Cowboy Kisses (3 page)

“
Eight o’clock Monday morning,
”
Hank said with a smile of his own.
“
You can settle your horse in anytime over the weekend.
”

“
Will he be used in the riding sessions?
”
Kenzie asked. She'd never let anyone ride Ali. She wasn't sure she liked the idea, but if it meant having a
j
ob, she'd agree.

“
No. We have all the horses we need.
”
Hank extended his hand.
“
Welcome to the Lucky R, Kenzie.
”

She shook his hand, beaming.
“
Thanks so much, Hank!
”

Hank nodded.
“
Okay, Steve. They're a
l
l yours.
”
He winked and walked away.

Without a backward glance, Steve turned on his bootheels and stomped toward the ba
rn
.

“
What's with him?
”
Jeanette asked Kenzie, keeping her voice down.

“
I don't know,
”
Kenzie said,
“
and I don’t care just as long as he keeps his grouchy self away from me. I can't believe I found a place for Ali and a job, too!
”

As they entered the
barn
, Jeanette marched up to Steve.
“
Exactly what did you mean by ranch chores?
”
she asked.

Without cracking a smile, he said,
“
Something that involves shovels and keeping stalls clean.
”

Jeanette wrinkled her nose, but Kenzie wouldn't give Steve the satisfaction of seeing her confidence waver. She had never mucked out a stall in her life, but she’d just have to
learn
.

Steve pointed to an empty stall.
“
You can put your horse in here.
”
Taking off his hat, he raked his fingers through unruly brown hair.
“
What kind is it?
”

“
An Arabian,
”
Kenzie answered proudly.

Steve snorted.
“
Figures,
”
he said, putting on his hat again.
“
Tack room's over there. See you Monday. Eight sharp.
”
He left the girls staring, at his back.

“
How are you going to get back and forth from town?
”
Jeanette asked on the way to the car.

“
I’ll ride with Adam. Dad said that when I got a job, he'd work Adam's schedule around mine.
”

“
And Adam actually agreed?
”
Jeanette peered at Kenzie over her sunglasses.

“
He had no choice,
”
Kenzie said quietly as she got into the car.
“
No one in our family has a choice anymore.
”

Half an hour later, Jeanette drove into the Silver Hills Country Club parking lot. When the girls got out, they found Brad and Paul and the four of them went to the clubhouse and ordered four large sodas. Brad paid the bill.

“
I guess we all know who won,
”
Paul said smugly.
He took a long sip of his soda.
“
Ahhh! The sweet taste of victory.
”

Jeanette patted Brad’s arm sympathetically.
“
You'll beat him next time.
”
He smiled and gave her a quick kiss.

“
Let's talk about Monday,
”
Brad said.
“
How about renting Ski-Doos at the lake? We can set up some kind of race course.
”

“
Great idea!
”
Paul exclaimed.

Kenzie had completely forgotten about the waterskiing trip.
“
I'm sorry, guys. I can't make it on Monday after all,
”
she said sadly.

Jeanette’s face fell.
“
That's right—it’s your first day at work.
”

Paul turned to Kenzie.
“
You didn't tell me you had a job
,
Kenzie.
”

She squirmed in her chair. No way was she revealing her family's financial disaster until it was absolutely necessary.

“
Kenzie’s going to be working at the Lucky R Ranch,
”
Jeanette explained quickly.
“
Isn't that cool?
”

“
Where is it?
”
Brad asked.

“
Out past the fairgrounds,
”
Kenzie told him.

“
She’s moving Ali over there on Saturday,
”
Jeanette added.

Paul looked puzzled.
“
Why? Silver Hills has
the best stables anywhere around.
”

“
It’s part of the job,
”
Kenzie lied.
“
The instructors are r
equired to keep their horses at
the ranch.
”

Jeanette gave
her a sharp look but didn't say
a word.

Paul seemed interested.
“
So you're going to
teach riding?
”

“
In a few weeks, after a training period,
”
Kenzie said. At
least this answer was truthful.

“
I’ve got a great idea,
”
Paul said, his dark
eyes brightening.
“
Since you can’t come with us on Monday, Kenzie, we won’t go either.
”
He reached for her hand.
“
We’ll help take your horse out to the new place, and then we'll all go for pizza afterward.
”

Kenzie didn't want anyone besides Jeanette to know that the Lucky R wasn't a blue-ribbon operation, so she smiled and said,
“
Thanks, Paul, but my dad said he’d help—
”

“
Sure,
”
Brad cut in.
“
We can pull your horse
trailer behind my Jeep.
”

“
Come on, Kenz,
”
Jeanette added.
“
It'll be fun.
”

“Yeah. Come on, Kenz,
”
Paul repeated playfully, squeezing her hand.
“
It’s three against one.
”

Against her better judgment, Kenzie gave in.
“
Okay, okay! You win.
”

Jeanette smiled.
“
Good! Now that’s settled, let’s spend the rest of the day at the pool.
”

“
Might as well,
”
Kenzie sighed.
“
My swim
ming days are
numbered, since I’ll be a work
ing girl the rest of the summer.
”
With no club membership
, she thought.

