Chapter 4

"You do realize you're reimbursed by the mile, not the minute?" Ezra snapped at the cowboys loading the steer onto a stock trailer. "I would appreciate it if my animals arrived in Falls Bend before the next rodeo. I'm sure the Travises would be eternally grateful, as well."

"Something wrong, Ezra?'

Ezra drew in a deep breath. Chris came up next to him, hooking a foot on the bottom rung of the steel fence.

"I'm simply trying to move the livestock to fulfill my contractual duties to Orrin."

"Huh," Chris said. "I've never seen you in such an all-fire hurry to clear out."

Ezra draped his hands over the top rung and schooled his features into something closer to calm. "I simply want to make sure we allow ample time for the journey."

"Rodeo's not for another four days. It's not more than a two day drive."

Ezra didn't respond. He saw the way the handlers were glancing at him warily. He'd have to buy them a round of drinks when they got to the next town.

"Something happen with Kaylee?" Chris asked.

At the mention of her name, Ezra stiffened. "Why would you presume that?"

Chris shrugged, keeping his eyes on the steers milling around. "You just seem a bit…stressed."

Ezra let out a humorless laugh. "Pardon me, Mr. Larabee, but I believe it's only natural to be slightly tense when a charlatan has managed to manipulate her way into one handing over everything she demands."

"Whoa," Chris said, a frown creasing his brow. "I don't know who you're talking about, but Kaylee isn't a charlatan. And she sure isn't demanding anything or manipulating anyone."

Ezra pushed off the fence. "We'll have to agree to disagree on that point." He turned his back on Chris and made his way over to the pens holding his bulls, ready to make sure they were ready to load and get away from this town as soon as possible. At least he'd have a reprieve from that woman's bright green eyes and too-innocent smiles for the day.

A small part of him worried that Chris was right, and Kaylee wasn't pulling a con. And honestly, that worried him more than if she was just using him.

#

Kaylee's phone buzzed again. Vin watched from the corner of his eye as she looked at the number, concern crossing her face, before her lips set in a stubborn line and she tossed it back into the cupholder of his truck with a clatter.

"Everything ok?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

Kaylee blew out a breath, rubbing her hands on the denim of her cut-off shorts. "Yep," she said, too brightly.

Vin wondered how in the world she had ever thought she could take on Ezra in a poker game. She was the worst liar he had ever met.

"How'd things go stayin' with Ezra last night?" he asked. He had deliberately avoided asking until they had been driving most the day. After Chris told him about Ezra's ornery mood this morning, and Kaylee threw her belongings in the back of Vin's truck while casting concerned looks around the fairgrounds, clearly searching for someone. It didn't take a genius to figure out who she was looking for, he had given her some space to settle down.

"It was…" Kaylee trailed off, her brow furrowing under the beat up ball cap she wore. She chewed her bottom lip before turning in her seat, looking around Barney who sat on the cracked vinyl between them. "Is there a reason he doesn't like me?"

The question didn't surprise Vin. Not knowing Ezra the way he did. The man used that benign smile and hundred dollar charm to keep people at a distance. But Kaylee, who embraced everyone she met wholeheartedly, didn't know how to play games. And Ezra was the top dog at playing games.

"Ezra doesn't dislike people," he said slowly. "More that, he just don't like 'em getting' close."

Kaylee huffed out a sigh and leaned back against the seat. "Well you can't get much closer than sharing a trailer."

Vin's lips twitched in a smile. "No, don't s'pose you can."

A million different thoughts clearly crossed her face, before she seemed to settle on one. "I'll let him know I'm not trying to make him uncomfortable or anything like that."

Vin felt his eyebrows raise, but didn't say anything. He could only imagine how Ezra would take a declaration like that. He figured he'd park his truck close to Ezra's at the rest stop tonight, make sure he was nearby for whichever one of them came storming out of the camper first.

#

Kaylee climbed down from Vin's rusty pickup and held the door open for Barney to hop down. She lifted her arms overhead and stretched, feeling a couple places in her spine pop into place at the movement.

Vin had pulled into a parking space right alongside Ezra. She offered Ezra a smile and felt it fade when he only looked at her with a blank face.

Ezra got out of his own truck, decidedly flashier and shinier than the others pulling in, and opened the door to the Airstream. He motioned her in.

"It's late and I intend to get an early start tomorrow."

Kaylee nodded and hurried to the bed of Vin's truck. She climbed up on the tire and grabbed her bags, tossing them down to the pavement.

Ezra surprised her by picking them up. In the rose glow of the already-set sun, his face looked softer and made her believe maybe she could mend fences with him.

She followed him into the trailer. She had put the couch bed back in place that morning, so Ezra set down her bags and moved to fold down the sofa.

"Wait," Kaylee said, laying a hand on his arm.

