historical western romance ebook

WARNING

Some of the books on this site contain material of a sexual nature or graphic violence and are only suitable for adults. By reading the excerpt below you release me as the author of any responsibility.

Excerpt

Chapter One

It was 1875 when he met her, three years since he started walking away, and three years since he’d began following the path. That path had led him to this place, a quiet town miles away from the world that he used to know, but somehow close to it at the same time. The scenery was familiar, a ghost of what he’d known, and the solitude reminded him of home, but the names and faces were all changed. The only thing that would truly be the same was the way the place was run—with the men, the horses, and the cattle.

At least he’d thought it would.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

~

It was cold. His boots were heavy and full of water. The wind drove the rain into his face until he couldn’t see. He knew that he was almost there. He’d walked the muddy track from town like they’d told him to, and now he’d reached the ridge where he’d catch his first glimpse of the Blue Plains Ranch.

White lightning forked across the clouds, weaving patterns of thread-like veins against the steel-grey sky. It was so dark out that night must have fallen during his journey. Either that, or this was turning out to be as big a storm as the folks in town had warned him it would be.

As the thunder rolled overhead and another flash of brilliant white illuminated the wide plains below, he caught sight of the ranch house. It sat nestled in the valley. Its walls of wood were punctuated by windows lit with weak, warm light that looked like a beacon struggling to reach out to him through the heavy rain. He pulled his hat down so it protected his eyes and shielded his face, and set off down the slope towards the little house.

He bent his body against the wind as it whipped the tails of his coat around, dipped his head so his hat took the brunt of the weather and pulled his long coat tighter around him to protect himself. With nothing better to do, his eyes took to searching out the small torrent of water he could hear in the darkness. With every flash of lightning that streaked along the sky, he could see that the water was running down the cart tracks on the road, carrying little rocks and mud down into the valley.

He raised his head and squinted into the distance as a horse’s whinny cut through the sound of the wind and rain. He immediately sought out the owner of it, instinct and years of working on a ranch telling him that the horse was frightened by the storm.

He pushed his sodden hat up so he could see better and a bolt of lightning assisted his search by highlighting the horse that he was looking for.

It wasn’t alone.

He watched with interest as the rider managed to remain seated on the wildly rearing horse.

~

Jessie held onto the reins tightly as her horse, Ranger, reared again and kicked out. Giving his neck a loving pat, she ignored the fact that her coat had blown open and her hat was nearly off her head, and focused on calming him. She leaned close to him, letting him know that she was as scared as he was, and that the quicker they got this done, the faster he’d be in the safety of the stable and she’d be in the warm.

She smiled as he snorted and scratched at the dirt, showing her how unhappy he was about being out in the rain, and then urged him onwards towards the cattle pen.

The mud was slick under hoof and she knew better than to hurry him. Letting him pick his own pace, she relaxed back into the saddle and attended to her coat, fastening it tightly around her slim frame and stopping herself from getting even more soaked. She pulled her hat down hard, jamming it onto her head so it wouldn’t blow off in the gale.

When they reached the pen, she waited for Ranger to settle before sliding down from his back and grasping hold of him tightly to retain her balance. The wind whipped the rain at her, stinging her cold face as she tied her horse to the fence and then walked carefully to the gate.

Another rumble of thunder echoed out around the hills and she listened to the cattle as they moved. In their panic, they grouped together and pushed against the fence. It creaked and moaned under the pressure, and she knew she had to get them out into the open. They’d be safer on the plain and down by the creek than they were in the pen, and it would give them space to run like they wanted to.

Tugging the gate open, she swung it around and kept behind it, using it as a shield as she waited for the cattle to move.

They didn’t.

She glanced up at the sky and looked for a sign that it was willing to assist her. A grateful smile curved her lips as another bolt of lightning hit the hills in the distance and the cattle immediately began to stampede, running out of the pen at breakneck speed and pushing against each other in an effort to escape.

Turning to face into the wind, she held onto her hat as she looked at the pen that contained the other horses. The storm had come in so quickly that she hadn’t had time to get them in before the lightning had begun. She’d had to focus on the cattle first, but now that they were taken care of, she could get the horses into the stable.

Another few minutes and she’d be home dry.

Patting Ranger on his flank as she passed him, she battled against the elements and slowly made her way over to the pen. The thunder and lightning continued to clash, the wind driving the rain hard against her, so fast that it was almost horizontal. Reaching the pen, she grabbed hold of the rope around the neck of the horse nearest her and began to lead it towards the gate.

She shrieked as lightning flashed across the clouds directly overhead and thunder boomed at the same time. The horse reared onto its hind legs, its eyes wide with fright, and she lost her grip on the rope. She leapt backwards as the other three horses began to whinny and kick at the fence. Her eyes widened as one of them kicked at the gate and she saw the old wood starting to give way.

“Don’t you dare you little…” She gritted her teeth as she struggled to make it to the gate, and then pressed herself flat against the fence as the horse leapt over it and thundered into the distance, weaving in a zigzag pattern as it panicked. “Spirit!”

She ran to her horse, hauled herself up onto his high back, and started after the runaway. She crouched low against Ranger’s back as she pulled her neckerchief up over her mouth and nose to protect them, and urged him on, galloping at full speed into the storm and onto the plains.

~

He watched in curiosity as the horse came bolting towards him and for a moment, he was sure that it was going to run him down. As it closed in, a rumble of thunder caused it to change direction and it cleared him by a few metres. He turned, followed its progress up the hill, and then looked back towards the house in time to watch another horse fly by. It was the one he’d seen earlier—the one with a rider.

His gaze followed the horse, watching the way the rider was skilfully handling it. He couldn’t take his eyes off them as they went wide, breaking away from the runaway and coming around over the ridge.

A neigh from the other horse and the sound of closing hooves told him that the rider had successfully cut the runaway off. He stepped to one side as they bolted past him in the darkness, the rider closing in with a lasso ready to fly at any given moment.

~

Letting the lasso go, she smiled beneath her neckerchief as the rope settled around Spirit’s neck, and tugged her backwards. She slowed her horse down and reeled Spirit in, keeping a firm hold of the frightened mare as they approached the ranch house.

She leapt down off Ranger’s back and led him straight into the stable with Spirit, putting them both into their stalls as quickly as possible. Keeping a close eye on Spirit, she checked if she had calmed down now that she was safely in the building, and when she was satisfied that the chestnut mare was going to behave herself, she turned to her horse. She rubbed his nose affectionately while heaving a sigh and looking out at the rain soaked darkness.

Walking back out into the yard, she went straight for the horse pen and led them in one by one until they were all in their stalls. She stretched as she slid the bolt into the lock of the last stall door and then shivered as her wet clothes stuck to her skin. She needed a coffee and time to warm up in front of the fire, and then she’d come back and take Ranger’s saddle off.

Stepping out into the rain, she drew the stable door closed.

“That’s some fancy riding, lad.”

She froze as she heard the unfamiliar male voice, thick with an accent that she didn’t recognise, and then looked out of the corner of her eye at him where he was standing by the fence. Putting the bolt across the door, she turned to face the stranger as she tipped her hat up and pulled her neckerchief down off her face.

She looked him straight in the eye.

He stared straight back at her, stunned to find himself looking at the face of a woman when he’d been expecting to see that of a young man. His eyes dropped to her hands as she pulled her gloves off and jammed them into her pockets with an air of annoyance.

“Bad weather for walking. You lost?” She turned away from him and started towards the house.

He stared blankly at where she’d been standing. The only sound in his ears was the steady drumming of the rain on his hat and her receding footsteps. Gathering himself, he followed her.

“Looking for the Blue Plains Ranch. Folks in town said it was out this way,” he explained as he continued to try to come to terms with the fact that she was a girl and not a boy. She’d handled the horse so well, as though she was an expert wrangler, but she was nothing more than a little woman.

Albeit a little woman that was showing him that she had a temper not to be messed with.

“Well…you found it.” She turned a sceptical eye on him as they reached the shelter of the weakly lit porch of her house. He stepped up onto the wooden deck to get out of the rain, and found her eyes skipping over his face and falling to rest on the bag that was slung over his shoulder. “What’re you peddling?”

“Peddling?” He felt confused for a moment and then realised that she was still staring at the sack that he was holding. He frowned beneath his soaked hat. “I’m no peddler, miss. I’ve come ‘bout the position.”

“Position?” She raised a brow and pushed her hat off her head, letting it hang loose against her back. “The ranch hand position?”

He nodded.

“I don’t see a horse,” she said and intimated his possessions. “Unless it’s damn small and hitching a ride in your kit there.”

He frowned as he looked at her and realised that he had been right the first time. She wasn’t a girl; she had the air, manners and grace of a boy, and more venom than a viper.

“I had to sell her. Poster said to contact a Mr. Hayden. Now, unless you’re Mr. Hayden, I’d like to speak with him.” He smiled wide at her as her brows knitted into a tight frown and her eyes grew dark.

Holding his gaze as he pushed his hat up, Jessie ignored the intensity of his dark eyes and brows, and searched them. There was something about him that seemed so familiar, something that made her want to shove him back out into the rain and tell him to get going.

Keeping her eyes locked with his a few seconds longer, she thought it over and relented.

“Wait here,” she said as she realised her parents would be angry if they found out she’d turned away an applicant for the wrangler position. It wasn’t like they’d had many.

In fact, he was the first, and the poster had been up for over a year.

She took her hat off as she stepped into the house. Placing it down on the side table, she closed the door behind her to stop the rain from coming in.

“Jessie?” her father called out to her and she headed straight into the next room, smiling as the warmth of the large fire hit her. It made the wooden walls of her home look even warmer as the light danced off them, turning them a rich shade of deep gold. The plain curtains had been drawn across the little windows at each end of the room, shutting out the sight of the storm and making the house feel even more snug. She glanced at the rickety staircase that led up to the bedrooms and silently wished she were tucked up in bed.

The older man greeted her with a broad smile when her eyes finally wandered back to him. The grey whiskers of his moustache bristled and his eyes twinkled as he did so.

“Yes, pa?” She leaned against the doorway.

“You get them in?” he asked and she nodded.

“All of them. Spirit got spooked, but she’s in now, and behaving.” She hesitated briefly as she thought about mentioning the newcomer, and she could see in her father’s eyes that he’d noticed it. Realising that she had to say something now, and seeing the tiredness in his round face, she heaved a sigh. It would be good to have a hand around the ranch. Her parents were too old now to be helping and she didn’t want her father to feel like he had to keep struggling with the daily chores. “Found a straggler, too, says he’s come about the position.”

“In all this weather?” her mother said.

She looked at her where she was sat by the fire, her greying hair pulled back into a loose bun and her brown dress still covered by the apron she insisted on wearing when she worked in the kitchen.

“With no horse, too,” she added.

“Did you show him in?”

She glanced at the fire and then turned her back on them as she walked towards the door. “I got to see to the horses. The storm looks like it’s getting worse, and Ranger needs his tackle taken off.”

“Jessica.”

