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While he was stuck waiting around for Grady, Bryce lingered in the barn, busying himself checking tack, enjoying the quiet. Derek, Tim, and Frank had left to finish riding fence on the far eastern pasture, taking Charlie with them. The sound of Cecily’s SUV approaching pulled him away from his task. He set a bridle on the workbench to be mended later and braced himself for the kid’s arrival. When no one entered the barn, he sucked it up and went out to find them. Cecily stood at the paddock fence, her hands resting on the top rail. She gave a low whistle, and Ginger ambled over.
“Hey, baby, how are you doing? I brought you a carrot.” Cecily extended her hand and Ginger lipped up the offering.
Bryce joined her at the fence, taking a spot about five feet away, enjoying the way she and the horse connected. Every time he saw Cecily interact with Ginger, his heart did a quick barrel roll.
Even at that distance, even with the normal paddock and horse aromas, he could smell her perfume—floral and woodsy. He still responded to it, even if their budding relationship had been pruned to a tiny remnant of a stem. All she’d been able to talk about had been her program and now that it was in effect, he imagined things would get worse. He waited. Was she aware he was here? Was she avoiding him?
He glanced toward her SUV, which was empty. So, Grady wasn’t with her. Derek had given the kid an hour to get settled, so he was probably still at the guest house. Cecily scratched Ginger between the ears and patted her neck. “That’s all, baby.”
Ginger stayed where she was. Without taking her eyes from the mare, Cecily said, “How’s she been doing?”
Neutral conversation territory. “Fine.”
“I think she’d be good to introduce Grady to horses, don’t you?”
Bryce, collecting his thoughts, didn’t answer immediately. Cecily went on. “She’s patient, she’s gentle, and she’s never shied away from people who might be nervous.”
Grady hadn’t looked nervous. Terrified came to mind. Still, of all the Triple-D horses, Ginger was the best choice. If Cecily was volunteering the animal she loved, Bryce would get on board with it.
“Makes sense,” he said.
Cecily rubbed Ginger’s nose. “You go play, baby.”
The mare wandered toward Bryce. He chuckled. “You had your treat from me already. If you’re good, I’ll get some apples and let Grady give them to you.”
She nodded her head and nickered.
“I swear, that horse understands everything you say.” Cecily smoothed her skirt and took a couple steps toward him.
“Why wouldn’t she?” he said. “We’ve got a good relationship.” Better than his and Cecily’s, for sure.
She moved another step closer. Her brown eyes sparkled. “I’m glad you’ll be working with Grady. He’s not a bad kid, just had some rough spots.”
He grabbed his ponytail and flipped it behind him. “Haven’t we all,” he muttered. Right now, dealing with this inexperienced kid was a pothole in Bryce’s road. Being tied up doing the one-on-one thing with Grady meant Derek would be a man short. “You gonna fill in for me working cattle?” he said, a touch of sarcasm leaking through his tone.
“You know I would, but I don’t have enough vacation days.”
Ultimately Derek was the one to decide if he needed to hire an extra hand. Since he’d given in to Cecily on bringing Grady to the ranch, Bryce would have to deal.
“It won’t be so bad,” Cecily said. “He knows the consequences of not pulling his weight, not following orders.” She cast him her puppy-dog eyes. “Don’t tell me you won’t be the tiniest bit glad to have someone else mucking out stalls and pitching hay.” She held her thumb and index finger about half an inch apart.
He shrugged. Kid was way too scrawny, but between doing the chores Cecily had mentioned—and a few more—plus Tanya’s cooking, he’d get some meat on his bones soon enough. A knot in Bryce’s gut loosened. Cecily seemed to understand Grady wasn’t going to be out with the cattle where the potential for screwing things up was far greater than from shoveling manure.
She closed the distance between them. Put a hand on his arm. Did that damn puppy-dog thing with her big, brown eyes again. His heart did another roll.
“I’m sure you’ll have him trained as an extra hand in a couple weeks,” she said.
He patted Ginger’s neck. “Maybe.”
“Come on, Bryce. All of us kids were working cattle by the time we were eight. You might have to supervise him for a bit, but I’m sure if anyone can do it, you can.”
He refused to acknowledge the twinge in his chest when she gave him another round of puppy-dog eyes. “You had five years of experience on horseback by the time you were eight,” he said.
She tilted her head. “He’s bigger, stronger. He’ll be able to control a horse better.”
There was no point in arguing with Cecily, not when she was working on one of her projects. “We’ll see.”
Obviously interpreting that as a yes, she leaned in and gave him a kiss. On the cheek. Chaste. Between the contact and her scent, his response was immediate. Ignoring it, he stepped away. Turned for the barn. “Have to get things ready.”
“Easier if I’m not around,” she said. “I have to finish designing the forms. Can I email them to you when they’re done?”
“Forms?”
“We have to document everything to show the program is effective.” Her eyes were pleading now. “Bryce, please. If Grady doesn’t work out, it could be the end of Helping Through Horses. Think about how many other people we can help—or how many we can’t help if it falls through.”
