Page 29 of Waiting for the Rancher
Tanner had a recent falling out with his older brother, Ryder. Hazel didn’t know all the details of what had transpired between the two but heard it had something to do with their past.
Even if their feud didn’t make sense to her, she suspected that maybe Tanner was also embarrassed that Ryder had gotten one of Captain Moore’s daughters pregnant. Just as soon as Ryder had learned Sadie was carrying his baby, he’d done the honorable thing, and they’d gotten married in February.
After the quick wedding, the Oakley family had rallied around him when he’d claimed a homestead near Frisco, helping him to build a cabin and barn for him and his new wife. She was due in the early part of the summer, and everyone was hoping the birth of the grandchild would help cheer Mrs. Oakley.
Hazel glanced across the paddock to where Tiny and her foal stood together in the warm afternoon sunshine. At a week old, the colt was nursing well, already gaining weight, and starting to frolic with some of the other colts.
Now it was Candy’s turn to foal. And the inexperienced broodmare would need a little more coaxing and help than Tiny.
Hazel rubbed the mare’s abdomen, checking and rechecking all the signs that she might be in labor. “I don’t think it’ll be tonight, sweet love.” Hazel brushed a kiss against the mare’s cheek.
As Maverick and Tanner slowed their mounts in the yard, she stood back from the mare. Maverick was wearing his usual black Stetson, flannel shirt, and denims. But Tanner had on a coonskin cap over his brown hair and was wearing a Native buckskin coat with fringes on each shoulder.
At the sight of her, Tanner whistled and waved. “There she is. The most gorgeous woman in the Rockies.”
Hazel smiled in response. Tanner was like Maverick in his ability to flirt, maybe even better. He didn’t mean anything by it, the same way Maverick didn’t ever mean anything. They were both just friendly young men who liked women but who clearly didn’t like commitment.
She could feel Maverick’s gaze upon her, and even though she wanted to exchange a familiar smile with him, the hurt was too fresh to ignore. Even if he hadn’t meant to hurt her, even if he’d just been himself, she’d allowed herself to believe his attention had meant more. Now she needed a little more time to force all her feelings for him back down inside so that she could see him as nothing more than a friend again.
If only she hadn’t let him kiss her. Her thoughts returned to the night of the kiss, the way he’d dipped down and pressed his lips to hers. At first she hadn’t known what he was doing. The brush of his lips had been so tender, so sweet, so unexpected. He’d paused for a moment, as though giving her a chance to back away, to put an end to the kiss.
Of course she hadn’t wanted to. She’d always secretly dreamed of kissing Maverick, although in her dreams she’d been the one to jump into his arms and initiate the kiss. She’d never dreamed he’d kiss her first. Why would he?
And why had he? Was it because they’d been lying together on the sofa? Had he felt close to her in the moment?
She could admit that she’d broken the kiss and run away from him because she’d been frightened. She’d been afraid of this very thing happening—where he kissed her casually, where it didn’t mean anything to him, where he went on with his life unaffected. Unlike her, for whom his kiss had been earth-shattering, had kept her awake for hours that night, and had filled her thoughts for days afterward.
It still consumed her, but she was doing better today than she had been the rest of the week. She was finally making peace withthe fact that she had to put him out of her mind once and for all. If she took nothing else away from the kiss, she was learning her lesson that Maverick would never see her the way she saw him.
It was for the best if she didn’t allow herself to get close to him again. No more spending time with him, especially alone. No more long conversations. No more allowing him to help with the foaling—unless there was a problem. No more letting herself admire him. And certainly no more kissing. Never, ever again.
She would focus on Tanner. Maybe she could even practice some of the flirting techniques that Maverick had taught her. Not that she was interested in Tanner. She wasn’t any more interested in him than she was in Ross. But if Maverick could flirt so shamelessly, then she could too.
“Hi, Tanner.” She offered the young man a smile, looking him straight in his eyes the way Maverick had instructed her. “It’s been a while. How are you?”
Tanner’s grin widened. “At the sight of you, I’m mighty fine now.”
“I’ve sure missed you.” She hoped her smile was warm and inviting. “Things are never the same without you around.”
“Well, now. You’re as sweet as you are pretty. Isn’t that right, Mav?”
“Yep.” His answer was curt, almost as if he was upset with her.
If anyone should be upset, it ought to be her. After all, he’d been the one to kiss her and then ignore her all week.
She made herself laugh lightly, her mind scrambling to find something—anything—that would get Maverick’s attention. She didn’t stop to analyze why she wanted his attention, why it was so important in the moment. Instead, she swiped off her hat and let her hair tumble down. While she’d taken the time that morning to tie it up into a messy knot, over the course of the day,it had come loose, so that now it swirled in wavy masses every which way.
She gave the thick mane a shake, feeling the stares of both men. What was Maverick thinking? Did he find her pretty with her hair down? Was the tactic working to make him take notice of her?
Even though she wanted to take a peek at him, she widened her smile and kept her attention on Tanner. “I’ve got an Oakley ready to foal soon. If you want to help me, she’ll probably go into labor tomorrow night.”
Tanner nodded. “She’s the yearling?”
“Candy. The Oakley that Clementine named after she ate up a batch of the candy left outside to cool.”
Tanner surveyed the mare, then glanced at Maverick as though gauging his reaction to her request.
Maverick’s expression was guarded, without the usual flirtation or humor. His jaw flexed tensely, and his eyes were narrowed upon Tanner.
