by Amelia Judd
“No ma’am. He’s an American Quarter Horse.”
She fought back a smile at Brick’s solemn response. Whenever she evaluated a business, she never underestimated the value of the company’s human assets. The ability to look beyond numbers on a spreadsheet had made her one of the top loan officers at her bank. Brick was a gem, and by employing him, La Vida earned a shiny gold star in her book.
“I think our guest might prefer Abuelo.”
Tension tightened her stance and washed the ease from her smile. Only one voice could affect her so drastically. She drew in a breath and slowly turned around. Though Pax stood a good ten yards away in the open-air stable, he dominated the space, sending a ridiculous wave of claustrophobia through her.
She cocked her head to the side. “Abuelo?”
“The graying criollo at the end. His real name is Francisco, but we’ve called him Abuelo for years.”
Sage moved down the line of horses toward the one he gestured to. While all the horses were smaller than Hercules, Abuelo’s stocky frame stood drastically shorter than the others. Gray edged his light brown mane, and the big droop in his back suggested Abuelo’s youth had long since passed.
“I’ll take him,” Sage said, confident that short and old were the perfect combination in a horse for her.
Pax nodded at her, his expression an unsettling mix of humor and satisfaction, and turned to the group of stable hands tending the horses. “Miguel, please saddle up Herc for Brick, Abuelo for Ms. Somerset, and Dandelion for me.”
Sage gave an amused snort. “Dandelion? Really? Your horse is named Dandelion?”
As the ranch workers began to prepare the horses for the ride, Pax walked to a low, long counter located near the entrance. “Don’t let her name fool you,” he said over his shoulder. “Dandie’s a tough horse to handle. She may be a real beauty, but she’s stubborn as hell. Poor Abuelo’s carried a torch for her for years, but she doesn’t give him the time of day.”
He selected a dull black helmet with a dangling chin strap from the counter before focusing a devilish grin on her that instantly fried her brain cells. When he beckoned her with his index finger in a come-closer gesture, she mindlessly complied. He gently settled the ugly helmet on her head.
“Safety first,” he said as he reached to fasten the strap under her chin. When his hands brushed along her jawline, her senses ignited and certain key body parts perked up in awareness.
So much for keeping her cool.
She summoned enough composure to swat at his hands and step away. “I can handle my own helmet.” Ignoring the amused light in his eyes, she fumbled with the strap. “Why did you pick Dandelion if she’s such a difficult horse?”
“I’ve never been smart enough to take the easy route.”
“Is that a strength or a weakness?”
“Depends on who you ask,” Pax said.
“I’m asking you.”
He shrugged. “Both.”
“I’m not following you.”
“Any strength carried to an extreme will eventually become a weakness. The trick is in finding the right balance.”
Sage studied him for a beat. “Deep. I’m impressed.”
“Impressed enough to grant the loan?” Pax’s eyes lit with mischief.
“Sorry. No.” She laughed, enjoying his exaggerated expression of hopefulness.
“Worth a shot,” Pax said with a wink. “I’m going to help Brick load the gear. We should be ready to leave in a few.”
As he walked past, every nerve ending tingled and her body tightened. She sucked in a breath. Jeez-o-Pete. Pax had been at least two feet away, and her body responded like he’d suggested they skip the ride and spend the afternoon making out instead.
Sage fiddled with her helmet and cleared her throat, her gaze darting around the stables. After all these years, he still made her fidget.
Pax Bennett was like a bad rash. She’d been forced to ignore him for what felt like forever before all the annoying symptoms of his touch faded, and then, at the slightest provocation, everything flared back up again.
“Time to saddle up,” Brick yelled from beside his horse with an encouraging smile.
Chin up, shoulders back, deep breath through the nose. She could do this. At least the stress of seeing Pax again coupled with the fear of a snake attack or possible volcano eruption had put her worries about participating in risk-filled adventures into perspective. Compared to snakes, hot lava, and dealing with Paxton Bennett for a week, riding a horse seemed about as dangerous as a day at a banking convention.
While her experience with horses was limited, she did know the proper technique to mount. She prayed combining this knowledge with Abuelo’s low stature would save her the embarrassment of not being able to get on the darn horse.
Sage picked up the reins, grabbed the pommel, and put her left foot into the stirrup. Abuelo snorted and glanced back to see what newbie he’d been stuck with today. Seemingly unimpressed, he shifted his weight and swatted his tail in what felt suspiciously like a dismissal.
“I’m no happier about this than you are,” she mumbled and swung her right leg up and over Abuelo’s back, landing lightly in the saddle. “I snuck a few extra sugar cubes from breakfast. If you get me through today in one piece, consider them yours.”
