Captivated By A Cowboy (Canton County Cowboys 3) Read online

  In just a few seconds Carissa received a confirmation text in the form of a smiley face. Angela had the spare key so that was taken care of, now on to other business. She grabbed her hardly used suitcase out of the hall closet and opened it up on her bed. She chuckled seeing her “lost” earrings in the bottom of the suitcase. How many times had she searched her house looking for that pair? They weren’t super expensive but they were the only diamonds she had and she couldn’t help but put them in to celebrate discovering them. “Always the last place you look,” she said to no one, to which Rudy answered, “Lookie, lookie!”

  Thanks, Angela for teaching my bird random words. She shook her head and grinned. She cut the tags off all her new clothing and even slid on a pair of the new jeans. It would be nice to shed the office wear for a few days. She slid on a bright blue T-shirt and spun in front of the full-length mirror, admiring the fit again. Carissa could hardly believe she’d lost so much. She never weighed herself, but she had been watching what she ate more vigilantly.

  Her house phone rang, startling her as she folded socks and underwear and stuffed them in the suitcase. She walked toward the machine and paused to listen to the message. “Hey Carissa, it’s me, Devon. I am sorry for missing our date the other night. I called your phone when I saw I was running late but you never answered. I couldn’t call again because I had to head back into a closed-door meeting. No cell phones in there, babe. So when you get a chance, call me. I’m free this weekend and I promise I will show up this time. What do you say? Call me before six though. Bye!”

  She leaned against the wall, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. She reached for her cell phone and checked it again. There were no messages from him at all, not last weekend and not since then. Whatever, I don’t have time for this nonsense, she thought, feeling aggravated. Closed-door meeting, my behind! The truth was Carissa didn’t trust Devon and this missed date and “missing” phone calls only added to that mistrust.

  When she first met Devon she’d been floored by his Nordic good looks. He looked like a sexy, blond Viking but wearing a suit and tie and clean-shaven, of course. Devon looked good in a suit, and everywhere they went, people turned to look at him. He could easily enjoy a career as a model if he weren’t so good with money. Devon worked as a finance officer at Quigley, one of the biggest lenders in the city of Dallas. If your business or non-profit needed funding, Devon was the guy to talk to. That was how they’d met, at a fundraiser for Audrey House.

  At first Carissa thought Devon was a lot of talk. Audrey House needed 20k in like a month to bring the house up to code. The city was always tweaking the rules for non-profits and that particular tweak had cost them a pretty penny. Or it would have if not for Devon March. He’d arranged for Audrey House to be placed on the “grandfather” list, meaning, future code changes and the current one would not affect them. He’d saved their behinds, but that had been three months ago.

  Carissa and Devon had been on about ten dates. At first he was attentive and seemed into her, but now, his interest was waning. At least that’s what Carissa believed, and truthfully, so was hers. The relationship became intimate about a month ago, and as expected, sex with Devon was exciting but afterward there was no connection. The truth was, although Devon was handsome, sexy, and skilled in the intimacy department, her heart wasn’t in it and it needed to be. She sighed, erased the message, and went back to packing. After about thirty minutes she had everything ready to go. She scribbled a note to Angela about where she was staying and how to get in contact with her if something happened to her phone. It was likely that she might not get a decent cell phone signal in the wilderness so she left the info just in case.

  Pausing at the birdcage, she blew kisses to Rudy and they talked for a minute. “Bye Rudy!” She waved at him as she left her apartment. She rolled the suitcase behind her, saying a silent prayer as she climbed down the steps. I’m sure I will make a fool of myself but I’m going to do this if it kills me. Hopefully it won’t.

  She loaded the suitcase into the trunk and took her car to the filling station before getting on the road. Just for fun, she turned her radio to a country music station. After a minute, she shook her head. “Oh, I can’t do that. I guess I’m just a ‘little bit country’.”

