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Kade Rogan blinked unsure of what he saw then turned his truck back to the left causing the headlights to outline what looked to be an old junked out truck on the other side of the ranch fence. This was no place to be miles from nowhere in the driving rain. He drove straight up to the wooden post fence, jumped out and slipped through the rungs running around to the drivers side door and wrenching it open.
His action startled a young woman who had been huddled into a pile on the front seat sleeping.
“what are you doing out here, you are liable to freeze to death” he shouted to be heard above the pounding of the rain
“this truck broke down” she answered sitting up and blinking her eyes
“do you have a place to stay for the night?” he asked
“I was supposed to be meeting Derek Rogan at the shooting star ranch do you know where that is?”
“you’ve found it, grab your stuff and let's go”
Kaylee Welch didn’t have to be told twice grabbing her backpack and sports bag from the floor she scooted off of the seat and let him take them then slipped through the fence and climbed into the passenger side of his big black dodge. The warm air coming from the vents greeted her immediatley and after thinking she'd be spending all night in her old heap Kaylee was grateful.
He got into the drivers side spun the truck around without a word and drove down a barely visible dirt road. Twenty minutes later she could see a massive log structure with big bay windows running nearly ceiling to floor. He got out taking her stuff from the back and walked in the front door leaving her to slip out of the truck and walk up to the large thick planked porch on her own. When she walked inside the man, whose name she still didn’t know was yelling for Derek and an older woman was shutting the door behind her.
“hi I’m Anna, come I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping tonight”
“who is that man?” Kaylee asked picking up her gear and following the woman. Her prosthetic leg was rubbing a little and she really needed to get it off.
“that’s Kade and don’t worry about him. He barks worse than he bites”
“I’m Kaylee”
“I know” the woman smiled “Derek started to worry when you didn’t show up”
They walked up to a room full of log furniture and large rugs on top of a wooden floor. It came with it's own fireplace and spacious bathroom and it was warm.
“I’ll come and wake you for breakfast in the morning” the woman said before leaving and closing the door behind her.
Kaylee sank down on the bed wanting to cry with relief. She'd done it. She’d gotten away and she had a job, one that she knew how to do very well. She just had to pray that Keith would keep his mouth shut irregardless of what her father threatened him with.
The next morning a knock on the door had her sitting up immediatley and scrambling for the robe that she’d put at the end of the bed.
“Anna?” She asked
“no, it's Derek”
That sent her into a panic scrambling to put the lower half of her left leg on and cover it the best she could with the floor length robe. She couldn’t let him or anyone else know that she was a cripple because it would be the end of things very quickly.
Opening the door she found a slightly younger version of the man that had rescued her last night.
“morning, did you sleep well?” he asked
“very well thanks to Kade, your brother?” she asked
“my older brother”Derek confirmed “and don’t let him bother you he’s been onry ever since our father was shot last year”
“is your father okay?”
“oh he's fine, just can't run the ranch like he used to and that's part of why I hired you. Dad can’t keep up with the bookeeping anymore and both Kade and I are too busy to take care of it”
“that isn’t a problem. I can fix whatever kind of mess it's gotten into”
“great, breakfast is in about ten minutes. See you there”
Kaylee scrambled back to the bed grabbing her clothes and rushing to the shower. She could hear a good number of people talking below when she emerged from her room and headed for the stairs. She would have to get comfortable with walking up and down these stairs and almost wished for a ground floor room but wasn’t about to complain.
“morning, come join us” Derek greeted her from a long plank table where several men including Kade were seated scarfing down their breakfast.
Derek had saved a spot next to him and the end of a long bench and she began to fill her plate with eggs, bacon, sausage and a buiscut. She was nervous knowing everyone wondered about her but kept quiet.
“are you going to introduce us to this young lady” asked an older man sitting at the opposide end of the table.
“sorry” Derek nearly choked on his bacon then hurriedly swallowed “everyone this is Kaylee Werner, she’ll be straightening out the ranch books, keeping accounts straight and will also be doing payroll”
The older man didn’t look as though he was too convinced of her abilities but said nothing leaving Kaylee to wonder if she'd have this job for very long.
After breakfast dispersed and the noisy crowd of men had left Derek showed her to an office at the front of the house just off the great room. The large oak desk was piled with papers, many of them scattered and the ranch books, many of them in old binders lay in an unorganized heap on the shelves surrounding the room. The old computer on the desk looked like it hadn’t been used in months but she would make do. She could do this.
