A Home in Hill Country (Harlequin Heartwarming) (7 page)

I
F SHE WAS EVER
going to find out the truth about her dad, she’d have to start asking the right people in town, which meant she’d have to get closer to the Gallaghers. Clint’s hostility had only firmed her resolve.

Tomorrow, she would stop in at the sheriff’s office, and this evening, she and Cody were going for a nice ride…in the right direction.

When they reached the end of their pasture, she twisted in her saddle and rested a palm on Boots’s broad rump. A rusted pipe gate led into the vast, deserted reaches of the K-Bar-C ranch, where there would be many other homesteaders someday. “How’s it going?”

Cody tipped his junior-size Stetson back with a forefinger, mimicking the cowboys he’d seen in town. “Way cool. Rebel is the best ever!”

“Yes, he is.” The gentle gelding plodded along, his head low and swinging with every step. So far, he’d ignored grouse flying up in front of his nose, a pair of deer bounding through the trees and had sidestepped an armadillo trundling across
the path. For an inexperienced nine-year-old rider, Rebel was worth his weight in gold.

She dismounted and wrestled with the rusted hook and chain, opened the gate and led her horse through, then waited for Cody to pass. “We’ll just leave this open while we ride. Miranda tells me that the Home Free program owns over five hundred acres of open pasture adjoining our land, and she says it’s okay to ride back here for now.”

Cody lifted a water bottle from his horn bag—the small saddlebags hanging from either side of his saddle horn—and took a long swallow. “We shoulda brought a picnic supper.”

“Maybe next time. I’m sure we’ll be riding here a lot.”

The plat maps she’d studied showed that the western edge of her property curved to the west a mile or so from her pasture gate. There, if she’d guessed right, they’d almost be within sight of the main barns and house at the Four Aces.

With luck, they might see someone across the fence and strike up a casual conversation. A ranch hand who’d worked with her father would be perfect, because Clint had made it clear enough that she wasn’t welcome on his ranch, or near his precious son.

“This is just like in the movies,” Cody breathed. “I bet there were cowboys and Indians here once.”

“There still are,” she said dryly.

Cody rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean, like the Old West. Can we gallop?”

“Western horses
lope.
But no, I think we need to work more on jogging first. I’ll jog, and you see if you can make Rebel jog, too. Just squeeze with your lower legs and click your tongue at him if he doesn’t go.”

Boots moved into a nice slow jog with the barest pressure of her calves. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Rebel still plodding along half asleep. “Well, try nudging him with both heels, then…okay, now try again, harder.”

Rebel belatedly lifted his head and must’ve realized he was being left behind. He sped up into a rough, fast trot, with Cody hanging on to the horn and laughing as he bounced haphazardly in the saddle. Once they caught up, the old gelding slowed to match Boots’s speed.

“I did good, right? I stayed on, and I made him go!”

It had likely been herd instinct rather than boy power that launched the horse briefly into second gear, but Kristin just gave Cody an encouraging smile. “You’re getting better every day.”

They followed the fence line, winding through stands of cedar and live oak, over sandy, pebbled ground and several grassy, low-lying meadows. Rocky crags jutted out of the hillsides, and at the
top of each rise, the beauty of the rolling land made her wish she were good with watercolors.

Her hope of seeing someone from the neighboring ranch faded when they reached a tumbledown line shack in a hollow several miles from home. A glance at her watch told her it was time to head back.

“Cool! Can we explore it?” Cody leaned out of his saddle to peer at the broken timbers and sagging walls.
“No.”
Visions of rattlesnakes and scorpions hiding there made her speak too sharply. “Stay on your horse, Cody!”

Startled, Cody twisted around to look at her. With a cry he lost his balance and slid into a heap on the ground at his horse’s feet. “Ouch!” he yelped, jerked his hand back. “Stickers!”

Rebel promptly lowered his head and nibbled at dry tufts of grass, apparently unfazed by the fall, and grateful for any opportunity to graze.

Dismounting, Kristin tied Boots to a nearby cedar tree, then eased over to grab Rebel’s reins. She hunkered down next to Cody. “Are you okay, honey?”

“No! Look.” His lower lip trembling, he held up a hand festooned with a haze of fine, nearly invisible cactus spines. “They burn—really bad.” He lifted his tear-filled gaze up to his saddle. “How am I gonna get back up there?”

