“Paid the judge off?” Reed almost choked on the words. “This is a new low, Helen. The judge decided on custody based on the qualifications of both parents, and even you have to admit the bar wasn’t set very high. I wasn’t a perfect parent by a long shot, but I was the one who wasn’t leaving the country with a cattle rancher from Brazil.”
Helen snorted, a sound Reed found haughty and typical of her. “You never wanted me to be happy, Reed,” she said.
“Well, that’s all changed, Helen. I hope you’re deliriously happy now.”
Missing the sarcasm in his tone, she said, “Thank you, Reed. That’s very kind. Oh, and by the way, Daddy wants to see the boys. Can you drive them down to Atlanta?”
He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m a little busy here, Helen. You know I’m working to set up a clinic.” He parked the SUV in front of the barn and indicated the two workers could get out. When they had stepped away from the car, he said, “Your father knows where I’m living now. And he has a car. Just tell him to call first.”
“Do you think that’s fair? What has Daddy done to make you so angry?”
Recently, nothing, Reed thought. But he’d spent twenty-two years raising an entitled daughter who thought rules were for everyone else, and the world was her yellow brick road. Unfortunately, Reed hadn’t looked deep enough under Helen’s shell of charm and spontaneity. He’d fallen for the unpredictable debutante and believed he was the luckiest man alive to be “the chosen one.”
“Just tell him to call first,” he repeated. “I’ve got to go.” He disconnected, grateful that the workers he’d hired didn’t speak English. The last few minutes of conversation hadn’t been pleasant.
He crossed his arms over his steering wheel and rested his brow on his forearms. Just a few minutes of calm. That was all he needed. But then he changed his mind when a light tapping on his window made him look up. There was Camryn Montgomery, hair in a messy bun, straw stuck to her clothes and chicken droppings on her boots. She looked adorable.
“Are you all right?” she asked through the window.
And she actually cared about how he was doing.
* * *
WOW, REED LOOKED like he’d just lost his best friend. He stared at her for a moment and then lowered his window. His expression grim, he said, “Hi, Camryn. I was just...”
Whatever he was about to say remained unspoken. “I asked if you are all right?” she said. “I saw you leaning over the steering wheel. Headache?”
“What? No. I’m fine.” He gave her a pitiful attempt at a smile. “I was taking a minute before I go inside the barn to tackle what has to be done in there.”
That made sense. After seeing the condition of her own barn yesterday, Cam had dreaded the thought of Reed having to remove layers of dust, cobwebs and dirty straw. “I see you brought help,” she said.
“I did. And I think we can get the job done by noon. The horses are due shortly thereafter.” He opened the car door and stepped out. In jeans, a worn Clemson University T-shirt and a baseball cap, he looked ready to work. His slow gaze traveled the length of her. “I’m guessing you’ve done a few chores yourself today.”
“I’m expecting two dozen more hens on Saturday, so I’m starting a thorough cleaning of the coop. Wouldn’t want the new arrivals thinking they were moving into a chicken flophouse.”
He laughed. “No. Most of the flophouse details are stuck to your boots anyway.”
She scraped her boots on the grass. “Indeed. Hazards of a chicken farm.”
He peered toward the barn where the workers stood at the entrance. “Guess I’d better get busy.”
Camryn looked across a nearby field. “I don’t see my two goats, so I’m guessing they’ve wandered into the barn. It’s fine if you just want to shoo them out. I never really confine them, but I’ll try to keep them away from your space.”
“No need,” Reed said. “Goats are actually considered great companions for horses. You even see a lot of goats at racetracks where the horses are much more temperamental and valuable than the two I’ve got coming today. The little fellas have a calming influence on horses, believe it or not.”
“Okay, then, I’ll probably see you later.” Calling Rooster to follow her, Camryn went back to working on the coop before she cleaned up to go inside and sit at her computer.
