Finding Her Courage Read online

* * *

  It was already Thursday, and Camille felt like it was just getting started. In Chicago it had taken Camille months to put together a wedding. Here she had sixteen days.

  There was a team of people helping her in the barn. Maricela and Josh were cleaning out stalls, Dillon and Nikki were stringing lights, and now that her cold was gone, Evie was helping sort through the hundreds of pictures Phoebe had emailed over yesterday.

  Camille had almost had a panic attack when she’d learned Ty didn’t have a photo printer, then he’d taken her to a copy center in town, and she’d gotten them done in half an hour.

  “Is this right?” Nikki called down from the ladder.

  Camille looked over and saw she’d wrapped the lights up the post horizontally. “It looks great, but I think they’ll be better at a diagonal. Maybe you can scooch them around without unwrapping the whole thing.”

  “Will do, boss.” Nikki gave her a little salute. It was the third time today she’d done that. What Nikki didn’t know was that if she kept it up, she was gonna be calling Camille “boss” at home from now on too. She guessed it wouldn’t stay funny for long.

  Camille walked over to check on Evie. She had successfully sorted two hundred photos by size and was now starting on the final hundred. “Good job.” She kissed the top of Evie’s head.

  Evie looked up, not bored exactly, more like antsy. She’d been sitting in the same spot since this morning. She reached into her pocket and handed Camille a folded-up drawing of Milkshake and Honey. Both had big smiles on their faces. If only Evie would smile like that.

  “You can visit with Milkshake and Honey in a little bit, okay? I promise.”

  Emmitt entered the barn with an empty wheelbarrow. Camille was relieved to be getting the dirty hay out of here. It was one thing to have hay at a wedding. It was another thing entirely to have hay that animals had been sleeping in, sitting on and who knew what else with. He’d made a dozen trips with the wheelbarrow already and still wasn’t done. “Thanks, Emmitt.”

  He smiled shyly at her. “I don’t mind helping.”

  Okay. Dirty hay out, clean hay in. Her plan was working. Except for Ty. He was still busy with the plane-repair guy, and it was taking forever. She’d give him ten more minutes, then hunt him down.

  Next up on her mental checklist were Josh and Maricela. They were sweeping out the stalls. “How’s it going?” They were all smiles, but the push broom kept slipping out of Josh’s prosthetic hand.

  Camille watched him drop it, pick it up, then drop it again. If he hadn’t insisted on broom duty, Camille would never have given it to him. She was on the verge of asking him to do something else when Maricela pulled her aside.

  “Don’t worry about Josh. This is good for him. He wants to figure out how to do this stuff for himself. That’s why we’re here.”

  Camille nodded. “Understood.” When he finally got the broom to behave as he wanted, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

  Ty really was doing a lot of good with his ranch. She was happy Phoebe had picked him over Liam. If only he were in here helping, she’d be even happier. Okay, time’s up. She needed Ty in here, repair guy or no repair guy.

  * * *

  The hangar was Camille’s least favorite place on the ranch. She poked her head in, leaving the rest of her firmly planted outside the doors. “Hey, Ty? How much longer?”

  He came over. “We’ve almost got it wrapped up now.”

  “Good, then you can be on hay detail with Emmitt. We need the dirty hay out of the barn so we can bring fresh hay in.”

  A befuddled look inched across his face. “I don’t get the whole hay thing.” She put her hands on her hips, and Ty raised his arms like she’d told him to stick ’em up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know you have very strong feelings on the subject. It’s just that hay seems like hay to me.”

  “Thankfully, you’ve got me to tell you otherwise.”

  She hesitated, then stepped farther into the hangar and came up behind him. She put both hands on his back and tried pushing him outside. Ty didn’t move. Camille pushed harder. Ty dug his heels in, crossed his arms over his chest and yawned.

  Soo funny, but Camille could play dirty too. “If you don’t start moving soon, I’ll pinch you.”