“I can take care of this” She told Derek “you go do what you need to do”
Once she was alone Kaylee fired up the old computer on the desk and began to straighten some of the old papers into organized piles. The ranching software on the computer was outdated by at least five years and wasn’t really doing the shooting star any good. She had some software on her laptop that would be much more efficient and headed upstairs to retrieve it. When she returned she found the older man waiting for her in the office making her a little nervous although he allowed her to slip past him and return to the desk.
“we haven't been properly introduced, I’m Hayde Rogan”
“Kaylee Werner” she replied
“I told Derek to hire an accountant but I honestly wasn’t expecting someone so young” he began “irregardless I’m going to give you a chance, are you really up to getting this place straightened out”
“I did accounting for JD Kingston and he was in a worse bind than this. I can make this work” If he knew the name he didn’t appear impressed although maybe she’d given him a bit of information that she should have kept to herself.
“I’d like to see what you have accomplished by the end of the week” he said walking out.
By noon Kaylee was so engrossed in bringing the ranch accounts up to date that she didn’t even see Anna enter the office with a tray of food.
“how is everything going in here?”
Kaylee looked up from her laptop with a start immediatley noticing the roast beef sandwich, chips and drink. “I’m getting somewhere but I have to undo this mess in a week”
“it will work out, Mr. Rogan isn’t as bad as he seems”
“which one?” Kaylee asked
Anna just smiled and left the office leaving Kaylee to her work.
By the end of the day her eyes were going blurry but she'd managed to get the last several months of finances and herd tracking among other things into the computer. Tomorrow she’d be able to print out a report and a hard copy of everything she'd done.
“would you like to see the ranch after dinner?” Derek stepped into the office surprising her just a little he was dusty, tanned, and his blond ear length hair was messed up from working out on the range all day.
“sure”
“are you up to a horse ride?” he asked
“I haven’t ridden a horse in ages” Kaylee answered, “do you have a truck?”
She hadn’t been on a horse since the age of thirteen and had pushed any memories of it far back into her mind. Those days had been happy.
“Sure do, let's see what Anna has ready”
Dinner was a noisy affair with all the men talking about the ranch, rodeo, bulls and a variety of other topics. She could understand everything that was being said but tuned it out like she'd become used to doing. Kade kept to himself glaring at her now and again but she ignored him and left with Derek after carrying her dishes to the kitchen and stacking them next to the sink with the others.
With an hour of sunlight left she climbed into the passenger side of Derek's black Dodge and let him drive her around the ranch. He talked incensantly about every detail of their horses, the herd, the different types of cattle and more.
“you don’t have to explain everything in detail, I know about cattle”
“did you grow up on a cattle ranch?”
Kaylee nodded her head hoping he wouldn’t ask any more. She wasn’t going to tell him where she came from or even any information that could lead him to that.
“I don’t mean to talk so much, I guess I do that when I am nervous”
“nervous?” she asked surprised “I’m the last type of person you have to be nervous with”
Derek just grinned “you don’t even realize how pretty you are do you?”
Kaylee was taken back by the comment, she hadn't really given it much thought. She'd always put more emphasis on just getting from one day to the next.
“and you don’t have to worry about me saying that either, I already have a girl”
Kaylee relaxed suddenly realizing Derek felt like the type of older brother she never had. She did have two older brothers but they had never been kind.
“just do me a favor and don’t tell Dad or Kade I said that”
“I don’t really talk to either of them anyway”
“would you like to go see the new arena?”
Kaylee smiled “I would”
The next morning Kaylee was up well before breakfast and headed down to the barn. She hadn’t been around horses in several years and smiled as most of them in the stalls raised their heads, some even greeting her. She was immediately drawn to a black with a white blaze between his eyes and approached him slowly waiting to see if he would shy away or let her touch him. He stood his ground looking at her and Kaylee was able to rub the palm of her hand on the bridge of his nose and behind his ears. She was happy but would never ride a horse again.
“what are you doing?” boomed a voice behind her
Startled, Kaylee jumped turning around to see Kade behind her.
“I’m sorry I just wanted to come see the horses”
“I want you to tell my dad you’ve changed your mind about the job”
“why?” Kaylee asked “what did I do?”
“just tell him” Kade repeted turning on his heel and walking out of the barn
Kaylee let him go without any further questions but wasn't about to just do what he told her to. She needed this job and unless he was going to tell her what she did wrong he could forget it.
Anna looked up as Kaylee entered the kitchen with her breakfast plate.
