“Oh?” she said with that smug expression back on her face.
“I suppose you slept all night.”
“Like a baby.”
“Humph!”
“Of course, it did occur to me once or twice that I would have been getting a lot less sleep if I’d been a couple of rooms down the hall.”
A satisfied smile spread across his face. “So, the truth comes out at last.”
“Yeah, those kids sounded as if they were having a wonderful time.”
Taylor groaned. “Very funny.”
“What’s on the agenda for today?”
“I don’t suppose I could convince them all we should take naps until, say, midafternoon?”
“Not likely. My guess is that they’re all going to want to go over to your parents’ house so they can ride Daisy. I’m surprised Caitlin didn’t beg to take the horse upstairs with her last night, just so she could remind herself she was real.”
“Actually she tried for keeping her in the backyard. I said no.” Taylor drained the rest of the coffee and wished desperately that he had some aspirin nearby. Just thinking about that horse made his blood run cold and his head pound.
“But you will take her out there today,” Zelda prodded.
“Not a chance in hell,” he said flatly. “And first thing tomorrow I am going to have a talk with my father. If he wants to keep the horse, that’s up to him, but I won’t have Caitlin over there risking her neck.”
“Now, Taylor,” she said quietly, “you can’t disappoint Caitlin and her friends.”
“Why is that? Who’s in charge around here, anyway?”
“You are,” she said dutifully.
He could tell at once she didn’t mean it.
“And I know you love Caitlin and only want what’s best for her, just as your father always wanted what was best for you.”
“Low blow,” he muttered, glaring at her.
She watched him expectantly, just waiting to see if she’d scored a direct hit, no doubt. She had.
“Maybe it would be okay if we went over so they could feed the horse,” he conceded finally.
“Maybe ride her around the paddock with you leading the horse?” she suggested.
He threw up his hands in a gesture of resignation. “Okay, okay. Damn it, you’re worse than Caitlin.”
She shook her head. “I’m just trying to save you from all those tears.”
He regarded her malevolently. “Right. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Good. A nice, cold, reviving one, I hope. You’ll definitely need all your wits about you to get through the rest of the day.”
“You know, you could be replaced,” he muttered as he left the kitchen.
“I dare you to try,” she called after him, her tone too blasted cheerful.
“Don’t tempt me,” he shot back, determined, just this once, to have the last word.
* * *
The horse seemed awfully big. Though Beau assured him the filly was gentle as a lamb, Taylor was absolutely certain there was a mean glint in the animal’s eyes. He glared over at Zelda for talking him into this peace-making trip out to his parents’ house.
It was too late now to back out, though. With Zelda instructing them, four little girls were holding out their hands, palms flat, a chunk of carrot in the center. Taylor was certain the horse was going to chomp down on more than the carrot at any second. He observed with his heart in his throat.
“Can we ride her?” Caitlin said, approaching him, her expression pleading. “Please, Daddy?”
“Well, of course you can, sweet pea,” Beau said before Taylor could open his mouth. “Why else would I buy you a horse, if I didn’t intend to teach you to ride?”
Taylor gritted his teeth. “Once around the paddock,” he said reluctantly. “Granddaddy will walk you.”
“All of us?” Caitlin asked.
“You can take turns,” Taylor agreed.
Zelda, who’d kept her distance from his father and mostly from Taylor, walked over to stand beside him as his father boosted Caitlin into the saddle. The intrepid child never even glanced down at the ground. He supposed her total lack of fear should please him, but it did just the opposite. It was just more evidence that Caitlin was going to have to be watched like a hawk if she was going to grow up in one piece.
“Relax,” Zelda whispered, sliding her hand along his spine until it came to rest at the small of his back, right at the edge of his belt.
If she’d meant to distract him, he had to admit she was doing a pretty decent job of it. Even with his gaze riveted on his daughter, his body was completely aware of the woman at his side.
“You’re pressing your luck, sugar,” he warned lightly, his gaze never wavering from Caitlin who’d reached the far side of the paddock. She looked over and waved at him, her expression filled with excitement. Taylor managed a tight smile and an unenthusiastic wave.
Zelda’s hand crept even lower, though her own gaze was directed toward Caitlin, as well. She was finally relinquishing Daisy to one of her friends. He breathed a sigh of relief, even though he knew the morning was long from over.
“One more inch and you are going to be in a heap of trouble,” he advised, suddenly feeling more cheerful.
“What kind of trouble?” she inquired in a tone that was all innocent curiosity. Her expression was pure mischief.
Taylor began to wonder if he was going to get more cooperation than he’d bargained for, after all. How would he cope with a willing Zelda, especially when he wasn’t so sure any longer that his intentions, like hers, were only to tease?
“Why don’t we go for a stroll and I’ll show you?” he suggested anyway, seizing her hand and pulling her in the direction of the old barn that hadn’t been used as far back as Taylor could remember. Now, in honor of Caitlin’s horse, it had a new coat of paint and, with any luck, a freshly stocked hayloft.
