Single-Dad Cowboy by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Chapter Five
The arrival of Matt and Garrett on the path with their charges ended Zeke’s private discussion with Nell, which was fine with him. He had nothing more to say.
Yes, it was a sticky situation. A complicated one, too. Claire’s adoration for her teacher could make for a challenging summer requiring fancy footwork on his part. If so, he’d manage. Somehow he’d avoid an entanglement with Nell without confusing the heck out of his daughter.
Claire was certainly having a red-letter day right now. Clearly the kids who’d toured the barn had loved petting the buckskin foal, a rare treat for even the ones who had some experience with horses.
Obviously feeding carrots to Lucky Ducky had been a hit, too. Everyone was ready to trade places with Claire, live in a bunkhouse, feed Lucky carrots and visit that cute foal every day.
This was a child’s paradise, a perfect place for Claire to grow and blossom. Had she figured out what would happen to her setup if he went along with her plan? What if he and Nell fell in love and wanted to create a life together?
The endgame would entail moving out of the bunkhouse Claire loved so much. If she hadn’t followed her idea to its obvious conclusion, maybe it was time she did.
Matt’s phone pinged with a message. “We need to move out, gang. Jake says they’re winding up the Raptors Rise tour.”
The adults brought order to the milling group of third-graders and Claire led her three friends toward the hip-roofed barn flanked by corrals and a large fenced pasture.
The girls hurried toward the open barn doors, but Nell paused to snap a few pictures.
Zeke waited for her. “Like it?”
“I love it.” She turned to him, her eyes bright. “This is the kind of barn you see in the movies, the one I always imagined when I pretended I lived on a ranch.” She tucked her phone in her oversized purse and headed for the entrance.
“You wanted to live on a ranch?”
“Oh, yeah. San Francisco never felt like home.” She quickened her pace. “I always intended to teach in a small town in either Montana or Wyoming. Turned out Apple Grove had an opening and Harland fast-tracked the certification process.”
“All those hours building the greenhouse and I never thought to ask how you ended up here.”
“We were focused on the project.”
“I suppose.”
“If it weren’t for Claire, I wouldn’t know how you ended up here, either.”
“Out of curiosity, what did she say?”
“That you recently found out about her Uncle Jake and decided to come and meet him and his new wife.”
“That’s the bare bones of it. I wanted to make the connection.” A connection with a family member who hadn’t been lying to him all his life. Someone he might be able to trust. So far, Jake had come through on that score.
The sound of giggling drifted through the door as they approached the barn. When they stepped from the sunlight to the shadowy interior, the girls were clustered around Lucky Ducky’s stall. That old guy was soaking up the attention, his eyelids at half-mast as the girls rubbed his nose and scratched his neck.
Claire turned in his direction. “Did you bring carrots, Dad?”
Dad again. “Matt left a supply in a cooler in the tack room. Each group gets one bag of small chunks. We don’t want to make him sick.”
“That’s for sure. Come on, Piper. Let’s go get our bag.”
“So this is the horse I’ve heard so much about.” Nell joined Riley and Tatum at the stall door.
“You should talk to him, Miss O’Connor.” Riley stepped aside to give her room. “He’ll talk back to you.”
“A talking horse?” Nell moved closer and stroked his neck.
Zeke had seen his share of greenhorns and she didn’t act like one. She might be a city girl, but her lack of hesitation told him she’d been around horses.
“Are you a conversationalist, Lucky Ducky?” She combed her fingers through his mane. “What do you think of my class? Have you enjoyed meeting them?”
Right on cue, Lucky bobbed his head and made his signature huh-huh-huh sound.
“Oh, my goodness! You do talk.”
The gelding gave an indignant snort, which made the girls laugh.
“Did I insult you?” She put a hand gently on his muzzle. “I’m so sorry.” Leaning in, she gave him a soft kiss on his nose.
She’d been around horses, all right, and she loved them. One more arrow pierced his armor.
“Isn’t he the sweetest horse ever?” Claire arrived and passed out the carrot chunks, one to each of the girls and one to Nell.
“He’s adorable.” She took her chunk of carrot and stepped back. “You girls go ahead.”
“They can go first.” Claire came to stand beside Nell. “I get to do this all the time. He’s my starter horse. Right, Dad?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“He’s everybody’s starter horse. I’d trust him with anyone. He’s a true gentleman.”
“Hey, Dad, I just thought of something. Piper and Tatum want to take riding lessons.” She turned to them. “Have your folks found you a place yet?”
Both girls shook their heads.
“Great! Could they come to the Buckskin, Dad? You could teach them on Lucky.”
“Yeah!” Tatum bounced on her toes. “That would be so cool, Mr. Lassiter.”
“It would be awesome.” Piper twirled around and managed to catch her glasses before they went flying. “We could carpool and we’d get to see Claire and Lucky Ducky and maybe some of the other—”
“I want to come, too,” Riley said.
“But you have a horse at home.” Tatum stopped bouncing and faced her. “You have to learn on that one.”
Her chin jutted out. “I could learn on Lucky Ducky, too.”
“I don’t think your parents will pay for you to learn on a different horse.” Claire was in mediating mode. “But you could come along and watch.”
Zeke rubbed his chin. This could work out. Another distraction to take Claire’s mind off matchmaking.
“Hang on, girls.” Nell glanced at him. “Mr. Lassiter hasn’t said he could give you lessons. He might not have time.”
Four eager little faces gazed up at him with hope in their eyes.
“I could make the time.”
“Yay!!” Piper started dancing and almost lost her glasses again.
“But I’d be using Buckskin resources so I’d have to clear it with Mrs. Fox.”
Claire turned to her buddies. “Mrs. Fox is my Gramma Henri.”
The way she said it made him smile. Clearly she couldn’t resist mentioning she had friends in high places.
“I just know she’ll say yes, Daddy. You could give her a share of the money, but she’d love to have these guys come out to the ranch for lessons. She’s crazy about kids.”
“I’ll definitely ask her.” Did she revert to Daddy when she was asking a favor to soften him up? He wouldn’t put it past her.
“She’ll go for it.” Claire glanced at Nell. “You probably know how to ride already.”
“Actually, I don’t.”
Uh-oh. Hadn’t seen that coming.
“You don’t?” Claire looked genuinely puzzled. “You act like you do.”
“I love horses. Whenever I happen to be around them, I’m always looking for a chance to pet them. But I could never spare the time or the money to take riding lessons.”
“Then you should take lessons with us!”
Oh, Lordy.Claire had glimpsed an opportunity and snapped it up like the smart little cookie she was. He was both proud and dismayed by her lightning-quick response. He’d have to stay on his toes from now on.
Her three friends jumped on the idea. They figured out Nell could be the chauffeur instead of their parents, a perfect solution since she’d be coming to ride, too.
Adding an adult student probably meant adding another horse. Taking time to switch a youth saddle for an adult size would be awkward.
As the trap closed around him, she sent him a quick glance of apology. He gave her a smile in return. It wasn’t her fault.
Henri probably would green-light the plan, including whatever resources he needed. Claire had Henri’s number — she was crazy about kids. He and Nell would be spending a lot of time together this summer. But at least they’d have plenty of chaperones.
