Page 2

CHAPTER 2

Johnny

The sun hadn’t even come up yet, but I knew if I wanted to get a leg up on Reba, I needed to be ready. I stumbled into the dining room of the B&B half asleep and reached for the coffee. I was actually surprised to see an entire spread of food laid out in covered chafing dishes on a buffet.

“What time did Robyn have to get up to make you breakfast?”

“In time for me to enjoy it. Late risers never flourish.” Reba’s snappy voice always got my pulse racing, but this early in the day, I wanted to swat at her like a horsefly.

“I see you’ve woken up with a cheery disposition.”

She raised her coffee cup in my direction and went to clean up her empty plate.

“Don’t run off. We have a meeting this morning.”

“We?”

“Yes, you, me, and Jagger.”

“Why would I have a meeting with you?”

“Because I need your help. We talked about this.”

“Picking horses? No, you don’t. You know how to do your job.”

“Is that a compliment?” I teased as I took a sip of hot, bitter coffee and cherished the burn I felt in my chest as it warmed me.

“No. It’s a fact I can’t argue with, no matter how hard I try.”

“Well, I’m taking that as a compliment. Whether you want it to be or not, you’re stuck with me.”

Reba finished her coffee and moved from the dining room to enter the kitchen. If she thought that would deter me, she thought wrong. I simply took my coffee and followed to where she was now sitting at the table in one corner of the kitchen, slumping down in a chair and glaring at me over her phone. Doom scrolling was her escape. She did it whenever she was mad at me, whenever she was bored with the conversation, and whenever she wanted to mentally check out. Most people thought it was annoying. I thought it was cute. I laughed to myself as I returned to the dining room, grabbed some food and ignored any of the small tables meant for guests to enjoy their breakfast in the dining room. Instead, I returned to the kitchen and sat down at the table with Reba. I knew I’d fucked up with her in the past, but the amount of work she made me do to just have a decent conversation was insane.

“Jax had a great time with you yesterday,” I said between bites of bacon and eggs.

“He’s a good kid.”

“Thanks.”

She rolled her eyes at me again, making my hand twitch. The day would come when I could punish her for all the sass she threw my way, but I still had a long way to go.

“He misses you, you know.”

Reba looked up at me, and I swear her eyes glassed over for a quick second before she stood. “I’ll meet you at Jagger and Moira’s.”

Before she could make her escape, the door swung open, and Jax came barreling in, all energy and excitement. “Ms. Reba!” he shouted, making a beeline for her. He crashed into her legs, hugging her tight. “Are you eating breakfast with us?”

Reba hesitated, her hand instinctively smoothing over his hair. “I was just about to head out, little man.”

Jax’s face fell for a second before he pulled on her sleeve. “Please? Just for a little bit? Papa says breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

I smirked up at her. “Smart kid.”

Reba sighed in mock exasperation but let him pull her back to the table. “Fine. But only for a bit.”

Jax beamed and climbed into the chair beside her, happily chatting away as I handed him a bagel from my plate. “Did you see the new mares yet, Ms. Reba? Mr. Rooster said they are so pretty. I saw him yesterday, and he said Mr. Jagger says I can come over and play with his kids while Papa went there today. Did you know Mr. Jagger has twins? They aren’t identical though ‘cause George is a boy and Gloria’s a girl.”

Reba’s expression softened, and I caught the faintest hint of excitement in her eyes. “That’s sweet and I’m sure y’all will have fun playing. As for the horses, no, I haven’t seen them yet. But I’m looking forward to checking them out. You know I have a weakness for wild horses.”

Jax nodded, his mouth full of bagel. “Papa says they’re gonna need a lot of work, but I bet you could train them super-fast.”

Reba shot me a pointed look. “I guess we’ll see. Depends on if your dad gets in my way.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I wish you could come back with us, Ms. Reba.”

Reba froze for the briefest moment before schooling her features. “You know I travel a lot to help horses.”

Jax pouted. “But why? Mac’s is the best place. And Papa’s there.”

I watched her carefully, waiting for her answer. She avoided my gaze, instead focusing only on Jax. “Because some people aren’t meant to stay in one place forever. As much as I love Serenity Stables, I like going to new places all the time and meeting new people. It’s fun to see how they run their ranches and to help their animals when I’m needed.”

Jax frowned but didn’t argue. I, on the other hand, had plenty to say about that. But I kept my mouth shut, for now.

When Jax was done, Reba pushed back from the table. “Alright, I really do have to go check on Black Beauty.”

Jax clung to her arm. “Promise you’re coming to Mr. Jagger’s today?”

She crouched down so they were eye level, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Promise. In fact, I’m going to head over as soon as I’m done in the barn, so I’ll see you guys there.”

Jax grinned and threw his arms around her neck, hugging her tight. She held him close for a second longer than necessary, then stood, her gaze flicking to mine. Something unspoken passed between us before she turned and walked out the door. I exhaled slowly, watching her go. Jax wasn’t the only one who wanted her to stick around.

“You almost ready, bud?”

“Yeah, but you still have to finish your food.”

