Page 36 of The Cowboy Fix

“We’re moving the plants to Dad’s truck and meeting Malorie and the twins at the cottage.” Blake patted his son’s shoulder.

When Nathan had come down from the house, he’d seen the colorful flowers in the back of Izzy’s Rover. “I’ll help.”

Changing his character was the problem. He and his brothers had one communication style. Mostly loud, and louder. How did he tell Blake and Jonas what he’d kept buried all these years—that it was his fault their dad had the heart attack that took his life? At fifteen he’d wanted so much to find out why his biological mother had given him away. Was there something about him she couldn’t love? He’d thought knowing the answer to that would make him feel settled and less angry all the time.

But Adam, usually a patient man, couldn’t understand why being a Lohmen and staying on the ranch wasn’t enough. Nathan had never seen his dad so angry. Zelda would have understood, but before he could get over his disappointment and ask her, his dad had his heart attack and was gone, and all Nathen could remember was their argument.

After that, he didn’t dare make her sadder by giving her the idea he wasn’t happy to be a Lohmen. So, he’d kept his secrets.

He was convinced now that he had to come out of hiding if he wanted the ranch to succeed. Ifhewanted to succeed. And Izzy—taking her out on a date—had somehow become part of that equation.

Is that what he wanted? To ask Izzy on a date?

Blake pulled a key from his pocket and opened the Rover’s rear door. At Nathan’s curious look, he said, “I got the key from Izzy last night when I picked up Timmy.”

Of course. Since Blake had been back, Nathan had seen how organized his brother was with everything. Something Nathan also remembered from when they were kids. He had to be. He was raising a thirteen-year-old with special needs. In the fall Timmy would start school in Strawberry Ridge with the twins. He was settling in well, was more engaged, and seemed to be happier in the routine hisdadhad established for his son. Blake’s adopted son set a good example for what Nathan hope to achieve in his personal life.

The transfer of the plants didn’t take long. By the time they were done, Izzy had come out to join them, which distracted him from thinking about what he could do to make amends with Jonas and Blake and then, finally, turn his back on the past.

Together they watched Blake and Timmy drive off. Nathan turned to the woman, her hand shielding the sun from her eyes as she watched his dad’s truck disappear. “Are you ready for your first barrel-racing lesson?”

She was dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and her work boots. Her hair was pulled back in a thick ponytail that hung down her back. “Sure. What do we do first?”

No hesitation. The fact that Izzy knew her own mind was one of the things Nathan admired about the passionate woman. He wanted to know more.

“Let’s bring Rosie and Angel in from the pasture.” He grabbed two leads and handed one to Izzy. “You take Rosie. She’s had some experience with barrel racing. I’ll ride Angel.”

Izzy kept up with his long stride without any effort. She asked, “You’re good to ride?”

“I’m good.” Once he started working on the cottage, he didn’t notice any pain in his hips—a little twinge here and there, but nothing long-lasting or interfering with his movement.

He was more focused on whether he could convince Izzy to stay longer than she planned. Draw out her lessons maybe? It was a sneaky move but how else was he to find out what gave her the strength to move forward no matter what the obstacle. Something he wanted to learn to do.

They walked Angel and Rosie back to the arena. The barrels weren’t set up, which was fine. First, he wanted to see how she sat in the saddle. He should have noticed when they rode to the cottage, but he’d been too busy working out a way to get her to stop suggesting changes that would take the Triple L further away from the way he remembered the ranch as it was back in the day.

Then she’d pulled a card out of the deck he hadn’t thought of. Doing something positive with his mom’s she-shed instead of watching the building deteriorate slowly over each year that passed. Her ingenuity had given him hope for the future of the ranch.

They saddled the horses and led them into the arena. After he mounted Angel, and Izzy easily swung up on Rosie’s back, he instructed, “Let’s try walking in a circle. Follow me. We’ll change gaits as we go.”

When he glanced back after making a few circles at varying paces, he could see Izzy and Rosie very easily kept up. She wore a look of concentration that he was becoming familiar with and that made him think if she worked at it, she could be a great barrel racer. Maybe not this year, but next year for sure. That was if she didn’t leave as planned.

He understood why she would move on when her job on the Triple L was done. There was always another job to go to. But he didn’t like the idea of her leaving. He was being unreasonable, he knew, given that her purpose on the ranch was very clearly spelled out, and their lives would ultimately go on whether they were together or not.

Finally, he urged Angel into a tight circle, so they faced Izzy and Rosie.

“It’s after lunchtime. I think that’s enough for today.” He had to smile. Some of her hair had worked free of her ponytail and become a reddish fiery cloud around her face. Her blue eyes were bright with enjoyment. “You’re doing great.”

He was about to ask if she’d like to go somewhere for lunch when she beat him to it. “How do you feel about going to Luke’s Grill for a business meeting? I have a couple of things to go over with you.”

Huh. A business meeting wasn’t a lunch date, but it was close enough.

“What about Jonas and Blake?” he asked her. Blake was at the cottage with his family. Jonas was... who knew where.

“They’re basically on board, aren’t they? Whatever decision you make, they’ll go along with, right?”

Nathan wasn’t sure about that, but if it meant that it would be just the two of them, did it matter? “We can take my truck. When do you want to leave?”

“I’ll need about forty-five minutes to shower and change.” If the excitement simmering in her eyes was anything to go by, Izzy Payton might be ready to go in less time than she anticipated.

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