JENNY TRIED TO keep her thoughts to herself as she sat down at the table. The steaks did smell wonderful. An ambush would come later.
Eve apparently sensed something because she turned to Jenny. “Do you ride horses?” she asked.
“Not since a pony at a birthday party when I was ten, but it’s on my bucket list.”
“If your shoulder is better, come over tomorrow and ride Beauty. She’s very gentle, and her gait is great for a new rider.”
“I would love that. Thank you,” Jenny said, her green eyes brightening. “The shoulder is already better.”
“Good. What about 10:00 a.m.? The town doctor will be here, too. Her daughter is learning to ride. Lisa Redding might make a good story for you. She went from being a pediatric surgeon in a Chicago hospital to a small-town doc, and we’re very lucky to have her. Small-town and rural areas have a rough time attracting doctors.”
It probably would be a good story. Jenny was aware of the shortage of GPs, particularly in rural areas. At this rate, she could probably stay here for years. Everone wanted to give her a story except the one she really wanted. Still...
“Do you have a newspaper here?” she asked. “I didn’t see one on the town website, but I saw an empty rack in Maude’s restaurant.”
“You might say we do,” Eve said. “The Covenant Falls Herald. It exists, but that’s about it. The editor/owner died and left it to a nephew who had no interest in running it. He’s hoping to find someone willing to pay a far too high price for it. Right now, it carries canned material, like how to decorate a pumpkin or old recipes, a gossip column by the town’s biggest nuisance and legal notices, which are cheaper than placing them in a larger county paper.”
Jenny laughed. She liked Eve.
“I can tell Eve is a fan,” Travis added wryly.
“I would give a lot to bring a new owner here,” her hostess said. “The paper is more than a hundred years old. It’s incredibly sad to see it deteriorate.”
Jenny didn’t like the direction the conversation had suddenly taken. From what she’d observed in the past two days, this town had a way of sucking people into its web. She wondered how it had acquired a coveted doctor. She hoped they didn’t have a similar idea about her.
Supper was extraordinary. Because Jenny still had pain in her shoulder, Eve had cut up one of the steaks, which melted in Jenny’s mouth. The baked potatoes were perfect, and the salad just right. Jenny chose iced tea over more wine, since she might need a pain pill that night.
“Does everyone in Covenant Falls eat this well?” Jenny asked. “I think I’ve gained five pounds since I arrived.”
“Just when there’s company,” Nick piped up.
“Yeah, and we starve you the rest of the time,” Josh said.
“Well, there’s more vegetables.”
“You don’t like vegetables?” Jenny asked.
“Not nearly as well as meat and pie.”
Jenny was fascinated with the gentle banter between the adults and the boy. She hadn’t had that. Dinner at her house had always been formal. Input from the younger members was not encouraged.
“What do you think about Covenant Falls?” Eve said.
“It’s not a place to come to lose weight,” Jenny replied. “But I think it’s one of the state’s best-kept secrets. I met two couples last night at the inn, and they told me they had a great time going to the old mining camps and then horseback riding up to the falls. They said they heard about it from other veterans.”
“I like that,” Josh said. “Particularly the fact they had a great time.”
“Maybe you should target your marketing at veteran magazines,” Jenny suggested. “Get quotes from some of the guests who are veterans, even offer free weekends as some kind of prize. If the inn isn’t full, it’s not going to cost you much. The main thing is getting people talking about it.”
“That’s a good idea,” Eve said. “I’ll mention it to Susan. In the meantime, let’s go out and see Beauty and the Beast.”
Jenny looked at her in surprise.
“My horses,” Eve explained. “Josh and Nick can clean up the dishes.”
Travis had been quiet during most of the dinner. “I’ll help the guys.”
“Sounds good to me,” Eve said.
Jenny started to protest.
“They don’t mind doing it,” Eve said. “They make a contest as to who can finish the fastest. Men like competition.”
Nick thrust out his chest at being called a man.
“Then I won’t complain,” Jenny said. She liked Eve and Josh more every minute. She noticed the ease and obvious respect between them, how they touched each other in passing, their exchange of smiles. Love visibly flowed between them and Nick.
“It took me a while to convince Josh that helping in the kitchen was a manly thing to do,” Eve said.
“On occasion,” Josh corrected as he put an arm around Eve and hugged her.
For a second, Jenny felt envy for something she’d always rejected. She didn’t believe in love or marriage. Her father was a bully, her mother an alcoholic; her older sister had, from what she had seen, married a man just like her father. And Lenore’s recent disaster only solidified everything she’d believed.
She viewed marriage as a millstone and had avoided any relationships other than short ones with guys who felt the same. She usually hadn’t been in one place long to even start a relationship. But watching Josh Manning, a tough Ranger sergeant, collecting dishes challenged that very strong belief. Maybe it wouldn’t last, but there was no doubting the love between the Mannings.
