5. Avoided
FIVE
Avoided
ASH
The sun hadn’t even peeked over the mountains when I barked at everyone in the bunkhouse to get their asses up. It started my day off on the wrong foot.
“Jesus, what crawled into your boot and died?” Knox complained as he pulled his socks on.
I wouldn’t dare say a word to them, but I blamed Willow. Overnight, every time I closed my eyes in my bunk, there she was in my dreams—in my cabin.
It didn’t help one bit that my brain conjured up images of us there together as I tossed and turned, like how she’d tease me wearing one of my flannel shirts and nothing underneath.
Or she’d pull me into the shower with her .
Then she’d hum a tune at the stove, cooking breakfast for me while a few small children ran about.
Wait—who the hell were those little kids invading my universe?
“Colt! You dead? Let’s go. This isn’t the Off-Duty Spa. We run a ranch, goddammit.” I gave him a jolt when I kicked the frame of his bunk with my boot.
“I’m up, I’m up!” He groaned, rubbing his eyes.
“The luxury of late mornings doesn’t exist on a mountain ranch like ours.”
Finally, the men met me in our makeshift mess hall. Eldon did his usual best as our cook, serving up huge stacks of pancakes, batches of oats, bacon and sausage, along with the blackest soul of coffee ever created on God’s earth to wash it all down with. Lethal stuff, but it worked to get us going.
Everyone settled with their plates around the long picnic tables that formed our simple dining set. After a few minutes letting them get something in their bellies, I barked off assignments for the day to each man, then came to Knox and Colt.
“Colt, get a stall cleaned out and ready. Knox will show you the ropes. Daisy will be by soon with a new rescue.” I eyed Knox, who perked up at the mention of her name. It wasn’t a huge secret that he had a thing for her, although Daisy seemed not to have a clue .
“On second thought, I think I’ll go take a quick shower to start the day,” he scuttled off. Snickers rose around the table.
Eldon yelled after him, “Dammit. Go light on that aftershave, would you? I don’t like it mixing with the scent of my food.”
Knox simply held up his middle finger before closing the bathroom door behind him.
Would there be the slightest hint of Willow’s perfume left behind when she leaves my cabin at some point? I shook off that thought.
“Colt, later this morning, take the UTV and pick up Willow and Ro so they can go see the horses,” I ordered.
“Yes, Boss,” he eagerly answered.
Some men started asking questions about the newcomers to the ranch. Apparently, word spread quickly about the woman and child who joined us last night. Even joked that I’d built a bed-and-breakfast instead of a home. I shut them all down fast.
“Enough. Let’s get to work.” I needed things to get back to normal. At least for a while until I figured out how to feel about Willow and Ro being here.
* * *
I kept busy all morning in my office in back of the barn.
Grief was a tricky son of a bitch. It didn’ t stay buried.
Especially when your dead brother’s beautiful wife showed up with your niece in tow, and out of the blue.
They dredged up things I thought I’d locked away, and placed them front and center of my mind.
I would never admit that I’d spent years wondering what might’ve happened if Scott hadn’t loved her.
Or if I had stayed in our hometown and given things a chance—but what did any of it matter now?
Except they were here, forcing me to face my past and deal with my wounds.
Arousing all kinds of thoughts about the future.
I doubted Willow and Ro would just walk away after their visit here. Deep down, I wasn’t sure I wanted them to.
Jesus, what kind of man coveted his brother’s family? What kind of selfish bastard looked at a widow and her child and saw not a responsibility to honor Scott’s memory, but an opportunity to claim something for himself?
Before I could spiral deeper, the roar of an old diesel engine disrupted our peaceful ranch. Daisy’s truck and trailer kicked up dust as they pulled up to the barn.
Good. Another distraction. Horses I could handle. My past? Not so much.
Walking out to meet Daisy , my stomach flipped watching Ro riding on Marshmallow with the biggest grin I’d seen on her yet. Like a ray of sunshine, she waved at me.
Colt walked beside her, reins in hand, and Knox peered on like their bodyguard. The white and brown pony with freckles on his rump held his head proudly as if carrying precious cargo. In a way, he was—my niece, the only connection I had left to my brother.