She stopped as she heard the tone of her mother’s voice. It’s command for her to confess everything was as clear as a summer sky, and she knew better than to ignore it.

“He’s on the porch,” she said without turning around and waited for them to say something. She didn’t know why she’d left him there. She’d known they’d be angry with her for not showing him in, but she just couldn’t get past her gut feeling that there was something wrong about him.

“We didn’t raise you to be rude, Jessie. Show him into the parlour. I’ll fix some coffee,” her mother said.

She gave her a restrained nod before continuing to the front door.

Opening it, she found the man leaning against the railings and staring out into the darkness.

She didn’t say anything as he turned to look at her; she just stepped to one side and held her hand out, showing him that he was allowed to come in now.

The corners of his lips twitched into a slight smile at the stiff way she’d invited him in and she could see that he knew it hadn’t been her idea.

He stepped towards her, holding her gaze and removing his hat.

She managed to keep her eyes on his for a few brief moments before dropping them to rest on the rain-soaked wooden boards beneath her feet. Clearing her throat, she looked at his heavily worn boots and wondered just how long it had been since he’d sold his horse. They looked as though he’d walked across half the state.

As he moved past her and into the house, she glanced at the stable and then frowned again as she looked at his back and saw a rifle slung over it beside his bag.

Shutting the door, she kept her jacket on and let her eyes follow his progress into the house. Her mother ushered him into the parlour, offering a seat and the warm welcome that she’d neglected to give. As he sat down, she went to see her father where he was still resting in the other room.

“Pa,” she said as she came to stand by the fire, warming her hands and trying not to leave a puddle on the rug.

“What’s wrong, Jessie?”

She didn’t bother to hide her feelings as she turned to face him.

“Something ain’t right about him,” she hissed as she snuck a glance at the door to make sure they were still alone.

“Now how did I know you were going to be saying that?” He smiled at her and shook his head.

“I’m serious, pa. What kind of man walks through a storm, and what kind of wrangler has no horse? All he’s got is the clothes on his back and a rifle for company. Something ain’t right.”

Her father looked at her and sighed. “Jessie, dear, just because he doesn’t have a horse, doesn’t mean he can’t work. Sometimes people lose belongings. Sometimes they lose everything but their name and their gun. These are hard times.”

She let his words and his sympathetic look sink in. It was wrong of her to judge the newcomer by what he owned, but she couldn’t help feeling suspicious of him, like she felt suspicious of every man.

Mary gave an apologetic look to the man sitting at her table as the conversation between her husband and youngest daughter drifted into the room. She poured the coffee in silence and then sat down opposite him, giving him a warm smile.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Tucker. Jessie’s had a hard time of it since her brother, Charlie, left home, but it doesn’t excuse her manners.”

He pulled his eyes away from the door and smiled at her.

“About near broke our hearts,” Sue said with a sigh.

He looked at the woman who was sitting next to her mother and tried to look sympathetic as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. He got the feeling that while her brother’s leaving may have deeply upset Jessie, it hadn’t really bothered her elder sister. He was spared answering by their father walking in.

Immediately standing, he offered his hand to the older man, who shook it firmly and then looked to his wife for coffee. He watched as the man swiftly drank the warm liquid and then placed the cup down on the table.

“What’s your name, son?” Frank wiped his hand across his mouth and looked him over.

“Colt Tucker.” He smiled and then glanced at the girl he’d met outside as she started to leave the room.

“Well, Colt, it’s getting late. We’ll talk about the position in the morning. Think Jessie is about ready to show you where you’ll be sleeping for now.” Frank frowned at Jessie as she opened her mouth to protest and then smiled at her when she shut it again.

“Hope you like horses, Mr. Tucker,” Jessie grumbled as she pulled her coat tight around herself, preparing to go outside.

She didn’t wait to see if he was going to follow her, she just walked out of the door.

He nodded to each of her family members and then went out into the storm. He could see her heading towards the stable, her arms wrapped tightly around her body in an attempt to keep some of the warmth in. The rain sapped his body heat, the wind making eerie noises as it blew through the fences of the two pens in the yard. He saw her tug at the bolt on the stable door, using it to pull the whole thing open, and then she disappeared into the shelter of the building.

He walked into the stable and watched her as she opened the door of the stall at the far end and led the horse occupying it out into the open area in the middle of the stable.

He slid the stable door closed behind him, blocking out the weather, and then took in his surroundings. Two lanterns lit the high barn. They cast contrasting shadows that made strange patterns on the wooden walls. The air smelt damp, the heavy scent of wet horse making it hard to breathe at first.

He watched the girl as she pulled the saddle off the horse and placed it down next to the others. Not knowing what to do with himself, he took to looking around. He hoped that she’d realise she was being less than civil and point him in the direction of his bed.

He got the impression that she wasn’t happy about him staying, and that she’d fought the decision every step of the way. She’d clearly wanted to keep him out in the cold until he caught his death. The moment she’d revealed herself, he’d seen in her eyes that he hadn’t made a great first impression, and that he was going to have to work hard to get past it. There was something about her that spoke of anger and resentment, and he got the feeling that it wasn’t all about him and his addressing her as a lad.

Jessie ignored him as he moved towards her. She kept her focus on brushing Ranger down and getting him ready for the night. He was soaked through and covered in mud, and she needed to get him as dry as possible so he didn’t get sick.

Her eyes moved to rest on the man as he leant against one of the posts between the stalls and she realised that he was in as bad a state as her horse was. His clothes were soaked, along with the sack that he was carrying, and he probably didn’t have anything dry to wear.

Placing the brush back with the rest of her tackle, she went to the empty stall at the end and grabbed one of the thick blankets off the pile in the corner. It smelt like horse, but it was dry, and it would help keep him warm through the night. Holding it out to him, she smiled as he gave her an appreciative look and took it from her.

“If you don’t have nothing dry to wear, I can see what my pa has.” She picked up the brush and began working on Ranger again as she avoided the man’s eyes.

Colt looked down at his bag and considered asking her to do as she’d offered but decided against it. He’d always been able to make his own way in life, and that had included spending countless nights sleeping outside in the cold and wet. Tonight would just be another one.

“Few more blankets and I’ll be just fine,” he replied and let his eyes follow her movements as she took the bridle off the horse and hung it up beside the stall. He watched her as she gently ran her hand down the animal’s neck and then patted its shoulders lightly. Something told him that she cared a lot about her horse, if nothing else. “He’s a fine beast.”

She smiled at her horse. “Finest there is. We’ve been through a lot, me and him, and he’s always stuck by me.”

He nodded. “Had me a mare just like him once.”

She looked over her shoulder and gave him the smallest of smiles. “Then you’ll know just what I mean.”

He did know. He knew all too well. He’d once come to see his horse as his only friend, just like she saw hers.

She led her horse back to his stall and nodded towards the empty one opposite as she closed the door. “You can sleep in the end stall. It’s empty. Not the best lodgings, but I’m sure ma will fix you up with something better soon enough.”

“Much obliged.” He made his way down to the stall she’d intimated and then looked back at her as she started to walk away.

“We rise early, with the sun.” She didn’t bother looking at him as she headed towards the door. “Pa will want to talk with you before you start work.”

He watched the door slide shut, looked down at the blanket, and then into the stall. It wasn’t much, and it was far from comfortable, but it beat sleeping out in the elements.

His eyes moved to the black horse opposite him and he smiled at the name that was carved roughly into the door.

Ranger.

He looked at the other stall doors nearby and noted that Ranger’s was the only one with a name on it. Smiling as he stepped into his stall and stripped off his wet clothes, he found himself wondering just what kind of girl Jessie was. She seemed to sway between behaving like a woman and acting like a boy. He loosely hung his clothes out to dry over the stable wall and then wrapped the blanket around his cold body as he settled down on the hay-strewn floor to sleep.

Closing his eyes, he thought about what work Mr. Hayden would have in store for him tomorrow. By the looks of things, there wasn’t another ranch hand around to help the old man apart from himself. A ranch this size would always have a lot of work that needed to be done.

Work that required an early start, just like Jessie had said it did.

Listening to the horses in the pens, he sighed out his breath and drifted off to sleep, waiting for the morning to come and trying to keep his mind off the girl.

 

Chapter 2

Jessie smiled broadly as she pushed open the curtains in her room and saw the golden morning light reflecting off the wet grass of the valley. She finished buttoning up her shirt, headed down the stairs to the parlour, and grabbed her work gloves off the side before walking to the door. She hummed quietly to herself as she went to the stable door and then frowned when she saw it was already open. Her head inclined to one side as she looked around the corner and watched him brushing down the horse.

He was dressed just like he’d been last night but without the long coat to protect him from the weather, and his hat lay on the side. His boots were still as worn as she remembered them, and his dark brown pants matched the near-black colour of his hair. The deep navy of his shirt contrasted against the black leather of his waistcoat. Letting her eyes follow the line of his throat, she smiled absently at the sight of the stubble that was masking the defined curve of his jaw and found her eyes meeting his as they finally came to rest on his face.

She stared into them, unable to look away.

When the horse in the pen nearest her whinnied, he looked straight at it, bypassing her face completely.

Jessie patted Shadow on the nose and then looked at Colt again. He looked far too interested in the horse and she wondered if anything was wrong.

“Breakfast will be ready soon. Didn’t think you’d be up this early.”

“You said sunrise.” He picked up the brush and continued to tend to the horse.

Looking into each stall, she frowned as she saw that he’d fed all of the horses, and it appeared as though he’d brushed them all down, too. With nothing left to do before breakfast, she found herself idly stroking Ranger and trying to think of something to say.

“I suppose I did.” She finally managed to get the words out. It had been so long since she’d not had to brush and feed the horses in the morning that she had a strange sensation of emptiness inside her, as though part of her duties had been taken away from her and she didn’t like it.

Looking into Ranger’s stall, she frowned. He hadn’t been fed, and he hadn’t been brushed either. She glanced at Colt and found him busy working on Maverick. Her gaze returned to the empty feed basket in front of her.

Had he intentionally not fed her horse?

She frowned as she thought about it. Picking up the sack of feed, she carried it over to the pen and began emptying it into the waiting tray. Ranger immediately shoved his nose into the food, earning himself a dusty covering down his dark face as the feed rolled off him and into the basket. She smiled at how eager he was and took the sack away.

Glancing at Colt again, she realised that he must have left her horse out on purpose. She hadn’t bothered hiding just how much Ranger meant to her, and it was possible he’d seen in her actions that she loved the animal dearly, so dearly that she wanted to be the only one to look after him. He’d mentioned that he’d had a horse like him once. Maybe he understood her need to look after him alone, without anyone’s help.

As she watched the smooth motion of his brushing, she could see that her father had been right. Although he had come to them with nothing but a sack and a gun, he evidently knew his way around horses, and people.

“You didn’t have to…” she trailed off when he looked at her, his deep brown, almost black, eyes immediately seeking hers.

“It’s no problem, was up early and figured they needed tending to.” He offered her a wide smile and she turned away.