“You’ve already resorted to bribery?” Pax shook his head in mock disappointment before he mounted his horse in one smooth motion. “The adventure hasn’t even started yet.” He clicked his tongue twice and Dandelion started out of the stable with Abuelo close behind.
“Speak for yourself,” she grumbled as Abuelo followed Dandie, completely ignoring Sage’s attempts to lead him.
Her adventure had started the moment she’d stepped into Pax’s world.
Chapter 5
Pax settled into the back of the small group, content to let Brick lead the way. The well-worn dirt trail meandered through the dry tropical forest for miles. The wide path followed a large stream and passed by numerous waterfalls before returning to the ranch. Its natural beauty delighted every guest who traveled it. Pax had banked on Sage sharing in said delight.
Not likely, judging by the waves of tension rolling off her as she fought to keep her horse beside Brick and Herc. They’d been riding for twenty minutes, and the entire time she’d prodded her horse to keep up. Her words to Abuelo ranged from encouragement, to orders, to begging him to stay abreast with Brick. It appeared Sage wanted to keep as far away as possible from Pax.
Problem for her was that stubborn old Abuelo wanted nothing to do with the large quarter horse Brick was riding. Nope. Abuelo loved Dandie and had no intention of letting a novice rider keep him from his crush.
“It would be a lot easier to relax and let Abuelo walk beside Dandelion,” Pax called. “He’ll make you miserable until you do.”
She puffed out a defeated sigh, slumped her shoulders, and appeared to ease her white-knuckled grip on the reins.
Sensing victory, Abuelo immediately stopped walking. The horse swished his tail at the bugs, waiting patiently until Pax and Dandie caught up. Once his true love reached his side, Abuelo resumed walking, now in perfect unison with the female horse’s pace.
Pax grinned and yelled ahead to Brick, “Why don’t you go on with Hercules? He’s bound to get bored with our slow pace. Sage and I will meet up with you for lunch.”
“Good idea, boss. See you in a bit.” Brick squeezed his heels into Herc’s belly, prompting the horse to trot down the path and out of sight within seconds.
Pax felt Sage’s eyes burn into him hotter than the late morning sun. “You knew Abuelo was uncontrollable, didn’t you?”
He schooled his features into an expression of innocence. “He’s not uncontrollable. He’s besotted.”
She snorted.
“As a bonus,” he continued, ignoring her scowl, “with Brick riding ahead of us, we have a chance to talk about La Vida alone. I know you’ve studied her financial records. Wouldn’t you like t
o know more about what really makes her special?”
He waited for her response, trying like hell to maintain eye contact. Which was damn hard, considering certain parts of his anatomy begged to study the hypnotic sway of her body to the horse’s rhythmic pace.
“Alright. What makes her special?”
Pax drew in a deep breath. He had to stop thinking about her long, lean curves and start focusing on what he was here to do—impress her with La Vida’s uniqueness.
“While many guests participate in the adventure excursions we offer, nearly all of them take part in the social outreach program,” Pax said. “Last week, a couple from Iowa spent a morning in the classroom of the local elementary school reading to the kids in English. They enjoyed it so much they cancelled their surf lessons so they could go back to work with a different group of kids the next day.”
“This is common?” Sage prodded, studying him with a neutral expression.
Worry churned his gut. Her bank was his last chance. He needed to get through to her. “We’ve built more than a luxury getaway for the wealthy,” he said, fighting the edge to his voice. “We’re trying to bring different cultures together.”
As their horses followed a gentle curve in the path, Pax wished like hell he could read her mind. Though she said nothing, her gaze remained locked on his. A flicker of emotion played across her face, then her expression softened.
“I can tell La Vida means a lot to you. But you’ve requested a large amount of money, and there’s a huge risk involved. Tourism to Costa Rica could decline.” Her voice rose as she began ticking off reasons. “A guest could hurt himself falling off a horse and sue you, a large storm could devastate the area, a horde of venomous snakes could slither over the ill-advised bathroom wall and attack a guest in her sleep.”
Pax quirked an eyebrow. “You just took your fear of snakes to the next level.”
“Okay. The last one is probably not going to happen.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “But you can’t deny the fact that a lot could go wrong.”
“I’m not going to live my life afraid of what could go wrong. Even though we take all of the necessary precautions with running a resort of this nature, you’re right, we can’t eliminate every possible risk.”
“I’m glad you can see—”
“But,” he interrupted, keeping his voice soft, “I hope to show you that some things are worth the risk.”
“Good luck with that. I spent the evening of my twenty-first birthday at a review session for a micro-economics exam because I was afraid I would do poorly if I missed it. Looking back…?” She grinned and shrugged. “That might have been a little overly cautious.”
