Lazy Days (55 page)

Sage
strode toward the corral where Newt was demonstrating the art of roping. He'd
stayed longer with Sarah than he'd intended. He quirked a half smile remembering
her blushes. Whatever she'd written, she sure didn't want him to know. It had
to be all that romance stuff chick-lit novels were famous for—give him an
action suspense or traditional western any day. When he remembered her delight
over Precious Pudding's story, his smile turned into a big grin. She'd called
him by his first name and then tried to cover her mistake. Since meeting Sarah,
he'd been wondering if he'd lost his touch with women. All his life he'd had an
easy way with them, and most times had to fight them off. Sarah had been the
exception.

Sage
rounded the corner of the barn and almost bumped into the twins. He did a quick
sidestep. "Uh, excuse me ladies."

They
giggled in unison and the one in the pink-T pouted, "We were wondering
where you were. Are you going to watch the man swing the rope?"

"That
I am. Have you had your turns?"

The
pink-T twin looked him up and down. "Now what
turn
might that be,
Sage." The purple-T sister stepped close enough for her boobs to graze his
chest.

Shit.
He'd stepped right into
that innuendo.

Quickly
sidestepping again, he pretended stupidity. "Newt's waiting for me. He's
the best roper in the county and he won't rest until everyone's had a turn
ropin'." Puffing air, he hurried away from the bimbos.

At
the corral he rested his boot on the lowest crossbar and leaned against the
railing. As expected, Newt's skill impressed the greenhorns. The old cowboy
twirled the rope in a circle above his head and then lassoed the fence post
next to Sage. Sage read his expression.
Where the hell have you been?
He
responded with an innocent grin.

While
Newt continued with another rope trick, the twins flanked him on either side.
Now he was the center of their sandwich. Their shoulders rested against his. He
glanced across the corral at the teenage kid and recognized the boy's
look—envy. Sage sighed. Mindy and Mandy had no effect on him. He must be
getting old.

Stepping
away from the girls, he hopped over the fence and into the corral. While he
walked toward Newt, the old curmudgeon whipped the rope in the air and
perfectly captured him. All the dudes laughed, even sour-faced Mr. Hackstetter.

Sage
stepped out of the rope. "How about we let our guests try their hands at
lassoing? Jacob, would you like to be first?" The kid didn't think twice
and vaulted over the railing. He shot his father a look that conveyed their
love-hate relationship. Obviously, the kid was starving for his father's
attention. "Mr. Hackstetter, why don't you join us?"

After
a slight hesitation and a little nudge from his wife, he shrugged and clumsily
climbed over the railing, even though Sage had walked to the gate and opened
it. Father and son faced each other like an Old West shoot-out. Newt tossed the
rope to Sage, who did some fancy twirling and then proceeded to instruct Jacob
in lassoing an object
—
the object being Mr.
Hackstetter. Surprisingly, after a few tries, the kid actually roped his dad.
Everyone clapped, even Mr. Hackstetter. Jacob's chest visibly puffed out.

"Hey,
Jacob, I think you're a natural," Newt called from the sidelines.

"I
think you're right," agreed Sage. "Jacob, you can keep that rope and
practice with it."

"Really?
That's great!"

Mr.
Hackstetter wasn't much of a roper and had no luck lassoing his son. However,
he was a good sport about it, and ruffled his son's hair when they walked out
the gate. Seeing the comradery between father and son made Sage happy, but also
sad when he thought about his own son.

Next
it was the twins turn and they shrieked with delight when Sage lassoed both of
them together. Pink-T said with a giggle and wiggle, "Now that you've got
us, Sage, what are you gonna do with us?" He smiled and tossed the rope to
Newt, "I'm handing you over to Newt."

Undaunted,
the girls turned their attention to the old cowpoke. Purple-T winked, and said,
"We're all yours, Newt." Newt almost swallowed his false teeth.

Sage
bid goodbye to the dudes and mounted Jackel. He had a ranch to run and needed
to check the pastures and meet up with his other hands.

