Home on the Ranch: Rodeo Legend Page 8

  “You made it to the National Finals Rodeo,” his sister said. “That’s not exactly nothing.”

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t even trying to make it,” he said, thinking back on his stint at the NFR.

  “And why is that?” Jayden asked. “Why haven’t you tried a little harder?”

  “I just didn’t care.”

  Jayden’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. Don’t let Dad hear that.”

  “Dad would be the first to tell you I lacked the passion. He would be right, too, but not anymore. I’m turning over a new leaf. This injury was a huge wake-up call. You never appreciate something until it’s taken away from you.”

  “So—” Jayden leaned forward “—get your act together, Carson.” She leaned further toward him. “Go out and make it to the finals. Hell, win the average. Win the world. Like I’ve told Aunt Crystal, you’re so much better than you think you are. You’re every bit Dr. Moore’s equal. Don’t you think otherwise. But that doesn’t mean I think the two of you could work out. You’re not ready for an instant family, especially if you’re going to make a run for the NFR, and I hope you do. One thing at a time, big brother.”

  She stood, moved to kiss him on the cheek beneath his cowboy hat. “Why don’t you come over for dinner one night this week?” she asked.

  “Sure.” He leaned back. “Not like I have much else to do.”

  She flicked his hat brim. “Now don’t you go feeling all sorry for yourself. You’ll be back out there again. You’ll see.”

  He hoped she was right. But as she walked away, his thoughts returned to her concerns and, against his better judgment, he found himself wondering what it might be like to date Ava. Just as soon as he had the thought, he dismissed it, though. No way would she ever date a guy like him. And no way was it the right time for him to be getting involved with a woman like her.

  That was the one thing he was sure of.

  It didn’t stop him from thinking about her for the rest of the week, though. Or from being on edge the morning of Bella’s lesson. So when Bella arrived for her lesson alone, he was almost disappointed.

  “Where’s your mom?”

  Bella stopped, rested her hand on her thigh, her riding tights the same color as her shirt. Blue.

  “I think she’s trying to avoid you.”

  Carson felt his cowboy hat lift with his brows. “What do you mean?”

  “She just about booted me from the car today and when I asked her if she wanted to watch me ride, she said she didn’t need to. That I’d progressed enough that she didn’t worry about me anymore—and we both know that’s a crock. She still tries to make me wear floaties in the pool.”

  The little girl looked so irritated Carson wanted to laugh, probably would have if he hadn’t been so...so...

  Disappointed.

  Less than a half hour with him and she’d already written him off. Figured.

  “So what’s going on with you two?”

  Wait a minute. Who was the kid and who was the adult? “Nothing.” He thought back. “We had coffee. She signed a release so you can ride and gave me a check for your lessons and then she left.”

  Quickly, and for the first time, he wondered about that.

  Bella crossed her arms, what looked like a brand-new hard hat dangling off the crook of her elbow. “Well I think she likes you.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  Suddenly he wanted to laugh. “Are you sure you’re only nine?”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “My mom says I’m mature for my age because I’m an only child.” She shook her head. “All I know is I don’t need to be grown up to know she’s acting weird.”

  Not because of him. At least, he didn’t think so. And even if Ava did sort of fancy him, it didn’t mean anything. But how to explain to Bella that sometimes people didn’t want to date one another because they were just too different? Despite what Jayden had said, Ava was a city-raised doctor who’d just so happened to move to Via Del Caballo. He was a country boy who spent a lot of his life on the road when he wasn’t building furniture. A doctor and a cabinetmaker. What a couple.

  “I don’t think I’m her type,” he admitted.

  Bella’s arms dropped to her sides. In the middle of the aisle, studying him so intently, her head tilted slightly to one side, she reminded him so much of Ava. Hard to believe they weren’t related by blood. Must be the mannerisms.

  “I want her to be happy.” The girl looked so intense and so determined that Carson felt his heart twinge. How was he supposed to respond to that?

  “She tries to pretend as if her life is perfect but I hear the way she sighs when she watches romance movies. You should have seen her during the Hallmark Christmas movie marathon. She went through three boxes of tissues. And then she’ll say something like—” she lowered her voice “—‘only in the movies.’” Bella rolled her eyes. “I don’t think she likes it here as much as I do and I worry she’ll want to move. And if that happens...”

  It’d break her heart. The kid was horse crazy. Funny how that happened. Born in a city but with a love of the animals he cherished, too.

  “How’s Balto?” he asked.

  She smiled. “He’s good. Sleeps with me every night. Drives Mom crazy because she spent a ton of money on that kennel, but I just go grab him every night. And I don’t mind cleaning up after him. And don’t change the subject.”

  Good Lord. The kid could take a page out of his sister’s book.

  “She likes you and she doesn’t ever like any man.”

  That was flattering, but Bella was only nine years old. There could be some other reason her mom was acting strange.

  “What if you call her and tell her I fell off? She’d have to come here and talk to you.”

  “Bella. No. You’re not going to do that.”

  Bella wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. You’re probably right.” She crammed her helmet onto her head. “Let me think about this while I ride. I’ll go get Little Red.”

