well.
“I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot, no pun intended.” Garrett gathered her invoices and stacked them in front of him. “I’m not looking to replace you as Silver Bells’ farrier. I’m asking if we can cold-shoe from this point forward and hot-shoe only when necessary.”
Delta weighed her options carefully. Just as Garrett had said, cold-shoeing was significantly cheaper. It also forced her to do twice, if not three times, as many jobs to offset the difference.
“I prefer not to, but you’re the customer. If you want cold-shoeing, then that’s what I will do.”
“You are capable of cold-shoeing, right?”
“I beg your pardon.” Delta abruptly stood, inadvertently shoving her chair backward into a filing cabinet. “I assure you I’m more than capable of any shoeing requirements you might have. But I will also assure you, I’m the only farrier around that will work on your Belgians.”
“Why is that?” Garrett asked, without a single muscle in his body reacting to her outburst.
“Because they’re obstinate and they weren’t trained from the beginning to lift their feet. The ones that do tend to lean on me. Since Silver Bells doesn’t have a proper shoeing stall where I can secure their foot to work on it, my back takes a beating.”
“Good to know.” He jotted down a note.
“If that’s all, I have another appointment to get to.”
“I thought you said this was your last stop of the day,” Garrett challenged.
“I was mistaken. I have one more to make.” Delta had an imminent date with a bar stool after this conversation. She marched to the door and willed herself to open it nicely. “See you tomorrow.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Garrett called after her as she stormed toward the exit.
“I’m not,” Delta mumbled to herself. She hated when a perfectly good man went from sexy to infuriating in a matter of minutes. It was a waste of nice-fitting Wranglers.
* * *
THE SOUND OF Delta’s boots reverberated against the floor as she barreled out of the stables. Garrett had hoped she would have been more sympathetic to the ranch’s difficult financial position. And maybe she already was. He didn’t know enough about her to say one way or the other. But a small part of him wanted to know a lot more about the mahogany-haired beauty that couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
According to Dylan, Delta had extended their payment terms out to ninety days from her usual fifteen. That alone had been generous, but it still wasn’t enough to help their bottom line. Now here he was, a total stranger, asking her to take more of a financial hit for him.
He respected Delta’s need to earn a living. Hell, he could even understand her getting upset at the prospect of less money. Her attitude was a bit much, though. Answering his questions was part of the job, and she shouldn’t have been insulted by them or his request.
Back in Wyoming, his farrier had cold-shod their horses to his satisfaction. So then why did he have a strong desire to call Delta and apologize? He had done nothing wrong. He just wished he hadn’t made her mad. Although making people mad seemed to be his new norm.
His in-laws were mad at him for moving their grandkids thirteen hours away from Wheatland, Wyoming, back to his hometown of Saddle Ridge, Montana, with only two days’ notice. Garrett had been living with his in-laws and managing their three-thousand-acre cattle ranch for the last three years, after his wife had passed away from pancreatic cancer. He’d known for a while it was time for him and the kids to stand on their own, but he didn’t know how or where.
When Dylan offered him a chance to partner with him on the Silver Bells Guest Ranch, he hadn’t had to think twice. They weren’t quite on their own, but he needed to be near his own family again. Plus, Garrett’s brother-in-law had been more than ready to take over the cattle ranch and he was confident he’d left it in capable hands. Moving back to town was the best choice for him and his kids. If only his seven-year-old daughter felt the same way.
Kacey was mad at him. He had torn her from her friends and grandparents during Christmas vacation and then told her they were moving a few days later. She had cried all night after her first day of school almost two weeks ago. The crying had stopped, but she no longer spoke to him. The silent treatment was alive and well in the Slade household. Except for his four-year-old son, Bryce. The kid found happiness everywhere and loved his new preschool.
Garrett fired up the snowmobile and headed for the ranch’s main entrance. Even the biting wind against his cheeks didn’t help erase the flash of Delta’s bright smile when they first met...or her resentment toward him when she left. She was the last person he needed to be thinking about. His kids were his first priority, the ranch second. There was no room for hurt feelings.
He arrived at the front gate and waited. The school bus would drop Kacey off in a few minutes and he hoped a ride to the house would cheer her up. The scowl on his daughter’s face when the bus doors opened told him that wouldn’t be the case. He needed to stick to horses. At least they liked him.
“Get on, baby,” Garrett said as she marched past him. “It’s too cold to walk.”
“You’re embarrassing me in front of the other kids,” Kacey ground out. She gripped the straps of her backpack tighter and trudged down the ranch road. “Now they’re going to pick on me tomorrow.”
“No they won’t.” Garrett wondered if all girls were this dramatic at her age. “Get on. The bus left and I’m not taking no for an answer.” He scooted back for her to sit in front of him.
“What about my bag?”
“Give it to me.” Garrett lengthened the straps on the yellow Beauty and the Beast backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Appropriate considering he felt like the Beast this afternoon. “Now get on.”
Kacey climbed over his legs, doing her best not to hold on to him for support. Garrett grinned and revved the engine, causing the snowmobile to lurch forward a few inches. She immediately leaned against him and gripped his arms. “And away we go.”
Dylan hopped out of his lifted black pickup before helping Bryce down as Garrett drove up to the small two-bedroom log cabin. It had been Dylan’s until he’d moved into their uncle’s house. Garrett had given each of the kids a bedroom and he’d taken the loft. It served his needs, plus it wasn’t like he was bringing anyone home to share his bed. He doubted he’d ever be ready for that again. Rebecca had been his entire world for nine years until Kacey came along. And then Bryce. His family had been perfect.
The second the snowmobile stopped, Kacey slid out from under his arms and stomped up the front porch steps. He was getting tired of seeing the back of his daughter’s head all the time.
“Daddy!” Bryce ran to him. “I can write my name.”
Garrett lifted him into his arms. “You can? You’ll have to show me when we get inside.”
“Hey, man, I like the new look.” Dylan nodded to the backpack. “Kind of clashes with your jacket, but I think you wear it well.”
“I thought it complemented my eyes.” Garrett laughed as he climbed
