seen him since she’d returned to Red Ridge. She brushed the mare’s mane while Jed combed down Tux. It was nice taking the horses out together before the heat of the day. Since her return to Big Hawk Ranch she hadn’t had a riding partner. She’d wanted to ride out on the range with Tagg today, but he’d flat-out refused. Maybe he really did have plans this morning. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a job. He ran the Worth empire from his house. He had responsibilities.
“It’ll be real nice getting to know you again, Callie.” Jed smiled.
“Same goes for me. I haven’t reconnected with too many people since I’ve been home. Some of my high school friends moved away and some are married and have their own lives. So this is great.”
“I think so.” He stopped brushing down Tux to look at her. “You know I had a crush on you back in high school, don’t you?”
She furrowed her brows. “No. I didn’t think boys got crushes.” Jed was tall and blond and relatively nice looking but Callie didn’t like where this conversation was headed.
“We do. Uh, did. But we’re always too macho to admit it. Your daddy took care of that, though.”
Callie rolled her eyes. Everything always went back to her father. “How?”
“He ran me off your property once. You’d offered to help me with my studies and I came over.”
“Shotgun?”
Jed got a startled look on his face. “You know?”
“It’s a wonder I didn’t run away from home. He chased off quite a few guys that way.”
“I was a little young to know he was bluffing.”
Callie laughed and put her hand on his arm, shaking her head. “The sad part is, he wasn’t bluffing. He’s fiercely protective of me.”
He glanced at her hand and smiled. Callie removed it instantly, self-conscious. “Even now?”
“I try not to let him get away with anything anymore,” she offered, feeling sorry for Jed. Maybe she would have liked dating him back then. She could only imagine how her father had intimidated him. “Sorry. I didn’t know. Of course, my father kept that from me.”
“So maybe we could make up for that. Would you like to go out sometime? Maybe Saturday night?”
Callie hadn’t entirely seen this coming. She’d been so wrapped up in her feelings for Tagg that she’d mistaken Jed’s friendliness. Oh, God, what to say? How to answer without hurting him or making him feel foolish?
“She’s not available,” said a voice from behind them.
They turned and found Tagg leaning against the shade tree, arms folded. “Tagg, what are you doing here?” Callie asked.
“Hey, Tagg.” Jed looked confused, darting them both glances.
“I came to ride Tux,” he said to Callie, giving her a recriminating look.
But that didn’t stop her heart from fluttering like a trapped butterfly. Just one look at him standing there, despite his sullen expression, and she was toast. He was handsome times ten. The whole cowboy getup wasn’t outdated on a man like Tagg. He wore his chaps well.
“How long have you been here?” she asked, wondering if he’d overheard their conversation.
“Just got here.”
She thought that was a lie. Tagg looked too comfortable against that tree to have just walked up.
“Looks like Jed beat me to the ride.”
“Hell,” Jed said, “at least I can beat you at something. You wiped me out last night.”
“Wiped you out?” Callie shot them both a glance.
“At poker. Remember, when I bumped into you? I was on my way to meet up with Tagg and the boys for a card game.”
“You bumped into her?” Tagg asked, his gaze focused on Jed.
Jed nodded halfheartedly. “Well, not like that. I was driving down the road and she passed me in her bright red convertible. She was barreling down the highway at eighty miles an hour.”
“I was not,” she defended herself.
“You were,” Jed said with a big grin. “Lead foot, my mama used to say. And then all of a sudden she stopped the car by the side of the road.”
“I would’ve never seen that downed calf if I was going that fast, Jed,” Callie pointed out. She turned to Tagg. “It looked like the calf got tangled up in some broken fencing. Jed stopped his truck and helped me get her on her feet. She turned out to be all right.”
Jed shrugged. “Callie’s got a soft spot for animals.”
Tagg didn’t seem pleased with either of them. Callie recalled what he’d said when she’d first spotted him.
She’s not available.
Not that she wasn’t glad to see him. He’d interrupted her having to refuse Jed’s offer for a date, but her curiosity got the better of her. “Why am I not available?”
Tagg moved away from the tree and approached her. He stopped when he got close enough for her to see the quicksilver surrounding his blue eyes, the ticking of his jaw. Ignoring Jed, he peered at her. She swallowed and met his gaze. “Because we have an appointment to look at some horses on Saturday.”
“Ah, well, that’s okay,” Jed said, with his good nature. “It won’t take all day.”
Tagg slanted Jed a quick look, then focused back on Callie. “In Las Vegas.”
Four
Callie’s mouth dropped open. She stared at Tagg. “In Las Vegas?” She shook her head, trying to understand. Endless possibilities entered her mind. “Why there?”
“I have a friend who’s offering us the pick of his string for the charity. They’re thoroughbreds and mustangs that have served him well but are a bit older, like Sunflower here.” Tagg stroked the horse gently. “All we have to do is choose the ones we want and arrange transportation. He’s giving us a dozen horses.”
Callie immediately thought of how the children would benefit. She pictured a dozen children riding the mares with smiling faces. “That’s fantastic. Are you sure you need me to go?”
Tagg glanced at Jed, then redirected his gaze back to her. “Clay wants you in on this.”
What about him? Did he want her in on this? The idea of spending alone time with Tagg appealed to her on so many levels. But was his disgruntled mood because Clay had insisted Tagg take her along? Or was it something else?
“We’ve got plans to discuss, Jed,” Tagg said. “Suppose you could see to the horses? I’ll walk Callie back to her car.”
“Sure,”
