Chapter Five
“I told you to call me.”
“I’ve been busy, Paul.”
HW pressed his cell to his ear and headed behind the barn, where the phone reception was best, and the smell of manure stung your eyes and cleared your senses. He’d been avoiding his agent’s calls for almost a week.
“You changed your mind about that Brazil trip yet?”
“Nope. In fact, I’ve decided to stay at my family ranch until spring.”
There was a tick of silence and HW held his breath.
“What do you mean, until spring? What the hell are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to compete again.” There. He’d said it out loud. He waited to see if he wanted to reclaim the words, but he didn’t. A strange sensation of relief washed over him. “I’m never going to beat that new kid; he’s too good. I don’t want to wear myself out and get injured trying.”
“Bullshit!”
HW winced and held his cell farther away from his ear as his agent went off at him, every other word a profanity and the rest almost incoherent. Eventually, even Paul ran out of curse words.
“You come and meet me in Texas right now.”
“I can’t do that, Paul. I’m busy.”
“You damn well get your ass over here!”
“I have a four-week commitment at the ranch. After that we can talk again, but I’m not dragging myself to Texas for no reason.”
“You have commitments, son, to me, to your sport, and to your sponsors!”
“Then maybe you could spend the time before we meet in person sorting that stuff out?”
“I’m not paid to do that!”
“Really?” HW’s temper kicked up. “I’m fairly sure you’re supposed to represent me during good times and bad, and you’ve certainly benefited during the good.”
“You need to rethink your strategy, HW. You won’t make any friends if you cut everyone off now.”
“I don’t care about that. I’m not coming back.”
“That’s what they all say,” Paul sneered. “But one season without those women screaming after you and all that money, you’ll be begging to come back.”
Would he? HW contemplated the outline of the mountains and the patchy blue sky around them. Here not only the air was purer but the whole community that inhabited it. His only doubt was whether he could find a place for himself and convince his family he was worth keeping around.
“Look, there’s no point in going around in circles, Paul. Call me in a month and let me know what I need to do to get out of the sport without burning all my bridges”
“That’s not my forte, HW. I only deal with winners, not whiners.”
“Then you should be glad to get rid of me. Have a good day.”
He ignored the rising indignation on the other end and shut off his cell. Then he took a moment to let his breathing resettle. Conflict and aggression weren’t his favorite things. He’d much rather charm his way out of something than beat the crap out of it. He’d learned that lesson young.
“You okay?”
He turned to find Ry leaning against the corner of the barn, twirling his Stetson in his hand. HW had obviously set off his twin’s uncanny spidey senses. Great; he needed to calm down and Ry wanted to interrogate him and his feelings.
“Yeah; just sorting out some business with my agent.”
“You leaving again?”
“Not for a while. I might have to go out to Texas in a month, but that’s about it.”
Ry considered him. “What about your training? You usually go to Rio’s place in Arizona for the winter, right?”
“As I just said to my agent, I have a commitment here, so I’m staying.”
“A commitment to what?”
“Teaching a newbie to ride like you asked me to. Do any of you have a problem with that?” HW moved off into the barn.
“There’s no need to get defensive, HW. It’s not like you haven’t hightailed it out of here before.”
HW swung around to face his twin. “So have you.”
“But I’m back for good now.”
“And I’m not allowed the same privilege?”
“I didn’t say that.” Ry hesitated. “It’s just that you’ve always been bigger than this place—always been a star.”
“Don’t you want me here?”
Ry’s eyebrows went up. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me. All of you seem to have your own reasons for not wanting me to stick around.”
“I want you to stay,” Ry stated. “I’ve always wanted that! I just don’t believe you know what you want.”
HW shoved his cell in his back pocket. “It would be nice if you all gave me a chance to find out what I want rather than waving me good-bye every time I so much as look at the front door.”
“Ruth and the rest of them are used to you leaving. You’ve got to give them time to get used to the idea that you’re staying.”
“Why?” HW spread his hands wide. “Why am I the only one who has to justify why he wants to live on his family ranch? They took you back with open arms.”
