“She agreed to it. But she’s blaming herself for handling things poorly by coming here. She says if I’d flown to Seattle, I’d have realized I couldn’t live there. Moving would’ve been a non-starter.”
Rafe nodded. “She could be right.”
“I don’t want her to be right, damn it. But when she keeps pushing me away, I ask myself if I’m doing her any favors by insisting on this idea.” He took an angry swig of his cider.
“Uh-oh.” Nick gazed at him. “Someone’s going negative. Turn that frown upside down, cowboy.”
“Is she pushing you away?” Rafe leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “Your make-out mouth indicates the opposite.”
“Oh, I turn her on. Our chemistry is hotter than ever. That doesn’t mean she wants me with her in Seattle. She’s convinced we should follow the paths we were on before this happened.”
“But we launched the Brotherhood campaign to change her mind,” Nick said. “I get her point about Seattle, but after spending time with her tonight, I want to see you two work something out. You’re nuts about each other.”
“Then why was she on the brink of packing her bags tonight?”
“She was thinking of you.” Nick held his gaze. “You should have seen the way she watched you dancing with Henri. She wants what’s best for you.”
“And I want what’s best for her. What if I’m not it?”
“It’s too soon to tell, bro,” Rafe said. “I agree with Nick that she’s crazy about you. I say follow through with your plan to court her. See what happens. Don’t call it before you give it a chance to work.”
Nick pushed back his chair. “You might also want to order a pizza topped with anchovies and see if you could stomach it.”
Rafe stared at him. “Nicholas? What the hell?”
“Get CJ to tell you about it. I’m off to bed. Barn duty in the morning.”
* * *
By the next afternoon when Matt led the procession out the gate to the meadow trail beyond, gray clouds had blocked the sun and rain in the distance curtained off the mountains. CJ brought up the rear behind Izzy with Lucy in front of her.
The storm was moving their way. A few stray drops dampened his shirt. He doubted that would be the end of it. “I hope everybody’s okay with getting wet,” he called out.
“Won’t bother me,” Lucy said.
“Me, either.” Izzy’s hat and boots made her look like a cowgirl, but her posture in the saddle and her grip on the horn gave her away. She was game, though. She’d followed instructions and mostly groomed and saddled Lucky Ducky, the senior horse they’d all agreed would be the best bet for her first ride.
Matt turned in his saddle. “That’s Seattle women for you.” He rode Thunderbolt, the black stallion he’d bought more than a year ago to begin his dream of a breeding operation. The stallion was already earning his keep with stud fees.
“I do love rain,” Lucy said. She was on Muffin, the buckskin barrel racer Ed had given her in April so she could improve her racing skills.
“I don’t mind it.” CJ guided Sundance through the gate and leaned down to close it behind them. “But I’m not crazy about mud.” The big bay was his favorite horse in the stable.
“Mud’s not so bad.” Izzy was probably talking to him even though she was still facing forward. Good chance she didn’t trust herself to turn in his direction.
“Try cleaning the barn floor after twenty horses have tracked in a ton of it.”
She laughed. “Can’t you teach them to wipe their feet?”
“Great idea. Hey, Matt, why didn’t we think of that?” The rain grew more consistent, tapping lightly on the crown and brim of his Stetson.
“I’ll get right on it, bro. We’ll need that in place by this evening, looks like. How’re you doing back there, Isabel?”
“Terrific! Lucy and I are ducks. Right, Luce?”
“Quack, quack.”
Matt laughed. “Alrighty, then. Since it’s only rain and not a thunderstorm, we’ll press on.”
“Please do. I’m starting to get the hang of this. How do I look from the back, CJ?” A hint of insecurity crept into her tone.
A rush of tenderness caught him by surprise. “You’re doing fine. You’ll have better balance if you tuck your elbows in, though.”
“They call that chicken wings,” Lucy said. “I was bad about that when I learned to ride.”
“When you were what… four?” Izzy pressed her elbows to her sides.
“Six. That’s when I started taking lessons from Henri.”
“Lucy has more years of riding experience than I do,” Matt said. “Or CJ.”
“But not more time in the saddle.” Lucy swiveled to glance at Izzy. “Two weeks every summer times twenty is less than a year of steady riding. They may have started later but they have me beat by a country mile.”
“But now you’re a barrel racer and we don’t know how to do that,” CJ said.
“I’m eager to see a demonstration.” Izzy’s elbows stuck out again but she pulled them back in. “My friend, the barrel racer. She showed me a couple videos on her phone while we had our hair done yesterday. I can’t wait for the performance on Saturday night at the Founders Day thing.”
“The Babes on Buckskins put on a show.” He dreaded Saturday—the end of Izzy’s stay.
“I’m sure I’ll be blown away, especially because I know so little about riding. Speaking of that, if you have any pointers for me, CJ, shout ’em out.”
“Happy to.” Objectivity was tough to come by when she was adorably intent on her task. He wanted to give her a pass, tell her she was doing awesome. But her intensity had prompted her to clench her muscles. “It’ll help if you loosen up.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Relax your thighs and your tush. Move with the horse.” Like you move with me when we’re making love. Couldn’t very well say that.
“My instinct is to grip with my thighs so I don’t fall off.”
“I understand, but
