“They’d never say anything to your face.’
“What a comfort that would be.”
“So, shall I send a chopper?”
“No, you shall not.I can make it.I was stalling because...because to tell the truth, I’m sorry the whole thing is over.I had a great time.”
Her laughter bounced against the rocky cliff and echoed out into the valley.“The ride crippled you, you smell like a landfill, the horses kept you up all night and you have to walk several miles down a rocky trail to get back home.If this is what you consider a great time, I suggest you get a life,” she said, her hazel eyes dancing.
He smiled at her.“I was thinking the same thing.”Then he turned and wrapped the end of the reins around his fist.“Come on, Mikey,” he said to the horse as they started out of camp.“Let’s show the women what grit is all about.”
Following behind the battered twosome was its own kind of punishment, Freddy decided.The boots Ry had borrowed were made for riding, for occasional dancing, but not for walking down a mountain path.The smooth soles slipped on loose shale, and the heels tilted him forward, sabotaging his balance even more.
A mile down the trail, she called a halt and offered to trade.He wouldn’t do it.She was forced to continue behind him and watch the stain of sweat widen across the back of his shirt.She knew he must be thirsty.She certainly was.But they wouldn’t be able to drink until they reached the pond, which would take another hour.
He had every right to hate her.If he complained to Westridge and asked for her resignation as a condition of the sale, she couldn’t blame him.But the hell of it was, she knew he didn’t hate her and wouldn’t get her fired.She’d thrown torture after torture at him, and he had the nerve to announce he’d had a great time.Talk about knowing how to hurt a girl!
Ry had his head down watching the trail for loose stones, and Freddy was concentrating so hard on Ry and Mikey that she didn’t hear a horse approaching until the little party rounded a bend and Ry came face-to-face with Eb Whitlock’s big palomino.Ry stumbled and nearly.went down, but he grabbed a bush and kept himself and Mikey steady.Freddy was grateful he’d reached for a smooth-barked manzanita instead of the prickly pear next to it.
“What do we have here?”Eb boomed, reining in Gold Strike.
Freddy smiled.“Eb!What luck.Do you have water?”
“I reckon you need a sight more than water.Your friend looks like he’s been rode hard and put away wet.”
“I’m okay.”Ry pushed his hat to the back of his head and gazed with apparent interest at the man on the palomino.As usual, Eb was decked out in a belt buckle big as a dinner plate and a bolo tie heavy with turquoise.
Freddy realized introductions were in order, although the grapevine had probably already supplied Eb with the identity of the man in front of him.“Eb Whitlock, I’d like you to meet Ry McGuinnes, from New York City.”
“Figured as much.”Eb handed over his canteen.“Have a drink on me, McGuinnes.Sorry I can’t hail you a cab.You look like you could use one.”He laughed at his joke, flashing teeth arranged as perfectly as piano keys.
Ry accepted the canteen with a friendly smile.“No problem.Could you hold onto Mikey for a minute?”He thrust the reins into Eb’s hand without waiting for a reply, walked over to Freddy and held out the canteen.“Compliments of the man on the very big horse.”
Freddy swallowed a burst of laughter.Eb had always ridden huge geldings.Leigh used to say he’d show up on a Clydesdale one of these days.“Thank you,” she said, her voice quivering with humor as she met Ry’s gaze and accepted the canteen.She could hardly refuse such a gallant gesture, although she was sure Ry needed water more than she did.After one quick gulp, she passed the canteen to him without bothering to wipe the mouth of the jug.
There was a brief flash of awareness in his eyes, as if he’d noticed her omission, before he lifted the canteen to his lips and drank greedily.
She admired the way the trail had toughened his appearance.His cheeks were stubbled with a day’s growth of beard and his face had acquired the healthy bronze color of an outdoorsman.
“What happened to Mikey?”Eb asked, breaking into Freddy’s absorption in Ry.
“We’re not sure,” she replied.“Maybe a broken branch or a sharp section of boulder got him.”
“Somebody said they saw a big cat up there not long ago.”
“If that’s what it was, we didn’t see it,” Freddy said.“We’re just lucky Mikey didn’t cut himself up any worse.”
“I thought I heard a horse scream up here last night,” Eb said.“Then this morning, I remembered Curtis or somebody telling me you’d taken the prospective buyer up here, so I decided to investigate, make sure you were okay.”
How typical of him.“You’re a good neighbor, Eb.”
Eb touched the brim of his hat in a subtle salute.“I try to be, even if it means babysitting my competition.”
Ry took the canteen from his lips.
“After all, we’ve known each other for a long time, Freddy,” Eb continued.“Why, I remember?—”
“Excuse me, but does anybody else want some more water?”Ry asked.“Freddy?Did you get enough?”
