Her Cowboy's Christmas Wish

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“You miss the old days?”

No one had ever asked Ethan that. He took a moment to consider before answering. “I do sometimes. I miss the people, especially. My mom and sister.” He glanced briefly at Caitlin. If she was aware of his unspoken inclusion of her, she didn’t show it. “But all things considered, I can’t complain.”

“Me, either,” Justin said, without the slightest trace of bitterness.

Ethan’s respect for him grew by leaps and bounds. If Justin felt self-pity at losing the use of his legs, he certainly didn’t wallow in it.

“You in a hurry to leave?” Justin maneuvered his wheelchair so that he faced Caitlin. “I was hoping Ethan could show us the mustang.”

“I can’t be late for work.”

Justin checked his watch. “I thought you didn’t have to be at the clinic until two.”

“I like to arrive a little early.”

She sounded eager to go.

Ethan wanted the chance to explain his real reason for enlisting and leaving her, and was determined to find the opportunity. “It won’t take long. Prince’s stall is just behind the barn.”

Justin started wheeling in that direction. Ethan followed, as did Caitlin, her gait stiff and her steps slow.

If she so obviously didn’t want to be with him, why had she come along?

“I have to warn you,” he told Justin, “the way there’s bumpy.”

“Can’t be any worse than hiking Squaw Peak.”

“You’ve done that?”

“Five times. Four of them in my chair.” Justin beamed, his geeky smile reminding Ethan of the undersize, asthmatic kid he’d known when he and Caitlin were dating.

The smile, however, was the only thing about him that was the same. Justin had acquired some serious muscle on his upper body.

“Why do you keep him so far from the other horses?” he asked, guiding his wheelchair down the rocky slope to Prince’s pen like a pro.

“He’s too wild and unpredictable.” Ethan kept his eyes trained on the ground, watching out for potholes and rocks. What would cause another person to merely stumble could send him sprawling. “And being near the mares tends to…excite him, shall we say. Better he’s off by himself.”

Where to house Prince had been an issue when they’d captured him last month. Clay solved the problem by erecting a temporary covered pen near the back pasture.

“I’ve been wanting to see Prince ever since I watched your brother on the news.”

Ethan chuckled. “You caught that, huh?”

“Are you kidding? He was all over the TV.”

The media had gotten wind of Prince’s capture; a horse living wild in a ninety-thousand-acre urban preserve was big news. Several local stations had dispatched reporters to interview Gavin. The attention had resulted in a slew of new customers, giving the Powells’ dire finances a much-needed boost.

“Watch yourself,” Ethan cautioned as they drew near. “Prince is wary of strangers. He still doesn’t like me and Gavin that much.”

Justin showed no fear and wheeled close. Caitlin reached for his wheelchair as if she wanted to pull him back. After a second, she let her hand drop, though it remained clenched in a fist.

Was it only Justin’s fall that had made her overprotective?

As they watched Prince, the stallion raised his head and stared at them. Then, tossing his jet-black mane, he trotted from one end of the pen to the other, commanding their attention.

And he got it. Ethan couldn’t wait to see the colts this magnificent horse produced.

“He’s bigger than he looked on TV.”

Ethan kept a careful eye on Justin, ready to run interference if he ventured too close to the pen. Caitlin, on the other hand, seemed content to observe from a safe distance.

“Have you ridden him yet?” It was the first she’d spoken since Justin joined them outside the barn.

“No. He’s only halter broke, and barely that.”

“But you are going to break him?” Justin asked.

“Oh, yeah. My goal is by Christmas.”

“That doesn’t give you much time.”

“You’re right. He and I are going to have to come to a new agreement soon about who’s boss.”

Prince pawed the ground impatiently, as if daring Ethan to try.

Justin grinned sheepishly. “Don’t suppose there’s a horse in that stable of yours I could ride.”

“Anytime you want, buddy.” Ethan immediately thought of old Chico. If he was trustworthy enough for a six-year-old, he’d do fine for Justin. “Give me a call. I’ll take you on a trail ride.”

Beside him, Caitlin visibly stiffened. “Justin, are you sure about that? You’ve never had an interest in riding horses before.”

“I never played sports before, either.” He slapped the arm of his wheelchair. “Turns out I’m pretty good.”

“What do you like?” Ethan asked.

“Basketball. Baseball. Swimming. I’m considering taking up track and field.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Well, I couldn’t do any of it without Caitlin’s help. She’s amazing.”

Did Caitlin pay for her brother’s athletic expenses? Ethan wondered. That would explain the three jobs and why she worked fifty to sixty hours a week.

“You’ll do fine at riding, then,” he assured him.

Caitlin removed her cell phone from her sweatshirt pocket and checked the display. “It’s getting late.”

