Cowboy Kisses (12 page)

“
When I ran into you at Pasquale’s last night,
”
Paul went on,
“
I was taking my pizza over to Lisa Gray’s house. I felt real guilty, until I saw the way you were looking at that cowboy you were with. That’s when I decided that we’d both better be honest with each other.
”

With a sigh of relief,
Kenzie squeezed his hand tight.
“
Lisa’s a lucky girl,
”
she said sincerely.

Smiling, Paul replied,
“
I’m th
e lucky one,
having you f
or a friend. And I hope Steve kn
ows how lucky he is to have a girl like you in love with him.
”

Kenzie was sil
ent. There was no point in tell
ing Paul that Steve didn’t want either her friendship or her love.

Even though Kenzie had told Jeanette that she wouldn’t mope, that’s what she did the next morning. And she couldn’t forget about Steve either, because every time she turned around, there he was. But he barely spoke to her, and he never smiled.

Later that day, however, Kenzie got a pleasant surprise when Jeanette arrived at the Lucky R shortly before the Sunshine Club’s lesson.

“
Silver Hills just isn’t the same without you, Kenz,
”
she said.
“
I’m seriously thinking about boarding Zenith here.
”

Kenzie gave her a warm hug.
“
That’s great,
”
she exclaimed.
“
We can ride together all over the ranch. I know you’ll love it as much as I do.
”
At that moment, the buses from the Valley
Handicapped Center drove through the gates.
“
Why don’t you stay for a while and watch the riding session?
”
Kenzie suggested.

But Jeanette didn’t seem to hear her question.
“
Who’s that?
”
she asked, staring at a girl in a pretty pink shirt and tight-fitting jeans.
“
Competition for Deputy Ramrod
’
s heart?
”
Kenzie followed Jeanette’s gaze.
“
Oh, that’s Sarah Whitman.
”

“
No kidding!
”
Jeanette looked astonished.
“
Whatever happened to those ugly, baggy clothes she used to wear?
”

“
I don’t know, but love has happened to Sarah,
”
Kenzie said.
“
She’s crazy about Greg, one of the guys who works here. She’s even letting me give her a perm tonight.
”

Jeanette gasped in mock alarm.
“
You haven’t done that since we were in eighth grade! I
’
d better supervise.
”

Smiling, Kenzie said,
“
Good idea. Sarah’s coming for
dinner tonight—Dad’s making ham
burger Stroganoff. Why don’t you come, too?
”

“
I’ll be there,
”
Jeanette promised.
“
And I’ll also be here for a while on the Fourth. I talked Brad into painting until the barbecue starts at the club.
”

“
Great!
”
Kenzie said, waving at Emily as a volunteer took her wheelchair off the bus.
“
That’s one of our prize pupils,
”
she told Jea
nette.
“
You can watch the lesson from th
e benches outside the paddock.”

Emily smiled brightly when she was wheeled over to Kenzie.
“
I bet I get another one of these today,
”
she said, pointing to the bedraggled paper ribbon pinned to her shirt pocket.
“
Then I can give Nugget some sugar cubes.
”

A small boy whom Kenzie had never seen before began whimpering, and Emily shot him a superior look.
“
If you cry, you’ll never get your ribbons and you won’t be able to give your ho
rse sugar,
”
she announced.

“
We’ll put you two next to each other,
”
Kenzie said to Emily.
“
You’re a good rider now. You can show him there’s nothing to be afraid of.
”
As Kenzie led Nugget slowly around the paddock, she was proud of all the students. Steve’s words came back to her:
“
One of the rewards of the program is watching the riders improve. They’ll amaze you,
”
he’d said. He was right. Kenzie knew that by next month, the frightened
little boy would feel as confi
dent as Emily, and it gave her a warm feeling inside.

When the
session ended, Kenzie asked Jea
nette to pass out sugar cubes while she gave the children their certificates and ribbons.

“
No wonder you like working here so much, Kenzie,
”
Jeanette said, watching the happy kids feed sugar lumps to their horses.
“
Do you think the center could use an extra volunteer for the riding lessons?
”

“
Absolutely!
”
Kenzie said.
“
Come on—I’ll in
troduce you to the person in charge.
”
Then she added loudly so Steve could hear.
“
We can never have enough country club girls here at the Lucky R!
”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Fifteen minutes before eight on Saturday morning, Adam’s car stopped at the Lucky R
gate.

