The next morning, Lacey was up at her regular time, dressed in running shorts and a tank top, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail as she headed out for her daily morning run. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon. She was intent on seeing at least part of the ranch, following the trails she remembered from her childhood days, arriving back at the main house, hands on her hips as she slowly approached the front porch, breathing heavily and wiping her forehead. Caroline met her out front. "Good morning!"
Wesley slipped behind Caroline, the storm door clacking lazily closed behind him. He slid his hat onto his head as he stepped down off the porch. He was clean looking for now; newly washed shirt, clean jeans. That wouldn't last long, though, with the day's coming work. He glanced to Lacey and half-smiled. It was a rather crooked smile, like part of his lips didn't want to complete the gesture. He tipped his hat to her "Mornin' Ma'am. Thank ye fer breakfast, Carol. Mighty fine." he said as headed off for the barn.
Lacey flushed as Wesley walked by and then offered him a smile. "Morning," she called back before catching a glimpse of Caroline who was jerking her head toward the barn and the retreating form of Wesley, giving Lacey a look like she should follow. Lacey just shook her head quickly in disagreement, thinking she needed a shower, not another attempt to go where she wasn't welcome.
Carol's eyes darkened at the girl's stubbornness and put her hands on her hips. "Ye stubborn thing, you. Go change and git yer pretty little behind to the barn. He was just sayin' this mornin' he was short-handed."
Lacey sighed heavily as she mounted the steps and stopped beside the older woman and watched the retreating form of Wesley, placing both hands on her hips as her breathing finally regulated. "If he wanted me to help, he'd ask ... besides, what if I just get in the way?"
"No... he won't ask. Just the way he is. And ye wouldn't be in the way. Ain't hard to check calves."
Lacey warred with herself, but finally resolution took over her beautiful features and she hurriedly ran into the house and bound up the stairs to her bedroom where she donned worn jeans and a pair of boots she had brought for riding, shrugging a long-sleeved shirt on. She washed her face hurriedly and shoved some lip balm into her pocket. She applied a bit of deodorant and a small amount of mascara before dashing back down the stairs, checking her watch to see how much time she had. She could hear Caroline chuckling in the kitchen.
This was crazy ... he'd probably be furious that she showed up, but she couldn't help the natural curiosity she had of the ranch, her burning desire to ride again, and if she were honest with herself, she had to see him again.
Wesley and three of the hands were saddling up their horses. Two were cutting horses, the other two were just plain work horses. Wes was saddling up a nice tri-colored paint mare. He brushed through her mane and fed her a couple sugar cubes as a treat. When he heard footsteps behind him he turned to look over his shoulder, smiling when he saw Lacey. "Was wonderin' if you'd show up."
Lacey smiled genuinely as she stopped beside him and turned her attention the mare, letting her sniff her hand before gently rubbing her forehead and smoothing her forelock. "I figured you wouldn't be happy about me just showing up."
Wesley handed her the reigns to the mare's bridle. "'ere. Get on." Had she looked around, she would have noticed five horses had been saddled. He'd saddled one for her too, as if he knew she'd come along regardless of what he said. "She's an old pack mare... Bill used 'er for hunting trips. She'll fall right in behind the herd."
Lacey frowned as he handed her the reins and looked at the mare. She could ride better than just an old pack mare, even though it had been a while. But instead of arguing, she rubbed on the mare a bit more before moving to her side and mounted effortlessly as if she had just done this yesterday, settling into the saddle as the other hands looked on curiously.
She looked pretty natural in the saddle for a city-slicker, Wesley mused. He pulled her boot from the stirrup and lifted the skirt to adjust the length for her. He'd guessed her size pretty well, but they were still slightly long. "Ye get ridin' lessons in the city 'er what?"
Lacey tucked her leg back, giving him room to work as she rubbed the base of the mare's mane just above the withers, giving it an affectionate shake before gazing down at him. "No ... I haven't ridden in years but I used to know every inch of this ranch like the back of my hand," Then added with a soft smile, "from the back of a horse, believe it or not."
He chuckled and rounded to the other side, adjusting the stirrup for her and patted her boot. Then he lifted the hem of her jeans and ran his thumb across the lacings and looked up at her. "What are these?" He grinned teasingly
Lacey couldn't help but smile down at him as he teased her. Okay, so her boots were in style, but they were still boots, all the same, and her feet were used to them. She knew better than to show up with brand new boots and then not be able to walk the next day. "I thought we had work to do?" she teased back, taking some of the attention off her as she glanced up, seeing the men's stares as they talked quietly amongst themselves and she had no doubt, she was the topic of their conversations.
