To Tempt a Cowgirl

CHAPTER FOUR

GABE FOLLOWED DANI through the front gate and up the walk to the two-story house. It was sturdily built, with classic Victorian lines, and he wondered if it would be possible to move it to a different location on the property. In the rough plans he’d drawn up, the main lodge would stand where the house was now. The fields beyond would become the golf course. The barns, fences and outbuildings would have to go.

Dani opened the door and then glanced back over her shoulder at him before walking inside. Her footsteps echoed, rousing the big dog enough for him to raise his head.

“You, uh, seem to be lacking furniture.” There was a recliner with a small folding table at one side, a ladder-back chair pushed against the wall with horse tack hanging from it and not much else. From what he could see, the dining room was empty except for a large carved armoire.

She looked around. “Yes.”

He frowned at her as she walked to the armoire and pulled open a drawer. After digging out a phone book, she riffled through it then punched the number into her phone. Tipping the receiver away from her mouth, she said, “The divorce wasn’t pretty. The only furniture that stayed are the things that Jolie and I—” She suddenly brought the phone back to her mouth and said, “Yes, hi, this is Dani Brody. I need to report an...incident, I guess.”

Gabe listened as she described what happened, idly surveying the tangle of leather straps hanging from the ladder-back. He doubted that the authorities were going to take her report too seriously, because the tone of Dani’s voice made it clear that she wasn’t convinced it was anything to worry about. But having her call the sheriff made him feel better. She was pretty damned isolated, living alone, and if someone wanted to screw with her, all she had for protection was that giant mutt, who appeared to be semi-narcoleptic now that he’d given Gabe the canine all-clear.

Dani hung up the phone and turned back to him with a small shrug. “They told me to report anything else suspicious.”

“Good. Now they have a record.”

“Yeah,” she said. For a moment they stood on opposite sides of the room. The awkwardness was becoming palpable and Gabe realized that she didn’t know what to do with him now that he was in her house. That deal about making friends slowly, no doubt. The last thing he wanted was her to feel self-conscious around him, so he smiled and said, “I’m glad you called. If everything’s okay now, I’d better get back to what I was doing. I have a deadline.”

“You need to work on your vacation skills.”

“I’ll make a note.”

“With an alert?” she asked mildly. “Practice vacation skills from nine a.m. to ten a.m.?”

“Something like that.” He paused at the door, debating for a split second before he said, “Call if you have other issues, okay?” When her expression started to close off, as if he was getting too familiar too fast, he added, “I’d jump at any chance to procrastinate from my project.”

He reached for the doorknob and her features relaxed—because of what he said, or because he was almost out the door?—and she took a few slow steps toward him as he walked out onto the porch. She stopped at the door, putting a hand on the frame. “I appreciate you coming. Sorry if my hostess skills are rusty.” She gave a soft snort, then smiled at him. “Who am I kidding? I was never a good hostess. That was for my sisters to handle.”

“Well, I’ve never been a big fan of anything fancy.”

“Your car says otherwise.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Touché. But there’s no getting around the needs of the Y chromosome.”

She laughed at that, a dimple appearing in one cheek close to the edge of her mouth, charming the hell out him. And making him very aware that he needed to get out of there a winner. “Good night, Dani Brody,” he said in a low voice before forcing himself to step outside. He needed to leave because it would have been too easy to stay and he was not going to blow this by overstaying his welcome—even if she had called him.

“Good night.” The door was closed before he looked back, but he’d definitely heard a husky note in her voice.

All in all he’d made some decent progress...but truthfully, he was glad she’d called for other reasons. The standpipes and the horse concerned him.

* * *

DANI STOOD BY the door, waiting until she heard the fancy car roar to life. Then she wrapped her arms around herself and took a few slow paces through her empty living room as the low rumbling purr disappeared into the distance. She shook her head. Dani, Dani, Dani. Get a grip.

This was the time to focus her energy on building and establishing her business, not being distracted by the hot vacationing guy next door.

You called him.

Indeed. And he’d been nice enough to come over and lend a hand. And that was where it stopped. A little neighborly help.

She still had mixed feelings about calling dispatch. Maybe this did need to be reported, but now Kyle would know something was up. Kyle, who had nothing to gain by sabotaging the place. So if it wasn’t Kyle, the only person who had anything even resembling a reason to vandalize the place, then...

Then it had to be a fluke.

She just wished she could still the small voice echoing what Gabe had said—two snapped standpipes?

* * *

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Dani went to Lacy’s pen, feeling ridiculously relieved to find the gate closed and the horse still there. During the long night, she’d let paranoia get the better of her, wondering if someone was sneaking around her place causing mischief, but now, standing in the warm sunshine, her fears felt overblown.

Lacy stood stock-still while Dani approached and crooned soft words as she moved closer, but when she raised her hand to pet the mare, the horse jerked her head back.

