Chapter Eleven

~ Jos ~

Miko was silent for the trip home and I couldn't figure out why. Was he that upset that I had spent money on him? He needed the clothes. What he had brought from Japan wasn't going to cut it on the ranch. And it wasn't that much money considering what we had bought.

I knew he had hang-ups about money, but this was ridiculous.

"Miko."

" Hai ?"

It was a pretty language even if I didn't understand it.

"I don't want you to worry about the money we spent today. I'd outfit anyone that worked on the ranch and didn't have what they needed." While that was mostly true, I probably wouldn't have spent as much on a simple ranch hand.

"Really?"

I nodded, but kept my eyes on the road. "If you're going to learn to ride, you need proper equipment just like a horse does. It only makes sense."

When I glanced briefly at Miko, his shoulders seemed a little more relaxed. I hope that meant he'd taken my words to heart.

"Are you excited about learning to ride?" Seriously, I'd spoken more since Miko had gotten here than I had in the last ten years. I was a little surprised at myself.

"Yes," Miko replied. "Never been on horse. Never even seen horse in real life. Seen pictures, though."

"There are a few rules you need to remember when being around a horse. It's for your safety and the safety of the horse. You can never forget these rules, okay?"

Miko nodded so I started going through the rules he needed to remember when riding a horse. There weren't a ton of them, but each one was important. If Miko got kicked by a spooked animal, he'd likely die.

When we pulled up to the ranch house, I frowned seeing the sheriff's SUV parked there. I quickly turned off the engine and climbed out.

"Sheriff, there a problem?" I asked as I approached the man.

Sheriff Ken Madras turned and sent me a grimace.

That was not good.

"Jos." Ken nodded to me. "I received a report from the vet that you found a mangled dog?"

Okay, that was a relief. It wasn't something bigger.

I nodded. "Miko found him under the back porch. Had wire wrapped around its paw."

"Miko?"

I glanced back to the truck and gestured for Miko to join us. When he did, I pulled him close to my side. "This is my husband, Miko Cross. Miko, this is Sheriff Ken Madras. He's out here to ask about your dog."

I was in no way surprised when Miko pressed his hands together and gave the sheriff a quick bow. I'd actually kind of grown used to that way of greeting people.

The locals were going to have a field day with him.

"You got married?" the sheriff asked.

"Miko is Monty's son." Pretty sure that was all I needed to explain about that. "We got married a couple of days ago."

Sheriff Ken squinted as he looked at Miko, making me feel just a bit uncomfortable. "He any relation to those foreigners we got staying in town?"

Just that fast my eyebrows snapped together as I frowned. "What foreigners?"

"Didn't get a name, but they are staying at the hotel in town. Been there since yesterday."

"Not the day before?" It would make sense for the lawyer that had brought Miko to us to stay overnight in a local hotel, but not for him to stick around. He hadn't seemed like a guy that wanted to stay in this part of the world very long.

"No, Mabel told me that they came to town yesterday and booked a couple of rooms at the hotel for the next week."

"Then I doubt they have any connection to Miko."

At least, I hoped they didn't.

When Miko visibly shuddered and moved closer to me, I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him even closer. I didn't know what had freaked him out, but he was definitely upset about something.

"Can you keep an eye on those foreigners, Ken?" I asked. "It's probably nothing, but Miko had a bit of trouble back in Japan with his mother's family. If they are here to make trouble, I want to know about it."

Preferably beforehand.

Ken's eyes flickered to Miko. "Yeah, sure."

"I'd appreciate it."

"I still need to see that dog," Ken stated in his no nonsense tone. "I also need to get some pictures. This crap has been going on a little too long for my comfort. I want to have enough evidence to back up my case when I find the idiots doing this so I can give them a nice long vacation behind bars."

"He should be in the kitchen with Mrs. Gibbons."

I kept an arm around Miko as I led the way up the steps to the porch and then into the house. As soon as we stepped inside, Miko pushed away from me and hurried ahead into the kitchen. By the time I got there, he was sitting on the floor with the puppy in his lap.

"He's a big one, isn't he?" Ken mused.

"I figure he'll be upwards of a hundred pounds."

Ken let out a snort. "At least."

Yeah, I saw a lot of bags of dog food in my future.

"He seems to have taken a liking to your husband though."

I couldn't say Ken was wrong. The pup was curled up in Miko's lap, trying to lick the hand Miko was using to pet his head. From what I could see, there wasn't an aggressive bone in his body. He seemed perfectly content right where he was.

I was a little jealous.

"I need to get some picture of his injuries," Ken stated. "The vet already gave me his report, but I need corresponding pictures to go with it."

"Do we need to unwrap it?"

"That would be best," Ken replied.

"Miko, why don't you unwrap his paw and let Ken take some pictures while I go get the first aid kit?" We'd need to wrap it up again once Ken was done taking pictures.