Wesley chuckled and let her be. He turned to his own mount, a beautiful buckskin quarter horse. He pulled himself into the saddle effortlessly and sat lightly in the saddle. The gelding threw his head with a snort. Clearly he wanted to get going, bouncing from one foot to another. He had the saddle on... it was time for work, according to him! Wesley took the reigns and pulled him in a bit. The other hands filed out of the barn, headed for the main pasture. As they rode, Wesley kept back to ride beside Lacey. This irritated his mount. He wanted to be up front. That was his place. He stamped and snorted the whole way, but Wesley kept a firm hand on him to keep him in line.
Lacey watched Wesley and the beautiful horse that he was riding out of the corner of her eye as she urged her mare to follow along, her legs gently squeezing before immediately releasing when the mare responded. As they rode, she couldn't stop the smile that stayed on her face. As much as she claimed to be a city girl, it was apparent that she was a natural on horseback. The only thing she regretted was not having a more spirited mount and the ability to just ... go. It had been too long since she had ridden like the wind, carefree and as one with her horse.
He rode quietly, until he decided the silence was too much. The hands ahead were chattering to one another and were glancing over their shoulders back at Wes and Lacey. "So... didja drive all the way from New York?"
Lacey glanced over at him and smiled gently as their mounts seemed to move together once his settled down some. "No, actually. I flew in and then rented the car. I don't like to drive THAT much." She saw the looks the men were giving her and Wesley and she hoped she wasn't inconveniencing him too much by coming along. "How long have you worked on the ranch?" she asked gently, the question giving her a good excuse to look at him again, her eyes never tiring of seeing the rugged handsome features.
"Been nearly seven years now. Started workin' as a hand... then I took the Foreman position when it opened up."
Lacey's thoughts turned to her father for a moment, a wistful sigh escaping her lips. It had been years since she had seen him, even though they had kept in touch over the phone. Her mother had conveniently forgotten to tell her about the funeral until it had passed. Reaching up, she brushed back a loose strand of blonde hair that had worked free from her ponytail and then glanced at him again before speaking. "I really have no idea how to run a ranch, Wesley. But my father loved this place and he wanted me to have it. I need you to keep doing whatever it is that you are doing and be patient with me."
Wesley chuckled and reigned in his mount again, the animal getting a bit frisky and taking leisure where he found loopholes to boss his rider around. Wes just kept a firm hand on him to be sure he knew who was really boss. "I've practically run this ranch the six years I've been Foreman, Miss King. I ain't gonna let it slip through the cracks just 'cause you come truckin' back into town. Don't you worry."
Lacey laughed and nodded, wanting to ride ... to really ride, but she had a feeling that even if she had urged the horse beneath her with everything she had, the mare probably wouldn't do more than trot. The mountains in the background made everything picturesque and much like a postcard. Just like she remembered as a girl. She truly enjoyed being on the ranch again, but knew that eventually, she would have to go back to New York. She absently wondered if the man riding beside her would even notice when she was gone.
The herd was in sight now. There was a sharp whistle from up ahead and the two herders moved to fan out to either side. The dogs that ran alongside the group burst into action and fanned wider to the sides to bring in the strays and group them together.
Lacey's head snapped back forward as she felt her mare move with the others and she allowed the mare to do what it was that she knew to do, blue eyes looking to Wesley as he pulled away from her to do his job. She chastised herself for even imagining that he would be thinking about her when he had so much to do here on the ranch. Instead of letting her thoughts get away with her regarding the handsome foreman, she instead, threw herself into trying to at least be help instead of a hindrance.
The hands didn't hesitate putting Lacey to work. They called to her, telling her what she needed to do. They proceeded, one by one, to cut the half-sized calves from their mothers to check them, to make sure the rings had held and done their job on the little bulls, that the ear tags were clean, and they weren't sick. The mamas didn't seem to care for this much. They argued and tried to bully the cutters into leaving the babies alone, but the men worked with precision and unyielding stubbornness.
Lacey worked hard, throwing herself into the task and the beauty of being outdoors and back on the ranch, temporarily forgetting the fascination she felt for the foreman. By mid-day, she had gained the men's respect for her persistence.
When they stopped for a short lunch brought to by the ranch cook on the back of a 4-Wheeler, one of Wesley's top hands plopped down next to him lazily. "I was just thinking how much Miss Lacey resembles a palomino ... beautiful AND hard working."
Wesley looked at Lance out the corner of his eyes and chuckled. He'd been watching Lacey as she flirted incessantly with the other men, and they persistently flirted back just to keep her going. "Yeah... she's pretty tough fer a city-slicker, ain't she?"
Lance chuckled, eyeing her as she sat among the other men and chatted with them. "Not bad to look at in a pair of jeans, neither," he grinned, slapping his friend on the back.
Wesley grinned. The same thought had crossed his mind several times. "If only they were a bit tighter and she wore a rodeo shirt and hat, eh?" He winked at Lance and licked mustard from his fingers that had oozed from his sandwich.
