“Can I ride Blue?” Angie asked.
Calum nodded. “I’ll give you a leg up.”
Jasper sighed. He’d nearly said too much.
Note to self: Stop being such a clever dick.
Chapter Nine
Jasper watched a cloud of dust following a white SUV as it headed along the road parallel to where they walked with the horses.
“The vet,” Calum said as they crossed the last stretch of pasture.
What a place to live and work. Jasper thought of his small, airless office and the chair from which he rarely lifted his butt and felt a pang of regret for what might have been.
There’d been no change in Misty’s gait as they’d walked back, which was a good sign. Better if she hadn’t had to walk at all, but then if she hadn’t been able to walk, she’d need to be put down.
As they arrived at the stable, Bessie bounded to meet them, Erik strode out, scowling, and Angie started to cry.
“This is your fault,” Erik snapped at Calum.
Jasper’s spine prickled. He glanced at Calum and saw his jaw twitch. How the fuck was it Calum’s fault? Jasper opened his mouth and then closed it again. Not his place to speak out, but he wished Calum would defend himself.
“Daddddy,” Angie wailed.
Erik wrapped his arms around her. “Hush, angel.” Over his daughter’s shoulder, he glared at Jasper and then at Calum. “You know better than to promise her something and then go back on it.” He patted Angie’s back. “Let me have a look at Misty.”
Angie released him, and Erik ran his hand down Misty’s leg to inspect the hoof. “It looks okay. Any horse will walk differently with a shoe missing. If the vet’s come out here for nothing, I’ll take his fee out of your wages.”
Jasper’s fingers tightened around Star’s reins. He expected Calum to say something, but his mouth remained a thin line.
“Want me to take Blue and Star?” Jasper asked.
“Thanks,” Calum muttered.
Jasper led the horses away and Bessie followed. Erik Neilson was a jerk. Jasper felt sorry for Calum having to live and work with a father like him. Jasper missed his father. Well, missed the father he’d had before Ben’s accident. He’d been fun, someone who’d played cricket in the rain, helped them fly kites and taught them how to fish.
As Jasper reached the stable door, Pete walked out and pointedly ignored him. Oh great, someone else who hates me.
Gunner emerged from a stall. “Good ride?”
“Yes.” A very good ride.
“Want me to see to Blue?”
“Please.”
Jasper’s tension seeped away as he brushed Star down. There was a lot of comfort in giving pleasure to someone else, and Jasper knew Calum had enjoyed fucking him. Would he get the chance to return the favor? A surge of lust ran up Jasper’s throat and emerged as a faint groan. Star nuzzled his shoulder as he worked, snorting into Jasper’s neck as he chatted to her. He knew all too well the dangers of getting attached to animals—the danger in getting attached to anyone.
Bessie sat and watched, almost as though she was checking he was doing it right. The thought of a wagging tail and happy circling mutt to greet him when he came home made him sigh with longing. But it wasn’t fair to keep an animal cooped up for hours. Even if he employed a dog walker, Jasper still didn’t spend enough time at home.
I hate my job.
So do something about it.
It’s too late.
Money isn’t everything.
Easy to say when you have plenty.
Jasper had run this conversation through his head so many times he was sick of it.
He heard a commotion at the barn door and turned to see Misty being led in by Erik. Angie and Pete were with him and a tall, bearded guy in his forties who Jasper assumed was the vet. There was no sign of Calum.
“What’s the verdict?” Gunner asked.
“Looks like laminitis,” Erik said.
Jasper felt no pleasure in being right.
“Ah darn it.” Gunner took off his hat and scratched his head.
“It’s my fault Misty’s ill because I fed her grass.” Angie hiccupped and rubbed her eyes.
“Who told you that?” Erik asked.
“Him.” She pointed at Jasper.
Every head turned his way. Shit. “I also said it might not be that. It’s not a good idea to give horses grass mown from a lawn, but it can also be caused by too much rich feed, an infection or a hormonal imbalance.”
“What makes you an expert?” Erik snapped.