“
I still don’t understand why we left so early,
”
Kenzie said.
“
You and Dad fixed the engine last night—the car doesn’t stall anymore, so we didn’t need the extra time. What’s the hurry?
”
When Adam’s only reply was a shrug and a goofy grin, she became suspicious.
“
Okay, Adam, what’s up? It’s the Fourth of July, you don’t have to work, but you haven’t complained once about giving me a ride. What’s going on?
”

Adam’s grin broadened.
“
I figure I owe you
one, Kenzie. After I dropped you off yesterday, the car stalled a little way down the road next to somebody who was trying to fix a flat, so I helped. If it hadn’t been for you and your job, I’d never have met Tracy Hall, the girl of my dreams.
”

“
The girls of your dreams?
”
Kenzie echoed.
“
You mean she was the one with the flat?
”

“
You got it. Tracy’s smart and beautiful, and she thinks this hunk of junk is ‘cute.’
”
Adam patte
d the dashboard fondly. “
After we talked for a while, she invited me to her family’s picnic at Frasier Lake. I’m on my way to pick her up.
”

“
Aha!
”
Kenzie cried triumphantly.
“
You
did
have an ulterior motive! I knew it!
”

“
Tracy’s going to J.C. in the fall, so things are definitely improving,
”
he said as Kenzie picked up her bag lunch and got out.
“
Remember to call Mom and Dad when you need a ride home. As of now, this taxi is off duty.
”
He drove away, whistling a cheerful tune.

Well, at least one of us has something going in the romance department
, Kenzie thought with a wry smile, walking toward the
barn
.

When she got there, Sarah ran to meet her, eyes sparkling and face glowing.
“
Mr. Wilson, one of the boarders, is up at the house with Hank and Nora, keeping them occupied while we finish getting their surprise ready,
”
she
s
aid, fluffing her soft brown curls, which concealed her hearing aids nicely.
“
Guess what, Kenzie? This morning Greg said I was pretty! Nobody’s ever told me that before.
”
She gave Kenzie a quick hug.
“
Thanks so much for the perm! The other night when you and Jeanette took the rods out of my hair. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. I never dreamed it would look this good.
”

“
Greg’s right,
Sarah,
”
Kenzie said.
“
You
are
pretty, even without curly hair.
”
From the
corner
of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Steve and Dennis carrying cans of paint out of the
barn
. Steve had never said Kenzie was pretty.

“
What time is Jeanette coming?
”
Sarah asked.
“
Will she be here in time for the presentation?
”

“
No. She and Brad are coming around ten,
”
Kenzie told her,
thinking,
So what if I don’t have a boyfriend? At least I have friends who care about me
.

Kenzie helped Sarah and the others put the finishing tou
ches on Hank and Nora’s anniver
sary present. Cans of paint were stacked in a pyramid in the center of the main corral, topped with a giant red bow and draped with the banner Kenzie had designed on her father’s computer. Pr
inted on the banner in huge let
ters were the words
:

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY

HANK AND NORA!

Roses are red, violets are blue.

The
barn
will be painted

By the Lucky R Crew!

“
Here they come!
”
Dennis whispered.

Kenzie scurried to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her fellow workers and several of the boarders who were in on the secret, forming a human screen to conceal the stack of cans.

“
I don’t know why you want me to come with you and Hank to look for your saddle,
”
No
ra was saying peevishly as she,
Hank, and Mr. Wilson approached.
“
I haven’t the faintest idea where it might be!
”

“
I
need both of you
…”
Mr. Wilson insisted,
“
to witness
this
!
”

Kenzie and the others shouted,
“
Surprise!
”
and stepped aside to reveal their gift.

Smiles of delighted astonishment spread over Hank and Nora’s faces as they read the words on the banner, and Kenzie was sure she saw tears i
n their eyes. Blinking rapidly,
Hank cleared his throat.
“
Well, my goodness!
”
he said huskily.
“
What a wonderful present! Nora and I can’t thank you enough.
”
Then, grinning broadly, he put his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“
To show our appreciation, we’ll distribute the paint-brushes and rollers!
”

Everybody laughed and applauded, and then they set to work. One entire side of the
barn
had been painted a dazzling red by the time Brad and Jeanette arrived. As they headed for the
barn
, Paul Ferguson’s sports car pulled up and he and Lisa Gray got out. Like the rest of the volunteer painters, Kenzie’s friends were all wearing their oldest clothes.
You can't tell the country club crowd from the ranch hands
, she thought, glancing up at Steve who was watching the
newcomers from the top of a lad
der. Though she couldn’t see the expression on his face, she guessed that he was less than thrilled to see Paul.
Well that's just too bad
, Kenzie said to herself.
It isn't as if we were still dating or anything.

She greeted Brad
,
Jeanette, Paul, and Lisa with a smile.
“
I’m so glad you all came to help us when you could be hanging out at the pool,
”
she said.

Brad gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“
What are friends for?
”

“
Just point me in the direction of a p
aint
brush, Kenz,
”
Jeanette said.

“
Me, too.
”
sa
id Lisa, adjusting a faded base
ball cap on her dark curls.

Paul walked over to the foot of Steve’s ladder.
“
Hey, Steve, where do you want us to start?
”
he called.

“
Dennis can probably use all of you on the south side,
”
Steve replied from his perch.

“
I’ll lead the way,
”
Kenzie offered.

“
That’s okay. I’ll do it,
”
Steve said as he climbed down the ladder.
“
I need more paint, so I’ll introduce your friends to Dennis.
”