The rusted horseshoe above the old weathered crossbuck barn doors was turned upside down. Tabby Swanson’s stomach fell just a notch. Not everyone would notice a little thing like a downturned horseshoe. Not everyone would care. But Tabby did.
The nail holding it upright must have broken and caused it to slip. That is the only reason she could think why the horseshoe was upside down. Trip, the owner of the Lone Creek Ranch, was more superstitious than she was, and that said a lot.
She’d ask him about it later. When he was in a good mood. Right now Tabby just wanted to get on her horse and do a couple of good barrel runs to warm up and get ready for the day.
She grabbed the bridle in the tack room and walked the few yards down the center aisle of the horse barn toward Tenterhook’s stall. All the while, she fought the nervous tension building inside her.
Trip had been on edge all day. In fact, he hadn’t been this edgy since she moved to the Lone Creek Ranch nearly eight years ago. A stupid upside down horseshoe wasn’t the reason. She knew that. The rodeo world had many superstitions. Most people didn’t pay any mind to them even though they secretly knew all of them, like the upside down horseshoe.
Tabby wasn’t someone who went around wearing the same socks under her cowboy boots during the rodeo season like a few of the barrel racers she knew. But she wasn’t completely immune. She talked herself out of superstitious talk all the time and preferred to think that she was in control. Well, as in control as anyone could be. No one could be ready for swerving cars on the wrong side of the road, like the one that had taken both of her parents’ lives and shattered her world in a single moment.
But on that same day, she had taken control. And an upside down horseshoe was staying in the locker room for her ride today. Tenterhook was waiting for her.
As she walked down the center aisle of the barn, she saw a strange man standing in front of Tenterhook’s stall. She had never seen him on the ranch before. But that didn’t really mean anything. She mostly kept to herself and had a few friends in town and on the rodeo circuit.
She walked closer, but he didn’t seem to hear the sound of her footsteps. She did hear the soft crooning he made while talking to Tenterhook. He was completely out of place here with his freshly pressed dark suit and expensive shoes. She noticed an overcoat slung over the gate of the stall. She got within ten feet of him before he finally turned and looked at her.
“Is this your horse?” the man asked.
Now that she was close to him she could smell the scent of his aftershave. It was an odd thing to be smelling in a barn that usually smelled of hay and animal.
“He is,” she answered. “Can I help you with something?”
He shook his head and turned his attention back to Tenterhook. “I’ve seen this horse before. But I couldn’t have. He would be about twenty years old by now and this horse doesn’t look that old.”
“We’re definitely talking about two different horses. Tenterhook is nine years old.”
The man reached out and brushed his hand along Tenterhook’s back, something she knew her horse relished. “He’s a beauty, that’s for sure. What’s his name?”
“Tenterhook.”
The man frowned. “Really. That’s kind of a strange name for horse.”
“Have you been to the Western Rodeo Circuit lately? There are a lot of horses with stranger names than mine. They grow into them and then become them. And then it seems like they could never have a name that’s different.”
“Unique.”
She smiled. “Exactly.”
“How did he get his name?”
“He looks like he’s stretching, even when he’s not running. It’s kind of hard to see it from this angle. But when you get him out in the arena, you see it.”
“He’s a thoroughbred, huh?”
She frowned. “Mustang. I’m not sure of the lineage since he was purchased from the BLM.”
“He’s wild?”
“Was.”
He looked intrigued. “Fast? Champion fast?”
Tabby shrugged, wondering what all the interest was in her horse. “I’m hoping. He’s had a good showing these last few years, but mostly at the local level. I’ve had good scores and he’s made me some money. He’s learned a lot.”
Giving her a slow grin, he asked, “What about you?”
With a quick smile that hinted of pride, she said, “Well, I’m not one of those riders who’ve been barrel racing since they could climb into a saddle, but I’ve got some rides behind me. I’ve been doing this for a few years when I can.”
“So it’s not your first rodeo.”
Frowning, she said, “Isn’t that a bit cliché?”
“Maybe. But considering my reason for being here, it fits.”
“I guess.” She tossed the bridle over the stall door and then opened it. The water trough was empty. Dusty probably hadn’t had a chance to fill them all yet. She grabbed a bucket and walked to the faucet at a few yards down from the stall and filled the bucket with water before walking back to the stall.
The man was standing inside the stall, seemingly unaware or uncaring that his fancy shoes could very well be wrecked by the stomp of a hoof any second.
“What are you actually doing here?” she asked. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you don’t look like a cowpoke. Those loafers are going to be toast by the end of the day if you keep stepping into the stall the way you’re doing.”
He chuckled. “Loafers?”
“Your shoes.”
“I know what you’re talking about. I just haven’t had anyone call them loafers for about…well, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone call men’s dress shoes loafers.”
She straightened her back. She’d been an outsider in Sweet, Montana for a long time. It took years to dig roots here. Many of the locals who’d been living here twenty years were still considered “new” to town by the families who’d been here generations.
