Her Small-Town Cowboy

“Sweet,” Lily corrected him quickly. “I guess that makes her Daddy’s girl.”

“You must know something about that yourself.”

“I used to.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, and Lily cringed at the slicing bitterness she heard. Attempting to blunt the edge, she continued. “Dad and I don’t see eye to eye on too many things these days. You must know what I mean. I’m sure your father wasn’t too excited about you leaving the family business to strike out on your own.”

“Actually, he was. We worked well together, but he always knew I’d have to make my own way eventually. After Abby was born, he and Mom came out to visit us at the ranch I managed in New Mexico.” Pausing, he gave her a sad smile. “He said he admired me for being my own man and making a good life for my family. I was never prouder in my life.”

“That’s wonderful. Good for him.”

Lily couldn’t help envying Mike’s solid relationship with his father. With the St. Georges, sons went into the family business, and daughters were expected to marry someone of the proper standing to join the fold. Natalie had lived up to her obligation, but Lily simply couldn’t bring herself to stick with the plan. Everyone but her generous grandfather considered her one step shy of a straitjacket, but she was pretty sure her plucky great-grandma Katie was up in heaven cheering her on.

“Doing your own thing isn’t easy,” Mike said, “but I can promise you it’s worth it.”

He gave her a sympathetic look that told her he’d picked up on things she hadn’t meant to tell him. She wasn’t sure what to make of his perceptiveness, but in that brief moment, she got a glimpse of what Abby must see in him. A serious man with a dry sense of humor who loved her with everything he had and would find a way to give her the moon if she asked him for it. That’s how he must have been with his wife, Lily knew instinctively. And again, she couldn’t help wondering what had gone wrong between them.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“This ain’t my first rodeo, sweetheart,” he informed her with the scowl he so frequently used. “That look you’re wearing means trouble with a capital T.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“That never stops any woman in this family.” His tone was less cynical now, but only slightly. He gave her a “go ahead” look, and she decided this was as good a time as any to satisfy her curiosity about his divorce once and for all.

“I’m just wondering about you and your ex,” she began awkwardly. When he didn’t respond, she took it as a prompt for her to continue. “You mentioned her earlier, but you didn’t say much. Was it a friendly split?”

“It was pretty one-sided. Dana left us when Abby was a year old, and beyond getting her signature on the divorce papers, we haven’t heard from her since.”

Delivered in a monotone, those words were devoid of emotion, but there was plenty of it crackling in his eyes. Bitterness and disgust battled for space, and the harsh set of his jaw told her precisely how much that betrayal still angered him. Lily had never met the woman, but she was human enough to acknowledge that she pretty much hated Dana, too. “That’s awful. My parents are divorced, but they both always made sure I knew how much they loved me. How could Dana abandon her family like that?”

“If it was just me, I could’ve taken it,” he explained in a low voice seething with rage. “We had our problems, but that was no reason for her to walk out on her own child the way she did. I’m just glad Abby doesn’t remember any of it. I don’t know how I’d explain it to her.”

Lily was beginning to see how his mind worked, and she had to admit she was impressed. His anger wasn’t for himself, but for the daughter he cherished. Lily had run up against more egotistical men throughout her life than she cared to recall. Finding one who put others before himself was a refreshing change.

Putting that very personal observation aside, she got back to why they’d come out here in the first place. “So, about me helping with the riding school.”

He shrugged. “Totally up to you. I’m good with a partner or going solo.”

His intent to do the lessons with or without her help belied his casual indifference. Something told her that he was the kind of guy who feigned carelessness to avoid giving people too close a look at his heart. Which, judging by his gentle treatment of animals and children, was a lot bigger than he probably cared to admit.

“Well, let’s try it for a while,” she finally decided. “I can at least get you started until you and the kids are better acquainted with each other. After a couple weeks, you might be fine on your own.”

“Or hopelessly insane. Could go either way.”

Laughing, they shook hands to seal their arrangement.

* * *

“Y’know, you’re gonna make my daughter’s day.”

“Should we go tell her the good news?” Lily asked with a smile. She’d tensed up at one point while they were talking, and he got the feeling their conversation had plucked a nerve for her. He hardly knew her, but he hated to think he’d done something—even inadvertently—to upset this sweet-natured woman.

“After you.”

The second they were back in the kitchen, Abby’s face lit up as if it was Christmas morning. “We can really do lessons?”

“Sure,” he agreed with a mock growl. “What else’ve I got to do all summer?”

“Thank you, Daddy!” Launching herself at him, she wrapped her arms around his waist in the kind of hug he’d never get enough of if he lived a hundred years. Then, to his surprise, she reached out one hand and pulled Lily in, too. Beaming up at her new friend, she said, “And thank you, Miss St. George. Having you here will make things so much better.”

Lily tilted her head in obvious confusion. “For who?”

“All of us,” Abby announced confidently. “And I promise to help with everything. I’ll tell all my friends, and we’ll make tons of money to keep the farm running. Right, Grammy?”

She glanced over at the woman still seated at the table, hands folded in front of her in a pose Mike knew all too well. She’d been praying, and he fought the scowl threatening to break through. She knew exactly how he felt about all that religious nonsense, but she’d gone over his head and directly to God, who’d made it clear that He’d lost interest in Mike long ago.

“I was thinking,” Lily began as she and Abby sat side by side on the bench, “we could design a logo for our school. Then we can print up flyers and maybe get some T-shirts made for the students. They’d enjoy having them, and when they wear them around town, other people will notice and get interested in taking lessons, too. If we get enough students, we could even have a horse show at the end of the summer. That would bring lots of people to the farm to see the great work you’re all doing with the animals here.”

Mike wasn’t sure how they’d gone from a few lessons to a full-blown circus, but he had to admit her idea had merit. Not only would it give the students something to work toward, when their families attended the show Gallimore Stables would get the kind of exposure it needed so desperately. He’d been racking his brain for months for a killer idea, and Lily had come up with a winner in the space of a single conversation. Amazing.

“That’s a great suggestion,” he commented with none of his usual reservations. “It could be just the thing we need to help us get back on track.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Giving him a grateful smile, she focused back on Abby. “Do you have any ideas for our logo?”

“Sure!” Popping up from her seat, Abby fetched a stack of blank paper and her tub of crayons from the rolltop desk in the corner. One of the many antiques his mother had lovingly collected and restored, over the years it had been everything from the farm’s bookkeeping space to storage for an endless jumble of paperwork. Now it was Abby’s art center, with her latest projects proudly displayed on the corkboard behind it.

“I don’t think Lily meant now,” Mike cautioned his energetic girl as gently as he could.

“No time like the present,” Lily corrected him with the kind of chipper tone that would have come across as forced from anyone else. With her curly ponytail and sparkling blue eyes, though, it suited her perfectly.

Uh-oh, he thought glumly. That was no way for him to be thinking about his daughter’s teacher. And new business partner. When that realization struck him, he sat down and gazed across the table at Lily. “Before we get all caught up in this, I think we should discuss the setup for this school.”

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