Her Favorite Cowboy

“I’m sorry, but I can’t...I can’t do this. I need to get over to the hotel. My daughter won’t sleep without me tucking her in.”

His forehead furrowed, breaking the trance. “Sure. I understand. We can hustle back.”

She took a few steps backward, feeling as if being near him was wrong.

“No. That’s okay. You continue with your walk. I don’t want to force you to come back with me. It’s a nice night. You should enjoy it.”

He stepped toward her, just as she turned and headed up the sidewalk. She needed to get out of there. Needed to get away from him before she did something she’d regret.

“You’re not forcing me to do anything. I want to escort you back to the hotel,” he said from behind her.

He caught up to her and tried to take her hand. She snapped it away, as if he was a stranger.

“You’re not understanding. I don’t want you to come with me. Please. Just let me go. Our grandparents were right. We can’t talk to each other anymore.”

He stopped walking as she moved ahead of him, leaving him standing on the corner. She jogged across the deserted street, heading straight toward the hotel. She heard him call after her, but she kept moving forward, kept jogging until she stood in front of the hotel, struggling to catch her breath, thinking about what had nearly happened.

How could she have flirted with an alcoholic? Fallen for his charm? It wasn’t like her to be taken in so easily. She should have caught the warning signs from the start. His ordering a soda in the bar when they first met should have tipped her off.

As she ran up the three cement steps right outside the lobby, she decided she wanted nothing to do with Gage Remington, no matter what her libido told her. She could not and would not fall for an alcoholic, not when it was a drunk driver who had taken her husband’s life.

* * *

AFTER A RESTLESS night’s sleep, speculating on why Cori had left him standing on the street corner when they’d been having such a nice evening, he awoke thinking he should have simply listened to his gramps. She obviously wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship. Or perhaps her grandmother had gotten to her? Or she secretly never liked him and when he pushed it, her true feelings came out? But did she have to run away? He’d never experienced a woman actually running from one of his advances. What was that all about?

All he could conclude from her odd behavior was that she wanted no part of any kind of romantic interlude. That was now crystal clear. He’d just have to learn to suck it up, like his gramps had taught him when he was a kid.

He took in a deep breath and let it out. “I can handle this.”

Still, he was hopeful she’d come around.

And maybe it would happen as soon as today. He wasn’t exactly ready for a day of horseback riding. The working dude ranch was located just outside of town. Unfortunately, Gramps wouldn’t hear of him not participating. Grandpa Buck always loved to ride, no matter if it was on his own ranch wrangling steer or for fun with his friends and family. He’d taught Gage how to ride the summer he’d turned five. It took a while for Gage to get the hang of it, but once he did, his mother had a hard time getting him to do anything else during their visits.

Now, that seemed like light-years ago. He hadn’t been on a horse in more years than he cared to remember, and had probably lost his ability to ride. He’d forced himself to not care about ranch life and riding once he began making it on Wall Street. None of that mattered as long as he was moving up the ladder and making an insane amount of money. How could he possibly want to be a cowboy when all of Manhattan was laid out at his feet?

He snickered at the irony of it all.

It seemed this simple trip with his grandfather would be taking him back to something he’d shoved so far back in his mind that riding a horse now seemed foreign to him, almost as though that had been some other kid riding around his grandpa’s ranch.

Gramps used to tell him, “You’re a natural cowboy, son. And one day, this here ranch will be all yours.”

Gage wondered if his grandfather still felt that way, and if he did, what the heck would Gage do with an entire ranch?

Sell it, came rushing into his thoughts. Take the money and run.

He took a deep breath as he pulled his car onto the gravel road that led to S & J Ranch. He felt certain he was headed for a day of pure misery.

“We’re starting off with a mighty fine breakfast, served outdoors like it should be,” Gramps said as Gage drove their car into a spot. “Got my appetite all riled up for some flapjacks, eggs and biscuits this morning.”

