Last Chance Cowboy

“Really?” He wiped the back of his hand across his brow, which had risen in surprise. “Is this about the mustang?”

“Yes.”

Ethan’s glance cut to Gavin.

“Sage is here to capture the mustang, and we’re going to help her.”

“We are?”

“She says the BLM will allow me to purchase him and bypass the usual adoption process.”

“That’s great.” Ethan’s features relaxed into a grin. “Glad to hear it.”

“Her mare has a loose shoe. Any chance you can check it out when you’re done with Baldy here?”

“Happy to.” Ethan stepped forward, his leg wobbling for a second before he steadied it.

“No rush,” Gavin said.

Ethan responded to the concern in Gavin’s voice. “I’ll handle it.” To Sage, he said, “How long you staying?”

They chatted amicably for a few minutes. Well, Sage and Ethan chatted amicably. Gavin mostly listened. And observed. While he’d struck a deal with Sage, he wasn’t a hundred percent sure of her. Then again, to be honest, he was betting his future stud and breeding operation on his new partner, a man he didn’t know a whole lot better than her.

Gavin wished he weren’t so desperate. Normally, he proceeded far more cautiously.

“You ready to park your trailer?” he asked during a break in the conversation.

After a word of advice about Avaro’s tendency to nip, Sage followed Gavin.

Outside the stables, she paused. “Which way?”

“I’ll ride with you. It’ll be easier than trying to give you directions.”

The inside of her truck was messy. Crayons, coloring books, dolls, a stuffed cat and a collection of tiny farm animals occupied the passenger seat. A notebook, travel log, empty paper cup, a CD case and a partially folded map filled the middle. Unidentifiable trash littered the floor.

“Sorry about the mess,” Sage said, sweeping her daughter’s toys into the pile of her things. “Isa gets bored on road trips. I’m sure you understand.”

“Not really.”

Her apologetic smile fell.

Ignoring the well-deserved stab of guilt, Gavin climbed into the passenger seat, his feet inadvertently kicking the trash. He’d already told Sage more about his family than he intended. Cassie was off-limits.

“That way,” he said, and pointed, acutely aware of the tension his remark had created.

Sage said nothing, leaving Gavin to stew silently. How could he explain to Sage, a virtual stranger, that he’d only seen his daughter a few times while she was growing up? That money for plane trips to Connecticut was hard to spare. In December, he and Cassie’s mother would revisit the full custody issue. If Cassie wasn’t happy, wasn’t adjusting to school, if her and Gavin’s relationship didn’t improve, she might be returning to Connecticut. Given the current state of his family’s finances, he had no idea when he’d be able to swing another visit.

Not a day passed Gavin didn’t stare his many failures as a father square in the face and wish circumstances were different.

Picking up the stuffed cat, he set it on top of the coloring book. “Cassie’s kind of a neat freak. Always has been.”

His explanation appeared to appease Sage for her features softened. “You don’t know how lucky you are.”

Except he did know. This six-month trial he had with Cassie had been an unexpected gift. The result of her mother’s recent remarriage and pregnancy. He hated that he hadn’t immediately formed a close bond with Cassie, one like Sage and her daughter obviously shared. And he worried constantly that he’d lose Cassie before he ever really had her.

“Pull into the barn,” he told Sage. “That way, you can park in the shade.”

“Wow. You really did have some cattle operation.” Her gaze roamed the interior of the large barn. “I’m impressed.”

“Most of the equipment’s gone.” They’d sold it off piece by piece over the years.

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t take much to start up again.” Sage rotated the crank on the hitch, lowering the trailer’s front end.

Gavin went around to the rear of the trailer and placed the blocks of wood she’d given him behind the tires. “My plans are to turn it into a mare motel.”

“Really?” He could see she’d deduced his plans for the wild mustang. “It would make a good one.”

Gavin wondered if he should be less leery of Sage. She seemed genuinely nice and willing to make their agreement work.

“What time tomorrow are we starting?” She shut and locked the trailer’s storage compartment.

“We can’t head out until Saturday.”

“Oh.”

“I wasn’t expecting you. My day’s full.”

“Okay.” Disappointment showed in her face.

“I do have a free hour in the afternoon. Maybe you can come by. We’ll go over the maps and logs and decide on the best area to start looking.”

“Sounds good. Any chance I can bring my daughter? She loves horses. I keep promising to buy her a pony of her own and teach her to ride one of these days but just haven’t had the time.”

“We’ve got a dead broke horse we use for beginner students. She can ride him if she wants.” Gavin had no idea why he made the offer.

“Thank you. That’s very nice of you.” Her smile returned, brighter than before.

Maybe that was why.

As they were climbing back into the truck, her cell phone rang. She lifted it out of the cup holder and, with only a cursory glance at the screen, answered.

“Hi. I just finished parking my trailer.” A long pause followed during which she listened intently, her mouth pursed in concentration. “Yeah, hold on a second.” She dug through the pile in the middle of the seat, locating a notebook. “Go ahead.” She wrote something down that appeared to be directions, though Gavin couldn’t see clearly from where he sat in the passenger seat. “Great. Meet you in fifteen minutes.”

Snapping the notebook closed, she started the truck. “I’m sorry to be so abrupt, but I have to leave.”

“No problem. Three o’clock tomorrow okay? To meet here,” he added when she didn’t immediately respond.

“Oh, yeah.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “Three o’clock.”