12-Alarm Cowboys (85 page)

“Do you always buy your horses in pairs?”

Wade stopped and looked at him. “So far, but not for any particular reason. Why?”

Cole had pitched his horses many times and been shot down more times than he could count. He steeled himself for rejection again. “I have a number of horses for sale, but none are matching pairs.”

Wade resumed rubbing down Ace. “I’m always on the lookout for new horses, but they need to be dead broke because these riders are completely inexperienced.”

“That makes sense. I have a number that would fit that category.” Mainly because they were almost dead when he’d obtained them. Others, though, were far too afraid of humans. Those he would never be able to sell.

“Do you have a website?” Wade didn’t pause in his chore. “I usually research online before taking a drive to who knows where. I got these two from a little town near Payson.”

Cole hesitated. His horses didn’t show well, which is why he never put full body shots on his site and the few photos up there were to add to the general write up about Last Chance Ranch. “I have a site, but my horses aren’t up there. I’m just outside Wickenburg on the west side if you’d like to come by.”

Wade dropped the curry comb on a nearby table and looked over the two horses to stare him in the eye. “Why wouldn’t you have photos of your horses on your site?”

No more beating around the bush. “Because they don’t look as pretty as what you have here. My horses are rescues. When horses have been abused, starved, abandoned or have an injury an owner can’t afford to fix and is going to put them down, I take them. Once I have nursed them back to health, I sell them to resorts who are willing to have less than perfect horses for their guests to ride.”

Wade stared at him for a couple moments, then laughed.

‡

C
ole fisted his
hands. He’d had people shake their heads, but never had someone laugh at him. What he did was not a laughing matter. Some of the horses he saved had turned his stomach when he’d first seen them.

“I’m sorry.” Wade smiled and stepped around the Arabians. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at Kendra and her unique ability to attract those who need a second chance. I only thought she attracted people, but it sounds like she attracts animals too now.”

He had no idea what the man was talking about, but he relaxed his stance. “So you might be interested?”

Wade clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m not just interested. I think once Kendra finds out, she won’t let me order a horse from anywhere else.”

Cole breathed deeply. To have this new resort buying his horses could be the boost they needed. “Like I said, they’re not perfect.”

Wade grinned. “That’s even better.”

“I don’t understand.”

Wade slipped his hand into the curry comb and moved around Ace to start on the horse’s other side. “Kendra doesn’t hire anyone who doesn’t need a second chance. You met Billy.” Cole nodded. “He was a homeless drunk when Kendra hired him.”

Cole hadn’t smelled any alcohol on the man, but then again it looked like he’d just come from a shower.

“And you tasted Selma’s cooking last night, right?”

“Yes. The churros were excellent and the sandwich had a great mix of flavors. Why?” Hopefully, the cook hadn’t been up on murder charges…for poisoning.

“She’d just closed her brothel when Kendra hired her.”

Cole started to get the picture. So why would Kendra hire Lacey? She was perfect, even more so now. He looked at Wade and found the man staring at him.

“Lacey was hired because of her broken heart.”

Cole swallowed hard as his own heart constricted. He’d done the right thing back in high school, but it still hurt. He had always felt something for her. Hell, he’d felt a lot for her. Every girlfriend he’d had since had been compared to Lacey.

“That and the arson charge.” Wade returned to his chore.

Cole started. “The arson charge was dropped.” He’d still been in Orson when the county sheriff had ruled the fire accidental. But by then, Lacey had gone off to college.

Wade shrugged. “The fact she’d been accused and run out of town was enough for Kendra.”

“She wasn’t run out of town.”

Wade raised one eyebrow. “Maybe not literally, but by her account, she’d become a pariah.” The man’s face turned stern. “But she’s family here and we stick by our family.”

Cole got the message loud and clear. He was the outsider on Poker Flat so he better not cause any trouble. He didn’t plan on it. He did his duty by telling Sean about Lacey’s past and he hoped to sell a couple horses. “And why did Kendra hire you?”

Wade grinned. “She wouldn’t have if she’d had a choice, but she’d been desperate for a stable manager. She said I was too ‘perfect’. Luckily for me, she proved what an ass I could be, but gave me a second chance anyway.”

There was obviously a lot more to that story, but he wasn’t there to get involved in the past escapades of the Poker Flat staff. He was there to sell horses. “It sounds like my horses would fit in here. Do the guests really ride naked?”

Wade finished with Ace and moved to Sundancer. “Yeah, they do. We keep the horses at a walk and use special covers over the saddles. Even so, they always bring their own towels to sit on. The guests really enjoy it.” He paused. “There’s nothing like seeing the joy in a person’s eyes the first time they ride a horse. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, I do.” He’d never forget the day he’d first convinced Lacey to get up on a horse. Her parents owned a cattle ranch and despite the cowboys riding horses, no one had ever asked her if she’d like to ride. She’d actually been afraid of them.

He’d had to bribe her to just sit on his horse, Thunder. When he finally handed her up there, she looked petrified. He walked the horse around the corral and she slowly relaxed until she was absolutely beaming, her bright smile making her shine. When she’d finally come down and into his arms, she told him she loved him for the first time.

“Hey, cowboy, you still with me?” Wade’s voice snapped him from his memory.

“Sure.”

