At last she stood naked and pleasantly pink on the bath mat while China dried her and rubbed lotion all over her body. The lotion moisturized the little girl’s skin from top to bottom, but it also gave China a chance to check for bruises, ringworm, and eczema. Kyrie had had problem skin all of her life. Tonight was no different.
China didn’t see any bruises, but too many dried, scabby patches on the girl’s face, arms, and along the back of her neck needed attention. That she sighed when the soothing lotion touched her skin told China everything she needed to know. This baby needed a real mother, damn it. How could Leezel not see that?
China braided her niece’s hair into two long pigtails. She held out clean underwear and pajama bottoms for Kyrie to step into. She had made up her mind long ago and shopped accordingly. Kyrie always went home with plenty of new underwear, clothes and shoes when she came for a visit to Auntie China’s.
“Hmm, you smell good.”
“I kinda smew yike a faiwy pwincess, huh?” Kyrie’s nose wrinkled with happiness.
“You do.” China tugged the pajama top over the little girl’s head. “You smell like a heavenly fairy princess, my favorite kind.”
Kyrie giggled. She was firmly seated inside China’s arms when the two left the steam of the bathroom behind and headed back to the kitchen. Good. No Leezel in sight. No doubt she needed a smoke and a beer. At least, Kyrie would have a bedtime snack and a story in peace.
“Are you ready for milk and cookies, little one?”
“Uh huh.” Kyrie settled back into her chair at the kitchen table with a big smile.
The sound of voices drifted through the screen door along with the rancid stink of cigarette smoke, Leezel’s gravelly voice unmistakable, and the other too low to make out. It had better not be Reardon. Not after what he did today. That would be just like Leezel, to be kissing all over the jerk who ransacked her sister’s yard. The girl had no loyalty to family. No common sense, either. If she did, she would’ve left Reardon in the dust years ago.
China poured a glass of milk for Kyrie and settled next to her most favorite person in the world. Kyrie ate with gusto, but with her tummy full, and after the nice warm bath, it only took one cookie and a half-glass of milk before her eyes drooped. She rubbed her nose with a big yawn. “I tired.”
China lifted her out of the chair and into her arms. “You can sleep in my bed tonight, okay?”
Kyrie mumbled ‘okay’ and laid her sleepy head on China’s shoulder. Within seconds, China had the baby snuggled under the sheet in her bedroom. While Leezel’s raucous laughter rose up from the porch, China searched for one of the extra baby blankets she had bought when Kyrie was born.
Who on earth was Leezel talking to? Couldn’t be X or Z. They might have an occasional beer with her in town, most likely when Leezel invited herself to their table and ordered a round she never intended to pay for. That was Leezel through and through. Content to be a party girl on everyone else’s dime.
China located the spare blanket in. She’d bought extras, simply because she knew her sister. Leezel tended to forget important things like little girl’s blankets and teddy bears. This blanket wasn’t much, but it was exactly what Kyrie needed. She tucked it under her niece’s chin, turned on the pink princess nightlight she only used when Kyrie visited and quietly shut the door.
The satisfaction of having her niece safe and sound for the night filled China with peace even as the very real knowledge of what needed to be done filled her with foreboding. She had to find a way to help Kyrie and Leezel too, hopefully without further damaging their already strained relationship. Leezel needed to understand the importance of raising her only child in a decent environment. Rented rooms over bars and over-nighters on friends’ couches weren’t the same as a good, stable home. Kyrie deserved more.
China went quietly downstairs to clear the dishes and straighten the kitchen. Leezel’s flirty laugh drifted through the front door again. How her sister could turn a laugh into a seductive come-on always amazed China, but Leezel had always had a way with men. From little on up, boys had climbed all over her. China climbed all over horses.
She glanced out the screen door, ready to send Reardon packing.
Damn.
It was Maverick.
Chapter Six
“Can I get you two a beer? Or a room?”
Maverick jumped to his feet. His glasses were out of sight and his baseball cap was on backwards, which spiked China’s irritation even more. The minute he saw her, he yanked it off his head. She didn’t know if that meant he was polite or apologetic or just another dumb-assed male caught in Leezel’s snare. Right then she didn’t care.