  Ty gave her a look. “You stole that one from your sister. But I wouldn’t mind your pinches any more than Dillon would mind hers.” He looked surprised by his own words.

  Camille blushed and took her hands away just in time to see Evie slip past them. “Evie.”

  She started after her daughter just as a light blue Ford pickup pulled up outside. Ty groaned. “It’s Liam.”

  Liam? As in the guy they’d been competing against? Curiosity kicked in. Evie was watching the repairman. He didn’t seem to mind. One minute in there would probably be okay. The planes weren’t even running right now.

  A young Sam Elliot with miles of swagger came toward them from the truck. He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that was classic cowboy.

  Ty’s fingers dug into his thighs. “Liam. How’s it going?”

  “All right.” Ty shot a look back to Liam’s truck. Liam followed his gaze. “I’m alone.”

  Friction was too subtle a word for the waves of tension crashing around them. Camille had avoided asking Ty too much about Liam, knowing he didn’t care for the subject. But now that Liam was here, she had questions.

  Liam looked at her. “You must be Camille. Phoebe says amazing things.”

  Ty inched closer to her. “Camille, this is Liam Kendrick. He owns Bugaroo Ranch.”

  “Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand and felt Ty tense beside her.

  It was the final showdown scene from every old Western playing out in front of her. Liam and Ty faced off. They didn’t have guns, but they had the hardest stares Camille had ever seen. Then Liam’s broke.

  “Look, I didn’t come here to get into things. I just wanted to congratulate you.” He held his hand out to Ty. “I’m not happy about it, but Phoebe told me some of your ideas, and I’ve gotta admit they sound pretty good.”

  Ty looked at Liam’s hand like it had tentacles, but he shook it anyway. “Thanks.”

  Liam sighed. “Maybe if I had a girlfriend who was a decorator too, I’d have stood a chance. Though from the way you wowed Phoebe, Camille, I still think you’d have come out the winner.”

  What did he just say? “I’m not Ty’s girlfriend.”

  Liam’s face blanked, then shifted back to Ty. “That so? Phoebe seems to think otherwise.”

  Camille blushed, but Ty backed her up. “Camille’s just helping me out. It’s business.”

  Liam stared at them. “Uh-huh.” There was a long pause, then he turned and headed for his truck. “Nice meeting you, Camille.”

  But Ty wasn’t done. “Say hi to Mia for me.” From anyone else, it would have been a simple, friendly hello. Except nothing about the way Ty said it sounded simple. Or friendly. Maybe if his teeth hadn’t been gritting together. Who was Mia anyway?

  When Liam turned around, his face had aged ten years. “Mia’s gone. She left.”

  The effect on Ty was instantaneous. Every muscle that was tensing eased up, and the lines in his forehead disappeared. “Left? You mean...for good?”

  Liam nodded. “She went back to Florida.”

  “When?”

  “A couple weeks ago.”

  They stood staring at each other. “I’m sorry,” said Ty. This time it almost sounded like he meant it.

  “Me too.” It felt like the silence might never end. Liam started his truck up without another word and pulled away.

  Camille needed answers before jealousy dug its nails in. No, not jealousy. Curiosity. That was all. “Who’s Mia?”

  Ty looked a little gray when he answered. “My ex-girlfriend.”

  Ohh. Now things ma
de sense. “You never mentioned her.”

  Ty shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, but it might’ve been nice to know.”

  “We’re just business partners, Camille. Business partners don’t talk about their love lives.”

  A tiny dagger poked her heart. It was silly. Ty was right, they were business partners. So why did hearing him say that sting so much?

  The plane started up in the hangar, and Camille’s head whipped around. Evie. She ran inside and whisked Evie out of there before anything could happen. Evie wiggled against her, trying to get away.

  The repair guy cut the engine and shouted out to Ty, “All good here.”

  Ty thanked him but hung back. “You know, you might not get so scared of planes if you knew something about them. I could teach you and Evie a few things. Like a mini flying lesson.”