“Because they knew I wanted to be here.”
“It’s because I was Mom’s favorite, isn’t it?” Ry stiffened, but HW carried on talking. “That’s it, isn’t it? You all get forgiven, including Dad, who also walked out on us, by the way, because Mom’s the villain in this little story.”
“What a fricking awful thing to say!” Ry was suddenly right in his face and shoved him in the chest. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
HW shoved him back. “Think about it, bro. Really think about it, and let me know when you’re ready to accept I’m right.”
“This is shit, HW.” Ry shook his head as he stormed away. “How about you calm down and stop making everything about yourself ?”
HW kicked the nearest feed bucket so hard it hit the opposite wall and spooked two horses. He remembered his mom smiling down at him, making him feel like he was the luckiest kid in the whole world, wanting to please her so badly . . . Where the hell had all that come from? He hadn’t realized he’d been brooding on that stuff since he’d arrived home—had sensed somehow that his welcome was edged with uncertainty.
“What did your mom do?”
HW closed his eyes and then forced himself to turn around to confront Sam, who was in Dollar’s stall and had obviously heard the whole shouting match. He found a smile somewhere.
“Old history,” he snarled. “Sorry you had to hear that. Very unprofessional of us. Make sure you note it on that grading sheet January’s going to give you.”
She rested her elbows on the top of the stall door and continued to study him. Her black hair was tied back and she had bits of straw stuck to her face.
“What did she do?”
After a week of lessons, he’d already worked out that she wouldn’t let up until she’d mastered something and that she had the tenacity of a bulldog. He usually admired that about her, but not right this moment.
“It’s a long story. Are you bringing Dollar out?”
She stared at him a while longer and then, to his relief, nodded. “Yes. I was just grooming him and checking his feet.”
“Good for you. I’m going to try out a new horse today, seeing as Chase has taken Nolly out.”
“Great. I’ll see you out there.”
He took his time walking along the row of stalls, waiting for his temper to die down and for the reaction to conflict with his twin shudder through him. He didn’t want to fight with Ry. He didn’t want to fight with anyone, so why couldn’t he keep his big mouth shut?
Maybe this place was bad for him after all.
By the time he’d picked a horse and gathered his saddle and bridle, Sam was almost done with Dollar. He took the time to check her work, but she had it down now. Today, they were going to venture out into the ranch proper and head down Morgan Creek. Riding outside a fenced arena was always a different experience, but if Sam really wanted to enjoy the ranch at its best, she had to get out there.
* * *
Sam gave HW the side-eye as he saddled his horse, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“Do you always smile?” she asked.
He shrugged. “There’s no harm in being pleasant.”
“But you just had a row with your brother. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“He’s my twin. We fight sometimes. It’s not a problem. You ready to mount up?”
“Ah and here comes the deflection.”
He straightened to look at her, his hazel eyes intense but still with that damn sweet smile. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That’s how you operate, isn’t it? You smile and defuse the conflict, make out like it was nothing, and move swiftly along to something else.”
“So what if I do? You want to live in a world where everyone fights all the time? I know I don’t.”
“But some things are worth fighting over, right?”
“Sure, but not stuff with my brother.”
Sam considered that as she walked Dollar over to the mounting block. HW might say he didn’t care, but she’d heard them. Whatever had happened between them went far deeper than just a casual siblings’ argument. Why did he feel alienated from his family and what the heck did it have to do with his mother?
For some reason, she wanted to get past that pleasant façade and find out what really made HW Morgan tick. Life was too short to hide behind masks. She’d learned that the hard way. But she liked HW. She liked the way that once she’d taken him to task about treating her differently, he’d done his best to stop.
She knew it was hard for people to accept that she was capable of doing her own thing. Sometimes she’d thought her own family would suffocate her with their concern and reminded herself that they did it out of love. But she’d fought her own demons, gotten down to the core of who she was, and rebuilt from there. What you saw these days was 100 percent Samantha Bernadette Kelly. But who was HW Morgan behind that great smile and helpful attitude?
