Cowboy Kisses (5 page)

Steve’s eyes narrowed.
“
Yeah—Cheyenne.
It’s not a fancy name like Ali Ben, but then he’s just a plain old mustang, not an expensive Thoroughbred.
”
He stomped out of Ali’s stall, grabbed Cheyenne’s reins, and swung into the saddle, trotting out of the ba
rn
by the rear entrance.

Kenzie stared after him.
“
What did I do?
”
she asked her horse. Ali nickered sympathetically, which made Kenzie smile. She made certain that Ali was comfortable in his new stall
until she heard the Jeep horn.

“I
’ll be back tomorrow, and we’ll explore the Lucky R together,
”
she promised, giving the Arabian a kiss on the nose before she left.

As she headed for the Jeep, Kenzie saw Steve and
Cheyenne in the main corral. “
Hey, Blondie,
”
Steve yelled.
“
Don’t forget to wear a hat next time, or you might fry your brains!
”

“
The name’s
Kenzie
,”
she shouted, climbing into the Jeep and glaring at him.
“
Don’t
you
forget
that
!”

“
Fighting already?
”
Jeanette asked as Brad drove through the Lucky R gates.

“
Deputy
Ramrod’s ticked off about some
thing,
”
Kenzie said,
“
but I'm not sure what it is. All I know is that he’s a royal pain, and I’m stuck with him for the rest of the summer!
”

Pizza and video games didn’t do much to
im
prove Kenzie’s bad mood. By the time Brad
’s
Jeep pulled into the Sullivans’ driveway, eve
ry
one had noticed that she wasn’t her usu
al
sunny self.

“
Are you feeling okay?
”
Paul asked, putti
ng
an arm around her shoulders.

“
Yeah—y
ou’re awfully quiet. Maybe Silent
Sarah’s condition is affecting you alrea
dy,”
Brad joked.

“
She’s fine
,”
Jeanette said. She smiled at Kenzie.
“
A little nervous about the job, huh?
”

“
A lot nervous,
”
Kenzie confessed, getting
out of the Jeep.

Paul got out, too, and walked with her to
the
door. Pulling her close, he said,
“
I
have an
ex
cellent cure for nervousness,
”
and kissed her
lightly on the cheek.

“
I feel better already,
”
Kenzie said with what
she hoped was a convincing smile, but s
he
didn’t really. Steve Calvert had ruined her e
n
tire day, an
d not even Paul’s attention could
cheer her up.

Kenzie waited while Paul got back into
the
Jeep, then waved as he drove away.
What’s
the
matter with me?
she asked herself.
Who in
her r
ight mind wouldn't love being kissed by Paul?
Well
, maybe I
'm not in my right mind,
she de
cided
,
and unless I can figure out how to get along with Steve Calvert, I'll probably stay that
w
ay.

Much as Kenzie disliked Steve, it seemed that making peace with him was the smartest thing to do. His opinion of her might mean the difference between keeping and losing her job
,
and Kenzie simply couldn’t afford to be fired.

On Sunday morning Kenzie’s father gave her a ride to the Lucky R. When she entered the
barn
, she found Sarah Whitman grooming a palomino in one of the stalls.

“
Hi,
”
Kenzie called to Sarah. But Sarah totally ignored her
, just as she ignored her class
mates at school. Kenzie groaned inwardly. If
Steve didn’t have anything nice to say and Sarah wouldn’t speak to her at all, she didn’t think she could stand it. Well, she’d give Silent Sarah one more try.

“
Hi
,
”
Kenzie repeated loudly, stopping in front of the palomino’s stall. Sarah pushed a strand of stringy brown hair behind one ear and mumbled something that might have been a greeting, her
eyes fixed intently on the palo
mino’s right foreleg.

“
I start work here tomorrow,
”
Kenzie said, brightly.
“
I’m Kenzie Sullivan. And you’re Sarah Whitman, right? I’ve seen you in school.
”

The other girl nodded and began brushing the palomino.

Silent Sarah certainly was living up to her name!
“
Is Steve around?
”
Kenzie asked.

“
Day off,
”
Sarah replied.

Forcing a smile, Kenzie said, “
Thanks. Well, see you around.
”
She went to Ali’s stall, and the gray whickered a greeting. Wrapping her arms around Ali’s neck, Kenzie sighed.
“
At least
someone
at the Lucky R is happy to see me!
”

When Ali was saddled, Kenzie led him down the aisle between the stalls. As they passed Sarah, who was still busy w
ith the palomino, Kenzie said, “I’
m going for a little ri
de. Will you
be here when I get back?
”

Sarah glanced up for just a moment, then shrugged and looked away.