“Should you be eating flapjacks with your sugar problem?”

Gramps glared at Gage. “What I eat ain’t none of your concern. I won’t be collapsing again anytime soon, so you don’t have to worry. Just stay out of my business and we’ll get along fine.”

Gage turned off the engine. “I was just trying to...”

“Look, son, I know you’re trying to say and do the right things so you and me can get our relationship back on track. There’s been a lot of bad blood between us, and it’s going to take some time for me to believe you’ve changed your haughty ways. So please do us both a favor and try not to tell this old cowboy what to do. It brings out my worst side, and right now, being here with all my friends, talking about my favorite writer, I don’t need a mother. What I need is my grandson. When you find him let me know, ’cause I miss that rascal more than I wanna say.”

Before Gage could respond, his grandfather slipped out of the sedan and walked off toward his friends who were gathering in front of the massive red stables. Everyone shared a smile and a nod as they moved on toward the Old West town that was part of the ranch. Breakfast would be served behind the hotel.

Gage sat there trying to digest what his grandpa had told him. It was the Gramps of his youth who had just lectured him, not the Gramps he’d been traveling with for the past couple of days. That Gramps hadn’t spoken a kind word to him since he’d said hello, and even hello had seemed forced.

The good thing was his grandfather had actually spoken to him in a calm voice. Now all Gage had to do to keep the momentum going was find his way back to being “that rascal,” so he and his grandfather could rekindle a relationship they both seemed to want more than either one of them was willing to admit.

As he stepped from the car and beeped it locked, another car pulled up, containing Cori, her grandmother and Hailey. Maybe now he could get to the bottom of Cori’s speedy departure last night.

“Hey,” Hailey said as she bounced out of the car, her white cowgirl hat momentarily slipping from her head, revealing golden curls catching sunlight. Gage could tell she was excited about her day. Her face and demeanor announced it loud and clear.

“All set for the ride?” he asked, eager to engage someone in Cori’s family in a conversation.

“You bet. I’ve never been on a real live horse before, just the fake kind on a carousel. Have you ever ridden a real horse?”

“Yep, when I was a kid.”

“I bet that was a long time ago.”

Gage chuckled. Did he look that old? Was thirty-two getting up there? He supposed that to Hailey anyone taller than her had to be old. “It sure was, and I’m a little scared I forgot how.”

She shook her head. “You can’t forget something like that, silly. It would be like forgetting how to dance. Just because you haven’t done it in a long time doesn’t mean you forgot how.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because my dad taught me how to ride a two-wheeler bike when I was three, and after he died and we moved to New York, I had to give my bike away. So I didn’t ride in a really long time. Then when we went to visit Grammy, she let me ride her bike and I remembered everything. Even how to use the bell and keep pedaling when someone is in front of me.”

Gage wanted to hug her, but he restrained himself. He wondered if all kids were as precocious as Hailey, or was she one of a kind?

“Thank you for telling me that story. I feel much better about riding now.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, beaming.

“I hope Hailey wasn’t bothering you,” Cori asked once Hailey skipped off with her grandmother, who never really looked his way. Apparently her dislike for Buck Remington was, by default, passed on to his grandson.

“Not at all. She’s surprisingly smart. Are all kids her age that smart?”

“I get the feeling you haven’t been around children much.”

“Hardly ever.”

“Most kids are pretty smart these days, but Hailey happens to be more intuitive than other children.”

“She takes after her mom,” Gage told her, hoping that would help cut through the icy chill.

Regrettably, it didn’t, and she began to walk away.

“About last night,” he called after her.

She stopped, and spun around to ace him, the sun dancing on her raven hair. She looked absolutely stunning in the morning light wearing a red T-shirt, tight jeans and boots. Gage wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and kiss those adorable lips. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way, knew he needed to take a step back, but the attraction was too strong. And given the way the light embraced her slim body, his thoughts were all about the bedroom, and definitely not about getting up on a horse.

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