“Oh, come on now, Mav honey. You just sit yourself back down and I’ll tell you about my daddy.” Leezel patted the porch step beside her and rolled her eyes at China. “And yeah, Sis. A couple beers would be nice, especially since that’s all you got to offer anyway.”
Maverick’s gaze fixed on China. “Just came by to see what you needed done first thing in the morning, ma’am.”
Leezel trailed a finger along a crack in the weathered porch boards. “Well, I can think of a couple things I might need done first thing in the morning if you’re up to it, cowboy.” She cast an exaggerated shy look at him, which China caught and he didn’t.
China’s fins clenched to knock her on her ass, but Maverick just looked exceedingly uncomfortable. Well, good.
If he meant to fall for the likes of Leezel, China wanted him gone. Might as well get the hell out of here tonight. She let him have it. “Stalls need mucking. Chickens need feeding. In the morning. Before the sun’s up. Can you handle that?”
“Yes, ma’am. No problem.”
“I’ve got forty acres of grass hay to cut. Another fifteen to plow. Tomorrow. By sunset.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His head kept bobbing. He was suddenly so formal she had a feeling he might salute next. He folded the brim of his cap in his hands and refolded it, worried it. Good. She had made him nervous. Damned good.
China bit her tongue before she said anything else. She was far too ready with a snarky comeback, and after the kind of day she had just had, she wasn’t up for one more waste-of-time confrontation. Or maybe she was.
“I need help with Gorgeous tonight if you’re not too busy. You do remember her, don’t you?” China winced at the very snarky tone to her voice. “The white horse? The one that liked you?” The dumb one, like me, you ass?
He gulped, his Adam’s apple hard at work in his throat. “I already settled her in the big stall in your barn, ma’am. She’s sweating a lot and she’s pacing all over the place, but I figured that’s where you wanted her.”
You did? China blinked at that profound insight. For a man of few words, he had just said a mouthful. The guy was no dummy. He hadn’t backed down one bit, either. Just stood there and took what she had thrown at him. Good. I think.
“Oh, come on, Sis.” Leezel cocked her head to one side and resorted to her coquettish, southern belle drawl. “Let Mav take a load off. That old nag isn’t going foal for hours. You know that. We got all kinds of time. Let’s all have a beer or two. Then we’ll worry about—”
“Beer’s in the fridge. Get it yourself.” China slammed the screen door and stormed down the front steps and past the pair. If Maverick was smart, he would know which sister to follow. If he wasn’t, it didn’t much matter what he did next. China didn’t need the trouble. If this guy was dumber than dirt—good riddance!
Footsteps followed close behind her. Sounded like work boots. Not glittery stilettos.
Excellent choice, Maverick.
She paused at the barn door and took a deep breath to clear the ugly thoughts out of her head. The first time she stepped foot into a barn as a little girl, she had felt its magical powers. Barns were sanctuaries for pigeons in the rafters, cows in the manger and newborn babies in the storm.
The natural odors of beast and hay, combined with the musty wood smell of any well-built b
arn became her happy place. She had played there, worked there, and brought enough foals into the world to rival any other rancher in the state. But tonight—nothing. No magic and no happy place.
She clenched her fingers into fists. A pack of thugs had ruined her yard and garden. She had nearly lost Star to a bizarre act of Mother Nature. Leezel didn’t give a flying rat’s ass about her own flesh-and-blood daughter. The planets and stars were all out of alignment, every last one of them. Nothing in the universe felt right, damn it! Could this day get any worse?
China opened the door and stepped inside, silently biting her lip, and trying to decide between swearing or crying or kicking the shit out of the nearest bale of hay. Days like this made her realize how much work there was to running a ranch, and how understaffed she had always been. X and Z were a great help, but they were only two. She didn’t dare trust just anyone with her horses. Never Leezel.
Maverick took a silent position at her elbow. Well, good. Let him stand there.