She watched Ranger as he ate his food, and tried to ignore the way the stony silence that had fallen made her feel. She idly picked at the hay bale nearest her as she struggled for something to say. When she heard her mother calling, she thanked God and started towards the door.

Walking quickly out of the stable, she wondered what had gotten into her. She wasn’t usually like this with strangers. Her parents hadn’t been lying when they’d said that they hadn’t raised her to be rude. It was just that every time she looked at the newcomer and he looked at her, she felt an odd sensation of disappointment in her stomach and a tight ache in her chest.

She stopped just outside the door and looked back at him.

“I’m sure ma is calling for breakfast, and you’ll have to be speaking with pa about the work. You can finish brushing him down afterwards.”

Colt placed the brush down as he looked at her where she was standing in the entrance to the stable watching him. When he’d first laid eyes on her this morning, he’d been surprised to see that she was still dressed in men’s work clothes. He’d been aware of her the moment she’d rounded the corner. The morning sun had made her shadow long, and it had stretched down to where he’d been standing.

She seemed even smaller than she’d appeared last night. The tan pants and cream shirt she wore hugged her slender figure. Her rich brown locks were held back in a plait with only a short fringe framing her face and drawing attention to her eyes. Last night he’d managed to make out that they were dark, but in the early morning light, he could see they were a warm chocolate brown. He still couldn’t believe that he’d mistaken her for a boy. It seemed impossible for him to have done so now that he could see her, but at the same time wholly possible. She was dressed like a boy, and with her hat and coat on it would be hard to tell from behind that she wasn’t. From the front, however, it was a whole different matter. She could be considered pretty by some. Her features were small but near-perfectly formed, her soft lips were a rich cherry red that seemed natural, and her cheeks had a rosy glow about them that made him think she had a lot of exercise in her life. He couldn’t stop his eyes as they moved gradually downwards, taking in the shape of her, from the clear swell of her breasts to the curve of her hips, right down to her dark brown work boots.

They turned away from him and he raised his eyes up in time to see her disappearing around the corner.

Catching up with her as she walked back to the house, he glanced at her profile and wondered if she knew that it was obvious she was intentionally avoiding looking at him. He could see it in her tight movements and stiff posture.

For some reason, she didn’t like him, and he couldn’t figure out for the life of him why that was. Sure he’d called her a lad, but in most women that would have warranted an hour or two of the cold shoulder. She still had that same air about her as she’d had last night.

There were moments in the stable both yesterday and this morning when she’d seemed like a completely different person. When she was around Ranger, she was feminine, and gentle. However, the moment she looked at him, he felt as though he was dealing with the wrong end of an angry porcupine.

Following her into the house, he smiled politely at her sister and her mother, and then nodded a greeting to her father. He sat opposite Jessie and tried to keep his eyes off her as he drank down his coffee and ate the food that her mother offered him. He just couldn’t get his mind off her. It was as though she’d got under his skin and he was unable to rid himself of her, at least until he figured her out. He’d never met someone with so many different sides to their personality, had never met anyone that he wanted to understand as much as her.

When she stood up, he snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked at her father as he spoke.

“Jessie’ll show you the ropes. We don’t run the place much different from other folks, but you’ll need to get the lay of the land. Afterwards, she’ll take you into town and get you some things. They’ll come out of your wages, but you can’t work with boots like those and one set of clothes.”

“You don’t work the ranch?” His brows knit in confusion. He looked into the old man’s eyes as he laughed and shook his head.

“Not for years now. Jessie takes care of it.”

His eyes moved to rest on her where she was standing by the door putting her neckerchief and tan gloves on.

“When you’re ready, Mr. Tucker,” she said without looking at him and then walked out of the door.

He looked at the empty plate that was sitting on the table in front of the chair she’d occupied; it was as clean as a whistle, not a scrap of food had touched it.

“Jessie doesn’t eat in the morning. She hasn’t done for a while now,” Mary explained.

He figured from her solemn tone that ‘a while now’ meant that she hadn’t eaten it since her brother left. Standing slowly, he drew his eyes away from the empty plate and then nodded to each of the occupants of the room before heading back out into the sunshine.

He found Jessie saddling Ranger. She paused to look at him as he approached her and then took the bridle down off the hook.

Slipping it on over Ranger’s nose, she buckled it up as she nodded towards the stall at the end.

“Only horse we don’t use is Spirit. She’s a might fierce when she wants to be, but something tells me you like a little spirit in things.”

He picked up his hat from where it sat on a bale of hay and walked towards the horse.

Sudden silence told him that Jessie had stopped her work and was watching him. Glancing across at her, he found her giving him a look that said he was crazy. He smiled. He could handle Spirit.

He approached the deep chestnut mare slowly. He could see in her wide eyes that she had as much spirit as Jessie had said, and that she earned her name. She was scratching at the floor of her stall, occasionally kicking the door to show him that his attention wasn’t welcome. Holding his hat out, he let her see that he wasn’t going to hurt her and smiled inside as she turned her attention to it. Her heavy breathing was audible in the still morning air as she smelt it and got his scent.

While she was occupied with his hat, he stepped closer to her and held his hand up, letting her catch sight of it before gently running it down her nose. She was as fine a horse as he’d ever seen. Her rich colour was punctuated by a white diagonal blaze across her face and on looking down, he noted that she had strong legs; her hind left one was marked with a white sock.

He looked across at Jessie. She was wearing a stunned expression that told him she hadn’t expected the horse to react so well to him.

“We’ll take her into town later. Pa McGintley is a brave man, he’ll shoe her.” She returned her eyes to her work, fastening the last buckle on Ranger’s bridle and then checking that the saddle was secure. She pointed to the pen opposite Spirit’s. “Until then you can ride Shadow. He’s pa’s. The two bays in the middle are Maverick and Jonah. They’re Sue and ma’s horses. John’s too little to be riding.”

Colt looked at the dapple-grey horse nearest him and patted his nose. “Shadow.”

The horse shook his head and snorted, and he got the feeling that all the horses had as much personality as Ranger and Spirit.

Unlatching the door, he led Shadow out into the open and tethered him to the same post that Ranger was tied to. He smiled gratefully as Jessie handed him the horse’s saddle and took down the bridle for him, laying it on the side.

He placed the saddle on Shadow while Jessie mounted Ranger. When she stretched down to untie him from the post, he beat her there. He undid the reins and handed them to her, catching a glimpse of the awkward smile she gave him as she moved past him and out into the yard.

He watched her go and then focused on saddling his horse. He still had difficulty coming to terms with how different this place was to every ranch he’d worked at, even his own.

When he’d first arrived at the Blue Plains Ranch, he’d presumed that she had volunteered to get the horses in during the storm to save her father from having to go out into the cold. Now he’d been told that she handled it all and that her father didn’t work. He couldn’t believe she was working the ranch alone, tending to the horses and the cattle, and running the place for her parents. It was no wonder they had been advertising for a ranch hand. From what he’d seen of it this morning, the property was extensive, with plains stretching for miles around and a creek running through it. It wasn’t the kind of ranch that one person could work.

He slipped his rifle into the holster and quickly fastened the bridle into place. He untied Shadow and pulled himself up onto his back. A wide smile stretched across his face as he seated himself and took up the reins. It felt good being back in the saddle. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed it. It was as though he’d found a part of himself that he’d lost, and now he was whole again.

He slowly walked the horse out into the yard, placed his black hat firmly on his head, and smiled up at the sun. He hadn’t felt this good in a long time.

His eyes sought Jessie.

“You coming, Mr. Tucker?” she called out to him as she waited on the other side of the cattle pen.

“Colt, call me Colt.” He smiled at her but it faded from his face when she gave him a look that said she wouldn’t be doing as he asked and turned her horse away, heading towards the ridge at a gentle pace.

Urging Shadow on, it didn’t take him long to catch up with her. He slowed his speed as the horse fell into step with Ranger.

Jessie relaxed into the saddle, letting her body move with her horse and keeping her eyes fixed on the horizon. Her thoughts returned to what she’d witnessed in the stable. She’d been joking when she’d said that Colt would like Spirit, and she definitely hadn’t expected the mare to respond so well to him. Spirit had been near wild since everyone had stopped riding her. She was nobody’s horse to ride. Not since Charlie left. It hadn’t been the family’s decision either. Spirit had changed that day, as though she could sense the loss of her owner, and was mourning it as badly as herself. She still couldn’t understand why Charlie hadn’t taken the horse. He’d always been fond of her, but he’d chosen to take the old black mare instead. She often wondered what he’d been thinking that day. Had he left Spirit behind because she was a younger, fitter horse that would be needed by the ranch? It hadn’t mattered that he had. She wasn’t any use on the ranch these days.

As light flashed off something out the corner of her eye, she looked down at the rifle stowed in Shadow’s saddle and then let her eyes move back to the distance.

“It’s a quiet place, Mr. Tucker. I don’t think there’s any cause for being armed.” Emphasising his name, she made it perfectly clear to him that she didn’t intend to call him Colt like he’d asked her to.

He glanced at the rifle and then at her. “Can never be too careful.”

She frowned for a split second at the way he’d said those words, as though she was foolish for not carrying a gun, or naïve by thinking nothing bad would happen out on the plains. She’d been working alone in these fields since she was twenty, and not once had she had a problem. The nearest town was sleepy and small, nothing more than a handful of buildings, and not even on a stagecoach route. Colt was the first newcomer in three years. No one came out this way.

Besides, out here nothing could hurt her, not with Ranger to carry her.

As the dirt of the yard began to give way to the grass of the plain, she let her eyes traverse the scenery, leisurely roaming over the distant hills and following the sweeping bends of the creek. The trees that lined it were covered in young leaves and buds that were just waiting for the right sunny day to open, and the rich green grass below her was dotted with meadow flowers.

She loved this time of year. There was so much promise in the air, promise of new horizons and second chances. It was like the slate of last year had been wiped clean and now it was time to start all over again.

Colt watched the serene smile as it played out on her lips and in her eyes. He could see the happiness in them as they took in the world around them, and he looked there. It was a beautiful place. Last night during the storm he’d had his doubts about coming here, had almost turned back, but now he was glad he’d kept going forwards, following his feet.

He’d not seen rolling meadows so lush and green since he’d left his home, and it warmed his heart to find himself again in a place that felt so detached from the rest of the world. He’d seen enough towns in his time, places that were filled with bandits and danger, places where you had to watch your back every second, to know that Jessie was right about the one he’d passed through last night. There was nothing bad there, but it didn’t mean that nothing bad would ever come. One day something would happen and the town would go the way they all do—it would change, and it would become dangerous.

The smell of the wild flowers being crushed under the horses hooves chased away his dark thoughts and he smiled at the scenery as they reached the top of the ridge. He glanced across at Jessie.

She pulled on the reins, easing Ranger into a stop, and narrowed her eyes as she looked out on the panorama.

“Ranch stretches to the hills you can see yonder and a few miles on both sides of the creek.” She looked across at him and he took in the size of the land that belonged to her family. “Cattle will most likely be down by the creek. There’s a rocky crop of land there that gives them shelter, makes them feel safe. They go there every storm.”

