Page 30 of Reclaiming My Wife

“It’s already in the works. I’m scheduled to speak with her roommate tomorrow.”

“Great.” I shoved a hand through my hair. “Be sure to tell Danielle that I said hi. She just adores me. If you plan on sticking around today, I’ve got some work for you. You still remember how to muck out stalls, right?”

Gordon rolled his eyes as he adjusted the sleeves of his very expensive shirt. “As exciting as that sounds, you’re not my only client. I’ll be in my office most of the day if your plan blows up in your face before you can even get it off the ground.”

I was confident in my plan, but the reactions of my audience weren’t what I had hoped. I could only pray that Kim’s desire to see the ranch succeed overrode her hatred for Jillian.

Or not.

A little concerned that Kim might blow the whole thing, I chugged the rest of my coffee and hurried out after them.

Starlight was a beautiful male thoroughbred. He had a speckling of white on his chest, and he was bred from an excellent racehorse. My father had every intention of selling Starlight as a racehorse, but after Debra started working with him, she argued his use as a show horse instead. My father resisted, but I could see Debra’s point. He was quite the show-off and a little bit of a prancer.

Kim was seated atop the eighteen-month-old while Debra had his harness. Not wanting to interrupt the lesson, I watched as she hesitantly guided the pony through a series of commands, but the mischievous horse had other ideas. He tested his limits and played a little until Debra scolded him.

I studied Kim. She was rarely hesitant during anything, but I knew how much she wanted to train, and when she really wanted something, she had a tendency to overthink things.

“You need to relax,” Debra said as she gestured for Kim to dismount. Debra obviously knew Kim’s problems. “The horse can sense when you aren’t in charge, and they’ll take advantage. Always be firm. Gentle and calm, but firm.”

Kim sighed. “He wasn’t so anxious yesterday.”

“Yeah, I think it’s all the construction making him nervous. We can run him through the hurdles today since it’s a little farther away.” Debra looked over her shoulder at me. “Why don’t you meet me over there?”

Kim frowned. “All right. Thanks, Debra.”

As Debra led Starlight away, Kim slowly walked toward me with crossed arms and an annoyed look on her face. “Checking up on me?”

“No.”

“I’m just a little off today. You don’t have to keep me from training just because Starlight is a little stubborn,” she insisted.

“Kim, stop. I’m not Dad. I want you to be happy. I want you to learn from Debra and work with the horses if that’s what you want to do. I still need your help with the books and around the ranch, but I’m not your boss. I’m your brother. We’re in this together.”

She sighed. “I know. And I also know why you’re here, and it’s not about the horses. It’s about Ms. Evil Incarnate, right?”

I blinked. “Yes, and since she’s technically married to me, that would be Mrs. Evil Incarnate and make me Mr. Evil Incarnate.”

She looked down. “If the shoe fits…”

“Kim, there are things about my marriage that you don’t know about. I convinced her to marry me. It certainly wasn’t her idea, and when things ended—”

“She broke your heart,” Kim argued. “It scared me, Brendan. The way you were when you came home, I’d never seen you like that before, and I don’t want to see you like that again. She made you that way.”

It wasn’t just her, but I didn’t talk to Kim about the miscarriage. It wasn’t really something that I wanted spread around, and I didn’t think Kim was old enough to understand. Now I certainly didn’t want to reopen those wounds right before Jillian showed up. “A lot of things made me that way, Kim, not the least is the month I spent with Gordon before I came home.”

“Oh.” Kim wrinkled her nose. “A month with him would make anyone insane. But that’s beside the point.”

“It is beside the point. We’re talking about something that happened years ago, Kim. And this is for the ranch. Remember the ranch? The land that you love and adore to the point of insanity?”

“Yes,” she grumbled.

“I’m doing this for the ranch, and you can as well. Look, I’m not asking you to like her. I’m just asking you to try and endure her for the next few months. Don’t make her stay here any harder than it has to be, and if the Blackwells come around, then—”

“I know, I know.” She waved her hand. “You act like she’s going to hate being here. Who would hate being here?”

“She’s spent her whole life in the city, Kim. I don’t really think ranch life will agree with her,” I pointed out. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought. I was definitely going to take some pleasure in seeing this new buttoned-up version of Jillian trying to navigate a ranch.

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