The Cowboy's Christmas Baby
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Cathy McDavid
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15.5K
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16
Chapter One
THE HORSE TUCKED in so close to the barrel and at such a severe angle it was a wonder the rider didn’t topple off.
Watching the practice run from the arena fence, Jewel Saunders held her breath as the rider spurred her horse into a gallop for the last stretch. She imagined herself in the rider’s place, leaning forward over the saddle horn, heart pounding, the wind whipping her face, and all the while silently urging the horse to give every ounce of speed it possessed.
She’d been this rider once and on her way to a potential world championship at the National Finals Rodeo. But that was a year ago, before her life had drastically changed and the worst thing imaginable happened to her—followed by the best thing.
At the same moment the rider galloped across the electronic timer’s invisible line, Ava awoke and let out an unhappy wail. Blinking herself back to reality, Jewel leaned over the stroller and lovingly stroked her four-month-old daughter’s cheek.
“Shh. It’s okay.”
Ava wasn’t soothed. Jewel took hold of the handle and gently rocked the stroller. That sometimes did the trick, lulling Ava back to sleep. Not today, however, and her crying intensified.
Jewel removed her phone from a side pocket of the diaper bag stowed in the nylon sling beneath the stroller. For convenience’s sake, she’d quit carrying a purse and transferred everything into the diaper bag. That was the day she’d realized her entire existence revolved around being a mother.
It was also when she’d started thinking seriously about a career direction, either returning to barrel racing or expanding her paying photography hobby into a full-fledged business. Now it was early December, and she was finally taking steps toward making a decision.
Checking the time on her phone’s display, she said, “Let’s go, sweetie pie, we don’t want to be late,” and started off toward the ranch office. With any luck, the stroller’s bumpy ride on uneven ground would quiet Ava. That was another of Jewel’s tricks.
Stopping at the covered porch in front of the office, she lifted the stroller up and over the two short steps. A carved wooden sign hung from a rope beside the door reading Welcome to Powell Ranch.
Being briefly transported through the air had apparently distracted Ava for she, thankfully, quit crying. Jewel doubted hunger or a diaper emergency were the cause of her daughter’s distress. Both needs had been recently attended.
It was probably being in a strange place with unfamiliar sounds and smells. For Jewel, arriving at the horse facility had been like coming home. She’d spent more than half her life, ever since junior high school, in places just like this one.
Refastening the top button on her jacket, she surveyed her surroundings. Ahead was the large arena used for roping, team penning, horse training and, of course, barrel racing. The spacious horse barn behind the office housed at least three dozen enclosed stalls. Beyond those were a row of covered outdoor stalls and acres of open pastures. Also nearby was a round pen, horse walker and washstand. And lastly, to her right, stood a large hay shed and storage building with a tractor parked beside it.
Yes, indeed, just like the other horse facilities. So why was she suddenly overcome by a flood of anxiety?
The answer was easy. Jewel had only ridden a handful of times since discovering she was pregnant. She hadn’t barrel raced even once since last December. It had been during the first week of the National Finals Rodeo when she’d learned Tanner, the man she’d been planning to marry in a few days’ time, wasn’t the person she’d thought he was.
She’d neither seen nor heard from him since. He had no idea he was a father, though it wasn’t for lack of trying on Jewel’s part. She’d exhausted every avenue available to her attempting to locate him. The fact was, Tanner didn’t want to be found. Wherever he’d gone after the cheating scandal broke, he hadn’t left a trail. In Jewel’s opinion, that spoke volumes about his guilt.
Ava began fussing, a sure indication her crying was about to resume. Sighing, Jewel reached in and, after unclipping the buckles, lifted a fleece-onesie-clad Ava into her arms. Another day, she might have let Ava fuss for a little while. But Jewel’s two appointments, the first here at Powell Ranch and the second a quarter mile up the road at Sweetheart Ranch, were too important to her. She’d do whatever was necessary to keep Ava content and quiet.
Just as she was nestling the baby against her chest, the office door opened. Ronnie Hartman, owner and manager of the barrel racing school at Powell Ranch, emerged and immediately spotted Jewel.
“Hello! You’re here.”
“I am.” Jewel returned the other woman’s warm smile while bouncing Ava.
“Good to see you again. It’s been ages.” Ronnie reached out her arms. “And look at your baby! She’s beautiful.”
