mattered so much to me that she found the beauty in this place.
Perhaps it was because she was my closest confidant and I considered her a friend. I didn’t have many of those anymore.
Or I hadn’t. The people of the BCR were definitely becoming friends.
Hawk was more than that. Damn, but I couldn’t wait to see him.
It had been two days, and even though we had texted when he wasn’t busy, and we’d had one late night phone call last night that ended in mutual satisfaction for us both, I hadn’t been able to touch him since Friday.
And then only for a brief make-out session in his office when he could spare me a few minutes.
He was very busy, and I’d had to get back to my house in time for Marielle and Elisa’s arrival that afternoon.
Yesterday, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I didn’t come out to the ranch.
I’d sent Mal a message, because he’d told me to if I couldn’t come out, and he assured me that Ramona would be taken care of.
Marielle and I had a working day, even though it was Saturday, so we could get the time sensitive items handled.
Then I treated Elisa and Marielle to dinner at The Chophouse, which was the fanciest place in town.
Ranchers put on clean jeans to go there, but the steaks were outstanding.
They’d both enjoyed the food even if Marielle had been a bit of a snob about the atmosphere. Elisa had found it charming.
Speaking of Marielle’s wife, she at least was excited about visiting the ranch and going on a horseback ride.
She leaned between the front seats, peering out the windshield, as I turned onto the property.
They were both wearing jeans and sneakers, which is the best they could do for the ride, but while Marielle had donned a hoodie, Elisa bought a flannel just for the visit.
She’d tucked her afro under a straw cowboy hat and looked very cute.
“Fix your face, Mari baby,” Elisa drawled, nudged her wife in the shoulder. “This is going to be fun.”
Marielle tried for a smile but wasn’t quite successful. The expression eased a bit more when both Elisa and I chuckled. She waved us off and sat up straighter as I rounded the slight curve and the ranch itself came into view.
“This is the best part. Wait until you hear….hang on.” I slowed to a crawl as soon as I noticed a mid-size SUV parked along the edge of the drive.
I didn’t recognize it, but there were always so many vehicles all over the place that I wasn’t surprised.
I peered past Marielle into the SUV and saw a figure slumped over, head in his hands.
It was Emery. I’d only been introduced to him a few weeks ago, but there was no mistaking the curls in that same dark hair half the Harrington siblings had.
Demi’s were the same, but a lot longer. Emery kept his hair short.
I braked then put the Jeep in park. Hopping out, I rounded the front of the Jeep to get to his door.
I knocked on the window, a very light tap, not wanting to startle him.
When he didn’t react, I tried the door, concern mounting, and was glad to find it unlocked.
I slowly opened the door, then reached in and touched his shoulder.
He startled then, his whole body jerking, and he lifted his head as he sucked in a huge breath.
“Hey, you okay?”
He blinked his blue eyes at me. “Cahill?”
I snorted. “That’s me. What are you doing sitting out here?”
Emery’s brows scrunched together and he looked around. It took him a few seconds for his brain to work. I practically watched as it chugged into gear. He lifted his hands and scrubbed them on his face, then patted his cheek a few times.
“Got in late. There was a thing with a patient, and I….” He squinted as though he was trying to remember.
“I stopped here because I needed to check my phone and I didn’t want to set off Juanpablo.
He’s usually good at night when it’s us, but if I was taking a long time…
Anyway, I must have stopped moving for too long because I clearly fell asleep. ”
“Clearly,” I agreed, studying him. The bags under his eyes could have gone on their own vacation.
His phone, I noticed, was on the floorboard.
It must have fallen out of his hand. Since I knew how awkward it was to try and reach with the steering wheel in the way, I bent down and retrieved it.
I handed it over, he woke up the screen, and swore.
“It’s ten AM?” His tone clearly sounded as though he didn’t believe it. He turned wide eyes on me, needing me to confirm it.
“Yep.”
Emery’s laugh was self-deprecating. “Crap. I’ve been here for almost four hours.”
“You need a bed, my friend,” I said gently. “Especially because brunch is at noon and I’m told attendance is mandatory.”
“That it is.” He sighed and turned the key, the SUV rumbling to life. He peered up at me. “If you could not mention this to anyone, I’d be appreciative. I’d never hear the end of it.”
