Page 82 of Tempting Fate
While she fed him a few more slices, Drew joined Raylene at the fence.
“I hear you’re heading home tomorrow.”
She’d never really thought of Los Angeles as home, but she supposed it was the closest thing she had to one anymore. “Uh-huh.” She just had to officially accept Moto Entertainment’s offer. “Thanks for letting Harper do this. It’ll help me sleep better knowing Gunner is in good hands.”
“Are you kidding? Look at her, she’s thrilled.”
It was funny, because Harper lived on a working ranch with plenty of horses to care for. Raylene supposed this was the girl’s first job and a way of showing some independence. She gathered that after what had happened, Emily was extremely protective of Harper. And who could blame her?
“You taking off tomorrow too?” Raylene asked, knowing that Drew and his wife lived somewhere in the Bay Area.
“My wife and I are leaving this afternoon,” he said. She got the impression he wished he could stay longer. It must be difficult leaving his daughter after only recently being reunited with her.
“Safe travels.”
“Thanks.” He watched Harper fawn over Gunner for a few seconds. “Would you mind if I bowed out of the rest of the lesson? I think I got enough of the basics to jump in if she needs help. I should really help Kristy pack up. I know Harper wanted to watch you ride Gunner in the ring, and I don’t want to deprive her of that before dropping her off at Emily’s.”
“Of course. I’ll take her to your house when we’re done here.”
“Great. We’re just on the other side of the development. Harper can show you, but it’s not even a half mile away.”
“Not a problem at all. And again, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate her doing this.” She handed him Harper’s first payment. “I wasn’t sure if I should give it to her or to you.”
Drew smiled. “You should give it to her. It’ll be nice for her to see what it’s like to earn her first paycheck.”
“All right.” Raylene slipped it inside her jeans. She’d give it to Harper when she dropped her home. Between the weekly checks and Gunner’s feed, she’d be eating into what was left of her money faster than she wanted to think about.
Drew went over to Harper to tell her he was leaving, then he drove off. Raylene showed Harper how to dole out Gunner’s weekly grain ration and saddled the gelding for one last ride before she left. Later today she was going to take another stab at finding the gold. They’d gotten more snow on Saturday, but with the sun out today it had already started melting and she fervently hoped the digging would be easier. Yesterday had been rough, and once again they’d come up empty.
Gabe had bitched and moaned the entire time, but he had stuck with her until it was too dark to dig anymore. She hadn’t told him about her awful meeting with Lucky. There was no sense reliving her humiliation—her shame. Lucky hated her so much he wouldn’t even accept her land, which in her mind was asinine. He could’ve hated her while sitting on two hundred prime acres of real estate.
Her sponsor had warned her that some of the people she’d hurt wouldn’t readily accept amends, but Raylene thought it was important to at least try to make restitution any way she could. Nothing could undo the trouble she’d caused, but she’d spend the rest of her life willingly paying penance. And that meant leaving tomorrow, with or without the gold. Her visit here had clearly upset the balance of Lucky’s life, which was the last thing she wanted to do.
She checked her phone to see if Gabe had texted. Nothing yet. She’d spent the night in his arms, this time in a real bed. Leaving him tomorrow…well, she wasn’t going to let herself face all the things she felt for him because there was no happily-ever-after in their future. Examining it too closely not only wasted energy, it was unhealthy. She couldn’t change her past and all the reasons she had to leave Nugget, so pretending there was even an iota of a chance with them would only set her up for disappointment. Besides, as attracted as Gabe seemed to be to her, he’d never indicated that the past two weeks had been anything more than a fling.
“You ready to take him out?” Raylene stuffed her phone in her pocket and handed Harper Gunner’s reins to lead him out to the arena. She’d give Gabe her ETA later.
“Can I ride him?”
“Sure. He hasn’t been out in a while, so let me first.”
It was a great ring, and they had the entire barn to themselves. Tucked away on the other side of the main road from Sierra Heights, the stable was convenient to the community center where the pool, tennis courts, and rec room were, but not too close to subject everyone to the smell. To Raylene it was a good smell—the gamey odor of a working ranch would forever be ingrained on her soul, even if she did live in a big city now—but not everyone felt that way. Especially city folks up to enjoy a summer weekend lounging by the pool or a snowy day in the spa. Or so she presumed. The barn and arena backed up to Redwood State Park, where there were more than a dozen riding trails, which made it even more enticing to residents of the planned community. She’d heard Griffin was searching for someone to manage the stable full-time. That way boarders didn’t have to do it themselves or hire caretakers.
Raylene took a few turns in the arena. If she had more time, she’d double up with Harper and ride through the park. Harper sat on the top row of the fence and watched Raylene kick Gunner into a lope. Her boy had a lot of pent-up energy and she wanted to tire him out before Harper climbed into the saddle. She rode him until he worked up a nice lather, then got down to give Harper a turn. They’d take it nice and slow at first, to make sure Harper could handle him. He wasn’t a horse for beginners, but Raylene would be right here in case he started acting up.
Once Harper got up, Raylene adjusted the stirrups. “Walk him around first, nothing fancy.”
Raylene watched as Harper rode in a wide circle. She had a nice seat. Raylene figured Clay had worked with Harper on that. “You’re doing great. How does he feel compared to Ginger?”
“Bigger.” Harper looked down and Raylene laughed.
“A little bit. But you’re a natural.”
“You think? I’m always kind of scared. Clay said a horse can sense that.”
“It’s true. But it’s good to be on guard, yet confident. You have to be the boss, or else he’ll take advantage.” Just to prove it, Gunner stopped to nibble on a few weeds under the fence. “Give the reins a little jerk, but not too hard. Just enough to tell him to stop it.”
Harper successfully tugged his head up, and with a nudge to his flanks, he was walking again.
