Chapter 2

Two days later was the big day—the day Austin’s horse would arrive. He and Max bounded down the stairs the first thing to find a stranger in the kitchen.

She twirled around with a knife in her hand.

“Who are you!?”

The young woman clearly knew how to use the knife and not just how to carve up ham, which she seemed to have been doing. She looked like she might be in college.

“I live here.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Mrs. Montgomery didn’t say anything about someone like you living here. She said her grandson, ‘the cowboy,’ was in residence,” the girl said, using air quotes. “You don’t look like a cowboy to me.”

Austin had stored his regular clothes in his closet. He’d made it his goal not to make the same mistake he’d made when he moved to Texas, which had gotten him labeled an outsider.

“Ma’am, if you like, I can put on my boots and hat if it will make you more comfortable,” Austin drawled.

Max was bouncing at the back door, so Austin let him out.

When he turned around, he found her smiling at him, which made her look a lot younger, maybe even close to his age. Huge sapphire-colored catlike eyes gleamed with amusement. They held kindness and warmth.

“I’m Austin... ‘the cowboy,’” he said, doing the air quotes. “Actually, I might be the last cowboy.”

“Why’s that?”

“A guidance counselor told me it isn’t an actual job anymore, and even if it is, being a cowboy is too hard and lonely,” Austin said.

“Is it? Too hard and lonely, I mean?”

“I never thought so.”

She nodded and said, “I’m Emma.”

There was a scratch on the back door. Max was still a bit nervous about the cats in the barn and didn’t enjoy going outside alone. Austin let him in.

“Do you want some breakfast? I can make just about anything,” Emma offered.

“I’d like two scratch biscuit sandwiches with a fried egg, a sausage patty, and a slice of cheese.”

“How about having that on English muffins with egg, ham, and no cheese?”

“I’ll eat just about anything, so that’s good.”

“I have some practice poached eggs that didn’t turn out. Could I interest you in them?” Emma asked.

“How many did you mess up?”

“Three.”

“I failed on the first five,” Austin admitted. “Throw them on an English muffin with some ham, and I’m good.”

“Coming right up.”

Emma sat down with Austin while he ate, and the two of them became better acquainted. She lived a few towns away but had temporarily moved to Middleburg because they always had summer jobs. She lived with two guys she knew from school who were also working in town. One was her boyfriend, but her parents had no idea about him or their relationship. None of their families had money, and this was a way for them to earn a decent sum over the summer.

They lived in a fourplex where other seasonal workers also stayed, as it was inexpensive; one of the guys’ parents had signed the apartment lease for them, although they had to pay the rent themselves. Austin was surprised when she said the two guys both worked at his grandmother’s microbrewery. While his grandmother still owned the construction company his grandfather had started, she’d hired someone else to run it. The brewery was something she’d done to occupy her time.

“Why are you living with your grandmother?” Emma asked, digging into his past.

Austin gave her the bare bones: his dad had remarried, and his new wife came with two daughters. His mother had been after him to stay with her, but when he finally agreed, she was busy dating Don Brookfield. So, she sent Austin to his grandmother’s.

He noticed that Emma’s nose crinkled when he mentioned Don’s name.

“You know Don?”

“No, but I know his sons, Victor and Lawrence.”

“From your expression, I take it you’re not a fan,” Austin said.

“I don’t really want to say.”

“Well, I’ve never met them, so I have no opinion.”

“I don’t want to influence you. Just watch yourself.”

That didn’t sound good.

Austin finished breakfast and left to work on the tractor. He planned to check the transmission because it smelled burned when he drained the fluid. That was usually a sign the pump might not be getting the fluid to circulate through the transmission. He wanted to make sure that was the only issue that needed addressing while he had it apart.

While Austin worked on the tractor, Max got brave and confronted one of the cats in the barn. He discovered if he ran at one of them, the cat would run away, creating a game of chase. That was until the big black one held his ground. Suddenly, Austin’s pup was huddled on his chest, with the black cat hissing at them.

“Get out of here,” Austin said, waving his wrench at the mean kitty.

Max didn’t want to get off his chest, so Austin took him into the house, where he found Emma doing laundry.

“Can you watch Max for me? He had a run-in with a barn cat that decided to end him.”

“Poor baby. Emma will protect you.”

Austin left them to figure it out and returned to reassemble the tractor.

“I want to invite Austin over this weekend so you and the boys can get better acquainted with him,” Marie, Austin’s mom, said to her boyfriend, Don.

“You’re not considering inviting your mom too, are you?” Don asked.

“She is letting Austin live with her. It would be the right thing to do.”

“I don’t think she likes me.”

“My mom didn’t like my ex, either. I doubt she would like anyone I was serious about.”

“She made it clear she likes Charlie Tanner,” Don complained.

Charlie Tanner had been Marie’s boyfriend in high school. They broke up when he went to Georgetown for college to get a law degree. He’d become a partner in one of the larger DC firms and had recently divorced his wife. Her mom had mentioned she’d talked to Charlie a few weeks before at the Blackwater Riding Club, making a point of doing so in front of Don.

She’d also told Marie that Austin would be taking classes there at the club, and if Marie wanted, she could start riding again.

Marie was considering it because she had the time. She worked from home for a lobbying group, helping to write policy papers and legislation that promoted her clients’ causes.

Don didn’t understand what she did; he assumed Marie was just a glorified secretary and thought she lived off the trust fund her parents had set up for her. The truth was, she made three times what Don did. Marie knew if he ever found out, it would be a problem because his ego wouldn’t take it well. Don always felt like he had to be in charge.

But he was nice to her, and there weren’t many eligible single men in Middleburg. That was until her mom mentioned Charlie.

Marie didn’t plan to do anything about it because she and Don were getting serious, and there’d been talk of marriage. The problem was Don wanted a long engagement but never had a good reason for waiting.

“You’ll just have to put your big boy pants on and face my mother. I think our boys need to meet because I want them to get along,” Marie said.