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He chuckled. “You’re pretty good with the one-liners. I’ll let you know how the flowers go. If they flop, maybe I’ll have to ask you for help with more than just my cows.”
“Hah. I’m not much help, but I’m here.” I downed the glass he’d just poured me and stood up. “I’d better get back to the ranch. Thanks for the pizza.”
He stuck his hand out to shake mine. “No, thank you. I appreciate it.”
I went to the door to slide into my coat and grabbed my hat. “Anytime.”
And I meant it. Family was family—they were the blood in my veins. But Conrad had no claims on me; neither of us owed the other anything, and I’d been able to help him. It had been a long time since I’d felt needed and appreciated like that.
Jess
“Hey, lady, how about a ride?”
I was in the barn, grooming Nash when Kelli led Joy in from the pasture.
“Where?” I asked. “It’s going to be dark soon.”
“Just the round pen. I’vegotto work on some things, so I don’t fall off again!”
I stopped brushing to actually look at her. She’d been limping since last weekend when she rode in the hills with Marshall and her horse spooked. But a little limp didn’t slow Kelli down. “How’s your ankle? Still swollen?”
“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone. Marshall will say I should sell my horse, but I won’t do it. I’m going to prove him wrong about her.”
I turned back to Nash but sighed when my face was hidden. I agreed with her boyfriend on this one, but if Marshall wasn’t getting anywhere with that argument, I wouldn’t either. I might as well try to help her wherever I could. “This old guy could use some exercise. We’ll lope around with you for a few minutes.”
“Yes! Race you with the saddle!”
I chuckled and went to get my stuff. I hadn’t been riding much this last year. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it anymore, but riding alone on an easygoing, push-button horse like Nash had gotten pretty boring. There was no spice or excitement anymore, just like with everything else. Having Kelli at the barn was the first time I’d had someone else there since Mom, and it was nice to have the company. In fact, seeing her working so hard with Joy almost made me want to get a colt to train again. Almost.
I’d trained Nash for my mom. He didn’t have quite enough speed and pizazz to be my rodeo horse, but he was steady and respectable, and he took care of his rider. Mom used to joke that he was the ideal man. Maybe she was right, and I’d been chasing after the wrong kind all these years.
As life changed, I had sold all my other horses one by one. They were out there now somewhere, breaking arena records and making other girls’ dreams come true. But I hung on to Nash, and it was fun to have a reason to enjoy him again. I spent almost an hour fooling around in the round pen with Kelli. I gave Nash some refresher lessons, more to show Kelli some pointers than anything else, and then we just walked around for a long time, cooling the horses out.
“I thought this would be so much easier,” Kelli sighed in frustration. “What am I doing wrong?”
“Nothing, really. She’s just not an easy girl.”
She stuck her lower lip out in thought. “People say that about me, too.”
I burst out laughing. “I’m sure they mean it in the nicest way!”
“Pretty sure they don’t, but whatever. So, do you have any tips on making things click better? I’m just not sure what to do with her, and I really,reallywant this to work out.”
I watched her horse walking along, champing at the bit and swishing her tail at Nash every few strides. “Nothing earth-shattering. Time and patience, I suppose. And chemistry.”
“Like pharmaceutical chemistry or romance-type chemistry?”
“The second!” I laughed. “Horses connect just like people do; sometimes, it’s hard to explain. You just feel it.”
“Like how?”
I thought for a minute. “Remember Knightley, that gray horse I used to run barrels on?”
“Yeah, you always beat me.”
I blinked. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“I’m kidding! You think I expect you to apologize for being good?”