  Seriously? “I thought we were just business partners. Do partners give each other flying lessons?”

  “When part of your business is operating airplanes, yes.” His jaw tightened.

  “Absolutely not. Evie would be terrified. Look how upset she is already.” Evie’s eyes were watery, and her face was pink.

  “If Evie’s upset, it’s only because you’re upset.”

  Camille scoffed. “I’m not upset.”

  “The last time you said that you stormed out of here with hardly a goodbye.”

  “Well, I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll say it very clearly for you. Goodbye.”

  She led Evie away from the hangar, but the wedding was coming up fast. She couldn’t go home just because Ty was behaving like a child. Instead she spent the rest of the day ignoring him and concentrating on the hay that he didn’t seem to get.

  When she tucked Evie into bed that night, Evie reached over to her nightstand and opened the top drawer. She handed Camille a picture. Only this one wasn’t Milkshake and Honey. It was her and Ty. Evie was standing between them holding their hands.

  A tiny sliver of guilt pricked Camille’s heart. She looked at her daughter. “You really like Ty, don’t you?” Evie nodded. Camille kissed her daughter’s head. “Me too.”

  * * *

  Bzzzz. Ty’s phone vibrated on his nightstand. He rolled over and looked at the incoming text from Camille.

  Sorry about today. Friends?

  Ty didn’t want to talk to her. Didn’t want to admit he’d lost control of his emotions the second Liam had shown up. Learning about his breakup with Mia had only made things worse somehow, and he’d taken it out on Camille. He set his phone back on the nightstand and returned to his book.

  Bzzzz.

  He stared at the phone without touching it. The green light blinked, reminding him there was a message waiting...waiting...waiting. Ty put his book down and checked it.

  Are you still mad?

  Mad? No, he wasn’t mad. Irritated, maybe. Frustrated, definitely. It was impossible not to be when dealing with Camille. His emotions were all out of whack whenever she was around, and he didn’t like that. Even if he did like her.

  Not “like.” Appreciate. Respect.

  He put the phone down again and shut off the light. Bzzzz. Was she gonna keep this up all night? Maybe he should just turn his phone off. Except when he picked it up to do just that, Camille’s message stopped him. It wasn’t a text. It was a selfie of her making the silliest, cutest face he’d ever seen.

  Ty turned the light back on and sat up. He leaned against the headboard and tried to think of something to say, but everything that came out was either too saccharine or too crabby. He wanted to say he was sorry. That he admired her. That he liked spending time with her, maybe even more than he had with Mia.

  Stop.

  His inner voice was right. Getting too personal was a mistake, but keeping things professional was harder than he’d imagined. Better to say nothing. He went to shut the light off again when a new text came in.

  I know you’re awake. I can see into your room with my binoculars.

  Ty got out of bed and looked out the window. His finger hovered over the keyboard.

  Can you really see me? I can’t see you.

  He hit Send.

  His screen flashed almost instantly.

  OMG. Did you really look? I was totally kidding.

  He grinned and sent back a text.

  Sure you were.

  His phone flashed again.

  It would be super creepy if I was watching you. Like a stalker.

  Ty thought a second.

  It might be nice too. Knowing you cared enough to pay so much attention.

  His screen stayed dark, and Ty kicked himself for putting one toe over the line. Nothing about his last text was professional. He waited two minutes then sent her another one.

  I’m sorry for today too.

  Her return message came a second later.

  Apology accepted. See you tomorrow...partner.

  Partner. It was definitely safer than words like girlfriend.

  See you then. Good night.

  Good night.

  Ty lay back down and turned out his light. He took one last look at the selfie Camille had sent him and smiled. Cute. Definitely cute. When he finally turned off his phone and closed his eyes, her face didn’t go dark like his screen. Her picture stayed lit until sleep finally came for him, hours later.

  Chapter Eight

  Saturday morning started out pretty good. Camille, Evie and Nikki got to Sky High by eight o’clock, and Ty and Dillon were ready and waiting.