* * *

Julie
bid a hasty goodbye to Tooty and her mom and rushed into the house. All day
she'd wanted to blurt the fact that Mims Murphy was staying with them, but
she'd given her word to keep it a secret. She knew Tooty would be mad when she
found out she hadn't told her, but she just couldn't break her promise. Her dad
had drilled into her the importance of keeping one's word.

Mims…er…Sarah,
was sitting on the couch with her laptop in front of her. She was so absorbed
she didn't even look up when Julie walked in. Julie cleared her throat, which
got Sarah's attention.

"Hi,
Julie. How was school?"

"Okay.
Are you working on your new book?"

"Yes,
I felt inspired. When that happens, I just go with the flow." She closed
the laptop. "I think I'm winding down now, though."

Julie
saw a strained look cross her face.

"Are
you hurting?"

"Just
a little. Writing takes my mind off of it." She leaned back against the
couch cushions.

"Hey,
you just rest. I have to go take care of my horse and then do some trick riding
for the dudes, then I'll come back and help you with anything you need. Do you
have to go to the bathroom or anything now?"

Sarah
smiled. "Thanks, Julie. I'm fine. Your dad says you're a great rider with
lots of ribbons."

Julie
blushed. "I probably wouldn't have ribbons with any other horse."

Sarah
chuckled, "I love the name of your horse, Precious Pudding."

"Really?
You can use the name in one of your books if you want."

"Thanks.
That's sweet of you. If I do, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Oh,
don't worry about that. I'd know because I read all your books."

"Speaking
of books, you're still carrying your backpack."

"Oh
yeah, guess I better take it to my room and change clothes." Not wanting
to leave, but knowing she should go over early and meet the dudes, she said
goodbye to Sarah.

From
four until five, Julie and Precious Pudding demonstrated trick riding. The
teenage boy, Jacob, was kinda cute. He made butterflies flutter in her stomach.

While
she was leading Precious Pudding back to the barn, Jacob trailed along with
her. "You're really good," he said.

"Thanks.
Is this the first time you've been on a ranch?"

"Uh,
yeah. But your dad said I'm a natural roper. He said he'd teach me some more
stuff tomorrow. Are you gonna ride for us again? I'm here for two weeks."

"Yeah,
I usually do trick riding a couple times a week. Too bad you're leaving in two
weeks instead of three."

"Why?"

"You'll
miss our Annual Covered Wagon Three-Day Trail Blaze. We get together with
another dude ranch, the Triple T, and travel in—you guessed it—covered wagons!
The route is about ten miles and we keep it as authentic as possible; act like
real pioneers."

"Wow,
that sounds…rustic."

"Yeah,
we usually lose a couple of pioneers."

Jacob
gave her a strange look.

She
laughed. "I don't mean 'lose them' like leaving them behind or anything.
Newt radios one of the hands to pick them up."

"Oh,
you had me goin' for a minute." He hesitated, "So, what grade are you
in, Julie?"

Julie's
stomach flip-flopped when he said her name. "I'm in eighth, going into
ninth. My dad's making me take some summer school classes. What about
you?"

"I'll
be a freshman when school starts again."

When
Julie began unsaddling her horse, Jacob asked what he could do to help. He even
helped her brush Precious Pudding. "So…Jacob…" She liked the sound of
his name. "Are your mom and dad enjoying ranch life?"

He
frowned. "My mom is. Dad—probably not. It was my mom's idea that we come.
She sorta
roped
my dad into it." He grinned.

Julie
grinned back.

"They
don't get along too well. My dad's a workaholic—can't live without his cell
phone. He was really pissed when he got here and there was no service." He
snickered. "I'm surprised he's stayed this long. What about your mom? I
haven't met her."

"My
mom died in a car accident when I was five."

"Oh,
I didn't mean to pry. I'm sorry."

"No,
really, you didn't. My dad's done a great job of raising me, although I wish
he'd fall in love again and get married. I'm not one of those daughters who
wants her dad all to herself. I'll be gone to college before you know it and I
want my dad to have someone special."

Jacob
tapped his jaw. "You know, those twin sisters, Mindy and Mandy, seem to
have a thing for him. Maybe one of them–"

Julie
stopped brushing her horse's flank and busted out laughing. "Those are the
least likely ones my dad would go for. We always get women signing up for the
dude ranch just so they can meet him."