They managed a sideways hug because of Ava, who was fascinated by this new person. She usually fussed when being held by strangers, but she did enjoy looking at them and stared transfixed at Ronnie.
“I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to take me on,” Jewel said.
“Are you kidding? I’m thrilled.”
“You have a great place here.”
“I wish it was mine. I simply lease the facilities for a certain number of hours a week. Of which, five of those hours Monday through Friday belong to you. We start at seven tomorrow morning, by the way.”
Jewel couldn’t help grimacing. “You have your work cut out for you. I’m pretty rusty.”
“Like riding a bike, my friend.”
Jewel was less convinced. Her barrel racing skills would return, she had no doubt. The drive and endurance were another matter. She worried she’d lost those, too, when her life had imploded.
She and Ronnie stood on the porch catching up for several minutes. The pair were old acquaintances and had been rivals back in the day. Both had since retired from the rodeo circuit, though, in Jewel’s case, the retirement might be temporary. Much depended on the upcoming month, the length of time which she’d contracted with Ronnie’s barrel racing school.
Jewel mentally crossed her fingers that Ronnie wouldn’t mention Tanner, his and Jewel’s “almost” wedding or the cheating scandal. Thankfully, Ronnie avoided the subjects, and Jewel allowed herself to relax. Even after all this time, she flushed with acute shame whenever her ex-fiancé’s name came up.
Common sense told her she had no reason—she wasn’t the one caught attempting to bribe a bull riding judge. That had been Tanner. Nonetheless, she felt tainted by association. The sympathetic platitudes some people offered were as bad as the malicious gossip others spread behind her back.
Making a spectacular rodeo comeback might be the perfect way to obliterate the emotional torment she’d been through. She was willing to try.
“Where’s your horse?” Ronnie asked.
“In my trailer.” Jewel nodded toward her vehicle parked beside the arena fence.
Traveling from Tulsa to Arizona with a baby and hauling her horse had made for a grueling trip. They’d stopped frequently, giving Teddy Bear, Jewel’s palomino gelding and beloved barrel racing partner, a chance to stretch his legs and Ava a break from her car seat.
“He’ll be fine for a while longer. We’ll move him to a stall when we’re done.” Ronnie placed a hand on Jewel’s shoulder. “Come on. I’ll give you the tour.”
“Can I leave the stroller?” Jewel asked.
Ava was quiet, and Jewel would gladly carry her if that ensured an uninterrupted meeting with Ronnie.
“No problem.”
“I’ve seen the arena already.” Jewel arranged Ava in a baby wrap, securing it around her waist. “Very impressive. Are those your students practicing?”
“Two of them. Not all the barrel racers using Powell Ranch belong to my school. The local 4-H group has a large number of members who practice here with their own staff of trainers.”
The tour lasted a good twenty minutes. There wasn’t anything Jewel didn’t like about Powell Ranch or Ronnie’s philosophy when it came to barrel racing, and she was certain the two of them were going to get along well. Jewel had her family to thank for this opportunity. If not for their financial support, she couldn’t have afforded to hire Ronnie or make the trip.
Only by happy coincidence had she landed a part-time job at Sweetheart Ranch next door. She’d been researching the area for employment and cheap short-term housing when she came upon the wedding ranch’s website. Seeing their posting seeking a part-time wedding photographer, she’d mustered her courage and called the owner. To her incredible surprise and delight, they’d agreed to give her a trial run after viewing her online portfolio, compensating her with room and board and a modest stipend.
Jewel couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Especially when the wedding ranch owner was willing to work around Jewel’s barrel racing lessons and practice schedule. She even had a trustworthy babysitter in mind for Ava.
The fact that everything had fallen so neatly into place must be a sign, Jewel had thought. She was meant to come to Mustang Valley and resolve her career dilemma. If all worked out, she’d choose a direction by the end of her month’s stay.
Her one and only hesitation was Tanner’s parents. They lived in Queen Creek, fifty miles from Mustang Valley. She’d resisted telling them about Ava all through her pregnancy, wanting Tanner to be the first to hear. But that hadn’t happened. After finalizing her plans to come to Sweetheart Ranch, she’d decided to visit them at some point during her month-long stay. Telling them in person would be better than on the phone.
The tour ended in the horse barn. Thankfully, Ava behaved through most of it.
Ronnie stopped in front of an empty stall. “I thought we’d put Teddy Bear here.”
Jewel nodded appreciatively at the spacious and tidily kept stall. “Works for me.”
