License to Love (5 page)

She nodded and he continued walking beside her.

“So you didn’t grow up in a city?” He remembered her
expensive suit, the glitter on her ears and fingers, and the perfume that made
him want to lean in closer to sniff.

With a laugh, she asked, “You don’t believe me?”

“Tell me about it.” The fancy clothes and jewelry were gone,
but she still smelled like that perfume. It was a light smell that seemed to
evade him. He got whiffs of it here and there.

“Not much to tell, really. My dad owned cattle, but we
didn’t live on a ranch.”

He could tell her mind was going off somewhere.

“Did you want to?” Could that be what she was sad about? He
knew so little about her.

“No, not at all. I wanted to go somewhere bigger and better.
So I went off to the closest city at the first chance I got.”

Maybe that’s where things went wrong. He was sure something
had somewhere along the line, but he didn’t know how to ask her about it.

She looked at the ground like she was ignoring him, but she
started talking. “I think that’s why our father left his money to Ben.”

“Whoa, because you didn’t want to live on a cattle ranch?”
he asked, hearing the hurt in her voice. A picture of her came to mind, when
she came to his house the first time, and looked so hurt and lost.

“Ben chose a more traditional lifestyle, and our father was
proud of his Nez Perce heritage.” She shook her head as if she wanted to end
the conversation. But she added, “I didn’t mean to insult that, I just wanted
excitement. I was raised as an only child, and it was quiet. All the time.”

Hearing this made him want to reach out to her, but again,
his instincts told him she’d freeze up on him if he did. “Most young people
do.” And she did look young, maybe twenty-five. Her age didn’t agree with the
hurt he saw in her eyes sometimes.

“That’s why I didn’t come here sooner . . . to see Ben.” She
rubbed her nose again to warm it up, but she still didn’t look at him. “Our
father left everything to Ben. I didn’t even know about him until Dad died so I
didn’t want to know him at first.”

They reached her house and she turned to say goodbye.

“Missy, I got the wrong impression of you.” He didn’t like
saying he was wrong, but he figured that came pretty darn close.

“Thanks, I think.” She tried for a laugh and turned. He
didn’t want this to end and grabbed for something to keep her talking.

“What about your job? What happened there?”

She glanced back while keeping her hand on the door handle.
“Listen, I appreciate your interest, or concern if that’s what it is, but
there’s certain things I can’t share with you. Goodnight.”

The door shut before he could answer. Yeah, things went
wrong for her alright, and it had to be her old job, and the boss she’d
mentioned. Russ.

Turning, he started back. So they both had their secrets.

* * * *

She left the cabin when the morning light was strong enough
to see. Brent hadn’t mentioned what time he started in the morning, but she
usually found him working when she headed down to the stables.

Though he’d never admit to it, she felt certain he was
taking it easy on her, and that was both endearing and disappointing. When she
said she wanted to prove herself, she meant it.

The high, thin cloud cover cracked here and there, showing
off stretches of innocent blue. She couldn’t ignore the sweet scent in the air
or the bright colors all around, from the thick green grass to the array of
oranges in the autumn oak leaves. A squirrel stopped on the road ahead of her
and clicked as she approached. She always loved autumn and the feel of change
in the air. It was even more pronounced here and had her dreaming of apple
cider, pumpkin pie and eggnog.

The road took her past Brent’s house on the way to the
stables. She looked over when a door shut. Brent jogged down the stairs and
came her way, wearing a bulky green coat that hid his torso, but his jeans
didn’t hide anything about his legs.

He touched his hat when he reached her. “Morning, Missy.
You’re up early.”

She got a shiver when he said her name, but she blamed it on
the cold. “Yeah, I’d thought I’d come by and try to catch you in the shower.”
She hoped for his grin and wasn’t disappointed. She even detected the slightest
blush—so he was embarrassed about yesterday!

It wouldn’t bother her to spend some time appreciating his
easy style and charm while she was here. Nothing wrong with that, right?

