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“What do you mean he’ll be staying for a while? Staying where? And for how long?” Kenzie and her father stood in the center of the long horse barn. She had just walked most of the mares out to the corrals and was getting ready to release the last two.
“Here,” her dad said, looking a bit sheepish.
“Here, as in on this ranch?”
“Where else? You know the Scotts are always welcome.”
“Well, I hope that horse trailer is equipped with a sleeper compartment, because there’s no room inside the house, what with my siblings still claiming their bedrooms as their own. You can’t just drop somebody in one of their rooms without them knowing about it.”
Not exactly the truth. Her sisters Coco and Callie had long since moved their important things out of their shared room to their own homes, and only used that room on the rare occasion when all the sisters wanted to be together. Kayla would typically just share Kenzie’s bed. And she couldn’t even remember the last time Carson spent the night.
She was betting her dad hadn’t really noticed.
“What about the guesthouse?” he asked after a short pause.
She’d known her dad would think of that dang guesthouse. He’d built it special for relatives and the Scotts to use whenever they came to visit.
She shook her head. “It’s still loaded down with boxes of Carson’s rodeo memorabilia.”
That was the truth. She’d been after him for the last two months to get it cleaned out in anticipation of their parents’ anniversary party, but he’d always been too busy, or so he said. Her brother had mixed feelings about his Cowboy Days, especially after a near-fatal accident on a dismount following a solid bronc ride. Got his foot caught-up in a stirrup. Had to be saved by a rodeo clown who nearly died when the bronc Carson had been riding kicked him straight in the chest.
Carson didn’t like to be reminded of that time, despite his having moved on. Kenzie feared he’d never get around to moving those boxes to his own shed in town where he lived with his wife, Zoe. But at the moment, Carson’s procrastination was proving to be a good thing.
“Jake can sleep out on the bed on the enclosed porch. Your mom can fix it up nice for him.”
No way did she want Jake Scott bedding down anywhere on their property, and she especially didn’t want him only steps away from her own bedroom.
She didn’t understand any of this, and had a hard time believing Jake would want to hang around the Grant ranch for “a while.” And what the heck defined “a while,” anyway?
“Why would he want to spend more than one night? Isn’t he just passing through? Doesn’t he have his own ranch to tend to? And why would he bring his horses with him? What’s going on, Dad?”
“I can’t answer all them questions at once. Maybe you should come on inside where we can talk, where we can sit a spell. Your mom can brew up a fresh pot of coffee or maybe a nice hot cup of tea might be better.”
This mystery was now getting out of hand. She wondered if her dad and Jake’s dad hadn’t struck some kind of agreement, some kind of bargain that might turn everything she was doing for the ranch into something she wasn’t prepared to handle, like maybe a sale. Maybe her dad was thinking of selling the ranch to the Scott family? Was that it?
“I don’t want to sit ‘a spell.’ Tell me here. Now. What’s this all about? You wouldn’t make some sort of financial deal with the Scotts and not tell me, would you?”
“Never. You’re runnin’ the show now, not me. But there’s one thing I’d like to, well, make a couple changes to. That’s why we should go inside where we’ll be more comfortable. Your mom can put the tea kettle on.”
“I don’t want any tea. I have a lot of work to do today, beginning with cleaning out these stalls.”
She tossed the clean straw against the walls with her pitchfork, and moved everything soiled to the center. Then she used a shovel to pick up what had been piled in the center and dumped it into the small manure spreader she’d moved to the front of the stall.
“I called him in to help you,” her dad said, picking up a broom and sweeping up anything that had fallen from her shovel.
She quickly swept out the center of the stall once all the soiled straw was gone, sprayed an absorbent deodorizer on any wet spots on the rubber mats, and went on to the next stall, allowing the previous one to dry while her mares were outside.
“You asked Jake to leave his own family ranch to come and help me? I thought you liked how I’m handling things. For the first time in years we’re making a profit again. I don’t understand. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Kenzie had worked out a plan for the ranch down to the smallest detail, which included how to care for each stall. She’d learned from experience that right before she’d bring her mares in for the night, she’d move the good straw back into the center, and add whatever straw was needed to make a soft bed. It took a little longer to care for each stall this way, but she was proud of the fact that her animals had never had any hoof problems since she’d been in charge.
“Of course it is. I just thought—”
She stopped cleaning and stared at her dad, a tall, slim man with kind eyes and graying hair: the textbook cowboy who couldn’t be away from his ranch for more than a few days at a time. When Kenzie thought back, she couldn’t remember her parents ever taking a vacation. The only place they would visit was the Scott Ranch a few miles outside of Starlight Bend, Montana, and even that had stopped in the last few years.
“I don’t need his help, Dad. I already hired two ranch hands to come in three days a week. They’ve taken over some of the major work, repairing our vehicles, feeding and checking on the livestock, especially our new calves, and mending the holes in our fences. So far they’ve done a great job. The high school kids who normally help out took the day off to practice for the Cowboy Days next week. Besides, doesn’t Jake have his own work to do back in Montana? How can he possibly take off any time to come and help me...do what? Mend a fence? Clean out stalls? Unload hay?”