At noon Reed left the farm but was back by 1:30. He led a truck and horse trailer up the drive to the barn. Camryn couldn’t hide her curiosity. She went outside to watch the unloading of the new residents of Cottontail Farm.
What an interesting process it was. The horses had been loaded into the trailer head first, so of course they had to be walked out head last. This maneuver required skillful handling. A man in front of the trailer issued encouraging words to the animals while Reed waited on the ground in back. Step by precarious step, each horse made its way into the sunshine.
One horse was huge, or at least Camryn thought so. She’d never been around horses, though her sister had. Camryn had grown up taking care of small creatures, birds and squirrels, even a skunk one time. Her experience with equines was limited to watching them at the arena, where she’d gone to see Brooke ride.
The other horse was much smaller. When both horses were securely tied to a fence post near the barn, Camryn watched Reed take out his wallet and hand over bills to the driver of the trailer. The man backed around in her yard and drove away.
“Hey, Camryn,” Reed called. “Come meet my family.”
She walked over but stopped several feet from the animals. Both horses seemed agitated. They pawed the ground and made high-pitched nickering sounds. Every so often one or the other would shake its large head.
“I don’t think they like it here,” Camryn said, realizing that Rooster was dangerously close to those large hooves. She pointed a finger and said, “Go.” The dog backed off but still remained vigilant.
“Actually they didn’t care much for the ride to get here. They’ll like the farm just fine.” He smoothed his hand down the white blaze of the large horse. “This is Brute. He’s a palomino paint gelding. Came from Texas. Eight years old and fifteen hands tall. A good-size fella, and a surprisingly easy ride.” Reed gave Camryn a carrot from his pocket. “Here, get to know him.”
Camryn opened her palm and held the carrot under Brute’s nose. The horse’s lips wiggled around a bit but then he enthusiastically and gently took the treat.
“And this little white jewel is Saucy,” Reed said. “She’s a three-year-old pony. Only eleven hands high.” He stroked the pony’s neck. “Justin can handle her already.”
“They seem nice,” Camryn said, not knowing how a person should compliment a horse. “Like I said at the feedstore, I don’t know much about taking care of horses.”
“You don’t have to,” Reed said. “If you think something’s not right, just give me a call. I’ll be right over. Oh...and I hope you don’t mind, but I told my boys to ride the school bus to your place today. They’re anxious to see the horses.”
“No, I don’t mind. That’s fine.”
Reed looked at his watch. “Speaking of school bus, it’s nearly three o’clock already. Should be here soon.”
“I’m sure you have things you’d like to do to get your horses settled in.” Camryn started to walk away.
“Wait a minute.” Reed stopped her by placing his hand on her arm. She waited.
“What do you know about the Bufflehead Fall Festival this weekend? When I was in town I saw posters advertising the big event on every store window.”
“Oh, that,” she said. “I guess they have the festival every year. I don’t know much about it. I’m not even sure what a bufflehead is. A duck, I think.”
“Oh, it’s a duck,” Reed said. “And a very distinctive one. It dives for food and completely disappears in the water. When you think it’s lost forever, it pops up
again. They are pretty ducks, too. The males have bright white spots on their heads and dark, glistening green and purple feathers.”
Camryn smiled. “Thanks, though that might be a bit more than I need to know about a duck.”
“Not when it’s our community’s duck,” Reed said. “About this festival. Looks like our new town wants to pay homage to its namesake.”
Reed’s smile was infectious. “What do you say we take the kids and go on Friday night? We can eat a bunch of junk food, go on some rides and listen to the Dirty Boots Band. I’ve never heard of them, but they’re the headliners on opening night.”
“I don’t know, Reed,” Camryn hedged. “I don’t go out much. And I don’t date. I...”
His eyes widened. Oh, no. He probably hadn’t meant it as a date at all. He probably meant that they’d take two cars and meet there, and she’d assumed... Now she had to figure out a way to get her foot out of her mouth.