“I said, do you want to help me get Sage and Daisy hooked up to the wagon?”

He smiled. “I better. I promised Kendra I would and I have a feeling she’d be none too pleased if I reneged.”

Wade walked Ace out back and let him loose in the corral. “You’ve got that right.” Wade pointed to the last stall with a name placard. “That’s Daisy. You can bring her and I’ll get Sage as soon as I move Sundancer.”

Cole walked up to the stall and Daisy stepped up to meet him. She was a beautiful Belgian with good bone structure. As the horse pushed her head against his shoulder, he grinned. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small bag of jelly beans, poured a few into his hand and gave them to her. He’d forgotten to take them out of his jeans after giving Elsa her favorite treat this morning. “You have a good nose, sweetie.”

Wade walked by with Sundancer in tow. “Watch her. She does like t-shirts.”

“Thanks for the warning.” He ducked to the side as Daisy pulled back her lips to grasp his shirt in her teeth. “I don’t think so, girl. Come on.”

He walked her slowly toward the wagon, his eyes scanning the other half of the resort. Was Lacey still at the front desk? Is that what she did here? She’d always been good with numbers, even tutoring him in math.

He looked back to see Wade leading Sage. He’d try to nail the man down as far as a date to come out to the ranch. He hadn’t sold a horse in over four months and while his firefighter salary and small investments could keep the ranch going if he only had ten horses, he currently had thirteen and there were a couple pretty big vet bills coming in.

Movement in his peripheral vision had him turning his head. Sean was completely engrossed in his work, walking through the debris, taking pictures and scribbling notes. It might be a while before Cole could leave. He returned his gaze to the other half of the resort. It had to be lunchtime by now. He wouldn’t mind another one of Poker Flat’s sandwiches…or a chance to see Lacey again.

*

“You’re all set,
Mrs. Landry. I have you down for two for the sunset trail ride. Be sure to be at the barn by five.”

Lacey closed the trail ride reservation screen as the day guest smiled happily up at her husband before the two walked hand in hand toward the lobby doors. Before they reached them, a man with clothes entered. That caught her attention as only staff wore clothes, unless it was a newbie nudist. Most nudists shucked their clothes the minute they parked their car in the garage on the other side of the ravine.

The man smiled warmly at her and it took her a moment to recognize him. “John?”

“You bet.” He leaned his elbow on the front counter, which showed his bulging forearm and biceps. He was dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt that read “Sturgis 2014” and a pair of black jeans and biker boots.

As a woman, she definitely appreciated the view of his arms. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “Well, the boss didn’t need me at the other site, so I have the day off and I thought it might be a great opportunity to have lunch with you. You do get to take a lunch, don’t you?”

Though she usually ate at the front counter, the concern he revealed that he might be wrong had her changing her plans. “Of course I do. Just let me get someone to cover for me. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried through the back hallway, touched that John had come all the way back to Poker Flat to have lunch with her. He seemed like a nice man and this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about him. At least he already knew she worked at a nudist resort. She’d only been on two dates since the resort opened. One man had been appalled she worked at Poker Flat, while the other practically salivated in his attempt to obtain a free day pass.

She poked her head into her boss’s office. “Kendra?”

Kendra didn’t look up from her paperwork. “Hmmm?”

“Could you cover the front desk so I can eat lunch in the dining room?”

“Why?” Kendra glanced up. She didn’t show her curiosity, but it was very much in her tone.

“John Lockhart came back to ask me to lunch.”

“Really?” A slow smirk grew on Kendra’s face. She was still getting used to showing her emotions and the knowing smile was a new one. “I’d be happy to. I can read this insurance policy anywhere. Go ahead, I’ll handle the front.”

“Thank you.” Lacey headed down the hall, but made a quick trip into the bathroom to redo her braid. When she entered the lobby, she gave John a smile. “All set.”

“Great.” He held out his bulky arm and she took it. She wasn’t used to this side of him. When she’d been the one to go to the construction site to bring iced tea and Selma’s latest snack, he was dressed in a grungy t-shirt, usually soaked through with perspiration and stubble lining his chin, but he was always quick to smile. His blond hair was a little long and by mid-afternoon pasted to his brow with sweat. His nose was a bit large for his face, but his blue eyes reminded her of Santa Claus. That and he did have a little bit of a belly.

As they walked into the dining room, she felt a certain pride that he cleaned up so well. Selma stopped mid-stride, her brown eyes widening, before she continued through the batwing doors to the kitchen, the bun in her black hair bouncing with her step. Rachel, a young woman who had been caught stealing from her last employer, showed them to a table. Since all expenses were paid upon checkout, there was little to tempt Rachel at Poker Flat. The pretty redheaded waitress wiggled her brows at Lacey behind John’s back.

They took their seats across from each other and ordered drinks. Her instinct told her John would have liked a beer, but he kept it to iced tea.

“I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to call Mr. Price before he and the crew came out this morning. There was just so much going on.”

John shook his head. “He’ll get over it, especially once we start working on the building again. Truth be told, it’s a godsend. It means a whole new contract and new money. I know he’s been struggling financially. Last month, he even took a small job out in Cave Creek.”

She raised her glass. “Here’s to the silver lining on unfortunate events. Mr. Price will have another job and I get to have lunch with you.”