Ronnie reviewed the feeding times, horse boarding prices and barn rules. “We can handle the paperwork in the morning if that works better for you,” she added when Ava became restless.
“Thanks. One of us is getting bored.”
Outside on the porch, Jewel returned Ava to the stroller. They left her near the front of Jewel’s truck, well away from the trailer’s rear gate. Teddy Bear tended to exit quickly and had been known to inadvertently trample small objects in his path, like a foot or a dog or a piece of equipment.
The horse lived up to his reputation, causing an enormous commotion as he scrambled backward from the trailer. Once on solid ground, he came to a stop and surveyed his new surroundings, head held high and ears pricked forward. Jewel’s hand on the halter shook as he whinnied loudly, announcing his presence to the other horses.
Ronnie grinned and gave his head a scratch. “I think even the broodmares in the back pasture heard you.”
“Do you mind?” Jewel held out the lead rope.
“Come on, big fellow.”
Ronnie led the horse to the stall. With Ava re-swaddled in the baby wrap, Jewel followed a few minutes later.
After Teddy Bear had spent several minutes inspecting every inch of his new accommodations, Ronnie returned with a flake of hay, which she dropped in the feed bin. Teddy Bear’s head disappeared, only to pop up a moment later, his mouth full of hay.
He’d eaten earlier that morning at the horse-friendly inn where Jewel and Ava had spent the night after arriving in town yesterday. But Jewel allowed the horse a second breakfast, knowing eating would help settle him. Kind of like it did Ava.
“I’ve got to run,” Ronnie said. “I have a wedding cake sampling at Sweetheart Ranch in an hour.”
“That’s right. Your cousin’s getting married. When’s the big day?”
“A week from Saturday. I’m the matron of honor. We’re hoping you’ll take the photographs.”
“I’d be thrilled.”
The two hugged again, and Ronnie left. Jewel stayed behind. She didn’t have to be at Sweetheart Ranch for a while yet, and she much preferred the horse barn over sitting in her stuffy hotel room. She’d feed and change Ava soon and, fingers crossed, the baby would nap through Jewel’s appointment.
Hmm. Maybe she’d run into Ronnie again when she got there.
Ava cooed and flailed her arms and legs. She probably wanted out of the wrap.
Jewel patted the baby’s bottom. “Not much longer, my sweet little girl.”
Hearing a noise, she glanced over to see a man half hidden by the shadows and pushing a wheelbarrow into the horse barn from the opposite end of the aisle. She didn’t pay much attention, not until he drew closer.
She sensed more than saw him come to a stop, and she slowly turned to face him. The hairs on the back of her neck inexplicably rose.
Whatever words she’d been about to utter lodged in her throat as the man emerged from the shadows and his features took shape beneath the weathered cowboy hat he wore. A wild rush of shock and then alarm coursed through Jewel, and she involuntarily tightened her grip on Ava.
She couldn’t have been more stunned if she’d seen a ghost. Then again, she supposed she had, for Tanner Bridwell stood before her.
He looked different. The beard was gone, but she’d have known him and those arresting steel-gray eyes anywhere. How could she not, when she’d spent endless hours gazing into them and countless nights dreaming about them?
“What are you doing here?” she blurted out.
His stare hardened, and he replied with a question of his own. “Is the baby mine?”
JEWEL’S FACE HAD always been easy to read, the subtle nuances clearly telegraphing her every emotion. There was hardly a time Tanner had been unaware of her thoughts, especially when it came to her feelings for him.
Today was no different. Except trepidation had replaced the love he’d once seen.
He’d reconciled himself to Jewel no longer being a part of his life. Spotting her standing at the end of the barn aisle, a baby in her arms, he’d sworn his imagination was playing tricks on him. As he’d approached, he’d realized it wasn’t his imagination, and the wall enclosing his heart had split wide open to release a flood of emotions. Surprise. Shock. Confusion. Joy. Hurt. Even anger. How dare she have a baby, their baby, and not tell him! Regardless of what had passed between them, he deserved to know. He had a right to know.
He was no expert at judging children’s ages, so doing the math was pointless. His gut, however, insisted he was the father of this one. The tiny cleft in her chin bolstered his conviction. Until he’d shaved his beard, few people had known he, too, sported a similar cleft.
“Tanner...” Jewel stood utterly still, her gaze taking him in.
