Page 13 of Unforgettable Cowboy
Even if she were, Hayes had made it clear that he wasn’t.
Isn’t that what you look for?A man who goes about his business so that you can go about yours?
Bailey did not like the way her thoughts were trending.
It was growing dark as she pulled up to her trailer.The old homestead was peaceful during the day; picturesque, really, with golden grain fields, green pasture and old cottonwood trees guarding the spot where the homestead house had once stood.But at night the sagging buildings deteriorating on their foundations definitely put off a vibe and the cottonwoods creaked in the night wind.The memories of living in the trailer, now thankfully in double-wide heaven, didn’t help matters.
Bailey continued to sit behind the steering wheel, staring at the silhouette of broken fence along the field.Why had her mom hung on to the place?For security?It definitely wasn’t for the memories, unless it was to remind herself of what not to do.As far as Bailey knew, Helena hadn’t returned to the area since she’d packed up and moved to Wyoming.She earned enough leasing the fields to Jim Reed to cover the taxes, and in a banner year she might clear a few hundred dollars, but the property was not a money maker.Yes.It had to be for security, a place to land if she found her back against the wall again.
All Bailey knew was that when she’d told her mom that she was going into silversmithing full-time, Helena had been supportive, suggesting the homestead as a place to set up shop and live between rodeos.She hadn’t known about Operation Dakota Sunshine, but she’d been the one to suggest that Bailey stop in to say hello to Wade Matthews, the man who’d helped her through those first few months of trauma and drama after Bruce had walked out on them.Bailey had done just that, and in the process ended up with a job she liked more than she should.
It wasn’t until she’d begun working outdoors that she realized the toll of being cooped up in an office during the day slaving at a computer, silversmithing at nights and attending rodeos on weekends had taken.Even after she’d given up her house for the trailer and began silversmithing full-time, she’d spent most of her time inside at a workstation, either engraving silver or doing remote data entry jobs to pad her income.There hadn’t been a lot of outdoor, in-her-head time.
She loved in-her-head time.
Moving cows, checking fence, monitoring ditches and mowing weeds had been a boon to her creativity and there were days when she couldn’t wait to get back to her homestead to sketch out the designs that had been playing in her head.
A movement in the darkness caught her eye.She stilled, heart beating faster as she squinted into the twilight.Just a deer ambling toward the field.Relieved, she got out of the truck and started hanging plastic bags of groceries off her wrists.She barely got the trailer door unlocked and pushed open when one of the bags split, sending spuds rolling into the trailer and onto the ground at Bailey’s feet.
Perfect.
She began collecting the renegade tubers when a sound in the barn brought her upright.A bird soared out of the loft into the night and Bailey let out a low breath.
She was jumpy.Part of it was living alone a mile from her closest neighbors, one of whom happened to be the man she’d awkwardly jilted—for no reason, it turned out…argh—and part of it was a niggling worry that Chance Meyers was going to put two and two together and confront her about the mare.
He had no reason to.She and Jenna had been very careful in their planning, but Chance was no fool.He was arrogant and controlling, and he’d been crossed, which had to jab at his enormous ego.Bailey did not believe she had anything to fear from the man, but she wasn’t looking for a showdown, especially not in a public place such as the Copper Mountain Rodeo.All she wanted was for Jenna to collect the mare after the rodeo, as planned, thus freeing Bailey up to begin her fall season of gear shows.
And then there’s Hayes.
Yes, he was making her jumpy, too.
She picked up the last spud, climbed the single step into the trailer, closed the door and locked it.
*
Ten hours later,after a semi-sleepless night, Bailey stood in the corral behind Wade’s barn flicking a stiff brush over Dakota Sunshine’s golden coat.The mare leaned into the brush, bobbing her head and sticking out her lip when Bailey hit the itchy spots.Definitely a spoiled girl.As she worked, Bailey kept an eye on the ranch house, wondering if Hayes was in or out.She’d arrived almost an hour early so that she could spend time with the mare who’d played an unwitting role in bringing Hayes Matthews back into her life, paying her the attention she was used to.After checking the mare’s feet and then combing her tail, Bailey gave her a pat on her well-muscled butt.Dakota Sunshine was in fine shape, ready for Jenna to rescue her after Chance left the area.
Last year when Bailey had attended the Copper Mountain Rodeo for the first time as a vendor, she’d caught glimpses of Chance and Jenna at all the community events—the welcome dinner and street dance, the Saturday night steak dinner, or even the Sunday morning pancake breakfast—looking every inch the perfect cowboy couple.She hadn’t known then that the marriage was in trouble, and it had almost seemed as if Chance was purposely keeping Jenna away from Bailey.It wasn’t until Christmas when she and Jenna managed some alone time that her friend confessed that she wasn’t happy.She suspected Chance of succumbing to the allures of the buckle bunnies, and things simply weren’t the way they’d been during their whirlwind courtship.He was distant, wouldn’t tell her where he was when he went out, yet went through the roof when she did the same.Jenna was fed up and ready to leave.
And then the issue with Dakota Sunshine began to take form.
Bailey was on her way to the barn to put the brush and curry comb away when Hayes opened the ranch house door, spotted her and called, “Do you want coffee?”
“Brought my own,” she called back.
He stepped out onto the porch, letting the screen door shut behind him, and continued down the front walk to the gate.Bailey’s nerves thrummed as he approached.Even though the air had been cleared between them, it was going to take a while for knee-jerk reactions to dissipate.Reactions aside, Bailey was a different critter now.She knew how to manage her fears; knew how to enjoy a relationship without getting in too deep.It was all about honesty and clear communication.Management of expectations.
The thing was, there should be nothing to manage here.
“What are you doing today?”he asked as he came to a stop a few yards away from the mare.
“What do you need done?”she asked reasonably.
“I have no idea what Wade has you working on.”
“General stuff.The fences, ditches, weeds.Moving the cattle between grazing areas.My project for the past week has been checking the fences before he turns the pairs out on the north allotment.”
“That’s a lot for one person to keep up with.”