“It’s okay,” Dani murmured, leaving her arm outstretched until Lacy finally moved forward to touch the back of Dani’s hand with her nose. When she thought of what a trusting, confident animal Lacy had once been when she sold her, it was difficult to tamp down the anger. People like Len Olsen shouldn’t be allowed to own animals. But they did and there was nothing she could do about it, except try to rescue Lacy, bring her back to where she’d been.

“Ah, Dad,” she muttered. It would have hurt him as much as it did her, to see the only offspring of his favorite mare in this condition.

* * *

“I MADE CONTACT,” Gabe told Stewart during their first touch-base call early the morning after Dani had called him about the standpipes.

“It went well?”

“Yeah.” Not entirely according to plan, but he wasn’t going to argue with success. He also wasn’t going to tell Stewart that his car had almost gotten totaled by a horse or that he was making repairs on the Lightning Creek Ranch.

“What’s your read?”

“That this will take time.”

“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?”

“Yes. One of the few things I do know.”

“So...you’re going to buy a horse and have her train it.”

“Yes.”

“And somehow not let her know you don’t ride.”

“I’ve ridden.” In fact, some of the happiest days of his life had revolved around a big brown gelding of uncertain breeding, owned by the only foster family who’d treated him like one of their own kids.

Serena made a disparaging noise. “When?”

“A long time ago. Okay?”

“So what are you going to do? Ask her to give you brush-up lessons?”

“She prefers horses to people.”

“And therein lies your problem,” Serena said on a note of amusement.

“Maybe I could flip the horse.” The idea struck him out of nowhere, which was why he needed to talk to actual human beings sometimes. “Then my rusty riding ability won’t be an issue.”

“Is horse flipping like cow tipping?”

Gabe frowned, wondering what the hell she was talking about. “It’s like flipping houses. I could buy a young horse, have Dani train it and then sell it at a profit.”

“Not a bad idea,” Serena said slowly. “Except I kind of wonder how cost effective that would be. And flipping horses might sound kind of mercenary to a horse lover.”

“Okay, forget flipping. Maybe I had a traumatic horse incident as a child that I want to get over.” And maybe he needed to be careful not to stack up too many lies. Or any lies for that matter, other than those made by omission, which really weren’t lies in this case. Stewart needed the land. Dani and her sisters had once been on the brink of selling. Timberline personnel couldn’t find out about the prospective purchase. Given all those factors, omission was the only sane course of action.

“From what I hear from Neal, your entire childhood was a traumatic incident.”

“I overcame,” he said darkly, and then he smiled as the perfect answer struck him. “I’m going to give the horse to you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes. I am. You can keep it here. Sell it. Whatever. That way I can have it trained and not have to ride it.”

“Well, this has been a great hypothetical conversation. Would you keep me posted so I don’t have to call and not ask about business?”

“You bet, Serena. Enjoy the rest of your time off.”

“I hope I can,” she said softly. “Bye, Gabe.”

“Bye.”

Gabe pocketed his phone and started the car, waving at the horse owner, who’d started toward him and was possibly wondering if Gabe had changed his mind about the nasty beast he’d advertised as being the perfect mount for the right person. The right person apparently needed to be able to mount a horse that skittered sideways and reached back to try to bite the rider’s knee. Granted, the owner had been suitably embarrassed by the animal’s performance, but Gabe had no doubt that the guy would sell to anyone just to get rid of the horse.

He turned onto the main highway and started following the GPS directions to the final place on his list. Now that he had a plan, as in giving Serena a horse whether she wanted it or not, he felt better. More confident.

More honest.

He didn’t like lying to people and now he wouldn’t be lying to Dani. He just wouldn’t be telling her the entire truth. And if he didn’t owe Stewart a debt of gratitude, he didn’t know that he’d be doing any of this.

CHAPTER FIVE

DANI HAD THOUGHT it would take time to grow her business, but less than a week after putting out her advertisement, she booked her last training slot. Feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, she finished the notes she’d made while talking to her client, then shoved her feet into her boots and headed for the door. Later that evening she’d make up an official work schedule, and in the future she’d have to stagger her clientele. She was okay right now because she had four thirty-day clients, three sixty-day clients and one that wanted a two-week tune-up. That filled eight hours a day and when she added on care and feeding...yes. Full schedule. And the best part was that she wouldn’t need to touch her severance pay for living expenses. If things continued like this, she could probably take on a few more horses and hire a part-time assistant until Jolie moved back home to join the business.

Marti Kendall wasn’t going to like this one bit. Oh, well. As far as Dani was concerned, she was due. She’d always had to work pretty damned hard for everything she’d ever gotten and even then she had a way of catching things at the tail end of success. SnowFrost was an excellent example. It had been a thriving business when she’d first been hired, but the owners were slow to change and the market had passed them by. Other more nimble companies had filled the available niches and left SnowFrost in the dust, which was a lesson in itself. She needed to pay attention to the business end. Sudden success could evaporate at any time, leaving her struggling to make ends meet.