It didn't take me more than a couple of minutes to run upstairs and get the first aid kit we'd used before and then hurry back downstairs to the kitchen, but by the time I arrived Ken was already taking pictures of the pup's injured paw. Once that was all done, we applied more medicine and wrapped the paw back up.

I smiled as I watched Miko fuss over the puppy. He seemed really enamored of the furry creature. "Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Kouki," Miko replied. "It means strong, powerful, and tough."

Once the puppy grew into his paws, the name would suit him.

"I'm going to walk Ken out and then we'll see about those riding lessons."

Miko nodded, but his attention was on the dog. I chuckled as I shook my head and followed Ken out of the kitchen. I'd bet any amount of money that that damn dog was going to end up in bed with Miko tonight.

Outside, we waved goodbye to Ken and then I led Miko over to the barn. Wade was waiting for us with Sally and Bucky already saddled and ready to be ridden.

As I went over the horse riding rules with Miko once again, I saw a smile start to spread across his lips. I hadn't realized until that moment how much I missed seeing it.

It was amazing to me how so much could change in just a few short hours. A week ago, I didn't even know Miko was alive. Now, I was saddened that I didn't get to see him smile more.

That was weird, right?

"I'm going to take you around on Bucky a little bit, get you used to being on a horse." I swung myself up onto Bucky and then held out my hand. "Come on up."

Miko seemed to swallow hard before grabbing my hand. It was easy to pull him up in front of me. He probably weighed less than a newborn colt.

"You ready?"

Miko nodded enthusiastically.

I gave Bucky a little nudge and then guided him out of the barn to the corral. I had to keep my arms firmly wrapped around Miko so he wouldn't fall off, but that seemed like a plus to me, not a negative.

"Hold the reins," I directed. Once Miko grabbed them I covered his hands with my own and gave them a little flick. "Have you ever driven a car?"

"No."

Yeah, I didn't think so.

"Okay, think of standing in one spot with your arms spread out like an airplane. If you veer to the left, the airplane goes left. If you veer to the right, the airplane goes right. With me so far?"

" Hai ."

"Riding a horse is just like that." I tugged the reins to the left and Bucky expertly turned to the left. When I tugged them to the right, he went right.

Bucky was a well trained horse.

"See what I mean?"

" Hai ," Miko answered again, but his tone was more animated.

"Okay, you do it," I said as I released the reins and settled my hands on his hips. "Take him on a couple of turns, but make it easy and slow. If you jerk the reins, he's going to jerk."

I could feel Miko's excitement as he steered Bucky around the corral. The man was practically vibrating in his skin.

"Want to go a little faster?" I asked after several rounds around the corral.

There was a wide grin on Miko's face as he glanced at me over his shoulder. "Can we?"

I smiled back as I tightened my grip on him. "Flick the reins a little harder," I directed. As soon as Miko flicked the reins, Bucky started moving faster, going into trot.

"Faster please?"

I chuckled. "You want to go faster?"

"Hai!"

I grabbed the reins with one hand, keeping the other firmly wrapped around Miko's waist and then flicked the reins, making a clicking sound with my teeth and tongue.

I chuckled when Miko stretched his arms out to his sides as I had described before. Some emotion I had never felt before ignited in my chest as I watched the delight on his face as he tilted it up to the sun.

Miko's infectious laughter echoed through the air around us when he veered his arms to the left and I made Bucky turn left. When he veered to the right, I made Bucky go right.

Wanting to hear more of Miko's laughter, I urged Bucky into a full gallop. Miko let out a scream and scrambled to grab the saddle pummel. For a moment, I thought I needed to stop, but then I heard his laughter again.

We couldn't keep going in circles at this speed so I gestured to Wade to open the corral gate. As soon as he did, I guided Bucky out into the open range, running him at top speed. Miko's laughter followed us every step of the way.

This could become very addicting.

Finally, after a good long ride, I slowed Bucky down to a gentle trot. As much as I wanted to keep on riding—and hearing Miko's laughter—I knew it wasn't good for the horse.

I turned Bucky so that we could head toward the little creek not too far away. He needed some water before we headed back to the barn. It would also give Miko and me a chance to stretch our legs a little bit.

Strangely, the silence between us wasn't uncomfortable. I wasn't sure what was going through Miko's mind, but as curious as I was, I wasn't going to ask. He'd tell me if he really wanted me to know.

When we reached the creek, I slid off Bucky and then held my hands out to Miko so I could help him dismount. Once Miko was standing on his own feet, I led Bucky to the creek and then looped the reins around the pummel of the saddle.

"Thank you, Jos," Miko said after a few minutes. "That was amazing."

When I glanced down at him, he was still smiling. Only this time he was smiling up at me. "You ready to head back and try riding on your own?"

For just a moment, Miko's smile wavered before he said, " Hai ."

Not sure what that was all about.