She accompanied Eve out to the stable. As they walked inside, two white horses poked their heads over the stall gate. Eve plucked two carrots from a box and handed one to Jenny. “This is the first step in making friends for life. This is Beauty.” Eve stopped in front of the first one. “She’s my love. The Beast can be a little surly sometimes, but never Beauty. She has a gait like a rocking horse.”
Jenny offered Beauty the carrot. The horse accepted it gently and quickly chomped it down. They moved to the Beast, who leaned over the stall door to get his carrot. He took it more greedily.
“They’re beautiful,” Jenny said.
“They’re good horses,” Eve said, “but then most horses are, if properly treated. Jubal firmly believes that and is acquiring rescue horses for his ranch. He hopes to add some mustangs.”
“Mustangs?”
“The federal government is rounding up the last of them. They’re for sale cheap because they’re wild. Don’t even know what a human is.”
“I read something recently about mustangs,” Jenny said. “There was a story in the newspaper about a prison program... Wild Horse Inmate Program or something like that. They’ve discovered that in gentling the horses, the inmates themselves change.”
Eve nodded. “I’m familiar with the program. The prison even makes money by then selling the trained mustangs. It’s a win-win-win program. The mustangs are saved. The prisoners learn a skill and undergo rehabilitation, and people can buy reasonably priced, well-trained horses.”
Beauty nuzzled Jenny for another carrot.
“I’ve been researching equine therapy. Some of the programs for vets are using wild mustangs. Do you know if Travis is planning to visit any of those ranches?”
“I really don’t know,” Eve said. “This is all pretty preliminary now.”
Jenny paused, and then she plunged in. “I think the idea of creating an equine therapy program is great. Do you think Travis would agree to take me along on his trip? I would pay my expenses and share of the gas. I wouldn’t publish anything prematurely and would fact check any story with your group. I don’t usually do that, but I understand how sensitive this can be and the last thing I would want is to harm or delay this project.”
“It’s not up to me,” Eve said. “It’s Travis’s decision.”
“I think he would say no,” Jenny said.
“Why?” Eve asked.
“He’s been very...polite but...eager to get rid of me.”
Eve smiled. “You should have seen Josh when I met him. He was mad as hell at the world. Didn’t want anything to do with me or the town. He was just going to rehab his cabin and leave.”
“And what happened to change his mind?”
“My son did. He was bit by a rattlesnake at Josh’s cottage. It kinda smashed the ice.”
“I don’t have a son,” Jenny said.
“Then you’ll just have to ask Travis,” Eve countered.
“I thought you might say that.”
Eve hesitated. “He’s a good guy but a private one. He was Josh’s commanding officer for years, and yet Josh knows very little about his background or family, except he seems to have none. I do know there’s no one Josh respects as much as Travis.”
It was a warning. Subtle but clear.
Jenny nodded. “I’m going to give it a try.”
Eve grinned. “Good luck.”
* * *
IT WAS NEARLY ten that night when Travis and Jenny left the ranch and headed toward the Camel Trail Inn.
Travis had enjoyed the evening more than any he could remember. The food was great, the wine fine and the company even better. And coaching Nick brought Travis a satisfaction he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Jenny, without any previous ties to the other four, had been the odd person out in the group, and yet she seemed to fit so easily, she might have been there many times earlier. She was warm, bright and curious with the adults, and he liked the way she treated Nick as someone important.
He felt warmer as he drove toward the inn. Damn but he wanted to touch her, kiss her, have her look at him with the same warmth he felt. He reminded himself they were going down different paths, and he had the feeling that if he kissed her, he couldn’t end it there.
Down boy. Maybe it was just too damn long since he’d been with a woman. After he got engaged, he had been deployed for a year before being wounded and ending up in the hospital on and off for two years. He’d been self-conscious about his leg, his missing fingers and the scars on his body.
Jenny Talbot would probably be as repulsed as his former fiancé had been when she saw the full extent of the damage. But the attraction was there, dancing between them like a flame building all too rapidly. He was sure she felt it, too. He shouldn’t start something he was unable to finish.
They arrived at the inn to find the parking lot almost full.
Neither of them made a move to get out of the car. “I’m sorry about your arm,” he said. “I didn’t think...”
“Neither did I,” she said. “It doesn’t always react that way. Every once in a while it just lets me know there’s a demon still poking around in my shoulder. It will be fine in the morning.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t try to ride tomorrow.”
“Maybe I should never try to ride or throw a ball or lift something, but then I would miss a lot.”
He couldn’t really argue with that. He’d tried to do activities he shouldn’t either. He understood. And he sensed she didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he tried to change the subject to something neutral.
“Josh said they get a lot of townspeople and ranchers here on Friday and Saturday night. There’s usually some entertainment and dancing.”
He saw a momentary wistfulness in her face. If she had been out of the country in war zones for the past few years, it would have been a long time since she’d been on a dance floor. It had been a long time for Travis for other reasons.
She was silent for a moment, and then she asked, “Will you take me along on your trip to visit the equine therapy ranches?”
He was too startled to say anything.