“What gross or painful chores do you have planned for
today?” She thought about the first time she’d seen him. At least they weren’t
enemies now. Friends? With the hormones zinging between them, she wasn’t sure
they could ever be friends, but a truce was nice.

“I’m going to check the paths and fences. Thought you said
you’re ready to take a horse out of the corral.”

He looked like he enjoyed watching her expression, so she
sucked it up. “Sure, why not?”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at teaching. It’s part of what we do
out here, remember?”

She kept a good two feet between them as they walked. They
had flirted and eyed each other the past few days, but she wanted to put a stop
to it. If they got involved, how would she get a fair chance here? How would
she trust him?

He glanced over several times. She bet her thoughts were
written all over her face, but that was a good thing, at least this time. He
needed to know how things were between them.

“How long are you planning on keeping that rental?” He asked
as they neared the stables.

“I need a vehicle.” She needed something to remind her she
could leave if she chose, and that she was here by her own decision.

“There’s a pickup we keep around. Why don’t I give you keys
to it?”

She met his eyes, uncertain of his intentions. It would save
her money, at a time when she didn't have it coming in. Still, she said, “I
don’t know.”

“I hadn’t thought about it, but Ben paid cash for it last
year. Just a little truck, about fifteen years old, but it runs. Suppose it’s
yours.”

Uncomfortable, she tightened her scarf and thought it over.

“I guess . . . Then I can take the rental car back and not
worry about it anymore.” She didn’t like how awkward it felt at times, to use
Ben’s things. Did it bother Brent? When she looked back at him, he met her
gaze, probably seeing her doubt.

“It’s just the way it is. I was pissy when you got here, but
it wasn’t about you. Believe me.”

Unable to answer with words, she nodded. At the stables, he
took her around to the tack room. “We keep the keys right here. Here’s an extra
set.”

He dropped them in her hand.
Thank you
stuck in her
throat. Just a few days ago, he had wanted to run her off. Now he was handing
her keys to one of the ranch vehicles.

He watched her face, so she nodded like it wasn’t that big
of a deal.

“You can take Speckle today. She’s gentle and isn’t
particular about who rides her.” He pulled equipment down for them to use.

“Speckle?”

“She’s an Appaloosa like Jeffrey, and she came with the
name. She’s your horse, now, so I guess you can rename her but she might not
like it.” He waited for her to lead the way into the stables. She noted he’d
grabbed one saddle. “Remember the pad first.”

Since he held it out to her, she assumed she was going to
learn how to saddle a horse. So she laid the blanket over the horse’s back. The
black horse, across the way, watched and protested loudly. Missy gave Brent a
look since she didn’t get horse talk yet.

“He wants to go, but I’m not taking him out with you along.”
He didn’t elaborate on why, but Missy turned to the angry beast, remembering it
had been Ben’s horse.

“What’s his name again?”

“Dancer.” He flicked a look back at the horse and turned
back. She hadn’t seen him pay attention to Dancer at all, now that she thought
about it.

“He misses Ben,” she said, wanting to sooth the horse but
didn’t dare reach out to him. Brent waited with the saddle, so she went to
work.

Judging by the look in Brent’s eyes and the emotional charge
to the air, he missed Ben too.

She heaved the saddle up and adjusted it the way he’d shown
her several times now.

“Hook the stirrup,” he said, pointing. Once she was done, he
said, “Looks good.” He tugged on it here and there. “Lead her out. I’ll saddle Jeffrey.”

Outside, she easily mounted the horse on the first try. It
was easier without Brent standing behind her where he could stare at her
bottom. She’d done much better since that first day, when she was so nervous.

“Hey, Speckle,” she said to the horse and rubbed her neck to
get acquainted. They needed to trust each other. Trust wasn’t something she
gave away easily, but this felt different.

Brent emerged with Jeffrey.

“Hey, look at me. I’m getting good at riding a horse.” She
was teasing again, even after she had decided to keep her distance emotionally.
But, then again, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt gleeful. She
breathed in the cold air, feeling snappy and alive.

“I am looking.” He mounted his horse and clicked. She almost
missed his comment, but suddenly did a double take at him.