“do you mind if I eat in here with you?”
“not at all, is everything okay?”
“I can only handle so much glaring” Kaylee answered sitting at the small table and digging into her breakfast
“well, us women have to stick together anyway”Anna put in sitting down across from her “we are clearly outnumbered”
Kaylee laughed trying not to choke and finished off her breakfast clearing and rinsing her plate at the sink before putting it in the open dishwasher. She thanked Anna and headed to the office as all the men were getting up from the table.
“what do you have against her?” Anna asked Kade
“don’t worry about it “ Kade replied adding his plate to those on the white tiled countertop
“I’ve been around since you were a four year old falling off a horse Kade, you don’t need to be gruff with me”
“and I could let you go just as easy”
“sure you could and then there would be no one around to make your cinnoman rolls”
Kade cracked a grin. He could never hold his tough exterior very long around Anna she’d stepped in when his own mother had decided she couldn’t handle the rigors of ranch life and just taken off one night leaving two boys and a distraught husband behind.
Kaylee had burried herself in the never ending mess holding her breath until she knew for sure Kade had left the house. She had certainly dealt with worse men than him but they had all known about her disability. She’d come here under the pretense of being a completely whole person and as long as they never found out she'd be okay. It was kind of nice not to be labeled and treated like a cripple.
Three days later Hayde appeared at noon to check on Kaylee’s progress. She’d been able to get the piles of papers and books that had been scattered around the office in order and showed him the program on her laptop. Her clear knowlege of not only the financing but the breeding programs, herd management and pasture management impressed him.
“well young lady I am convinced of your ability to handle this and I’ll make sure that you have a new computer by the end of the week.”
Kaylee was pleasantly surprised and thanked him as he left. She let go of the tears and worry that had threatened her over the last several days. It was the first time someone had been happy with her in more years than she could count. This was what she could do without a handicap and it felt damn good.
Later that day before all the men filled the house to eat dinner Kade slipped into the office shutting the doors behind him. Kaylee stopped her typing and looked up prepared for a fight.
“why didn’t you quit?”
Kaylee was not going to tell him how badly she needed this job or the fact that constantly moving from job to job would only make it easier for her father to find her.
“you want me to just up and quit but you won’t tell me what I did that is so terrible. I don’t understand”
“of course you don’t understand” his voice raised a pitch but she was not about to jump back “what can a ninteen year old yuppie possibly know about managing the book keeping for a ranch as large as the shooting star? Tell me.”
“I've been doing this since I was fourteen......”
“and how tough is it going to have to get before you just up and leave? What if we need you to ride out and help with the herd?”
“then I’ll do it, it isn’t as though I haven’t ever been on a horse”
“and just where do you come from?”
Kaylee refused to say anymore irregardless of how he may decide to taunt or belittle her.
“what's going on in here?” Derek asked opening one of the doors behind Kade “everyone can hear you both”
“I’m not done Kaylee, I’ll find out what brought you here” Kade threatened before walking out the door.
Kaylee saved what she was doing on the laptop and looked up to Derek “don’t worry about it your brother is just doing what he does best, being an ass”
She let Derek walk back out before truly taking the time to worry. There was no shortage of money that Kade could use to hire a private detective and search her out. The one saving grace on her side was that she had come in under the last name werner instead of welch. It hadn’t really been that hard to get her cousin to forge a birth certificate and drivers liscence.
Instead of heading for the dinner table Kaylee decided to visit the horses in the coral and again found that the black seemed to like her. He came straight to Kaylee waiting for her to rub the bridge of his nose, between his ears and even his neck. He nuzzled the side of her face and nickered just a little. This is what she had done when things got to be too much at home. It seemed the horses were the only ones who loved or even understood what she was going through at the time.
Her own horse Weston's Runner had been taken away after the accident that took her leg and her mother's life. Her father had blamed her and had never forgiven her.
“I have news about your truck”
Kaylee had been so lost in though that she hadn’t even herd Derek approach the outside of the coral. “and that's Kade’s horse”
“of course it would be” Kaylee replied “is the truck repairable?”
“well, it would cost about the same amount of money to buy a good used truck as it would to repair the one you have”
Kaylee was a little dissapointed but had as much expected this. “can you tell the repair man to just junk it then, I don’t really plan on going anywhere that I can’t get a ride from Anna or someone else”
“you’ll get a raise and can use that to make your payments”
“I’ll be fine, really...” she replied using the gate to leave the coral
“Kaylee”
“what?”
