AlmostHome by India Masters

Author:India Masters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Published: 2012-11-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Life moved on, the hours taken up with the daily routine of ranch life, but the pall cast over the ranch with Snoop’s death weighed heavily on everyone. Wyatt came and went as usual and their relationship was settling into a pleasant routine they both knew would eventually result in the merging of the two properties. Fat cows once more dotted the One-Eyed Jack’s pastures. Dooley taught Haley how to use the tractor and she planted a huge vegetable garden, working in it on a daily basis with Maria and the wives of the other ranch hands. But there was a heaviness in the air, a sense of anticipation, of dread. The place was an armed camp, the ranch hands going around with rifles in their trucks, pistols attached to their belts. Wyatt and Dooley had cleaned out the apartment over the roadhouse, and Maria had moved in with the children. All of a sudden, the laughter was gone from her life, replaced by a sense of some looming disaster. And still, nothing happened.

Haley left the day to day running of the ranch to Dooley and concentrated on training her horses, spending countless hours with the new colt and working to condition Geronimo for the upcoming rodeo. Already, she had several customers—parents wanting her to teach their daughters to barrel race. She was disappointed that she had to turn down the parents’ requests for lessons. It would have been fun to have a bunch of kids running around the ranch but she couldn’t take the chance that innocent children would be around when the other shoe dropped. So she focused on conditioning her stallion and on racers wanting Geronimo to stand stud for their mares and waited. By the time the rodeo came to Austin, Geronimo was ready to race and the Dooley children were jumping out of their skin in anticipation of watching Haley in action.

When the day finally arrived, Haley loaded Geronimo into Wyatt’s trailer and climbed onto the passenger seat beside him. She thanked her lucky stars he was driving because it had been some time since she’d raced and she was nervous. The Dooleys loaded their brood into the ranch pickup and they were off to the rodeo.

“Nervous?” Wyatt asked, maneuvering the truck and trailer into the participants’ parking area.

“A little. I haven’t raced in a while.” He parked and walked around to open her door.

“You’ll do fine, both of you. You and that stallion are like two sides of the same coin. I’ve never seen a better racer.”

Haley’s cheeks flushed with pleasure. It surprised her that she was still blushing at his compliments after all these months.

“Thank you. But I’ll bet there a lot of younger riders out there better than me. I mean, I’m twenty-five now.”

Wyatt raised his eyebrows and let go a low whistle. “That old? Then I must be ancient, pushing thirty-three like I am.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “You’ll do for an old fart.”

Wyatt gave her a menacing scowl. “I’ll show you old, woman,” he growled, pulling her into his arms.

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