Her Cowboy Knight (5 page)

Gabby shook her head. “No, I’ve seen movies, of course, and cowboys on TV, but I’ve never seen a real rodeo before. It depends on when my family is leaving town.”

Dave and Jed regaled her about tales of bull riding for a few minutes before Cooper sat down beside her and rubbed her back. He said, “Gabby, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. I know you two sort of met the other day, but I’d like you to meet properly. Susan, this is Gabby. She’s staying with me while she works on the ranch.”

Gabby graciously extended her hand to the striking blonde, who hesitated a beat too long before taking it in the briefest of touches.

Cooper said, “Sit down, Susan. You two will want to get to know each other. Gabby, Susan’s father owns the next ranch over from us, and provides the bulls for the rodeos y’all were just talking about. Our families have always been close.”

Susan looked as if that thought were the farthest from her mind, but when Cooper looked at her expectantly, she smiled coolly. “Of course we will. You just come on over any time you want, hon, and we’ll have a grand old time.”

Gabby smiled, equally coolly. “Thank you for the offer, Susan. It’s very kind.”

Gabby knew the moon would crash-land on Texas before she would be having a grand old time with Susan Jacobs.

Susan said, “So what do you do… Tabby, is it?”

“It’s Gabby, and I do all sorts of things. Right now I’m just learning the ropes, so to speak.”

Cooper chuckled. “Yeah, we’re not quite letting her drive the combines yet.”

Susan laughed a little too long at the joke while Gabby just turned red. Susan then felt she had to tell the rest of the table about Gabby’s wreck with the goat, the fence, and the pig.

When everyone but Gabby had finished laughing, Cooper said, “Well, that’s enough of that story. How’s the barrel racing going, Sue?” He explained for Gabby’s benefit, “Sue here is a champion barrel racer.”

Susan said, “It’s going great, I have a competition next weekend and another in Oklahoma next month. Will you be able to make it?”

Cooper shook his head. “‘Fraid not, kiddo. I’m too wrapped up in the ranch. I’ll wish you luck like always though. I know you’ll do great.”

Gabby asked, “So what do you do in barrel racing?”

Cooper explained, “Well, you ride a specific pattern around the barrels in the shortest time possible without knocking the barrels over. It takes a very skillful rider.”

Aggie said, “Cooper rode the bulls in his younger days. Talk about skill…”

Susan jumped in to gush over Cooper. “Oh, he was fearless. Daddy said he was one of the best he’d ever seen, and he raises the bulls so he’s seen them all.”

Cooper said, “I was lucky I wasn’t stomped or gored is what I was.”

Aggie said, “But you are coming to the fair, right?”

Cooper looked at Gabby. “I think Miss Gabby will still be here by then, it’s just a weekend after her family’s engagement so I think it will be perfect. What do you say, Gabby?”

Gabby looked around. “Maybe we could invite the rest of the Rennies and have a real invasion.”

Aggie said, “Perfect, the more the merrier, and the more people paying into the town coffers.”

The only person who didn’t look happy about this development was Susan, at least until Cooper said, “You are still coming over to help with Blue Boy tomorrow, aren’t you, SueBee?”

* * *

Gabby slapped the paint roller against the barn again and cast a sidelong glance at the training paddock. Susan sat on Blue Boy as he danced close to Cooper, who was looking up giving instructions to Susan. Gabby shook her head, clenched her teeth, and ran her roller down the side of the barn, leaving a red streak. She continued, pressing the roller hard against the wood, sending a spray of fine red paint over her face and hair. She turned again to dip her roller, and looked at the paddock once more. This time Blue Boy reared slightly with Susan, who expertly brought him under control and brought him around to head into another skill. Cooper yelled, “That’s the way, Susan. Now bring him around.”

Gabby watched for a moment before dipping her roller again and slapping it even harder against the barn. Here she stood, painting a barn, while that… female… rode Blue Boy and spent time with Cooper. She pushed even harder against the wall.

Cooper called Susan over, and Susan dismounted. Gabby watched while Cooper and Susan chatted, their heads close together over the railing as Blue Boy stood in the paddock in front of them. Susan turned and walked toward Gabby. As she passed, she said, “Oh, Abby, looks like you missed a spot over here.”