“first thing you need to learn about the Rogans is that when they have their mind made up, it's best not to argue with them”
That wasn’t exactly a good omen where Kade was concerned but she simply nodded her head and agreed.
The next morning before breakfast Kaylee got her first look at the small town of Okur Montana. It wasn’t much but she loved the small town feel to it and was surprised when Derek pulled into the parking lot of a small diner.
“you didn't eat last night and I kind of figured you wouldn’t show up at the breakfast table this morning so you are here to order whatever you want off the menu. My treat”
The establishment was already near full with an assortment of cowboys, cattlemen and some in buisiness suits as they made their way to an empty table and sat down. They were soon greeted by a harried waitress who looked like she’d been running ragged for the past hour. They took the menus she offered then made introductions. It seemed everyone here knew Derek in one way or another and there was no shortage of gossip either. Everyone seemed to know what was going on with everyone else.
When they were finished Derek drove over a small dealership run by smiling Eddie Carson. It took a while of looking but she finally settled on a smaller black truck that was only two years and didn’t have a lot of miles put on it yet.
Derek made the arangements and it wasn’t long before they were driving back to the ranch. Kaylee couldn’t help but smile and let loose a couple of happy tears. The truck she’d been driving was an old heap of her fathers that had been in the back of the barn since she'd been a kid. The fact that it had actually run and gotten her this far was a miracle. This truck was hers though and was the first vehicle she’d ever owned.
When they reached the Shooting Star Kaylee was careful to park her truck behind the house and underneath a tree where it wouldn’t be spotted so easily.
“what's with the parking spot?” Derek asked curiously when she stepped up on to the porch at the back of the house.
“I’m not taking any chances that Kade might take a bat to it once he sees it” she answered as the walked the porch to the front part of the house
“he wouldn’t do that”
“I’m not so sure”
It was at that moment that they both heard a truck door close of the house and a beautiful brunette was walking up on to the porch “Mornin handsome” she greeted Derek nonchalantly and it was easy to see that her smile was directed all at him.
“Chelsey Lynn you know it's a bad idea to come up to the house”
“it's okay Derek I came to see Anna, you were just a very irresistable bonus”
Kaylee had slowly slipped into the house just seconds earlier and Derek seemed to snap out of the trance that Chelsey Lynn always put him in.
“Kaylee” he called waiting for her to step back out on to the porch
“yes?” she replied
“I forgot to introduce you to Chelsey Lynn, her family owns a ranch supply company. And Chelsey this is our new bookeeper Kaylee Werner”
Chelsey Lynn smiled although it was clear she was a little worried about wether Kaylee could become competition for the man she was clearly crazy about.
“don’t worry, I’m only nineteen and I am definatley not in the market for any man right now” She reassured the other woman then walked back into the house to get to work on the still massive pile of records.
Derek liked how straight forward Kaylee could be at times but was starting to get the feeling that there was more to her past than the little bit she let on to. He followed Chelsey into the kitchen but after a few minutes of Kades incessant voice over the radio left to help the men who were in the process of clearing out and repairing an old barn then putting up a pen just outside of it.
Later that afternoon Anna stuck her head in the door looking almost apologetic. “Kade needs you to run another wire stretcher out to them, seems the two they had with them broke. I would do it myself but then everyone would be waiting a couple of hours for dinner”
Kaylee stood turning off her laptop and closing the lid. She knew what Kade was up to and she was about to prove him wrong.
“where do they keep them?”
“there is red shed just off to the left of the barn, everything is in there” Anna answered “the problem is that there are only two horses here and you are going to have to catch one and saddle it”
“which one is the more ridable of the two?”
“Sadie, she's the paint” Anna answered worried “are you up to this? Have you ever ridden with your leg before?”
Kaylee looked a little worried “what do you mean?”
“you know what I mean” Anna was concerned
“please don’t tell anyone”
“you’ll have to tell someone sooner or later and I’m thinking later would be worse”
“I really need this job Anna, I have medical expenses that I am behind on and this is the first time I've ever been able to get insurance. I can’t afford to be fired right now”
“you think they would fire you because you are handicapped?”
“anyone would” Kaylee was in tears now “I was so lucky just to get this job and I don’t know if I would be able to get another. Please just don’t say anything”
“it’s in your hands Kaylee, you do what you think is best” Anna reassured her then brought out a radio from the kitchen “call Kade when you head out and he’ll tell you how to get where they are”
“thanks”
Kaylee brought a handful sweet apples out to the pasture with her and was able to slip a halter over the paint's head after a couple of tries. Putting a saddle on the paint proved to be a little more difficult as she kept side stepping but finally it was settled and cinched down. After putting a looping the drawstring canvas bag containg two wire stretchers over the pomel she mounted from the right side swinging her leg over and settling in the saddle.