“I’ll pay my share of expenses, of course,” she hurried on. “I won’t be a bother. I won’t butt in. I won’t complain. About anything. And I won’t publish anything without your and Josh’s approval. Or whoever else’s you want.”
“You can do all that?” he asked, not without a touch of humor. “Not be a bother or butt in or complain?”
“When I really try,” she said with that blinding smile of hers.
“I don’t know if the word try convinces me.”
She was silent for a few seconds. “Okay, I’ll delete try. I’ll do it.”
“Including no story at all?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
“Then you would be the first reporter ever. At least in my experience.”
“Maybe,” she said, “but that’s how badly I want to do the story. Not just a short piece, but in-depth. What kind of programs are available? Do they have lasting effects?” She hesitated. Then she added, “I knew a lot of guys overseas. I know what many of them experienced, and I’m aware of the problems many face when they come home.”
He didn’t question her sincerity. She’d also experienced the violence of war. But the simple fact was Jubal and Josh were in the early stages. If there wasn’t a need, or if they didn’t think they could develop an effective program, they would not begin one.
“When I read a story about the Camel Trail Inn,” Jenny continued, “and Susan mentioned the veterans here and the possibility of starting an equine therapy program, I knew I had to come.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I’d already done a lot of research on PTSD and therapy dogs for a possible article,” she said. “I wasn’t aware there are equine therapy programs designed specifically for veterans.” She paused, and he knew there was something she wasn’t saying. It was in the intensity with which she spoke. Had she loved someone with PTSD? That might account for her interest. He didn’t like the sudden burst of jealousy that exploded inside.
“It goes deeper than that, doesn’t it?” he guessed.
She stared at him for a moment and then sighed. “My interest is personal, as well as professional. When we were at Maude’s, I’m sure you noticed those seconds at Maude’s when I...went missing. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD although I’m sure it’s not anything like it is for those who have been fighting for years.”
He realized the admission came reluctantly, but then a lot of veterans didn’t like to admit it. He hadn’t. It was admitting a vulnerability, and soldiers weren’t supposed to do that. His was pretty much under control, but he knew a flashback could occur at any time. “What happened?” he asked gently.
She hesitated, obviously reluctant, and then said slowly, “I saw a lot of violence and the results of violence. I could live with that. I was reporting on stories that needed to be told. It was important because there wasn’t much media around to record it.”
“And?” he pressed when she took a deep breath.
“In April, I was in Syria, traveling with a medical team headed for an overcrowded hospital during a cease-fire. Someone apparently forgot it was a cease-fire and bombed the hospital and the streets around it. There was a little girl—four...five—running down the street...screaming.
“I can’t forget her,” she continued. “Or the doctors. There’s something obscene about murdering doctors and nurses risking their lives to help others. But it’s the girl in the nightmares. I’ll never know what happened to her—or the doctors—because I was hit by shrapnel from one of the bombs. A friend got me to a medic, but that little girl still haunts me.”
She looked at him, her eyes now filled with tears that didn’t fall. “I don’t like it,” she said in a sudden outburst. “I don’t like not being in control. Or fearing sleep. Or jumping at a loud noise. I can relate to soldiers who have the same anger and reluctance to get help or share those feelings with others, particularly family. No one can really understand until they’ve been there and watched children being starved or killed, or being so afraid you start shaking. You especially don’t talk about fear. So you don’t talk about any of it, and the bad memories grow and shadow any good moments and sometimes take over completely. I want to know what can help.”
He could have said no to any other answer, but not this one. Jennifer Talbot was talented, confident and driven, but she had her demons, too. And the fact she had admitted so much to him, a virtual stranger, told him how much she wanted, and needed, some closure of her own.
“This is Jubal and Josh’s project, not mine. They would have to approve.” By not saying no immediately, he was asking for trouble.
“Thank you,” she said simply.
It was probably one of the worse mistakes he’d ever made, and he wanted reassurance. “You do agree not to write anything Jubal and Josh don’t approve?”
“Yes.”
He got out of the car then. She didn’t. He walked around and opened her door, and she stepped out and looked up at him. “Thanks for driving me home tonight and for...”
He was drowning in those eyes. There was still a dampness in them. She hadn’t been lying about the child. It hadn’t been a bid for sympathy. He touched her face with his good hand and guided his fingers over her features. He wanted to kiss her then. Badly. He wanted to blot out those bad memories. But she was vulnerable now and damn if he would take advantage of it.
He stepped back. Keep your cool. Hard to do when everything in him wanted to put his arms around her and kiss away those unshed tears.
Instead, he took her hand and led her to the door of the inn. Then he brushed an errant curl that fell over her forehead. “Good night, Jenny Talbot,” he said softly.
She hadn’t moved her gaze from him, her eyes searching his.
Damn, he didn’t want to hover, but he didn’t want to leave either. What he needed was another frigid shower. Maybe he would need a bunch of them.
She broke the spell. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Thank you for taking me tonight. Thank you for...well...everything.”
He nodded and turned away before he did or said something he would regret.
When he reached the car and looked back, she was gone.