As Jasper verged on snapping back, Gunner asked, “Is that what you’ve been doing with those buckets of grass?” He turned from Angie to Erik. “She said she’d been feeding her cow.”
“I did feed Charlotte,” Angie said. “I just shared the grass with Misty.” Tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Mown grass is too rich for horses, but it’s not necessarily the cause of Misty’s problem.” The vet glanced at Jasper. “I’ll do some tests that should give us answers. But it was a good catch. Early enough for me to do something about it.”
“Calum has a good eye,” Erik said.
Jasper chewed his lip. Erik would rather give his son credit than me? Given the pair’s relationship, that said a lot. Jasper didn’t mind Calum getting praise for spotting the laminitis, particularly if it got his father off his back, but he suspected it would take a lot more than that. Jasper shut Star in her stall, gave her a mint and the horse whinnied with pleasure. He wondered if Erik liked mints.
Jasper was on his twentieth lap of the pool when a sudden splash startled him and he stopped swimming. He lifted his head and blinked water from his eyes to see Angie doing doggie-paddle in the shallow end. Reassured she could swim, albeit untidily, Jasper continued to the far end, did a tumble turn and swam back. It was another length before he realized Angie was in deep water and flailing. A shiver of unease flashed down his spine and he swam over to her.
“Are you—?”
“I can do it,” she shouted and went under.
Fuck. Jasper hauled her up, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him under. Water poured into his mouth and Jasper kicked to the surface, dragging Angie with him. They were both coughing and spluttering. A couple of yards and he’d be able to stand, but Angie was in full panic, her arms wrapped tight around his neck while she kicked at his legs. A knee in his balls sent them both under again.
Jasper struggled to the surface, torn between dragging himself free of her grip and pinning her arms. He couldn’t let her drown, but what should have been easy, just to shift them both a few feet to safety, took all his strength.
“Angie, hold still,” he gasped.
She managed to land punches and kicks while still clinging to him and screaming and crying.
“Don’t kick,” he snapped. “I can keep us afloat…if you hold still.”
She took no notice.
Jasper dragged her to the side. As he tried to lift her onto the edge of the pool, her bikini top came undone at her neck, exposing her breasts. Shit. As she continued to struggle, he sat her on the side and tried to help her cover up. Oh God, I can’t breathe.
“I hate you,” Angie screamed. “It’s your fault Misty’s sick. Your fault Calum didn’t take me riding. Leave me alone.”
“Fine.” Jasper backed off, his chest heaving.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” snapped a deep voice.
Jasper spun around in the water. At the end of the pool, Angie’s father shot him an icy glare. Oh God.
“Get inside, young lady,” Erik barked. “You know you’re not allowed in the water without supervision.”
“He said I could go in.”
What? Jasper didn’t have the breath to speak.
“Inside now,” her father shouted.
Angie wrapped herself in a towel and scuttled away. With no small amount of difficulty Jasper hauled himself out of the pool and pushed himself upright as Erik st
ormed to his side.
“She was—” His chest heaved.
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Erik’s neck swelled and he flushed red as a cockerel’s comb, his fists clenched tight in front of his belly.
“Look,” Jasper panted. “I wasn’t—”
“I don’t want to hear one damn word, you fucking viper. Keep your hands off my daughter and off my son. The sooner you leave this ranch the better.”
He stalked away and Jasper stared after him, open-mouthed and gasping. Well, I’ll let her fucking drown next time, shall I?
No strength in his legs to keep him upright, Jasper lay on the towel and burned with humiliation. His heart hammered and his breathing still labored. There was no point hoping Angie would explain. Stuff got twisted in her head. Because he was the one who’d noticed Misty’s problem, she blamed him. She probably thought he had been feeling her up. Christ. Though he wasn’t sure how she rationalized he’d said she could go in the pool. Didn’t matter. When Erik told Calum he’d found Jasper holding Angie with her top off, what the hell was he going to say? Jasper had hoped to remember this day as one of the most perfect he’d ever spent and it was sliding downhill faster than a luge.
