The Trouble With Cowgirls

“Here’s our home base.” Lane opened the door to a small room located on the main stable floor near the entrance. One thing he hadn’t factored in was that they’d be sharing an office. Not that they’d have the opportunity to spend much time in it together. The majority of their day would be spent either in the stables or outside. Being next to her inside the cramped space just about short-circuited his brain. He noticed beads of sweat forming above her lip and he wondered if she was nervous about being alone with him or if she was hot from the relentless September heat. He didn’t dare ask.

Even though he hated that Lucy had the job he wanted, he couldn’t blame her for getting an education. He was the same age, and she was a reminder that he should be further along in his career. He’d been on his own since his eighteenth birthday. Lucy had been a year older when she’d had Carina. He gave her credit for raising a child while going to college.

Lane sat at the desk across from hers. He cleared his throat. “It’s rare that we’ll have a chance to sit down like this during most days. Is there anything you want to ask that I haven’t already covered? I’m all yours.” He wanted to take back the words the moment he’d said them. Flirting with Lucy was not an option, not that he was attempting to flirt with her. He would not ride down that trail again, especially now that he knew the extent of her betrayal.

Lucy flipped open her notebook and removed a sheet of paper printed on both sides, resembling a scan from a classroom workbook rather than something she’d typed. Couldn’t she have come up with her own questions to ask? “How often does the farrier come in?”

“He never leaves. Well, we allow him to go home at night. We have an on-site farrier named Jorge—he works exclusively for Bridle Dance. He’s responsible for all shoeing and hoof trimming.”

“Who manages that schedule?” Lucy continued to take notes without bothering to look at him. He should have been relieved, but he found it almost dismissive. Okay, so their time together had ended a decade ago; it was still history—a lot of history. He wasn’t a stranger, yet she was treating him like one.

It was a battle to concentrate on her questions and not ask any of his own. “You do.” Lane stood and pulled a binder from the shelf. The movement caused her to glance up at him. When their gazes met, he instantly regretted wishing for eye contact moments ago. Unprepared for the disruption to his thought process, his mind struggled for words. “It’s impossible...” Lane cleared his throat again. “It’s impossible for you to check every horse on the ranch yourself. We have a schedule depending on the horse’s age, what stage of training it’s in, its activity level and so on. We handle the yearlings more frequently, so they’ll get accustomed to the process. This allows us to see if they require any corrective shoeing. Jorge will email you a daily log sheet and you’ll need to print, review and file it in here every day.”

Lane felt as though he were talking at warp speed. After he’d explained employee schedules, payroll procedures and supply ordering and had answered every question she had asked, the afternoon was almost over. It was too much time together—too much closeness. He was wrong before. The past needed to stay in the past. Too many of the times they’d shared together thrashed wildly in his brain like a bull trying to buck its rider. Lane stood and reached for the doorknob, wondering why he’d ever closed the door in the first place. “There’s also a checklist we run through at the end of the day and give to Brad—the night manager—when he comes in, which should be shortly. He’ll repeat the same process in the morning with you. We’ll cover that tomorrow.”

Lucy’s fingers lightly brushed against his arm as she tried to stop him before he opened the door. The singe of heat he felt from the brief contact lasted only a second before she apologetically stepped back. “I know I told you earlier that this wasn’t the place to discuss what happened, but I need you to know that I’m sorry for the way things ended. I didn’t know you waited for me in Wyoming. I thought Nicolino had told you and that’s my fault. You deserved a personal explanation from me. I also found out you wanted this job. If I had known, I never would have accepted the position. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to walk away from it, either.”

“This morning was a complete surprise.” Lane folded his arms. “Nicolino claims you’re more qualified than me. While that remains to be seen, I’ll admit that I’m surprised at the career path you chose, considering the way you used to party when we were kids. I always knew you were smart. I just never knew you had the commitment to stay with something.” Lane cringed at his own words. “That didn’t come out exactly how I meant it. Let’s just say...you were much more free-spirited back then. Your dedication and commitment to your education is commendable, along with raising a beautiful daughter. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“Thank you. It wasn’t exactly part of my grand plan, but I can’t imagine life without Carina.” Lucy dropped her gaze, shifting from one foot to the other. “The circumstances surrounding my marriage to Antonio were far from ideal. The love we shared for our daughter kept us together, especially after we almost lost her. Carina was born three months premature. Her chances for survival were almost nonexistent. I can’t even begin to tell you what that was like. I wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy.”

“I had no idea you even had a child until yesterday.” A part of him wasn’t sure he was ready to hear about the child she’d had with some other man; another part wanted to know everything about her life since he’d last seen her. “What happened?”

Lucy’s eyes shone with wetness. “The majority of my pregnancy was spent bedridden. When I went into labor, they didn’t think either one of us would survive. I refused to give up on her. Watching your child lie there helpless inside an incubator, connected to tubes and wires while a machine breathes for her, is beyond words. I knew every beep, every hum from the equipment in the room. Carina’s a fighter.” She met his eyes once again. “I’m sorry if the news of my marriage hurt you. It wasn’t all wine and roses, but it wasn’t terrible, either. Antonio loved Carina. He...”

