Tanner (American Extreme Bull Riders Tour Book 1)

by Sarah Mayberry

  “First up I’m going to shower and wash my hair,” he said, lifting a hand to hair that hadn’t seen water for four days. “Then I’ve got some calls to make.”

  “Promise you won’t work too hard,” she said, frowning.

  He was such a bloody stoic, used to carrying injuries into the arena and toughing it out. It would be just like him to try and power through eye strain and headaches with pure willpower, even though it was his first day testing his bad eye.

  “Tell you what, if you agree to meet me back here at three, I’ll agree to lie down for a couple of hours before dinner.”

  His wide, suggestive grin was a dead give away for what he had in mind for those couple of hours.

  “Deal,” she said, reaching out to shake his hand.

  She watched as he walked to the hallway, quietly thrilled to see the confidence in his stride. Tanner was back. Not quite up to full throttle yet, but something told her it wouldn’t take long for him to get there.

  By the time she flew home in less than a week, he’d be back to his old self.

  The thought wiped the smile from her face and she turned toward the door. There was no point getting prematurely maudlin about something that was going to happen whether she liked it or not. What was happening between them might be intense, it might make her heart ache when she let herself think about it too much, but it was self-limiting, and always had been. They had separate lives, in separate countries. End of discussion.

  She headed for the horse barn and was pleased to see Johnny B standing at the end stall, checking on Clementine.

  “Hey there. Tanner sent me out here with the suggestion I take a ride around the ranch,” she said.

  “Great day for it. Let me bring in Whiskey and saddle him up for you.”

  Evie went out to the fenced paddock behind the barn and watched as Johnny whistled the horses over, singling out a dappled white and chestnut stallion from the herd. Ten minutes later, she was in the saddle, heading south, with instructions from Johnny to ride to the foothills of the nearby mountains, then cut west until she came to the creek that formed one border of Tanner’s property.

  It felt so good to be in the saddle with the sun on her face and the wind in her hair, Evie couldn’t get the smile off her face for the first fifteen minutes. Once she and Whiskey had the measure of each other, she let the stallion have his head and soon they were racing across open ground. After a while she slowed the horse to a walk, leaning forward to pat his neck and praise him. He was beautifully trained, strong and powerful, and she could understand why Tanner had chosen to breed Colorado Rangers.

  She spent a couple of hours exploring Tanner’s land before returning to the house feeling windblown and content. He had a great spread here, with so much potential. Especially now he’d be devoting himself to it full time.

  Johnny gave her an approving nod as she led the horse into the barn and rubbed Whiskey down before getting him some feed.

  “Looks like that hit the spot,” Johnny observed.

  “Yeah. Sometimes you just need a bit of open space,” Evie said with a smile. Especially when you’d grown up on the broad plains of rural Australia like she had, a place of endless blue skies, red dust and low-lying scrub.

  She found Tanner in his study when she returned to the house, and she stopped in the doorway, watching him read something on the computer screen.

  “How’s your inbox?” she asked.

  “Unbelievable,” he said with a disgusted shake of his head. “Everyone from insurance people to journalists want a piece of me.”

  He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a hooded top with the AEBR logo across the front. His freshly washed dark hair flopped across his forehead; his feet were bare. The need to go to him, to touch him, made her curl her fingers around the door frame.

  How on earth was she going to give him up?

  The thought triggered a rush of anxiety and she gave herself a mental slap.

  Stop borrowing trouble. Enjoy what you’ve got while you’ve got it, and forget about the rest.

  Because she had no choice but to follow the advice her sensible, pragmatic self was offering, she went to Tanner and took his hand and slid it beneath the hem of her long-sleeved T-shirt. If she only had this time with him, she was going to make every second count.

  His mouth curved into a smile and his gray eyes grew warm as he shifted his focus from the computer to her.

  “You trying to drop a hint, darlin’?” he asked.

  “What do you think?”

  They barely made it to the bedroom, and when they did Tanner took charge, showing her in more ways than one that he was back to his old self.

  They managed to doze a little before dressing and heading out to the living room to set the table for four. Evie kept stealing little glances at Tanner as they worked side by side, setting out place mats and glasses. This felt…homey. Like something she could get used to. She could imagine more evenings like this—friends coming over, a shared meal, the two of them tidying up afterward and then going to bed.

  Never going to happen. Stop torturing yourself.

  Such good advice. If only she could turn off the part of her brain that wanted more. More Tanner, more time, more of the expansive, hopeful feeling that gripped her when she was with him.

  Tanner moved past her, resting his hand lightly on the small of her back, a simple, uncomplicated gesture of affection. Evie followed him with her eyes as he crossed to the fridge, her chest swelling with all the things she wanted to say, even though she knew she shouldn’t.

  For a moment it seemed that the words would simply tumble out of their own accord, too important and impassioned to stop. Then she took a deep breath and found her self-control again.

  Turning back to the table, she concentrated on the task at hand.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Tanner sat back in his chair, smiling as he listened to Johnny B explain the origins of his name to Evie. He’d heard all about Johnny’s mom remarrying a man with a son who was also called Johnny before, but it was fun to watch Evie’s face as she reacted to the story.

  Man, he loved her smile. The way it lit up her eyes and activated the lone dimple in her left cheek. And her laugh… It never failed to make him smile, no matter how shitty he was feeling, how much his head ached or his eye stung.

  Every now and then it hit him that two weeks ago, he hadn’t known her. He’d never touched her, never kissed her, never made her moan his name. It seemed impossible to him that he could feel so connected to someone he’d known for such a short time—and yet here he was, unable to take his eyes off her.

  She’d held him together since the accident. She’d been patient, generous, kind, tough, firm… In short, she’d done whatever was necessary to make sure he’d be okay. He knew if he asked her, she’d claim she was simply balancing the ledger between them, helping him out in a tough situation the way he’d helped her out. It was complete bullshit. His small kindness to her had long ago been eclipsed by Evie’s efforts on his behalf.

  She was special. One of a kind.

  And in five days’ time, she’d be flying out of his life and back to hers.

  Every time he thought about saying goodbye to her, his gut ached with denial. He’d never felt this way about a woman before, not this suddenly and sharply. A part of him didn’t trust it; his feelings had come on so fast and strong. Lying awake with Evie in his arms last night, he’d told himself it was the situation that had made things so intense. If he hadn’t had his accident, if she hadn’t been by his side while he reeled at the loss of his bull-riding career…

  Maybe it was true, but he didn’t think so. He was convinced that no matter where he’d been in the world and his life, if Evie had walked into a room, he would have been drawn to her. He liked to think the same thing was true for her. After all, she’d come here chasing another man, and wound up in Tanner’s arms and bed. And now she was firmly planted in the middle of his life.

  For the next f
ew days, anyway.

  Across the table, Evie caught his eye, her own dancing with laughter thanks to Johnny’s well-honed anecdote.

  “So how did you all meet, anyway? How did you wind up working with Tanner?” she asked, her gaze returning to Helen and Johnny.

  Pride bloomed in his chest at Evie’s considerate wording, and he marveled that in just a few days she’d picked up on one of the most important aspects of the ranch for him—Johnny B and Helen might be his employees, he might pay their wages, but they worked with him, not for him. They were a team, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d made a decision without consulting one or the other or both of them.

  “I used to be on the bull-riding circuit, working as a bull fighter,” Johnny explained. “I’ve seen this guy get thrown off more bulls than you’ve had hot dinners.” He jerked a calloused thumb toward Tanner.

  “At least I was riding the bulls, not running from them,” Tanner drawled.

  Helen held up a hand. “Quit it before you two get into an ego-measuring contest. Evie doesn’t want to hear your posturing.”

  “It’s okay. I have an older brother. I know it’s mostly harmless.”

  Tanner nudged her boot with his beneath the table and she shot him a cheeky look before nudging him back.

  “Anyway, Tanner and I used to travel together between events, and we’d always talk about what the future was going to look like. Then I had my injury and had to quit the circuit, and we lost touch for a while.”