  Chapter Three

  Trey cranked the truck and drove it along the dirt road behind the barn. It had a column shifter which had refused to cooperate until he replaced the transmission. It had taken him half the day yesterday to remove the old one and replace it with the new/used one he’d managed to find at the scrapyard. Uncle Robert might have to face the fact that keeping this old truck around was more trouble than it was worth. It’s not like he couldn’t afford to buy a new one but this faded blue Ford held some sentimental value to him and, of course, to Trey too. Both Uncle Robert and Trey’s father Rayford had owned the “Beast” as they liked to call it at once. Keeping it around and going was, in a way, like keeping Rayford around.

  This last repair had been troublesome though. It might be time to give it up. He took the truck back to the barn and patted the hood. His work was done; now on to the real work of taming those horses. He washed the grease off his hands in the outside sink and walked toward the corral. “There he is! You finally got the Beast running?” It was Billy, squinting up at him, wrapping the rope around his glove.

  “You got that horse ready to ride?” Trey was a man of few words but when he did speak, most people listened, except guys with no sense like Billy and Coleman.

  “Almost. You want to spot me?” The younger man was anxious to prove his ability to Trey, and the older guy wasn’t in the mood to argue.

  “Sure, go for it. I’ll spot you.” Spotting simply meant entering the corral and rescuing a hand from a stomping horse if the rider happened to be stupid enough to find himself on the ground looking up at its belly. Of course he’d do him the courtesy of an attempted rescue but he wasn’t in the mood for coaching. That would come later. Aunt Nancy had called him this afternoon to remind him that Carissa Wood, the lady from Audrey House, had arrived and would be ready for training around three.

  He leaned against the rough wood of the corral gate and watched Billy swing the rope of the longe line. He’d picked the sleek, black horse to work with. Trey could tell right away that the animal had spirit. There wouldn’t be any leap from the longe line to the saddle for this animal. It might take a couple of days to get him ready for a rider. Some animals commanded respect—this was one of them, Trey mused. Finally Billy tossed the longe line over the animal’s head and he naturally pulled against it. Robert came and stood by Trey watching the performance with equal amusement.

  “What’s his name? Does he have one yet?” Trey asked.

  Searching his clipboard—he always had one in his hand—Robert said, “Yeah, his name is Camaro. I hope he rides like one. What’s Billy in there for? I thought you wanted to break these?”

  “Kid wanted to give it a shot so I let him.” Trey grinned at the old man and stood with his hand on his hip. “He’s alright.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Robert and Trey watched the short, stocky cowboy train the horse some of the common commands they used on the ranch. Camaro refused to participate; he snatched back on the line and walked backwards as often as he could. Billy was only seventeen and not too experienced with this part of ranch work, but he didn’t give up. After a few minutes, though, his immaturity began to show when he snatched on the rope a bit too harshly for Trey’s taste. Trey whistled at Billy, letting him now he was entering the corral.

  “What am I doing wrong?”

  Trey reached for the rope and patted the kid on the back. “Sometimes you have to take your time with a horse. I know we’re in a hurry. Robert’s in a hurry. But this animal ain’t in no hurry at all. There’s some animals that you can take from longe line to the saddle in no time flat, but then you have animals like this that have too much intelligence for that. He knows what you want; he just don’t want to do it. When th
at happens, you’ve got to back up and become his friend. At least, as much of a friend as he’ll let you.”

  “What do you mean? I don’t plan on being no horse’s friend. Are you putting me on, Trey?” Billy laughed nervously and shifted from foot to foot.

  Trey sighed. “You don’t want to be his friend, that’s fine with me, but you ain’t gonna to get your backside on him if you don’t. It’s not a matter of forcing the animal to do what you want; you’ve got to talk him into it.”

  “Like a girl?”

  Trey stared at him. “Well, I guess, kind of, but unlike a girl, candy and flowers won’t help get you in the front door. Why don’t you spend some time with him first before you walk him on the longe line?”

  “How much time?”

  “As much as you need or until Robert tells you otherwise.”

  “Alright, thanks, Trey.”

  The cowboy walked to the corral gate and climbed over the fence. “Trey, this here is the lady I told you about, Carissa, Carissa Wood.”