He remained stationary as she started down the hill towards the creek. He could see the outcrop that she’d mentioned in the distance a few miles off. The size of the land they owned was as extensive as he’d thought it would be and the green meadow grass was a stark contrast to the last place that he’d worked. It had been dusty land where people had fought over the water so their cattle wouldn’t dehydrate. In another state, people would be willing to die for this land, with its lushness and abundance of water. Here, it seemed to be taken for granted. Every ranch that he’d passed had looked as green as this one.

Jessie looked over her shoulder and stopped when she saw he wasn’t following her. He was still at the top of the ridge, his eyes fixed on the distance, drinking in the scenery. She couldn’t blame him. She always had to stop there to take a breath of the beauty that surrounded her every day. She never got tired of seeing it stretching out in front of her. No matter what the weather was like, it always looked beautiful.

As he started to move again, she let him catch up. She waited until he was next to her before letting Ranger continue his walk down to the river.

“It won’t take long to reach the cattle.” She filled the gentle silence that had fallen between them and then smiled to herself as she thought of something. Tightening her grip on the reins, she looked at the distant trees. “It’ll be even quicker if we gallop.”

Before he had a chance to respond, she was streaking into the distance.

 

Chapter 3

Jessie was out of breath by the time she pulled back on the reins, forcing Ranger into a sudden stop beside the creek. She looked back over her shoulder, her cherry lips curving into a smile as she watched Shadow struggling to catch up. She knew it was wrong of her to race Colt when he had the disadvantage of riding their slowest horse, but she couldn’t help herself. There was something irresistible about beating him, something that made her feel as though she was eighteen again, rather than twenty-six.

As he rode down the hoof beaten path towards her, she frowned. For a moment, she could’ve sworn that she was seeing a different person, that she was experiencing déjà vu. She shook her head, clearing it of the image of her brother that had leapt into it, and turned her attention to her horse.

“Something tells me you knew he was old and tired.” He patted Shadow’s neck as the horse breathed heavily and headed straight for the water.

She just gave him a restrained smile and then looked up the creek to where the rocks began to rise up and meet the hill.

Colt wondered where her real smile had gone—the one she’d been wearing a moment before—and then followed her gaze when she looked upstream. “Reckon they’ll be there?”

“They’ll be there,” she said with conviction and slipped down off Ranger’s back, allowing him to lead himself to water and drink his fill.

Colt followed her lead and wasn’t surprised when Shadow practically dived into the river. He smiled in amusement at the old horse and made a mental note to challenge Jessie to a race once they’d had Spirit shod. He got the impression that the chestnut mare would be the only competition for Ranger.

Pushing his hat up, he wiped his brow on the back of his gloved hand and then took the rifle out of its holster on the saddle. He carried it with him as he crossed over the shallow river to the other side and used the cover of the trees to sneak along towards the bend, hoping he’d be able to see if the cattle were there without frightening them off.

He spotted movement by the riverbank and in the trees beside it, and looked back across the water at Jessie. She was fanning herself with her hat, taking a moments rest in the shade of one of the larger trees.

Her eyes followed him as he carefully crossed the shallows again and headed over to her. He was about to open his mouth to speak when she smiled knowingly.

“Told you,” she said in a matter of fact tone and stood up, brushing her backside down as she walked over to Ranger where he was drinking from the creek. She took hold of his reins, grabbed onto the horn of the saddle, and pulled herself back onto it.

He put the rifle back into its holster and mounted Shadow, giving the horse a few seconds more to recuperate before following Jessie into the trees. Breaking away from her after a few metres, he moved back out onto the grassland and came in behind the cattle, keeping far enough away that they didn’t smell the horse or him.

They were a fine herd. He could see a few youngsters that must have been born last year. They were hiding in amongst the larger bodies of the adults, using them as protection. From the looks of things, a few of the cows were pregnant already. He watched Jessie as she moved through the trees like a shadow, Ranger’s black form making him think that he deserved the name of Shadow more.

He looked down at the dapple-grey horse he was riding and mused that he was more like a ghost than a shadow.

He was still musing it when Jessie appeared next to him.

“Seem fine,” she said and then looked around them at the sky.

He glanced up at it. It was a rich cobalt canvas and was clear as far as the eye could see.

She brought her eyes back down to meet his. “It’s going to be a hot day. Reckon they’re best left to graze until we get the pen repaired. We’ll head into town, get those things for you and the fixings for the fence.”

He nodded in agreement and turned his horse around.

Jessie found her eyes wandering to rest on him as he stared into the distance, back towards the house. He seemed so at home already, as though he’d been there for years, not hours, as though he belonged on the ranch. She got the feeling that she didn’t need to show him the ropes like her father had said. If anything, he could probably show her a few things.

He started to move at the exact moment she did, as though he was linked to her somehow and had sensed her movement before it had happened.

She smiled briefly at him as his eyes meet hers for a split second and then went back to the horizon again. Squeezing Ranger with her knees, she started back across the plain, riding slowly and letting the sun warm her.

When they reached the ridge, Jessie’s attention was drawn to the fences of the horse and cattle pens. The old timbers had given way under the pressure of the frightened animals and needed repairing. The other horses would become restless if kept in the stable too long, and the young cattle needed branding soon.

Riding down the slope to the house, she wondered if they had enough wood stored in the stable to repair both pens, or whether they’d have to go out and gather some from the trees by the creek.

She stopped beside the horse pen and dismounted at the same time as Colt did. He tethered both of the horses to the fence for her and she thanked him with a restrained smile.

“We’ll have to take Spirit, get her shod for you.” She walked towards the stable, smiling as Ranger whinnied and snorted, clearly not relishing the idea of having to travel with Spirit in tow.

Taking down the bridle, she handed it to Colt, not wanting to go near Spirit herself.

He took the hint and the bridle at the same time. He removed his hat and held it out in front of him as he walked slowly over to Spirit’s stall. The horse nosed his hat, sniffing it and trying to eat it when he didn’t move it away quickly enough.

“None of that,” he warned the chestnut mare and held the bridle up for her to see. “You and me are going to get acquainted soon, and you’re going to need to be wearing your best dancing shoes, little lady.”

Jessie smiled at the way he was talking to the horse as though she was human and then stopped when Colt looked at her. He reminded her so much of her brother. His hair was the same colour, and they were roughly the same height and build. Charlie had always had a way with Spirit, and it appeared Colt had the same magic touch.

Watching him put the bridle onto the horse, she felt a familiar ache in her chest and furrowed her brows as she thought about her brother. She missed him dearly, more than words could say, and it wasn’t getting easier with time like her parents had told her it would. She missed him as much today as she had done the day that he’d left them without a word.

She told herself that Colt wasn’t Charlie. He didn’t act like her brother did. He seemed gentler, more intelligent, and he had a look in his eyes that said he’d never raise a hand to hurt her. She knew her brother hadn’t meant to lash out at her that time, but she couldn’t forget how it had felt. Sometimes when she was thinking about it, she swore that she could still feel the echo of his strike on her cheek. He’d apologised immediately, but it hadn’t stopped the hurt, and it hadn’t fixed the ideal of him in her heart that he’d shattered.

She was roused from her thoughts by Colt leading Spirit out of her stall. He was smiling broadly at her and she found herself smiling back at him, a genuine smile this time, one that cut through the pain and forced its way to the surface before she could contain it.

He wasn’t Charlie.

He didn’t deserve to have her anger towards her brother taken out on him.

But it hurt so much each time she looked at him, each time she caught a flash of Charlie rather than Colt, and she couldn’t stop herself from reacting.

“Something wrong?” he asked as she stared at him.

Her eyes dropped to rest on her feet and she coughed, clearing the confused lump of emotions from her throat.

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked past him and out into the yard, meeting his eyes for a split second and struggling to hide the hurt she was feeling.

Mounting Ranger again, she busied herself with smoothing the tangles out of his mane as Colt led Spirit out into the yard. She took deep breaths, trying to calm the turbulent sea of emotions inside her and shooing away the thoughts that were stirring it.

She managed to look at Colt as he tied the long rope attached to Spirit’s bridle to the saddle on Shadow. When he untied the horses from the fence and held Ranger’s reins out to her, she took them with a smile that she hoped would show him she was fine now and there was no need for him to ask the questions she could see in his eyes.

He held her gaze, clearly trying to see what had upset her in the stable, and then mounted Shadow. He looked across at her, frowned for a moment, and then pulled his hat down so the brim of it shaded his eyes from the bright sun.

“Ma?” she called out towards the house and was surprised when her sister appeared. She frowned at the fact that Sue was wearing her best dress and that she came out all the way to them before asking what she wanted.

“She’s taken John into town on the cart,” Sue said, her eyes fixed on Colt as she spoke.

Jessie raised a brow. “We’re heading into town to get Mr. Tucker some things and get Spirit shod. Tell pa we won’t be gone long.”

Sue just nodded and continued to smile up at Colt.

He gave her an awkward smile.

Jessie brought Ranger around and made sure Colt was following her before she started towards the road.

Looking back over her shoulder, the frown stayed on her face when she saw Sue waving goodbye to Colt with her handkerchief, as though he was going off to war rather than to town. She rolled her eyes at her sister and then picked up the pace until Ranger was trotting.

When Colt caught her up, she looked across at him. He still looked confused, and she knew her sister had only added to things, but at least it was stopping him from questioning her about her moment in the stable.

When they were out of sight of the house, and her sister, she slowed Ranger down to a leisurely walk and slumped into her saddle, her body going lax and moving in time with her horse.

She could feel Colt looking at her. Glancing across at him, she saw in his dark eyes that he wasn’t sure what had happened back at the house and smiled reassuringly.

“Does your sister work on the ranch?” he asked.

She almost laughed.

“She’s too in love with her frilly clothing and courting to be of help,” she remarked and then looked down at her tan pants. “I don’t hold with frilly clothes, they’re not practical.”

“Wise words.” Colt smiled at her and rolled his shoulders as he settled into the saddle. It had been a while since he’d spent this long on horseback and it seemed that it was going to take him some time to get used to the aches that came with it. He used to be able to spend a whole day riding without the amount of aching that he had after a few short hours.

Looking at the distant horizon, the town was nothing more than a tiny speck marring it. They were only a handful of miles away from it, but it seemed like three times that distance. He decided to use the time to his advantage and learn more about the girl that he’d be working with, and the family that were paying his wages. Maybe he could discover just why her behaviour towards him changed so rapidly sometimes.

“Your sister mentioned a John…” he said.

She smiled and he got the feeling she’d been waiting for him to mention her family.

“He’s the littlest, barely ten but he acts like a grown up,” she answered his question before he had a chance to finish it. “You’ll meet him soon enough. He’s too young for the saddle, but sometimes he rides with me. He’ll make a fine wrangler one day.”

He took in the sight of her serene smile and waited for her to continue.

“Pa is getting too old to run the ranch now. I started helping out when I was eighteen, and when I turned twenty I took over. Ma wishes he was out the house more, visiting and the like, but he’s stubborn.”