“
You'll have time off,
”
Jeanette reminded her.
“
You-k
now-who said you'd
only
be work
ing six
long
days a week.
”

Kenzie grimaced.
“
Deputy Ramrod's words are etched in my mind forever.
”

“
Who's Deputy Ramrod?
”
Paul asked.

With a shrug
,
Kenzie replied.
“
Just a cowboy with an attitude. He works at the Lucky R, too.
”

Paul leaned back in his chair.
“
Just give him one of your dynamite smiles, Kenzie. You'll melt the guy's heart, I guarantee.
”

Kenzie blushed at his compliment.
“
I’m afraid it’ll take
more than a smile to reach Dep
uty Ramrod's heart,
”
she said.
“
If he has one, that is!
”

CHAPTER THREE

The garage
was the first place Kenzie went
when she got home from the club. She groaned when she saw the mound of neatly bundled newspapers waiting for Adam’s next trip to the recycling center. How would she ever find the article on the Lucky R that Hank Rudloff had mentioned? She'd have to cut the twine, scan eve
r
y issue, re
-
bundle, cut new lengths of string, and finally, retie. Maybe she should reconsider. Finding the stupid article wasn’t that important, was it?

Yes it is
, she decided. Kenzie planned on studying every word of the story so by Monday she’d know all about the therapeutic riding
sessions at t
he Lazy R. She'd show Steve Cal
vert she wasn’t a dumb tenderfoot!

Why does Steve's opinion matter anyway?
Kenzie wondered, cutting the string on the first stack of newspapers.
“
Because we'll be working together,
”
she said aloud,
“
and if he doesn't respect me at least a little bit, this job is going to be a real bummer.
”

Kenzie had worked her way through several bundles with no success when she heard her brother's voice.

“
Hey!
”
Adam shouted from the connecting kitchen door.
“
What are you doing?
”

“
I’m ice-skating,
”
Kenzie shot back sarcasti
cally.
“
What does it look like I'm doing?
”

“
Making a mess!
”

“
I’m looking for something. Don't have a cow—I’ll tie them all up again.
”

“
What about the casserole you were sup-posed to put in the oven for dinner?
”
Adam asked. Kenzie stared at him blankly.
“
Didn't you check the answering machine? Mom left a message to say she’ll be working late, and she wants dinner ready at six thirty.
”

Kenzie raced past him into the kitchen. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was five past six.
“
Why didn't you tell me sooner?
”
she asked angrily.

Adam shrugged.
“
I didn't know you were home. The garage isn't your usual hangout.
”

Kenzie took the lasagna her mother had prepared the night before and popped the dish into the microwave. While the microwave worked its magic, Adam made a salad and Kenzie buttered and seasoned a loaf of Italian bread. Their parents arrived just as Kenzie was putting the casserole on the table.

Mr. Sullivan sniffed the air.
“
Smells great,
”
he said, forcing a smile.

“
Thanks, kids,
”
Mrs. Sullivan said. She sank wearily into a kitchen chair and began to serve the lasagna.
“
I’m sure I won't be working late very often.
”

Kenzie decided that now was the time to tell her family her good news. Maybe
i
t would cheer her parents up.

“
Guess what? I got a job today, at the Lucky R Ranch out past the fairgrounds,
”
she said excitedly.
“
I'll be stabling Ali there, too, and the owner’s giving me a break on his board.
”

Her father’s smile was genuine this time.
“
That's wonderful, sweetheart.
”

“
Congratulations, Kenzie!
”
her mother said.

“
I’ll be working six days a week, but I don’t care
,
”
Kenzie told them.
“
I won't have to give up Ali.
”

Adam was the only one who wasn't pleased.
“
Let me get this straight. I’ll have to drive you all the way out there
six days a week
? You have to be kidding!
”

Mr. Sullivan frowned at him.
“
That’s enough, Adam. These are difficult times for all of us.
”

“
Your father’s right,
”
Mrs. Sullivan agreed.
“
We'll all have to pitch in and lend a hand. In fact
,
I’ve made up a cooking schedule. We'll each take turns cooking dinner during the week
…”

Adam groaned.
“
Cooking? Give me a break!
”

“
For how long?
”
Kenzie asked, annoyed at the thought of permanent kitchen duty along with the other responsibilities they had been
given.

“
At least until some attitudes change around here,
”
Mr. Sullivan snapped.
“
I don’t think your mother's asking much of you two, unless doing household chores causes some terminal illness in teenagers that I'm not aware of.
”

Kenzie stared wide-eyed at her father. She couldn't remember the last time he'd raised his voice. She didn’t feel hungry anymo
re, espe
cially when the conversation turned to her dad's problems in dealing with dissatisfie
d Sullivan Electronics clients.

After dinner and dishes, Kenzie went back to the tedious task of sorting through the stack of newspapers.

“
Finally!
”
she exclaimed when she saw the article headlined
THERAPY ON HORSEBACK
. Quickly she retied the bundle and took the paper to her room. Sitting on the floor, she spread the newspaper out in front of her and
began to read the article: