The Trouble with Cowgirls Read online

  “It shouldn’t just be about education. Practical experience should carry more weight.” Lane’s jaw tightened. “You knew all along you would never promote me to barn manager, didn’t you?”

  Nicolino lowered his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “When Curly announced his retirement, I immediately thought the job would be perfect for Lucy. That’s not to say I hadn’t considered you, too. And before you say it—no, I didn’t choose Lucy because she’s family. I chose her because she’s better qualified.”

  Lane’s stomach hardened. Curly had announced his retirement six weeks ago. All this time he’d thought the position had been his. “You could have told me at any point between then and now. Letting me find out in front of everyone was cruel. I know you’ve never been my biggest fan. You made that clear when I dated Lucy ten years ago and you’ve never let me forget it, but a little respect would’ve been appreciated.”

  “You’re right.” Nicolino nodded. “I knew how much you wanted it and I should’ve told you. It has nothing to do with you once dating Lucy—it was strictly a business decision. That being said, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that she’s your new boss. You’re an excellent employee and I need you here, but if working with her is going to be a problem, you may want to start looking elsewhere. Lucy’s here to stay.”

  Nicolino’s words punched him in the gut. He could work for a woman. He could even work for Lucy, but he didn’t feel he should have to. Nicolino was wrong. He was qualified to manage Bridle Dance and he’d prove it.

  “Understood.” Lane left the office and headed for the stables where he’d last seen Lucy. Their reunion had been a long time coming and Lane wished it were in a private setting instead of the middle of his workplace. Spotting her halfway up the spiral staircase leading to the main administrative offices, Lane called out to her.

  “Lucy, do you have a minute?”

  She froze at the sound of his voice, not turning to face him at first. Slowly she loosened her white-knuckled grip on the railing and made her way back down the stairs.

  “Lane, I’m surprised to see you. I thought you had moved to Wyoming.”

  Her Italian accent wasn’t as heavy as he remembered. Her English had improved significantly, but her voice was still velvety rich and deep, yet utterly feminine.

  He had waited ten years to have this conversation, and the resentment he’d bottled up finally broke free. “I was in Wyoming. Waiting for you in the apartment that I’d rented for us. But you never came.” He could taste the bitterness in his tone. “You never answered any of my calls or emails. Then, a year later, I found out you’d gone and married someone else. So I guess you could say I never thought I’d see you again.”

  “Lower your voice, please. If you want to discuss this, we will, but my employees don’t need to know my personal business.”

  “Your employees.” Lane smirked. “How easily the phrase rolls off your tongue. For the record, I’m one of your employees. I’m sure there are quite a few around here who remember you, and many others probably already know we dated for four years.”

  “We were teenagers back then, and what do you mean you work for me?” Lucy asked.

  “I’m your second-in-command—the assistant barn manager.”

  “I didn’t know.” Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and for a moment Lane wondered if she was attempting to wish him away. She opened them and came a step closer. “Things got complicated after I left.” Her voice was low. “I never meant to hurt you, but it’s in the past. I’m trusting that we can work together, because, Lane, I could really use a friend right now. Someday I’ll tell you all about it—but not today, and definitely not here. If you will please excuse me, I have paperwork to fill out upstairs. I’d like to meet with you later this afternoon to go over the barn schedules...if you have time.”

  Lucy’s raw honesty startled him and Lane suspected that whatever had happened back then paled in comparison to what had happened recently. And that bothered him more than he cared to admit. “I’ll be here. Page me if you can’t find me.”

  “Mamma,” a small voice called out from behind them.

  “Carina!” Lucy perked up at the sight of the child, who was accompanied by Ella.

  Lucy has a daughter?

  “Did you come to see where I work?”

  Carina nodded and quickly walked past her mother to the stalls. “Sono molto belli!”

  “In English, Carina,” Lucy corrected.

  “They are very beautiful.” The girl’s thick accent was reminiscent of the one Lucy had had when they first met.

