Aidan: Loyal Cowboy

* * *

ACE REACHED FOR HIS RINGING cell phone, groaning in agony as every muscle in his body rebelled. Gracie’s number appeared on the display. “Yeah,” he barked.

“You said to call you when Flynn McKinley arrived.”

“Thanks. Have her meet me at the main paddock.” He disconnected, let his phone drop onto the mattress and didn’t move for a full two minutes.

Finally, when he’d mustered enough strength, he pushed to a sitting position with the agility of a ninety-year-old man and lowered his feet to the floor.

Two days since the Western Frontier Pro Rodeo, and he still hurt like a son of a bitch.

Lasting eight seconds in bareback bronc riding and winning his bet with Earl had been great. Finishing in seventh place and beating out his brother and cousins, even better. He didn’t even mind buying a steak dinner for his friend Austin, who’d finished second.

Thank goodness Ace hadn’t qualified for the finals on Sunday. He’d be a cripple. Colt, Beau and Duke had been left with overseeing the loading of the livestock for the long, long return trip home during which Ace had suffered their endless ribbing. Deserved ribbing.

What had made him think he could compete once or twice a year and not come away feeling as though he’d gone for a joyride inside a cement mixer?

Rising from the bed, he tucked his shirt into his pants, put on his boots and grabbed his hat off his dresser. Break time was officially over.

He hobbled through the adjacent sitting area and out a door that lead to an enclosed patio. Some years ago, when it became apparent Ace would be staying on the ranch and helping his mother, he’d remodeled two of the downstairs bedrooms into a master suite with a private outside entrance. That way he could come and go at all hours, one of the hazards of being a vet, without disturbing the rest of the household.

Plus, Ace liked his solitude—until lately, anyway.

Waking up next to Flynn had been nice, her smooth, warm curves snuggled next to him, her hand folded inside his even in sleep.

Then he’d realized what a mistake he’d made. Not sleeping with her, but letting her get close. Letting her glimpse the raw need he ruthlessly kept concealed behind a competent, take-charge exterior.

Ace wasn’t weak like his father had been. He wouldn’t use alcohol or berate others to compensate for his insecurities.

His Polaris sat parked beside the patio entrance in its usual spot. The all-terrain vehicle was his usual mode of transportation around the ranch when not riding a horse.

There would be no riding horses for several more days if the ibuprofen he’d been swallowing like Halloween candy didn’t kick in soon.

Starting the Polaris, he drove to the paddock, the same paddock where they’d put Wally Dunlap’s mares after the auction. The drive took only a few minutes. A bumpy, excruciating, teeth-grinding few minutes.

He expected to find Earl or one of the McKinley hands with Flynn, only she’d come by herself.

“Thanks, Gracie,” he told the ranch hand after crawling out of the Polaris.

She picked up on his cue. Striding toward the barn, she said, “See ya later, Flynn.”

“Geez, Ace, are you all right?” Flynn gave him a concerned once-over, taking in his bent posture.

“It’s nothing.”

She covered her mouth and laughed.

“Not funny.” He went to the back of the horse trailer and inspected the five mares and one gelding inside, Fancy Gal and True Grit among them.

“It is too funny.” She came up behind him, trying not to smirk. “That’ll teach you to bust broncs without getting into condition first.”

It would. If he were smart, he’d quit rodeoing for good. He couldn’t afford to be laid up.

Unless he and Flynn had a son. Then he’d teach their boy everything about horses and cattle and ranching and rodeoing. On second thought, he’d teach the same things to a daughter.

A fresh wave of determination surged inside him. There would be a new generation of Harts. Rebuilding their flagging business, securing the future, took on a whole new meaning. As did carrying on family traditions, instilling in his children a love and respect for the land and the animals that inhabited it.

Wait a minute. Children?

Who exactly was he planning on having more children with? Flynn had turned down his marriage proposal. She was also moving to Billings.

He unlatched the rear door on the trailer, suppressing a groan.

“Wait, I’ll help.” Flynn reached for the handle and instantly withdrew when their hands touched. “You, um, don’t want to injure yourself any worse than you already have.”

There’d been a time when she wouldn’t have been jumpy around him.

Was that a good sign?

“Cut me some slack,” he joked in an attempt to relieve the awkwardness. “I’m getting enough grief from everyone else as it is.”

He opened the trailer door, wincing at the pain. Maybe he should have accepted her help.

Eventually, all six horses were unloaded and exploring the paddock. Ace and Flynn stood side by side at the fence, watching them.

“You picked the best from my dad’s string,” she observed.

“Yeah.” Ace was pretty happy about his selection. Several of the horses were nothing special to look at, but they could buck, and that was what counted. “Fancy Gal have any more problems with colic?”

“None, and I’ve kept a close eye on her.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Good. Fantastic, in fact.”

“No nausea?”

“A little last night.”

“When’s your next doctor appointment?”

“May first.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Flynn pushed off the fence. “There’s no need.”

“I want to.”