“Sounds familiar.” He smirked at her.

She frowned at him before looking back at the track.

“Sue is nearly thirty. Ma says if she doesn’t marry soon, she’s going to have to sell her to the next peddler that comes by.” Jessie’s lips curved into a wide smile.

“She might get a good deal for her,” he said and her smile became a grin.

“They all seem nice. You got any other family?” He tested the water to see if she’d mention her elder brother but was met with a firm shake of her head, the smile instantly leaving her lips. Seeing that she wasn’t going to mention Charlie, he revealed a little about himself. “I’ve got a brother. He’s older than me and runs a ranch down in Texas.”

“Older than you?” she asked with a mischievous look in her eyes and he knew that she was getting him back for his earlier comment about her temperament.

He was about to answer her when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Looking at the track ahead, he frowned as he saw a cart rumbling towards them.

The next thing he knew, Jessie was galloping off to meet it.

He rode after her, and as they approached, he saw it was her mother and a young boy. John he presumed.

“Jessie…thought you and Colt were seeing to the cattle?” her mother greeted her.

Jessie ruffled John’s sandy hair and smiled when he tried to swat her hand away, his nose wrinkling into a frown.

“Done it. Just got to fix the fence and we’ll bring them in for branding and checking,” she explained and then nodded to him. “We’re going to town to get some things for Mr. Tucker here and get Spirit shod for him. Damn horse seems to have taken a fancy to him.”

Mary nodded a greeting to him and then turned back to her daughter. “I put the order in for the supplies, but you’ll need to get the fixings for the fences.”

“Are you Colt?” The little boy looked up at him.

He smiled broadly as he leant down towards him.

“Depends whose asking,” he said in a low voice and the boy smiled.

“John Hayden, but they call me Pip on account of my being so small. I’ll be big one day though.” John held his hand out.

He took hold of it and shook it firmly, noting the way the boy’s eyes widened when he saw the size difference in their hands.

“Nice to be making your acquaintance, Pip.” Colt tipped his hat at him and then watched as John looked at the rifle holstered in his saddle.

“Is that real?” John’s eyes sparkled with wonder as he reached out to touch it but Colt moved Shadow backwards a few steps, placing it out of his grasp.

“And dangerous, too.” He gave him a stern look that warned him not to go near his rifle. When he looked over at Jessie, he found approval written in her expression and realised she’d been watching him the whole time.

“We best get going,” she said as her eyes left his. She ruffled John’s hair again and smiled as he grumbled, pushing her hand away. “Shouldn’t be long.”

“Mrs. Hayden. Pip.” Colt nodded to both of them as he began to move off.

“Call me Mary.” Mary smiled at him.

He nodded again and then rode off beside Jessie.

“I like him.” John turned around and knelt on the seat, watching his sister and the man riding into the distance.

“He’s a good man, can see that just by looking at him. I think Jessie likes working with him.”

John looked up at his mother and smiled broadly. “He’s going to be marrying her.”

His mother looked stunned by his announcement and her face lit up with laughter as though he’d said something funny. She patted his knee, still smiling as she kept her eyes on the road ahead

“We’ll see.”

 

Chapter 4

Jessie tethered Ranger to the bar outside the general store and waited for Colt to tie Shadow and Spirit up before heading inside. She looked around at the array of goods that were displayed neatly in groups on the dark wooden shelves and in front of the two counters. From shirts to guns to food, everything had its section of the store. Walking to the back, she rapped her knuckles on the counter and smiled as the owner appeared. He was a slim man, around the same age as her father with similar grey hair. Ever since she was small, he’d always looked the same. He always wore black, always had a smile for her, and always said the same thing when she came in.

“Whatever it is, we ain’t got none.” Ed grinned at her as she gave him an unimpressed look, and then frowned at something behind her. “Looking for something, son?”

She quickly looked over her shoulder at Colt where he was standing holding a boot.

“It’s fine, Ed. That’s Mr. Tucker. He’s come to work the ranch.” She watched as Colt put the boot down and walked over to them, pulling his black gloves off as he did so.

Ed eyed the hand Colt extended to him and then shook it. “What can we do you for, Mr. Tucker?”

“It’s Colt, and I need some work clothes.” Colt put his gloves into his pockets.

“Especially boots,” Jessie added and then smiled as Ed shook his head at the state of Colt’s footwear.

“That the sole reason for coming all this way?” Ed asked her as she started looking over the nails and fixings that were lining the shelves behind him.

“Cattle got spooked last night, and Spirit broke the fence again, needs mending pretty badly. Ma said to get some fixings.” She nodded at the nails. “Same as last time. Two boxes.”

“I’ll get those for you. Beth is out today, so your friend will have to put in an order for his clothes.”

“I’ll give him a hand,” she said as she turned towards Colt and found him frowning at the work clothes again.

As Ed went into the back, she navigated the wooden crates that were displaying goods in the centre of the room and walked over to the other counter where Colt was standing.

She looked over his shoulder at the light blue shirt and screwed her face up.

He glanced down at her and caught the expression on her face. “Too pale?”

“Wise words.” She repeated his earlier words about her choice of clothing and walked over to the boots.

Watching her as she sorted through the choices of footwear, Colt tried to picture her in a dress and found that he couldn’t. She didn’t seem to suit the fancy clothing that women liked to wear. She looked at home in a pair of pants and a shirt, and she had been right when she’d said it was the sensible option when working on a ranch.

Writing his order down, he walked over to her where she was looking out of the window and followed her gaze.

“You know them?” he asked as he stared at the three men opposite. They were laughing and pushing each other around as they stumbled out of the saloon.

“Used to,” she answered and then turned away from him.

Colt watched them a moment longer and then looked at her as she went back to the counter. He scratched his neck as she plastered a wide smile on her face in time for Ed to appear from the back, and then walked over to them. Placing the piece of paper down, he leant against the counter as the man read it and then nodded.

“We’ll have those ready for you by the end of the week.” Ed put the order list with the others and then pushed the boxes of nails across the counter-top to Jessie. “All on the account?”

She nodded and picked up the two boxes. “Thanks, Ed.”

“Send my regards to your father…and Jessie?” He caught her attention and smiled as she turned back to look at him. “Don’t wait so long before dropping in next time.”

She half smiled and nodded.

Walking out of the store behind her, Colt looked across the square at the three men and then at Jessie as she put the boxes into her saddlebag.

She untied Ranger and led him around into the wide dirt road that cut through town, her eyes remaining locked on her horse. “We can walk to the blacksmith.”

Untying his two horses, he kept a tight hold of them as they started to walk along the road towards the other end of town. As they approached the three men, he found them staring at him and wondered if it had something to do with him being a newcomer. Looking around, he realised that they were drawing the attention of a lot of the people who were passing by and then noticed that none of them were looking at him.

They were staring at Jessie.

He looked at her where she was walking with her head bent, her eyes fixed on the muddy floor, and then across at the three men as they leant towards each other, whispering.

He got the impression that she didn’t come into town much, and he could see why if she was greeted like this every time. The man in the store had told her not to wait so long before coming back again, and he wondered how long it had been.

Frowning at the three men as they passed them, he let his eyes meet the ringleader’s and held his gaze until the horses blocked his view of them. When they were far enough away, he glanced over his shoulder at them and saw that they were staring at him now, their faces no longer full of laughter, and frowns tightly knitting their brows.

Something told him that not everyone in this town was as nice and peaceful as Jessie believed them to be.

Looking up as he heard a creaking noise, he saw the sign for the blacksmith swinging in the gentle breeze. Tying the horses up, he followed Jessie as she walked into the dark building that looked like nothing more than an old wooden barn.

“Pa McGintley?” Jessie called out to him. The heat was stifling and she took her hat off as she walked further in, fanning herself with it. Her eyes scanned the darkness that was punctuated by the brightly burning fires, their orange embers speckled with flecks of black. The smell of burnt wood filled the air, mixing with the thick smoke and the scent of metal.

She let her eyes run over the tools that lined the walls and the stacks of iron that were sitting in wooden half barrels, waiting to be turned into horse shoes.

“Jessie? Is that really you?” A voice sounded out to her from the recesses of the room and she smiled at the familiar tone.

“It’s me,” she replied, looking at Colt as he idly ran his fingers over the hammer and tongs on the anvil, his eyes absorbing the scene around them.

“What brings you here?” The old man scratched his long dark beard as he came forwards, out of the shadows. He smiled at her.

“Spirit needs shoeing,” she said and then nodded to Colt. “This is Mr. Tucker. He’s the new ranch hand. He’s going to be riding Spirit.”

“Then he’s a brave soul.” Pa McGintley eyed him closely and then smoothed his long hair back. It was starting to recede now that the years were creeping on, but he still insisted on keeping it long.

She could never understand how he could bear all the heat when he had so much hair.

“Bring her in and tie her out the back.” He walked to the back door and pulled it open, giving her a smile as she assisted him.

Her eyes followed Colt as he led Spirit in and tied her up out the back. She could see how tense the horse was as Colt gently stroked her nose. Spirit snorted quietly, her nostrils wide as she took in all the new smells and sounds.

Pa McGintley picked up Spirit’s left hind leg and assessed the size of her hooves. He gently placed it back down again and walked over to the fire, stoking it vigorously as he scratched his beard again. The last time he’d shod Spirit, she’d nearly knocked him out with the amount of kicking she’d done, and he’d come away from it with more bruises than he cared to remember. Jessie could see that he wanted to do this as quickly and painlessly as possible.

He took up some shoe iron and placed it into the fire to heat through.

“Been a long while, Jessie.” His eyes remained fixed on the flames that were dancing across the hot coals as he spoke to her.

“It has,” she said, keeping her eyes locked on him and ignoring the way that Colt was looking at her now. It was bad enough that the people in town looked at her that way, as though she was a freak. She didn’t want him to start doing it as well.

“At least a year.” He turned the iron over in the fire.

She took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, trying not to let him see how uncomfortable he was making her. “Been busy on the ranch. Work keeps me there.”

“It does?” Pa McGintley gave her a look that said he knew that wasn’t the only reason that she was keeping away from town.

“It does,” she said with resolution and relaxed a little when his attention returned to the horseshoe and he started to shape the iron.

“I still remember when you and Sue used to come to town. You were the talk of it in your pretty dresses all those years ago.” Pa McGintley turned to face her.

She looked away, only to find Colt arching a brow at her. Her eyes dropped to rest on the floor.

Getting control over her feelings, she raised her head up, holding her chin high and squashing down the memories he’d stirred. She set her jaw tight and folded her arms across her chest.

“Times change,” she said in a bitter tone and then got the better of herself. “I have work to do now.”

Turning around to face Colt, she took a deep breath and sighed it out. “I just remembered I have some things to do. When Spirit’s shod, I’ll meet you outside.”

Colt let his eyes follow her as she walked through the blacksmith’s building and into the sunlight on the other side. He looked down at the old man, fixing him with a hard look that said what he’d done wasn’t nice and it wasn’t deserved.