  “How bad were you hurt?” Evie asked, her expression serious now.

  “Leg broken in two places, lost my spleen. Almost lost my liver,” Johnny said matter-of-factly.

  Evie paled. “Because of a bull?”

  “Didn’t get out of the way in time. Sometimes it happens. You step in to save some bigheaded, overpaid bull rider’s life, the next thing you know you’re getting stomped on.”

  Tanner huffed out a laugh at Johnny’s saintly expression, even though there was a lot of truth in his friend’s words. The bull fighters on the pro bull-riding circuit were some of the bravest, craziest men he’d ever met.

  Evie looked to Helen. “Were you there? Did you see this?” she asked.

  “No, thank God. We didn’t meet until he came home to recuperate at his sister’s place. I was living next door, and finally I got sick of hearing him wail and screech like an old cat and went across to tell him to zip it.”

  “I was teaching myself to play guitar,” Johnny explained. “She objected to my singing voice.”

  “It’s not singing, my love, it’s a form of public indecency,” Helen said sweetly.

  “Anyway, pretty soon she gave me something else to concentrate on instead of my guitar,” Johnny said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Long story short, I put this ragged old cowboy out of his misery and married him, and we were eyeing off acreage for ourselves when Tanner won the world finals. He called Johnny that night and told him about this place in Colorado he had his eye on, and here we are.”

  Talk moved on to Evie’s family’s landholdings back in Australia as Helen served up apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream. By the time Evie stood to clear the plates, Tanner could feel a headache coming on.

  Standing, he crossed to the kitchen and quietly swallowed a couple of tablets. Evie being Evie, she noticed, worry creasing her forehead.

  “Do you need more eye drops?” Her gaze went to the clock on the wall. “You’re about due.”

  Tanner was about to respond when Helen piped up.

  “We’re going to leave you two kids to it. I’ve got an early start tomorrow, and Tanner is looking beat.”

  “And I’ve got a mare to check on,” Johnny said.

  Tanner narrowed his eyes. “You reckon Clementine’s going to go tonight?”

  “Tonight or tomorrow.”

  “Keep me posted,” Tanner said.

  Evie insisted on applying his eye drops before they finished cleaning up together, stacking the dishwasher side by side.

  Standing in his bathroom brushing his teeth, he watched as Evie braided her hair to keep it out of the way before washing her face.

  I could get used to this.

  Having Evie’s toothbrush next to his in the glass on the vanity. Having her shoes next to his beside the bed.

  It was a dumb thought, destined to go nowhere. Why wish for something that was never going to happen?

  Evie caught his gaze on her and raised her eyebrows.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, even though he wanted to haul her close and never let her go. “All good.”

  He pulled her to him the moment she got into bed, running his hands over her soft skin, doing his best to make her hazy-eyed, warm and wet with desire. When he pushed inside her, he savored the flush in her cheeks, the flutter of her eyelashes, the little hitch in her breathing. And when she came, fingers digging urgently into his hips, he locked the memory away in the hope that it would be enough to sustain him when she was gone.

  He fell asleep with his body curled around Evie’s. It was dark when he woke with a start, and for a second he thought he still had his bandages on, that he was still effectively blind. Then he realized it was simply the deep dark of night and that someone was knocking on the bedroom door.

  “It’s me,” Johnny said, sounding both urgent and apologetic at the same. “Clementine’s foaling.”

  Evie threw the covers back instantly, the bed bouncing as she rolled to her feet.

  “Thanks. Be there in five,” Tanner called. He reached out to flick on the beside lamp so they could dress, the sudden illumination making him wince.

  Evie glanced at him.

  “I’m fine,” he said, preempting her concern.

  They dressed quickly, shoving their feet into shoes without socks.

  “How many times has Clementine foaled?” she asked as they exited the bedroom.

  “This is her second,” he said.

  “And her first delivery was okay?”

  “Stock standard. No problems at all.”

