Trust in the Lawe (Colorado Trust 3)

Joel held her at arm’s length. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Her eyes swam, and she had to blink. “Me, too.” Maybe they’d make it back for more than a visit here and there. Colorado wasn’t all that bad.

He squeezed her shoulders and after a moment, Colton asked when the baby was due. Seemed Kendra would become an aunt again in November.

It was so much to take in when a few weeks ago, the only family she had left was Noah and Robert. But this was her family now; Noah, Joel and Britt and their kids. Good fortune had finally deemed to nod in her direction.

****

Annoyed with the fact that she’d completely avoided his questions last night and this morning, Colton didn’t feel a lick of remorse for the stall cleaning duties he’d just assigned Kendra. She faced him in the aisle, hands balled on her slim hips. “You said the other day that the kids from the teen center usually clean the stalls.”

He kept working, sweeping the soft bristled brush in his hand over the chestnut-colored mare in the crossties. “The kids know horses, you don’t. I’ll put them to work where they can be most useful—same goes for you.”

Her indrawn breath confirmed his insult had struck home. As she stalked away, he rested a forearm across the mare’s back. Now, damn. Why did he have to go and do that? Because you know damn well that woman would run a whole mile and then some before you even gave the full inch.

Hell, she’d done it earlier without even trying! He’d been ready to talk to Joel, and then they’d shared that touching moment when Britt announced her pregnancy. Kendra’s tear-filled eyes were enough to make him wait a little longer to see how things played out. As long as he stayed alert.

But hi

s comment just now had been mean. He didn’t like the sour taste that hitting his mark left in his mouth. Popping a sugar cube onto his tongue, he called out, “I’ll be there in a minute to let the horses out.”

“Don’t bother.”

Colton frowned as she disappeared out the door. Don’t bother? What the hell did that mean? By the time he caught up, she was inside the first stall, clipping a lead rope onto the horse’s halter.

He braced one hand on the stall frame above his head. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Her chin rose. “What does it look like? I’m going to take him out myself with the lead rope and halter to the padlock.”

All of a sudden her defiance was cute. Lead rope. Halter. Padlock. With those words, he’d just figured out what she’d been reading this morning. His urge to laugh was restrained to a smile. “First of all, that’s a she—and a female horse is called a mare. Second, it’s called a pad-dock, not pad-lock. There’s more to this job than learning the correct words.”

Wordlessly, she shoved the lead rope into his hand and stalked away. Colton recognized the stubborn pride that kept her from asking for his help, but he reminded himself that she’d brought this all on herself with her continued lies. He reiterated that fact throughout the afternoon as she moved from one barn to the next.

On his schedule today was a riding session with Spirit, a gray gelding that’d been shipped in from Wyoming last month. Britt and Joel did ninety-five percent of the training, but Colton was thankful for the appointment that’d prompted Joel to ask him to put the gelding through his paces. Halfway through the workout, he was amazed to realize the tension of the past few days had subsided—for the most part. Man, it felt good to be in the saddle again. It was just what he’d needed to psyche himself up for the visit with his dad.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, but it always saddened him that his father had lost so much. And his mother. The guilt that assailed him with each visit was almost unbearable, but to not go was unthinkable. It didn’t matter that a careless kid whose parents bought him out of all the trouble he’d ever gotten into had caused the accident. In fact that made it worse. Because on top of his personal guilt, Colton had learned his first bitter lesson: money talks.

Not only was the kid not brought up on charges, but the family’s multiple Armani suits creamed his mother’s JC Penney suit in the civil case, ensuring the Lawes received not a single penny for medical or legal expenses. Even after their insurance paid, there was still a mountain of debt to cover.

****

Kendra finished cleaning stalls about the same time as she had the other day, only this time she did all three barns. If all she was good for was shoveling shit, then by God, she’d be damn good at it.

She yanked off the butter-soft gloves that kept her fingers from blistering worse, flexing her fingers that were merely sore today. Luckily Britt suggested she double her socks for the first week or so with her new footwear, because even with that, her feet were sore, too. With the breaking in she’d given the boots, blisters would not have been welcome.

Though she longed for a hot bubble bath, she went in search of Mr. You’re-Not-Done-Until-I-Say-You’re-Done. The man contradicted himself left and right. Left her groceries, then told her to go home. Bought her beautiful gloves, then basically said she couldn’t do anything right. To say he frustrated and confused her was a major understatement.

He wasn’t in any of the barns, so she stood outside, shielding her eyes with one hand as she scanned the area around the barns. The school bus turned into the driveway just as a lone rider on a gray horse in the distance caught her eye.

Colton. He rode without a hat, the afternoon sun glinting off his burnished hair. Kendra climbed the fence to sit on the top rail, hooking her boot heels on the middle one for balance.

The horse completed figure eights, spun on its heels one direction, then the other, and backed up as fast as it went forward. She didn’t understand what they were doing, but it was impressive, nonetheless. Even more amazing, Colton sat in the saddle with one hand holding the reins and the other resting on his thigh as if relaxed in a rocking chair. She would’ve been hanging on for dear life.

Correction, she wouldn’t be riding the horse in the first place.

Kendra watched as he finished the exercises and ran the horse around the pasture at a leisurely lope. Now, that looked like fun to her.

“Hi, Ken, how was your day?” Noah asked from behind.