Kenzie led Ali out of the stable and mounted. Was it her imagination, or did Silent Saran Whitman have
very pretty blue eyes?
Impossi
ble
, Kenzie decided, then bit her lip, ashamed of how mean she was being. But Sarah always walked as though she were looking for something on the ground. If she did have nice eyes, who could see them? And was it Kenzie’s fault if the one word that best described Sarah was
“
drab
”
?

Of course not
, Kenzie told herself. She urged Ali into a trot, then a canter, and soon they were flying over the rolling hills of the Lucky R. They didn’t stop until they reached a small meadow. Cattle with the Lucky R brand grazed or lay in the shade of the willow trees along the bank of a shallow creek.

Kenzie dismounted, and after she and Ali drank from the creek, she tied Ali to a tree, took off her boots and socks, and plunged her bare feet into the clear, cold water. Leaning back on her elbows, Kenzie closed her eyes and listened to the peaceful sounds surrounding her.

She was beginning to doze off when the sound of approaching hoofbeats made her pull her feet out of the water and whirl around. Somebody was galloping much too fast!

Then Kenzie recognized the rider. As he pulled the Appaloosa gelding to a stop inches
away from where she was sitting, she scowl at him
,
shading her eyes against the sun.
“Try
ing to scare me to death before my first day o
n
the job?
”
she grumbled angrily at St Calver
t.

CHAPTER FIVE

The h
int of a smile tugged at the corn
ers of Steve s mouth.

“
Sorry, Blon—I mean, Kenzie. I didn’t mean to scare you. You were just too busy daydreaming to hear me,
”
he said as he dismounted.
“
You
’v
e got some temper, you know that?
”

“
For your information,
”
she said haughtily,
“I
hardly ever get mad.
”
They looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly they both burst out laughing.

Kenzie liked his deep, hearty laug
h and the dimples that appeared
in his tanned cheeks. Whoever would have thought that Deputy Ramrod could turn into Deputy Dimples!

Steve led Cheyenne to the creek for a drink.
“
Don’t let us disturb you,
”
he said. He wrapped the Appaloosa’s reins around a low tree branch and then sat in the shade beside Kenzie.

She dunked her feet back into the cool water.
“
I thought this was your day off,
”
she said.

“
My days off are the only times I can ride for pleasure.
”
Steve took off his hat. As he crossed his long legs and settled back on his elbows, Kenzie decided this was the perfect time for patching things up between them.

She took a deep breath.
“
I don’t want any hard feelings between us, Steve,
”
she said quietly.
“
And
I don’t know what I
did yesterday to make
you mad, but whatever it was, I
apologize.
”

Steve sat up and tossed a rock into the creek.
“
I thought you were being a snob, acting like your Arab
ian with his fancy name was bet
ter than Cheyenne.
”

“
You shouldn’t jump to conclusions so fast,
”
Kenzie said indignantly.

“
You’re right,
”
Steve admitted.
“
I’m sorry. If I accept your apology, will you accept mine?
”

Kenzie smiled at him.
“
Let’s forget the whole thing so I can start my new job with a clear record.
”
Kenzie paddled her feet in the water and steered the
conversation into neutral terri
tory
.
“
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
”

“
One brother. Matt’s three years older than me. He’s a junior at State.
”
Steve answered.
“
What about you?
”

“
One older brother—Adam.
”
A twinge of re
gret flickered through Kenzie. Only last week she’d have said that Adam was going to the University of Co
lorado. “
He’ll be going to J.C. in the fall.
”

“
So did Matt for two years,
”
Steve said.
“
Our folks couldn’t afford four years at State so he took his undergraduate course requirements here, then transferred.
”

Kenzie was surprised at Steve’s casual reference to his family’s finances. She’d rather die than reveal
how poor her own family was. “
Is that what you’ll do? Go to J.C., then State?
”
she asked.

Steve nodded.
“
I want to be a vet, so that means a lot of schooling.
”

“
I’m not sure what I want to do yet,
”
Kenzie confessed. “
I mean. I’ll go to college, of course, but I don’t have any career goal in mind.
”

“
You’re what my guidance counselor refers to as ‘unfocused
’
,
”
Steve said seriously.