  “Come here, mia gattina. I want you to meet someone.” Lucy waved the girl over. “Lane, I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Carina.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lane shook her hand. His mind raced as he attempted to determine the girl’s age. Finally, he asked, “How old are you?”

  “Almost nine,” she answered.

  Lane swallowed hard, quickly doing the math in his head. He blew out a breath, relieved she couldn’t possibly be his. When he looked up at Lucy, she shook her head and quickly looked away as if she’d read his mind.

  “I’m going to show Carina around,” Ella interrupted. “Then we’ll head over to Aunt Kay’s house.”

  Lucy gave her daughter a quick kiss goodbye. “Thank you, Ella.” A silent look of concern briefly passed between the two women.

  He waited until Carina was out of earshot before he attempted to explain. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

  “Yes, you did.” Lucy brushed past him. “Your poker game must really suck with tells like those. You and I are in the past. Things happened, and we’ve both moved on, so let’s not make a scene.”

  Things. Lane had thought they were more than a thing back then. “No problem.” Lucy continued up the stairs as Lane watched Ella and Carina exit the stables. He felt like a damned fool. It had been bad enough finding out she’d married someone else. It was entirely different to know that while he’d been planning their future in Wyoming, Lucy had been carrying another man’s baby. All the scenarios he’d imagined as to why he’d never heard from her again had always been forgivable. This wasn’t.

  Chapter Two

  By lunchtime Lucy couldn’t get out of work fast enough. Her first day wasn’t exactly going as planned. The safety of her car provided little shelter against the torrent of emotions rocketing through her veins. Why hadn’t Nicolino forewarned her about Lane?

  When she was a teenager, she couldn’t wait for the school year to end. Summers had meant seeing Lane again. From the moment her plane landed, they’d been inseparable whenever he wasn’t working. By the end of their final summer together, he’d accepted a better job in Wyoming and they’d begun making plans to live there once Lucy had graduated from higher secondary school the following year. Their plans had been short-lived. Once Lucy arrived home in Italy, she’d discovered she was two months pregnant. Obviously she had been wrong in assuming Lane had stayed in Wyoming, but Nicolino should have mentioned it in conversation at some point.

  She lowered the window in a desperate attempt to pull more air into her lungs. Tears clouded her vision at the memories of what could have been. Her fingers lightly brushed along the side of her rib cage. Underneath her shirt, inked into her skin for eternity was one word: Lane.

  “I don’t have time for this.” Lucy started the ignition. Everything she did, despite Carina’s protests, was for her daughter. There wasn’t room for the past. Any efforts to push Lane to the back of her mind would probably prove futile, but for sanity’s sake, she had to try. She had less than fifteen minutes to make her appointment to register Carina for school. Ella had offered to drive, but the school was close enough to find on her own. Besides, she was desperate for some much-needed alone time, however brief.

  Carina had been out of school for only a little over a week, which was good considering their transcontinental move. The Texas school year had begun a week earlier, so Carina wouldn’t be t
oo far behind. Lucy pulled into the parking lot with seconds to spare. She was the school’s first impression of her daughter and she didn’t want to ruin it. Within an hour, she was on her way back to work. Overall, the enrollment had been painless enough because she’d emailed most of the paperwork before they’d left Italy.

  The school’s biggest concern was Carina’s ability to speak English, despite Lucy’s reassurance that her daughter was fluent in Italian, French and English. Now she wondered how well her daughter would do, given the way Carina had struggled to understand the language yesterday. Lucy had gone through the same learning curve during her first summer in America. But she’d only been vacationing and no one had expected her to understand perfectly. It would be different for Carina. Lucy couldn’t sit beside her in school to make sure she grasped everything the teachers said, let alone translate the other students’ slang on the playground. The additional change from private to public school had given her daughter one more reason not to talk to her. She’d heard other parents say the teenage years were the most unpleasant. If they were any worse than this, Lucy didn’t think she’d survive. Hopefully, she could prepare herself over the next four years.

