Page 2 of Head Above Water
“But Penny is really nice, and she’s about your age and new to the area. She just got hired on at the medical center as a nurse.” His mom was way too excited about this girl. Even more than the others. “She’s from Cheyenne.” As though that was the big city and made her special.
“I don’t need you to fix me up with anyone.”
“Piffle. If I didn’t try to help you meet people, you’d spend all your time out in the barn with the horses.”
He wanted to tell her that horses didn’t suck the way most people did. They were easy to get along with. They didn’t tease him or try to get him to fall into heaps of manure. But he keptthat to himself. “You have a good night, Mom. I’m going out for a while.” He turned and walked out of the room and into the night, heading across the yard, past the big house, and to the barn.
It was his happy place, and Custer greeted him as soon as he stepped through the door. It smelled amazing inside. Most of the horses were still in their paddocks on a night like this, so the barn hadn’t had a chance to get really dirty. The clean hay scent always lifted his spirits. “How are you, boy?” he asked, rubbing the gelding’s nose. “Did you miss me?”
Custer wasn’t his horse, he was a simple ranch mount, but he felt like Hazard’s. He rode, groomed, and looked after him. Most of the others used whatever horse was available when they needed one, but Hazard always rode Custer.
“You out here with your people?” Willard asked snidely as he came out of the tack room. Hazard turned away, ignoring the giggle as a girl followed. She might still have been in high school, Hazard wasn’t sure, but he did wonder what her daddy would think as she straightened her top. “Let’s go,” Willard said, taking her hand and leading her out of the barn. Hazard didn’t know her, but he hoped the girl knew what she was getting herself in for. Willard had a reputation, and it wasn’t a good one. He was definitely the “love ’em and leave ’em” type, especially once he got what he wanted. “Be sure to close the door when you’re done doing whatever you want with the horses.” They both giggled, and their footsteps grew softer before an engine started, and tires crunched on the drive.
Hazard shook his head and leaned against Custer. “You’re the best friend I could ever have.” He got a few carrots out of the treat can and fed them to Custer.
“I should have known I’d find you here,” Bryce said as he strode inside.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Hazard rubbed his eyes—in case something had gotten in them and was makingthem water—before turning around. The one thing he had learned from his father was that cowboys didn’t cry, and he had been one of those since he was eight years old and had to learn some hard lessons. Like when your father sold your pony because they couldn’t afford it any longer. His mother left his father shortly after that, and they ended up here.
“No. I just saw Willard come out of here with someone.” He held Hazard’s gaze.
“And you expect me to tell you what I saw?” He shook his head. Willard Maverick was many things, and vindictive as hell was definitely one of them. Everyone on the ranch knew that and did their best to steer clear of him. Bryce watched, and Hazard found himself glancing at the tack room and then back. He didn’t even mean to; it just sort of happened.
“You don’t need to say a word.” Bryce strode to the tack room and yanked open the door. He went inside and came out with something like a black tube. Hazard turned away. “Unless my brother had taken to wearing eyeliner, I’d say that he had a girl in there.” He slipped it into his pocket. “Willy isn’t as clever as he thinks he is.”
“The girls sure seem to think he’s something else. That’s, like, the third or fourth one I’ve seen him with, though they never stick around for long.” He felt sorry for them sometimes. Hazard didn’t know what Willard told them to get them to go along with what he wanted. But this was a small town, and folks talked, so word had to have gone around about Willard’s wandering ways.
“He always had a way with them,” Bryce said softly as he approached Mystic’s stall. She was Bryce’s horse, and she nickered softly as he rubbed her nose. Hazard handed him a few carrots to give the horse as a treat. Their fingers touched slightly in the process, and Hazard found himself paying more attention to the simple, warm touch than he knew was good forhim. “Not that it really matters.” There was a tone of sadness and dejection in his voice that Hazard knew well, and he turned away from Custer to look at him. Hazard didn’t ask the questions that popped into his head. Whatever was going on in the big house was none of his business. That was family, their family, and he knew well enough to keep out of it.
The hands on the ranch often saw things that they weren’t necessarily supposed to. It was one of those inevitabilities when you lived in relatively close quarters, and by and large, you ignored it and let it go. Getting involved in the Maverick family issues was a surefire way to get yourself canned and out looking for a new job.
“Why not?” Hazard asked, against his better judgment. “I’ve always wondered how he can get away with stuff like that. It’s not right, and he doesn’t treat the girls the way he should.”
Bryce turned and smiled. It wasn’t one of those polite, agreeing on the surface smiles, but a real one that made the skin near his eyes crinkle a little. “I have no idea.” He opened the stall door and went inside, most likely to look Mystic over. Hazard figured it was probably a good idea to get out of here before he said even more.
“If there’s nothing you need, then I’m going to go inside.” He made sure Custer had food and water before stroking his nose once more and then bidding a hasty retreat from the stables. The clean air inside the barn was starting to get stuffy and warm, and he needed some fresh air.
“Wait,” Bryce called. “When was the last time you went riding… like, for fun?”
Hazard shrugged. For him, riding was something he did for work. He rode sometimes when they had to bring in part of the herd or move them to another area. But he didn’t just go out riding because he wanted to. Hell, Hazard didn’t do very much of anything just because he wanted to. Custer wasn’t his horse, sohe didn’t have any real claim on him. Custer was there to work the ranch, not to be taken out because Hazard wanted to take him on a joyride, so to speak.
“Then let’s go out tomorrow. It’s your day off, right?”
“But….” He wasn’t sure if that was a good idea at all. What if he was around Bryce, and he saw Hazard watching him too much? Or worse, what if something happened? His mind ran in multiple directions, and all of them came back to the same place. Being friendly with Bryce was a recipe for disaster. If folks found out about him, then he was probably going to be let go, and worse, they’d fire his mama, and then he would have messed things up for her too.
“It’s perfectly okay. It’s your day off, and it’s always been ranch policy that the horses can be taken out for rides. They need the exercise, and it’s good for them to have a change of scenery, just like any of us.” He closed the stall door. “I’ll meet you out in the yard at eight. We can go for a ride before it gets too hot.”
Hazard found himself nodding, but very much doubting he was going to survive an hour or so of following Bryce out on a horse with him moving up and down in that damned saddle. He was already getting warm just thinking about it. “Okay. I’ll meet you in the yard at eight.”
“Cool.” Bryce flashed him a smile and left the barn, leaving Hazard wondering how he was going to get through the morning.
ChapterTwo
“I’m goingout for a ride,” Bryce told his father.
“It’s Sunday morning, and the entire family is going to town to church.” His father glared at him like he did each week.
Bryce shrugged and then shook his head. “I’m not going. You and Mom do what you need to, but I’m not going. I don’t think the same way you do, and I don’t believe all the stuff Reverend Mathers harps on during his sermons.” He left his father’s office, passing Willard as he approached, dressed in a suit. The little hypocrite.