“She’s as tough as old boots,” Pa McGintley said and pressed the hot shoe against Spirit’s hind hoof.

He didn’t respond as he folded his arms and watched the man working. Jessie hadn’t been in town for over a year. He wondered if this had something to do with her brother too, or whether it was just because of how she was treated when she was here. She clearly felt safe on the ranch, surrounded by her family and hidden away from the world. He could understand her reluctance to leave there. It had probably taken nothing more than just changing her clothes to start the stares and the whispered comments that she received. As a newcomer, he’d expected a similar reception, but people had treated him a million times more welcoming than they treated her, and she’d lived here all her life as far as he knew.

Letting his head fall backwards, he stared up at the sky and tried to understand what kind of place this was. What kind of place turned against someone because they were no longer dressing the part that God had assigned them? So she was wearing men’s clothing and doing a man’s work, but her father had been right when he’d said that these were tough times, and at times like these you had to do what was best. For Jessie, that meant working on the ranch in order to keep the money coming in and save her father from an early death.

As the old man tried to get his attention, he made him wait a few minutes longer. It wasn’t like him to hold a grudge against someone, but he couldn’t stand seeing people mistreating Jessie just because she’d chosen to help her family.

Taking hold of Spirit’s reins, he forced a smile as the man told him he’d put in on the Hayden account and then led the horse through the building. When he came out the other side, he found Jessie sitting on the bar and talking to Ranger.

“This the thing you needed to do?” he asked as she stroked her horse’s nose.

“Needed some air…” she trailed off as she looked up into his eyes.

“And a moment to talk things through with an old friend,” he added and then tied Spirit to Shadow’s saddle.

She nodded as she stood, untied her horse, and then pulled herself up onto his back. Settling into the saddle, she waited for him to mount Shadow and then started heading back through the town with him.

“There ain’t much to town.” She looked at the handful of wooden buildings that lined the main street. Their fronts were all similar in design, with a broad porch that covered the walkway below, small windows on the first floor and wider ones on the ground floor. The sun had faded their large signs. Most of the buildings hadn’t had them repainted since they were built when she was little. People who came to town were nearly always local, and knew the stores and offices by their location rather than the sign above the porch. “We’ve got the general store on the corner, blacksmith behind us with the stable beside it, and the Sheriff’s office opposite the store.”

He noticed the way she was avoiding looking at the people as they watched her pass. He could see she found it easier to ignore them when she was high up on Ranger’s back and he realised that her horse was a bastion of safety to her, and not just on the ranch.

“And the saloon.” He pointed at it where it sat nestled between a small boutique and two smaller stores that looked to be empty.

Her expression darkened.

He saw in her eyes that she didn’t like the saloon. She probably didn’t hold with the things that went on in it. He’d stopped by on first entering the town, and even in a place as small as this one there were still a few ladies dressed for business. Not that he was interested. All he’d wanted was a moments respite from the rain and a stiff drink to warm him up. He’d seen the notice for the ranch position in the Sheriff’s window a few doors down, and had gone to the saloon to think it over and get directions.

“We better get back. Ma will have the dinner cooking and she hates it when I’m late.” She abruptly turned her horse towards the road out of town and picked up the pace.

He rode beside her, seeing in her expression that she wanted to be home already, and he was all too willing to oblige.

~

Leading Spirit and Shadow into their stalls, Colt placed the bolts across their doors and then waited for Jessie to finish taking the saddle off Ranger. When she was ready, he walked to the house with her. The light was starting to fade, the night creeping in. It was so different from last night. There was no sign of a storm; just a clear sky that promised the chance to see the stars.

Walking into the house behind Jessie, he placed his hat down on the side and followed her into the parlour where her family were waiting. She didn’t say anything as she took her place, the same place she’d sat in this morning. He found himself sitting opposite her again, but this time he looked around the table. There were six places, six chairs, and only one of them wasn’t filled by a family member, but it was one that he knew should have been.

He smiled warmly at everyone as they greeted him and Jessie, filling their plates and asking them about their days work, and how Spirit behaved. Seeing that Jessie had become withdrawn again and she didn’t look up to talking, he answered all the questions her family asked, all the while wondering what thoughts were happening behind her sullen eyes.

Mary looked at her daughter where she was picking at her food and placed her hand over hers, trying to comfort her and draw her out of her thoughts. It had been a long time since she’d seen her so upset. She knew the things that happened whenever Jessie went into town, had heard the things people said about her baby girl, and prayed that they would see past the clothes to the woman underneath.

Her eyes moved slowly across to Colt and she snuck a look at his face. He was watching Jessie as he spoke to Frank, his eyes continually coming back to rest on her as though he was checking up on her. A blind person would be able to see the impression Jessie had made on him, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out exactly what kind of impression it was. Whether it was good or bad, she got the feeling that he would like to know more about her daughter.

She caught sight of Sue where she was smiling prettily at Colt, and then looked back at Colt where he was closely watching Jessie.

Letting go of her daughter’s hand, she smiled inside and went to make some tea.

Colt finished his food quickly, but found on looking up that Jessie had barely touched hers. All she seemed to have done was move it around the plate a little. He was about to open his mouth to compliment Mary on her cooking when Jessie stood up and walked out of the door, mumbling something about not being hungry.

Everyone watched her go and he looked up at Mary to find an expression of deep concern on her face.

“What’s gotten into her?” Sue asked as the door closed.

Suddenly Colt found everyone looking at him. He swallowed hard and smiled awkwardly as he tried to think of something to say. He didn’t want to mention the moment in the stable or the way people had treated her in town. He settled for shrugging and as everyone went back to their food, he glanced at Mary and found her eyes as full of sadness as her daughter’s.

After a few minutes of listening to Sue and John’s idle banter, he excused himself and went to the door. He couldn’t get Jessie’s disappearance off his mind. He’d never met someone that had made him so intrigued about them.

Lighting a smoke, he walked around to the stable, enjoying the stillness and the warm night air. The full moon seemed to make it as bright as day, illuminating the yard and the stable.

He paused as he heard a quiet noise coming from the building and he looked around the corner. He frowned as he saw Jessie resting her head against Ranger’s nose and stroking his cheek. Her eyes were closed, but the moonlight was reflecting off her tear-streaked face. Extinguishing his cigarette so the smell of smoke didn’t alert her to his presence, he watched her as she buried her face into Ranger’s neck and sobbed as she clung to him. His chest tightened as he listened to her, and saw her body shaking with her crying. Furrowing his brows, he tried to leave but found he couldn’t. He wanted to give her time alone to deal with whatever had upset her, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t have the right words to soothe her, didn’t know why she was so upset, but he wanted to know.

He felt sorry for her as she stroked her horse’s ears and held him tightly. She should have been in her mother’s arms, or her sister’s, when she was so upset, not out here with her horse. Was he really the only source of comfort for her?

He silently cursed Spirit as she kicked at her pen, drawing Jessie’s attention to where he was standing. He saw her quickly turn away and frantically wipe her face as though there was a chance that he hadn’t already seen the tears she’d been shedding.

He wanted to know her story, wanted to ask her what it was that kept upsetting her, but couldn’t find the courage to go through with it.

Jessie took long deep breaths as she hurried to dry her face. She knew he’d seen the tears, but she didn’t want him to ask questions and that meant acting as though everything was fine. She suppressed her desire to continue crying as she thought about her brother and the people in town, and stood up straight. Taking one final breath, she pulled herself together and turned to face Colt.

He’d moved while she was trying to gather herself. He was standing just a couple of metres away, giving her the same look he’d given her when they were in the stable that afternoon. Holding her head up a little higher, she managed a smile and let her fingers toy with Ranger’s bridle where it hung on the nail.

“Didn’t mean to disturb you. Figured it would be an early start tomorrow and wanted to get some rest.” Colt was the first to speak.

“Forgot you slept here.” She looked at the end stall where he’d spent last night, avoiding his eyes at all costs. “I best be getting some rest, too.”

Colt’s eyes followed her as she moved past him, her hand coming up to dash away the tear he’d seen threatening to fall and her whole body heaving as she sighed.

As she disappeared from view, he walked over to Ranger and patted his neck. He frowned as he felt the dampness of his hair where Jessie had been crying against him and then looked back over his shoulder at the entrance to the stable.

He wondered if tomorrow she would act as though this had never happened.

Heading into the empty stall, he rolled one of the blankets up to make a pillow and lay on his back with one hand behind his head and the other resting on his stomach. He stared at the high wooden ceiling above him and sighed.

It would be the second night in a row that he was going to sleep with that girl on his mind.

 

Chapter 5

Sure enough, the next day Jessie was acting as though nothing had happened the night before. He’d watched her all morning while they went over the things they would need in order to repair the cattle pen and tended to the horses. He couldn’t see how she could pretend that everything was fine in her life and he hadn’t caught her crying last night, sobbing her heart out against her horse’s neck and clinging to him as though he was the only thing in the world that could comfort her.

Pulling his black work gloves on a little better, he carried another of the beams out into the yard and placed it down on the pile. His eyes sought her out as she walked around the perimeter of the cattle pen, checking the timbers and marking which ones needed replacing.

Pushing his hat up, he squinted at the hot sun as it beat down on him and then wiped his forehead as he looked at the posts and beams, trying to figure out if they had enough to repair the pen.

Jessie watched him out the corner of her eye as he scratched his neck, his focus firmly fixed on the gathered timbers. She had seen in his eyes this morning that he wasn’t letting last night go, that he had questions he wanted to ask her, but she didn’t want to answer them. It was none of his business why she had been crying, and he wouldn’t understand even if she told him. Her whole family had seemingly got over her brother’s departure just fine, leaving her to mourn his loss and miss him. She wondered sometimes how they could be like that. He’d been close to them all, but especially her. They’d worked together for years on the ranch, spending countless hours every day in each other’s company and talking about everything that was on their mind.

When he’d left, she’d had no one to talk to. She’d never been close to Sue, had never talked to her parents about her problems or her feelings. The only person who had listened to her was Charlie.

Smiling slightly as Colt nearly dropped a fence post on his foot, she realised that she wanted to talk to him. She didn’t know if it was because he reminded her of Charlie, or because he looked as though he wanted to know her story, but she wished she could find the courage to let him in.

Her smile faltered at that thought. The last person she’d let deep into her heart was Charlie and he’d broken it clean in two when he’d left. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to let anyone in after that. She’d kept people at a distance and had told Ranger all her worries. He was always there for her, always willing to listen to anything she had to tell him, and always ready with a tender nuzzle when she started crying.

She wondered if Colt would be like that. If she told him the things that were on her mind, and about her brother, would he just listen or would he ask the questions that she didn’t have answers to?

“Miss Hayden?”

Jessie shook her head and looked up at him, masking her feelings with a smile.

“Mr. Tucker?”

“You ever going to call me Colt?” He frowned at her and rested the timber he was holding against the fence.

She picked it up, her focus remaining on fixing the fence. She could see in his expression that he was getting tired of her formality with his name.

“I’ll be calling you miss Hayden then.”

She gave him a look that said that was fine with her and then held the wood against the fence posts so he could knock the nails in.

