Page 23 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
As if to emphasize his point, an older man clapped Spence on the shoulder from behind. “Long time,” he said.
“Coach Michaels.” Spence shot Hayley a quick look, then stepped away with the retired coach. Hayley wondered if the man had any idea that she was responsible for the team winning the championship that year. Spence wasn’t about to rat out the jerk who’d locked him in the equipment room, preferring to take care of matters in his own way. Someday she’d have to ask him just what that meant, and if he’d ever followed through.
“I’ll grab some seats,” Reed said to his brother after giving Hayley and Andie each a smiling nod. A few minutes later, Spence and Coach Michaels parted ways and Spence ambled back to Hayley’s booth.
“That was a blast from the past,” Spence said.
“Does he know?”
Spence shook his head. “I don’t think Evan ever let on to what he’d done, even long after the fact.”
“Did you ever do anything about it?”
“Almost. Then I had second thoughts and decided to walk away. Knowing how things could get out of hand with Evan, I left it as our little secret. Honestly? I think that made him more nervous than if I’d alerted the powers that be.”
“Probably.”
Spence glanced over his shoulder at the arena. “They’ll be starting soon, and I want to take a look at a couple of horses.”
Hayley nodded and then turned her attention to a customer. Andie returned to the booth and after the customer left with a bouquet of cut flowers, Hayley turned to her. “You should get a seat for the sale.”
“Really?”
“I think I can handle the crowd,” Hayley said dryly. Her offerings were meager compared to the non-produce booths.
“Then, yeah. I’ll head in.”
Andie pushed a long braid over her shoulder to join the other and edged her way out of the booth. In the distance, Hayley caught sight of Spence once again being stopped by an old acquaintance.
She glanced down at her money apron. Was he really going to hit the road come fall, as he’d mentioned more than once?
She was fairly certain he was. He made no secret of wanting to continue his footloose existence and, as long as his family didn’t need him, she felt certain he would do just that.
*
After being stoppedhalf a dozen times by old acquaintances who hadn’t seen him in a while, Spence finally made his way to his seat next to Reed. After the third or fourth horse had sold, he started looking around. He wasn’t horse hunting like his brother. He spotted Andie with her forearms leaning against the arena fence rails, watching the auction. Poor kid. Sucked in by Carter Hunt, then spit back out again.
In a way, he was glad, though, because it meant that Hayley wasn’t alone on her ranch. Normally, that wouldn’t bother him, or even be on his radar, but the call telling her not to lease water bothered him. He was going to be there during the day, building corrals, but the shit he was worried about went down at night.
That said, the water was flowing and as far as he knew, Hayley had received no more calls, so... yeah. It was a done deal, and Carter Hunt knew that. But one thing Spence knew about Hunt—he was a tenacious operator—which was why he was successful, and he would have another go at the Keller property in some way or another.
So was there a compromise? Spence couldn’t think of one. And even if he could, he probably wouldn’t entertain it. It wasn’t his family’s fault that Carter wanted easier access to the property he’d inherited from his brother than building a bridge across a deep canyon. Carter asked. They’d said no. That should have been the end of it.
He shifted his attention back to the arena, where a high-powered gelding was being ridden in by a five- or six-year-old kid. A bit of a ruckus caught his attention and he turned to see Andie in what looked to be a heated conversation with none other than Carter Hunt himself. He nudged Reed and pointed, then got to his feet.
“Want help?” Reed asked.
“No.” The fact that Reed was engaged to the man’s daughter made the situation a bit more complicated and Spence saw no reason to ruin Reed’s day. Before he could edge his way down the crowded row of seats, Hayley appeared on the scene, taking a stance next to Andie, which only served to hurry his steps.
Spence was halfway to where Hayley and Andie were facing off with a red-faced Carter Hunt, when a kid Spence didn’t know joined Andie and Hayley, apparently as an ally.
Spence slowed his steps, watching the foursome as he made his way toward them.
As he got closer, Spence heard Carter Hunt say, “This isn’t a matter to be discussed in public.”
Andie put her hands on her hips and jutted out her chin. “People need to know how you operate.”
“Careful, young woman.”