“It’s your program. It’s Derek’s ranch. Why do I have to fill out the forms?”
“Because you’re the one who’s going to be seeing the progress Grady’s making.”
Paperwork? Nobody’d said anything about paperwork. He spun and marched to the barn.
Cecily stopped herself from following Bryce. Trying to explain why his participation in the project was critical—again—would shove him farther away. She gripped the top rail of the paddock fence. The sun-warmed metal spread heat across her palms, melting her frustrations away. Bryce needed time, that’s all. He didn’t like anything disrupting his routine, and if there was even the slightest perceived threat to his beloved animals, he’d fight it like a buck establishing its dominance.
He’d come around. He had with Lemuel, and he would with Grady.
Should she wait until Grady got here? No, that would send an I don’t trust you message, and if Grady was late, she’d hear about it from Bryce. Vehemently. With a generous helping of I told you so.
She watched the horses munch on hay for a few minutes, then, after a longing glance toward the barn, headed home. She was on the early morning shift tomorrow and needed to finish those report forms tonight. They’d been included in her proposals as a way to track progress, but those were samples. Examples. Drafts. She could change them, make them Bryce-friendly. Lots of check boxes, not many write a paragraph sections.
Maybe it would be better if Derek talked to Bryce about the forms. There was a boss-employee dynamic between them, and Bryce would accept the task if it came from Derek. She had the feeling that right about now, Bryce would fight her on anything. Although he had gone along with her suggestion to use Ginger. Could he be mellowing?
She stepped away from the paddock, but paused before turning for her SUV. What about sticking around to make sure Bryce wasn’t rude to Grady? Or he wasn’t giving him tasks that would break him?
No, Bryce might not like dealing with people, but he’d handle Grady the same way he did the horses. He’d never hurt them. He didn’t ever use force to get them to do what he wanted. He’d do the same with Grady.
Wasn’t that one of the qualities she liked in Bryce? He might be slow to trust, he might grumble about disruptions to his routine, but—even if he didn’t know it—he cared.
The place to start wasn’t with Bryce. It was with Derek, whose attitude needed a bit of redirecting. Once he recognized helping Grady wasn’t going to interfere with ranch work, she knew he’d help convince other ranchers to include members of the program on their ranches. If it took some encouragement coming at Derek from another direction, Cecily had no qualms about giving things a push. Subtly, of course. She knew her brother, and deep down, he thought her program had promise, or he’d never have gone along with bringing Grady on board.
The semblance of a plan took shape. On her way home, she detoured through the grocery store. Tanya was a great cook, but the evening meal wasn’t part of her job. Cecily wanted to make sure she wasn’t creating extra work by having Grady live on the ranch. Derek had yet to master much beyond making coffee and pouring milk onto cereal. After stocking up on ingredients for things she knew Derek liked, and things she thought a seventeen-year-old boy might enjoy, she got out her phone. Sabrina might be the perfect solution.
Sabrina Barton had left her cooking school in Albuquerque and was setting up a new one on a piece of property that adjoined the Triple-D. Like Cecily, Sabrina targeted people who needed a fresh start in life, or a nudge onto a straighter and narrower lifestyle, and they’d bonded instantly. The fact that Sabrina and Derek had a thing going didn’t hurt.
Cecily tried to ignore the quick pang spiraling through her belly. Not jealousy. Envy? Regret? That she and Bryce had seemed to be heading for a thing of their own, but it had fallen apart. Anyone worthy of a thing would have to approve of Cecily’s dreams, and Helping Through Horses was perched high atop her list.
Cecily punched her friend’s number on her phone. “Sabrina? You busy tonight? I have wine.”
“And?” Sabrina said.
Cecily heard the unspoken What do you need? in Sabrina’s response. Had she been that obvious? With the phone tucked against her shoulder, she steered the grocery cart down the snack aisle. “What? I can’t ask a friend over to celebrate the first participant in my new program?”
“Of course you can. I forgot today was the big day. How did it go?”
“It’s going. But I could—”
“What time?” Sabrina cut in before Cecily could finish her thought.
“Depends what works for you, and if you want your wine with or after dinner.”
“You cooking?” Sabrina asked.
Cecily tossed three boxes of assorted snack bars into the cart and headed toward the deli counter for the prepared meals. “Dinner? Sure.” She perused the offerings. “Lasagna?” Cecily left out the part about how she hoped Sabrina would be cooking some dishes for Derek and Grady.
Sabrina’s laugh said she knew the lasagna wouldn’t be homemade. “Six?”
“Sounds great.” Cecily put her phone away, added the lasagna to her cart and contemplated additional choices to round out the meal. A kale salad with pecans and cranberries for a healthy side dish. Ice cream for dessert. She checked out and headed for home, pondering ways to work her goals and objectives for the program into a simple form, one Bryce could finish in a few minutes each day.
She finished putting the groceries away and went to her desk. Her phone blinked a waiting voice mail. She accessed the message.
“Hi, Cecily. It’s Heather. I have some information about Grady. I’m tied up the rest of the day. Call me tomorrow.”