“Is the baby mine?” he repeated, even though he was certain of the answer. He needed to hear her say yes. Or, more accurately, he needed to see if she’d try and deny it.
“She is.”
He let the information sink in before responding. “We need to talk.”
“I’m meeting the owner of Sweetheart Ranch in forty minutes.”
Surprise nearly knocked him sideways. “You’re getting married?”
Sweetheart Ranch was a destination wedding venue and bed-and-breakfast that had opened last fall. Their selling point was providing couples with the full cowboy experience for their ceremony and honeymoon.
“Ah, no,” she stammered. “I’m starting work there. As a part-time photographer.”
Tanner shouldn’t have been relieved. He had no claim on Jewel. Not after what happened between them. But he was vastly relieved, nonetheless. He told himself he’d rather she was commitment free until they sorted out their situation, but that was only half true.
Then again, just because she wasn’t getting married didn’t automatically make her single. She could have a boyfriend. A woman as attractive as Jewel, with hair the color of honey and the most expressive brown eyes he’d ever seen, would catch the attention of any man. She’d filled out some, he noticed, and on her, the curves looked good.
“The job’s temporary,” she said. “I’m returning to Oklahoma after the holidays.”
The baby waved her arms in the air as if to get Tanner’s attention. She was a cute little thing, with her big blue eyes and button nose peeking out from beneath her pink hood.
“More reason for us to talk now.” He hitched his chin toward the large open entryway. “My bunkhouse is over there. We can have some privacy.”
“I’d rather go somewhere else.”
Was she worried about being alone with him? The possibility bothered Tanner, but he let it slide. “There’s an old bench around the corner.”
“I don’t have long.”
“Are you making excuses, Jewel?”
“No, Tanner. I’m not.” A hint of irritation tinged her voice. “I just don’t want to be late.”
“Fifteen minutes. You owe me that much.” Before she could issue a comeback about him failing her, he said, “I’m the father of our child.”
“Fine,” she answered tightly, her arm circling the baby. “Fifteen minutes.”
“This way.”
He walked beside her, the air between them thick with tension. Both remained stubbornly mute.
At the bench, Tanner waited while Jewel sat and unbundled the baby. When she was done and the baby was positioned securely on her lap, Tanner dropped down beside her. There wasn’t a lot of room, and they had to sit close. She shifted away from him when their knees bumped.
How different from before, when they would have nestled together, fingers linked and sharing kisses. They might now have been happily wed and raising their daughter together had Tanner made a different decision last December. But he hadn’t and, as a result, he’d lost almost everything important to him. Jewel, his home, his career, his friends. Also, it now seemed, a daughter he might have gone his entire life without knowing if not for a twist of fate.
What was the old saying? No good deed goes unpunished? Tanner was living proof. And he couldn’t tell Jewel the truth—that he hadn’t cheated—without breaking his promise to his dad and older brother.
The price that had once seemed minor had turned out to be significant, and Tanner was weary of paying.
“You’re a wrangler?” she asked.
“Technically, I’m assistant barn manager. Small difference.”
Watching her expression, he guessed at what she was thinking. Tanner, a wrangler and living in a bunkhouse? He’d been raised with money and had wanted for nothing. His dad’s commercial real estate firm was the fourth largest in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Tanner and his brother had one day planned to join their dad’s firm when they retired from bull riding. One more thing he’d lost. Having a confessed cheater on the company’s board of directors, his dad had explained, even when that person was innocent, was bad for business. They’d figure something else out. Eventually. For now, Tanner’s brother came first. He understood, yes?
There were days he wished he didn’t and came this close to telling his dad off. Then, he’d remember his brother, Daniel, his lifelong best friend and staunch supporter, and how their roles had reversed on the day Daniel received his terrible diagnosis.
Tanner set the unhappy memories momentarily aside and concentrated on Jewel. “What are you doing at Powell Ranch?”
“Taking barrel riding lessons from Ronnie. What are you doing here?” Jewel countered. “And where have you been the last year?”
He tolerated her animosity without responding. After all, she believed him guilty of attempting to bribe that bull riding judge and blamed him for ruining their wedding, not to mention their relationship.
“Ethan Powell gave me a job.”
Tanner had been a teenager and competing on the junior rodeo circuit when he first met Ethan. Though nine years his senior, the former bronc busting champion had taken an interest in both Tanner and his brother and mentored them. They’d stayed in touch all these years.
