Riding High

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  She had her answer as soon as she stepped out onto the stoop and glanced to her left, toward the corral. Regan, dressed in the dry clothes she’d left in his bathroom and wearing his hat, was working with Rex. He’d clipped a lead rope to the palomino’s halter, and from the look of things, he was teaching the horse to back up on command. When Rex failed to obey, Regan waved the rope in his face until he followed the command.

  Horse and man put on an interesting show, and she wasn’t the only one captivated by it. Several other horses had gathered around the corral in apparent fascination. Lily couldn’t resist taking out her phone and snapping a few pictures. School was in session and the pupils were in attendance, and the rising sun gave her just enough light to capture it.

  She’d be crazy to send this guy away. He was exactly the person she needed to keep order in a potentially chaotic environment. Her personal issues with him faded in importance next to the benefit he’d provide to the animals in her care. So that was that. If he was willing, and she hoped to God he was, she wanted him to stay.

  That decided, she watched a little longer because she didn’t know how often she’d be in a position to study Regan unobserved. He and the flashy palomino made quite a pair. Regan’s broad shoulders and slim hips seemed specifically suited to his jeans, boots and Western shirt. He looked great, but it was his confident movements as he worked with Rex that stirred her. Competence in any man was sexy. In someone who looked like Regan, it took her breath away.

  She started to slip her phone into her hip pocket and paused. One more picture, a close-up this time. Zooming in on Regan, she waited until she had him in profile. Damn, but he was gorgeous. Just as she clicked the picture, he turned his head and looked straight at her. Busted.

  Or maybe not. From this distance he might not have been able to tell that she was taking pictures with her phone, but he certainly knew she’d been standing on the stoop watching him. She’d have to own up to that.

  With a deep breath, she started toward the corral. Regan adjusted the tilt of his Stetson before leading Rex to the gate. When the horse started to crowd him, he turned and gave a quiet command. Rex stepped back.

  “Awesome,” Lily called out. “Looks like he’s learning some manners. I hope the rest of them were paying attention.”

  “I think they’re here because they’re hoping I’ll feed them. I didn’t want to do that without asking, but I figured you wouldn’t mind if I spent some time with Rex.” He opened the gate and led the big horse through it.

  “Not at all, but don’t you want to leave him in there? I can feed him in the corral.”

  “He’s had enough of a time-out. Horses really don’t like to be isolated from the herd for very long. And I think Rex considers himself the leader of this one. He can’t very well lead from inside the corral.”

  Lily fell into step beside Regan. “What if he starts acting up again?”

  “We’ll keep an eye on him, but let’s feed the way you normally do and see how he reacts. He might be a perfect gentleman, at least for the time it takes everyone to have breakfast.”

  “Sounds good.” She glanced over her shoulder and discovered the rest of the horses falling in line behind Rex in Pied Piper style. “Thank you for coming out early to work with him.”

  “Couldn’t sleep.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s my own damn fault. You made it clear when you asked me to stay that this was a platonic arrangement.”

  “But then I kissed you.”

  “I prefer to think we kissed each other. And then I kissed you again.”

  Lily sighed. “And I kissed you back. My bad.”

  “No way was it bad.” His voice caressed her nerve endings. “It was good. Very good.”

  Heat shot through her veins. Somehow she managed to keep walking, but her brain was filled with X-rated images.

  Regan cleared his throat. “I’ve been doing some thinking while I was not sleeping.”

  “If you want to leave, I understand, although I hope you don’t. I haven’t made this an easy situation for you.”

  “You don’t want me to leave?”

  She looked at him. “No.”

  “That’s a relief. All my thinking would have gone to waste if you’d decided to kick me out.”

  “I wouldn’t do that. I wondered if you should stay or not, but then I saw you working with Rex and all the others standing around watching. Our issues aside, you’re exactly who these animals need, and that’s what’s important.”

  “Thanks.” He led Rex inside the barn. “Let’s put him in a stall with a mare this time. He might like that better.”

  “Sally?”

  “Maybe a younger mare. Let him dream of the days when he was a stallion.”

  Lily chuckled. “Okay. Gretchen, then. I’ll go get her and we’ll stick them both in the third stall on the left.”

  “I really do think he’ll be fine, but let’s close all the stall doors once they’re situated so we can keep track of who’s where.”

  “Gotcha.” She started sorting horses, and when all were securely in a stall, she and Regan distributed flakes of hay. Rex seemed perfectly content to share a stall with Gretchen, and Lily made a mental note for the future.

  She and Regan kept busy until all the horses were happily munching their breakfast. Leaving the stall doors closed meant hanging around until they were finished. She wandered up and down the wooden aisle. All seemed to be well, and a peaceful feeling settled over her. Having a buddy to help her monitor the horses was something she hadn’t considered before, but it certainly lowered her stress level. She might want to take on an employee, after all.