“Oh, no, not a date,” he said quickly. “It’s just a thing, a way to support our town and our duck. You want to support the duck population, don’t you? After all, they’ll be flying down to Florida pretty soon, and I have a hunch we’ll miss them.”
“Sure, that’s what I thought you meant,” she said, grateful he’d offered a way out of her blunder. “We can meet there if you like.”
“Why take two cars?” he said. “Waste of gasoline. Two adults and three kids can go to a ‘thing’ in one car, can’t they?”
Well, yes, they could. But now it sounded like a date. And she was only two months divorced and three months pregnant. She was pretty sure Becky had told Reed about the divorce, but she trusted that Becky hadn’t told him about the pregnancy. Besides these two significant facts, dating was nowhere on Camryn’s social calendar. Heck, Camryn Montgomery didn’t even have a social calendar—not since she’d given up being a corporate wife to be a simple farmer.
“What do you say,” Reed prompted. “Is it a d...thing?”
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “The bus is here. I’ll go meet it and send your boys over here by the barn.” She was relieved to have an excuse to walk away from the invitation, oddly because she was too close to accepting it. But what could it hurt? A simple night out to a country festival with three kids in tow? Esther would probably love the idea. She would do as she promised. She’d think about it. She knew darn well what Brooke would do if she were in this situation, and what Brooke would tell her to do if she asked.
Camryn smiled. She wouldn’t tell Brooke. She’d just say yes on her own.
She and Esther went in the house, sat at the kitchen table as they usually did while Cam set out milk and a snack. They’d only gotten through the details of the first couple of hours of Esther’s day when the child suddenly looked out the window and bolted from her chair.
“Wow, Mommy, are those Mr. Reed’s horses?”
“Yes, they are,” Camryn said. “That’s Brute and Saucy.”
“They’re beautiful,” Esther said.
“I suppose they are,” Cam agreed. “Not that we’ve seen many horses to compare them with.”
“Can I go outside?”
How could Cam say no? Something this exciting didn’t happen every day at Cottontail Farm. “Sure, go ahead. But don’t get in the way. Stay close to the house. And please, don’t go near the barn.”
“Okay.” Esther darted out the back door.
After a few minutes Camryn heard hoots and hollers. She would have figured Reed’s boys were welcoming the horses, but one of the voices was distinctly not male. Camryn went out her back door. What she saw took her breath away.
She looked twice. Her anger rose like a thermometer in boiling water. There was Esther, sitting in a saddle behind Justin, her arms around his waist and her heels digging in to the sides of Saucy, the pony.
Esther, who’d never been near a horse, was riding one? And without a helmet, though Reed was holding the horse by a rope. The back door of the farmhouse slammed with a loud bang as Camryn tore across the yard.
CHAPTER FOUR
CAMRYN GULPED BACK an instinctive urge to holler at her daughter. Common sense told her that any loud noise could upset what she determined was a delicate balance between horse and riders. She didn’t want to alarm Esther or jolt her with a burst of angry shouting.
Cam reached Reed first and grabbed his arm. He spun around. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
His eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“That’s my daughter on the horse. My daughter! I don’t recall giving permission for her to ride.”
He shook his head as if trying to process her distress. “First of all, Camryn, Saucy isn’t a horse. She’s a pony. Your daughter’s feet are all of two feet off the ground.”
“A lot can happen in two feet! Besides, that’s a seven-hundred-pound animal, Reed. No match for a tiny nine-year-old girl.”
“No match? It isn’t a contest, Camryn. No one is trying to win anything, and no one is threatened.”
“And how would you know that?” Camryn said. “Yes, you’re a vet, but that doesn’t mean you know what is going on in an animal’s head.”
“Well, I’m an especially competent vet, so yeah, it kind of does.”
While they’d been talking, Reed had let the rope around Saucy’s neck fall to the ground. He picked it up and held tight as the horse circled around him. Camryn felt somewhat relieved that he maintained some control over the situation, but that didn’t mean the horse, or pony, or whatever...wouldn’t bolt at the first strange noise or unexpected kick. Nearby, Rooster was barking madly, obviously picking up on Camryn’s alarm—proof that animals had instincts of their own.