Suddenly Zelda looked just a trifle uncertain, just as he’d anticipated she would. He was almost disappointed. He couldn’t resist taunting her a little more. He was playing with fire and he knew it, but it suddenly seemed like an impossible-to-resist game.
“What’s the matter?” he inquired. “You’re not turning cautious on me, are you?”
She shot a worried look in Beau’s direction. “Your parents…”
“My mother’s still at church. My father has four little girls to walk around that paddock, several more times if that glint of determination in Caitlin’s eyes is any indication.”
“I thought you were worried about that.”
He shrugged. “You told me everything would be just fine. I’ve decided to believe you.”
Zelda’s gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Taylor, what are you up to?”
“Me? You’re the one with the roving hands.”
“True, but I was just…you know…”
“Trying to distract me?”
“Exactly.”
“It worked,” he said softly. His gaze lingered on her lips, then slowly drifted down. “It worked very, very well, in fact. Now, come along. You were once rather fond of haylofts, as I recall.”
“I was eighteen at the time,” she reminded him dryly. “And we got caught.”
He winked at her. “And that was the best part, wasn’t it?”
She seemed to struggle a bit with her conscience over that one. “Well, yes,” she admitted finally.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Old man Highsmith used that shotgun to warn us. Beau’d probably aim it straight at my backside.”
“So you’re scared,” he taunted.
“Not scared,” she denied. “Just prudent.”
“A fine distinction.”
“But an important one.” She glanced up at him. “Of course, if you were willing to make it worth my while…”
Taylor’s mouth gaped. “You want me to pay you?”
“Not exactly. I want you to take me riding.”
“Riding?”
> “On Caitlin’s horse.”
“I’d have to get it away from her first.”
“Last I looked, the kids were all heading to the pool. By the way, have I mentioned that I think an indoor pool is totally decadent?”
“No, you hadn’t mentioned that,” Taylor said, still bemused by her unexpected determination to go horseback riding. She seemed to have developed the obsession rather suddenly. Obviously she was better at this game of bait-and-switch than he was.
“How come you never told me about it before? You don’t suppose we could sneak in here some night and go skinny-dipping in that pool?”
He regarded her incredulously as laughter bubbled up. “And you think making it in the barn would be risky? Skinny-dipping in my parents’ pool would be suicide. That’s why I never told you about it.”
She winked at him. “Sounds like fun, though, doesn’t it?”
Taylor would not admit that it did, not if he was held down and tortured. Okay, so it wouldn’t be the first time they’d done it, but they’d been kids then. Respected attorneys did not sneak around skinny-dipping anywhere, much less where they were almost guaranteed of getting caught. An image of Zelda, all slick with water and bare from head to toe, slammed into his head. That image tested his resolve something fierce.
“I think where we both belong this morning is church, confessing like crazy,” he muttered.
“Taylor, we are not Catholic,” Zelda reminded him. “And so far, I’d like to point out, we haven’t committed any sins. Not lately, anyway.”
“That’s what you think,” he retorted. “Let’s go ride the damned horse before I agree to do something really insane.” He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw Zelda smirk just a little as he turned away. It was all he could do to keep from laughing with sheer exhilaration. She had managed to turn the tables on him once again.
They found the new filly still in the paddock, carefully brushed, her tack removed and placed nearby.
“That’s exactly what I was talking about,” Zelda said. “Your father has already given them a lesson in responsibility. If they want to ride, then they also have to care for the horse.”
“You’ve made your point,” he commented dryly. “Don’t beat it to death.”
“Yes, boss.”
“You only say that when you’re trying to irritate me.”
“Works, too, doesn’t it?”
Chuckling despite himself, Taylor saddled the horse and swung himself up into the saddle. Zelda stepped on a fence rail, then mounted behind him.
“Once around the paddock?” he suggested.
“You have to be kidding. Down to the river.”
Her arms circled his waist and she leaned against his back. The soft press of her breasts almost gave him a heart attack. “Comfortable?” he inquired dryly.
“Very.”
He set off at a sedate pace. After a few minutes, even with Zelda nestled provocatively against him, he began to relax and enjoy the cool, sunny morning. He filled his lungs with pine-scented air and realized how much he’d missed spending time out-doors. He hadn’t even been on a golf course in months, and this part of South Carolina was filled with championship-caliber greens.
“Taylor?”
“Mmm.”
“I feel like I’m taking a pony ride at a carnival,” she said with an unmistakable sniff of derision.
“Meaning, I suppose, that you’d like to go a little faster.”
“If you wouldn’t mind. I want to feel the wind rushing through my hair.”
“You’re wearing one of my old baseball caps,” he pointed out.
She punched him playfully in the ribs. “Do you have to take everything so literally?”
“I’m a lawyer. That’s what we do.”
“Just for today, couldn’t you be a wild adventurer? Maybe even a cowboy chasing a cattle rustler?”
“Sugar, I have an active imagination, but I doubt it stretches that far. You create the scenario. I’ll pick up the pace.”