I looked down at my plate. “I guess you’re right.”

Jax reached for my phone and I didn’t even stop him while he pulled up his favorite game and leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t a kid who wasted away on screens. Ranch life didn’t allow for it. I worked my way through the rest of my meal as I racked my brain for a way to break through to Reba. I’d known she was here before I came. We didn’t need to break wild horses. I could have arranged to purchase some that were already trained. But Mac agreed when I brought it up. He’d always had a soft spot for Reba that I decided to take advantage of.

Reba and I’d been two peas in a pod when we were younger, then I’d fucked it all up. But year after year I regretted it more and more. This wasn’t only a mission of training wild horses, I also needed to rope in Reba and bring her home. I just needed her to realize that sooner rather than later, because as much as I loved Rawhide Ranch, we had a ranch of our own to get back to.

I cleared my plate and cleaned up the crumbs Jax left behind before reaching for my phone. “Come on, buddy, let’s go check on those girls.”

He smiled up at me, almost as if he knew I was talking about more than the wild horses at Jagger’s place. Sometimes my kid was a little too smart for his own good.

The truck rumbled beneath us as we pulled onto the dirt road leading to Jagger’s ranch. Jax sat in his seat, swinging his legs as he stared out the window. For a few minutes, we rode in comfortable silence, the early morning sun casting a golden glow over the land.

“So… are you gonna marry Ms. Reba?” Jax asked suddenly, his little voice filled with curiosity.

I nearly choked on the to-go coffee Robyn, the B&B’s owner, had prepared for me. She’d handed Jax a matching thermos though smaller and filled with hot cocoa, instantly winning a place in his heart.. “That’s a big question for so early in the morning, bud.”

Jax shrugged. “You like her. She likes you. Seems like a good idea.”

I glanced at him in the rearview mirror, shaking my head. “She’s a little more stubborn than that, buddy. Besides, what makes you think she likes me? She’s always so mean.”

“She likes me,” Jax said confidently. “And I think she likes you, too. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

I chuckled. “You think so, huh?”

Jax nodded, then turned serious. “If she likes me, then she has to like you. Why did she leave before?”

My grip on the steering wheel tightened. I didn’t talk about the past much, especially not with Jax. But the kid had a way of asking questions that hit straight to the heart of things.

“Because I messed up,” I admitted. “And she thought she didn’t belong at the ranch with us.”

Jax frowned. “That’s dumb. She belongs with us.”

I smiled at his certainty. If only it were that simple. “Yeah, bud. She does.”

The rest of the drive passed quietly, except for Jax humming along to the radio. By the time we pulled into Jagger’s driveway, the place was already coming alive. Horses neighed in the pastures, the twins were playing in the front yard and Moira waved from the side of the house.

Jax unbuckled himself before I had the truck fully stopped, bouncing with excitement. “I see Ms. Reba!”

Sure enough, Reba stood by the paddock, her hands resting on the top rail as she watched the wild horses. The wind tugged at her hair, and for a moment, she looked completely at peace. But as soon as she spotted us, that familiar guarded look slid over her face. I sighed, shaking my head as I climbed out of the truck. Winning her over wasn’t going to be easy. But I was all in now.

“Come on, bud,” I said, lifting Jax down. “Let’s go see what she thinks of these horses.”

“Morning, Johnny.” Jagger greeted me as I walked up and Jax climbed the bottom two rungs of the gate to get a better look. “How’s the Ranch been treating you?”

“It’s been amazing, Robyn is doing her best to spoil Jax at the B&B and Derek really has created a wonderful place both on the Ranch and the Ridge. But I don’t need to tell you that.”

“No, you sure don’t.”

“So tell me about these horses.”

“There isn’t much to tell. Wild ones, really. Working with this many at a time is not normally something I get into, so when Rooster thought of you all when we caught them, I decided that was the best way to go. Between the two of us, we picked these four mares. They needed to be moved. The herd roamed free over Rooster’s grandparents’ ranch after they’d passed, but now that he wants to bring it back to life, the horses need a safe place to go. I suspect there might be more, but we’ll deal with them when and if it happens.”

“They are so pretty, aren’t they, Ms. Reba?”

“That they are, buddy.”

“Well, it’s up to you if y'all are interested in them, but they will take some winning over.”

“That’s not new to me,” I said, shooting a look at Reba, who solidly ignored my presence.

“Oh, don’t I know that,” Jagger said with a laugh. “Jax, you want to come up to the house for some cookies?”

“In the morning?” Jax's eyes went wide.

“Only if you promise not to tell Ms. Moira.”

Jax jumped off the fence. “Race you to the house!”

Reba let out a laugh as she turned to watch Jax run back the way we’d come, only to stop just short of the house and plop down on the grass with the twins as if he’d completely forgotten cookies were at stake. Jagger ambled up behind him, making a big deal about how fast Jax was and how slow he had been as I stepped up next to Reba.

“So, what do you think?”

“Me? These are for you and Mac.”

“Yes, you.”

“They are going to take time, Johnny, are you willing to put in the work?”

For some reason, that question felt loaded in ways she may or may not have meant it to be.