She watched him as he worked, his strong hands holding the timber steady as she started to let it slip, her concentration lapsing as she stared at him and wondered what his story was.

He’d come to them in the middle of a storm, with no horse, and had alluded to the fact that he’d had to sell her. She could never imagine selling her horse. She wouldn’t part with him for all the world. He was the only thing she loved.

She let go of the fence as Colt finished nailing it into place. Walking over to the pile of timbers, she picked up another one and brought it over to him, putting it into position and going back to her thoughts as she heard him knocking the nails in.

She wondered how many ranches he’d worked on in the past. He looked to be around the same age as her brother, and he’d clearly travelled a lot; she could see that by the state of his boots. She wondered where he was going, and where he’d been. Where had he come from?

Colt looked up to find Jessie watching him, a distant thoughtful look in her eyes as she stared into his.

There was also a lingering edge of tiredness and hurt that dredged up the thoughts he’d tried to shake last night.

Handing her the tools, he stretched his back and then took up the other set. They’d get things done quicker if they both worked and it would give him a chance to observe her. He wanted to get answers to his questions.

As she set to work, he tried to remember what she’d told him about herself. She’d taken over the running of the ranch at twenty. She was twenty-six now. Why had she taken over? Was that when her brother had left?

“You feeling all right, Mr. Tucker?” she asked as he stared at her.

“Just fine,” he replied and then took the plunge. “Actually…I was wondering something.”

She hammered the nail into place on the fence and then looked at him as though she was waiting for him to say what was on his mind. “Don’t stand on ceremony here. Spit it out.”

Colt smiled at her manner.

“You said you took the place over when you were twenty.” He leant against the fence post as he looked at her. She was continuing to work as he talked and he got the feeling that she was using it as cover.

“I did,” she replied.

“Little young to be running a ranch. Surely one of the other ranches in the neighbourhood would’ve had someone that you could’ve hired?” He watched her closely as she paused for a second and then continued.

“I was fine with it, knew everything I needed and money was tight.”

“Money’s always tight,” he said.

She stopped working and met his eyes as she looked up. “Not this tight.”

Jessie lowered her head again and continued to fix the timber into place. She got the feeling he was trying to draw things out of her, but she didn’t mind. He was curious about her past and she’d given him every right to be. He’d caught her crying and he’d seen her upset. It was no surprise that he wanted to know why.

“Now you’re twenty-six,” he said, “and the best wrangler there is.”

“Don’t know about that.” She moved onto the next section of fence and gave him a look. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

He smiled again and took up another timber, carrying it to the section next to the area of fence that she was fixing and starting work on it.

“You know, I was your age when I started my ranch,” he said and smiled when she stopped dead and looked at him.

“Your ranch? You have a ranch?” Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she waited for an answer.

“Did, I did have a ranch, once.” He corrected her and carried on working.

She hesitated for a moment and then cleared her throat as she found the courage to ask her question. “How long ago did you start it?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then answered, “Was nine years ago.”

She narrowed her eyes on his, searching for a sign that he was that old.

She frowned. He was around the same age as her brother after all. Charlie would have been thirty-three by now, and Colt was thirty-five. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a ranch of her own at her age, to own all that land and all the animals. She wondered just where his ranch had been. She’d heard about the different terrain across the country and how people did things differently in every state.

“Was it much like this?” she asked as she kept her eyes on him.

He straightened up and looked around them at the lush hills.

“A little…maybe less green, but not much different.”

“Is it far away from here?” She couldn’t stop the questions now she’d started them. She’d never been away from home, had never gone further than the Crawford’s ranch and that was under twenty miles. She was curious to know what else was out there and she got the feeling that he could tell her.

“Long way away…too far to ride one horse.” He looked down at his feet and sighed.

Her brows knit as she saw the momentary sadness flicker on his expression and she realised that he hadn’t sold his horse, he’d done something much worse, something which she could never do. A horse could only walk so many miles before it became lame or too tired to keep going. How long ago had he shot her?

Reaching her hand out, she hesitated as she went to touch his arm to comfort him and then pulled it back before he noticed.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled and dropped her eyes as he raised his to meet them.

Colt shook his head, unable to speak the necessary words to tell her that it was all right—it didn’t matter. He hadn’t been able to look his horse in the eye the day he’d shot her. She’d been so lame and sick that she’d left him with no other option but to do what was right, no matter how much it broke his heart. It was bitter poison to his soul each time he remembered what he’d done.

Taking up another timber, he quickly nailed it into place, using the work to keep his mind off the things he’d done in his life and the things that had happened. He still grew angry every time he thought about his ranch and it still cut him to the bone when he thought about what was taken from him. One day he’d get the revenge he was looking for, and then he could finally stop following his feet and settle somewhere.

He looked at the ranch house and the meadows that were stretching around him.

Hopefully it would be somewhere as beautiful as this, as beautiful as his home had been.

Watching him for a moment as he threw himself into his work, Jessie realised that they weren’t so different. There was another reason that she worked so hard on the ranch. She used it to keep herself busy. The busier she was, the less her mind wandered to painful thoughts and the happier she was. There were times—brief moments—when she was truly happy again and she wanted that feeling all the time.

She let him focus on his work as she concentrated on hers. It was the best thing she could do for him, letting him forget it all by busying his mind with the task at hand.

Her eyes wandered to the stable as she heard one of the horses whinny, and she wondered which one it was. It wasn’t deep enough to be Ranger, although he’d start up soon enough if she didn’t take him out for a ride. It was probably Spirit. She’d been acting up all morning because of the noise the horseshoes made on the floor of her stall. It would take her time to get accustomed to wearing them again, and then Colt could attempt to ride her.

Her attention came back to him as he stubbed his thumb and took his glove off, sucking on the wounded digit.

She smiled and shook her head, and found him smiling back at her, his eyes showing no trace of the hurt that she’d seen in them a few minutes earlier.

As her sister appeared on the porch and waved a hand at them to get their attention, she suppressed a sigh and walked over to her. She was pleased when Colt decided to continue working rather than coming over to see what Sue wanted.

She threw a quick look over her shoulder and saw him fixing another section of the fence. At this rate, they would be able to start on the horse pen before nightfall.

“Sue?” She tried to get her sister’s attention, but she was staring straight past her at Colt. Stepping into the path of her gaze, she frowned. “Quit disturbing us.”

Sue caught her arm as she turned to leave and span her back around to face her. “I wasn’t. I’ve got a genuine reason for coming out.”

“What?” Jessie spat the word out and ignored the pout that settled on her sister’s lips.

“Wanted to know if Colt…I mean…you wanted feeding.” Sue smiled sweetly at her.

She saw straight through her charade.

“We don’t, so quit and go back indoors where you belong.” She tugged her arm free and shook her head as she walked back towards Colt.

Colt straightened up as he watched her walking towards him. He could see how agitated she was by her body language, and he hoped that she wouldn’t take it out on him again. So far today they seemed to be getting along, and she hadn’t given him the cold shoulder at all.

Rolling a cigarette, he carefully balanced it on his lower lip and struck a match on the fence. He cupped his hand around the match and the cigarette as he lit it, protecting it from the breeze.

Shaking the match to extinguish it, he let it drop to the dusty ground and looked at it.

The well-kept boots of Jessie appeared in his view.

“Problem?” he asked as he looked up, finding her scowling in the direction of the house. He noted that her sister had gone back inside now.

“Sue sure likes to flirt,” she grumbled.

“She sure does.” He took a drag on his smoke and smiled inside as she turned an exasperated look on him. He could see that she wanted him to say something about not being interested in Sue, and it was wrong of him to deny her the answer she was fishing for, but he couldn’t help himself.

Assessing the horse pen as he finished his cigarette, he looked up at the sky and then at the amount of work they had to do. Time was rapidly turning against them, but at least the cattle pen was done.

He flicked his spent smoke to the ground, stubbed it out with the toe of his boot, and scratched his chin.

He needed to shave.

Taking up some timber, he started to fix the fence but paused as he realised that Jessie was just standing looking at him with the expression of annoyance welded to her face.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” He turned her earlier words against her as she stared at him.

Jessie didn’t know what had infuriated her more, the fact that her sister was openly flirting with Colt, or the fact that he seemed to be inviting her attention. She rationalised that neither of those things should bother her. All she did was work with Colt. They hardly knew each other and he definitely wasn’t her property. He was free to come and go as he pleased, talking to whomever he wanted to, and courting any girl that caught his eye.

She didn’t care, and she wasn’t looking for anything from him in that way. Not like her sister was.

Starting her work again, she snuck a quick look at Colt as he took his hat off, ran his hand over his hair and then placed it back on again.

A tight, knotted feeling of frustration settled in her stomach and she frowned.

She didn’t want his attentions.

So why did she feel this way?

 

Chapter 6

It took a further day to fix the horse pen, and Sue hadn’t made an appearance. She’d apparently been busy inside, which was fine with Jessie. She’d learnt a little more about Colt’s past, but not much. They’d been focused on their work, both of them clearly wanting to be back out on the plains riding the horses rather than fixing fences.

Walking around to the stable, Jessie took a deep breath of the sweet morning air. The grass was damp and the dusty yard had a fine covering of wet dirt, but the underneath was dry. She could see her footsteps as she looked back towards the house. It must have rained overnight, just a passing shower.

She raised her brows into a curious expression as she found the stable door closed. Every morning since Colt’s arrival, she’d found it open, with him already at work on the horses. He’d learnt to share the duty with her, letting her take care of Maverick and Ranger, while he tended to Jonah, Spirit and Shadow. She was thankful to have the task back. Mornings were hard for her; it was when she most needed to take her mind off things.

Pulling the door open, she frowned when there was no sign of Colt.

Petting Shadow on the nose, she moved slowly along the stalls, not wanting to disturb him if he was still sleeping. She couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him to get back into working again, and it wasn’t like she’d been going easy on him.

“Morning.”

She jumped as his voice came from behind her. Turning, her brows rose as she saw the shaving kit in his hand, and she worked her eyes gradually up to his face. He looked different without the stubble. The smoothness of his jaw seemed to draw her attention to his mouth and she found it hard to drag her eyes away.

“Morning,” she replied as she busied herself with checking Ranger.

Taking a breath, she exhaled it by blowing it up at her face, trying to cool herself.

“Going to be a hot day,” she said idly as she fanned herself with her hand. She could’ve sworn it hadn’t been this warm a moment ago.

“It is?” Colt looked outside at the yard and then gave her a look that said it didn’t feel any hotter than it had been yesterday, or the day before. He ran his hand along his jaw and walked towards the stall at the far end.

She smiled lopsidedly and then turned her back on him. Taking another deep breath, she sighed it out as she listened to Colt putting his things away and then almost jumped again as Ranger nudged her.

She took the hint and edged towards the stall where they kept the feed—the stall where Colt slept. She kept her eyes away from him as she went to grab the sack but found she’d grabbed his hand instead. She immediately snatched hers away and looked at him where he was lifting the sack of feed up. He held it out to her with a look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite make out.

