Page 8 of Huckleberry Hill (Saddles & Spurs #1)

Chapter Seven

The Ranch

“They make this appliance called an emulsion blender,” I said to my grandmother. “It’ll whip the potatoes faster than you can mash them.”

She snorted. “This potato masher belonged to my mother. It was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.”

“It’s gonna give you a splinter,” I teased. “The handle is split.”

“Are you going to stand there and sass me or are you going to pour me another one of those bourbon things,” she commanded.

“It’s a bourbon maple martini,” I stated.

“From your restaurant, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s good.”

The sun had set and dinner was almost ready. Dad was in the sitting room next to the gas fireplace that was currently off. If it had been up to me, it would’ve been turned on, but I ran cold.

I set the table and helped Muddy bring out the food.

Dad came into the dining room as Muddy served me a heaping plate of steak, potatoes and green beans.

“This is too much,” I protested.

“You’re too thin,” she said. “Living off protein bars, am I right?”

“No. You’re not.” But between two jobs, I’d become an expert grazer. A snack here, a snack there. And there’d been far too many nights with my roommates and sister that had been wine and cheese boards for dinner.

“You’d think dating a restauranteur, you would’ve been eating better,” Muddy muttered.

I set my fork down. “Okay, let’s have it.”

“Have what?” Muddy asked.

Dad’s gaze volleyed between us, but he wisely focused on his food and stayed out of it.

“You never liked Gianni,” I stated.

“No, I never did,” she admitted. “Pass the rolls.”

With a sigh, I grabbed the basket of bread and handed it to her.

“It seems my intuition about him was correct, though, wasn’t it? The engagement ended,” Muddy said.

“You know the problem with this family?” I demanded. “No one minds their own business.”

“Business. Mind my—you’re my granddaughter. Do you think I was happy when I heard you were going to marry some slick Italian restauranteur who was going to keep you thousands of miles from home?”

“Well, that’s no longer the case, now, is it?” I said, my tone bitter.

“You dated how long?” Muddy asked.

“Two years.”

“Two years,” she repeated. “And he never once found the time to come meet us. That says a lot about a person. You spent how many holidays with his family?”

“Several.”

So many I’d lost count.

Gianni’s large Italian family were constantly having baptisms, confirmations, birthdays, and anniversaries. It had been exhausting and I’d always been expected to attend.

Our relationship had been completely unbalanced.

“What did Salem think about him?” Muddy pressed.

I clamped my mouth shut.

“Wyn and Poet? Did they feel the same way?”

It had been staring me in the face, and I’d been too blind to see it. I hadn’t wanted to see it.

My afternoon conversation with my father came roaring to the surface. Maybe our breakup really was a blessing in disguise.

I wasn’t ready to concede. To concede meant I had to let my entire reality crumble to the ground before I built it back into something stronger, more resilient.

I shoved back from the table.

“Where are you going?” Muddy asked. “You haven’t touched your food.”

“I’m not hungry.” I marched toward the front door.

“Let her go, Mom,” Dad said. To me, he called out, “Bear spray.”

I swiped the can of bear spray and my coat and headed out the door. My boots were on the porch. I slid into them and put on my jacket on the way to the stables.

Spending time with horses was the only thing that seemed to straighten out my brain. I could be alone with big, majestic, emotional animals that just seemed to get me.

Mom had loved to ride. Salem wasn’t much of an equestrian, so it was something Mom and I had shared. Her brown spotted Appaloosa mare was in her stall. She lifted her head, blew out a breath of air, and came toward me.

I patted her nose. “Hey, Goldie.”

The sound of clopping hooves had me turning my head. Declan was leading a handsome gray stallion into the stables.

“Hadley,” he said in surprise.

“Hey,” I greeted. I smiled at the spirited stallion who attempted to say hello by moving its head over Declan’s shoulder toward me. “Who’s this handsome guy?”

“I’m Declan,” he teased. “We’ve already met.”

I rolled my eyes.

Declan patted the stallion’s nose. “This is Merlin.”

“Hi Merlin,” I murmured. I looked at Declan. “May I?”

“Sure thing.”

I reached out and stroked his nose. He bumped my shoulder, causing me to laugh.

“Beggar,” Declan stated. “He’s looking for a treat.”

“I was just about to feed Goldie a carrot,” I said.

“Merlin loves carrots,” he said.

I reached into the metal bucket hanging on Goldie’s stall door and offered my palm to Merlin. The carrot was gone in two chomps.

“Were you putting up trail cams?” I asked.

“Nah. Merlin and I haven’t had a quiet moment since the two of us got here. Thought I owed him an evening ride.”

“He’s beautiful,” I commented.

“Yeah. Good ‘ol Merlin. He was on the rodeo circuit with me.” Declan led Merlin into a stall next to Goldie and then began taking off his saddle. “What are you doing out here? I thought it was dinner time.”

“It is. But Muddy and I . . . we kind of got into it.”

“Into it? About what?”

“About me and my fiancé.”

Declan kept his head down, but I saw his shoulders tense. “You’re engaged?”

“No. Not anymore.”

His shoulders relaxed. “That why you came home?”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“Italy.”

“What about it?”

“You were supposed to go there with him, yeah?”

“Yeah.” I turned back to Goldie. “I could’ve stayed in New York, but I’d already taken off work, so I would’ve just been sitting around, stewing.”

“Nothing like getting some clarity under an Idaho sky.”

I smiled. “Yeah, nothing like it.”

“What did you do in New York? For work, I mean.”

“You know the horse-drawn carriages around Central Park?”

“Yeah.”

“I worked in the stables. And then a few nights a week, I served in an Italian restaurant. It’s how I met Gianni. He owns the restaurant. Well, his family does. He came in one night and I spilled sparkling water on him.” I paused. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“Sometimes you can talk to a stranger the way you can’t talk to people who know you,” Declan said.

“You’re easy to talk to,” I said. “Maybe it’s because you have no preconceived ideas about who I am. Who I’m supposed to be.”

“You don’t have to be anything other than what you are.”

I smiled. “My sister would like you.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because she’s spent her whole life trying to justify who she is.”

He shrugged. “Your dad, Muddy, they love you. Just remember that’s where they’re coming from when they talk to you.”

I patted Goldie’s nose.

His words had me pondering, but the stables were no long empty, and I had the desire to be alone.

“Have a good night, Declan.”

“You too, Hadley.”

I strode from the stables and forced myself not to look back. There was more to Declan than met the eye.

For all his joking and teasing, I knew there was depth to him.

When I returned to the house, I kicked off my boots and left them on the porch and then I set the bear spray on the foyer table.

“I left a plate for you in the microwave,” Muddy called.

I went into the sitting room. She was resting in a patchwork chair that she refused to have reupholstered. The fireplace was on, the fake logs glowing under the flames. She had a brandy on the end table next to her and her crocheting project in her lap.

“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a seat on the couch.

“Ah, sugar, don’t apologize. I was baiting you.” She shot me a smile. “I was hoping it would get you to open up.”

“I’m not ready to open up.”

“Yeah, I got that message loud and clear. Say the word, and I’m on the first plane to New York.” She held up her crochet needle. “This can do some serious damage, you know.”

“I know.” I grinned. “But he doesn’t deserve the energy. Trust me on that.”

She bent her head and went back to her task. “He was never good enough for you. I think you know I feel that way. But I won’t say anything more about it until you tell me. Okay?”

“I love you, Muddy. I really do.” I sighed. “Where’s Dad?”

She paused for a moment and then she said, “Out.”

“Out.” I rose from my seat. “Guess we all have our secrets, huh?”