she’d been in.
Wade grinned at her to take the sting out of his action. “Because Midnight’s scared of pretty little girls.”
The pout faded and Caitlyn’s eyes widened with interest. “That great big horse is scared of me?”
“Yes, indeed,” Wade confirmed.
Caitlyn still looked doubtful. “He didn’t look scared.”
Emma turned to Lauren, a question in her eyes.
“The problem horse I’ve been working with,” Lauren mouthed quietly.
The color drained out of Emma’s face. She gathered Caitlyn out of Wade’s arms and hugged her so hard the child protested.
“Mommy, stop!”
“Sorry, baby, for a minute there you had me scared, too,” Emma said, then lifted her gaze to Wade. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “Not a problem. It probably would have been fine, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he said, with a pointed look at Lauren.
“I’ll use my head,” she promised. “Now go. Grady needs your help this morning. He’s probably chomping at the bit to get started.”
Wade nodded, and after one more long look, he turned on his heel, mounted his horse and rode off.
“My, my,” Emma murmured when he’d gone. “I see what Cassie was talking about. The sparks between you two are better than the Fourth of July fireworks.”
Caitlyn picked up on her mother’s remark and regarded Lauren seriously. “Is he your boyfriend, Aunt Lauren?”
“Absolutely not,” Lauren said heatedly.
But the idea was beginning to hold more appeal than she cared to admit. And seeing Wade with Caitlyn cradled protectively against his chest had certainly helped to enhance that appeal.
Wade still got nauseous when he thought of what could have happened to Caitlyn if Midnight had gotten fractious when she was within inches of his hooves earlier. He couldn’t seem to shake that image.
Nor was he able to shake the probability that Lauren would deliberately defy him today, despite her promise. He didn’t trust that promise any more than he’d ever trusted his mother’s promise that one day his rich daddy was going to come for them. The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t going to go away until he got back to the ranch and found Lauren in one piece.
“What’s on your mind?” Grady asked, riding up alongside him as they slowly made their way home after the long, hard day. “Or should I ask who?”
“Look, you’re the one who made Lauren’s safety my concern,” Wade grumbled. “Is it any wonder I keep thinking about all the mischief she could have gotten into while we were gone today?”
“Didn’t she agree that she wouldn’t try anything dangerous?” Grady asked reasonably.
“Yes, but her definition of dangerous and mine would probably differ significantly.”
“She won’t go back on her word,” Grady insisted.
“If you say so,” Wade said, unable to hide his skepticism.
“You don’t trust easily, do you?”
“Never had any reason to,” Wade said. “Too damn few of the people in my life ever kept their word.”
“I’m sorry,” Grady told him with genuine sympathy. “That must have been a helluva way to grow up.”
Wade shrugged. “It’s a lesson every man needs to learn sooner or later. I just caught on sooner than most.”
“You’re wrong about that,” Grady insisted. “Most people are honest and caring and trustworthy, if you give ’em half a chance.”
“You can afford to say that with people like your grandfather and Karen in your life.” Wade knew that Grady’s grandfather, Thomas Blackhawk, was an honorable man. He’d heard a lot of stories about him since coming to the ranch, though he had yet to meet the sage Native American. As for Karen, she’d treated Wade with nothing but kindness and respect. He could believe she was an exception to his rule, too.
“Lauren’s one of Karen’s best friends,” Grady pointed out. “Do you honestly think they’d be close if Lauren weren’t cut from the same cloth? That whole gang of them—they call themselves the Calamity Janes—are loyal to a fault. Keep that in mind in case you’re ever tempted to do anything that might hurt Lauren.”
Wade sighed at the warning. He wasn’t going to win this argument about trustworthiness. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to. A part of him prayed that Grady was right about Lauren, but it was way too soon for him to put any faith in her yet. Her behavior while he’d been gone today might be a start toward convincing him, though.
“Keep an open mind,” Grady urged as they rode toward the house. “That’s all I’m saying.”
Wade nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
But when he walked into the barn, he found it disconcerting to see