“No worries, sweetie. I’ll lift you up, so you don’t need to pull yourself up with that hand. I’m sure Rebel will just follow Boots home so you won’t have to guide him at all.”

“But it
hurts.
”

It certainly wasn’t going to be a fun trip home for him, even with his horse on autopilot. By the time they reached home each little cactus spine would have inflamed the skin around it, making the removal with tweezers even more painful.

“I know it hurts, sweetie. Here let me help you stand up.” Hooking the joint of her elbow under his other arm, she hoisted him to his feet. “Now, let me—”

At a movement along the cedar-crested ridge to the west she fell silent, her pulse tripping. There shouldn’t be any large predators out here—nothing more than coyotes—but she’d glimpsed something larger. A horse?

“What’s wrong, Mom? What do you see?” His voice tinged with panic, Cody grabbed her arm with his good hand.

A second later she breathed a sigh of relief as a horse and rider emerged from the trees far beyond the Four Aces fence line. “Just someone else out riding.”

He looked up at her with damp eyes. “Maybe he has tweezers.”

The broad-shouldered rider started down the long hill toward them. “I sort of doubt it, Cody.”

“But you’ll ask, right? Please?”

They were probably close to the Four Aces buildings, but a lone woman and child could still be at risk in an isolated place. The guy heading their way could be anyone.

“I’ll ask. But first let’s get you up on your horse.”

He gingerly grabbed for the horn with his good hand as she gave him a leg up into the saddle, then she remounted Boots. By the time she’d reached over to knot the ends of Rebel’s reins for Cody, so they couldn’t fall to the ground, the other rider had loped to the fence line.

At first glance she thought he was Ryan, with those blue eyes and wavy black hair, but where Ryan was toned and muscular, this man was thickset and developing a heavy belly that hung over the trophy buckle on his belt. Trevor, she figured, though she’d only met him briefly many years before.

“Howdy, ma’am. Everthin’ goin’ all right? Did the boy get hurt?”

“That’s Hayden’s dad,” Cody stage-whispered. “I see him at football practice all the time.”

“Just a little tumble into some cactus…and an unhappy boy,” she called to him. “No broken bones, but thanks for asking.”

“Trevor Gallagher.” He touched the brim of his hat. “And you must be Miz Cantrell. I’ve seen you and the boy at school.”

“Just Kristin is fine. This is my son, Cody. We just moved into the place next door.”

He smiled at them. “Come on over here and let me take a look.”

Kristin and Cody rode alongside the fence, and Cody held out his hand.

“Whoo-eee, I bet that stings.” Trevor gave him a man-to-man appraisal. “You’re one tough cowboy, let me tell you.” He paused, considering, then reached for the cell phone clipped to his belt. “My wife, Donna, is good at taking those out, but our house is on the other side of the Four Aces. The main place is closer. She could meet us there, if you want to take care of this before you go home. She’s a whiz with tweezers…though I’m sure your mom is, too.”

Kristin bit her lower lip. “But our horses—how far is it?”

He pointed to the south. “There’s a gate down in that next draw—we can get you through there. If we need to, we can trailer your horses home. It’ll be dark before you know it.”

Remembering Clint’s harsh last words at the clinic, she hesitated. Alone, she wouldn’t care, but there was no way she wanted to risk Cody witnessing his wrath. He’d seen entirely too much
of that from his own father. “Are you sure this will be okay…with Mr. Gallagher?”

Trevor shrugged. “Why not? He’s holed up in his office anyway. He almost never comes out to the barn.”

She would’ve done anything to take back her sharp words that made Cody lose his balance. She’d gladly have taken the cactus spines in her own hand. But there
was
a silver lining. While they were at the Four Aces, she could ask a few questions.

She owed her dad that much.

T
HE THREE OF THEM
tied their horses to the hitching rail in front of a long, low horse barn, and Trevor escorted them inside to an office, where Cody could rinse his hands in the adjoining bathroom.

Trevor’s wife walked in minutes later, her long black ponytail brushing the waistband of her jeans.

She was, without a doubt, one of the loveliest women Kristin had ever seen—even in jeans and a plain cotton shirt. Her oval face and dark, expressive eyes probably turned heads wherever she went.

She offered her hand to Kristin. After a round of introductions, Donna smiled at Cody. “I hear you had an adventure.”