“Kade this is Kaylee” she called out over the radio waiting to find out which direction she needed to head
“it took a minute for him to respond”
“where are you?” he wanted to know
“in front of the barn waiting to find out where you are”
Kade talked her out to where they were and greeted her taking the canvas bag that she handed him. He checked the saddle over without complaint but if he was impressed didn’t show it. No surprise there Kaylee thought turning her horse and leaving so that Kade couldn’t decide he wanted anything else. She realized after a few minutes however that she couldn’t remember how to get back to the main house. Rather than calling anyone over the radio and taking the risk that Kade might hear everything the gave the mare her head hoping that the horse would just head back to the barn.
Anna looked worried as the men filed in without any sign of Kaylee. She’d assumed that Kaylee had stayed out with the men and didn’t want to make too big a deal of it right yet wait. She waited until Derek could be pulled aside and quietly explained the situation. Without any hesitation at all he ran for the front door and straight for the barn.
“what’s going on?” Kade demanded
“Derek can take care of it”
“Anna” Kade demanded
“you are going to have to learn to curb that temper Kade”
“I can't now tell me what's got my brother in such an all fired hurry”
“Kaylee didn’t come back”
Anna hoped that Derek would have enough time to drive off in one of the four wheelers before Kade could leave the house.
“Kaylee, can you hear me?” Derek shouted over the radio as he turned the atv towards the work area where they had all been earlier. He continued calling over the radio but recieved no response and realized he was going to have to branch out from where they had been. She could be almost anywhere.
Kaylee’s head spun and she had to stand still again until it stopped. The horse had hurt her front leg so riding back was out of the question, she'd just have to lead the horse and stem the bleeding at the side of her head and pray for a miracle. Her white long sleved shirt was ruined as were her jeans from all the dirt and blood but right now she really didn’t care she just wanted to make it somewhere without passing out and hopefully before the sun whent down and the cold made it's way in. If this had happened back home there would be no end to the lecture, the shouting, the point that she was stupid like all cripples being driven home once again by not only her father but her two older brothers. Thank heavens she had escaped. But what kind of situation was this really? Kade would be just as livid. For whatever reason it seemed he was always angry.
An hour later she was too dizzy to walk anymore, she could barely focus let alone concentrate and had resigned herself that the night would be spent out here in the cold. The most she could do was gather some wood and try to build a fire and on top of that stay awake, she couldn’t fall asleep, nor give into the severe dizziness that threatened her from every side. She wished desparatley that the radio hadn’t been lost when the horse had spooked as she fought the spinning in her head and used what little wood there was to try and start a fire using everything from rocks to try and create a spark to friction and heat.
The sound of four wheelers permeated what conciousness she had left before all went black.
Kaylee awoke to the sound of beeping and choked on a tube in her throat immediatley realizing she was in a hospital room. She'd done it for sure now, they were going to fire her. She'd been stupid to try and prove herself anyway.
“Kaylee?” Derek, who had been sitting in the corner of the room sleeping stood and walked over to her. “don’t try and talk, I’ll get the nurse”
Later on after being examined by a doctor, a specialist and having the breathing tube removed Derek brought her a sack of food from a fast food joint in town. She’d have to stay another night under observation. And would more than likely be going back to the ranch tomorrow.
“I’m....sorry” she said to Derek. He’d be sticking around until she was well enough to leave the hospital.
“sorry for what, this isn’t the first time a horse has been spooked and Sadie will be fine, she didn’t break anything”
“I should have said something when I got lost but I just figured all of you were so busy........”
“did you think we’d yell at you or make fun of you?”
“you know Kade would have”
“he yells at everyone, he’s a jerk on his best days”
“did you know he told me to quit but he wouldn’t tell me what I did wrong”
“I’m not surprised” Derek admited “he's done his best to run any women off the ranch, figures they will just up and run away when they don’t like how hard things can get”
“then why did you hire me?”
“you needed a job and I can’t keep any and all women off the ranch just because of Kade's attitude. If you are up to the challenge I need you to prove him wrong”
“I was raised on a ranch, I started riding horses on my own when I was five I can do almost anything you ask of me”
“why did you leave?” Derek asked taking a chance and knowing that she probably wouldn’t answer
Kaylee hesitated then looked over at him “the reason I am so good at accounting is because that's what I was reduced to doing there. Not only for my own families ranch but for other ranches as well and for well under half of what a paid accountant would recieve. I couldn’t do that anymore.”
