She instantly recognized Trey’s drawl and breathed easier. “Oh! It’s you.” Much to her disgust, the beating of her heart didn’t slow down at all.
He caught up with her, shortening his long stride to match hers when she continued walking. “You’re turnin’ in early.”
She glanced up to see him watching her. “It was a long drive, and since I’ll need to be clear-headed for the riding lesson in the morning, I thought I should get some sleep.”
“Where did you say you’re from?”
“I didn’t,” she admitted, with a smile. “But Indiana is home.”
He let out a long whistle. “That is a long drive.”
“I enjoyed it,” she admitted. “Except for the heat. But it’s the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to see much of the country.”
“I saw enough of it when I was rodeoing, and this is still the best.”
The pride in his voice was obvious. She couldn’t blame him. The ranch and the countryside surrounding it were breathtaking. “What did you do in the rodeo?”
He was so close, she felt his shrug. “A little this, a little that. Mostly saddle bronc riding.”
“I’ve never been to a rodeo, but I’ve watched them on TV. To be honest, they’re frightening. Isn’t it terribly dangerous on those horses?”
“Lots of injuries, but if it’s in your blood, those don’t matter. My brother was a double National Champion the last year he competed, so I guess you could say it’s in his blood. Not really in mine, though,” he added with a soft chuckle. “Give me ranching, any day.”
Neither of them spoke again until they neared her cabin. Meg wondered what he was thinking about, but didn’t ask. The silence between them was comfortable and she didn’t feel the need for conversation.
As they reached the porch, Trey slowed his steps. “I’d better get back to work.”
In spite of knowing she shouldn’t, Meg was sorry to see him go. “And I need to get that sleep.”
They stood staring at one another in the darkness. Finally, Trey cleared his throat. “See you at breakfast. Sleep tight.”
Meg thanked him for keeping her company once again, then slipped into her cabin. Before she closed the door, she searched for a glimpse of him, but couldn’t see much of anything.
“Just as well,” she whispered to herself. Tomorrow would arrive soon enough, and she would have to get to work. She had learned more about Trey than she had about the ranch, and even though she enjoyed his company, she had to get some sleep. And she still needed to find Buford Brannigan.
“What do you mean, you’re not teaching the class?” Trey boomed down at his pint-size sister-in-law early the next morning.
Ellie Brannigan leaned back against the corral fence, crossing her arms on her chest. “Calm down, Trey. We’re short-handed, remember? And Sherry called this morning to say she wouldn’t be in again today. Somebody’s got to hang around the office to answer the phone and get the paperwork caught up. I’m the likely candidate.”
“But who’s going to teach the riding class?”
“Why, you are,” she said, pushing off and starting for the big double barn door.
Trey grabbed her arm before she could take two steps. “Wait a minute. Why me?”
Pulling away from him, she planted her hands on her hips and tipped up her head to look at him. “Because you can’t spare any of the other hands, that’s why. And you know as much about horses and riding as I do.”
She was right, but the last thing he needed was to spend more time around Meg Chastain. When he’d left her at her cabin last night he’d made the decision to put as much distance between himself and the green-eyed woman as possible. Teaching the riding lesson would throw them together again. Exactly what he didn’t need.
“I can’t do it,” he said, dragging his hat from his head and raking a hand through his hair.
“Oh, puh-leeze.”
“No, really,” he argued, jamming his hat back on his head. How was he supposed to tell her that his plans for the day didn’t include being around Meg? For some reason, Meg was worming her way into his mind. There was something about her that he couldn’t explain—especially not to his brother’s wife.
“Look, I’ll go get the paperwork done while you teach the riding lesson,” he said with hope.
“You don’t have a clue where anything is,” Ellie reminded him.
Trey hated to admit she was right. He might do the majority of the business end of the ranch work, but he was about as organized as a drowning man. If it weren’t for their young secretary, the Triple B would be in bad shape. He could handle the simple stuff—keeping stock records, ordering feed and the “dude” part of the ranch. But when it came to the other paperwork, he needed help.
“Okay,” he relented. “But just for today, you got that? When Sherry gets back tomorrow, I’m off the hook and you’re back with the lessons.”
Patting his shoulder, Ellie smiled. “She said she had some personal business to take care of today. Things should be back to normal tomorrow.”
“Nothing will be normal,” he grumbled as she walked away. He didn’t bother to return the grin she gave him over her shoulder.
A sigh of frustration ended his self-pity. He had a choice. Go with the flow and deal with the catastrophes that seemed to be plaguing him this week, or give up. And he wasn’t about to give up. There was too much at stake. The Triple B wasn’t only his livelihood. It was Ellie’s and Chace’s, too. Trey knew his brother was eager to start a family to carry on the Brannigan name, but neither Chace nor Ellie wanted to put a strain on things until they were certain the dude ranch was going to be profitable. Until they could regularly draw in larger groups, like the one this week, that wouldn’t happen.
With a kick at a dirt clod, Trey headed for the large, modern horse barn. He had a vague idea who would be riding and what horse each guest would use, but he needed to make sure all was in order before the group descended on him.
Once inside, he stopped at the first stall to check on the gentle pinto mare he’d chosen for Carrie. Satisfied with his choice, he moved on to check the other horses. Everything had to be perfect. The welfare of his guests was top priority. He couldn’t risk having one of them land on his or her butt and go screaming “lawsuit” all the way back to whatever city they’d come from. The Triple B couldn’t afford anything like that.
A whinny from a stall farther down caught his attention. Turning, Trey saw the bay gelding shaking its head as if in answer to a disturbing question. Concerned there might be a varmint in the enclosed area with the horse, Trey moved down the walkway and silently peeked into the stall. He expected to see anything from a small mouse to a polecat, but what he saw made him freeze.
Meg Chastain knelt in the corner, her back to him, whispering comfort to something. Trey hoped to hell it wasn’t something that could hurt her. An armadillo wasn’t a pretty sight, nor was a possum, but there was no accounting for some people’s soft spots.
When he saw the silver-gray of the mother cat rubbing against Meg’s leg, he relaxed. Crossing his arms on the gate in front of him, he watched her. The gelding moved closer to Trey, who absentmindedly scratched between the horse’s ears. He knew that if either he or the horse made any sudden moves, they’d scare the daylights out of the woman. He sure didn’t want that to happen. Besides, he didn’t want to lose this opportunity to take a close look at her while her attention was somewhere else. Maybe he could figure out what it was about her that had his curiosity and his pulse at a high.
He couldn’t see much of her. Like she had the day