Falling For The Cowgirl

“Ace?”

“She’s a fine animal.” Their boots echoed on the plank floors as they headed in. Despite the hour, the center was already busy. Horses whinnied and their hooves clomped on the stable floor as they were led outside. The soft crooning voices of riders grooming animals provided a white noise around them.

AJ peeked in past the gates of each stall, savoring the scent of animal and straw, pleased at the cleanliness of the premises. She inhaled deeply. Happiness did indeed have an aroma. This was it. The hay, the horses, the leather.

Travis stopped halfway down the center aisle. A chalkboard on the outside of the stall indicated this was Ace, a palomino mare with low white stockings on her forelegs. The animal’s dark velvet eyes assessed AJ with interest.

“Good morning, Ace,” she murmured.

The names Joey and Tim were also written on Ace’s chalkboard.

“What does this mean?” she asked, pointing to the names.

“All the kids have chores. Joey and Tim are Ace’s team. They do everything. Feed, groom, stall mucking and turnout. We pair up a younger child with an older one.”

He pointed to an office, whose door was shut, lights off. The sign on the door read Tripp Walker, Manager.

“Tripp’s the top of the food chain for anything to do with the horses. I’ll introduce you when he gets in. He was on call last night.”

“On call?”

“Yeah, and now that you’re here, you can be in the rotation. We take turns being the point of contact for livestock problems after hours and weekends.” Travis nodded to the right. “Here we go. Tack room.”

Once they’d tacked up their horses, AJ followed Travis back outside and into the April sunshine. His black Mustang stallion nickered and playfully bumped his muzzle into Travis’s shoulder.

“Midnight is spoiled rotten,” he murmured. Pulling a carrot from his pocket Travis fed the treat to the stallion.

AJ bit back a smile. So her boss had a soft spot, after all. She found that oddly comforting. Maybe he wasn’t all black and white.

“Let’s ride the fence line. After today the schedule is all yours. You’ll be assigning the chores, including the fences.”

“Mind if I ask how many ranch hands there are?”

“Rusty Parnell and Dutch Stevens are my only full-time wranglers. Dutch claims to be about one hundred years old and keeps reminding me he’s retiring in a year. He’s been reminding me since I hired him five years ago.”

“And Parnell?”

“Rusty is a piece of work, which is why I’m praying Dutch doesn’t really retire.”

“Two?” Her jaw sagged. “That’s all?”

“There are also a couple of college students, Big Heart Ranch graduates. They live in one of the two men’s bunkhouses and work part-time for their room and board.”

“That’s not a lot of help for a spread this size.”

“Tell me about it. Hiring will be a priority real soon. Once we get the cattle program fully launched, we’ll have our own student wranglers on board.”

“What do you mean ‘student wranglers’?”

“We’re raising sixty or so children in family environments on Big Heart. The ranch is their home, which means they get the awesome privilege of contributing to managing the place. Helps them understand the value of a strong work ethic.”

“Girls will be assigned, too?”

“Yeah.” Travis paused, his eyes steely. “Girls, too.”

Gaze unwavering, AJ refused to back down. After all, he was the one who had a problem with females, not her.

Silence stretched for a moment before Travis nodded toward the administration buildings in the distance. “Stop by HR on Monday. They’ve got a phone contact list and maps and all sorts of boring paperwork and classes for you that explain how everything works around here.”

“Will do.”

AJ’s glance swept the buildings around the stables. “Where are the men’s bunkhouses?”

He raised a gloved hand and pointed. “Behind the equestrian center. My office is in that barn. It holds tools and equipment, as well.”

“How do I reach you? I mean, if I need to?”

Travis moved the stallion’s reins to his left hand, reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed her a business card.

When their fingers touched, AJ stepped back, startled at the connection. The card fluttered to the dusty red dirt. She bent to retrieve the card at the same time as Travis. It was only his hand on her arm that prevented a full collision.

“Whoa,” he murmured.

“I...” Tongue-tied and overwhelmed with awareness, AJ froze. Travis’s dark eyes were round with intense scrutiny. She didn’t look away.

A woman working in a man’s world knew how to shut the door to a man’s assessing glance. Why did she find herself hesitant to close the door on this particular man? Heat warmed her face as she chastised herself.

“I’ve got this,” Travis said.

Her heart continued to trip wildly as she took the card he handed her, using care to avoid contact this time.

“Ready?” he asked.

AJ slid her boot into the stirrup and heaved up into the saddle. She followed Travis and Midnight through the stable yard and onto a well-worn path.

A cool spring breeze stirred the air, bringing with it the scent of Oklahoma red clay, grass and a familiar fragrance.

“Lilacs,” she murmured.

“Yeah, Lucy and Emma planted dozens of them.” He stopped Midnight and gestured to the left. “Over there by the pond.”

“Why so many?”

“Our mother loved lilacs.”

“You lost your mother? I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“We lost both of our parents. The three of us ended up in foster care. Lucy was ten, I was eight and Emma was five. That’s the reason we started the ranch.”