The Maverick Cowboy(24)

Billy was leaning against the fence, watching, and he winked at her as she came alongside.

"Morning, Jenna."

"Morning, Billy. How's the lesson going?"

"Great. He's not a bad teacher." Billy nodded at Blue, who had brought the horse to a stop by the gate. "Once I reminded him that she wasn't a new recruit and that shouting wasn't an option."

"You're funny, Billy."

Blue kicked his booted feet out of the stirrups and handed Maria down to Billy before he dismounted. After a quick smile at Jenna, he crouched in front of Maria and gave her his full attention.

"You're doing good. Time to try it for yourself, okay?"



       
         
       
        

She huddled closer to Billy, who patted her shoulder. "You can do it. Blue's going to lead you around. All you have to do is sit tight and hold on to the reins, okay?"

"Okay."

Billy met Blue's questioning gaze and nodded. "Put her up there."

Within a second, Maria was swept up into Blue's arms and settled in the big old saddle. She clutched at the pommel with both hands.

"I want to get down."

Blue put his hand on her ankle. "You're going to be okay. I promise you. I won't let you fall."

She looked down at him, her blue gaze doubtful, and Jenna held her breath.

"Please?" He coaxed her. "You're going to rock this so hard. I just know it." He gathered the reins and held them out to her. "Remember how to hold these? Like an ice cream cone?"

She took the reins in her right hand, the other still clinging onto the pommel.

"Okay, then." Blue moved to stand by Sugar Lump's head. "Ready?"

Apart from a small squeak of alarm as they moved off, Maria stayed put in the saddle as Blue led Sugar Lump forward. As he clicked to the horse, Jenna let out her breath.

"She looks okay up there."

"Yeah." Billy angled his head against the encroaching sun. "She's a brave little girl."

Blue had already started in a loop back toward the fence. He was talking away to Maria, who was beginning to sit tall and looking around her. Jenna smiled at the picture they made together. She couldn't imagine her birth father ever relating to her like that. Blue might not think he'd gotten much from Billy, but he'd obviously learned how to be a father from someone.

Billy sighed as if echoing her thoughts. "I hope he is her dad. She deserves the best."

"I hope so, too. Once he takes her on, she'll never doubt she's loved, will she?"

Billy glanced at her. "Yeah. He's black and white, that one."

She wanted that. She wanted someone so on her team that she'd never feel alone again.

"Good job, Maria!" Billy clapped and called out as they approached the fence. Blue was smiling as he turned to lift Maria down. Before he could say anything to her, she'd run over to Billy and was hugging him hard.

"I did it!"

Blue's smile died as he coiled the reins in his fingers.

"Why don't you take Maria back up to the house, Billy, while I put Sugar away?"

Billy turned Maria to face Blue. "Say thank you, darlin'."

"Thank you," Maria whispered.

"You're welcome." Blue tipped his hat and turned back to the horse. Jenna opened the gate for him as Billy and Maria headed through the barn, talking nineteen to the dozen. Blue followed more slowly, Sugar at his side, and tied her to the hitching post. 

Without asking, Jenna started to help him take off the tack. He was uncharacteristically quiet, his thoughts turned inward as they worked to get Sugar turned out.

"She did great."

"Yeah." Blue hefted the saddle into his arm and took it through into the tack room.

"Sugar's a great mount for her."

"Yeah." He clipped the halter on the horse and led her back into her stall.

Jenna waited until he locked the door. "So what's up?"

"She doesn't like me." He fiddled with the bridle. "She couldn't wait to get back to Billy."

"He's just easier for her to deal with right now."

"Apparently." He hung the bridle on its peg. "Hell, I even asked him to come and help me out today because I knew Maria wouldn't want to come with me. How sad is that?"

"Actually, I think that's very sensible of you."

"You do?"

"Yeah, why stress her out? If Billy is her security blanket, why take it away from her? She needs all the support she can get right now."

"But he's the last person on earth I would've imagined as a blanket for anyone."