  “Have a seat,” Regan said, gesturing to a straw bale at the end of the aisle, “and I’ll tell you my brilliant idea.”

  “Okay.” She sat down.

  He settled next to her, but not too close. He had room to swivel a bit and look at her more directly. She did the same. Now their knees almost touched.

  He nudged his hat back with his thumb. “First point—you need to set up an adoption fair. Advertise it, offer refreshments, get a bunch of people out here to look at the horses and maybe take one home.”

  She fought panic. “That sounds like a huge project.”

  “Not so huge if we get some help.”

  He’d said we, which calmed her a little. “Like who?”

  “The Chance family. They put on events like that all the time to showcase their Paints. My twin sister, Tyler, is an event planner, and I guarantee she’d help. Nick would, of course, but I’ll bet a few others would pitch in. What do you think?”

  She listened to the horses munching, all twenty-one of them. Intimidating as an adoption fair sounded to her, if the Chance family would help, she’d do it. “That’s a great idea, Regan. Thank you for suggesting it.”

  “Good. We can call the ranch today and see if anyone’s available to discuss the details. If they are, we’ll drive over and see what weekend they have free. We need to start planning and advertising now.”

  “But we’re not ready to set a date! Rex is the only horse you’ve worked with, and you didn’t spend much time with him. How can we set up an adoption fair when so much needs to be done with the horses?”

  His gaze was steady and his voice calm. “Setting a date will give us a goal. We can concentrate on the most adoptable horses first and work with them for as long as we have.”

  “Okay.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “But this is making me nervous. I don’t know how to train a horse yet, and I’m sure I won’t be as effective as you are at first. Plus I don’t have a lot of extra time, as I’ve explained. I don’t know when—”

  He put a hand on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I can do most of it. We’ll be fine.”

  “But you have a full-time
job.”

  “True.” He took a long breath. “So I’d have to train your horses during my time off, which would be evenings and weekends, or whenever I don’t have an appointment scheduled. Logistically, that could be accomplished more easily if I move in here until the fair.”

  She gulped. On the surface, the plan was perfect. She needed help, and he was obviously good at handling horses. As a single guy with no ties, no lease and no mortgage, he was free to switch his place of lodging from the ranch to her rescue facility.

  “So, Lily, what do you think?”

  “I would pay you, of course.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. You’re running a charitable organization and I’m volunteering my time. If you started paying me, I’d be an employee, and I don’t care for that dynamic.”

  “Why?”

  He fixed her with a penetrating stare. “I think you know.”

  “The whole attraction thing.”

  “Right. Suppose you started paying me, and then we became involved. I’m not saying we will, but it could happen. That would be awkward.”

  “It would be better if we didn’t get involved, but I suppose, if we’re living under the same roof...” The thought made her nerves hum in anticipation.

  “I won’t push, Lily. I promise you that. I decided last night that wouldn’t be right. You’re susceptible to me, but you don’t want to be.”

  “For good reason.”

  “I get that. But I’ve given the rebound concept a lot of thought, and while I can see why you’d think that was my motivation, it isn’t. Or it isn’t now.” He hesitated. “It might have been yesterday, before I spent more time with you.”

  She blinked. “That’s honest.”

  “I’m being as honest as I possibly can. I don’t want to be like those other two guys, the ones who were only using you. I like to think I’m not like that. I like to think I see you as a person and not as a means to an end.”

  How she wanted to believe him.

  “I know this might be difficult for you to accept after dealing with two greedy losers in a row, but I’m risking as much as you are with this arrangement.”

  “You are? Why?”

  “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way and become even more convinced that I’m on the rebound after all, but the truth is...” He paused. “I, uh, found Jeannette in bed with my...my best friend. On Christmas Eve.”

  “Oh...that’s terrible!” She hadn’t been prepared for him to confess that, and she was a beat too slow in her shocked response.

  His eyes narrowed. “You already knew that.”

  She was afraid the truth was there in her eyes, no matter what she said. But she didn’t have to confirm it by opening her mouth.

  “Nick told you, didn’t he?”

  “It’s not his fault! I wormed the information out of him! I thought you had—”

  “A secret anguish. I remember.”

  “Please don’t be upset with him, Regan. He’s very protective of you and wishes you the best. I’ve known Nick ever since I was in junior high, and—”

  “He mentioned something about that.”

  “We’re good friends. I told him that if you and I would be working together, I didn’t want to walk into a minefield without realizing it. I can be very convincing when I’m after something.”

  He gave her a lopsided smile. “I can imagine.”

  “Nick wanted us to get along, so he very reluctantly gave me the basic information. I can’t emphasize enough how reluctant he was. He thinks the world of you. You’re family. He didn’t reveal any more than you just said. He gave me no particulars, I promise!”

  “He’d have a tough time doing that when he doesn’t know the particulars. Nobody does except me, Jeannette and Drake. And it’ll stay that way.”