The sleeves of his western cut shirt were rolled up and his forearm was warm under her hand. Too warm. Her hand felt like it was burning at the touch, but she swallowed hard and didn't withdraw it.

She could feel his muscles tighten and he looked down at her hand, but didn't move to pull away.

"I, um.." Why did her voice sound so breathless? "I appreciate you letting me stay with you, but, um, tomorrow…" Her mind was a fuzzy with the feel of Ezra's skin under her hand. She withdrew her hand and took a shallow breath, trying to corral her thoughts. "I'm going to have Vin stop at a store so I can pick up a tent."

Ezra stared her down, like he was trying to figure out what her hand of cards was. He let out a short laugh without mirth and shook his head, looking up at the ceiling.

"You would rather sleep in a tent than in my camper."

"No!" Kaylee exclaimed. "No. That's not it at all. I just…" she fumbled for words. Why couldn't she ever find what she needed to say when she was face to face with Ezra? "I don't want to take advantage of you. I can ride with Vin and sleep in a tent."

Ezra scoffed. "No, you can not."

"I can," Kaylee insisted. "Chris does."

Ezra gave her a small smirk. "And Chris is perfectly safe in a tent in the middle of an encampment of cowboys at all hours of the night, many of whom are rather inebriated on a Friday or Saturday night."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'," Ezra repeated.

Kaylee screwed up her lips and tried to hold the words back. After all, Ezra was being nothing but generous. But the words built, and she started remembering what things had been like back in Nebraska, and there was suddenly too much steam and no valve.

"I don't like being manipulated," she burst out.

She thought Ezra's eyebrows were going to go straight up to his hairline. "You…you don't like…?" The look of disbelief on his face gave her room to continue.

"I don't know how you did it, but you somehow lost that bet so I had to stay with you." She folded her arms across her chest. "And it was really nice of you, Mr. Standish, I appreciate the thought, but I told you I don't take charity."

"Well, Miss Timms," Ezra said, folding his own arms. "I don't allow young ladies to roam the rodeo grounds homeless. So I suppose we are at an impasse."

Kaylee shook her head so hard, her coppery blonde hair swung into her face. "But you didn't have to manipulate me to do it. I—I've been all twisted up and used before and I won't do it again. I won't." The words rushed out of her and she couldn't seem to stop them. "You have no idea what it's like to have a mother who manipulates you, and guilts you, and just plain uses you." She clamped her mouth shut before she said anything more. She had no idea why she had spilled all that out to Ezra.

Ezra was steadying his expression into that distant poker face she was growing to hate. "It may surprise you what I have an idea of," he said.

Kaylee's brow wrinkled and she cocked her head, trying to figure out what Ezra was saying, but before he could ask, he was speaking again and changing the subject.

"Why don't you avail yourself of the facilities first and we call it a night? We can discuss an arrangement in the daylight that is more to your satisfaction."

He didn't wait for an answer, heading into his room and quietly closing the door behind himself.

Kaylee huffed out a sigh and flopped down to sit on the couch. She shouldn't have told Ezra any of that. She wished she hadn't. Not only because it was nobody's business, but because now it would bring back all the ugly memories she didn't want to think about.

Well, she just wouldn't think about them. She wouldn't. Clenching her jaw, she grabbed the first clean t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts and her toiletry bag and headed into the bathroom. She hurried again, not wanting to intrude on Ezra anymore than she already was.

She opened the door to the bathroom and nearly crashed into him, coming out of his room.

"Oh! Sorry," she said.

"Excuse me," he offered, taking a step back. "I didn't mean to…I was going to see if I could procure us some donuts for breakfast tomorrow."

Kaylee offered him an encouraging smile, taking his peace offering at face value and hoping it would smooth some of the awkwardness between them. "That sounds…what?"

Ezra was reading the writing on her shirt, one eyebrow lifting. "That is quite the statement," he said.

Kaylee glanced down at her hot pink t-shirt and squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment.

"Barrel racers do it at top speed?" he asked, apparently still reading the words.

"It was a gift from Casey," she groaned. "When we both broke our personal best times a couple weeks ago." She cracked open one eye to see Ezra's reaction.

His lips twitched. "I see."

"Thank goodness she got the barrel racing shirts!" Kaylee exclaimed. "You should have seen the one for the bull riders!" Her cheeks burned in embarrassment as she realized she was making things so much worse.

One side of Ezra's mouth lifted in humor. "I can imagine," he said seriously, at odds with the glimmer in his eye. He let out something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, then cleared his throat, looking away from her.

Kaylee looked down at her ridiculous shirt, complete with a picture of a buxom cowgirl on a horse racing around the barrels, and pressed her lips together to hold back her own smile. She looked up and caught Ezra's eye. She let out a small snort of laughter, and Ezra chuckled. It was the first time she had seen him lose the mask he seemed to wear and only take off when with the six men he called his friends. It made her grin stretch out.