Jacob
looked puzzled.

Julie
leaned toward him and whispered, "He's a pretty famous model…in lots of
magazines and on book covers. When the ladies track him down, he hates it. I
just wish he'd find someone like Mims…" She clamped her mouth shut.
"I mean someone normal."

"Wow.
Your family is full of surprises."

For
three days, Sarah took advantage of her convalescence and typed nonstop. She
got over twelve thousand words written and several rewrites of previous
chapters. Sage continued personally delivering her meals and joining her with
his. He asked questions about the writing process and genuinely seemed
interested in what she had to say.

By
the fourth day of her recovery, her ankle was feeling much better and she had
mastered the art of maneuvering with crutches. Boredom led her to the living
room early. She tried to write but couldn't get into the flow. Grabbing her
crutches, she decided to get a little exercise by hobbling around the living
and dining rooms. In the dining room, she paused before a buffet displaying
several pictures.

There
was a wedding photo of a young Sage and his bride. They didn't look more than
eighteen or nineteen. She still didn't know anything about the mystery wife,
and hadn't felt at liberty to ask Julie. There was a picture of a middle-aged
couple with an even younger Sage and his wife, probably his girlfriend at the
time. She glanced at another photo that gave her pause. Picking it up, she
puzzled over it. It was Sage and his wife and they each held a toddler. His
wife had a girl on her lap and Sage had a boy on his. The little girl looked
like Julie.

"That's
my twin brother, Michael." Julie said from behind her.

Sarah
gasped and placed her free hand over her heart.

Julie
walked beside her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's
okay. Maybe I shouldn't be in here anyway."

"No,
no. The pictures are there to enjoy."

Sarah
set the photo back in its place and bit her lip. She wanted to ask about the
twin brother, but wasn't sure if she should.

Julie
seemed to read her mind and picked the picture up. "My mom, Marylou, and
my brother died in a car accident when I was five."

"Oh,
God, I'm so sorry."

"Hey,
it was a long time ago. Me and Dad choose to remember the good times. That's
why we've got the pictures displayed."

Sarah
heard movement and turned to see Sage leaning against the curved archway
opening into the living room. Mortification flooded her body and crimson color
crept all the way to her face. She didn't know what to say.

Sage
pushed upright and directed his gaze at Julie. "Sweetie, are you ready for
school?"

Julie
nodded, "Almost, I just have to gather a couple things." She looked
at Sarah, "I'll see you later." Giving her dad a quick hug, she
rushed from the room.

Sarah
avoided looking at Sage and concentrated on her crutches. Willing her voice not
to shake, she looked at his boots. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't being nosy.
I just saw some pictures and…" Her voice trailed.

"You
know, Mims, you're really fetching when you blush," he chuckled and walked
away.

Fetching
when you blush.
Sarah's mortification intensified. Who talked like that, and was he making fun
of her again. She didn't know whether to be flattered or angry. What she did
know, however, was that the phrase would sound great in her book. Hastening
back to her laptop, her fingers tapped the keys.

Tarah
smoothed her skirt and fiddled with her hair. Loosing a few tendrils from its
bun, she arranged them to showcase her pale complexion.

Since
the day she'd responded to Gage's kiss before pulling away and rushing from
him, she had avoided him. Tonight, however, there would be no further
avoidance. His father had arrived and expected the entire household to dine in
style, which meant dressing for the occasion. Tarah gazed in the mirror at her pink,
calf length, polished-cotton skirt and embroidered peasant top. It was the
nicest outfit she owned. Still, she knew it would pale in comparison to Daisy
and Dolly, the Dempsy twins', elegant attire.

Sighing,
she left her room and stepped down the grand staircase. Unexpectedly, Gage exited
the drawing room and glanced up. She stumbled and blushed profusely at her
clumsiness. He waited at the bottom of the stairs. When she reached the last
step and still refused to meet his eyes, he said, "You're fetching when
you blush, Miss Casey."

Sarah
sighed and closed her laptop.