“What’s on your mind?” Grady asked, riding up alongside him as they slowly made their way home after the long, hard day. “Or should I ask who?”
“Look, you’re the one who made Lauren’s safety my concern,” Wade grumbled. “Is it any wonder I keep thinking about all the mischief she could have gotten into while we were gone today?”
“Didn’t she agree that she wouldn’t try anything dangerous?” Grady asked reasonably.
“Yes, but her definition of dangerous and mine would probably differ significantly.”
“She won’t go back on her word,” Grady insisted.
“If you say so,” Wade said, unable to hide his skepticism.
“You don’t trust easily, do you?”
“Never had any reason to,” Wade said. “Too damn few of the people in my life ever kept their word.”
“I’m sorry,” Grady told him with genuine sympathy. “That must have been a helluva way to grow up.”
Wade shrugged. “It’s a lesson every man needs to learn sooner or later. I just caught on sooner than most.”
“You’re wrong about that,” Grady insisted. “Most people are honest and caring and trustworthy, if you give ’em half a chance.”
“You can afford to say that with people like your grandfather and Karen in your life.” Wade knew that Grady’s grandfather, Thomas Blackhawk, was an honorable man. He’d heard a lot of stories about him since coming to the ranch, though he had yet to meet the sage Native American. As for Karen, she’d treated Wade with nothing but kindness and respect. He could believe she was an exception to his rule, too.
“Lauren’s one of Karen’s best friends,” Grady pointed out. “Do you honestly think they’d be close if Lauren weren’t cut from the same cloth? That whole gang of them—they call themselves the Calamity Janes—are loyal to a fault. Keep that in mind in case you’re ever tempted to do anything that might hurt Lauren.”
Wade sighed at the warning. He wasn’t going to win this argument about trustworthiness. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to. A part of him prayed that Grady was right about Lauren, but it was way too soon for him to put any faith in her yet. Her behavior while he’d been gone today might be a start toward convincing him, though.
“Keep an open mind,” Grady urged as they rode toward the house. “That’s all I’m saying.”
Wade nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
But when he walked into the barn, he found it disconcerting to see Lauren wearing dirt-streaked jeans, dusty boots and a blouse that looked as if she’d been wrestling a hog. She hadn’t gotten into that state by sitting on her pretty little derriere in the ranch office all day long or sipping lemonade on the porch. So much for honor and trust, he thought.
“Tough day?” he inquired mildly, leaning against the doorjamb and studying her intently to see if there was any evidence of scrapes or bruises to go along with the general disarray.
Her gaze shot up to clash with his, and her expression turned defiant. “Quite productive, actually.”
“Oh?”
“I had a little test of wills with a certain horse.”
Wade’s temper soared. Absolute panic lodged in his throat, even though he could see perfectly well that whatever she’d done, she was still in one piece. If she had any injuries, they weren’t obvious.
He shoved away from the door and began to pace. “Dammit, Lauren, I warned you to stay the hell away from Midnight. Whatever possessed you to defy me the second my back was turned, especially after you’d promised to do as I asked?” He glared at her. “Typical female. You just had to have your own way, didn’t you? Answer me this. Is Midnight all right?”
She returned his gaze evenly, though the color in her cheeks was high. “Midnight is just fine, you idiot. And I did not defy you. It was Miss Molly who objected to joining me for a little ride around the corral.”
Wade stopped in his tracks. “Miss Molly did this? She threw you?”
“Five times,” Lauren confirmed.
He muttered a soft curse. “You don’t catch on quick, do you?”
“I was going to give her ten chances, but she came through for me on the sixth try,” Lauren said, her expression tired but triumphant. “We reached an agreement. One trip around the corral and she got carrots for dessert tonight.”
Wade strode over so that he could examine her more closely. Except for the dishevelment, she looked just fine. “You’re really okay?”
“My butt may not be the same for a while, but other than that, I’m fine.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “I didn’t expect you to get this far with her this fast.”
“Well, she seemed docile enough when I led her out of her stall. I thought the ride would go fine.” She shrugged. “I was wrong.”
“How is she now?”
Her expression fell then. “I wish I could tell you that this had solved everything, but it didn’t. She went straight into her stall, ignored her feed and turned her back on me. Reminds me of a kid trying to make a point after being forced to eat his spinach. At least she got some exercise today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.”
Wade was torn between his desire to check on his horse and his longing to touch the woman standing in front of him. Once all of the anger and panic had drained away, he’d been left with this insatiable need to hold her. Because that was a really bad idea, he backed away and went to see Miss Molly.
The horse was standing quietly in her stall, looking as dejected as ever. Her ears twitched when he approached, but she made no move to come to him.
“So, I hear you had yourself quite a time today, girl,” he said, reaching over the gate and rubbing a hand along her neck. She shuddered at the touch and gazed