"I'll see about those donuts," he said, giving her a smile. His chuckle trailed back to her as he closed the door behind him, shaking his head.

#

Ezra was wide awake for the second night in a row. A smile played around his mouth as he thought of Kaylee in that hideous and uncouth shirt, the look of horror on her face when she realized what she was wearing.

He presumed she was asleep, and had been for awhile now. The only sound from the living area of his trailer was the sound of her oversized dog letting out the occasional snore.

He thought back to what she had said and his smile fell. He had more than an idea of what a manipulative mother was like. He had lived it every second of his life until he had finally moved on and attempted to cut ties. Not that it had stopped Maude. She still showed up in his life periodically, with a new plan and new target.

He had trouble picturing Kaylee being used to run a scam. If he let his defenses down long enough to be honest with himself, she didn't have one iota of what it took to prey on someone. She would be lucky if she herself wasn't the one being used.

A muffled cry from the other room jolted him upright. Without thinking, he was out of bed and making his way to the living room, to Kaylee.

Her dog saw him and whined from his spot on the bed next to Kaylee. Kaylee's eyes were closed and she let out another cry, flinging an arm out like she was reaching for someone in her sleep.

Ezra crouched down next to the bed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Wake up, it's just a dream."

Her breath hitched and she let out a whimper. The dog nudged at her hand. Ezra squeezed her shoulder a little. "Wake up," he said, a little louder.

With a gasp, she rolled over, her eyes finally open, but not seeing. "Is she ok?" she asked, panic lacing her words. "Is she ok? Did she—?"

"She's fine," Ezra said confidently. "She's perfectly fine."

Kaylee started blinking, really waking up then. She looked around the camper. "She's not here," she said to herself, closing her eyes. She propped herself up on one elbow, lifting a shaking hand to rub her face.

And, seeing the way she trembled, it was the most natural thing in the world for Ezra to take her hand in his. Her breathing calmed a little at the touch. Her eyes met Ezra's and he didn't look away. His other hand came up to brush her hair back from her face, tuck a strand behind her ear.

For a second, he thought she was going to lean into his hand. But then she drew back, laying back down and looking up at the ceiling, covering her face with both hands.

"What time is it?" she asked from behind her hands.

Ezra glanced at the clock on the small stove. "A little after one."

Kaylee turned her head to face him again. "I'm sorry."

Ezra shook his head. "Nothing to apologize for. Do you need anything?"

Kaylee shook her head, looking back up at the ceiling. She draped her arm over her face and didn't say anything more. Ezra waited until he was sure she wasn't going to say anything more. He got up and moved to the comfortable recliner he had placed at the front of the camper to replace the standard one that came with it. He leaned back and closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep until Kaylee's even breaths assured him she was back asleep.

#

Kaylee kneeled on the wheel well of Vin's four horse trailer and reached inside to stroke Alcott's nose. The mare nickered softly.

"I know," Kaylee smiled. "Vin said we'd get there by mid afternoon and I'll take you for a long ride," she promised.

Alcott pawed at the floor, unable to wait.

"Yeah, I'm not a fan of sitting all day, either," she said, scratching between the horse's eyes.

"How is your horse this morning?"

Kaylee grimaced at the sound of Ezra behind her. She had hoped Vin would be ready to go before Ezra woke up. She had managed to dress and tiptoe past the chair where he was sound asleep.

"Ready to get out of the trailer," Kaylee said, her voice too bright.

Ezra came to stand next to her. Unlike yesterday, he was cleanly shaved. His jeans and shirt without wrinkles, no hint that he had his night interrupted. Whereas Kaylee knew she had dark circles under her eyes, her hair in a messy bun behind her ball cap, the shirt and shorts she had pulled from her bag a wrinkled mess.

"Are you…" Ezra cleared his throat and looked past her to the horses. "Are you feeling alright this morning?" he asked.

Kaylee started to get down from her perch and Ezra moved to help her down, his hands on her waist. Her feet settled on the ground and Kaylee looked up at him. His hands lingered on her waist for a beat before he dropped his hands to his side and stepped back.

"I…" she tried to think of what he was asking. The feel of his hands against her hips remained even though he wasn't near her anymore.

Ezra's brow lowered in concern and Kaylee doubled her efforts to focus. "I'm fine," she said. She wasn't sure how convincing that sounded, not very judging by Ezra's expression. "Can we just…" she gestured vaguely. "Forget about last night?"

Ezra's brow smoothed. "I don't know what you're referring to. I was sound asleep all last night."

Kaylee's shoulders fell in relief. Ezra turned to go.

"Ezra?" she called. He turned back to her. "Thank you."

Ezra gave a slight nod.

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