Her Kind of Cowboy
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Susan Breeden
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CHAPTER ONE
HAILEY GOODWIN WAS an awesome babysitter, if she did say so herself.
Sure, she could have microwaved some instant oatmeal for the kiddos. But Pop-Tarts were so much more fun. In fact, fun was the goal of the day because for the next week, she’d be walking a proverbial tightrope without a net. Her Sunrise Stables business partner and “brother from another mother,” Cody Sayers, was abandoning her.
And she couldn’t be happier for him.
In her opinion, a month was way too long to postpone a honeymoon. Yet, Cody had refused to leave until he’d helped to get Hailey’s rescue horses trained, fixed up her stables and used his celebrity bull rider name to help spread the word about the return of a Destiny Springs tradition: trail rides.
They had succeeded, with behind-the-scenes help from Parker Donnelly.
Parks. She was rather glad he’d be going back to Chicago in a week or so, after having come here to help his grandfather Vern with Fraser Ranch’s bookkeeping for the past four months. Then agreeing to help Hailey with the financial side of her trail-ride reboot. Big-city, suit-and-tie types were too much of a distraction.
Then again, Parks had always been a bit of a distraction even when they were kids, visiting their respective grandparents in town. Who knew they’d end up in a working relationship? However, with the soft opening of the trail rides fully underway, and the official launch scheduled for three weeks after Cody’s return, Parker’s work here was done.
Hailey leaned against the kitchen counter, wrapped both hands around the warm mug of instant coffee and observed the three little ones. Six-year-old Max was looking more and more like his famous dad, Cody, with each passing day. Except for the red hair, which he’d inherited from his mom and Hailey’s BFF, Becca. The twin girls favored their own father—her dear friend and local rancher Nash Buchanan—all the way down to the tips of their long eyelashes. Hailey had never met their mother, but she must have been pretty.
She took a sip of coffee. It tasted bitter when paired with the reminder that there would never be any little kiddos running around that looked like her.
“Can we play dress-up now? I want to be Cinderella,” Elizabeth Anne said while continuing to chew. The strawberry filling smeared across her lips resembled lip gloss.
“No talking with your mouth full, Lizzy. Besides, where would we ever find glass slippers and a ball gown?”
The little girl pointed at the most obvious splash of color in Hailey’s otherwise neutral living room.
Of course. The maid-of-honor dress from the Sayers’ wedding. Sweetheart neckline, full skirt. The most romance-y dress Hailey owned. But Cinderella? It looked more like something Juliet Capulet would have worn. It was still hanging from a nail in the living room. Getting Sunrise Stables up and running had been like the Belmont Stakes on a continuous loop. Less important tasks like putting away clothing had to be relegated to the back burner.
“Cinderella’s dress is blue,” Katherine Claire insisted, which set the pendulum in motion.
“Is not!” Lizzy argued.
“Is too!”
“Is not!”
Max quietly collected the pieces of his disassembled Pop-Tart and headed toward the hall as the disagreement escalated. Hailey’s black cat, Sergeant, who didn’t suffer humans or situations that chafed, took his favorite little person’s cue but quickly surpassed him and disappeared.
“Stay in here where I can see you, kiddo,” Hailey called out to Max.
As unpleasant as that might be.
Max returned but sat at the farthest end of the table.
Hailey could relate to Max’s impulse to flee. They both hated confrontations.
“No dress-up today. We’re doing yoga, remember?” Hailey said, switching the topic to something the girls could agree on. “Finish your breakfast and drink your milk, then it’s off to the barn.”
Lizzy finished her tart first and licked her fingers clean, while Katherine Claire took her time to chew every bite before reaching for a napkin. Max reassembled what was left of his Pop-Tart and polished it off in a few ginormous bites.
Hailey turned on the kitchen faucet and let the water get warm while she retrieved a footstool.
“Up,” she said as she pointed to it.
Everyone knew the drill. Lizzy took the lead. She darted her hands into the stream for all of two seconds, then held them out for Hailey to dry.
“No, ma’am. Soap.”
Her words played tricks on her ears. She sounded exactly like her own mom. Same words, same tone.
Of course, her mom’s words played like a broken record in her head anyway. The chorus of questions regarding her life choices and future, of which her sister Georgina had recently taken over as lead vocalist. The hovering. The unwarranted concern. The unsolicited advice.
That was why the trail rides had to succeed. If reinstating the tradition that her great-grandparents began and that the whole town was rallying around didn’t convince her family that she knew what she was doing and could take care of herself, nothing would.