When he could breathe normally again, he’d find Calum and at least put this straight. Maybe he ought to leave the ranch. Hire a car in Jackson Hole. They’d bring one out to him if he paid extra. Jasper had never seen Yellowstone National Park. Then he thought about Calum, what they’d done that afternoon, how he wanted to do it again, and he didn’t want to run away. And how stupid was that? A few more days and he’d be leaving anyway.
Much as Jasper wanted Calum—and there was no point denying he did—this was going nowhere. The more involved with each other they became, the worse it would be when they split. Jasper spotted Vera heading toward him and scrambled to his feet. Oh fuck. He could guess what was coming. Angry mother, more yelling. Shouldn’t take him long to pack. If she’d call him a cab, he could leave within the hour, though not without speaking to Calum.
“I didn’t do anything,” Jasper said quickly. “I was trying to help her and your husband misinterpreted the situation. It looked bad, but it was totally innocent, I swear.”
“I’m sure it was.” Vera’s smile told him she meant it.
Relief rushed through Jasper like a cool breeze and he exhaled.
“I know that you don’t—well, really don’t worry. I believe you. Did you tell her she could go into the pool?” she asked.
“No, I don’t know why she said that.”
“I assume she panicked.”
“She got out of her depth, and when I swam to her, she grabbed me. We both went under.”
Vera wrapped her arms around herself. “Oh God. Thank you for helping her. I’d told her to wait for me. She can swim, but if she swallows water, she forgets to keep moving her arms and legs. She said you pulled her up and sat her on the side and that her top came undone. I realized Erik had got hold of the wrong end of the stick. Not for the first time.”
“So he’s okay with me?”
Her shoulders fell. “Not exactly.”
Jasper should have known that was expecting too much.
“He knows Calum’s interested in you and it’s stirred up things Erik wants kept buried.”
“I should leave. I don’t want to cause trouble. Is there a cab company that would take me to Jackson?”
Vera put her hand on his arm. “Don’t go. Maybe it would help if things were stirred up. Erik’s too bull-headed and Calum goes out of his way to avoid confrontation. It’s time he stood up to his father. I just don’t want to see either of them get hurt.”
What about me? What if I get hurt?
She turned away and then turned back. “I hope you manage dinner tonight. If not, Angie will leave you another sandwich.”
He threw himself back on the lounger. Didn’t seem fair the best day of his life could end up being one of the worst.
Calum slouched sulkily in the back seat of the Jeep, his hat tipped over his eyes. Gunner rode shotgun, Pete was driving, and Calum wondered if he was aiming for every damn pothole. Bastard. Calum had been on his way to find Jasper when he’d been shanghaied into this pointless trip. According to his father, there had been reports of a mountain lion close to where the guests were due to camp tomorrow night. The three of them had been sent to check for tracks.
Well, two of them had. No doubt Pete had been told to get Calum away from Jasper, but Calum had no idea why Gunner had wanted to come as well. Pete hadn’t looked happy about it.
“Your father says we can eat on the way back,” Pete said.
What a fucking surprise and that probably accounted for Gunner tagging along. The guy probably wanted to go to the steakhouse in Dawson.
“How about that steakhouse in Dawson?” Gunner asked.
Bingo. “Fine,” Calum muttered.
He wouldn’t be surprised if Pete manufactured some problem with the vehicle that kept them overnight. An ache gripped Calum’s chest. What was wrong with liking guys better than women? It wasn’t as if he were doing it on purpose. He couldn’t help the way he felt. He wasn’t hurting anyone or offending public decency by holding hands or kissing in public. Calum ground his teeth. Why the fuck couldn’t his father let him be happy?
Pete pulled up abruptly and Calum lurched against his seat belt. He lifted his hat to see they were in the clearing below the site where they usually pitched camp. Course, they told the guests who had to ride here, they were miles out in the middle of nowhere. Not quite. His father wouldn’t risk a guest’s safety by not having a viable road close by.
“Where’d you learn to drive?” Gunner mumbled. “My bones are rattling.”
Pete turned to Calum. “Know what you’re looking for?”