  “Which it should.” She saw the raw pain in his eyes and longed to reach out to him, but he might think she did it out of pity.

  “This explains a lot, though. You had the info on me before you asked me to spend the weekend, right?”

  “Right.”

  “So at that point you decided I had to be on the rebound and you wanted nothing to do with that kind of deal.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But, inconveniently for you, I flip your switches.”

  She sighed. “You do.”

  “That makes two of us with that problem. But considering where we’re both coming from, it could turn into a disaster. I wasn’t willing to admit that before, but it’s possible one or both of us could get hurt.”

  She allowed herself to look into his eyes again and sink into the warm chocolate depths. “True.”

  “I wasn’t just dumped. I was betrayed, which is a whole other kind of hell. In the wee hours this morning I faced the fact that I’m at least as nervous about getting into a relationship as you are.”

  “Are you saying we both have something to lose?”

  He nodded. “I think so, yes.”

  “That does shine a different light on things.”

  “It does.” He held her gaze for a moment. “The horses are getting restless. We need to let them out.”

  “Sure.” She stood. “So we’ll keep things platonic between us?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He got to his feet, too.

  “What are you saying, then?”

  “We should think it through as best we can and be honest with ourselves and each other. No secrets.”

  “Regan, please don’t call Nick and chew him out. Put the blame for the security leak on me.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t call him. I’ve only known you for twenty-four hours, and I can already see how you’d maneuver Nick into giving up information. I’m sure he thought it was the right thing to do. Obviously I was ready to tell you, anyway. No harm done.”

  She let out her breath. “I’m glad. I was a little worried that you’d be upset with him.”

  “No. From now on, though, this is between you and me. Nick doesn’t need to know what’s going on with us.”

  “You thought I’d tell him?”

  “You said you were really good friends.”

  “Not that good.”

  Regan smiled. “Happy to hear it. Although I warn you, once our living arrangement becomes public, some people will make assumptions.”

  “They can assume all they want. That doesn’t mean they’ll be right.”

  “It doesn’t mean they’ll be wrong, either.” He gave her a long look. “When I see you standing in the light pouring in through the door, your hair so bright and your eyes so soft...” His voice grew rough with emotion. “I ache for you, Lily King.”

  She watched in stunned silence as he turned and ambled down the row of stalls, unlatching doors as he went. No man had ever said anything remotely like that to her before, with such intensity. She might not be psychic, but she had a premonition that from this moment on, her life would never be the same.

  8

  FROM THE WAY the rest of the morning went, Regan concluded that he’d changed the game with that statement. The tension level between them had zipped from yellow to orange and was edging into the red zone. But he’d promised to be straight with Lily from now on. No secrets. So when he’d felt his heart shift as he’d seen her standing in a sunbeam, he’d told her the absolute truth. At that moment, he’d wanted her more than his next breath.

  After that, she’d treated him with wary respect, as if he might lose control at any moment. He wouldn’t, of course. But as they drove over to the Last Chance after all the chores were done, he noticed a flicker of excitement in her eyes whenever she glanced at him.

  The night before when he’d been forced to wear her robe, she’d looked at him with pure lust. He’d enjoyed that, even if he’d felt a little li
ke a Chippendales stripper. Early this morning she’d taken pictures of him with her cell phone and he’d sensed the same motivation: she was admiring the packaging, not the man inside. He wouldn’t knock that because it was damned flattering, but a steady diet of it would be like eating only dessert all the time. After a while, he’d crave something more substantial.

  Now, after his confession in the barn this morning, he was getting the substance he wanted. Besides the current of electricity that constantly arced between them, she was taking the time to really look at him, as if trying to see more than the obvious. He’d risked being more intense, and she seemed fascinated by that. He’d also made himself vulnerable, which was a little scary.

  How strange to think that yesterday he’d been imagining them simply having a little fun together. No big deal. A few laughs. Some great sex. Parting as friends when it was over. But from what he knew of himself and what she’d told him about her background, neither of them were good at that kind of no-strings affair. They’d be kidding themselves if they tried it.

  So if they became involved with each other—and on some level they already were involved—they’d both be all in. Maybe it would last two weeks, and maybe it would last much longer than that. He wasn’t predicting the outcome, only the emotional investment from the beginning. They wouldn’t be able to help themselves.

  He pictured them standing at the top of a cliff hand in hand as they prepared to dive into a deep pool. Every time he thought about holding her in his arms again, adrenaline rushed through him. The tension here in the small confines of his truck’s cab told him the moment would come sooner rather than later.

  As he pulled into the circular gravel drive in front of the Last Chance’s main house, he wondered if any of the people they were about to see would pick up on that tension. Judging from what he’d observed about Sarah Chance, she would. The matriarch of the family didn’t miss much when it came to those she cared about. Luckily for Regan, she cared about him. He’d always be grateful for that.