To Tempt a Cowgirl

“How much time?”

“If I act too soon, my gut tells me the deal isn’t going to fly. Ms. Brody is...not quick to trust.” To put it mildly. “I can’t slap money on the table and be assured the Brodys will take it.” And if he made his move too soon, there was a good possibility that he wouldn’t get a second chance.

“I want this done soon,” Stewart said before coughing and then clearing his throat for the second time in their short conversation. “I need it done soon.”

Which concerned Gabe. He’d worked with Stewart for several years and had never seen the man impatient, which in turn made him feel edgy. “I’m confident that I can bring Ms. Brody around to our point of view.”

“The sooner you do, the sooner I’ll sleep at night.” A rare admission from a guy who made it a point to never show weakness. “But no pressure,” he added in a way that made Gabe feel like the vise had just been cranked another notch.

“Right,” Gabe said drily. “I’ll be in touch.”

No pressure. Gabe ended the call, then walked to the window and clasped his hands at the back of his neck as he stared out across the fields at his target.

Were the standpipes still standing? The horses in their pens?

Was Dani all right?

She was playing at the edge of his thoughts in ways that weren’t associated with property procurement. She was attractive and he sensed she’d be fun once she let her guard down. He liked her and that made him want to make certain that she felt as if she was making the right move when she decided to sell to him. He had no doubt it was the right move. Granted, she currently had a property she could live on rent-free while she started her business, however, that place needed a lot of work. If she sold, she could buy a smaller, nicer property with her share of the proceeds. A place that didn’t need work and would allow her to funnel all of her money toward her business and herself. Hell, she could probably even afford some furniture.

And he’d told Stewart he could get the property.

All he needed was a logical reason to keep in contact with Dani, to get to know her better—to get her to trust him. A legitimate, motive-will-not-be-questioned reason.

There was only one solution he could think of, although it had a few inherent flaws he’d have to work around, like not having ridden a horse in twenty years. But maybe riding a horse was like riding a bike. Maybe you never forgot.

Hoping that was indeed the case, Gabe went to his computer and brought up the Montana Craigslist and started shopping for horses.

* * *

DANI LEFT THE house through the back door so that she could set a bucket of compost on the pile next to Allie’s neglected garden. Every year her sister had poured all of her energy into tending flowers, tomatoes, vegetables, the same way she’d attempted to tend her marriage. After the first year, the marriage had done about as well as the garden was doing now—struggling along without much hope of growth.

Everyone had liked Kyle when Allie first brought him home. He was caring and protective of Allie, charming and easy to talk to, but as time passed, it became apparent that he also had a huge sense of entitlement that kept him from engaging in such mundane things as daily chores and responsibilities. He dreamed big dreams, starting projects he never finished, forging ahead with half-baked ideas, then cut corners to get them done fast. When Allie had tried to discuss matters, he’d accused her of having no faith in him. If anyone had had faith in him, it was Allie, but even she had been worn down. And then bitter.

Dani snorted softly as she emptied the bucket then left it next to the compost pile. Not that long ago, she’d been thankful that Chad wasn’t like Kyle, that they worked on all aspects of their shared lives as partners, except for the Megan Branson aspect. Chad worked on that all by himself.

“Hey,” she called softly as she approached the three mares standing in adjoining pens. Lacy ambled closer to the fence, then stopped a few feet away as always. Gus wandered into the pen and Lacy approached him slowly, sniffed at his coat, then nudged him with her nose as she used to nudge Dani for treats. Gus touched her nose with his and then moved on to the next pen.

Dani was a little surprised at the contact, since Gus generally ignored horses and cows, preferring bunnies and deer, which he charged after even though there was no possibility of catching them. It was like a canine duty thing, which always left Dani smiling.

She tossed hay into Lacy’s feeder, then moved on to the next pen, where two young mares, her first contract, stood side by side. Both three-year-olds, they’d been raised together and barely touched beyond being halterbroken. As near as Dani could tell, the owner, a recent transplant from Seattle, wanted them gentled into kids’ horses ASAP. Dani had patiently explained that thirty days would give them the basics and sixty days would get them to the point that a person who knew how to ride would have a well-trained, confident mount, but achieving kids’-horse status took a few years and a certain temperament.