"Because he messed up with you and your brothers?"

"Yeah."

She shrugged. "Then maybe he sees this as his chance to redeem himself with a girl that might well turn out to be his grandchild? People can change, you know."

He nodded, his expression thoughtful. "Hell, I know that. I just never figured he'd be one of them."

"I know how that feels." She turned toward the door, pushing away all the memories. "I've got to go and see that piglet."

"You want to ride down?"

"With you?"

"Yeah, Messi needs some exercise and Chase hasn't been on Nolly for a few days and he gets kind of squirrelly if he isn't ridden."

"Chase or Nolly?"

His grin was way less strained. "I'm not saying." He leaned against the door frame, his body language relaxed. "You can ride, right?"

She gave him a look and marched back into the tack room. "Which saddle?"

"Have I roused your competitive instincts?" Blue called after her.

"I don't have any." She picked up the saddle he pointed out, staggering just a little at the weight. "I'll see you outside."

* * *

Blue kept an unobtrusive eye on Jenna as she saddled Nolly because Chase's favorite horse was a bit of a joker and liked to mess his riders around. But Jenna wasn't taking any shit and soon had Nolly ready to go. She mounted up, settled her baseball cap more firmly down on her head, and gathered the reins in her hand. She looked damn good on the back of a horse. Blue hurried to finish, shoving his gloves in the back pocket of his jeans and making one last check on Messi's reins.

He went to stand alongside Jenna, one hand on Nolly's bridle. "Watch out for his little tricks."

"Will do. I've heard all about him from January."

"Just be careful, all right?"

She blinked at him. "Don't worry about me. I'm a pretty good rider."

"I'm sure you are."

Her smile returned. "You don't believe me, do you?" With a sharp click to Nolly, she set off at a brisk trot, her body swaying from side to side in the approved Western fashion.




       
         
       
        
Blue hurried to get on board Messi and followed after her.

"How did it go at the Lymond place this morning?" Blue asked as they settled the horses into a walk to pick their way through the outlying boulders of the creek crossing.

"It was okay. The mare doesn't look well. She's super thin. Mark refused to accept that even when Dave agreed with me. We said we'd go back tonight, but Mark said he didn't want the expense and that he'd call us if there were any problems." She sighed. "I don't like it, Blue, but what can I do?"

"Nothing, I suppose." He angled Messi's head toward the curve of the uneven bank. "Ruth said Mark's wife has gone back to her folks in Modesto."

"Maybe that explains why he's so short-tempered." Jenna leaned slightly back in the saddle to compensate for the pitch of the slope and then straightened as they waded carefully across the creek. The sun was out and catching sparks off the rushing water, which was as clear as crystal, having come straight off the peaks of the snow-capped mountains.

Blue took in a deep, uncomplicated breath. "I love it out here."

Jenna grinned at him. "You're certainly a lucky guy to have all this."

"I know." He settled deeper into the saddle. "I didn't appreciate it for years and couldn't wait to leave. Once I was gone, I kind of missed it. Even the bad part after Mom and Rachel disappeared and Dad took to guzzling alcohol like a champ."

"My birth parents were both addicts." She shivered despite the heat. "It's not a life I'd wish for any child."

"Hell, no. That's one of the reasons why I'm glad Maria isn't with Dan Lester. It sounds like he's heavily into the booze at the moment."

"Grief does weird things to people."

"Yeah, so everyone keeps telling me."

They reached the other side of the creek and let the horses pick their path through the tumbled rocks toward the more open pasture. Blue settled his Stetson more firmly on his head. "Want to go a bit faster?"

"Sure."

"But only if you feel safe."

She gave him a derisive look, clicked her teeth at Nolly, and took off like a rocket, crouching low over the horse's neck like a jockey.

"Hey!"

Blue went after her, but she was too far ahead of him. Damn, he hated to lose. Just to rub things in, she came loping back toward him grinning like a loon. She didn't slow down or alter her course, so he pulled Messi up instead.