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The sheriff held out his hand and she shook it.
Weird.
He didn’t know of any uncle who would shake the hand of their niece. Dax couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it didn’t matter anyway because one second later, the sheriff glanced in his direction. He smiled and gave Dax a short wave. “Mr. Heaton.”
“Sheriff.” Dax moved a little closer to them.
The sheriff turned back to Sarah. “I’ll see you next week. Don’t worry. He’s not going to win this. You’ll be fine.”
She nodded. “Thank you, sheriff.” Sarah hurried down the steps and brushed past Dax to get into the truck.
Dax locked eyes with the sheriff until the man returned to the building. Something was definitely going on. He shifted, but Sarah’s hunched body in his front seat caught his eye. She wasn’t looking out the window. Instead, she was focused on something in her lap. Her demeanor had completely changed from the time he’d dropped her off. He almost wanted to blame the sheriff for whatever it was. But based on the snippet of conversation he’d overheard, that didn’t sound right.
He gave his head a sharp shake. None of this was his business. He should just accept that Zeke trusted this woman. It didn’t matter that in his gut he knew something wasn’t quite right. Whatever it was, no one would get hurt. Sarah deserved her privacy. Isn’t that what he got with AA?
Dax climbed into the truck and started the engine. He glanced at Sarah out of the corner of his eye. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“Did you have a nice lunch?”
A sigh escaped her lips. “What do you want, Dax? I know you don’t trust me. You probably even enjoy seeing me struggle. The happiest I saw you was this morning when those stupid chickens were chasing me. Honestly? I’m surprised by the way you reacted to that horse charging me. I don’t need your help. I’m just going to keep my head down and do the chores no one else wants.”
“No, you’re not.”
She groaned and her head whipped up so fast it had to have hurt.
He resisted the urge to laugh at her drama. He liked her spunk, even if it made her a handful—sort of like those new yearlings they needed to train. “I’m going to teach you everything I know about wrangling horses.”
Shock filled her face, from the way her eyes rounded to her open mouth. “What?” she whispered. “I can’t—”
“If you’re going to be spending more time with your uncle here in the future, it’s best for you to know how to handle horses.”
“I can handle horses.” She swallowed. “I’ve ridden them. I just…” A scarlet color filled her face and she let out a harsh breath. “I just fell off one once, and I never tried again.”
Dax bit back the grin that rested just beneath the surface. “Well, you just broke the first rule of horse riding. Don’t you know? When you fall out of the saddle, you’re supposed to get right back on the horse.”
“There’s literally no reason I need to learn to ride. After this summer, I’m going back home, and I don’t plan on coming back.”
“But wouldn’t you miss youruncle?”
A mixture of emotions crossed her face. First confusion, then understanding, then a flat expression that couldn’t be read. “My uncle and I are not all that close. I mean, my mom sent me out here because…” She chewed on her lower lip.
This was probably the closest he’d get to finding out the truth as to why she was here. “Were you in trouble, Sarah?”
“Yeah. You could say that.”
Dax pressed his lips together. “I get that.”
Her eyes flew to meet his.
“I want to make something clear. I still think you’re hiding something that you probably should just tell me, though I won’t push you. But youcantrust me when I tell you I will help you get back on that horse. By the end of the summer, you’re going to be one of the best wranglers here.”
She let out a laugh. It was the first one he’d ever heard from her, and it warmed him like the hot liquid of a fresh cup of coffee on a cold winter morning.
He gave her a crooked smile. “Okay, I can’t exactly make that sort of promise. But I will help you be a better rider and a better ranch hand. You just have to listen to me—trust me. Do you think you can do that?”
“I don’t see how I have any choice in the matter.” Her tone didn’t match the words that came from her lips. They were lighter somehow. He’d managed to cheer her up, even if it was only a little. Dax reached for the volume knob on the dash and turned on the radio.
