Chapter Thirty-one
Vaughn tipped her hat back to scratch her forehead. Then she readjusted it and looked back down at her clipboard. She was doing inventory, waiting for her new stallion to be delivered. Behind her, she could hear Em cleaning the stallion’s new stall, while Wyatt continued cleaning on down the line. The two new hands were helping a lot, but Vaughn was finding that they still weren’t enough, especially with the new business they were drawing, thanks to the updated website.
She’d sold four horses since the website had been up and she had two more people showing serious interest.
“You want straw alone in here, boss lady?” Em asked her.
Vaughn turned and examined the cleaned area, then looked at Em who was leaning on a broom brush.
“Or do you want a mix of pellets and shavings to welcome him in?”
“You’ve done your homework,” Vaughn said, impressed.
“I asked June. I know how important it is to surround a new horse with things he’s familiar with. And June said he’s used to sleeping on wood pellets and shavings.”
“Nice work. And yes, to answer your question, go ahead and use the pellets and shavings.”
“Will do.” She propped the broom brush up against the wall. “I could also make up a sweet mix for him to munch on. Might make the welcome a little sweeter.”
“Go ahead,” Vaughn said. “But don’t give him too much. We don’t want to upset his stomach.”
Em nodded and left the stall. She walked down the line of shelves and hoisted up a bag of wood pellets and carried it back to the stall. Vaughn watched as she slit the bag open with a small knife she pulled from her back pocket. Next she spread the pellets along the rubber mat on the floor, making a nice bed for their new stallion.
Em seemed to be getting along wonderfully. She was a farm kid, had grown up with horses on her family’s farm in Wyoming. She’d just recently moved to the Valley and she’d been looking for work similar to what she’d had back home. Vaughn had been impressed by her detailed résumé as well as her references. For a young woman of twenty, she had ten references singing her praises about her work ethic and know how. And from what Vaughn could see so far, those references had known what they spoke of.
“What’s his name?” Em asked as she walked down the line of shelves again, looking for shavings.
“Midnight,” Vaughn said.
Em chuckled. “Seems fitting, doesn’t it?”
“For this ranch? It sure does.”
“Well, maybe it’s a sign,” she said as she lifted two bags of shavings onto her shoulder. “That he’s meant to be here.”
“Maybe,” Vaughn said. Em slit open the bag of shavings. But before she spread them with the fork, she stood and unbuttoned her shirt. She peeled it off and tossed it along the stall wall. Wearing only a form-fitting white tank top, she began spreading the shavings on top of the wood pellets.
For a petite thing she sure was strong. And she had the defined muscles to prove it. Vaughn recalled being that young and boisterous, able to do almost anything without the stab of pain. But those were times long ago.
“Hey,” a voice said. Vaughn glanced over to see Natalie slowly leading O’Malley into the stables.
“Hey.”
She walked up and joined her, her gaze going from Vaughn to Em, where it lingered. “She’s working hard,” she said. But it didn’t sound like a compliment or an innocent observation. It sounded more like an accusatory statement, like Em was doing something wrong.
It confused Vaughn, but she shook it off, sure she’d just misunderstood her tone. Natalie had, after all, been acting a little differently lately. Vaughn had tried to read into her mood swings, but it had done her little good, because she still hadn’t been able to figure out what was wrong.
“Yes, she is,” Vaughn responded. “She’s a good worker.”
“Mm. I suppose.”
Vaughn raised her eyebrow, but Natalie moved on.
“I hear you bought a stallion.”
“I did. He should arrive here soon as a matter of fact.” She looked beyond Natalie and out into the ranch, searching for a truck pulling a horse trailer. She saw nothing but Greer in the corral grooming a horse.
“That must be exciting,” Natalie said.
“It is,” Em said. “A new horse is always exciting.”
“Mm,” Natalie said. She looked back to Vaughn. “If you need any help with him, I’m available.”
“So am I,” Em chimed in. She walked back to the shelves and grabbed a couple more bags of shavings and got busy spreading them with the fork.
Natalie watched her closely and gave her a suspicious look before she focused on Vaughn once again. “Like I said, I’m available. Unless you would like for me to feed Miracle for you.”
“Oh, I can do that too,” Em said. She finished making Midnight’s bed and leaned over the wall of the stall, sweat glistening on her neck and chest. She looked like a young, vibrant tomboy in her ball cap and tank top and her attitude was infectious.
Vaughn smiled and lowered her clipboard. She glanced at her watch. The stallion should be there already. “Why don’t you go ahead and do that, Em. That would help me a lot.”
“Sure thing.” She snatched her shirt and left the stall, tying the shirt around her waist as she went.
Natalie huffed.
“Something wrong?” Vaughn asked, once again perplexed by her mood.
“I’m just trying to figure out why you’re letting her, this new kid, feed Miracle when you’ve yet to let anyone else do it. You said you didn’t trust anyone else to get it right.”