Lane straightened his spine, still trying to wrap his head around what she had told him and what she had purposely left out. “He what? What happened to Antonio?”

Lucy sighed. “Antonio died of a brain aneurysm four months ago.”

Lane had wondered if Carina’s father was still involved in her life. Death had been the furthest possibility from his mind. He understood the anguish her daughter probably felt, having lost his own father as a child. “That must’ve been incredibly difficult for you both.”

“We’d been divorced for almost a year when it happened, but we had remained very close. Antonio was my best friend. But there were things I didn’t know. Like how much debt he had. We lived well—too well. After he died, I discovered some of his business affairs were not—how do I say it in English?—legitimate. All of his assets were seized and we were left with nothing. We didn’t even have my family’s support after he died. If you thought they were strict when I was growing up, that was nothing compared to what happened after Antonio and I divorced. They disowned us. Try explaining that to a kid.” Lucy’s nervous laughter reminded him of the summer they’d met, when she’d opened up about her parents’ harsh criticism. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and comfort her as he’d once done. “My divorce and his business improprieties disgraced the Travisonno family name. No one else will communicate with us except Nicolino and Ella. And that’s why we’re here. I never meant to create problems for you.”

Lucy’s declaration made him feel guilty for being angry at her at first. He didn’t want to be mad and he definitely didn’t want to hate her. He wished they could go back and do things over, but that was wishful thinking and Lane didn’t have a wishful bone in his body.

“At least I’m not the only one Nicolino kept in the dark.” Lane attempted a laugh but his heart wasn’t in it after everything Lucy had told him. “I’m willing to put the past behind us, not that it’s going to be easy. I’ll try my best, though. What do you say we start over?” Lane extended his hand as a peace offering.

Lucy nodded. Her face brightened again, sending a twinge of anticipation through his chest. The instant they touched, their fingers entwined, and not in your typical handshake. So much for starting over. The feel of her skin against his was better than in his memories. The heat from her palm seared into his. He knew she felt it, too, when she tightened her grip. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to kiss her the way he used to, but he couldn’t. Lane closed his eyes. He couldn’t do this with her—not now, not ever again.

“I’m sorry.” Releasing her, he flung open the door and strode into the safety of the corridor. “There’s always someone here, 24/7, and as barn manager, you are on call, too. Which reminds me, I need your phone number.”

“I don’t have one yet.” She spoke so quietly he barely heard her.

“We can rectify that right now. Follow me and we’ll get you set up with a company phone. Then that will be it for the day.”

Lane led the way up the stairs to the administrative offices, praying the torrent of emotions running through him wouldn’t get the best of him. He needed to remain professional and carefully plan his next move. He was torn between proving his worth to Nicolino and looking for another position. Lucy’s earlier questions and wide-eyed gaze at some of his answers reconfirmed she was unqualified for the practical aspects of the job.

Lucy clearly needed the money more than he did, but Lane was doubtful she’d be able to handle the workload. Book smarts weren’t everything. If he left and she failed, the position he’d worked so hard for would go to someone else. If he stayed around, then he’d have a chance at righting a wrong. But his attraction to Lucy was already proving too great for him to maintain a working relationship without losing his heart in the process. He wasn’t ready to walk away from either one...at least not yet.

Chapter Three (#ulink_ba4d3209-9ee5-5b3f-a5b7-d5819f3c7dfd)

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Lucy asked.

Carina rolled her eyes. “Mamma, the other kids are already going to talk about me. Let me walk into school on my own. I’m a big girl. I’ll handle it.”

That had become Carina’s motto lately. A soon-to-be nine-year-old shouldn’t have to handle things. She should be outside playing and spending time with friends. Not starting over in a new country because her parents had failed to provide for her on their own. At least it was Friday and they’d both have the weekend to allow the past few days to sink in.

“Okay I’ll drop you off at Ella and Nicolino’s and you can walk to the bus with your cousins.” Lucy didn’t know which of them was more nervous about Carina’s first day of school. “I’m not letting you walk from here. The ranch is too big and you don’t know your way around.”

Carina shrugged and waited for her by the front door. Why was she finding it so difficult to send her child off to school? She should have been excited for all the new adventures she was about to have. Since the day Carina was born, Lucy had hated relinquishing her daughter’s care to somebody else. She knew all the facts and read all the books about change being necessary for a child’s growth and development. It didn’t make things any easier, though. Once you see your child fight to live, you never want to let them go.

“Try to have fun today and call if you need me. I put my new number in your backpack and I’ll pick you up a cell phone by the end of the day. Ti amo, mia gattina.”

“I love you, too, Mamma,” she replied, surprisingly in English.

Lucy dropped Carina off with her cousins and continued down the ranch road to work. It felt good to have a job and be able to earn her own money. Antonio had always given her a generous allowance, but she’d never felt as if anything had truly been hers.

