Shane's Burden Read online

  “Thank you for stopping by, Shane. I do have to get back to work if I’m going to get everything ready.” Alley reached for the shovel. “I appreciate you finding a trainer for me.” A soft smile spread across her lips. Shane clenched his jaw, his eyes poring over her.

  “You’re planning on shoveling more stalls with your hands in the condition that they’re in?” Shane glared at her. “Your hands are blistered and raw, Alley. By tomorrow, you won’t be able to hold a glass of water.”

  Her eyes lifted. She shook her head slightly. “I have no choice. The stalls need to be stripped.”

  Shane reached for a second shovel and entered the stall. The conference call with his uncle in Kentucky to discuss some mares he’d wanted to move to Montana would have to be postponed. He wasn’t going to get home in time. He’d call him from his cellphone later.

  Shane shoveled the old dirt into the wheelbarrow, which already stood in the stall.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He glanced over his shoulder to look at Alley’s astonished face behind him.

  “Because I see how determined you are.” He tossed her a smile, then stuck the spade back into the soil. “And how stubborn.”

  Shane pulled up to the Cramer barn the following Monday morning, his stomach in knots and his pulse pounding against his temples. What had he done? This was definitely one of the more harebrained ideas he’d ever come up with. The relief in Alley’s eyes when he’d told her a week ago that he had a trainer for her horses had kept him from calling her, or stopping by to fess up that he was the trainer.

  “You really should have thought this through better,” he mumbled while letting the truck idle for a moment. What had possessed him to tell Alley he’d found her a trainer in the first place? She was going to be spitting mad when she came out of that house and found him here.

  He’d already skirted around what he was doing when Raine had asked him where he was off to so early in the morning. He’d had to tell her it was an important new business opportunity, and he’d be gone early every morning for a while.

  For the past week, he’d rationalized that he could be done with working four colts by early afternoon, giving him the rest of the day to take care of Taggart Ranch business. Training horses would be enjoyable, too. He hadn’t started young colts in a long time. Other business had kept him away from doing as much of the hands-on work around the ranch as he’d like, so this would be a most welcome change of pace.

  Shane turned off the ignition and got out of his truck. The air was cool and crisp, and his breath swirled in front of him. He braced himself for the angry shouts of the woman he’d have to face in a short while, and then try to convince her not to kick him off the property.

  The door at the house opened. Shane was ready. Let her tell him what a jerk he was, but he’d give her an earful about how, without his help, she didn’t stand a chance of keeping this farm.

  He mentally shook his head. That wasn’t the right approach to take. It sounded like their first encounter, when he’d lost his temper with her.

  Shane squinted. It wasn’t Alley who came out of the house, but Henry Cramer.

  “Shane. Fancy seeing you here so early this morning.” The old man grinned, as if he’d known all along and was in on the secret.

  Shane rubbed at his chin, the coarse hairs of his unshaven face scraping across the tips of his fingers.

  “When’s a good time to tell Alley that her new trainer is here for his first day on the job?” He returned Henry’s grin.

  The old man laughed. “She’s going to be madder than a hornet. I had a feeling there was something strange afoot, Shane. Not many trainers would take the kind of deal Alley was offering.”

  Shane shrugged. “Room and board, and profit-sharing in the colts. Couldn’t pass it up.”

  “Her heart is in the right place, and she sure works hard, but she doesn’t have the experience to know what’s a good deal and what isn’t.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck. “But she’ll learn, and then you’d better watch out. She sits up late at night reading every magazine and every book on managing a breeding farm and the racing industry she can get her hands on.”

  Shane glanced toward the house. “Where is Alley?”

  Henry chuckled. “You’re in luck. She went for an early-morning ride on her old horse, Harley.”

  “It’s mighty early.” Shane looked toward the east, where the sun had barely broken over the tips of the mountains.

  “Like I said, she’s got it in her head to make this place pay for itself again. Taking her horse out for a ride is her way of clearing her mind.”

