Lucky's Story: Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy (Montana Cowboys / Country Music Collection) (2 page)

She sniffed. Nodded. Placed her hand on his arm and began to adjust herself properly in the saddle. She cleared her throat and straightened her back. Once she was ready, he handed her the reins. The rest of the riders were catching up to them by that point and Jack took the lead. Trail Walker fell in line and Lucky waited until the end of the tourist line to side next to Rafe.

“Good recovery,” he said.

Distant, thinking only of that blasted woman and her tears he tried to focus. “Yeah.”

“Who is she?” Rafe asked. He knew something was up, Lucky couldn’t hide that.

“
Wouldn’t you like to know?” Lucky made a clicking sound and his horse picked up the pace to leave Rafe and his snooping behind. They had a ways to go before lunch in the field. It was going to be a long morning.

***

Hope watched as Lucky tied his horse to the established posts at the picnic area. They had it all planned for the tour group. The horses were pampered during the four hours they were given to lunch and hike the nearby trails. New hands were there in t-shirts with the ranch symbol on the front and their name on the back. The words casual, moderate, and strenuous emblazoned on white cards held above their heads let the hikers who did not want to brave the Montana trails alone sign up for the respected walks.

Lucky still hadn’t made it to the chow line where a feast was prepared for them. It was exceptional for the middle of nowhere. Surely he was hungry like the rest of them, but every few steps he was accosted by someone new. At the moment he was surrounded by a bridal party, she knew because their t-shirts identified them as bride, maid of honor, and bridesmaid, three of them, respectively.

Alone, feeling better that she had stayed and stuck out the ride though she really wanted to get off that horse and crawl into the nearest ditch for at least a year,
Hope had been lingering, hoping she would get the chance to accost him in the buffet line, but he wasn’t getting any closer to it, so she took matters into her own hands.

“Lucky,” she smiled at him and the smile he returned was better than the one he gave to everyone else. He seemed almost relieved to see her. His eyes sparkled then opened in surprise as she pushed the plate balanced precariously on top of a plastic cup filled with ice tea towards him. “I thought you might like to have something to eat.”

The crowd around him slowly let him through. Hope heard one of them say she wished she had thought of that. A slight laugh escaped. Whether he heard it or not he kept his discretion and accepted the offering. “Thank you.”

‘You’re welcome,” she said. “It was the least I could do.”

“Let’s grab a seat here, under this tree,” Lucky shifted their walk away from the crowd and the tables towards a large tree providing a lot of shade. “You’re nose is pink, and not from cold or crying. You have sun block?”

Taking a seat next to him she let out a sigh of exasperation. “Nope. I didn’t get a chance to grab my backpack. I’m sure it’s in lost and found by now.”

“I see why your folks named you Hope,” he said it serious enough but his cheek lifted his lip giving away a hint of humor.

“It’s after my grandmother.” Hope looked out towards all of the people. She was named after an honorable woman. Her family had thrown that at her when the scandal got out. What else was there in a small town but gossip? She had tarnished her family name and disgraced her namesake because she had fallen for a man who
had told her he was free again, but in truth was taken.

“I think it’s a nice name,” he rocked into her shoulder.
The bump almost splashed her tea from the cup. “I wouldn’t have teased if I knew it was a legacy and not because you seem to have the worst luck of anyone I know.”

Hope kinda laughed at that. “Yeah, well, I guess we can’t all be…Lucky.”

He laughed. “You’re right about that.”

Hope was certain it was  the robust sound of his laughter that caught the attention of the other staff members. Two tall, similar looking cowboys made their way towards them.

“Ugh,” Lucky growled. “This can’t be happening.”

“What?” she was suddenly nervous. “Are you not allowed to eat with guests or something? Who are they?”

Preparing herself to defend him against whatever the other workers had to say Hope stood up and dusted herself off. The cowboys still smiled and whispered as they came closer.

“They are the owners of the ranch, I’ve known them all my life, they are like my brothers, and I will never hear the end of this.” Lucky stood and leaned casually, coolly, against the tree.

“Of what?” she asked. It was too late.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the presence
of three very large cowboys in close proximity she took a step back and stumbled over the tree root she had been only moments ago sitting on. Six large hands moved at once to grab at her, but Lucky had her. Standing on her feet again as the other two grabbed her by each hand and held her there.

“Good Lord in heaven,” she said as she caught her breath.

“Let her go,” Lucky said. He moved to stand beside her. That caught their attention more than her almost fall.

“
Yes,” cowboy one said. “Let her go, Jack.”

“You, let her go, Rafe.”

“Oh for crying out loud, stop being juvenile,” Lucky reached forward and took her hands out of theirs. She watched as both of the men’s eyes grew large in surprise. She could feel him being possessive, and it was oddly a good feeling. He let her hands go and took a step forward placing himself a bit between her and the brothers. She knew the owners were three brothers and one sister. The Johnson Family Ranch was everything she needed to be around to get her mind straight and life right. It was why she’d chosen this place to escape to prior to making a new life plan.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Jack asked. He smiled and leaned a little to look at her around Lucky’s shoulder. She noticed the double dimples, the brown eyes and thought Montana must just grow men this way. His brother, Rafe pushed Jack a step and took his own turn to peek at her. It was odd being behind Lucky this way, they were obviously not a threat, yet he stood between them as though she needed protection.

“I’m Hope,” she said “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hope,” Rafe nodded. “Beautiful name. Did you know her name was Hope, Lucky?”

“Yes,” he snorted.

“Was that another laugh?” Jack asked. “Because you see, Hope, Lucky hasn’t laughed in years. He’s grumbled, sometimes he smiles, but we consider ourselves a family full of funny antidotes and he barely cracks a
genuine smile.”