He nudged the horse into a trot, then a gallop. He had to admit it was more exhilarating.
“Better,” Zelda shouted, her voice almost lost in the wind.
Taylor suddenly realized that he felt more alive than he had in years. He was probably going to be sore as the dickens tomorrow and he had a long day in court, but it was worth it to hear Zelda’s laughter, to feel this rush of pure adrenaline.
They crested the top of a hill, and the river lay spread below them, its banks blanketed with colorful leaves and pine needles. The setting was peaceful and serene and private.
Taylor was all too aware that Zelda’s hands were no longer on his waist, but had drifted to rest on his thighs. His muscles tightened in response. His pulse quickened. He felt as if he’d been aroused for days, as if the need to make love to Zelda had finally overcome every ounce of logic, every reservation. All that verbal teasing had obviously planted some very dangerous notions in his head. And elsewhere.
“Stop,” Zelda pleaded now, her voice faintly breathless. Her touch grew bolder, more daring, inflaming his need for her. Caution was looking less and less attractive.
“Not a good idea,” Taylor said dutifully, though he did slow the horse to a leisurely pace and tried not to gasp as deft fingers slid over him.
“Actually, it was your idea,” she reminded him. “First, last night. Then just a few minutes ago back at the barn.”
“Timing is everything. The kids were still there last night. I figured we were safe. You turned me down at the barn, just like I knew you would.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” she said, her breath fanning his neck.
Suddenly he felt the touch of her tongue and almost bolted from the saddle. “Zelda, you’re not playing fair.”
“Nope,” she agreed, scattering little kisses over whatever bare flesh she could get to.
Taylor went absolutely still and tried to will himself not to respond. He wanted her so badly right this second he was afraid he’d explode. Wanting her so desperately sent doubts ricocheting through him. He’d vowed never to want anything or anyone this much again.
It would be one thing for them to share a quick roll in the hay, literally or figuratively. It would be quite another to make love, to linger and savor, to touch with joyous abandon, to open up his heart. He was more afraid of that than he ever had been of anything, and that was exactly what would happen if he and Zelda left this horse and allowed their instincts to take over. He would lose control. He would risk yet another loss, more anguish.
He shifted slightly in the saddle and gazed back at her, saw the bright anticipation shining in her eyes, the undeniable yearning that matched his own. Slowly he shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“It doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s too big a risk.”
He saw the light in her eyes dim, the proud jut of her chin. “I won’t pressure you again,” she said stoically.
Her refusal to argue surprised him, maybe even disappointed him. But he could hardly blame her. How many rejections could she be expected to tolerate and still bounce back?
“I think we’d better be getting back,” she said, while he struggled with cold honor versus hot need.
Honor, which suddenly tasted an awful lot like fear, won. He turned Daisy around and headed home, aching in more ways than one.
“Zelda?” he said eventually.
“What?” she said impatiently.
“I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “It was a calculated risk. I lost.”
No, Taylor thought to himself. He was the one who had lost. He had lost her for the second time in his life. Pain cut through him like a knife.
He urged Daisy into a trot. Then suddenly, to his astonishment, he felt Zelda knee the horse, sending the filly into an all-out gallop. His hands tightened instinctively on the reins, exactly the wrong thing to do. Terrified and confused, the horse bolted on a dangerous course through the woods.
The fall sent a sharp pain shooting down his leg. His butt was likely to be black and blue, but it was Zelda who concerned him. Her eyes were closed. A huge lump was already forming on her forehead. He pressed his finger to the pulse in her neck and was somewhat reassured when he found it strong and steady.
He stroked her forehead, avoiding that nasty lump. “Come on, sugar, wake up,” he murmured. With his heart hammering with anxiety, he touched his lips to hers, then gave a rueful smile. Did he think he was Prince Charming and this was Sleeping Beauty, for God’s sakes? The woman could be suffering from a concussion.
“Come on, sugar,” he murmured again. Again, because he couldn’t resist, he kissed her cheeks, then her lips, light, tender kisses meant to tease her back to consciousness.
Suddenly her eyelids fluttered.
“That’s it,” he encouraged. “Wake up.”
A vague smile drifted across her face. “Thought you weren’t going to do this,” she said groggily.
“Do what?”
“Make love to me.”
“I’m not,” he said, but with far less certainty than he had only minutes before.
She sighed. “Too bad.”
“Yeah,” he said ruefully. “Too bad.”
More confident now that she was basically okay, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the house. Taylor saw his father glance outside, catch sight of them, and come racing out of the house.
“What the devil’s that fool woman gone and done now?”
“That horse you bought spooked,” Taylor snapped back furiously. “Zelda slammed into a tree branch. I knew something like this would happen. Don’t just stand there. Call the damned doctor.”
Ignoring his father’s stunned expression, Taylor strode inside and took Zelda straight upstairs to his old room and settled her under the covers. An instant later his mother hurried in.
A Daring Vow (Vows) Page 13