Not seeing a reason not to keep this a secret, I nodded. His relief spread all over his face and he offered me a smile.
“Thanks. I guess I’ll see you in a few hours?”
I stepped back so he could close the door and then watched for a minute as he made his way up the drive. He hadn’t gone more than five hundred feet before Juanpablo started up. I whirled around to see Marielle’s wide eyes. When I got back in the car, Elisa was laughing.
“They have a donkey, huh?”
I nodded. “A watch donkey.”
I had to explain that as I drove the rest of the way, and even Marielle was amused by the story.
By the time I was done, I’d reached the parking lot, such as it was.
Really, it was just a stretch of pavement where everyone working or visiting this side parked their vehicles.
Usually, I parked by Barn 4 and I knew there was another parking pad closer to the house.
We exited the Jeep but before I could direct the women toward Barn 3, which was on the far side and where Mal told me to meet him for the ride, Marielle froze, her gaze locked on one of the pastures.
Almost as though she wasn’t conscious of it, she drifted closer.
Elisa and I exchanged a glance and followed, wondering what had drawn her.
Ah. The babies.
The pasture was huge, so I was sure we couldn’t see them all.
But fairly close to the fence line were three mares, foals right beside them.
The moms seemed unaffected, never stopping their grazing.
But the babies frolicked around, chasing each other.
One bent its head and ate next to its mom.
At least, I assumed she was its mother, since they looked nearly identical.
Other than the big horse having a nearly all white face and the baby only having white on its forehead.
I peered closer. There was also some kind of scar.
As much as I wanted to let Marielle look her fill, because I was certain that would soften her toward the ranch, we did have a schedule to keep and Mal was waiting for us. We were already a few minutes later than I would have liked. I gave it another minute or two, then nudged them along.
Mal, Gemma, Mike, and another hand were waiting for us at the doors to Barn 3. Introductions went around and I met Lovett for the first time. The Harringtons were as gracious as ever, welcoming Marielle and Elisa to their property.
“Sorry we’re a few minutes late,” I said, shooting Mal a look. He snorted. “We got distracted by the babies.”
“They’re so cute aren’t they?” Gemma cooed. “I get distracted by them all the time.”
“What happened to the baby?” Marielle asked, cocking her head to the side. “The one with the mark on its face.”
Mal cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. “An accident. I didn’t secure a gate well, a gelding got out and riled them all up, and Angela Lansbury got cut. She’s healing well though, and by the time she’s grown, it probably won’t even be noticeable.”
Mike slung an arm around Mal’s shoulders. “Part of ranch life, you know?”
Mal nodded earnestly. “Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, things happen. Fortunately, it wasn’t anything too serious.”
It seemed to me as though there was a story there. Sensing a mood shift, and wanting to keep things easy, I waggled my eyebrows. “Mike, how about you tell Marielle and Elisa about the broodmare names.”
He did, to Elisa’s delight. Marielle even cracked a smile. I myself thought it was wonderfully ridiculous that he insisted the barn names for all the broodmares be British actresses. Especially since they had to be two named, first and last, by everyone. When that was done, everyone was smiling.
“Okay.” Mal clapped his hands. “We’ve planned an easy trail ride today through some of the prettier parts of the property. Not that it’s not all pretty. And we’ll circle by the pond so you can see that too. We should be gone for about an hour. Now tell me, ladies. Have either of you ridden before?”
Marielle shook her head and, to her credit, kept any distaste out of her expression. Elisa nodded.
“It’s been years, but I’ve done the trail riding thing before a few times.”
Mike looked them both over. “What do you think, Malachi? Niko for Marielle and Ransom for Elisa?”
“How tall are you, Elisa?”
“Five ten,” she answered immediately.
“Ransom might be a little small for you then. He’s only fourteen two. Let’s put you on Luna instead.” Mal pursed his lips. “Marielle, how do you feel about being on a big horse?”
I jumped in, knowing Marielle’s thought process. “Niko is so solid, he won’t spook at anything. But he is big.”
She glanced at me, studied me, then turned back to Mal. “I guess I don’t care about being up high as long as I don’t fall off.”
He nodded like that made sense. “Niko it is. Carter, you good with Ruger?”