“He smiles at guests,” Rafe added in Lucky’s defense. “But that fake smile. I call it his picture face.”

“Picture face?” Lucky had to be grinding his teeth. His body was tight, rigid. She could see the muscles in his shoulders flex as he pulled his arms up to cross them over his chest.

“Yeah, the one on every headshot or banner with your mug on it. That’s the face people get around here. But you,” Rafe leaned and peeked at her. “You got a real smile. A laugh, too. We just wanted to meet you, that’s all.”

“That’s not all,” Jack shook his head. “You should come to dinner tonight. Meet the rest of the family.”

“She’s busy,” Lucky answered for her.

Not sure why, other than the fact she was determined not to let a man boss or hide her ever again, Hope spoke up, “No, I’m not.”

“Looks like her plans just opened up.” Rafe  clapped his hands.

“Are you staying on the property or did you just come out for the day?” Jack asked. They were obviously not aware she was a guest.

“I’m a guest,” she said. Then she realized that Lucky might be in trouble for whatever they suspected being that she was a guest. “But Lucky has known me for a little while.”

It was a little lie, and barely a lie at all since he did know her a little and he certainly knew her longer than they had.

“Really?” Rafe said.

“The plot thickens.” Jack quipped.

“Juveniles.” Lucky remarked. “Can I finish my lunch?”

The brothers looked at each other as if they had to decide whether or not to leave him alone. She witnessed this by leaning around to peek at them as they had been doing to see her.

“Please?
” she asked. They looked at her and nodded. Two cowboy hats tipped and they were off without another word to either of them. She could hear them talking as they walked away. Mostly questions about who she was. Not what she had hoped to hear.

Lucky took two steps away from her and then turned to face her. He was not happy. “Why did you say you were free when I said you weren’t?”

“I didn’t want to lie.” She steeled herself and lifted her head in defiance.

“But we know each other so well.” He looked at her with his eyebrows drawn down and a frown flat on his face. If she didn’t know better she might think he was actually mad, but he would have to care what she did for that to be
true and it was likely he didn’t.

“I didn’t want you to get into trouble for fraternizing with a guest.” She crossed her arms and mimicked his stance and expression. She was much shorter than he, all curves where he was planes and ang
les, but nothing about the moment was frightening. In fact, a breeze lifted the air and drew his warm mix of fragrance and sweat towards her. It was intoxicating.

He looked away, his profile strong and sensuous whether he intended it to be or not. When he looked back he was smiling. Something she now knew was something special, not for everyone. Just for her.
The core temperature of her body shot up instantly. Her nipples defied her will and tightened. The stupid throb between her legs ached. All from a look. One simple look from this man and she was ready to take off her panties.

“Do you believe in fate, Hope?”

She wasn’t sure what she believed in anymore. “I suppose it’s plausible.”

“Plausible?” he laughed. He looked at her, studied her.

She could feel the air change, the distance between them close. He didn’t have to steal her breath, it was gone before his lips touched hers. Close to swooning she had no choice but to wrap her arms around him. Lucky was larger than any man she had ever dated in her life. He was larger than life in many ways. The tenderness of the kiss sparked every atom inside her to life and she could feel her body hum.

“Think about it. “ He said against her lips after kissing her senseless.

Then he grabbed the remnants of lunch and walked away leaving her staggering on her feet. Drunk from his kiss, the taste of fresh strawberries, she reached for the tree to stabilize herself. Catching her breath and clutching the heart thumping against the bones in her chest, she looked to the sky and asked, “Was that a sign? I don’t want to be tempted, Lord. I can’t. I have to have all or nothing. Don’t tempt me with that one…Good Lord, not with that one. I won’t recover.”

***

“Shut up,” Lucky said as he passed the brothers. He was not going to give them the pleasure of submitting to their razzing.

“Is she coming to dinner?” Rafe asked as he followed. Jack laughed, as Jack wa
s known to do, and walked off towards the guests. Rafe was always the sensitive one. After marrying Layla and taking in two kids his fathering nature had only grown. Not that he was old enough to father him, hell they had competed together back in the rodeo days, but Rafe always invested in those around him. “She seems a little skittish.”

“Rafe, please don’t start analyzing her.” Lucky made his way to his horse. They had an hour before it was even time to start heading back.

“She was doing just fine with Trail Walker, talking with a few other ladies as they saddled up. The next thing I knew she was off, and backwards. But you know what I saw?”

“Don’t care.” Lucky retorted.

Rafe laughed. “Man I love this! She really has you by the short strings doesn’t she?”

Lucky glared at him.

“All right,” Rafe let a step distance them. Whatever he was going to say now, Lucky knew was going to be the last of it, at least for the rest of the trip. “She was doing just fine. Then she saw you.”

Rafe was heading back towards Jack leaving Lucky to stew on that for a while, and he did. Hope had him all kinds of crazy since he met her on the road that night. He was walking, talking to God, and thinking he was ready to settle down. It was as if a voice told him he just needed to keep hope alive. Oddly enough, that is what he did. How could it not be fate? He was the lightest of his family, blonde hair, blue eyes, but his momma and grandmomma were both Native American and they believed God answered through the land. He had been lucky all his life in everything he did, when he asked for an answer, it was always given to him.
The latest had come when he asked if he should keep riding bulls? Nope, he got gouged and decided he wanted to do more than beat up his body for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to age out and end up broken and busted with nothing to show for it.

He asked for a path, he was offered a job at the ranch by the Johnson family, his family by extension. He asked for a love of his own. He got a woman named Hope placed right in his path. She might not have died had she taken either fork in the road, but she would have suffered had she kept standing there like a deer in headlights.