She stilled the rant in her head and finally noticed that all of her kids were at rest in their stalls. Star nickered in greeting. Gorgeous, too.
China swallowed her temper tantrum. Maverick had been busy. She flipped on the switch for the overhead lights and took in a view of the foaling stall. For a greenhorn, he had done good. He had put down a clean cover of straw for Gorgeous, but that wasn’t what pleased China all the way to her toes. His backpack lay propped against the outside rail of the stall. His guitar leaned against the wall. It looked like he planned to spend the night with a gorgeous female, and God bless him, it was the right one.
China took a deep breath and ceased being the alpha bitch. “Thanks,” she said quietly.
“Yes, ma’am.” He sounded subdued, his voice baritone deep and rich like single barrel whiskey. It damned near curled her toes in her boots, despite the fact that he had been caught red-handed talking and laughing with Leezel. Well, Leezel had been laughing. Come to think of it, China had only heard her sister’s raucous voice. Not Maverick’s. Hmm.
“Thought I’d sleep in here tonight if it’s okay with you. Your hired hands, umm, snore when they’ve been drinking.”
China drew in a deep, slow breath of humility. Maverick might not have deserved her wrath. He’d had a hard day, too. Embarrassment heated her cheeks at the way she had blasted him. She bit her lip, but instead of apologizing...
“I see that. Sure. Sleep here. It’s fine with me.” She crossed the barn to the stall and slid the gate aside. “Let’s see how Gorgeous is doing. Hold her halter.”
The oddest thing happened. He had only to reach for Gorgeous’s halter and the gentle lady pushed her face into his chest again, like a long, lost friend. Whatever or whoever this guy was, her favorite brood mare had made up her mind about Maverick Carson.
China stilled her hostile feelings for her sister and strove for calmness. She examined the mare to determine how close she was to dropping her foal. Gorgeous was sweating plenty. All that tail swishing was a good sign, too. China ended the visual double-check with a soothing hand over her horse’s rump. “I could teach you how to examine a mare in labor if you’re interested.”
He shook his head. “No, thanks.”
“Are you sure? It’s really quite fascinating.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Okay then. Looks like tonight’s the night. It won’t be long.”
Gorgeous still leaned into Maverick. The sight of that big animal’s face in this handsome man’s hands had a quieting effect on China as well. He dipped his forehead into the horse’s long nose, but she couldn’t miss the tender glint in his eye.
Had he looked at Star like this when they were up on the hill? She’d been so busy with excavation and worry she hadn’t noticed. His eyes. The color of black coffee. Clear. Hot. Sexy as hell.
He lifted his chin and caught her looking. “What’s next?”
“I, umm, I need to wrap her tail.” China stuttered and attempted a more professional train of thought. Yes, he had sexy eyes. Yes, he was built, but this was business. He’s a hired hand like X and Z. That’s all. “Then we wait. The foal might take all night to get here, or it could show in the next hour.”
“How do we wrap her tail? It’s really long.”
“Like this.” China steeled her heart and retrieved a bag designed specifically for mares in labor. “You hold the bag. I’ll tuck it inside. It’s important we get all of it.”
He shook the bag open and stepped behind Gorgeous.
China lifted the course strands of the elegant and very long tail. Flowing manes and tails added to the beauty of her horses. The longer and fuller, the more handsome the animal. Gorgeous was one of the most beautiful horses she had ever owned. Wrapping it during foaling would keep it as clean as possible, if she could make her fingers stop trembling enough to get the job done right.
She twisted the strands into a loose knot and folded it up around the stump of the tail. Maverick angled the bag into position. While she made sure no strands escaped, he lifted the bag around her hands and arms.
“Wow. It’s a lot easier with help. Thanks.” She pulled her hands out of the bag while he pulled the drawstring tight.
“Well, ain’t that sweet?” Leezel’s sarcastic voice at the barn door squelched the peaceful feeling. She stepped daintily through the barn door in her six-inch, red glittery heels, two bottles of beer lifted high and her tiny T-shirt exposing her belly button ring.
“Did you check on Kyrie? She’s in my bed.”