“I’m surprised no one’s recognized you,” Jewel said. “There’s a lot of rodeo people coming and going in Mustang Valley.”
“I keep to myself.” Tanner ran a hand over his clean-shaven jaw. “And getting rid of the beard helped. I always wear a hat and sunglasses whenever anyone who might recognize me comes to the ranch. Like Ronnie. Ethan runs interference for me, too.”
“I see,” Jewel commented dryly.
“I needed a place to stay for a couple of months, away from all the negative attention after...everything.” Tanner didn’t bother elaborating. Reminiscing wouldn’t benefit either of them. “Ethan offered both.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You made it clear you didn’t care where I went or what I did.”
“Point taken,” she bit out.
“I don’t want to argue, Jewel.”
After a moment, she softened marginally around the edges. “It’s been a year. Why are you still here?”
“Dad’s idea.” Tanner’s gut clenched as it did every time he talked about their agreement. “He’s convinced I can be sued by the arena owners or that his company can be sued because I’m listed as a minority stockholder.”
As was Tanner’s brother, Daniel, which increased the risk to Bridwell and Associates even more if the truth were to ever come out. Daniel shouldn’t have been allowed to compete in his condition. He’d put himself and others in jeopardy. By Tanner confessing, he took the heat rather than Daniel.
“Sue you for what?” Jewel asked.
“Breach of contract. Damages due to loss of income and tarnished reputation. You remember those calf ropers who were caught cheating a few years ago? They were sued by the arena owners and settled for an undisclosed amount. Anyway, Dad thinks it’s in our best interests if I continue to lie low for another year. According to the company attorney, the arena owners have a two-year window to file a lawsuit.”
Twelve more long grueling months that, with the unexpected appearance of Jewel and their baby, felt even longer and more grueling to Tanner.
“Don’t you think if the arena owners were going to come after you, they’d have done so by now?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do. But not Dad and not his attorney. According to them, we should err on the side of caution.”
Suddenly, the baby started fussing. Reaching into her jacket pocket, Jewel extracted a neon purple toy shaped like a dumbbell, which she waved in front of the baby’s face.
“What’s her name?” Tanner asked.
“Ava.”
“After your grandmother.”
“You remember.”
“She always liked me.”
“She still does.” Jewel’s lips compressed into a thin line. “She insists there must have been a mistake. That you would never cheat.”
“Huh. You don’t say?”
Tanner mentally chewed on that. Jewel’s grandmother believed him innocent but not Jewel. She’d immediately assumed the worst and issued him his walking papers. Not that he could have explained in that moment. Still, she might have trusted him a little. He had asked her to give him time, promising he’d reveal the whole story eventually. It still rankled him that she hadn’t—made worse by him learning she’d hidden his daughter from him.
“I really wish you’d told me about Ava,” he said.
“I tried my best. I contacted everyone I could think of, including your parents and the Powells, and asked if they knew where you were. I even hired a private investigator for a week, but he was expensive, and I couldn’t afford him. Right after that, I had several scary moments with my pregnancy.”
“What kind of scary moments?” Tanner’s knowledge was limited, but he had an idea.
“Cramping. Bleeding. I nearly miscarried and was on doctor’s orders to rest and avoid stress. Since searching for you was stressful, I quit. I had to put the baby first.”
“If Mom and Dad knew about Ava, they’d have gotten word to me.”
Jewel’s spine straightened. “Are you blaming their refusal to reveal your whereabouts on me?”
“A baby is big news.”
“I explicitly said I had something important to tell you.”
“They’re protective.” And were employing damage control, especially where Bridwell and Associates was concerned. “Dad thought that you might have been in cahoots with the arena owners and trying to trick him into revealing my location.”
“I don’t lie.”
Implying that Tanner did.
She was right, sadly. He did lie. He’d confessed to a wrong he hadn’t committed. His father had conceived the idea, his seriously ill brother had begged him, and Tanner had gone along with them.
“Don’t be mad at my folks. I had a rough time after what happened, and they were looking out for me.”
“You had a rough time?” Jewel nearly erupted off the bench and might have if not for the baby. “I was the one questioned by the PRCA and the arena officials. The one hounded for interviews. The one whose picture appeared in newspapers and magazines and all over the internet.”
Technically, Tanner’s picture had appeared, too. He’d also been questioned extensively by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the arena owners. He didn’t correct her, however.