  The rest of the vets were splitting their time between their regular chores and helping out with the wedding stuff. Phoebe’s wedding was exactly two weeks from today, and Camille wanted to get started on cleaning out the stables and the smaller barns now that the main one was ready.

  There was a lot going on, and Camille’s nerves started jumping. Especially around ten o’clock when Ty disappeared. He was only gone a few minutes, but in that time Honey’s tail swatted her in the face three times, and Camille’s head developed a slow and steady ache.

  “Where’d you go?” She stared at him with her arms folded.

  He gave her an irritated look. “Do I need your okay to use the bathroom now too?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ve been barking orders at me all morning.”

  “I’m just trying to get things done.”

  “So am I.”

  They glared at each other and kept their distance. Around noon Ty disappeared again. This time she spotted him coming out of the main barn. “I told you not to mess with anything in there. It’s perfect right now.”

  “I wasn’t messing with stuff. I was getting some tools.”

  “All your tools should’ve been cleared out by now.”

  “I forgot my hammer in there. Unless you want me to pound all those nails in with my hands.”

  Evie came over and they both cut the bickering down to a dull roar. Ty let out a breath. “Maybe we need a break. We’ve both been working pretty hard. What do you say we do something fun?”

  Fun was a nice fantasy. “We don’t have time for fun.”

  He cracked a lopsided grin. “Just call it a long lunch then.”

  Despite what Ty thought, Camille wasn’t so stubborn that she refused to acknowledge her nerves were on edge. A long lunch might be just what she needed. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I thought Evie might like to take the horses out. We could pack some sandwiches and ride up one of the shorter trails to a picnic spot.”

  “Horseback riding?” A full-blown mouse-running-across-the-room-and-jumping-on-the-chair kind of squeak came from her throat.

  “I thought it would be fun.”

  In what world did danger equal fun?

  “No way.” She shook her head and fe
lt Evie’s eyes on her, already pleading. Six didn’t mean naive. Evie understood perfectly well what she and Ty were debating, and she wanted to get her two cents in.

  “It’s completely safe, I promise. Tess is our safest pony and a real sweetie pie. Evie can have her, and you can have Honey. You’ve ridden her before.”

  “I wouldn’t call what I did riding. I sat behind you and tried to hold on. You and Honey did all the work.”

  “I’ll keep us on the easiest path.”

  Evie stepped closer to Ty, the two of them plotting together. She had to stand strong. Except Evie’s chocolate drizzle eyes were digging their way in. She took Camille’s hand and started pulling her toward the horses. Camille stopped her. “How long is the path?”

  Ty shrugged. “We’ll be back in an hour, hour and a half tops.”

  Camille tried to stop her sigh of acceptance before it came, but it was already there. “Okay, let’s try it.”

  Ty gave them a quick riding lesson, then got them both saddled in and led them out. The horses seemed to know exactly where they were going, and the path was easy, just as Ty had promised. It went over the flattest part of the land and was clearly marked by dozens of well-tread hoofprints.

  Five minutes in and Camille’s muscles began to loosen. Ten minutes in and she was actually starting to enjoy herself.

  Ty was riding beside her. Evie was just ahead of them, where they could keep an eye on her. Ty looked over. “I really appreciate all your help this past week. It’s been nice having you around.”

  “Even with the squabbling?”

  “Even with that.”

  Her heart flipped. “I’ve enjoyed it too.” Something was gnawing on the back of her mind though. “Can I ask something about your planes?”

  “Sure. What do you want to know?”

  Camille pulled her words carefully. “How can you do it?”

  He blinked. “What do you mean?”

  She glanced at Evie, who was moving a mile an hour if that, and dropped her voice a little more. “You crashed in the ocean, right?”

  Ty stiffened. “Yes.”

  “And your friend Jon passed away in a crash?” He nodded silently. “So how can you get in a plane day after day and keep flying after all that’s happened to you?”