Vaughn stammered, more confused than ever. Was Natalie…jealous?
“I asked her to do that so you could help me with the stallion. But if you don’t want to then—”
“What makes her qualified to feed Miracle, when I wasn’t?”
“She has experience with nursing malnourished horses, Natalie. Her aunt runs a rescue ranch.”
Natalie led O’Malley into the neighboring stall and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m confused,” Vaughn said. “Do you want to help me with the stallion, or not?”
“That’s fine,” Natalie said as she brushed by her. “As long as I’m good enough.”
“Natalie,” Vaughn said, causing her to stop. “You are good enough.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Well, you are.”
“Then why does Em seem to be getting special treatment? I mean, she’s always following you around, jumping up to do every job you mention. It’s—” She shook her head. “Maddening.”
“She’s just learning the ropes around here. And she’s highly motivated. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Unless it’s something more than that,” Natalie said.
“Like what?”
“Like maybe she has another reason for going above and beyond for you.”
“Such as?”
“I think she likes you, Vaughn.”
Vaughn was dumbfounded. “Excuse me?”
“She has a crush. It’s more than obvious.”
Vaughn shook her head, truly rattled. “Natalie, are you jealous of Em?” For more reasons than one?
Natalie scoffed. “I’m just stating the obvious.”
Could Em have a crush on her? Was it possible she wasn’t seeing it?
“And as for being jealous,” Natalie continued. “Maybe I am, Vaughn.”
“But why? Surely you know that I’d never…” she shook her head, unable to even contemplate doing anything with Em. “She’s my employee.”
“So am I, aren’t I?”
Again, Vaughn shook her head. “No, Natalie, you aren’t. You’re a friend and you’re helping out. We’re helping each other out. And our relationship….” She wasn’t sure what to say. “It’s completely different.”
“Our relationship?” Natalie said softly.
“Yes.”
“What is our relationship?”
Vaughn stared into her pain-filled eyes as she searched for words. “Natalie…”
But Natalie turned, tears brimming. “Let me know when the stallion arrives and I’ll come help.” She started walking away.
Vaughn took a step to go after her. “Natalie. Wait. Let’s talk this through.” She was surprised at her own words, as she was the one who usually avoided heavy conversation about emotions and feelings. But she was willing and able to discuss this. She didn’t want Natalie feeling confused and jealous over something so ridiculous. She didn’t want Natalie to feel upset at all.
“I can’t,” Natalie said. “Not right now. Not when I don’t even know what it is I’m feeling myself.” She hurried out of the stables and into the corral.
Vaughn watched her go, feeling helpless. Natalie was torn up inside, she could see it, and Gram had also brought it up on more than one occasion. But Gram had also been tight-lipped as to the reasons why, wanting to keep Natalie’s confidence, which Vaughn understood and could appreciate. Vaughn just wished she knew what was bothering her so badly. She wanted to fix it, whatever it was. She was a fixer. Whether it came to Gram, the ranch, or anything else, she was driven to make things right.
Unless it’s me personally.
She walked out into the late afternoon sun and set her clipboard in the back of the Gator. Natalie was loving on Oliver as she wiped her own tears from her eyes. Vaughn leaned on the bars and watched, curious, with her heart bleeding for her. If it was something as simple as jealousy, she’d pretty much just put that to rest. So why was Natalie still so upset?
Maybe she really didn’t know. Like she’d said.
If that was the case, there was no way Vaughn could fix it. Nothing she could do, other than to be kind and offer to lend an ear. But she very seriously doubted that Natalie would take her up on that. Things had been different between them since that night in the guesthouse, and consequently the discussion at the end of the drive. Things just weren’t the same, and Vaughn blamed herself for that. She hadn’t exactly handled things in the best way.
In fact, she’d pretty much screwed everything up.
But how could she make it right when she knew that giving in to her attraction to Natalie right now wouldn’t be good for either one of them? Not when Natalie still had her ex-husband to contend with. That was going to have to be handled, one way or the other. And Vaughn still feared that when that did happen, Natalie might turn tail and run back to him. She’d seen it before with her aunt and it hadn’t been a pretty picture. Her aunt had paid the price for it with bruises and fear that seemed to last a lifetime. She didn’t want to see that happen to Natalie, but she also had herself to think about. She was trying to do what was best for both of them. Until they worked out their issues, things couldn’t possibly work. Could they?
I can’t.
She sighed and tipped her hat back to scratch her forehead again. Then she rested her arms on the bars and rested her chin on her hands. Natalie was speaking softly to Oliver, stroking him down, nuzzling his neck. Natalie’s dark hair was glinting in the sun, her eyes blazing in the rays as she looked over at Vaughn. She was damn near breathtaking as she stood there in her jeans and snug henley top, loving on that horse in the late afternoon sunlight.
I may not be able to fix things right now, Natalie. But I’m still here. And I still want you here. I just hope that I can continue to convince you of that.