go.
Reluctantly, she pulled her hands out of the back of Steven’s pants again and turned to Claude.
“Make up your mind, sugar,” Steven said. “I’m getting dizzy.”
“I just did.” To Claude, she said, “Okay. Tell me what I have to do.”
Claude’s smile was weak. “Just stay nearby in case I have questions. I’ll explain to my wife what we’re doing.”
Belle let out a breath and shifted her weight. “I can’t just hang out here in the barn. Folks are going to see my car and will want to know why I’m here. They’re going to think I made a run for the hellmouth again.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Steven said. “I have a knack for making folks forget the things they want to ask. Cop thing.”
Must have been true. His magic had certainly worked against her on the basketball court that day.
He held out his elbow and gestured to it.
With her hand halfway to him, she froze and rolled her gaze back up to his face.
“Belle?”
She shook her head. “I’m okay. It’s me. I just…shouldn’t touch you again. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m not quite right at the moment, and I don’t want you to think I’m being a tease on purpose.”
The truth was that she wasn’t teasing, and that was a problem. She
liked
the guy, and the odds of reciprocation weren’t in her favor.
“Don’t sweat it.” He shrugged and gestured toward the barn doors. They followed Claude toward the house, and Claude tapped a message into his phone as he led, probably warning Gail of their approach.
Steven bumped her shoulder with the side of his arm. “How is it that you and your brothers grew up on a ranch and don’t know anything about ranching?”
“Oh, don’t pin that on me. That’s just the guys. Back when my father was alive, my parents kept the two business ventures separate so that if one tanked badly—like Foye Woodworks did for a while—the other would still have a fighting chance. Mom knows ranching. Her family had been ranching on this land since the early eighteen hundreds. Dad’s family lived nearby. Mom actually left the ranch for a while after Dad snatched her up.”
“What do you mean, snatched her up? Did he pull a Foye and kidnap her like your brothers did to their mates?”
Belle laughed and made a diversion toward a paddock containing a couple of older horses Mom spoiled way too much. It was a stalling tactic meant to keep them out of the house a little while longer, but she didn’t care if she was being obvious.
“It didn’t happen quite the same way it did with my brothers. Dad wasn’t up against a curse. He just wanted Mom. Probably always had. One day, he took her.”
“
Took
her?”
“Yep.” Belle leaned against the fence railing, and the tan horse named Mudslide sidled over. “No apples for you today, old lady.”
The horse stayed anyway.
“She wasn’t afraid of him. She knew him. It wasn’t weird that he’d visited. I’m sure she had quite a fright, though, when he whisked her away and wouldn’t let her come back.”
“I’m guessing she either accepted him or he just wore her down.”
“Probably a little of both. I know they loved each other. That was obvious just from watching the two of them together. They were good for each other, and there’s this old saying among Cougars that if a snatched lady stays, it’s because she really doesn’t want to go home anyway.”
“Is that true?”
“Well, it was true for Ellery, Miles, and Hannah. I guess it was true for Mom, too. She and Dad’s mom fought like cats and dogs at first. It took a while, but tensions cooled and Mom didn’t really want to come back to the ranch by then. It was so crowded here with all her siblings, and she was just one more mouth for her parents to feed.”
“But she came back.”
“Yeah. She and Dad had a chance to buy out the ranch, and I guess Mom didn’t want to see it fall by the wayside. The herd was smaller back then, and they weren’t making
Reluctantly, she pulled her hands out of the back of Steven’s pants again and turned to Claude.
“Make up your mind, sugar,” Steven said. “I’m getting dizzy.”
“I just did.” To Claude, she said, “Okay. Tell me what I have to do.”
Claude’s smile was weak. “Just stay nearby in case I have questions. I’ll explain to my wife what we’re doing.”
Belle let out a breath and shifted her weight. “I can’t just hang out here in the barn. Folks are going to see my car and will want to know why I’m here. They’re going to think I made a run for the hellmouth again.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Steven said. “I have a knack for making folks forget the things they want to ask. Cop thing.”
Must have been true. His magic had certainly worked against her on the basketball court that day.
He held out his elbow and gestured to it.
With her hand halfway to him, she froze and rolled her gaze back up to his face.
“Belle?”
She shook her head. “I’m okay. It’s me. I just…shouldn’t touch you again. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m not quite right at the moment, and I don’t want you to think I’m being a tease on purpose.”
The truth was that she wasn’t teasing, and that was a problem. She
liked
the guy, and the odds of reciprocation weren’t in her favor.
“Don’t sweat it.” He shrugged and gestured toward the barn doors. They followed Claude toward the house, and Claude tapped a message into his phone as he led, probably warning Gail of their approach.
Steven bumped her shoulder with the side of his arm. “How is it that you and your brothers grew up on a ranch and don’t know anything about ranching?”
“Oh, don’t pin that on me. That’s just the guys. Back when my father was alive, my parents kept the two business ventures separate so that if one tanked badly—like Foye Woodworks did for a while—the other would still have a fighting chance. Mom knows ranching. Her family had been ranching on this land since the early eighteen hundreds. Dad’s family lived nearby. Mom actually left the ranch for a while after Dad snatched her up.”
“What do you mean, snatched her up? Did he pull a Foye and kidnap her like your brothers did to their mates?”
Belle laughed and made a diversion toward a paddock containing a couple of older horses Mom spoiled way too much. It was a stalling tactic meant to keep them out of the house a little while longer, but she didn’t care if she was being obvious.
“It didn’t happen quite the same way it did with my brothers. Dad wasn’t up against a curse. He just wanted Mom. Probably always had. One day, he took her.”
“
Took
her?”
“Yep.” Belle leaned against the fence railing, and the tan horse named Mudslide sidled over. “No apples for you today, old lady.”
The horse stayed anyway.
“She wasn’t afraid of him. She knew him. It wasn’t weird that he’d visited. I’m sure she had quite a fright, though, when he whisked her away and wouldn’t let her come back.”
“I’m guessing she either accepted him or he just wore her down.”
“Probably a little of both. I know they loved each other. That was obvious just from watching the two of them together. They were good for each other, and there’s this old saying among Cougars that if a snatched lady stays, it’s because she really doesn’t want to go home anyway.”
“Is that true?”
“Well, it was true for Ellery, Miles, and Hannah. I guess it was true for Mom, too. She and Dad’s mom fought like cats and dogs at first. It took a while, but tensions cooled and Mom didn’t really want to come back to the ranch by then. It was so crowded here with all her siblings, and she was just one more mouth for her parents to feed.”
“But she came back.”
“Yeah. She and Dad had a chance to buy out the ranch, and I guess Mom didn’t want to see it fall by the wayside. The herd was smaller back then, and they weren’t making
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