Yeah, a tall dark Englishman with eyes that melt my heart. “Tracks wider than they are long. Heel pad with four lobes and no claw marks.” Calum exited the Jeep and slammed the door. Hard.
“How long?” Pete asked.
Calum’s jaw twitched. “About three inches.” Same as your dick.
Pete let Toby out the back and the large hound bounded to the nearest tree to take a leak. Gunner followed to copy Pete’s dog, and Calum swallowed his smile as he turned away. Calum hadn’t brought Bessie. Damn thing would get herself killed if she tried to protect him.
Gunner and Pete picked up rifles.
“Where’s mine?” Calum asked. “I thought you said you’d put it in?”
Pete rolled his eyes. “No. I told you to.”
The fucking liar.
“Not much use anyway,” Gunner said. “If it attacks, you won’t see it coming.”
Calum still wished he had a weapon.
“Calum, you head east and circle round,” Pete ordered. “Gunner, go due north. We’ll meet up at the camp.”
“Shouldn’t we stick together?”Gunner asked. “If Calum doesn’t have—”
“We’ll cover more ground my way.” Pete strode off.
They had maybe an hour before sunset. Plenty of time to find nothing, particularly the more noise they made. Chances were a lion would see or hear them and leave. Gunner was right. A rifle was next to useless, but Calum would have still felt better holding one. He should have put it in the Jeep himself. Christ, he knew Pete hated his guts. Why would the bastard do him any favors?
Calum stamped across the ground. The chances were small of there being a big cat around here, let alone one getting ready to attack. He was convinced this trip was a waste of time. So when he saw what he thought was a paw print, for a brief moment Calum wondered if his father had sent someone out here to make it.
He bent to take a closer look, saw another print and then another before they disappeared in front of a rock where the cat must have jumped. Shit. A prickle of unease skittered up his spine. Calum took out his phone and called Pete.
“I found a set of prints. Less than hundred yards from where we parked.”
“Fresh?”
Not
that Calum was an expert but—yeah, they did look fresh. “Think so.”
“Wait there. I’ll call Gunner. Keep your eyes peeled.”
No kidding. But before Calum could turn, he heard a hiss behind him and it wasn’t a snake. He faced the noise. He couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean the cat wasn’t there. Calum’s heart surged up to block his throat and his spine prickled as if he’d backed into a sharp bush. The desire to flee grew alongside his need to piss. The knowledge that running was the wrong thing to do plus the fact that his knees shook were the only things that kept Calum standing where he was.
He risked a quick dip to grab a couple of rocks and then straightened, raised his arms and yelled, “Scat, pussy. Get out of here.”
Calum kept looking round, trying to catch sight of it. Mountain lions usually backed down from confrontation. They liked to approach from above and behind but once their cover was blown, they’d lost their advantage. At least that’s what he’d read. Calum kept yelling and made himself look as big as possible as he reversed in the direction of the Jeep. Shit, I hope the cat hasn’t circled around behind. Wrong time to think about that scene in Jurassic Park.
Toby’s barking grew louder. Maybe that was enough to scare the thing into fleeing. Then there was a blur of movement at the periphery of his vision and Calum saw the cat standing no more than ten feet away, its tawny color blending with the rock. Oh fuck. Don’t run. How far could they jump? Maybe it was just as well he couldn’t remember. He yelled louder, threw the rocks, missed with both, crap, and the cat flashed him a contemptuous look. Don’t run. Calum rushed forward, arms out, fists clenched and screamed, “You want to fight, you fucker? If you think I’m going down, you bastard, you’ve another think coming.”
Instead of running, the cat jumped. Oh shit. Calum didn’t have time to be frightened, he thrust out his fist and connected with its jaw as a paw swiped at his shoulder. He felt as if he’d thumped a truck and then been run over by it. As Calum tumbled to the ground, the lion on top, he just had time to consider that maybe he wouldn’t survive this encounter before a shot rang out. He could swear the bullet parted his hair. Jesus. The mountain lion bounded away and Toby jumped over Calum to dash after it.
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