Gabby gritted her teeth and kept rolling paint onto the barn, until Susan walked back by and kicked her roller pan, splattering paint all over the place.

Immediately, she said, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Silly me. Here, let me help.”

Gabby snapped, “No, really, it’s okay. I’ve got it.”

After lunch, as Gabby balanced from a twelve-foot ladder painting the top trimming, she heard a shout underneath her. “Gabby, get the hell down from there!”

Gabby looked down, catching sight of Cooper who stood with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. She looked back to her work. “I’m fine up here, Cooper. Seriously.”

“Gabby, I’m not telling you again, get down from there and wait until someone can at least foot your ladder.”

Gabby threw her brush in the paint can, a little harder than she intended, and the can tipped.

Gabby watched in dismay as the paint can plummeted, almost in slow motion, directly in front of Cooper, dumping its entire contents down the front of his shirt and jeans. She covered her mouth with her hand in sheer horror as a cold chill went down her back to settle in her bottom, which tingled in anticipation of the spanking he most certainly would give her when he got his hands on her… but he’d have to get his hands on her first.

She didn’t wait around for that to happen either. She looked above her and grabbed the edge of the roof of the barn, hearing Cooper shouting below her, “Gabby! Get your ass back down here!”

She went over the roof and down the other side to the gable that stuck out over the entrance, and was just shimmying down the other side and dangling from the eaves, when she felt someone grab her feet. She screamed and tried to kick, but instead she felt herself being pulled down. “No, Cooper! I didn’t mean it. It wasn’t supposed to turn over the paint can. I’m sorry.”

She looked up from where she was cradled in his arms, his flint blue eyes meeting hers, and he said, “You ran from me.”

She buried her head. “I was scared. You looked so mad.”

He clenched his jaw. “You had just dumped paint all over me. I had a right to be mad.”

Gabby started to realize that he wasn’t walking into the barn but toward the middle of the yard. She asked, “Where are you taking me?”

Cooper just kept walking until he reached a bench at the end of the yard and sat her on it. He leaned down and looked her directly in the eye. “You sit on this bench until I come back. You don’t move. You don’t get up. You sit here. Got it?”

Gabby nodded her head and whispered, “Yessir.”

As Cooper stalked away, Gabby slumped over, looking down at her shirt, which was now covered in paint from Cooper’s shirt.

“Well, well, well, now this is funny. Haven’t seen anyone sitting on the punishment bench in ages.” Susan’s drawl brought Gabby’s head up in a snap, her eyes flashing. She pressed her lips together to hold in her own comments and turned her head away, face flaming, hating that this woman was seeing her sitting in a timeout like a small child.

Susan said, “Why don’t you just get the clue and leave, circus freak. You don’t belong here. No one is ever going to accept you. You can’t do anything useful. Cooper even told me he’s just trying to keep you out of his hair until he can send you back.”

Susan stalked away after delivering her dagger, but she knew she’d hit home, judging by the smirk on her face.

Screw this
,
Gabby thought,
I don’t have to sit here like a little kid.
She stood up and started walking toward the barn. In for a penny, in for a pound. She needed a good ride to clear her head, so she saddled Mayflower and set out.

* * *

She rode out and took a circuitous route, all the time knowing she would end up at the old house she had seen on her tour of the property. As she neared the house, a part of her told herself she would just glance around, survey the place and keep going, but she knew deep down that she would end up going inside. She was just too curious.

She dismounted, then tied Mayflower to the front porch railing, hands shaking as she thought of Cooper’s threat. A thrill shot through her core. She knew Cooper would spank her when he caught her, for many reasons, but it didn’t matter right now. She just had to get away and the house fascinated her.

She peeked into the window by the doorway. From the dust coating everything, she figured that no one had been in the small house in many years. She turned the doorknob, surprised that the door still worked, as askew as it hung in its frame. Several pieces of furniture still remained in the room, exactly as they had for decades: a desk, a chair, a table. A few dishes still sat on shelves in the kitchen over the sink.

