We circled around back of the overgrown field, driving the long way around the western side of the house and back to the storage barn. I didn’t want the drive to end, but I could see Emma getting antsy in the seat next to me. She was snuggled in close, her shoulder and leg pressed into mine as her eyes roamed the property.
“If I don’t get those horses fed soon, they’ll be screaming,” she said. She kept doing that — reading my mind.
“What if I just kept driving and didn’t let you get off?”
She looked up at me with narrowed emerald eyes, her smile as bright as the sun rising over yonder. “You think I’ve never jumped from a moving tractor before?”
I had to laugh at that. I couldn’t quite get used to the sharp edges of her attitude. Just when I thought I had her figured out, she knocked me flat again. I loved it.
I dropped her off at the stables and because we w
ere still alone, she gave me a soft kiss on the cheek.
“See you after work,” she said and jumped off the tractor. I watched her swinging hips as she walked to the sliding door. Once she went inside, cutting off the view, I got to work. That back field wasn’t going to mow itself, I told myself.
Emma had to leave a little early that evening to make dinner for her daddy and sister, so I stayed working until just before dark, ending the day dripping in sweat. I walked up to the house, ready for a shower and an early night. Lacey was waiting on me, her feet up on the porch railing and a cold beer in her hand. She handed me one, and I reworked my plan for the evening. Beer, shower, scrounge something easy for dinner, then bed.
I sat down, screwed the top off my bottle, and clinked necks with Lacey. I took a nice long swallow before pulling off my hat and wiping the sweat from my brow with a damp handkerchief. Nothing beat the taste of a cool beer after a day of working hard out in the sun. I closed my eyes, just enjoying the taste and the breeze drying the sweat on my skin. The only thing that could make the evening better was having Emma here. But I’d take Lacey, too.
“I was pleased with the rodeo,” she said.
I opened my eyes and swung my head over to look at her. But she was looking out at the property line, her beer resting on her thigh.
“I was, too,” I said, and took another swallow of my beer. “You did great racing. How much did you bring home?”
“A thousand,” she said. “Not too shabby for a few minutes’ work.”
“No shit.” I laughed, shaking my head. “I’d take that damned near any day.”
“You could compete anytime you liked.”
We both knew there was no way in hell I could do that. Not that I hadn’t tried a few events as a kid. I just didn’t have what it took. I could ride and rope, but my patience was in pitifully short supply. It didn’t just take time to get as good as Lacey was — I had all the time in the world here on the ranch — it also took dedication and focus. I’d never been able to focus on a thing in my whole damned life. If I had to sit still or knuckle down, that thing just wasn’t for me.
I snorted at the thought of me riding and roping in the rodeo. “Nobody competes like you do, Lace. We only need one rodeo star on the farm.”
She laughed at that, shaking her blonde head. “I don’t know about star, but I’ll take that money, that’s for damned sure.” She took a swig of her beer. “I was a little surprised we sold both Max and Tucker.”
“Yep,” I said. “I couldn’t turn that money down.”
“I know that. It just puts us low, is all. And with Emma here, we can take on a few more horses if we wanted.” She turned to glance at me, her dark eyes even darker in the disappearing sunlight. “Did you ever talk to that rancher about taking a look at the foals he has available?”
I nodded, and Lacey looked suspicious. I wasn’t good at getting things done if it wasn’t on the farm — they just slipped right from my mind. But I’d actually taken care of this. Emma’d reminded me a few times, so I couldn’t really take the credit, but I didn’t plan on telling Lacey that.
“Actually, I did. You can drive out there any time this week.” I took a few seconds to bask in the cool glow of her blatant disbelief before continuing on. “I’d like you to take a good long look at the five or so he has available and decide which’ll be the best for what we need. I trust your judgment.”
She made a haughty face, her eyes wide and lips pressed together.
“I trust your judgment on horses,” I corrected, grinning as her face fell, setting into the pissed off expression she saved just for me. But she couldn’t hold back her giggling. We’d been ribbing each other for more than twenty years. I didn’t see a reason to stop now.
I sat back in my seat, still grinning, and turned to face night falling over the front of the property.
“You want to grab dinner tomorrow?”
Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to agree to rustling up some grub together, but that goddamned bug she’d put in my ear last week was still giving me all kinds of trouble.
I couldn’t figure out how to bring Lacey up around Emma. I was constantly worried about saying the wrong thing that would make our relationship sound less like siblings and more like potential lovers. It was making things really difficult for me on the farm. Emma didn’t seem too concerned about Lacey and me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I did just one thing that rubbed her the wrong way, I was going to end up needing to choose between them. I’d do damned near anything to avoid that.
“I got to check with Emma,” I said, keeping my eyes well away from hers. I could feel her staring at me, those brown eyes searching hard for evidence of a boldfaced lie. I didn’t lie to her much, but whenever I did, she knew right away. “But I’m pretty sure we’re having dinner tomorrow.”