  Shane nodded. It was good to go off for some solitude to clear one’s head. He’d done it himself many times in the past.

  “Alley’s always loved the horses, and spending time in the barns, especially when the rest of her life was overwhelming,” Henry continued. “I’m only trying to hold on to this place for her, because it means so much to her.”

  Shane frowned. “She hasn’t been home in ten years. How could the farm mean anything to her if she didn’t even come for visits?”

  Henry looked up at Shane, his eyes suddenly looking old again, and filled with sadness and regret.

  “Alley’s mother probably wouldn’t have let her come.”

  “She’s an adult. Why would she have to do what her mother says?”

  “Her mother is a very manipulative person, Shane. Ariel hated it here. She wanted to leave Burnt River as a young girl, long before she even graduated high school.”

  “What does Alley’s mother have to do with any of this?”

  “She never said it outright that I know of, but she blamed Alley for her being stuck here. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant, she and my son wouldn’t have married. Good things came from it, I suppose. I wouldn’t have Alley, after all. Her mother projected her dreams of getting out of Burnt River and striking it rich on her daughter. She thought if Alley focused only on her schooling, she could leave and go wherever she wanted.”

  “And instead, she came right back here,” Shane finished for Henry. He took in a deep breath. “I’d best get to work before she comes back from her ride. Maybe then she can’t fire me before I even start my new job.” He turned to head for the barn.

  “Shane, why are you really doing this?”

  Henry’s question stopped him in his tracks. His back straightened before he faced the old man again. He met Henry Cramer’s wizened eyes. Time to stop beating around the bush and quit lying to himself or Henry, because Henry already knew the answer.

  “I like your granddaughter, Henry. Now I just need to convince her that she likes me, too.”

  A smile passed over Henry’s face. He nodded. “Had a feeling that might be it. Was hard not to notice the way you looked at her last week. You couldn’t take your eyes off her. Sparks were flying the first time you came by, too.” He chuckled. “I’ve never seen Alley so worked up.”

  The old man tilted his head. “Why aren’t you already married, Shane? Young man like you ought to have no trouble finding the right woman.”

  Shane glanced at the ground. “I’ve been busy, Henry.” Hell, he was still too busy for this. “The right woman hasn’t come along, yet.”

  “I want Alley taken care of when I’m gone. Whether it’s this place, or somewhere else, I want her to have enough to pursue her own dreams and do whatever she wants to with her life. For too long, she’s tried to fulfill her mother’s dreams. It’s her turn now.”

  Shane glanced at the old man. It wasn’t clear whether Henry wanted Shane to start pursuing Alley, or if he simply meant he wanted this place to succeed so she’d have the means to do something else. He wasn’t going to ask for clarification. Where Alley was concerned, he wasn’t sure himself what he wanted.

  Henry slapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll let you get to it. We brought the colts up to the barn a couple of days ago to get them used to being stalled. I’m sure you’ll find everything you need in the tack r
oom.”

  “If not, I’ll bring my own equipment tomorrow.”

  Shane walked into the barn. The sounds of straw rustling and horses munching on hay greeted him. Alley had done a remarkable job in such a short amount of time. He rummaged through the tack room, picking out a simple bridle with a thick snaffle, a couple of long lines, and a lunging whip.

  He chose the horse in the stall closest to him, a big, coppery chestnut, and led him out of the barn and into the round pen behind the building. Today would be an assessment day, to gauge each colt’s willingness at training, and to get an idea of how they moved and carried themselves. It would give him a better idea about their potential on the racetrack.

  Shane was about to finish with his second horse when a rider approached. He grinned and braced himself. Time to face his new employer. Even from a distance, the surprise on her face was evident in her wide eyes. She rode up to the pen and dismounted, staring at him, then at the horse he held by the lead rope.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Good morning to you, too.” Shane let the horse go, and slipped out of the pen. “Starting my first day at my new job.”