She walked to the stairs and tested the first step. It creaked but seemed sound enough, so she put her weight on it. She repeated this procedure with each of the thirteen steps to the second floor, making sure to keep to the outside of the step where they had more support. As the upstairs came into view—really, it was more of a loft—she saw more remnants of a life forgotten, and of other trespassers such as herself: A rope bedframe through one bedroom door with a simple nightstand beside it, an old Pepsi can, broken toys, etc. Not much remained, but every artifact, new and old, fascinated her.

Just as she started to leave, she found a notebook, newer than the age of the house, but written in a juvenile hand and containing a mixture of a diary, sketches, and cartoons of daily life around a farm. She flipped through the book and smiled at some of the antics of the boy who must have done these drawings. Each drawing was initialed at the bottom JJJ.

She settled in to explore her new treasure.

Chapter Four

Cooper had cooled off, both literally and figuratively, by the time he walked back out of the house after a shower and a fresh change of clothes. That lasted exactly as long as it took for him to notice that Gabby wasn’t sitting where had put her. His eyes skimmed the yard, and he didn’t see her anywhere else either. He stalked to the back of the barn, and her ladder stood empty. A quick look in the barn revealed Mayflower’s empty stall. He stepped out and asked Susan, “Have you seen Gabby?”

Susan said, “Not since you had her on the naughty chair. Pretty funny if you ask me.”

Cooper frowned. “Not funny, Susan. Look, we’re done for the day. Why don’t you put up Blue Boy and head on home. I’ve got something to take care of.”

Cooper saddled his horse and headed out to search for his errant girlfr… ranch hand, and he had a good idea where to look.

* * *

Gabby heard the boot steps on the porch downstairs and panicked. She set the book down, and headed to the window to investigate. Her worst fears were confirmed when the door opened and she heard Cooper’s voice. “Gabriella!”

Gabby froze, considering her options… wondering if a drop from the window would hurt that much.

“Gabriella, I know you’re here, so you might as well come on down, and don’t even think about dropping out that window.”

Gabby called down the staircase, “I don’t want you to be mad.”

Cooper said, “Why would I be mad, Gabriella?”

“Be-because I left the bench, and I took your horse, and I went riding by myself, and… you’re using my whole name, and…” Her words died out.

Cooper finally called out, “Why else, Gabriella? And come out where I can at least see you.”

Gabby stepped over to peer down the stairwell. She gave a little wave and a nervous half smile. Cooper just looked up at her sternly. “Why else might I be upset with you, Gabriella?”

Gabby broke eye contact and said, “Well, you asked me not to come to the house.”

Cooper said, “That’s right. I did. I told you expressly not to. Do you remember what else I said?”

Gabby gulped and nodded. Cooper said, “What did I say?

Gabby took a long time answering. “You said you’d spank me.”

“So are you going to come down those steps or are you going to make things even worse for yourself by making me come get you, because I don’t even know if those steps will hold me?”

Gabby stood up and started down the stairs, but the third step broke as it took her weight.

Cooper spoke calmly. “Just hold the railing all the way down.”

When she got within reach, Cooper grabbed her under the arms and lifted her into his arms rather than letting her take those last steps on her own. He wrapped her in a bear hug, almost cracking her ribs. Her feet didn’t even touch the floor. Finally he growled, “You are in so much trouble, little girl.”

He set her on her feet and stalked to the chair in the front room, dragging Gabby by the arm behind him. He pulled her to stand in between his legs. “So we’ve already gone over why you’re going to get this spanking, although, to be honest, there is only one reason, and that is you not listening to me. Is that clear?”

Gabby nodded her head, looking somewhere in the area of his top shirt button, both wishing he’d get on with it and that the floor would open up and swallow her.

Cooper lifted her chin and looked in her eyes. “I’ve come to care a good bit about you, and seeing you almost take a header down that staircase is not something I want to be worrying about ever again. Understand?”

Cooper reached for the fastening on her jeans. She grabbed his wrists and looked at him in panic.

“Gabby. Look at me.” He waited for her eyes to meet his. “I’m going to pull your pants down, and I am going to spank you. It’s going to be hard, and you are most likely going to cry. Now let go of my hands so we can get this over with.”