She started to say something about it, but she did ask for
it, didn’t she? One side of his mouth lifted, and he moved his horse up next to
hers.

“Speckle knows what she’s doing,” Brent said, tilting his
head to look at her, “So you’ll be getting used to sitting up there on the trails.”

They rode out along the pasture and then turned into the
forest of cedar and pine. Ferns grew in clumps on the ground under the forest
canopy. Water dripped off everything. Brent glanced over every few minutes, but
he never commented. She hoped that meant she was doing okay.

“I love this.” She didn’t want to look so happy in front of
him, but when he gave her an honest, friendly smile, she couldn’t hold it in.

“I thought all this would be hard for you.” He ducked under
a pine branch. “You sure you’ve never done this before?”

She shook her head.

“Missy?” he persisted.

“All right. I wanted to ride when I was younger.”

“Your father wouldn’t let you?”

“We didn’t have any horses. They used four wheelers. And
feedlots. I couldn’t stand to see the cattle in their pens. It seemed like they
were always slaughtering.” She turned her face away. She didn’t care how
friendly they got, she wasn’t going to cry in front of him.

“Sounds like it’s a good thing this is a horse ranch.”

They rode in silence until they reached the top of a hill,
where she could see the ocean far below, rolling in wave after white wave.
She’d never smelled the ocean before, and could only describe it as a salty
deep sea smell.

The water jetted up where it hit giant boulders. Cold.
Dangerous. And breathtaking. Since he let her sit for several minutes to just
gaze out, she forgot that he watched her.

The water stretched endless to the north and south while it
faded into the sky in front of them. She couldn’t distinguish the line where
ocean and sky met.

“Now do you see why I love Oregon?” Brent’s soft voice
drifted into her thoughts like the waves moving inland below.

Turning, she hoped her expression worked for an answer.
Something so vast, mysterious, and alive left her without words for it.

So did Brent. He looked magnificent with the pale blue sky
behind him and his blue eyes reflecting all the color around them. He sat with
such ease, but his eyes weren’t relaxed. They were fixated on her like the wind
might steal her away.

Well, she gawked right back, so she couldn’t sass him about
it.

“I’ve never seen the ocean this way.” Her whisper mixed with
the singing breeze and the soft, subtle ocean music. “Just from an airplane.
This is much better.”

“I’d have to agree.” He held her still with his gaze. Just
then the breeze brought his scent to her nose. Man, hay, and something
refreshing. Her hair whipped across her face, and she joined reality with a
jerk.

Something was brewing . . . weather-wise.

“Well, we got half a day of clear skies.” Brent still didn’t
look away and now she burned all over. “Guess we oughta get back before you get
soaked.” The corners of his mouth twitched.

“Yeah, I’d need another long, hot bath.” She turned just
before she smiled.

* * * *

“Brent?”

He heard her call from the stable entrance. His hands paused
as he filed Dancer’s hoof, but he fought the desire to look up at Missy.

He waved instead of calling back since the horse was a bit
jumpy. Dale and Ivan had held off on taking care of Dancer until he could get
there. All three of them were wary of the horse. It missed Ben something
mighty.

“Sounds like she’s done brushing Speckle already.” Dale
jabbed him. “You can go on with her.”

“I started this.” Brent kept working, knowing Missy would
come over to talk to them. “Ivan, don’t let her get too close to him.”

He glanced up to see her, but then he couldn’t get his
attention back on the job at hand.

She stood by the corner to look for him as she gathered her
hair over one shoulder. Her petite body looked delicate, but her eyes said
right away not to mess with her. As he watched, she stuffed her hands in her
pockets and started his way.

The horse partially hid him, so maybe she wouldn’t see him
stare. Her green sweater did something to her skin, made it richer in color. He
thought of her almond brown eyes watching him as they sat on the horses by the
ocean. Whatever was happening between them . . . well, it couldn’t be good if
it consumed his mind every second of the day.

Dancer snorted, so he made a soothing sound as he watched
her.

“Brent!” Dale jerked toward him.