  “Fingers crossed we get a repeat, then,” Evie said, throwing him a grin over her shoulder.

  She was buzzed, her stride long as they exited the house. She couldn’t wait to get to Clementine. He hid a smile. Clearly, being a vet was truly a vocation for her, not simply a career.

  The barn was lit up like Christmas, golden light spilling out the open door. The other horses looked their way as they entered, their goal the last stall where Helen and Johnny were standing at the gate.

  “Any progress?” Tanner asked.

  “More fluid. She keeps trying to get up and then staying down,” Johnny said.

  Pretty standard behavior for a delivery. Tanner propped his elbows on the top of the gate and covered a yawn.

  “What time is it, anyway?” he asked.

  “Two thirty,” Helen said, her arms crossed over a bulky hand-knit sweater jacket.

  “She was waiting for some privacy,” Evie said, scanning the horse with an expert eye.

  Clementine lay on her side, her flanks shivering, her heard tossing uneasily as she struggled with labor contractions. Her breathing was loud and ragged, and every five seconds or so she let out a moan of effort. Johnny had braided the mare’s tail and taped it up to get it out of the way, and fresh straw covered the stall floor.

  “Poor girl,” Evie said sympathetically.

  She was rolling up her sleeves, tucking her braided hair in on itself to get it out of the way.

  Just in case.

  Typical Evie, never taking a back seat when help was needed. Feeling a swell of affection for her, he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.

  “Okay, something’s happening,” Helen said, drawing his gaze back to the mare.

  More fluid flowed down the horse’s flank, her vulva pulsating. Evie leaned forward, a frown on her face.

  “Oh no. I think she’s red bagging,” she said.

>   Johnny frowned. “You sure? I can’t see anything yet.”

  “I just caught a glimpse of red. But it could have just been blood on the amniotic sac,” Evie said.

  She pulled away from his side anyway, collecting the antiseptic foam from the foaling kit and washing her hands, her gaze never leaving the mare.

  Clementine moaned again, then they all tensed as an unmistakable red balloon-like membrane protruded from her vulva.

  “Damn,” he said.

  “Calling the vet,” Johnny said, his phone already in hand.

  It was the right thing to do, but everyone knew he wouldn’t get there in time.

  Every other delivery Tanner had witnessed, the amniotic sac was the first thing he’d seen, the appearance of the white membrane preceding the foal’s forelegs through the mare’s vulva. A red membrane—or bag—appearing first meant part of the placenta had broken away and the foal was in danger of losing oxygen before it was born.

  They had minutes, if not seconds, to do something before they lost the foal.

  “You dealt with one of these before?” Evie asked quickly.

  “No,” Tanner said, and Johnny shook his head.

  Evie nodded decisively, grabbing the sterile gloves Johnny had at the ready. “I’ve only seen this done once, but I know the theory.”

  “What can we do?” Helen asked.

  “Cross your fingers and toes,” Evie said as she approached the mare and squatted beside it. Her face tight with concentration, she reached out, the glint of steel in her hand. Cool and focused, she used the scissors from the foaling kit to break the membrane. Fluid gushed out, revealing the white amniotic sac. Evie didn’t hesitate, piercing it, too. More fluid gushed out, and Tanner took a step forward as he saw a single chestnut foreleg encased in what remained of the amniotic sac.

  Evie tossed the scissors to one side, then reached for the foal’s leg.

  “Have to get her out as soon as we can,” she said, then she yanked hard, pulling out and down until a second foreleg appeared. Renewing her grip on both legs now, Evie grunted as she pulled with all her might, legs braced, every muscle straining.

  Belatedly Tanner registered that he and Johnny were standing there, awestruck by her display of gumption and competence, when they were both twice as strong as her. Coming to his senses, he rushed forward, reaching around Evie to find purchase on the foal’s slippery flesh, adding his effort to hers. The foal’s nose appeared, then its shoulders. Clementine’s legs thrashed, and she groaned. Suddenly the rest of the foal came rushing out, sending both him and Evie onto their asses as the foal all but landed in Evie’s lap.