  Her eyes narrowed. His own eyes roamed over her. Damn she looked good in old jeans and over-sized t-shirts. He forced his eyes back to her face.

  “You lied to me,” she sputtered.

  Shane took a step closer. “Lied to you? About what?”

  “You said you found a trainer for me.”

  Shane chuckled. “And I did. I showed up for work, as promised, didn’t I?”

  Alley’s mouth opened, then snapped closed. She shifted her eyes to the horse in the pen, then back to him.

  “You didn’t tell me you were the trainer.”

  Shane leaned forward, his eyes locked on hers. He lowered his voice. “You didn’t ask.”

  Alley stared back, longer than she’d ever held his gaze, then abruptly backed away from him. Shane curled his toes in his boots to keep from following, or he might have done something stupid and pulled her to him, and kissed her. Of course, she was right. He had deceived her, but she would never have agreed to let him train her horses otherwise. Time to shift focus away from him before she told him to get lost.

  “You’ve got a couple of nice colts, Alley. They’ve got good potential. I haven’t worked with the other two, but if they’re anything like this one and the chestnut, you might have a few winners.”

  The shimmer in her eyes when she darted another look at him came as a complete surprise. This time, he did take a step forward. He lifted his hand to touch her arm.

  “I know you don’t like me much, Alley. You probably think I’m still the big jerk I was in high school. Let me prove to you that I’m no longer that boy.”

  Chapter 10

  Alley headed from the house to the barn. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle when a cold blast of wind whipped through the yard. She tucked her hands in the sleeves of her sweater and ducked her head. Even though it was windy, the horses needed to be turned out.

  She glanced at the empty space in front of the barn. For five days in a row, Shane’s Suburban had occupied that spot, and now it looked oddly empty. She shook her head and swiped the hair out of her eyes. She had already been spending too much time thinking about Shane Taggart during the week. Why couldn’t she give it a rest on the day he wasn’t here?

  Reluctantly, she’d let Shane stay on as trainer because she’d had no other options. No one in their right mind or with any kind of experience would work for almost no compensation, and gamble on a payout many months down the road. She needed his help, but why he’d even offered was a complete mystery. When she’d pondered the question out loud, Gramps had told her things would work out, and Shane probably had nothing better to do with his time.

  “He’s just looking for a way to buy this farm.”

  Alley had regretted her outburst instantly. It wasn’t true. There was no doubt that if Shane Taggart really wanted to buy Gramps’ farm, he would have made an offer Gramps couldn’t refuse. He hadn’t said a word about it since the first time he’d come to visit.

  Since the beginning of the week, he’d been there promptly at seven each morning, and left right around noon. Gramps had said what a good job Shane was doing with bringing the colts along.

  “He thinks he’ll bring a rider with him in the next couple of weeks when it’s time to back the colts for the first time.”

  Gramps seemed pleased with the progress, and as little as she understood about training a young horse, Alley had already seen the progress Shane had made with the animals. He was patient with each one, soft-spoken, and seemed to be able to read their body language. He had a genuine love for horses, and it showed. More and more, the boy from high school vanished in front of her eyes, and was replaced by the serious, and quiet, and very focused man he was now.

  Harley nickered when she entered the barn, and the four colts moved around restlessly in their stalls. The chestnut whinnied. When Alley went into the tack room to grab a lead rope, her eyes fell on a lighter lying on one of the crates. She frowned.

  Shane must have left it there after he’d used it to cauterize the ends of some frayed rope he’d been cutting the other day. A barn was no place to keep a lighter. He should know better. She shoved it into her jeans pocket, then went to the chestnut’s stall and slipped inside. She attached the lead line to his halter and gave him a pat on his sleek neck.

  “Shane says you’re going to make a fine racehorse.”

  Alley opened the stall fully to lead the eager horse out into the barn aisle. Shane came five days out of the week. Weekends were rest days for the horses, but they still needed to be let out of their stalls for a few hours to stretch their legs.

