Single-Dad Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Chapter Sixteen
Nell’s emotions were all over the map as she parked beside the barn on Thursday. She was delighted to see Zeke, but the last lesson had given her a preview of how her excitement could escalate until it was embarrassingly obvious. She didn’t want that.
“Looks like someone else is here.” Val glanced at the flashy truck parked next to them. “Nice ride.”
“Ooo, yeah.” Riley peered out the window. “I love red trucks.”
“It’s pretty.” Nell preferred Zeke’s restored vintage one, but she wasn’t going to say so in front of the girls. Claire was the ringleader of the matchmaking eight-year-olds, but the other three had become willing accomplices.
She and Val had been forced to issue an ultimatum during the ride home on Monday afternoon—her dating life and Val’s lack of one were no longer appropriate topics of conversation. The girls had reluctantly agreed to the restriction.
“I’d think you’d rather talk about horses,” Val had said, turning toward the back seat. “Isn’t that why we’re all doing this?”
“Mostly.” Piper had appointed herself the spokesperson. “But I heard you say to Miss O’Connor that you wanted to get to know us better.”
“Well, that’s true. You’ll be in my class next year, so getting to know each other will—”
“See? We’re supposed to get to know each other.”
“To a point. Our dating life is beyond that point.”
“Okay.” Piper had let out a long-suffering sigh.
After that exchange, they’d seemed to comply, but their whispered conversations could have been about anything. More whispering had gone on today, too. On Monday night, while drinking the bottle of cab Val had won from Nell, they’d decided it was best to ignore the whispers.
As Nell exited the SUV and released the lock on the back doors so the girls could climb out, she glanced toward the barn. Prince, Lucky, Butch and Sundance stood by the hitching post, saddled and ready to go, but nobody was around.
Then Claire came out of the barn, waved and started toward them. “My Uncle Teague’s here! He was showing me how to build a loop,” she called out as she drew closer.
“A loop of what?” Tatum asked.
“Rope. Then you can twirl it around and rope something.”
“I wanna learn that!”
“Who’s Uncle Teague?” Piper walked faster. “I don’t remember that name.”
“Me, either.” Riley clapped her hand to her head as a gust of wind threatened to blow off her hat. “I thought we met all your uncles on the field trip.”
Zeke and a muscular cowboy Nell didn’t recognize came through the open barn doorway and started in their direction.
“You didn’t meet him because he doesn’t live here,” Claire said.
“That’s a shame,” Val said under her breath.
“Where’s he from, then?” Tatum sounded impatient. “His truck has a Montana license plate.”
Nell smiled. Tatum was fascinated with license plates. She couldn’t see a vehicle without trying to identify the plate.
“I mean he doesn’t live here.” Claire swept an arm toward the barn and outbuildings. “On the ranch. He lives over at my Auntie Ed’s place. He works for her.”
Tatum put her hands on her hips. “How can he be your uncle, then?”
Claire looked uncertain, a flash of vulnerability in her expression. “Well… he said I could call him that.”
“But if he doesn’t—” Tatum ended her protest when Piper gave her a nudge and a look. “Um, okay.”
Nell let out a breath. Her little speech to the girls in the car today had made an impression. They loved Claire. They also envied her for living on a ranch with so many horses and a host of adopted aunts and uncles. In their eyes, she had it all. Nell had pointed out that Claire didn’t have what all three of them had—a devoted mother.
They’d taken that to heart at the time. But adding yet another uncle had clearly pushed Tatum’s buttons. And speaking of pushing buttons…
Zeke came toward her with that special glow in his dark eyes. Her body warmed and her heart pounded. Tomorrow night.
“Ladies.” Zeke’s gaze shifted to encompass everyone. “I’d like you to meet a good friend and a top-notch wrangler, Teague Sullivan. He’s offered to help with the lessons.”
Nell caught Valerie’s soft hum of approval and swallowed a laugh. Had Claire had anything to do with this? Wouldn’t be a stretch.
Zeke introduced each of them to Teague and Val made a point of shaking his hand, even though she had to reach over Tatum to do it.
Tatum swung her arms back and forth. “Mr. Sullivan, can you teach us to build a loop?”
“I will if there’s time.”
“Woo-hoo!” Tatum executed a short victory dance.
“We’d better get started then.” Zeke motioned them toward the barn. Now he had a rival for those girls’ attention.
Tatum’s irritation at being presented with yet another doting uncle had vanished by the time she’d traded her hat for a helmet. When she was ready to mount Prince, she asked Teague to help her up.
Piper, though, remained loyal to Zeke, stepping into his cupped hands to mount Lucky.
Once she was in the saddle, Zeke turned to address the group. “Since Teague’s offered his assistance for these lessons, we’ve decided to shake things up a bit. We tacked up the horses, but at the end of the lesson, we’ll have a hands-on session on removing the tack and grooming the horses. Next Monday, you’ll learn how to tack them up yourself.”
“Yay!” Tatum glanced over at Piper. “Aren’t you excited?”
“I am, but these saddles look heavy and the horses are tall.”
“All true, Piper,” Teague said. “So we’ll give you techniques to deal with those issues.”
Val leaned close to Nell. “I love a man with techniques.”
“I think Claire’s counting on it.”
“She did this?”
“He works for the lady who’s giving her barrel racing lessons.”
“Oh. I didn’t put that together. What a little devil.”
“Are you upset?”
Val chuckled. “Not exactly.”
“Didn’t think so. Let’s go mount up.” She glanced at Val. “Unless you want that broad-shouldered cowboy to assist you?”
“Heck, no. If he’s drawn to the helpless female type, then he’s not for me. Let’s get this show on the road.” She buckled her helmet, marched over to Sundance and swung into the saddle as if she’d been doing it all her life.
Nell envied Val her long legs. She approached Butch with the same show of confidence, but her mounting technique had a herky-jerky quality. Although she made it into the saddle, it wasn’t pretty. She cussed a little under her breath.
“Something wrong?” Zeke’s soft question caught her by surprise. He stood beside her, hat pushed back, head tilted so he could meet her gaze.
Her heart did a stutter-step. “I wish I could get on and off more gracefully. I know I need the stirrups to be adjusted like that because my legs are shorter than Val’s, but it’s harder for me to reach the stirrup with my foot. And after I do, I’m off-balance.”
He nodded. “Which means you might have to start doing push-ups.”
“Why? I’m just holding the reins.”
“That’s after you use your strong arms to pull yourself into the saddle.”
“Oh. Pushups, huh?”
“It’s a simple way to build up strength in your arms and upper body.”
“I suppose it is, but I’m a dunce when it comes to working out. I aced all my high school classes except gym. I nearly flunked gym. How sad is that?”
“Tell you what. I’ll give you some pointers tomorrow night.”
She stared at him, her heart racing. “Wh-what?”
His gaze was steady, but laughter gleamed in the depths of those dark eyes. “Perfect opportunity, right?”
“I can’t believe you said that. Now I’m thinking about—”
“Exactly what I’ve been thinking about for three solid days. Welcome to the club.”