“Are you making fun of me?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t dare.”
“I have no way of knowing what you’d dare. But for the record, just because Sweet is a small town, doesn’t mean we’re small-minded people.”
“Let me explain—”
“You really don’t have to, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“I do mind, actually.”
She frowned. “You…do?”
“You think you know something about me. But the way I look at it, you’re the one who is assuming something without really understanding the situation.”
She dumped the pail of water into the trough and noticed Tenterhook’s grain bin was almost empty.
“He needs some grain. Would you mind stepping out of the stall so I can close it?”
She shut the stall door before heading down the aisle to the feed room. To her surprise, the stranger followed.
“I happen to know a thing or two about Sweet, Montana.”
“Yeah? I’m sure you’re eager to enlighten me.”
He shook his head slightly and stopped walking. She wanted to stop too, but she was entirely too uncomfortable with this stranger for some reason. She continued into the feed room and started scooping grain into a bucket.
“Sweet, Montana is my hometown.”
She swung around in surprise. “Really?”
“Born and raised until I moved to New York.”
“You’re a long way from there now. I’ve never seen you around town.”
“I’ve been gone a while. But I’ve come back. Mostly for holidays and family events.
She looked at the way he was dressed. “I’ve never seen anyone dressed like that around here. You must work at a bank or something.”
“A bank. Do you always make judgments about people before getting to know them?”
“No, you just look like you work in a bank.”
“Let me guess, just because I’m dressed like this you assumed I was a suit who never got dirt under his fingernails or lifted piles of manure out a dirty stall.”
“Are you offering to help me then?”
He laughed, which seemed to take away the tension she’d created by being rude, something she knew her mother would admonish her for at any age.
But it was more than just her embarrassment over being rude to a stranger. His laugh did things to her in ways she hated to think about. It made her feel exposed and she didn’t know why.
Sure he was handsome. Too clean for her liking. No, that wasn’t it. He was too perfect to get manure stuck in the cracks of his loafers, which taking another look probably cost as much as her prized saddle. And if she looked at his hands, she was sure his fingernails would be free from dirt and whatever else was likely to get underneath there spending time in a barn. Unlike hers. Tabby didn’t want to know what was under her nails.
Worst of all, she didn’t know why she cared today of all days. She spent her time working her horse every day. At the end of the day, anything that had managed to find its way on her would be scrubbed clean. It didn’t matter what this guy saw in her.
“I think the cowpoke has already been by to clean these stalls. I’m pretty sure you won’t be doing any hard cleaning either.”
“Hmm. Too bad. It would have been a sight to see.”
His lips lifted just a fraction. If she hadn’t been watching, she would have missed it.
And yes, he definitely smelled good, unlike the usual smells that assaulted her nose on a daily basis. As much as those odors were offensive to most people, they weren’t to people like Tabby, who found comfort and joy being in the barn with her horse. But his clean shaven face was most surely topped off with aftershave that Tabby found surprisingly appealing.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Tabitha Swanson. Everyone calls me Tabby.”
“Will you be taking Tenterhook out for a run?”
Before she had the chance to answer, Trip walked into the barn with a quick pace and then shook the stranger’s hand.
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting, Kasper. I see you’ve already met Tenterhook?”
Confused, Tabby glanced quickly at Trip wondering why on earth he’d have cause to discuss Tenterhook with a stranger. But Trip appeared frazzled and focused squarely on the stranger so she turned her attention to him as well.
“You came here to see Tenterhook?” Tabby asked.
“Among other animals,” the man said.
“Have you both introduced yourselves?” Trip asked finally looking at Tabby.
Tabby said, “I introduced myself to him.”
The man held out his hand. “Oh, forgive me. Kasper Dobbs. Call me Kas.”
“He’s Katie Dobbs’ older brother.”
She knew Katie. She worked at the bank in town and Tabby had seen her at some of the local events. But they weren’t what she’d call friends. She knew Katie had been married and divorced in the span of a year. She didn’t know the details and wasn’t one for engaging in gossip. There was always a sadness beneath the smile as she cashed her check at the bank. She looked at Kasper now and could see the resemblance. Given their earlier conversation about him being from Sweet, the connection now made her feel even more foolish for giving him a hard time.
Still, she couldn’t help herself. “So working in a bank runs in the family?”
Trip’s eyes widened. Kasper laughed hard.
“He’s a sponsor, Tabby,” Trip said carefully. “I asked him to come down and look at some of the stock.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not a banker. Just a businessman looking to invest.”
“Why don’t you and I go into the office to discuss a few things and then I’ll give you a tour.”
He nodded his head to Tabby. “Nice to meet you, Tabby. And Tenterhook.”
“Same here.”
She watched him walk out of the barn with Trip. He was a sponsor. He’d been here to see Tenterhook and the other stock at the ranch.
And her wise mouth probably blew any chance of him wanting to work with her.