“It’s not that kind of help he’s offering.”
She punched the pitchfork into the ground and held it taut in her right hand. She didn’t know what the heck her dad was getting at, but the knot in her stomach seemed to be getting worse.
“Then what can he possibly be offering?”
Her mind spun to the bedroom, but she instantly tamped that thought down.
“I asked him to give you a few pointers.”
“Dad...please spit it out. What kind of pointers?”
He sucked in a deep breath, then let it out. She could tell he was nervous about what he was about to say, but she didn’t understand why. She and her dad had an open, honest relationship. At least that was what she thought they had. At the moment she wasn’t so sure.
“Pointers on a more organic, more natural method of ranching.”
Goose bumps appeared up and down her arms as her stomach tightened. “What? Dad? You can’t be serious. I’ve...”
He held up his hands. “Now, wait. Before you go gettin’ all riled up, just listen to me for a minute.”
“I’ve brought this ranch back from the brink. We’re doing really well. You know how hard I work.”
“And I appreciate that. I’m mighty proud of you and all that you’ve done. I’m just sayin’ that maybe we can go back to a few of the more natural ranchin’ ways, some of the old Western ways of doin’ things. I’m not too happy about spreading all them chemicals on our crops or using artificial means to impregnate some of our livestock. I’d like the simpler way, the cowboy way.”
She took this as a real insult to all that she’d learned, and all that she’d done so far to keep the ranch out of bankruptcy. Didn’t her dad understand that?
“Those natural ways weren’t working for us, Dad. You know that. We were in debt, a lot of debt, and we came close to losing this ranch. I’m trying to get us some purebred quarter horses. And I don’t want any inbreeding with our studs. I want to do this right this time.”
“I’m convinced now that a lot of this ranch’s decline was because your mom and me just got too old and couldn’t take care of everything like we once did. And some of it might have been because we weren’t doing things right. Maybe Jake can show us a better process, tell us what we can change or add to what you’re already doing. I’d like to start with the stud quarter horses he’s brought.”
“And who told him to bring those darn studs?”
“Nobody. I offered, and your dad agreed.” Jake’s booming voice echoed behind her.
“Dad—” She stared at her father for a moment, shaking her head. He simply didn’t understand what she was trying to do, and now he was telling her she should listen to a man who probably knew more about wooing a woman than he knew about actual organic ranching...which had to be more expensive and time-consuming than her dad could ever imagine.
“And I’m not charging stud fees,” Jake added. She could hear the condescending innuendo in his voice. As if this was all some sort of joke...at least that was how it sounded to her.
“That’s not the point,” Kenzie argued, unable to fully understand why her dad had gone behind her back. She felt completely betrayed. What could he possibly have been thinking by not discussing trucking in Jake Scott and his stud horses?
“The point is,” Jake countered, “my boys are ready, willing and better still, they’re already here. And from the looks of some of your twitchy mares out there, they’re interested in these guys...so to speak.”
A shiver went up Kenzie’s spine as she watched Jake walking up to her, guiding what had to be the most beautiful palomino she’d ever seen. Her mind raced back to the palomino she’d seen on Jake’s ranch when they were kids. Could this be the same horse?
“Is this Running Star?” Kenzie asked, momentarily forgetting about the span of time that had gone by since she’d last seen the horse.
Just the sight of such a beautiful cream-colored creature caused her to also forget about the ongoing argument. All she wanted to do was run a hand over what had to be the smoothest coat she’d seen in a long time. The horse was positively magnificent, and if she hadn’t already paid for frozen sperm, she’d match up this stallion with her mare Sweet Girl in a heartbeat.
The horse nodded its majestic head a few times, as if it knew what she’d been thinking.
“No. Running Star is too old to stud out, but he sired this fella. Morning Star is just about three years old and in top form.”
Jake stroked the animal’s shoulder, and the horse nuzzled him and nickered.
Kenzie leaned the pitchfork against a stall gate and ambled over to Morning Star, running her hand over his smooth muscular body when she stepped close enough. Then she pulled a small apple out of a sack that hung on a hook between two stalls and held it out to him. Morning Star gently plucked it from her hand, a true gentleman of a horse.
“He’s a sweetheart,” she told Jake. “What a beautiful animal.”
“He’d be a sweetheart to your mares as well,” he answered. “He was pasture bred, and is trained to do the same. I can introduce him and Bingo to your mares, and, well, within no time, even your lead mare will foal.”
She stepped away from the stallion. “As tempting as that sounds, that’s not the haphazard strategy I intend to use. In order to keep this ranch moving in the right direction, I’ve made other plans for my mares. And besides, there’s always a risk with pasture breeding that one of my mares might get injured, or worse. I can’t afford to take that chance. This ranch can’t afford to take that chance.
“As pretty as he is, I’m going to have to pass on your generous offer. Besides, I’ve already invested several thousand dollars in pedigreed frozen sperm that will be arriving any day now. It’s the safest way to go.”
“According to whom?”