After a last look at Prince, the three of them returned to the stables, Justin chatting enthusiastically about riding and Caitlin stubbornly silent.

When they reached her minivan, Justin hoisted himself into the front passenger seat.

“I’ll get that,” Ethan offered, and carried the wheelchair to the rear of the minivan, where Caitlin had the hatch open.

She closed it the second he’d stowed the chair. “See you Saturday.”

“What about physical therapy?” If he was keeping his end of the bargain, she needed to keep hers. “I’d like to start right away.”

“I don’t get off at the clinic until seven-thirty most nights.”

“Eight’s fine,” he said, ignoring her attempts to postpone. “If it’s not too late for you.” He rose at the crack of dawn and assumed she did, too, what with her schedule.

“No, eight’s okay.” She peered nervously at her brother, who was busy with his MP3 player. “We can start tonight.”

“Anything special I should have on hand?”

“I’ll bring my portable table. We can set up just about anywhere.”

“Okay. Drive straight to the bunkhouse and park there.”

“The bunkhouse?”

“I live there now. Moved out of the main house so Sage and Isa can move in.”

“O…kay.”

“If you don’t want to be alone with me—”

“It makes no difference,” she answered tersely.

Somehow, Ethan thought it did. He just wasn’t sure why.

Chapter Four

“Easy, boy.” Ethan held on to Prince’s lead rope, gripping it securely beneath the halter. “That’s right, there you go.” He ran his other hand down the horse’s neck, over his withers and across his back, applying just the slightest amount of pressure. Prince stood, though not quietly. He bobbed his head and swished his tail nervously.

On the ground beside Ethan lay a saddle blanket, which he hoped Prince would allow to be placed on his back. The step was a small but important one toward breaking the horse. If Caitlin arrived on time, she’d be able to watch him.

He resisted pulling out his cell phone and viewing the display. It was 8:18. He knew this because he’d checked the time four minutes ago when it was 8:14, and every few minutes before that for the last half hour. He doubted she was going to keep their physical-therapy appointment, not after the disagreement they’d had this afternoon.

“Uncle Ethan!” Cassie yelled. “What are you doing?” She and Isa came bounding toward the round pen.

The horse’s reaction to the girls’ approach was immediate. Prancing sideways, Prince tried to jerk free of Ethan’s hold…and almost succeeded.

“Relax, buddy,” Ethan soothed, his grip on the lead rope like iron. Luckily, he was using his right hand. Thanks to the way his shoulder felt tonight, his left arm was pretty much useless.

The mustang, eyes wide, stared at Cassie and Isa, who peered at him and Ethan from between the rails of the pen.

“You girls stay back, you hear me? And keep ahold of that pup. I don’t want him getting kicked.”

They complied, sort of, by retreating maybe six inches. Cassie did scoop up her puppy, Blue, a five-month-old cattle dog mix that was out of her sight only when she was at school or a friend’s house.

“Gonna ride him, Uncle Ethan?” Isa asked.

Though not officially a member of the family yet, Sage’s daughter had already started calling Ethan “uncle.” Probably because Cassie did. Isa copied the older girl’s every move.

Ethan didn’t mind. In fact, he rather enjoyed the moniker—and his role of the younger bachelor uncle who constantly set a bad example for his nieces by swearing in front of them and periodically losing his temper.

Months of counseling after the car bomb explosion had taught Ethan how to deal with his sometimes volatile and erratic emotions. Normally, he did a good job. On occasion, like earlier today, he wondered if maybe he’d quit attending counseling too soon, and should call the VA hospital for a referral. His buttons lay close to the surface and were easily pushed.

“Not tonight,” he said, answering Isa’s question. “Prince isn’t ready.”

“When will you ride him?” Cassie asked.

“Soon.”

“That’s what you said yesterday.”

“Don’t you girls have any homework?”

“We did it already,” Isa volunteered.

“A TV show you want to watch?”

“We’re still grounded until tomorrow,” Cassie answered glumly.

“You’re lucky that’s all the punishment you got. If I’d pulled a stunt like you two did when I was a kid, Grandpa Wayne would have had me cleaning stalls every day before school and mucking out the calf pens.”

Come to think of it, those had always been his chores. Both he and Gavin had helped their father and grandfather with the cattle business from the time they were Isa’s age.

“Yeah, but if not for us, you wouldn’t have captured Prince.”

Cassie was right, even if her assessment of the situation was a mite skewed.

Last month, in an act of rebellion, she and Isa had taken off on horseback into the mountains without telling anyone where they were going. After a frantic two-hour search, they were found in the box canyon, along with Sage’s missing mare and Prince.

The wild mustang had proved difficult to capture, requiring all of Ethan’s and Gavin’s skills as cowboys. It had also been one of the most exciting moments of their lives.