“I want you to get my daughter off that animal immediately,” Camryn said. “She’s never even been near a horse before.”
“That’s too bad,” Reed responded. “My two animals are extremely gentle and people friendly. She couldn’t be in better hands, or should I say hooves?”
“You shouldn’t say anything,” Camryn countered. “I’m her mother and you didn’t even ask if I wanted her on the horse.”
“You’re right. I didn’t. The truth is, I can’t come up with a logical reason why you wouldn’t want Esther to experience Saucy for her first ride.” He made a clicking noise with his tongue and the pony shook her head and peered over at him. At the same time, Esther saw her mother.
“Look, Mommy, I’m on a pony. Isn’t she beautiful?”
Camryn couldn’t answer. All at once she felt dizzy and light-headed. In a few moments her breaths would come in short gasps just like it had always happened in the past.
“She loves this,” Reed said, unaware of Cam’s distress. “Look at her face. Did you ever see such a big smile?”
“Get. Her. Down. Now.” Cam clutched her stomach as a shooting pain radiated up to her heart.
Reed stared at her. He grabbed her arm. “You need to sit down.” He started to lead her to a bench outside the barn. “Phillip, come take the rope and stop Saucy from walking. Keep her still.”
“Aw, Dad,” Justin squawked. “We’re still riding.”
“Not anymore you’re not.” Supporting practically all of Camryn’s weight with his arm tight around her shoulders, he brought her to the bench and gently pushed her onto the seat. “Put your head between your knees,” he instructed. “I’ll get your daughter.”
Camryn did as he suggested. Suddenly she’d broken into a cold sweat. Her body was trembling. She thought she was having a heart attack. But experience told her that wasn’t true. She just needed to concentrate on her breathing. She looked up long enough to see Reed lift Esther from the pony and set her on the ground. And then her first normal breath filled her lungs.
She needed to get complete control. Esther had never seen her have a panic attack and Camryn had always prayed she never
would. In the past Cam had always had enough warning to put space between her and her daughter, protecting Esther from witnessing what she would never understand.
“Did you see me, Mommy?” Esther hollered as she ran to the bench. “I was riding a horse.”
“I saw you,” Camryn managed to say in a normal voice.
“It was so cool, Mommy.”
“You should have asked me before you got on the pony, Essie,” Cam said.
“Why? Reed was here the whole time.”
“Reed...is not your parent.”
“But you’re here now, and I want to ride again.”
Camryn blinked hard to clear her blurry vision. “No, Esther. Go in the house.”
“I don’t want to.” Esther’s face was set in a pout of determination.
“Go. Now.”
Esther whirled away from her. “Why are you always so mean?”
Camryn didn’t answer. She heard Esther’s footsteps echo toward the house. And then Cam rested her forehead in her hand and waited for her heart to stop hammering. She knew Esther would ask the question again when they were both in the kitchen.
“Are you okay now?” Reed asked her. “You seemed pretty dizzy for a while there, but you’re getting some color back. Is there anyone I should call?”
“No, I’ll be all right.”
Justin slid off the pony and came over to his father. “Why’d we have to stop riding? I thought you said the right thing was to ask the girl if she wanted to ride behind me, so that’s what I did. Now everybody’s acting all mad. I would have rather gotten on Saucy by myself.”
Camryn stared up into the boy’s eyes. “You’ll have plenty of opportunity,” she said.
“Good. Old lady Esther just kept giggling the whole time like girls do.”
Reed turned his son around and administered a little shove toward the barn. “What did I tell you regarding teasing Esther about her name?”
“Heck, Dad, she’s not even here now.”
“You and Phillip brush Saucy down. The tack box is right inside the barn. You’ll find the equipment you need.”
Baby Makes Four Page 4