Her Cowboy Lawman

Jax shot her an impatient glare, but before he could say a word, Bren interjected with, “You ready to learn how to ride?”

Her son’s enthusiastic “Yes!” startled not just her but the horse, too, the animal lifting its head, eyes wide.

“Okay, so that’s lesson number one.” Bren tossed her son a smile, one that made her insides do something strange, and that reminded her of the way Paul used to look at him...before. “Don’t yell around horses.”

Okay, don’t think about Paul.

She inhaled sharply, her emotions too close to the surface. “Thank Bren for teaching you to saddle up a horse.”

“Thank you, Bren,” her brother said in a singsong voice that made her want to elbow him in the side. Her son glanced back at his uncle and smiled.

“Thanks,” Kyle said. “Although I really wish I was riding a steer.”

“In time.” Bren patted her son on the head and that made her go all mushy all over again. Goodness, what was wrong with her? It’d been four years since Paul’s death. Four long years of waking up in the middle of the night, scared to death. Of waiting for him to call, only to realize he never would again. Of hearing a car pull up and going tense inside and then recognizing that it wasn’t Paul and that he wasn’t coming home and feeling such a rush of relief coupled with guilt and horror that she could feel that way. Lord, how she wished she could get over that. She’d been hoping the move would help. It hadn’t.

She felt her brother’s gaze on her. The two of them had gotten close since her husband’s death, probably in part because Paul used to work for her brother. She had a feeling Jax knew everything about her and Paul. All of it, which explained his insistence that she move in with him.

“Do you know how to lead a horse?” she heard Bren ask, the man so much like Paul and yet so different. Or maybe not. They all started out nice at first. History was littered with the bodies of women who’d been suckered in by a sweet smile and a bouquet of roses.

“Sure,” her son said confidently, taking the reins from Bren’s hands and tugging the horse forward.

“No, not like that,” he said as the horse planted its feet, neck stretched out in response to her son pulling on the reins. “You need to get back by his head. Walk alongside of him. Ask him nicely to follow you with your hands.”

But Bren had more patience than Paul ever had. He smiled at her son, and if she were honest, she could admit she liked the smile. It seemed filled with kindness and a genuine desire to help.

“Maybe I should be in on all this training,” she heard her brother mutter.

“Maybe you should,” Bren echoed.

“You should take lessons, too,” her brother said to her.

“What?”

Bren must have heard Jax, because he’d paused, and she could feel his gaze on her and it made her want to turn away, to face her brother and place her hands on her hips and demand, What were you thinking?

“You need to learn how to handle horses,” he said with a smile.

“Why would I need to learn that?”

“You totally should, Mom,” Kyle said. “That way you could help out around here.”

Her brother’s smile grew. “Exactly.”

She shot her sibling a glare because her brother knew how she felt about horses. They were too big. Too...smelly. Too...scary.

“No, thank you. I have enough to do, what with school and finding a job and raising a son. Or have you forgotten that I’ve got one more semester before I graduate as a registered nurse? I plan to work for a hospital, not a horse hotel.”

“It’s a therapeutic ranch,” Jax corrected.

“And it’s a beauty, but I’m not taking horse lessons.”

“What if there’s a fire?” They all turned toward Bren. “Or a natural disaster,” he added. “What if you’re needed in the barn for some reason?”

She let out a breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding. He had changed. Or something in his eyes had changed. He no longer stared at her like a dog would a porcupine. Instead he stared at her in a way that made her skin flush. As if he had tried to pry open her head and see inside.

“The odds of me ever getting near a horse are slim to nil.”

“You don’t like them?” Bren asked.

“I much prefer dogs.”

His eyes took on the glint of a gold coin in the sun. “That’s too bad.”

Why? she wondered. Why was it too bad? What did he care if she liked horses or not?

“Well, I think I should hire you. At least until my new hippotherapist arrives.”

“Jax, the man already has a job. He doesn’t need another one, I’m sure.”

“Actually, I’d love to help out.”

That made her head whip around so fast she temporarily blinded herself with her hair. “You don’t have to do that.”

“No. It’s okay, but I have a favor to ask in return.”

Her brother eyed Bren expectantly. “Name it.”

“I do some volunteer work down at the VA and I know someone who could really benefit from a program like this. Any chance I could bump his name to the top of your guest list?”

“You got it,” Jax said. “Frankly, we’re so new we don’t even have one yet, but your friend is first.”

Bren came forward, hand outstretched. “Deal.”

And that was when Lauren knew she’d be seeing a heck of a lot more of Bren than she wanted to.

* * *

BREN SPENT AN HOUR working with her son, an hour during which Lauren stood off to the side and watched. Her brother didn’t seem to mind helping out. He acted as spotter when Bren started Kyle on trotting. Jax wasn’t afraid to dive in and work, something he admired about the man. He didn’t act like someone with a pile of money, either, and that impressed Bren, too. There were two types of people in the world: those who had money and liked to let everyone know it, and those who had money and kept their humility. Jax Stone was the latter.

“You getting sore up there, buddy?” Bren asked as the dust the horse kicked up settled around them. It was getting dark, not that it mattered. He was sure the place had lights.

“I’m fine.”

That’s what he said, but Bren knew differently. They’d been working him pretty hard. He’d taught the kid the distinction between sitting on an animal and actually moving as one with a horse. He’d taught him signs to look for in not just a horse but a steer, too. A tipped head gave clues as to what direction an animal would take. Ears could indicate anger or fear or interest. Animals communicated in a hundred different ways if someone just took the time to pay attention, and it was that type of knowledge that could help you in competition.

“He won’t quit unless you tell him to stop,” Lauren said quietly.

They leaned against the wooden rail that surrounded the arena. He’d turned Kyle loose a few minutes ago on Rowdy. He didn’t know who’d picked out the ranch’s livestock, but they’d selected a winner in Rowdy. The horse was patient and kind and knew how to treat a stone-cold beginner like Kyle. As for Jax, he’d taken off a short while ago to answer his cell phone. It was just the three of them inside the massive space.