The woman had simply beamed at Dani, as if she thought Dani was being modest about her abilities, and said she was certain Roxie and Rosie would surprise her. They were so gentle. They ate treats out of her pocket and came when she called. Dani didn’t have the heart to tell her that the treats were probably a large part of the reason for their affection.

She fed the mares and then leaned on the fence, soaking up a few minutes of early-morning sun before heading out to feed the cows. This contract would pay for two months of living expenses if she was frugal, and allow her to put ten percent into savings. The furniture would have to wait until she had a few more horses on contract, but she didn’t care about that. It wasn’t as if she was entertaining or anything. She needed enough money to make a down payment on a canvas-covered arena, allowing her to train year-round, and that wasn’t going to happen if she blew her money on furniture. Like Kyle, she was dreaming big, but unlike her ex-brother-in-law, she was also making a plan.

The phone buzzed in her pocket and Dani pulled it out as she headed to the cow pasture to check the water tank with the sticky valve. “Hey, Kelly,” she said.

“I might be a few minutes late. My brother went to town and Corrie needs me to help her load some hay, but as soon as we’re done, I’ll head over.”

“Not a problem. See you soon.”

Dani pocketed the phone again. Living alone was one thing. Training alone was another. It was so easy to get hurt and if no one was around, who would render first aid? So she’d arranged the equivalent of a babysitter until Jolie moved home. Her friend Corrie’s young sister-in-law was studying for the SATs, so Dani had arranged for her to study at the house during her training time. She’d have to come up with something else once school started, but for now, this worked. When Jolie came back home, as she promised to do when her internship ended, the problem would be solved.

As she walked back to the house, she saw Gabe’s low-slung car cruise by her house. She was surprised he was awake this early, since as near as she could tell, he didn’t sleep at night. For the past few nights—since the standpipe incident—she’d woken up every few hours on alert, despite the fact that Gus hadn’t stirred. Every time she’d awoken, the lights across the field had burned brightly. City guy.

Well, until recently she’d been a city girl, although she had a feeling that Gabe would not consider Missoula a real city. She didn’t know his background, but his demeanor didn’t cry out rural. Rural guys didn’t wear ironed button-down shirts with their jeans. Not that he didn’t look great in those shirts. And not that she was looking. Much.

* * *

BUYING A HORSE that needed training was more of an ordeal than Gabe anticipated. His goal was to find an animal that needed work, but not one that was so ill-tempered that it would be a danger to Dani. And then there was the matter of him actually riding it...he hadn’t been on a horse in two decades and he had a feeling that Dani might notice a small detail such as that.

As he walked to his car from his fourth unsuccessful attempt to buy a suitable mount, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, noted the name on the screen and smiled wryly as he brought the phone to his ear. “Serena, I thought you weren’t going to call.”

She gave a small sniff before saying, “I’m just checking on you as a friend, not as a business associate.”

“Ah. In that case, I can tell you that living alone in a rural area is trying my patience. I need to find a hobby.”

“What about the park you’re designing?”

“Done.”

“Design another.”

“I’m working on a spec project.” It was a design he doubted he’d be able to use, but just in case Stewart was amenable to moving Dani’s house, he was trying to come up with suitable surroundings. It seemed a logical way to fill downtime.

“I see.”

“So, how’s vacation?”

“Good. Good.”

“Great.” A healthy stretch of silence followed, which Serena finally broke by saying, “If I had called about business, what would you have said to me?”

“I would have said that getting to know Dani is slow going. I don’t really have a reason to hang out with her.”

“After getting shot down.”

“Yes. Twist the knife, Serena. You know how much I like that.”

She laughed softly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that getting shot down does limit your options a bit, unless you two join the same club or something.” She paused for a thoughtful moment before going on to say, “How did you originally plan to make and keep contact?”

“I planned to wing it.” He figured if he could dig up some information on her, he could decide how to proceed. It had seemed to work the first few days—the horse sale, her call to come and help her with the standpipes. Even the horse escaping had been fortuitous. But since calling her to make certain that everything was okay on her property—nothing. Not one bit of contact and Stewart’s call had only served to remind him that the days were slipping away.

“And now?”

“I’m buying a horse.”

“Great idea. Do you know which end to feed?”