  She pulled up beside Bridle Dance’s main house. Ella’s deceased uncle, Joe Langtry, had lovingly built the log mansion. Lucy had been heartbroken to hear of his passing four summers ago. He’d always gone out of his way to explain things to her, as had Lane. Lucy winced at how easily he came to mind and how much it still hurt to think about him. She needed to keep Lane out of her thoughts unless it was work related. She was his boss and anything else would be unprofessional, not that she wanted anything else to happen.

  Seeing Ella in the Langtrys’ side yard, Lucy stepped from the car.

  “How did it go?” Ella unlatched the gate and held it open.

  “Good. I’m a little concerned about the language issue, but I’m hopeful.” She waved to Carina on the far side of the garden, but her daughter was too preoccupied with a large black poodle to even notice she was there. “How has she been?”

  “Quiet.” Ella smiled. “The most I’ve heard her talk is to the horses and Barney over there—and that was in Italian.”

  Lucy shrugged. “I guess there’s no harm in it as long as she speaks English to other kids and her teachers. Are you sure you don’t mind taking her clothes shopping today? I can take her after work.”

  “It’s not a problem at all. My kids will take the bus home and keep themselves occupied until dinner.” Ella’s face brightened. “I’m looking forward to shopping with just one child for a change. It’ll bring back memories of when I used to take you shopping.”

  Lucy appreciated Ella’s offer to take Carina for school clothes. The local kids had picked on Lucy during her first summer in town and she didn’t want her daughter to suffer the same fate. Italian fashions and Texas casual weren’t exactly the same thing. Ella—who was fifteen years older than Lucy—had given her a Southern makeover back then and was bestowing the same kindness on Carina.

  Lucy removed a small envelope of cash from her bag and handed it to Ella. “It’s not much, but there should be enough in there for whatever she needs, within reason. I was thinking a few pieces to dress down what she already owns.” Lucy hated to admit it, but she was glad Ella was the one taking Carina shopping. Her daughter wasn’t as crabby with other people. “She won’t be happy about going to a discount clothing store, but a lesson in frugality will do her some good. Besides, she’s always hated wearing a school uniform, so this will give her the chance to play around and develop her own style.” Lucy checked her watch. “I’ve been gone too long. I need to get back to work.”

  “Yes, you do,” Nicolino said from behind her.

  Lucy spun to face him. She might have held it together inside the stables, but outside, the gloves came off. “Why didn’t you tell me Lane still worked here?”

  Nicolino jammed his hands into his pockets. “If I had, would you have still taken the position?”

  Lucy shook her head. The thought of Lane working there hadn’t even entered her mind when Nicolino had offered her the job. “Maybe. I would have had to really think about it.”

  “Well, there you have it.” Nicolino tilted his hat back, a bit too self-assured for Lucy’s liking. “Under the circumstances, moving here was the best thing for you and Carina. I didn’t want to risk you turning me down based on an old relationship.”

  “You know it was more than that.” Lucy didn’t want to remember how ashamed her parents had been of her when they’d learned she was pregnant with Lane’s baby. “Enlighten me on one thing. Lane said he waited for me in Wyoming for a year before he found out I’d gotten married. But I married Antonio before Lane even left for Wyoming, and I asked you to tell him we were over.”

  “It wasn’t my place to explain it to him, and since he was leaving, I didn’t see the harm in keeping quiet. Never mind the fact that I wasn’t too pleased he knocked up my baby cousin. Besides, Lane’s persistent. He wouldn’t have just accepted that you two were over. He would have had questions—questions I wasn’t prepared to answer because you and your parents explicitly told me not to say a word. I didn’t see any other way to handle it.” Nicolino gently squeezed her shoulders. “Don’t worry. I had a talk with Lane earlier and he knows the deal.”