“Ladies first.” Colt half smiled and then bit his lip as she took it from him and went to feed her horse.

He looked down at his hand, staring at it for a moment before running it around the back of his neck and looking at the floor. He couldn’t remember seeing her hands without her gloves before. They’d seemed so small compared to his.

Gathering himself, he walked out of his stall and down to Spirit. She was getting used to him now. She was even starting to nip playfully at him whenever he happened to pass her. Running his fingers through her mane, he smiled at her and then found his eyes wandering back to Jessie where she was tending to Ranger and Maverick.

Spirit kicked the door.

He patted her lightly on the nose and smiled as he whispered, “you’re the only girl for me.”

“You say something?” Jessie looked across at him as she led Ranger out of his stall.

Colt cleared his throat. “Nothing at all.”

She looked at Spirit where she was nuzzling Colt’s hand and frowned. “Think she’s about ready to go out in the pen. She may look sweet now, but she’ll be a different beast out there.”

He took it as a warning that he wasn’t out of the woods with the horse yet. He’d have to agree with what she’d said; Spirit wasn’t going to take him attempting to ride her very well.

“Colt! Colt!”

Jessie smiled broadly as John came thundering around the corner and nearly ran straight into the man he was looking for.

“Whoa, there.” Colt put his hands against the boy’s shoulders to stop John from colliding with him. “What’s the hurry, partner?”

John took deep breaths as he tried to get the words out. “Jessie…Jessie…”

“Jessie?” Colt tried to help him out.

“Jessie said you’re going to ride Spirit.”

“She did?” He glanced at her where she was standing behind him with rose tinted cheeks and a distant look in her eyes. When he frowned at her, she quickly averted her gaze, her eyes falling to rest on Ranger, and he wondered what had got into her today.

“Sure did,” John replied with a wide grin. “You got to be wrong in the head.”

He laughed as he heard the boy’s words. Standing up, he petted Spirit on the nose and smiled. “Sure am.”

“I’ll get her saddle and bridle for you.” Jessie walked towards them and crouched down in front of John. “Be a good lad and go eat your breakfast, Pip. We won’t start without you.”

He nodded vigorously and then did as instructed. She looked up at Colt and saw him stroking Spirit as he watched the little boy go.

“He likes you,” she said and straightened up. Walking over to the saddles, she picked up Spirit’s and handed it over to him.

“Feeling’s mutual,” he said as he took it from her with a warm smile and rested it over the wall of the horse’s stall.

She sat down on a bale of hay beside the other set of stalls as she watched him take up the rope and lead Spirit out of her pen. The horse did seem to like him. She’d not seen her so behaved since her brother left them. Something told her that it was all going to change the moment Colt attempted to ride her though. The sweet exterior hid the horse’s true spirit and she couldn’t wait to see her get the better of him. A few landings in the dirt would be enough for him to see that not all the girls on this ranch were as easy to win over as Sue and her mother. At least, not the ones with spirit.

She smiled, the corners of her mouth curving into it as she pictured in her head what was going to happen. This was a big event, and she was certain that her family would all be there watching. It was fun just thinking about it.

Her gaze moved to his hands as he fastened the straps on the saddle and tested it. He seemed so confident, so sure that he could ride the horse. She wondered if it was all for show, if underneath that cool exterior he was secretly panicking about what would happen once he got Spirit into the pen.

Colt swallowed hard as he flexed his fingers, willing them not to shake with nerves as he carefully put the bridle on the horse. He hadn’t attempted to break a horse in since he was Jessie’s age, and even though Spirit had been ridden before, he could see she really needed breaking again. She’d become sorely used to not feeling the weight of a person or a saddle on her back and experience told him that she wasn’t going to react well.

But he couldn’t back down.

Jessie had laid the challenge at his feet and he was damn well going to succeed. He looked down at her where she was sitting on the bale, her brown hat tipped back enough for him to be able to see the whole of her face, and her pale blue shirt and dark blue pants contrasting perfectly with the rich creamy-yellow of the hay. She looked like a painting more than reality, like a cover of a book.

“You coming?” he said with as much confidence as he could muster and she nodded, a bright smile softening her features and making her eyes shine.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Mr. Tucker,” she said as she stood and followed him and Shadow out into the yard.

She sat on the newly fixed fence as he led the horse into the pen. He stepped back, assessing the best way to get on her.

“You chicken?” she asked after a few minutes of waiting.

He gave her a look that said he wasn’t. His eyes were narrowed in determination, his brows set heavily and his lips compressed.

“You wait, darling, I’ll be riding rings round you and Ranger by this afternoon.” His temperature rose as her challenge rang in his head. He was no chicken, and there was no way she was going to come out of this being right. He could ride this horse. It was just a matter of figuring out what she needed and she’d come round to his way of thinking.

His way of thinking being riding rings around Jessie.

Sure, she handled Ranger with all the grace and expertise of a man his age, but it was easy riding a horse that knew you as inside out and back to front as you knew it. He knew that she was scared of the horse he was about to ride. She was comfortable with Ranger and knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. She didn’t have the courage to give anything else a chance. If he asked her to ride Shadow or Maverick, she would refuse because she wouldn’t feel safe. She wouldn’t even consider it. There was only one horse in the world for her.

She’d never try to ride Spirit, and she certainly would never attempt to tame her again.

And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

Sniffing, he pulled his gloves on a little tighter and took a final deep breath before gathering up the reins and putting his foot into the stirrup. His heart was racing, going a million miles a minute against his ribs, and his mouth had gone dry. He could practically feel the adrenaline as it raced around his veins.

Jessie leant forwards as he took hold of the saddle and hauled himself up onto it. He saw her motion to John to quickly join her and then watched the little boy run across the yard.

He looked down at the horse beneath him and exhaled the breath he’d been holding. She didn’t seem too bad.

As he shifted, she pricked her head up, her ears shooting backwards to listen to him. His heart felt as though it was going to stop as she flattened them. He held on tightly with his knees and grabbed the saddle, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

He could hear Jessie laughing as Spirit began to buck, trying her hardest to get him off her back. He kept his eyes locked on the horse as she reared, kicking her legs out and snorting as she went in circles.

When he finally fell off, he winced and gritted his teeth, hissing through them. He gave himself a moment to recover before he slowly stood and dusted his backside down, a disgruntled look on his face.

He picked up his hat and smacked it against his leg, ridding it of dust as he watched Spirit trotting merrily around the pen. He got the feeling she’d enjoyed throwing him.

“You all right?” John shouted at him and he nodded.

Sucking his cheeks into a thoughtful look, he squinted hard at the horse. She was stood in the middle of the pen and looked as though she was waiting for him to try again.

Walking over to her, he ignored the way she snorted, whinnied and kicked at the dirt.

“None of that,” he warned her and took hold of her reins. “Said we were going to dance, little lady, and dance we shall.”

He hauled himself up onto Spirit’s back and glanced at Jessie. He could see in her expression that she was wondering how many times he was going to get back on Spirit before he gave up.

Sue and Mary caught his eye as they stood on the porch. When Frank joined them, he could see that he was being scrutinised. Frank was about as easy to impress as Jessie. If he tamed Spirit, it would stand him in good stead with him.

Holding on tightly, he let Spirit wear herself out, bucking crazily as she went around the pen.

He cringed as he was thrown off again, causing a cloud of dust to rise up as he hit the dirt. He was still for a moment and then sat up. Looking over at Jessie, he found her watching him with concern written in the lines of her face. She was leaning forwards, one foot dangling as though she’d been about to get down and come over to see if he was all right. He nodded to her and she sat back on the fence, an embarrassed look settling on her face.

He got to his feet and found Spirit waiting for him in the middle of the pen.

“She always acts crazy in the pen. Broke it pretty good when that storm hit the other night,” Jessie remarked as he pulled himself up onto Spirit.

He looked down at the horse and then at his surroundings. She was still for a little longer this time and then started to buck again. Holding on for dear life, he found his eyes kept wandering back to the gate and he couldn’t get Jessie’s words out of his head. It clicked. This was the horse that Jessie had been chasing the night he’d arrived at the ranch. He looked at Spirit and smiled to himself. He knew exactly what she needed.

“Open the gate!” he yelled in the general direction of Jessie.

He saw her look at the gate and hop down off the fence. She walked over to it and pulled the latch across, letting it swing open.

As soon as Spirit caught sight of the open gate, she bolted for it.

He saw Jessie press herself against the fence as the horse thundered past and looked over his shoulder to see her taking her hat off, using it to shade her eyes as she watched him.

Holding the reins tightly, he leant forwards and let Spirit run, weaving a crazy zigzag just like she had done the night of the storm. He had realised that out of all the horses at the ranch, she got the least freedom and as her name suggested, she needed it the most. She hadn’t been ridden in years, had spent all that time in the pen or in her stall. It was no wonder she was so wound up. If someone kept him in a house, or even a town, he’d go crazy too.

“Run like the wind.” He smiled as he said the words into her ear and she picked her front legs up, whinnying and increasing her speed.

He noted that this time she was running in a straight line.

Settling back into the saddle, he let her run her own course for a few minutes longer and then decided to see if she’d listen to him now.

“Come around, darling,” he almost whispered the command to her, trying to keep her calm as he gently pulled her reins to one side. He was astounded when she did as he’d asked and turned towards the open fields. “Knew you loved me.”

He grinned as he pictured what Jessie’s face was going to look like when he rode back to the ranch.

“Yah!” He urged Spirit on, wanting to see how fast she could go on the smooth terrain of the plain.

She was faster than any horse he’d rode in the past, and possibly faster than Ranger. His grin stretched until it couldn’t go any further as he turned the horse around and started back in the opposite direction. He closed his eyes briefly as the wind blasted against him, running through his clothes and washing over his skin.

Jessie kept her hat held above her eyes, shading them from the sun and helping her see. He’d been gone for a long time and she wondered if he’d fallen on the plain and hurt himself.

Running up the hill to the ridge to see if she could see him, she almost squealed as Spirit galloped past, barely missing her. She turned quickly to see Colt bringing the horse back around to her, a wide, pleased smile on his face as he slowed her down to a stop.

She couldn’t believe he’d done it. He’d actually rode Spirit, and she didn’t look as though she was going to throw him off again anytime soon.

Her brows rose, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, and a sense of warmth running through her as Colt looked straight into her eyes, moving the horse and himself closer to her. She stood her ground as he approached and turned Spirit to the side so he was next to her, his shadow blocking the sun. Looking up at him, she let the hand holding her hat fall to her side and held his gaze.

She could hear her sister and John, could hear her father and mother calling out congratulations to Colt, but it all seemed distant somehow, and for some reason she couldn’t take her eyes away from his.

He leant over, rested his elbow on his thigh and looked deep into her eyes.

“Told you I’d tame her,” he said in a low voice.

She nodded almost imperceptibly.

Her eyes followed him as he flashed her another brilliant smile and then rode down the slope to the ranch.

She got the feeling that he was talking about more than the horse.

But he hadn’t tamed her, yet.

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