Chapter Twenty-six
Liz stretched her back out and stood at the doorway to the stable, watching the constable’s car leave a trail of dust down the driveway. Tanner and Jake both raised their hands in farewell, standing side by side in the middle of the barnyard.
It had been a morning of more police statements, driving out to the access road to look at the rig that was still parked there, and calling in someone with a Class 1 driver’s license to drive it to the precinct impound once the officers were done processing the scene. The boys had gone and checked the fixed fence; the cattle were safely back in their pasture, none the worse for wear after their escapade. Brady was currently pacing in the office, pricing electric fencing and locks for all the gates on the ranch.
All in all, they were fucking lucky it had worked out how it did. Anxiety still crawled up Liz’s back when she thought about how dangerous it could have been, and how it could’ve ended up if the thieves had been carrying the loaded shotguns the police had found in the cab of the truck.
She kept watching Jake and Tanner, who were now deep in conversation, likely talking about what had to be done today. Tanner in his work overalls, fidgeting with his hat, Jake in jeans and a tight T-shirt, arms crossed, nodding, his eyes hidden behind his Ray-Bans, looking too damned sexy for his own good.
He was so different from Tanner, but when she took them both in together, she saw the mark of their dad so clearly it was like Brett had used a damned stamp.
She bit her lip, focusing back on the man who had let her have her way with him on the couch last night, remembering how good it had felt to let herself go, the sheer physical need that she had let out. That was good sex. Best sex she’d ever had, if she thought about it honestly, both of them relieving the stress of the day, melting tense muscles. He’d opened up to her as well; his sexy talk had really kicked her up a notch.
Jake put a hand on his own back, gingerly stretching, and she muffled a laugh. They were both paying for it today.
He had dozed off after she’d put some of her muscle gel on his legs, shoulders, and lower back, carefully avoiding the spreading bloom of the bruise from the cattle prod. She woke up to him gone, the faint menthol scent on his side of the bed a reminder that he’d stayed long enough for her to fall asleep before he’d let himself out. She hadn’t heard him go.
Part of her wanted his warm body beside her in the morning, not just a dented pillow. Last night they had talked about a lot of things. She’d learned about his mom and gotten a sense he hadn’t had a great childhood. She didn’t press. She knew what it was like to grow up with only a mom. Those wounds ran deep, and his mom hadn’t been there for him like hers had been, so he’d had to grow up fast.
There was this current of something more after they’d had sex, too, and she didn’t want to think about what that meant, so she turned away from him before her thoughts ran away with her. It meant she was feeling things she didn’t want to feel, and that wasn’t part of the plan.
The mail van was bouncing up the driveway as she turned, and she wondered why it was here instead of just stuffing parcels in the mailbox at the end of the road. Hopefully it meant they had some of her packages today. She’d been waiting a week for feed supplements, and those wouldn’t fit in the parcel cubby.
She reached the van as it stopped, and Herb smiled out at her from the window.
“Hello, Liz!” he exclaimed and leaned on the door. “Heard the news about the dustup here yesterday. Everyone okay?”
Ah. He was coming out to be nosy, and Tessa, the gossipy clerk, didn’t drive the van. The two of them were a pair. Liz smiled as sweetly as possible, mentally gritting her teeth.
“We’re all fine, Herb, thanks for asking! You got packages for us today?” she replied, hoping to keep the conversation on the mail, not cattle thieves. She’d already rehashed yesterday over and over for the police when she gave her statement.
“Tessa said it was a thing, the boys catching them in mid-load! Must’ve been quite a dustup,” he added, opening the door and stepping out. Herb prattled on as Liz stayed silent, and opened the back and pulled out a few boxes.
“Some for you, and one for your new brother, I think,” he added, handing them over to her.
Jake was definitely not her brother, but she held her tongue, not correcting him. The less she reacted to Herb, the less the rumor mill would spin when he reported back to Tessa. She set the two big boxes down and looked at the thinner rectangular one. It was marked with an official AHS emblem, and she hefted it. It wasn’t heavy. New health benefit certificates for the ranch crew, most likely.
Herb was casting a curious eye over it, and she quickly stuffed it under one arm as he set up the machine for her to scrawl on with her finger. It never looked like her signature, but it was good enough.
“They never look right, don’t worry about it.” Herb chuckled when she finished. He tucked the machine back in the van, his grin widening as Tanner joined them.
“Tanner! Glad to see you none the worse for yesterday’s excitement. Quite the thing!” Herb exclaimed again, and Tanner grimaced and caught Liz’s eye with a distinct look of suffering. She wordlessly handed him the box and picked up her supplements.
“Well, Herb, I’m glad to see you, but duty calls. I’ll pop in next week.” She breathed out quickly and strode away, a resigned sigh from Tanner echoing in her ears as she left.
The cool of the stable enveloped her as she deposited the boxes in the feed room, opening them quickly and stowing the bottles on the shelf above the table. The morning was busy around her, the young boys trundling past, the wheels of their wheelbarrows scraping against the concrete of the aisleway. She took in a deep breath, letting the scent of grain invade her mind and settle it. There was work to be done, and she needed to set the tension aside and keep moving. Trevor poked his head in just as she lowered her shoulders.
“Next ride’s ready if you have time. I’ll take that gray for you today, if you’d rather?”
“Sounds good. I can get on that bay Julie just bought from the Nichols. They’ve asked me to ride him in a bit before the next competition.”
“Ten-four,” Trevor replied happily and whistled as he walked away from the feed room and up the aisle.
They had three youngsters to work and seven boarder horses to exercise, their own horses already ridden early this morning while it was cool, the four that had gone out yesterday already turned out for the day, making the ride list light.
With another breath, she thought about crawling into one of the bins in the room, burrowing under the sweet-smelling feed, and turning off the world for a while. She cracked her neck and headed for the tack room to suit up, her back twinging.
Keeping busy would work the knots in her muscles and keep her mind occupied.