It wouldn’t hurt if she could convince herself, as well.
Lizzy pumped some liquid soap into her palm and slathered it all over her hands, then rinsed. Hailey dried them and helped the little girl safely to the floor.
“Your turn, Kat. Let’s see you wash them paws.” That nickname tickled the little girl to pieces. Hailey didn’t have to tell this one to use soap. Kat was so methodical and thorough, it was scary.
Max politely waited for the young ladies to finish. To no surprise, he did an exemplary job. Becca and Cody clearly worked in lockstep to teach their son how to be a cowboy and a gentleman.
Once all hands were clean and dry, it occurred to her the washing was pointless, considering what they were about to do. Except for Max. The cleaner his hands, the better.
“Okay, kiddo,” she said to him. “I need some help. You know how you like telling stories on the trail rides? I’d love for you to make up one about the goats and record everything with my phone. But you have to hold it as still as possible. And be careful not to drop it.” She switched her cell phone to video mode, walked him through the steps a few times, then proceeded to question her judgment.
He seemed beyond delighted with the responsibility. It would keep him busy and less likely to wander off while she wasn’t looking. Better to worry about her phone’s safety than about his.
For practice, he pointed the lens at the girls. Or, sort of pointed. Kat slinked off to a corner, avoiding the spotlight, while Lizzy performed some sort of crazy banshee dance.
“Remember our deal?” she said, leading them to the back door but stopping short of opening it.
They nodded in unison, although Hailey knew they couldn’t keep the Pop-Tarts a secret for long. Even if they didn’t confess to ingesting a million grams of sugar, the inevitable energy explosion would give it away. They were like cuddly little time bombs. Becca had given her the sugary breakfast treats for Max in the first place, so she couldn’t hold Hailey completely liable. But Nash wouldn’t know what hit him. As a single dad, he doted on the girls, but his plate was otherwise full. Too much ranch and not enough hands.
Cody and Nash would be by soon to pick up their respective kids. In exchange for the favor of babysitting their little angels, maybe she’d ask them about introducing her to some friends. Born-and-bred cowboys, like themselves. Only less brotherly and more...romance-y.
As if she had the time.
“Last one there has to clean up goat poop!” Max declared as he launched into a sprint. Lizzy stayed hot on his heels, never one to let a boy take first place in anything.
“Hey, kiddo, real cowboys don’t talk like that. And do not drop that phone!” Hailey called out, to no avail.
Kat slipped her tiny hand into Hailey’s and tugged as they neared the barn. Her grandparents had used it for storage. For Hailey, it had been a haven from her mom and sisters. Her safe place.
Still was. Sliding that door open always filled her with a peaceful feeling. Seeing the goats was icing on the proverbial Pop-Tart. Max and the twins ran directly to the pen and let themselves in.
Hailey joined the motley crew, retrieved three yoga mats and unfurled them on the ground, even though two of them were nothing more than a formality. Although the girls liked the concept of yoga, they weren’t interested in actually doing it. Similarly, Max couldn’t have cared less. They were there for one thing: the goats.
Not that she blamed them. Such cute, fun, silly creatures.
Speaking of fun, silly creatures, Max had already launched into some crazy story about how the goats were superheroes in disguise. At least he was holding the phone with both hands. Perhaps part of the video would be salvageable.
After wrangling her long ponytail into a messy bun, Hailey positioned herself on the yoga mat and laid flat on her stomach, arms bent, palms positioned beneath her shoulders.
“Kat, will you grab some treats and do the honors?” Lizzy couldn’t be trusted with the task, but her twin knew exactly where to place the pellets. “Max, get this on video, please, sir.” Her friends were going to get a kick out of it. No one believed goat yoga was actually a thing.
Moments later, one of the flat-surface-loving babies climbed aboard Hailey’s back and began grazing. The kiddos all giggled as Hailey transitioned from the cobra position to a modified cat. The furry, four-legged kid of another variety wobbled but kept his balance. Another baby goat brushed back and forth beneath her chin before bouncing away with random, spastic jerks as if he were being controlled by an inebriated puppeteer.
It was Hailey’s turn to giggle. These little bundles of energy always de-stressed her, no matter what was happening in her life. Like now, as the thought of flying solo for an entire week began to sink in. At least Cody and Becca were closing the Hideaway while they were gone. Their B and B was the source of most of Hailey’s business, to date, so trail-ride bookings would be down. Less chance of something happening that she couldn’t handle. There was no room for any glitches in advance of the official launch.