“The one bombarded with questions by literally everyone and forced to endure slurs and accusations and dirty looks. Oh, and pitying looks. Those were the worst.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I was the one who had to explain to my family and our friends that the wedding was off, then suffer the humiliation of returning the gifts and canceling the honeymoon trip. All you did was disappear into thin air.”
Tanner let her vent. He and his family had put her through a lot. When she finally lost steam, he spoke.
“I’m sorry. I really wish things could have been different.”
She shook her head with exasperation, only to swallow a sob. “You cheated, Tanner. How could you?”
God, he wanted to tell her the truth. Holding back was pure torture.
“It’s not what it seems.” He paused. Maybe if he gave her a little of the story she’d put two and two together. “My brother was already struggling with the side effects of his brain tumor before finals. Dizziness. Memory issues. Loss of coordination. Not that anyone could tell. He got quite good at disguising his symptoms.”
She looked chagrined, as if she’d forgotten other people in the world had problems worse than theirs. “I heard about his surgery. How’s he doing?”
Tanner shrugged. “As well as possible, I suppose, for someone whose right leg functions at thirty percent and who can’t remember much from one minute to the next. At least he can walk and communicate. That was up in the air at first.”
Sympathy filled her eyes. “What about his wife and children? How are they doing?”
“Coping as best they can. Rosalyn’s been standing by him. So far. But they’ve had their struggles. He’s not the person he used to be.”
That only scratched the surface, thought Tanner, his heart heavy with grief and guilt. His brother had gone from being a high-earning champion bull rider, devoted husband and active, doting father of two young children to someone who—until just a couple of months ago—hadn’t been able to dress or feed himself.
“The cancer’s in remission, and his prognosis is cautiously good,” Tanner said. “That’s something to be grateful for, though he’s on disability and may never work again.”
If not for Tanner’s parents helping out, Daniel and Rosalyn would have lost their house. Yet another reason for Tanner to cover for Daniel and protect the company. A lawsuit could financially ruin more than the business. His brother and family could be left homeless.
Jewel shifted Ava to her other knee. The baby had shoved the neon purple toy into her mouth and was gnawing on it. “Please give him and Rosalyn my best when you talk to them.”
“I will.”
“Are you planning on staying in Mustang Valley indefinitely?”
“That’s complicated. I’d like to talk about it more when you aren’t rushed.”
“I do need to get going.”
“Wait. Before you leave...” He hesitated. He was still getting used to these new feelings of his. “Can I hold Ava?”
Jewel couldn’t have looked more startled if he’d demanded full custody. “She, ah, doesn’t like strangers.”
Strangers. Tanner hated the sound of that.
“Just for a minute,” he said.
They squared off in silence, Jewel reluctant and Tanner insistent.
“I’ve held babies before—Daniel’s two kids.”
She swallowed. Finally, she scooted closer and lifted Ava, depositing her in Tanner’s lap. “She’s going to cry.”
And when that happened, Jewel was taking her back. She didn’t have to say it; her message was crystal clear.
The wiggly weight on Tanner’s lap felt odd at first. Remembering his sister-in-law’s instructions, he nestled Ava in the crook of his arm, making sure to support her head.
All at once, she lifted her head to peer up at him, and Tanner’s breath caught.
“Hi there.” A huge smile spread across his face.
Ava peered at him, owl-eyed, and then her small mouth opened into a silly toothless grin.
Tanner felt like he’d been kicked in the gut by a mule. This baby was his daughter. His daughter. He was a dad.
“Aren’t you gorgeous?” He pulled Ava closer, and she pressed her small head against his chest.
“I need to go.” Jewel promptly stood up and swooped Ava away from Tanner, winding her up in the wrap thing.
Tanner also stood; the remarkable elation that had filled him while he held Ava continued coursing through him. “Are you free after your meeting at Sweetheart Ranch?”
“I’m busy.” She started walking.
Tanner kept pace, refusing to give up. “Tomorrow?”
“I... I have a lesson with Ronnie at seven.”
“After that?”
She stopped and evaluated him, obviously weighing the pros and cons of stalling him indefinitely. “All right. I should be done by nine.”
“See you then.”
Tanner didn’t accompany her to her truck and trailer. He figured her hackles were already raised enough. Best to give her some space.
On his way to the horse barn where he’d left the wheelbarrow, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and placed a call to the one person who had always been in his corner.
“Mom, hi. I have incredible news. Are you sitting down?”