Lucy wondered how long it would take before she stopped thinking about Antonio every five minutes. She laughed inwardly. She remembered asking herself the same question about Lane years ago. The problem was he had never been far from her mind. She didn’t think a day had gone by that she hadn’t thought of him and wondered what he was doing. She’d envisioned him married and still living in Wyoming. Clearly she’d been wrong about Wyoming, but what about the married part? She’d been so wrapped up in her own world that she hadn’t thought to ask him about his family or his life over the past ten years.

“I can do this. I need to do this.” The mantra had given her strength on the darkest of days, reminding Lucy that she had the power to rebuild their lives. She braced for another day with Lane as she stepped out of the car. It had pained her to lie to him yesterday. But he didn’t need to know about her first pregnancy. Nothing would change the fact that she’d lost their baby. Partying in Texas combined with the inordinate amount of stress she’d been under from her family and the whirlwind marriage to Antonio had proved too much for their baby.

She’d been devastated by her miscarriage. After she’d heard her baby’s heartbeat for the first time, she couldn’t imagine loving anyone more. She had wanted that back. Antonio had remained by her side and cared for her through the entire ordeal, promising her another child when she was ready. Six months later, she was pregnant again. Carina was the greatest gift Antonio had ever given her.

Lucy took a deep breath and entered the stables. After meeting briefly with the night barn manager, she attempted to track down her employees. It was a daunting task since she didn’t know where anyone was. She hadn’t seen Lane or Nicolino and wasn’t sure where she was supposed to begin the day.

Waiting inside her office, Lucy tried to familiarize herself with the numerous charts, log sheets and binders that filled every inch of space in the room. Morning meetings would be the first thing she implemented into their daily routine. It baffled her how they’d ever survived without them. It was basic employee management.

If Lucy had checked her phone once, she’d checked it a hundred times by ten o’clock. No call from her daughter was a good sign. She knew none of the changes over the past year, especially the move, had been easy for Carina. For her own sanity, Lucy phoned the school. She began to relax when they reassured her that Carina was fine and in class. As she hung up, she noticed Lane standing in the doorway of their office, concern etched upon his face.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yes.” Lucy smiled so big she thought her lips might split. “My daughter is in class and she’s doing wonderfully. Thank you for asking. Do you have any children?” Lucy wanted to ask him if he’d ever married but feared it would be too forward. She held her breath waiting for him to answer, praying he’d say no. If he’d never had kids, then her reasons for keeping her secret all these years might prove valid—perhaps he’d never been ready.

Lane’s eyes grew large at the question. “Ah...no.” He laughed. “No kids, no wife. Just a few surly bunkmates. I live on the ranch, too. Bunkhouse A.”

The elation that grew at Lane’s response confused her. She wouldn’t let herself care one way or the other about that little fact. Lane was her employee. “How is your mom?”

“Still here, God bless her.” Lane removed his hat. “She’s a little older, but aren’t we all?”

Why did he do that? The sight of his thick dark hair made her fingers itch with the desire to run through it. “Glad to hear it.” Lucy refocused on her notebook. “Listen, I’d like to organize a daily meeting with everyone beginning tomorrow. Something brief so we can run down what’s planned for the day. The earlier, the better.”

“Um...okay. That might cut into some people’s schedules, though. Everyone arrives at different times. Plus, the schedules rotate weekly.” Lane pulled a binder from the bookcase and opened it on the desk. Lucy fought to ignore the way his arm brushed hers as he pointed to the first page. “We briefly touched on this yesterday. The current one is always on top. It’s just a printout from our stable-management software. Curly found using a printout faster than logging on to the computer every time he needed to see who was working where.” Lane rapidly turned the pages, creating a slight vibration against her skin. “If you look through the previous months, you’ll notice a pattern in the rotation.”

Lucy tried to make sense of the pages Lane flipped through, but his closeness made it difficult to concentrate. She flattened her palms on top of the binder, causing him to retreat. Thank you. “I’m capable of reading a schedule. How am I supposed to know what’s going on around here without a daily meeting?”

Lane propped an elbow on the filing cabinet and rubbed the side of his jaw. “Lucy, this is a quarter-of-a-million-acre ranch. We have employees coming in at daybreak who have very specific feeding times to adhere to. You can’t ask them to stop what they’re doing to attend a meeting. It’ll set off a chain reaction that will affect the meds, turnout and muck schedules. This is a huge operation and we’ve painstakingly planned it to maintain balance. I understand your reasoning, but not everyone works in or near the stables. You have employees out in the pastures, too. Everyone has a two-way radio.” Lane crossed the tiny office in three strides. He unplugged one of the radios and handed it to her. “You can get in touch with the people who aren’t in your immediate vicinity on here. Try not to tie up the frequency band with long conversations, though. Call them on the phone or take a utility vehicle out to wherever they are instead. If you want to see who’s clocked in or out, you can pull it up on the computer.”

Lucy ground her teeth together. She pulled her hair back at her nape and loosely knotted it while she attempted to formulate a response. This was exactly what she’d meant when she’d told Nicolino she didn’t have the practical experience for the job. Someone who’d apprenticed for years under a barn manager would know these things.