He looked at her in awe and held out his hand, palm up.

Donna withdrew a plastic bag from her back pocket and offered it to Kristin. “I’ve got a couple of these tweezers. Maybe we can both work on him…if that’s okay?”

“Thanks.” Kristin took out one of the tweezers. “I really appreciate this.”

Donna directed Cody to the chair behind the desk and switched on a bright halogen desk light, then pulled up chairs for Kristin and herself on either side of him.

He winced as they removed the first few spines, then sat still and quiet. When Kristin heard a rustle of movement at the door and looked over her shoulder, she knew why he was suddenly being so stoic. Two dark-haired children were hovering at the door, whispering to each other.

“Okay, you two,” Donna said without looking up. “Come on in and be polite. Introduce yourselves to our new neighbors, you hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The boy sidled farther into the room with his taller sister at his heels and shot a brief, shy glance at Kristin. “I’m Hayden, and this is my sister, Sara.”

“Hayden is in fourth grade with Cody. Sara is a year older,” Donna said as she deftly removed another cactus spine. “You two do your chores yet?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sara said shyly. With her long black hair and dark eyes, she was definitely on her way to being as beautiful as her mother. “The black momma cat had her kittens. We found them up in the hay.”

“Maybe when we’re done here, you could take Cody up to see them.” Donna raised an eyebrow at Cody. “If you’d like to, that is.”

He swallowed hard and nodded.

After another ten minutes, Donna brought the lamp closer and ran a practiced forefinger over Cody’s palm with a feather-light touch. “I think we got it. Kristin, take a good look.” Her mouth tipped into a wry grin. “I guess I plumb took over, but you’re the professional.”

Kristin laughed. “Not with cactus emergencies.”

She’d seen Donna and Trevor exchange quick glances when she’d mentioned her last name, then Trevor had given a subtle shake of his head. From that point Kristin had felt guarded, wondering what that gesture meant, yet hesitating to ask while Cody could overhear.

Donna reached for a bottle of soothing lotion and smoothed it over his hand. “Good job, Cody. I haven’t ever seen anyone sit so still for something like this. You want to go see those cats?”

He looked to Kristin for approval, then slipped out of his chair.

“Not too long, honey. We’ve got quite a ride home, and not much daylight.”

Donna waved away her concern. “Trevor already brought up the horse trailer. He’ll give y’all a ride home.”

The kids raced out of the office, leaving Kristin and Donna to rearrange the chairs and set the desk back in order.

“I can’t thank you enough. You and your husband were both so kind to help us out.”

“It’s nothing, really. I had to bring the kids over to do their chores, anyway, and Trevor doesn’t mind a little trip like that.” Donna walked over to a table in the corner and lifted a glass carafe of coffee. “I don’t know how long this has been here, but I could make us a fresh pot.” When Kristin started to demur, she added, “I don’t imagine they’ll be back directly. Kittens are quite a draw, and I suppose my kids will want to show Cody their horses and 4-H calves.”

Donna busied herself rinsing out the pot and starting a fresh one in the tiny kitchen area of the large office. Searching through the cupboards, she found a new package of Oreo cookies, which she opened and shook out onto a plate. Then she retrieved cups and packets of sweetener and creamer.

“It’s nice to meet our new neighbors,” Donna
said as she set a tray of coffee and cookies on a small coffee table. “Have a seat.”

Kristin took one of the high-backed leather chairs facing a dark plate glass window. A blur of motion swept past, and belatedly she realized she was facing an indoor arena. “Someone’s riding out there?”

Donna leaned close to the glass. “I’m not sure who. Garrett’s back—Trevor’s younger brother—or it could be Ryan. It’s light enough out there during the day, but I think I’d better give him some light.” She moved to an electrical panel on the wall by the door, and instantly the arena was bathed in bright fluorescent light.

At the far side, Ryan loped a gleaming black colt in smaller and smaller circles, then he reined him into an effortless inside rollback to come out loping on the opposite lead.

Donna watched him for a moment before lifting a coffee cup and some cookies from the tray and sinking into the chair next to Kristin’s. “He’s good, isn’t he?”

“More than.”

“I think it helps him a lot, coming outside to work the horses. Therapy, of sorts.” She studied Kristin over the rim of her cup, then lowered it and held it with both hands on her lap. “I understand you two have some history.”