  “Actually—” he was glad to change the subject “—I thought you could ride one of the show horses today.”

  “Really?” She spoke the word so loudly she startled the sorrel in the stall behind her.

  “You’ve got a natural seat, Bella. And a real feel for a horse’s mouth. And Snazzy is easy to ride. Super broke. You should have no problem handling her.”

  He led her to Snazzy’s stall. The mare was a bay with four white socks. Older, but still bright eyed and curious about the little girl who cooed and awed over her.

  She doesn’t ever like any man...

  Stop it, he told himself. It didn’t mean a hill of beans.

  “She looks just like one of my model horses,” Bella said.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  Bella led the mare out of her stall. “My favorite one. You should see my collection. It’s huge.”

  Horse crazy for sure. But he had to give her credit. She’d picked up quickly on how to saddle and bridle a horse. The mare seemed genuinely interested in her young rider, turning her head to look at her and then nudge her.

  Carson forgot about his troubles with Ava as he watched Bella put on leg boots and bell boots. When she climbed aboard in a few moments without even using a mounting block, and then later began to put the mare through her paces out in the arena, the two of them seemed to click and Carson knew he was on to something good.

  “All right, I’m going to work you on the flag. Gonna need you to hang on because once she realizes what we’re doing, she’s going to move around fast. Don’t fall off.”

  Bella nodded, a serious look on her face beneath the helmet she wore. Daylight faded for a moment as the sun disappeared behind a cloud. Looked like rain later on, he thought, crossing to the switch that controlled a wire that stretched down the long side of the arena, a bright orange flag in the middle. Pulle
ys would tug the wire left and right, Snazzy having been trained to follow the movement.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  Bella nodded.

  The horse must have heard the machine kick to life because she dropped her head and ducked right.

  Bella gasped and then giggled, then hung on to the horn because Snazzy shot to the left, this time galloping a few strides to keep up with the flag’s movement, only to stop suddenly when it shifted right, faster this time so that Snazzy cantered longer. Bella laughed and hung on, the smile on the kid’s face doing something to Carson’s insides. Back they went, the girl’s giggles filling the air, both hands clutching the saddle horn, the reins forgotten in her hands.

  “Hang on,” he said when Snazzy shifted left-right a little too quickly. His hand hovered over the switch, ready to shut it off, but Bella was giggling and laughing and, damn, if she didn’t hang on.

  “That’s it,” he said with pride. He reached for his hat, pulling it off and waving it her way in approval. “Way to go, Bella.”

  He shut the machine off. The horse instantly stopped. Bella sat there in the saddle laughing and wiping at her eyes now that she could let go.

  “Oh my gosh, Carson, that was so much fun.”

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  “Can I do it again?”

  “Let’s give Snazzy a little break first. Why don’t you walk her around a bit? Let her catch her breath.”

  They both turned, Carson drawing up short.

  “Mommy!” Bella’s cry of delight could probably be heard all the way up at his dad’s house on the hill behind them. “Did you see me? Did you?” She kicked Snazzy toward the rail.

  “I did,” Ava said, and something sounded funny about her voice. It took Carson a moment to realize what it was. She was crying.

  His heart flipped over in his chest for a whole other reason.

  “Why are you crying?” Bella asked.

  Carson saw Ava wipe her cheeks, watched as she took a deep breath and looked up at her daughter. “Because, honey, that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh like that in a long, long time.” And then she looked past her daughter and into Carson’s eyes. Thank you, she mouthed.

  You’re welcome, he mouthed back.

  And Carson knew Bella was right. There was something there. Something that hung in the air between them and made him feel like he sat in a ride at a carnival, one that went up and down and did loops and spins and that made it hard to concentrate for a moment.

  What the hell?

  He couldn’t figure it out, didn’t know if he even wanted to figure it out. All he knew was that making Ava happy made him happy.

  That was the craziest thing of all.

  Chapter 10

  She should have stuck to her original plan. Should have stayed away until Bella’s allotted one-hour lesson was up and then waited for her in front of the stables. Instead she’d stood by the side of the arena and watched as Carson worked with her daughter, made Bella laugh, which made Ava cry.

  She deserved this.

  For so many years it’d been nose to the grindstone. Finally they were able to reap the benefits of all their hard work. And for Ava it culminated in the moment she’d watched Bella throw her head back and laugh like she hadn’t laughed in forever.

  “That’s good right there,” Carson called out. “I think Snazzy’s had enough for one day.”

  “Aw, man.” Bella’s disappointment was unmistakable, her shoulders slumping, a pout tugging at the edges of her mouth.

  “Next weekend,” Carson said, “we’ll ride a little longer. As it is, you’re going to be sore tomorrow.”

  “I already am,” Bella said proudly, turning her horse to the gate. “Mom, did you see that last time Snazzy shot back to the right?” She mimicked the motion with her hand. “Pffft. Off she went.” The smile came back to Bella’s face.

  Carson came up next to her. Their gazes met and, for what seemed like the thousandth time, she tried not to notice what a good-looking man he was in his white T-shirt and black cowboy hat. He always seemed poured into his clothes and it didn’t seem fair to the opposite sex that he could be so handsome and so damn nice, too. Not fair at all.

