Page 47 of Overprotective Cowboy

“He’s going to be fine,” Spencer said with a smile. “He’s sleeping down here with me tonight, and we’re going to have a great day.”

Ted nodded, said, “Thanks,” and went back upstairs.

* * *

The next morning,Ted worked with Nate in the stables, and he sure did like that a whole lot more than Bill or Jess. He liked them too, but he was so comfortable with Nate, and it was almost like they knew what the other was going to say or do before they did it.

At six-fifteen, Nate took off his gloves and tucked them in his back pocket—very cowboy-like. “Let’s go get cleaned up.”

“I have one more,” he said. “I’ll be two minutes behind you.”

“Okay.” Nate left, his energy too much to be contained by waiting. Ted finished with Black Widow, and took an extra moment to stroke her cheek. “Have a good day, okay, Widow?”

The horse almost nodded to him, and Ted headed down the aisle. He was about to turn left to leave the stables when he saw Ginger sitting on the low stool, feeding the foals. Surprise kicked through him. “Where’s Emma?”

Ginger looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. “She left for the weekend.”

“She did?” He looked down the aisle as if she were really standing at the sink, getting another bottle ready. Concern spiked through him.

“Yep,” Ginger said, obviously not concerned, though she didn’t hold his gaze for very long. “She has every second and fourth weekend off. But last week threw some things off.” She glanced up at Ted for a fraction of a second. “So she left this week.”

“Every second and fourth weekend? Where does she go?” He distinctly remembered her telling him she’d returned to the ranch in the middle of last week because she had nowhere to go.

“To see her family,” Ginger said, her voice slightly false. “She’s been doing it forever. Since the day she started.” She tugged on the bottle. “Come on, Ruby. It’s empty. Let it go.” She wrestled with the filly for another moment, finally succeeding in wrestling the bottle away from the horse. She stood up. “It was part of her contract when she started here. Every second and fourth weekend off.”

Ginger walked away, leaving Ted in her wake. Stunned, he could only stare after her. Ginger didn’t seem like this information was Earth-shattering, but to Ted, it was.

Something as routine as that…Emma had somewhere she was definitely going. So when she’d said she didn’t have anywhere to go, that wasn’t true.

He turned and left the stables, needing the open air to clear his thoughts. But they refused to clear, no matter how quickly he walked. He took the steps to the deck two at a time, and entered the Annex at six-twenty-five.

Nate came out of the hallway with his backpack. “I’ll come back and get yours while you shower.”

“I’ll be five minutes.”

“I know.” Nate had obviously already showered, and he carried his cowboy hat under one arm, because his hair was still damp. He wore a new pair of jeans, a spotless white polo, and a plain pair of sneakers. Since they’d have to dress down to go in, simpler was always better.

Ted hurried into the shower, letting his ranch clothes drop to the floor for once. No one was there to write him a ticket anyway.

Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what. No, Emma hadn’t always been truthful with him, but all he had to do was ask and he felt sure she’d tell him. They’d agreed to that, at least.

He joined Nate in his fancy truck with the heated and cooled seats, and said, “Ready.”

Nate pulled out of the garage at six-thirty-two, and Ted thought that was pretty dang good for what they’d done that morning.

Only five minutes down the road, a light bulb clicked on inside his brain.

“She’s not visiting family,” he blurted out.

“What?” Nate asked, and Ted looked at him with wide eyes.

Emma had told him that she “hardly ever” saw her family, so there was no way she was going to visit them every other weekend, for ten straight years.

So where was she going? And to see who?

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