Lizzy ran over and sprinkled some pellets on Hailey’s neck. Right where she wasn’t supposed to, because the goat would decide Hailey’s hair should be dessert.
“Elizabeth Anne Buchanan, what did I tell you about doing that?”
The little girl giggled, then skipped away in search of some other kind of mischief, no doubt.
“Stay inside the pen, Lizzy. That goes for all of you,” she admonished.
The barn door slid open, then closed. She craned her neck to see that Cody had come in. He was early, which ordinarily wouldn’t have been a big deal, but did he have to bring Parker with him?
As they approached, Hailey wiggled to gently coax the critter off her back, since her current configuration couldn’t have been flattering. But the little guy didn’t budge. Instead, he began sampling her updo.
How embarrassing. Not to mention, a bit painful.
She was rather hoping Parker would remember the maid-of-honor version of her when he left. Or even the jeans and T-shirt version, which he’d seen a few times, although not much lately. He’d been busy wrapping up his stay at his grandpa’s ranch. Not that she imagined he’d been much help to Vern, aside from the bookkeeping. Couldn’t exactly deliver a calf or feed chickens in a button-down and tie, like he was currently wearing, as though he were en route to a business meeting. He usually wore more practical clothing. At least today’s formality was offset by jeans and sensible boots.
The goat finally had enough of Hailey’s movement and jumped off. She stood and brushed the remaining feed off her back.
“You still have some corn in your hair. But it’s a good look for you,” Cody said, adding a wink.
And to think she complained about having two older sisters when Bro here was such a tease. Parker, on the other hand, politely walked away. In fact, he intervened to rescue a baby goat that Lizzy had taken hostage and was trying to carry like a child. He eased the squirmy little thing out of her arms and set it on the ground, where it bounced away.
Hailey took advantage of the semiprivate moment with Cody. “Seems I have a smart aleck in my hair, as well. Did you stop by to make fun of me, or are you picking up Max super early? And why did you bring you-know-who?”
Cody served up his trademark mischievous grin, which meant he had something up those flannel sleeves of his. “In the order you asked, why not, no, and I told you I was going to hire someone to help you while I was gone.”
“I know you mentioned it, but I told you not to go to the trouble and expense. I don’t need any help. Go be a newlywed. Focus on your beautiful wife instead of worrying about me. That’s my mother’s and sisters’ job, and they’re convinced they know what’s best. But I’m mature, reliable and can take care of myself.”
“I can see that,” he said. “I intend to focus my attention on Becca, which is why I don’t want to worry about our business while I’m gone. Besides, I owe you for getting me and the love of my life back together.”
The worrying comment stung a little. Did he doubt her ability to manage the business alone for a week? But the last part caused the skin on her arms to goose bump, although she wasn’t sure why. Truth be told, having some assistance might be a good thing. She could delegate the duties she least enjoyed to the temporary help.
“If the person you’ve hired is a handsome, single, hometown cowboy who can pick up the slack around here, consider the favor paid in full,” she teased.
Cody pursed his lips. “How about two out of four?”
While she was trying to decide which two qualities Cody might mean, Parker rejoined them. This time, however, he was looking at her the way he had at Cody and Becca’s reception. Like she was too pretty to look anywhere else.
She didn’t need this. Come to think of it, cute and single might end up being a similar distraction in someone else. She couldn’t let anything jeopardize the momentum they had going at the stables.
No, a hometown cowboy would work just fine. Hardworking and humble. Someone who knew the area and might be willing to pick up more work later down the line or could be available in a pinch.
“So, when do I get to meet the lucky guy or gal who you’ve hired to save the day?” she asked.
Parker cleared his throat and lifted his index finger.
Was he asking permission to speak? This wasn’t a business meeting. She could picture him in some fancy boardroom with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Surrounded by female coworkers who wanted to date him. Near-movie-star looks but with a few rough edges. As if success and the good life hadn’t been handed to him on a gilded platter. He’d earned it the hard way.
When no other words or gestures were forthcoming, she looked to Cody.
“You already have,” he said, then looked to Parker, who simply smiled with confidence.
“Wait. You mean...?” Noooo!
Parker was a hard worker, and he’d been indispensable in helping with the numbers side of the reboot, but he knew nothing about leading the trail rides.
The goats started bleating in the background. Animals always did sense danger, but this was ridiculous. Everything about this scenario was wrong.
So much for this day being fun. So much for having some help this week. Now, she’d not only be walking a tightrope without a net, she’d also have to train and supervise someone.
Make that a handsome, single someone who was already way too much of a distraction.