  “She’s doing great,” he said with a wide smile. He had perfect teeth, too.

  “She looks good.”

  “Mom,” Bella said, “can Carson come over for dinner tonight?”

  She froze. Carson seemed to straighten in surprise, too. Ava opened her mouth. Nothing came out of it.

  “You could make that mac and cheese I love so much.” Bella twisted in her saddle so she could face Carson. “She makes the best homemade mac and cheese. The best.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Bella, no,” Carson said at the same time Ava spoke. They glanced at each other in surprise before facing Bella again. At least they were on the same page.

  “Tonight’s not a good night—” she improvised “—I have to work in the morning.”

  “So?” Bella pulled up Snazzy. “I’ll do the dishes and stuff. All you’d have to do is make the meal. It’ll be perfect.”

  “Actually I have plans,” Carson said.

  Bella sat straighter in the saddle. “Doing what?”

  “Bella.” Ava had never been more horrified in her life. “It doesn’t matter what he’s doing. He gave you an answer.”

  “Fine.” Bella tipped her chin up. “Come over now. We’ll have the mac and cheese for lunch.”

  “Bella...”

  “Mom, it’s the least we can do. Carson has been so nice to us. And you’re always telling me to be nice to people in return, right?”

  “Well, I—”

  “Please, you guys. I want to show Carson my collection of model horses, too. Please? Carson, I know you’re not busy because you told me you were going to grab takeout after my lesson and eat it here.”

  They’d been outmaneuvered. Carson looked at her. She shrugged. If she protested any more, she’d seem like a spoilsport, or worse, a big chicken, because Carson was looking at her strangely.

  He knew. The damn man had figured out she had a crush on him. Worse, it amused him. Well, he would see she was made of sterner stuff.

  “Sure,” she said brightly. “Why not?”

  There. Take that.

  * * *

  “You don’t mind, do you, Mom?” Bella asked as she all but thrust herself inside the SUV. She pulled the door closed and turned to face her. “I mean, I think it’s the least we can do. He let me ride a show horse today, Mom. A real show horse. And he said I could compete on her, but first he wants us to go watch one. There’s a horse show in another week. It’s the kind the Gillians do. A National Cutting Horse Association show. Can we go?”

  It was hard to feel put out when Bella was clearly thrilled with life. This was what she’d wanted for her daughter...only without Carson.

  Carson.

  “Sure, honey. We can go.”

  How the heck had the man figured it out? Had it been her hasty retreat from the coffee shop? She’d all but run out of there. How humiliating that he had, though. It meant she’d have to be on her guard. She couldn’t risk someone like him slipping beneath her defenses.

  “And you don’t really mind him coming over, do you? You always say how easy it is to cook mac and cheese.”

  It was easy. And she loved cooking things from scratch. She took pride in ensuring Bella ate right. In her line of work she’d seen the effects of bad eating habits and what it could do to someone’s health.

  “I don’t mind,” she lied.

  “Carson can tell us if he thinks Balto’s gotten bigger. And I can show him how I’ve taught him to sit already and play fetch. And I really do want him to see my collection of model horses. There’s one in there that looks just like the horse I rode today.”

>   Ava didn’t think tossing a ball and having the puppy bring it back some of the time qualified as an official game of fetch, but Bella was pleased with her puppy. Truth be told, there’d been a noticeable improvement in Bella’s attitude ever since she’d started riding lessons and brought Balto home. She’d been nightmare-free, too, ever since that first night when she’d crawled into bed with her. She should have really put her foot down about the dog sleeping in the kennel, but she hadn’t had the heart, and now she wondered if having the puppy sleeping next to her every night wasn’t part of the cure, but whatever it was, she was relieved.

  So suck it up, Ava told herself. It wouldn’t be all that bad. It was the least she could do after everything he’d done for Bella. That was what she told herself.

  And then she got home and decided that the shirt she wore looked wrinkled, so she changed it. Then she noticed a speck of dirt on her jeans, so she changed into a pair of black capris. And then her hair looked a mess, so she brushed it and maybe even dabbed on some lipstick, all the while calling herself the worst sort of fool. Carson would see right through her.

  “You look nice,” Bella said with a wide smile.

  “My clothes were dirty.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Uh, Mom. You looked just fine to me.” Bella turned away before she could comment.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to set the table.”

  Ava stood there in shock for a moment. Bella ignored her, pulling out some plates all the while whistling under her breath.

  So that was how the wind blew? Her daughter liked Carson. Dear goodness. Bella wanted them to go out. That was the only way to explain why Bella happily chirped away, Balto at her feet. She debated with herself whether or not to set the record straight about any future romantic prospects with the man, but now was not the time. So Ava browned some onions and garlic and then mixed in cream and cheddar cheese and dry mustard for the sauce.

  The doorbell rang. They both froze.

  Bella said, “He’s here,” running for the door. Balto, thinking it a new game, tore off after her, puppy claws scrambling on the hardwood floor, ears bouncing up and down with every step.