“I think there's more to it than that but I won’t ask. You still have your job on the shooting star and you can start up again when you feel up to it. You’ve already made quite a bit of progress."
Kaylee cried with relief when Derek walked out but as she'd always done quickly dashed the tears away and tried to focus on something else.
Kelsey returned to the ranch the next day and went straight back to work in the office. There was still a lot of work to be done though immediatley she could see that someone had been in the office while she was gone. Some of the papers had been rearanged and the old ranch books were out of order, much worse than they had been at first. Fearing the worst Kelsey turned on her laptop and pulled up the program she had been using. Everything was gone. All the records she’d spent days inputing, all the numbers, all the cattle tracking. Fine, Kelsey thought angrily. She’d start over because she was not a quitter but first she reached for the handheld radio that had been left on her desk and turned it on waiting for the chatter to clear then pressing the send button on the side.
“Kade this is Kelsey”
After a minute he responded “go Kelsey”
“I didn’t think in your efforts to get rid of me that you would stoop to this level but I am not going to quit”
“what on earth are you talking about?”
“oh you must have forgotten already. The office was ransacked and all the records deleted”
She turned off the radio before he could say anymore. Angry didn’t even begin to cover it although Kelsey wasn’t known for her temper. She was known to perservere.
Three hours later Kelsey had made much faster progress inputting all the handwritten information and because there was so much to do had decided to miss dinner and stay up as long as she could. She’d closed the door to keep distractions out, however after dinner Kade entered closing the door tightly behind him. He waited until she paused the music on her mp3 player took out her earbuds and looked up at him.
“I don’t want you here Kelsey but when it comes to things that make the ranch work including the accounting and record keeping I’m the last person who would sabotage it”
“then I’m sorry for accusing you but I’m still not quitting”
“don’t kill yourself trying to fix this, Anna's got a plate in the kitchen” Kade told her walking out and leaving the door open.
Kaylee stood up heading for the kitchen surprised to find Hade doing the dishes while Anna put the leftover food away.
“glad to see you take a break” Anna said pressing a few buttons on the microwave and heating up a plate while Kaylee sat at the table.
“Kade told me what happened and I’m going to find out who did it. I won’t have anyone messing with things like that” Hade reassured her
Kaylee smiled, probably for the first time that day “I appreciate that”
“don’t ever be afraid to come to me with something like that”
“I guess I’m just used to working with a lot of very mean people” Kelsey told him as Anna retrieved the plate from the microwave and set it in front of her with some silverware.
“well young lady, I am pleased with your work. You don’t have to worry about your job here”
“what did you find out?” Kade had gone down to the back of the bunkhouse to call his cousin Matthew who hired himself out as a private detective.
“not much. I’m not finding any Werner’s out of Wyoming”
“even on any of the ranches there? She knows cattle”
“no, not even on the ranches. I’m starting to guess that she might have come in under a different name, though I can’t come up with any reason for that other than the fact that she might be running from something”
“check missing persons”
“way ahead of you, I’ll let you know what I find out”
“I owe you one”
“you owe me several” Matthew laughed
Kaylee made her way out to the pasture behind the barn around sunset and as she'd hoped the black, named BlackJack trotted over to the fence line when he saw her. She'd brought an apple for him hoping that Kade wasn’t around to see her feed it to him. BlackJack took the treat devouring it seconds and letting the juice dribble down his lips. He let her scratch him between the ears and around the mane area.
“how would you like one of your own?” Derek's voice caused her to jump
And Blackjack to step back a little.
“what? A horse?”
“exactly”
“you don’t just give people horses”
“you said you’ve been riding since you were five, you must have had a horse”
“well, I did.......” but that part of her life was gone
“we have a surplus here. Kade is starting to train cutting horses in his spare time”
“I didn’t know that”
“he's always wanted to but puts the ranch first”
Kaylee wasn’t really surprised to hear that.
“Come on” Derek led her down a small dirt and rock trail that came out in front of the arena. “he keeps the horses he’s working with down in this pasture. The sun was setting on the far side of the ranch but she could still see about seven horses out in the pasture. Inside the arena two horses stood inside a pen while Kade rode one inside the arena itself.
“he's just started working with this one but she seems to be picking up right away”