  “The deal.” Lucy sighed. While she welcomed Nicolino’s help, she didn’t want to be coddled, either. “Just what is this deal? I got the distinct impression that Lane still holds a grudge.”

  Nicolino slapped his thigh. “Dammit, I thought he and I had an understanding.”

  “Don’t you dare pass this off on Lane,” Ella hissed. “I told you to tell them both before Lucy arrived. You chose not to. Now look at the mess you’ve already made. I knew I should’ve told them both myself.”

  Lucy stepped between the two of them. “Would one of you please explain what’s going on?”

  Nicolino kicked at the dirt. “Lane thought the barn manager position was his.”

  “He what?” Lucy covered her mouth for fear of what might come out of it. No wonder he was angry. “When did he find out the job wasn’t his?” she asked from behind her fingers.

  “When I made the announcement this morning.” Nicolino held up his hands. “And before you both rip into me, Lane did a fine enough job of that already. I was wrong. I admit it. I should’ve told him as soon as I offered you the—”

  “Dio mio.” Lucy looked heavenward. “You only hired me to get us here.” Nicolino turned his back to them. “I’m right, aren’t I?” Lucy grabbed his arm and forced him to face her. “Lane told me he’s my second-in-command. He earned the promotion, didn’t he? I’ve wondered why you offered me the job, since I don’t have any experience outside of the horses Antonio owned. I thought this was a sign from above, but it was you playing God.”

  “You’re better off here than over there,” Nicolino argued. “And you’re wrong. You are qualified. You should be proud of your education.”

  “I am proud. Proud enough to know you hired me because I’m your cousin.” Lucy wasn’t sure what to do. It was her first day and her employees already had good reason to hate her. “You could have asked us to come, anyway. I would have found something else. You do realize you’ve pitted me against my ex-boyfriend, right? If I were smart, I should demand you give the job to Lane and work under him until I found something else.”

  “No, you won’t,” Nicolino retorted. “Lane is very good, but he doesn’t have the education or the experience with the employees. I’ve been to your estate and I’ve attended your black-tie affairs. You’ve managed a large staff. You also have a presence and a way with people. Lane’s rough around the edges, where you’re much more refined. We need someone to stay on top of the latest equine advancements and work closely with our vets and clients. Lane doesn’t have that polish.”

  “The staff I had hardly compares to the size of this ranch.” Lucy rubbed her forehead in a vain bid to thwart the pounding in her s
kull. “Relax, I’m not going anywhere. I need this job too much to walk away from it.”

  The pressure had increased exponentially now that she knew she’d stolen a job from a man she once loved. A man against whom she had repeatedly measured her husband. Oh, she had loved Antonio, but she’d never been in love with him. The feeling had been mutual. He’d taken good care of her, but they’d never found the romance they’d both craved.

  Lucy had been distraught when she’d discovered she was carrying Lane’s baby. He’d been resolute about not having kids and had always made certain they used protection. When the experts said no birth control was 100 percent effective, they weren’t kidding. Uncertain of what she should do next, Lucy had turned to her older sister for advice, who then immediately betrayed her confidence and told their parents. They had insisted she marry immediately. Lucy being unwed and pregnant with a Texas ranchhand’s child would have tarnished the family’s name in their small village—something her parents refused to allow.

  Antonio—a longtime family friend and ten years her senior—had agreed to be her husband. The decision to marry Antonio and not tell Lane she was pregnant had been heart wrenching. She’d known Lane wasn’t ready to take on the responsibility of a child, especially when he was beginning a new job in Wyoming—never mind how disgraced her parents would have been if the truth surrounding her baby’s paternity had gotten out. Eighteen and scared, Lucy had felt the need to secure her baby’s future and married Antonio in a civil ceremony a week later. Only Antonio and Lucy’s family knew who her child’s father really was.

  “I’m going back to work.” There was no point continuing the argument when she had no intention of quitting. They’d have to find a way to get along, despite the past. “I’ll pick Carina up from your house later.”