he threw it to the ground. This time, however, the left knee had gone, the one he used to mount and dismount. The emergency room doctor had been blunt and told Matt he’d roped his last calf, but Matt had heard that before and had proved the doctors wrong three times so far—and that was only on his right knee. It simply made sense that he had at least two more goes on his left. If he spaced them out.
Matt eased off his boot. Life without roping was not an option—at least not yet. It was the reason he got up in the morning, the reason he needed Beckett back. They shared chemistry, he and the horse. If Trena had truly wanted to hurt him—and she had—she couldn’t have come up with a better way to do it. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes.
Honestly, even if he never roped off Beckett again, Matt wanted him back because, until he had that horse, Trena would remain the victor in their private war.
And Matt did not take losing well.
The sound of a truck pulling into the drive brought Matt out of his chair and for one wild moment he thought that maybe Liv had decided to take his offer. Beckett was worth many thousands of dollars and he was certain that Trena would have gotten as much out of him as she possibly could, since the sale of the horse, as well as his truck, old tractor and two of his hunting rifles, had apparently bankrolled her exit. Ten percent over what Liv had paid would make for a tidy profit for her and he could see where after some thought she might have come to her senses.
But the visitor wasn’t Liv.
Matt instantly recognized the battered red pickup when he glanced out the window. His cousin, Wilhelmina, or Willa to anyone who didn’t want a black eye.
Willa was practically on his doorstep when he opened the door and a kid of maybe thirteen or fourteen was shuffling up the walk behind her. When had her son gotten so old?
Matt and Willa were not the closest of relatives, despite the fact that they lived in the same area, but that was mainly because he was always on the road and Willa was too prickly and mean to let anyone get too close to her.
“Hey, Willa. What’s up?” he asked, knowing it couldn’t be good. His cousin was all of five feet two inches high and had a squarish build, with blond curly hair and intense blue eyes. The kid was three or four inches taller than his mother with light brown hair and those same blue eyes peering at him from behind horn rim glasses. He smiled at Matt with a hint of apology that sent red flags popping up—then ambled a few feet away and pulled a phone out of his pocket.
Willa dove straight into her request. “I got a job working on a dude ranch up north and I need a favor.”
Yep. Bad news. “What kind of favor?”
“Crag needs a place to hang for a while.”
Crag? He’d thought the kid’s name was Craig. “Why with me?”
“Because you owe me,” she said in a low voice so that her son wouldn’t hear.
“I don’t owe you enough to be a babysitter,” Matt hissed back.
“Yeah, you do.” Willa stated it as fact, and he grudgingly had to admit she had a point. Willa had been the one who’d called him in San Antonio and warned him that a lot of his property seemed to be disappearing shortly after he and Trena had officially separated. She’d seen someone driving the old Studebaker pickup he’d bought to restore and had looked into the matter since, close or not, Matt was her cousin. He just wished she’d noticed before Beckett had been sold.
But... Matt eyed the boy, who candidly stared back...he knew nothing about kids.
“Like I said, Crag needs a place to stay and he needs something to keep him busy. Sorry about the short notice, but—” Willa shrugged “—not much I can do about it. I’m supposed to be there tomorrow.”
“What’s the rush?”
“One of their wranglers got hurt and this is a big opportunity for me. If I can get on full-time, I’ll get regular living quarters and then Crag can come live with me, but I have a probationary period.”
No. No. No.
“Willa...”
“He won’t stay here the entire time,” Willa said. “I’m making other arrangements. I just hit a snag and I have to get up there ASAP—”
“I get it.” Matt didn’t want to ask how long she wanted him to keep the boy, not with the kid standing there, but he needed some idea, since he didn’t plan to be there for much longer than six weeks himself.
“Please?” She practically mouthed the word, she said it so quietly.
“What are we talking here time-wise?” Matt asked. “I have some plans for later in the month. And a doctor’s appointment in Bozeman tomorrow.”
“One week, tops.” Willa scuffed the toe of her dusty work boot on the deck in a way that made him wonder if she was being totally honest. “That’s when my friend will be back from visiting her boyfriend in Seattle and she said Crag can stay with her. I can’t let this opportunity pass.” There was a note of desperation in her normally no-nonsense voice.
“I get you.” Matt wasn’t happy, but he did understand. Willa had a college degree in animal science, which had exactly zero job potential. Working as a horse wrangler on a dude ranch was a golden opportunity.
“All right.” Matt attempted to smile at the kid, who didn’t appear to be fooled by the lukewarm effort. He didn’t appear to be insulted, either. Just...accepting.
“Great. Thanks!” Willa turned to her son. “Go get your suitcase. I think you’ll like staying here.”
“No doubt,” the kid said flatly before getting to his feet and heading back to the beat-up truck.
Willa turned instantly back to Matt. “If he tries to go stay with his friend Benny don’t let him,” she said as soon as her son was out of earshot. “The kid’s not bad, but there are six other kids in the family and the mother never knows what any of them are doing. I think she’s on tranquilizers.”
“I would be,” Matt said. “Anything else I should know?”
“Nope. I think you two will get along great. I’ll email and call when I can, and here’s my cell number—” she handed him a card that read Willa Montoya, Horse Specialist “—so you can get hold of me if you have any questions. But other than Benny’s family situation, I can’t think of anything you need to know.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out some folded bills. “I have a hundred bucks I can give you for food.”
Matt shook his head. “No need.”
“Do you have any idea how much an adolescent eats?”
“If he eats too much we can settle up later.” He didn’t feel right taking money from a woman so desperate to get a job—even if she was putting him in a position here.
Willa smiled and pushed the money back into her pocket. “Thanks, Matt. For everything.”
“No problem,” Matt said, hoping it sounded at least a little sincere.
A few minutes later, after Willa had said a few words to