“
Well, maybe working at the Lucky R will help me ‘focus
’
,
”
Kenzie said with a smile.
“
I’m really looking forward to working with the kids in the therapeutic riding program.
”

To Kenzie’s surprise, Steve suddenly looked disapproving. Had she said something wrong again? To avoid yet another misunderstanding, she asked,
“
What’s the matter, Steve?
”

Gazing at her levelly, he said,
“
I’m wondering how you’ll feel about your adventure at the Lucky R after a couple of weeks.
”

“
My adventure?
”
Kenzie repeated, confused.

“
Yeah. Isn’t that what you’re looking for—adventure? Why else would someone like you want to work here?
”

“
What do you mean, someone like me?
”
Ken
zie was getting angry.
“
You don’t know any
thing about me, Steve Calvert!
”

He tilted his head, regarding her intently.
“
I overheard the remarks you and your friends made about the Lucky R and about Sarah Whitman. This isn’t really your scene, Kenzie. You’re a country club girl with a country club horse and an attitude to match.
”
He stood up then, towering over Kenzie.
“
I’ll bet you don’t last one week,
”
he predicted coolly.
“
By then you’ll be tired of slumming.
”

Furious, Kenzie leaped to her feet.
“I’ll
make a deal with you,
”
she said, willing a calmness she didn’t feel into her voice.
“
After one week and
one day
on the job, you’ll owe me a pizza. A large combination, hold the anchovies, okay?
”

Steve grasped her extended hand and shook it.
“
Deal. And if you quit—or get fired,
”
he told her,
“
you owe me the same.
With
anchovies.
”

“
Ha!
”
Kenzie scoffed, flustered by the warmth of his callused hand that still held hers. Why did she have the feeling that some of the sparks they
were striking had ignited a corn
er of her heart?

Shaking off the notion, she continued,
“
If you’re so sure you’re going to win this bet, let’s up the stakes. Buy me a pizza at the end of
every
week I’m at the Lucky R, and maybe I'll even share them with you.
”

Steve grinned wickedly.
“
Deal,
”
he said again.

Kenzie jerked her hand out of his, and as she pulled on her socks and boots, she said,
“
You’d better buy bigger pants, Steve. With all the pizza we’ll be eating this summer, you’ll be bursting out of those in no time!
”

Steve’s hearty laughter rang in her ears as
Kenzie strode over to Ali and mounted. The Arabian took off at a gallop, and it was only when the meadow was far behind them that she slowed All’s pace.

“
This is one bet I won’t lose,
”
Kenzie told the horse.
“
Steve Calvert doesn’t have the faintest idea what the
real
stakes are. If he knew that your future depends on my job at the Lucky R he’d realize just how determined I am.
”

Shortly before eight on Monday morning, Adam pulled up outside the Lucky R gate.
“
This is as far as I go,
”
he told Kenzie, reat
taching a
corner
of the
FOR SALE
sign to the side window of the truck.

Kenzie didn
’t argue. She was still too ner
vous about her first day on the job to be concerned about anything else.

“
Thanks, Adam,
”
she said.
“
See you at five.
”

“
Don’t be late,
”
he warned. The minute Kenzie got out of the truck, he drove off in a cloud of dust.

Kenzie walked down the dirt road that led to the
barn
, glad that she had avoi
ded an argu
ment with her brother. Starting the day with a shouting mat
ch wouldn’t have calmed the but
terflies in her stomach.

Hank Rudloff greeted her with a friendly
sm
ile as she walked into the
barn
. “
Today’s your ranch-hand day,
”
he said.
“
I’m going into town, so Sarah’ll show you the ropes.
”
He gestured toward the far end of the stalls where Sarah and Steve were talking.
“
Have you met Sarah?
”

Kenzie nodded woodenly, wondering if Steve was telling Sarah what Kenzie and her friends had said about her on Saturday. He wouldn’t do that, would he?

Hank let out a piercing whistle, and Sarah joined him and Kenzie.

“
Don’t forget to take Kenzie over to the house later,
”
Hank told Sarah, who as usual was staring at the floor.
“
Nora needs guinea pigs today.
”
He put a hand on Kenzie’s shoulder.
“
You’ll do fine,
”
he said just before he left, as though he sensed her discomfort.

Kenzie’s mind reeled with confusion. Ranch-hand day? Guinea pigs? What was he talking about? And who was Nora? Summoning what little self-confidence she had left, Kenzie turned to Sarah.
“
Lead the way,
”
she said.