“No, Sis. Thought I’d bring some refreshments to our handsome guest here first. Then I’ll take care of my motherly chores.”
China caught the outright disrespect in her sister’s voice. What she had really meant to say was more like ‘Mind your own business, bitch. I’m looking for a little action, and you’re in my way.’ Only with a few X-rated expletives thrown into the mix.
“Thought I’d check on my favorite pony.” Leezel sauntered up to the stall and peered at Gorgeous, dangling the bottles over the top rail. “She in the first or second stage, huh, Sis? Do you know yet?”
China bit her tongue and busied herself with finishing the wrapping. Maverick stood nearby, bless his heart. “Could you hold her halter while I tie this off?” China asked, striving to hold onto the peace Leezel seemed intent on driving out.
“You bet.” He shifted to take Gorgeous’s halter.
The lady bowed her head to him again and China’s heart thumped. This horse knew something about Maverick.
“Hey, China. Sis. Boss lady, or whatever it is they call you around here.” Leezel clinked the bottles. “I asked you what stage is she in. Do ya know or not? You checked her yet?”
“Heard you. Stage one.” China finished securing Gorgeous’s tail before she turned to Maverick. “How is she?”
He shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” The puzzled look on his face was somehow endearing. This man so did not have a clue what he was in for. “She keeps blowing air at me.”
“She’s huffing. That’s normal. Labor hurts.”
Leezel pointed a bottle at Maverick. “Did you know most mares deliver their babies on their feet?”
He raised a brow at that detail, but shook his head at her offer of beer. He pulled the baseball cap low on his forehead, like a wall. He ducked, the brim cutting his line of sight.
China relaxed even more. The tension across her shoulders lifted. She took in a deep breath. Maverick had just erected his trusty barrier, this time to keep Leezel at bay.
“Course my darling Gorgeous likes to lay down like a good mama should, don’t you, pretty baby?” Leezel emptied one of the bottles in a long chug, tossed it onto a nearby bale of hay and entered the birthing stall. “Here. Hold this.” She shoved the last beer bottle into Maverick’s chest and snatched the halter out of his hand.
Gorgeous reared her head back, but Leezel kept tugging the halter until the heavily panting mare was eye to eye with her. “Come on. Walk. It’s good for you.”
“Let her be,” China warned.
“Why should I? In case you forgot, I know as much about horses as you do.” Leezel pulled until Gorgeous was forced to follow. The horse took one halting step after another. It didn’t hurt her to walk, but Leezel’s antics could prolong stage one. Gorgeous needed to feel safe and secure at this critical time, not be harassed by some wanna-be horsewoman who showed up once in a blue moon and thought she could take over. Any breeder worth her salt knew a mare would put off foaling until no one was watching, much less bugging her.
Maverick watched with his arms folded over his chest, his eyes hooded.
Good. Let Leezel make up your mind for you.
Leezel continued demonstrating her vast equine knowledge. “You see, Mav? The foal has to turn inside its mama’s belly before it can be born. It’s been on its back this whole time, but now, if my big sister is as smart as she thinks she is, this little guy is ready to come out. That’s what stage two is about. His front feet should be pushing up the birth canal this very minute if he’s ready to be borned, the little darlin’.”
“You need to be careful,” China warned again. And stop acting so stupid. She had caught the silly southern accent Leezel reverted to at her leisure. Real men didn’t fall for that crap.
A contraction rippled through the horse. China soothed her hands over the mare’s quivering belly. “She’s ready to—”
Gorgeous dropped onto the hay with a noisy grunt. She rolled to her side and pushed her legs straight in front of her.
“Oh, my.” Leezel released the halter and squealed like a delighted little girl. “See, Mav? See how smart this little mama is? She knows it’s better to lie down to have her baby. That’s why she’s my favorite mare in the whole world. She’s such a good mama.”
Maverick hunkered down behind Gorgeous, his brows furrowed. China grunted along with her favorite mare. It was that or throw up. “We need to back off now and let her alone.”
The horse strained, all four legs extended and her neck stretched out straight. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long.
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