  Trey turned to see a petite brunette woman standing beside him with bright green eyes, soft-looking skin and a friendly smile. She didn’t look like any social worker he’d ever seen before—granted, he didn’t know any. He had expected a stuffy, uptight individual who had likely pulled the short straw to get here. Nope, she didn’t look like what he expected at all. She extended her hand to him and smiled again. “Hey, I’m Carissa. You must be Trey.”

  He rubbed his hand on his shirt and took her hand, unintentionally shaking it a little roughly. She didn’t say anything but he felt clumsy and awkward. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Trey Montgomery. You’re from Audrey House, right?”

  “That’s right. We’re so excited to have this opportunity. I’m hoping I can learn a lot this week. Obviously that’s not enough time to learn everything but it will be a start. I think being at the Easy R will give our families something to look forward to. It is beautiful out here.”

  “Yes, ma’am, it is.” He couldn’t help but smile back at her. It was a lovely stretch of land, almost as lovely as his father’s place had been. It was like a second home to him—actually it was the only home he had at the moment. He heard the rope whip through the air and to his dismay saw young Billy trying to climb on the back of Camaro. “Oh hell,” he whispered. “Excuse me a minute.” He climbed over the fence, waiting for Billy’s disastrous attempt at breaking the horse to end. It did with a thud. He scrambled into the corral and grabbed the horse’s lead line, guiding him away from the boy. He handed the line off to a nearby hand and ran to Billy’s side. The boy was panting on the ground, his hat knocked into the dirt.

  “Well, you alive?”

  Billy squinting again grinned at him. “Yeah, but I think I broke my tail bone.” He sat up and wiped his pants off, trying to catch his breath.

  “You got no brains at all, Billy. I told you to take your time. What were you thinking?”

  “I don’t know. I thought we had something going but I guess Camaro is just a tease. Hey, who’s that lady?”

  Trey frowned down at him and offered him a hand up. He jerked the boy up on his feet and said, “None of your concern. Why don’t you go help Coleman with repairing the back fences? Unless Uncle Robert’s got something else for you to do.”

  He plopped his hat back on his head and nodded with another playful grin before exiting the corral.

  Trey strolled back to the horse and petted him. “Sorry about that. He’s kind of a jerk but you’re in good hands. I’ll keep him off you.” He stroked his nose, talking to him in calm tones. Yeah, he liked this horse a lot. One thing was for sure, Camaro had good taste. “You go with this guy and get something to eat. I’ll talk to you this afternoon.” The hand led the horse away and Trey walked back to Carissa.

  Her green eyes were wide and fearful. “Am I going to have to ride him?”

  “Not today, maybe tomorrow,” he joked with her. He could see the panic and quickly amended his statement. “I’m only kidding. That’s a new horse, he hasn’t been broken yet. The kid, Billy, he got ahead of himself on that job.”

  Her relief was apparent. “Oh thank goodness. I have to admit something to you, Mr. Montgomery.”

  “It’s Trey. Mr. Montgomery was my father.”

  “Oh, sorry. You see Trey, I’m an animal lover but I haven’t had much interaction with horses. I’m definitely a beginner so please keep that in mind when you pick out my horse.” Her nervous laugh let him know that she wasn’t kidding.

  “I’ve got the perfect horse for you, but why don’t we start with something simpler.”

  “What’s that?”

  “How do you feel about four-wheelers?”

  Chapter Four

  “Do you have a hat and some bug spray?” he asked.

  “Oh yes, they’re back in my bunkhouse. Should I go get them?”

  “You’ll probably need them both. You see that barn over there? The one with the blue door?” He pointed.

  “Yes.”

  “Meet me there in five minutes. We’ll take the four-wheelers out and I’ll show you the trail we’ve got mapped out for you. Tomorrow we’ll work on your horsemanship.”