PARKER DONNELLY DIDN’T think it was possible for Hailey to look any prettier than she had a month ago at the wedding. Or more confident than she did in jeans and tees. But this version of her? Fearless came to mind. And understandably shocked.
He was determined to make a good impression this week because once he returned to Chicago, it might be a while before he’d see Hailey again.
“I know I’m not your typical ranch hand, but I’m a quick study,” he said, putting an end to the awkward silence. It was true. For example, Parker quickly figured out Hailey wasn’t onboard with this arrangement.
He’d had his doubts, as well. But Cody wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not that Parker had needed persuading. The little boy in him was elated at the prospect of playing cowboy for a week, while the adult in him embraced the challenge.
As of this morning, however, a new and very welcome challenge had been added to the mix. He was still reeling from his online meeting with his boss. Despite the fact that Parker was on a leave of absence, he was up for a promotion to senior consultant. The caveat: he had to provide a proposal that demonstrated his range and diversity, and he had a week to do it. Talk about a tight deadline. But there was no way he was backing out of his commitment to Hailey and Cody. He’d find a way to do both. The effort would be worth it. More stability. Greater financial security. He’d be well on his way to the place he always wanted to be.
Maybe he didn’t know the difference between a trot and a cantor, but he understood money. He and his mom knew how it felt to have none. This promotion would assure that he and those he loved would never return to that place ever again.
“You’re in good hands, Hailey,” Cody said, driving home the declaration with a slap on Parker’s back. “In case you weren’t aware, he’s the only consultant in his firm with a one hundred percent customer satisfaction rating.”
“Client satisfaction would actually be the correct verbiage,” Parker said. Oh, Parks, no you didn’t.
Was his face as red as it felt? The accomplishment read beautifully on paper, but the spoken version sounded like a car commercial or late-night television twofer sale on cutlery. Not that he wasn’t proud of it. His clients’ successes were his successes. He’d never let one down before, and he wasn’t going to start with Hailey. Although this was a business relationship and nothing but, she was also a friend.
“That’s very impressive, Parks, but this is a whole ’nother animal,” she said. “I’ve spent my life around horses. It’s not as easy as it looks.”
“I understand your concern. If it helps, I’ve been around my grandpa’s horses quite a bit, and I’ve pitched in.”
Hailey cocked her head and smiled. “Okay. For instance...?”
“I’ve fed them,” Parker said.
She squinted.
He winced. “And stuff.”
Cody cleared his throat.
Stop talking. Although he could talk circles around other consultants, Hailey had a way of tongue-tying him with a single gesture. He’d been much more articulate throughout this entire trail-ride reboot when going over things with her by phone or text. She and Cody handled all the hands-on tasks. But the CliffsNotes version of horsemanship that Cody tutored him on ahead of time had flown out the barn door the minute they’d opened it and he saw her.
Cody clapped his hands together and clasped his fingers, as if it could somehow bring this whole awkward exchange to a tidy close. Either that, or he was praying that it would, which would make at least two of them.
“I’ve filled him in on the basics, Hailey. Thought you could show him the actual ropes.”
“You thought what?” she asked.
Before either Cody or Parker were forced to elaborate, Max cuteness-bombed them. He pointed the phone at Cody. “Daddy! Daddy! You’re in my video! Tell ’em what sound bulls make when you ride ’em!”
Cody seemed to contemplate it. “Tell ’em? How about we show ’em?” He whisked Max up into his arms and blew a raspberry on his neck.
Parker nearly lost it. What he wouldn’t have given to have had a father like Cody. Or a father at all.
Max shrieked and giggled uncontrollably until Cody set him back down. Miraculously enough, the little boy didn’t drop the phone. Meanwhile, Hailey released her long brown hair from its confines, causing Parker’s traitorous heart to skip a beat.
All the while, four tiny goats bounced around them, chased by Nash’s five-year-old twins. The whole menagerie had to be the most adorable thing Parker had ever seen. Add two or three more children to the mix, and it would resemble the type of family he imagined having someday. He would fill his six-bedroom dream house with love and laughter, assuming the seller accepted his offer. Best school district in the Chicago area.
“I need to scoot,” Cody called out. “Becca’s waiting on me to finish packing. We’ll be back over later. You kids play fair but have fun.” He tipped his Stetson to Parker and winked at Hailey, as if the last sentence pertained to them instead of the children.
Hailey crossed her arms and slowly shook her head. But Parker would show her he could do this.
He loved a challenge. Let the helping commence.
