It wasn’t as if Carl didn’t trust Kara to run the ranch. He did. Hell, Kara was probably more capable than most of the hired hands they had helping out around his place.
Kara ran her eyes over him, then raised her chin slightly. “If you won’t leave, then you can start this morning by mucking out all the stalls.” She turned and walked through the screen door, letting it slam loudly behind her. The thing almost came completely off its hinges when it shut.
Since he planned on keeping the promise to her dad to help, he headed towards the barn to check on the animals. Montgomery Ranch wasn’t as large as Howe Ranch, but still, there were enough animals in the barn that it took him almost two hours to muck out all the stalls and check on the animals. He made sure to give them each personal time.
They had four horses, three goats that roamed the property in a huge pen, and a rather angry looking pig called Wilbur. When Nick tried to check on him, Wilbur had chased him out of his pen. There were also chickens that were put into a portable cage that every day moved a few feet to new grazing areas. That was in addition to the hundred or so head of cattle.
Howe Ranch had easily twice that in cattle. Besides his two border collies, Lenny and Squiggy, there were goats, chickens, and at least a half a dozen friendly pigs. He also had more than a dozen horses in various stages of being broken and trained. That was his sole job on the ranch. Most of the horses they didn’t own themselves. They had been dropped off by their owners for him to work with.
It usually took him a few months to break a horse and tame them. But he did more than mere rein and saddle work, so he normally had the horses for eight months or more, depending on what level of training the owners wanted.
He’d come up with the business idea after his short career as a bull rider had ended. Abruptly. Being in the hospital for two months with broken bones and ruptured organs had caused him to reevaluate his future. He supposed it had been bound to happen sooner or later. He’d just wished he’d had a few medals and enough money under his belt to build the future he’d dreamed of—a nice log cabin somewhere on acreage of his own with a wife, a couple kids, and some dogs.
It didn’t scare him when he thought of all that. Instantly, images of brown-haired blue-eyed kids came to mind. Hell, he really did have to start wooing Kara. The least he could do was not annoy her so much in the next three months.
“What are you doing?” Kara’s voice shook him out of his thoughts.
He turned to see her standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. She had on her riding outfit, and her dark hair was pulled back in braids, instantly reminding him of the day they’d met by the stream.
“Feeding and watering the pig,” he answered easily as he turned back to the task.
Kara walked over and grabbed the water hose that he’d been using to fill the trough. When she turned it off, he frowned.
“I was just—” he started, but she held up a hand to stop him.
“I said you could muck out the stalls. You should have left after that.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll handle the rest.”
“Afraid of a little help?” He leaned against the low fence and smiled.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” she ground out slowly. “Now, I’m heading out for a ride. You can go.”
“Go?” he asked, faking ignorance.
“Leave. Go home.” Kara waved her hands in the direction of his property.
He thought for a moment and then smiled. “How about I help you exercise Larry?” He nodded to the older horse who was standing next to her horse, Bella.
“Larry is fine,” Kara said. She set down the hose and walked towards Bella, who eagerly nudged Kara’s shoulder, no doubt excited for the upcoming ride. Larry stood there, looking sad and pathetic and uninterested.
“Larry needs love too,” he said, falling in step with Kara.
Kara glared over at him. “Larry is too old.”
“I wouldn’t say that. He’s just… seasoned.” He felt sad for the beast. He remembered the day they’d gotten him. He’d been young. Energetic. One of the most beautiful horses he’d seen up to that point. He still was. His smooth white coat practically shined in the sunlight. He walked over and ran his hands over the horse’s mane and leaned into the horse to whisper how handsome he was.
When he realized it had grown quiet, he glanced over to see Kara watching him with a strange look on her face. Their eyes locked and for the first time in a while, he could have sworn he saw heat in those blue eyes. As quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, replaced with the annoyance she always had when dealing with him.
“Larry is not going on today’s ride,” Kara said a little more firmly.
Nick ignored Kara and walked over and grabbed one of their saddles and started carting it over to put on Larry.
Kara followed him and continued to try and persuade him that it wasn’t a good idea. After she realized that he wasn’t going to back down, she started saddling Bella. He thought for a moment that she’d call the ride off, but then he remembered that she was too stubborn. She lived for challenges.
No doubt she’d try to race him. But he respected Larry too much to push the old horse. Sometimes, slow and steady wins the race in different ways.
He smiled as he watched her jump onto Bella’s back. He’d already climbed into the saddle and was waiting at the corral gate.
“Ready?” he asked.