“Okay, we’re going to head down the slope, past the guest cabins toward the creek.” HW stood up in the saddle and pointed downwind. “Just follow my lead and let Dollar pick his way through the rocks when we get close to the water. He’s a pro.”
“And he has the advantage of four legs.”
It was a clear day, when the air whistling down from the snow-capped mountains sliced through your lungs and made your breath hitch. Sam was glad she’d put on her thickest jacket and socks. Her baseball cap wasn’t great at shielding her eyes from the glare, so she’d brought her sunglasses.
“I need a cowboy hat,” Sam said.
HW turned to look at her, his gaze assessing. “Go see Maureen in town. She’ll help you out with that.”
“How about you come with me? I’ll buy you coffee at Yvonne’s.” She blinked at his startled expression. “What? I haven’t got anything on my schedule after our ride and I do need a hat. Aren’t we allowed to socialize after class or something?”
“Let’s move on, shall we?”
He set off again and Sam called out to him. “Everyone told me you were the chatty twin.”
“I am.”
She snorted, and the sound of his laughter drifted back to her. Man, she could look at him on a horse all day. The way his body moved so effortlessly with the horse was pure poetry. For the first time in a long while, lust stirred low in her stomach. She wanted to sit behind him on that horse and gently bite that small patch of tanned skin just above the collar of his denim shirt.
What was wrong with a holiday fling with a handsome cowboy? She’d seen the women waiting at the exits for the stars of the rodeo and knew that someone as pretty as HW probably had his pick of eager females. Would he go for it while he was at home on his family ranch and on his best behavior?
Probably not.
There was also the little matter that he hadn’t shown the slightest interest in her at all . . .
“Sam? You coming?”
She hadn’t even realized the horse had stopped moving. Five days into her visit and she still kept getting things wrong. Remembering her lessons, she set Dollar in motion again and drew alongside HW.
“Are you worried about crossing the creek?” he asked. “There’s not much runoff from the mountains at the moment, so we should be okay.”
Sam studied the water that flowed over the rugged bed of gray and black stones. “This is the creek that used to feed the silver mine, right?”
“Yeah.” HW settled back into his saddle, making the leather creak. “When it got harder to find silver and it needed more crushing, the creek wasn’t strong enough to power the stamping mill.”
“And that’s why they moved the whole town from Morgansville down to Morgantown.”
“You’ve been listening to January, haven’t you?” HW grinned. “She sure knows what’s she’s talking about.”
“It’s fascinating. A whole town just moving like that, all making the decision together.”
HW scratched his ear. “I think there was one old coot who refused to go, but eventually even he gave up and moved out.”
“Was his name Morgan, by any chance?”
“Funny. I think he was a Kelly, No, my family were the first to go. My great-great-grandfather had already bought the ranch land by then, so we moved here, and the rest of the folks went to the new town.”
“That must have been something to see.”
“I bet.” He picked up his reins. “If you want to go into town today, we’d better get going and cross this creek.”
“You’ll come with me?” Sam grinned at him. Underneath all his banter, he was a really decent guy. “Cool! You can help me find a hat, then we can have éclairs at Yvonne’s and end the evening annoying Jay at the Red Dragon.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She gathered her reins and focused on the next obstacle. The rocky plain of the creek was spread out over a wide area with boulders as big as she was down to tiny pebbles.
“Remember, let Dollar pick his route, hang on to the pommel with one hand, and move with him. Don’t squeak too loud and scare him.”
“I don’t squeak.”
“You did that first day when you broke your nail.”
“I was exaggerating for effect.”
Dollar clambered over one of the rocks, and Sam’s world went almost sideways and then straightened again. She hung on to the pommel and centered her balance. “Wow, this is fun, like a cranky roller coaster.”
Now they were in the actual stream of water. It was so clear, she could see tiny fishes swimming around Dollar’s feet as they splashed their way through.
“Nearly there. Keep moving.”
She looked over to where HW waited for her on the other bank, his back to the scattered pine trees behind him. His smile was encouraging and she grinned back at him. Maybe, finally, if she got him away from the ranch and out of teacher mode, he might relax with her and reveal more.