  “That sounds perfect. Alright, I’ll be right back.” Carissa turned and walked away, half-hoping that he was watching her. Trey Montgomery was nothing less than drop-dead gorgeous but not much of a people person. Once she got in the bunkhouse she practically ran down the hall to retrieve the items he’d requested. She was happy that she went with the cowboy hat. She grabbed the bug spray and a light jacket too. She strode across the yard to the barn. Trey was there waiting for her. Carissa thought she detected a small smile creep across his lips when he saw her hat, but she ignored it. She refused to allow the cowboy to make her feel stupid for trying to fit in.

  She sprayed her neck and arms with the bug spray and offered it to him. “It’s mostly mosquitos, and they don’t bother me too much. You ever rode a four-wheeler before?”

  “I had a go-cart and a motor bike when I was a kid. That’s been a few years ago.”

  “Okay, Carissa. It’s a lot like riding a motorbike. The accelerator is here on the right handle. The brake is here. For most of this trail, we can ride side by side but there are a few narrow places. Uncle Robert wants you to know that anytime you have people that can’t ride, he’ll be happy to provide these for your group. Just let him know in advance so he can be sure and have them ready.”

  Carissa smiled and thanked him. That was a thoughtful gesture on Mr. Montgomery’s part; she’d have to thank him personally later. So this was Robert’s nephew. She would have never known it without having been told that. Trey was a good foot taller than Robert and had all the good looks in the family.

  They rode out of the barn and she followed Trey to the trailhead. He paused and told her, “Now this trail goes from one side of the canyon to the other. It’s a couple of miles of nice country but we don’t much use it because cattle like getting lost in the wooded areas. There’s a nice place to camp about halfway. You ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She smiled confidently. With a modest grin, the cowboy drove on, riding fairly slowly along the trail which was little more than a wide, grassy road. Lining the path were elms and oaks as well as a few red cedars. They weren’t a quarter of a mile from the barn and she’d already seen a fat, brown rabbit and a couple of mice running across the road. The quads were quiet, not the loud, obnoxious machines she had ridden as a kid. Carissa thought about striking up a conversation with Trey; she had so many questions, but he was a bit intimidating. Not that she was afraid of men. And she was no relationship expert but she knew people—she read them pretty well. That had been kind of an unwritten prerequisite for her line of work. Carissa had families to protect. How many sad stories had an abuser told her just to get information about a sheltering family? Too many to count.

  “So what kind of emergency services are out here? For example, if someone got hurt, who would I call? I’m not sure 9-1-1
would find us out on the trail.”

  “Yeah, your best bet would be to call the ranch. If someone gets hurt, that’s the best thing to do. We’ve got quite a few folks who know first aid. The nearest hospital is about ten miles from the ranch, but they will send out a chopper if needed. Do you know CPR?”

  Carissa smiled. “I have to get recertified every year. It’s part of my job requirements so I do know that. I’ve got the basics down.”

  “That’s good. You never know when you’ll need it. It’s beautiful out here but it can be dangerous if you aren’t careful—and even if you are careful. Don’t let the smell of pine and the nice scenic view fool you. I recommend that you keep your people on the trail. Don’t let them go exploring.” Trey stopped his quad on the top of a hill. “You see that dip in the landscape over there?” He pointed a tanned hand to the east.

  “Yes, I see it.”

  “That’s a forty-foot drop. You wouldn’t know it until it was too late. If you survived the fall nobody would find you.”

  Carissa sat up straight on the quad. What’s he trying to do? Scare the hell out of me? He’s got another thing coming if he think I’m going to tuck tail and run. “I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t have any plans for going off trail, thanks.”

  Trey could sense that he struck a nerve with her. He heard it in her voice but it hadn’t been his intention. Well, maybe it had been a little. Why in the world had Uncle Robert asked him to do this job? He wasn’t a people person.

  “Shall we continue on?” She cranked up her vehicle and gave him a confident smile. They drove further down the trail. Trey stopped occasionally to show her nearby points of interest like the Painted Rock, which was merely a large boulder with some colorful striations, and Lambert’s Spring. “If you ever do find yourself needing help, referencing these landmarks will help the rescue folks. We’re all familiar with so it would help.”