Ro got excited. “Mom! Look at me and Marshmallow!”
“Great honey, be careful.” Willow glanced over at me and waved from where she sat on the bench seat of the UTV, ankle elevated. I waved back.
“Well, this is new. Haven’t seen another woman on this ranch in some time,” Daisy observed, stepping down from her cab, slamming the door behind her. Then she pointed to Colt. “You. Also new.”
“I’m Colt, ma’am,” he nodded her way.
“Well, well. I imagine my sisters are going to want to get their hooks into you,” she laughed, giving Colt a once-over. “My advice though? Stay clear of Ivy. She eats cowboys for breakfast and spits them out in pieces.”
Colt chortled with a winning grin. I filed away a reminder to fill him in later on the Wylde sisters of the valley.
“I’m still here, sweetheart,” Knox sent Daisy a wink and a cocky grin. The faint scent of his aftershave reached my nose.
“I have eyes.” Which she used to roll at him.
I made introductions all around. “That’s my sister-in-law, Willow, and my niece, Ro, here for a visit. And you met Colt. Everyone, this is Daisy, our farrier,” I explained, and said how she tended to the horses’ hooves and general horse care at our ranch and others in the area.
Willow waved politely. “Hello.”
“Marshmallow has really adapted well,” Daisy said, observing Ro on the back of one of the first rescues we took in when we opened. Knox helped Ro off and showed her how to tie up the pony.
“Who did you bring to us today?” I nodded toward the trailer, eager to move things along.
Her face sobered. “One of the worst cases I’ve seen in a while.”
She opened the back gate, and a beautiful, pissed-off mare backed right out, flaring her nostrils.
With a rich brown coat, thick black mane, and fire in her eyes, she could be a beauty save for her temper.
Her overgrown hooves stomped the ground and needed Daisy’s attention, assuming she’d calm down and not buck at the slightest human touch .
“Whoa, Juniper,” she spoke softly, keeping tight hold on the rope attached to the halter. “I wrangled her away from the back pasture of a hoarder’s field this morning. Underfed, neglected, hardly ever handled. Other rescues gave up on her.”
Ro walked up behind us. “Why’d they give up?”
Daisy glanced at her. “Because she scared them.”
“Are you scared?” Ro asked.
Daisy grinned with every confidence. “I don’t scare easily.”
“That’s right. Daisy’s lived here her whole life. Don’t let her outer beauty fool you. Inside, she’s tough as nails,” Knox teased.
A smoldering look passed between them I couldn’t miss. Maybe there was something going on with them after all. But Juniper reared up, breaking their brief connection apart.
“I’d like to know how you’re going to get this one under control,” I barked.
“I came prepared with treats.” Daisy resorted to bribery with carrots just to get Juniper to follow into a stall. But the horse was smart, only taking a few steps. “Fine, girl. Make me break out the good stuff.”
She went to pull a bag from her pocket but dropped it, and it landed at Ro’s feet.
“Peppermint candy?” Ro picked a disc and studied it. Suddenly Juniper stepped toward her, head out, sniffing. Before Daisy and I could react, Ro slowly held out a candy in the middle of her palm.
I tensed, and Willow sat up straight with the look of a worried mother.
Juniper ate up the candy and sniffed Ro like they could be best friends. Not to be outdone, Marshmallow poked his head out between the bars of the arena fence, angling for a treat, too.
Ro giggled, and the sweet sound of it brought out something I’d never felt before. Warmth? Pride? Is this how Scott felt as a father?
“Can I feed her some more?” She asked.
Willow called over, “Be careful, honey. Do as Daisy tells you.”
Daisy moved in slowly and got hold of the halter. “She hasn’t received much kindness from people. So I don’t want to push her too fast. Maybe in a couple of weeks if you’re still here visiting…”
“Willow says we’re staying and never going back to California,” Ro dropped the words like a bomb.
Staying?
More of Willow? Here?
I caught her eye from over at the UTV and hesitated. Time to face facts. There was no avoiding her or the past anymore.