  The colt was beautiful, but he was also full of energy. He tossed his head and pranced as she led him from his stall and out the barn. She snapped the lead line like she’d seen Shane do, but the horse definitely had more respect for him than her. Instead of walking calmly beside her, he shied and pulled back.

  The momentum made Alley lurch forward. She didn’t let go of the rope, but the jerk to her shoulder sent a sharp pain down her arm. Her palm burned as if it was on fire. Her blisters had barely healed, and the rope sliced through her skin.

  Alley barely had the strength to hold on to the colt. The young horse whinnied, his head held high and his tail raised proudly. His body tensed, and no matter how much she murmured to him, the colt would not calm enough to be led to the paddock. With a loud snort, he blew air through his nostrils, then reared. Alley stumbled backward and fell on her backside at the sudden, unexpected move from the horse. She lost her grip on the lead line. The colt instantly sensed that he was free, and took off in a gallop down the lane that led to the pastures in the distance.

  “Dammit.” Alley panted to catch her breath from the shock of the impact. She scrambled to stand. Adrenaline shot through her, making her legs weak and wobbly.

  The colt’s front hoof could have easily struck her in the head when he reared. Her heart pounded fiercely at the thought. Her eyes darted around. What was she going to do? She had to go after the colt. He looked to be heading straight for the hills.

  Alley swallowed back the rising panic that threatened to consume her. She couldn’t afford to let anything happen to the horse. What if he got injured? At least he wasn’t heading for the highway. Not yet, anyway.

  Alley ran back into the barn, and grabbed her saddle and bridle from the tack room.

  “Sorry, Harley. We have to go after Red.”

  With trembling hands, she saddled the bay gelding, which snorted as if sensing there was great urgency. She pulled herself into the saddle and trotted out of the barn.

  “What’s going on? I heard commotion out here?” Gramps came walking from the house as fast as his bowed legs could carry him.

  “The chestnut colt got away from me. He took off and is heading for the hills. I have to go after him.” Alley pointed in the direction the c
olt had gone. She couldn’t even see the horse anymore.

  Gramps shook his head. “Don’t be foolish, Alley. You’re never going to catch him.”

  “I have to try. I can’t waste anymore time.”

  She nudged Harley in the sides before Gramps did something to stop her, like grab hold of Harley’s reins. The faithful gelding broke into a run. Alley ignored her grandpa’s frantic calls for her to come back.

  “It’s too risky for you, Alley. I’ll call Shane,” Gramps yelled after her.

  Alley gripped the saddle horn with one hand and the reins in the other. She’d never ridden this fast before. Harley seemed to have grown wings. Maybe he’d sensed her urgency. If Gramps wanted to call Shane, that was his choice, but she didn’t have time to wait for him. The colt could be in the next county by the time he arrived.

  She gritted her teeth as wind whipped in her face, and her vision became blurry from her eyes watering. Dammit, she didn’t want to have to depend on Shane Taggart for everything. She already owed him more than she could ever repay.

  Harley galloped past the pastures where the mares grazed. Several of them ran along the fence line, clearly disturbed by the colt who had flown past them a few minutes ago. Why hadn’t the silly horse stopped to visit with the mares? He must have sensed freedom and taken full advantage of it. If he could run like that on the racetrack, he might be the horse that saved this farm.

  “Unless he breaks his leg along the way,” Alley mumbled through gritted teeth. The hills and mountains were no place for a racehorse.

  Harley jumped over a log that lay on the ground without missing his momentum. Alley lurched forward, grabbing fistfuls of his mane.

  I might be the one to break a leg - or worse, my neck - before this day is over.

  “Shane, you might want to come out to the barns.”

  Shane held his cellphone to his ear, tilting his head to hold it in place with the aid of his shoulder. He spread mustard over a slice of bread, then piled on shaved turkey, some lettuce, and tomato. He frowned. His barn manager didn’t usually call him on his cell unless there was an emergency.