“According to other breeders.”
“Commercial breeders. I’m talking about natural breeders, and they all agree with pasture breeding. Plus, it’s much more fun for the animals than a metal vagina and a long syringe.”
“You make it sound so crude and heartless.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Well, it sure ain’t the way nature had intended it.”
Henry cleared his throat. “I’ll be gettin’ on back to the house now.”
Kenzie turned to him. “Is there anything else you want to say before you go, Dad? Maybe ask Jake here to pack up and leave in the morning? That we won’t be needing him or his fancy studs?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Wouldn’t be hospitable of me to ask him to leave so soon. He’ll have to decide that on his own. Both of you will. I’m confident you two can work out the comings and goings of this here idea of mine. Till then, I’m hoping for the best.”
Then her dad hightailed it out of there, leaving Kenzie to deal with Jake all on her own.
“So,” Jake said as a self-satisfied smirk stretched across his fine lips, “when do we start mating?”
* * *
BY THE TIME Jake settled in his bed on the back porch that night, just on the other side of Kenzie’s open window, he was more tired than a mule after a day of pulling a plow. It had been not only a long day of driving, but a long day of trying his best to not cause a dustup between himself and the woman he was tasked with helping. Although as it stood at the moment, her accepting his help seemed about as likely as pigs flying.
The porch bedroom had all the accoutrements necessary for his comfort. The only problem was the area was designed for someone five inches shorter, and about fifty pounds lighter. He felt like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Every time he moved, he either knocked something over or bumped into a delicate piece of furniture. Everything seemed to be woven out of wicker and the chair would certainly split apart if he decided to sit on it and put his feet up on the rickety-looking stool.
The one thing he really liked, however, was sleeping essentially outdoors. There was a roof to shelter him from the rain, and the entire area was screened off in order to keep the flying bugs away. There was a wooden rocking chair in the corner that looked a bit more sturdy to sit in, a single-sized bed ran along the wall and ended under the window, an old wooden dresser stood on the other side of the window, with a hook above it to hang his hat, and a small nightstand was next to the bed for his keys and wallet. The small table also held a digital clock, a glass of water and a small frilly lamp. Everything he needed was in a space no bigger than one of those horse stalls in the barn, and even those were probably bigger.
“Are you going to keep that light on all night?” Kenzie called through the open window.
Trying to sleep on a single bed that was obviously made for a shorter person, and was about as wide as his shoulders, while Kenzie Grant lay about ten feet away from him in a comfortable-looking queen-sized bed—he’d peeked in through the curtainless window—was proving to be more uncomfortable than resting his head on his saddle while lying on the cold hard ground...in a rainstorm...without a tarp.
“I like to read before I go to sleep,” he answered. “It clears my thoughts and puts me in a sleepin’ mood.”
As if that was even possible tonight.
At the moment he was reading a thriller by Steve Berry, only for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was about.
Kenzie poked her head through the window. “Do you think you can do your reading somewhere else?”
He looked up from his book just as he caught her gaze slipping over his bare chest like a gentle breeze in summer. He couldn’t help the grin that captured his alley cat thoughts. “Is that an invitation into your bed? Because if it is, I’m sure we can find other things to do besides reading.”
She wore a sleeveless gray T-shirt and from the way her breasts pressed against the fabric, there was no bra restricting their movement. He mentally told himself to calm down, and was thankful for the blankets that covered the bottom half of his body. Her dark hair encircled her face and cascaded off her shoulders. The glow of his lamp highlighted the soft features of her beautiful face.
Oh, yeah, he was ready to sleep all right.
“You’re incorrigible, do you know that?”
No truer words...
She started to pull herself back inside until he said, “I’m just lying here minding my own business. You’re the one causing the fuss.”
She poked her head back out again, and this time she must have knelt on the floor of her room, as she rested her head in the crook of her arm like she was going to stay a spell. “I need it to be dark when I sleep.”
She yawned, then excused herself, her eyes filling with tears as she quickly wiped the salty liquid away with her fingers. Kenzie Grant looked like a dream framed in that window...his dream.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re doing much sleeping hanging out of your window, ordering me around in my own space.”
He couldn’t help himself. He enjoyed teasing her. She was so easily riled up.
“A space I was against my dad giving you, but you’re our guest, at least for tonight.”
She yawned again, covering her mouth with her hand. “Excuse me,” she mumbled again, looking all sleepy and content. He wondered what it would feel like to have a sleepy Kenzie Grant resting her head on his chest rather than her own arm.
He suspected it would feel pretty darn good.
“And as your guest,” he began, trying to get the imaginary sensation out of his head, “shouldn’t you treat me with a little respect?”
“I didn’t invite you here.”
He tried to get a little more comfortable in his bed, but the more he stirred the more uncomfortable he became, the headboard knocking against the wall with each of his movements.
“No, but your father did, so you’re stuck with me.”
He put his book down next to him, careful to keep it open to his page, sat up and added another pillow under his back. Then he snuggled in tight to the pillow.
“Only for tonight. You’re free to go in the morning.”
