looked as if he’d been born there. He shook his head.
“Poetry in motion. And insane.”
She laughed. “You act as if you’ve never seen someone jump over a barrier. I’ve seen Jack jump streams and fallen trees as shortcuts.”
“None of which are four feet high.”
She tilted her head. “How do you feel about Jack changing the focus of the ranch?”
Evan shrugged. “That he’s probably right. Diversification. A big word for a smart idea. Cris has been saying it for years about investments. I listened because I knew nothing about finance and she went to school for it. I wanted my kids to have a good education. It was something I wanted, but never had the chance to get formally. Not just for education’s sake, but for something to use. Jackson felt differently. We disagreed on his major in college. Not the first disagreement we’ve had or the last, of course. He took some courses related to ranching, but he was always interested in history. He got his master’s in it. I thought it was a waste of time. So when he said we should diversify the Circle A, I dug my heels in. Too stubborn to bend. Times had changed, but I didn’t want to. I’d built the place on cattle. Seemed to me at the time we could keep it running on cattle. But he’s right. That market’s shrinking. The quarter horsemarket isn’t. Not with Jackson training them, at least. The Circle A will be fine. You have to see him work Duke. Pure magic. He may have done a bang-up job as foreman for both the Circle A and Laurel Glen, but he was wasted in the position.”
“Duke? Isn’t that the horse who kept dragging Jim off his feet when Crystal was teaching him to ride? That didn’t sound well trained to me.”
“You ever seen any quarter horse work?”
“I don’t think so. I once saw a video of a barrel race.”
“That’s rodeo stuff. See those cows over there?” Evan asked, pointing down the hill. “Cows like to stay together, but watch me cut two away from the others. Jackson trained Apple Boy, too.”
Meg’s heart was warmed by the pride Evan took in Jack. It was a side of him she not only hadn’t seen, but one she hadn’t known existed. As she watched the performance of Evan and his quarter horse the pounding of her heart worried her. It had nothing to do with trepidation for Evan’s safety or excitement over the impressive display of talent, however. It was due to one reason and one reason only. He looked…attractive in the saddle. There, she’d said it. Evan Alton was a desirable man and she was suddenly scared to death to be near him.
And there was nowhere to run.
Chapter Eight
A s she watched Evan finish cutting the cows away from the herd, Meg knew she had to get a grip on her runaway response to him. But she couldn’t keep resorting to rudeness to keep those feelings at bay. It would be wrong, especially after he’d swallowed his pride and shared with her the tragedy of his early life and the reason he’d been so ill equipped to bring up his children without Martha.
Who was she to judge him, after all? She’d spent years living in a state of solitary grief, working just as hard in her career as he had on the ranch. Her life had turned around only because her brother had called to tell her his wife, Marley, had been killed. When she’d gone home for the funeral, the deep grief in Cole’s eyes, as well as the hollow look of loss in his sister Hope’s, had cried out to her. She’d stayed to help them, but they had helped her just as much.
Ross’s children had given her a new purpose and a chance to mother someone. A chance to be part of a family again.
But she’d had family in her formative years. Evan had had no such experience to miss. Or aspire to. It was no small wonder that, in his grief, he hadn’t missed what he’d never had.
She also couldn’t take her fear out on him. And she was afraid of the things he made her feel. Because Wade Jackson had been a careless, reckless youth in comparison to
“Poetry in motion. And insane.”
She laughed. “You act as if you’ve never seen someone jump over a barrier. I’ve seen Jack jump streams and fallen trees as shortcuts.”
“None of which are four feet high.”
She tilted her head. “How do you feel about Jack changing the focus of the ranch?”
Evan shrugged. “That he’s probably right. Diversification. A big word for a smart idea. Cris has been saying it for years about investments. I listened because I knew nothing about finance and she went to school for it. I wanted my kids to have a good education. It was something I wanted, but never had the chance to get formally. Not just for education’s sake, but for something to use. Jackson felt differently. We disagreed on his major in college. Not the first disagreement we’ve had or the last, of course. He took some courses related to ranching, but he was always interested in history. He got his master’s in it. I thought it was a waste of time. So when he said we should diversify the Circle A, I dug my heels in. Too stubborn to bend. Times had changed, but I didn’t want to. I’d built the place on cattle. Seemed to me at the time we could keep it running on cattle. But he’s right. That market’s shrinking. The quarter horsemarket isn’t. Not with Jackson training them, at least. The Circle A will be fine. You have to see him work Duke. Pure magic. He may have done a bang-up job as foreman for both the Circle A and Laurel Glen, but he was wasted in the position.”
“Duke? Isn’t that the horse who kept dragging Jim off his feet when Crystal was teaching him to ride? That didn’t sound well trained to me.”
“You ever seen any quarter horse work?”
“I don’t think so. I once saw a video of a barrel race.”
“That’s rodeo stuff. See those cows over there?” Evan asked, pointing down the hill. “Cows like to stay together, but watch me cut two away from the others. Jackson trained Apple Boy, too.”
Meg’s heart was warmed by the pride Evan took in Jack. It was a side of him she not only hadn’t seen, but one she hadn’t known existed. As she watched the performance of Evan and his quarter horse the pounding of her heart worried her. It had nothing to do with trepidation for Evan’s safety or excitement over the impressive display of talent, however. It was due to one reason and one reason only. He looked…attractive in the saddle. There, she’d said it. Evan Alton was a desirable man and she was suddenly scared to death to be near him.
And there was nowhere to run.
Chapter Eight
A s she watched Evan finish cutting the cows away from the herd, Meg knew she had to get a grip on her runaway response to him. But she couldn’t keep resorting to rudeness to keep those feelings at bay. It would be wrong, especially after he’d swallowed his pride and shared with her the tragedy of his early life and the reason he’d been so ill equipped to bring up his children without Martha.
Who was she to judge him, after all? She’d spent years living in a state of solitary grief, working just as hard in her career as he had on the ranch. Her life had turned around only because her brother had called to tell her his wife, Marley, had been killed. When she’d gone home for the funeral, the deep grief in Cole’s eyes, as well as the hollow look of loss in his sister Hope’s, had cried out to her. She’d stayed to help them, but they had helped her just as much.
Ross’s children had given her a new purpose and a chance to mother someone. A chance to be part of a family again.
But she’d had family in her formative years. Evan had had no such experience to miss. Or aspire to. It was no small wonder that, in his grief, he hadn’t missed what he’d never had.
She also couldn’t take her fear out on him. And she was afraid of the things he made her feel. Because Wade Jackson had been a careless, reckless youth in comparison to
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