He laughed. Sage looked as chagrined over her behavior as she was accepting of it.
“You look younger when you laugh,” she said, and her pretty green eyes widened in surprise. “Not that you look old,” she continued in a rush. “Well, older than you did, yes, but in a good way.” She rolled her lips inward, bit them shut, and developed a sudden interest in the path they were traveling.
He laughed again. He’d always liked that she rambled when she got nervous.
It felt real.
“They’re much more colorful than the gulls near my apartment back home.” Sage’s soft voice broke into his thoughts.
He followed her gaze upward and spotted a flock of green parrots in the thick canopy of heavy limbs over the trail. “They’re called white-fronted parrots. One of many species of birds in Guanacaste.”
“They’re beautiful.”
“Glad you like them.” Maybe pressuring her into taking part in the resort’s excursions wouldn’t backfire and cost him his loan after all.
As they continued down the trail, the nearby stream grew in width and strength, and the sound of trickling water morphed into the rush of a much stronger stream. Pax pulled Dandie to a stop when the trail split and the water curved to their left.
“We need to take this switchback,” he explained, motioning to an s-shaped route down a slope to the right. “It’s a gradual decline. Perfectly safe.”
Sage arched an eyebrow. “You sure? It looks steep to me.”
“It’s fine. The horses have walked this trail hundreds of times.”
He nudged Dandie forward at a slow pace, knowing Abuelo would follow. When they finished their descent a few minutes later, Sage released an audible sigh.
“Phew. I’m glad to be back on flat ground,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of falling water.
“Some things are worth the risk,” he said, repeating his earlier words as they rounded a sharp corner.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said, awe in her voice. “I’ve never seen water so blue.”
Directly in front of them, a waterfall burst through the green foliage forty meters above, cascaded down the rocky face of the canyon wall, and landed in a celestial blue lagoon.
“It’s one of nature’s greatest works of art,” Pax said. “Dissolved copper minerals from the volcano create the unique color. Once you swim in this water, you’ll never want to go in Lake Michigan again.”
“I’d like to, but I’m not sure I can.” She chewed on her lip, looking skeptically at the lagoon.
He fought a grin. “There are no snakes in there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Pax swung off of Dandie’s back and gathered the reins from Sage. “I’ll secure the horses in a shady area. You get ready to swim in the prettiest water you’ll ever see.”
After caring for the horses, Pax returned to find Sage standing next to the lagoon’s edge. Facing the waterfall, her back to him, she plucked the ugly helmet from her head and shook out her long blond hair. He gritted his teeth and reminded himself to ignore the attraction.
When she slipped out of her shirt and pants, revealing a black bikini beneath, he cursed at his own damn stupidity. He should have realized watching her swim today would bring back memories of that last night in Silver Bay. His body tightened, the mist floating through the air doing little to cool him. Evidently, six years hadn’t been a long enough time to wash away his desire.
•••
Sage turned to see Pax standing a few feet behind her. She scanned him up and down. Unlike her, he was still fully clothed in faded jeans and a light blue T-shirt. Which, annoyingly, made her bikini feel even more revealing.
“Aren’t you joining me?”
“Nah. I’ll be the lifeguard.”
Because that worked so well last time? She did a mental eye roll and turned back to the lagoon, scanning its blue depths. “I can’t see any snakes in the water.”
“That’s because there aren’t any.”
“Just making sure.” She waded in waist deep and sighed in pleasure. She dipped her head under, enjoying the instant relief from the tropical heat. Surfacing, she slicked her hair back. “This feels amazing. Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”
“I’m sure,” he answered in a gravelly voice, shoving a hand through his hair.
He made her nervous pacing around the edge of the lagoon. She’d thought they’d been getting along okay, but now he seemed distracted, tense. Part of her was relieved he hadn’t joined her in the water. She had a hard enough time keeping her cool when he was completely covered. She might combust if he stripped down to a bathing suit.
She turned back to the jaw-dropping waterfall, wondering if it had a treasure-filled cave behind it like it would in the movies.
“Time to investigate,” she murmured. She took a deep breath, cutting through the cool water with ease.
The noise, current, and mist grew stronger the closer she got. After a few attempts at swimming directly at the base, she realized the powerful cascade made reaching it more difficult than she had expected.
She might be cautious, but she wasn’t a quitter. Sage redoubled her efforts and fought through the current, swimming toward the side of the cascade rather than directly at it. She’d always been a strong swimmer and
had even lifeguarded her way through college, but this challenge was testing her strength. Her breathing grew rapid and her body strained with the effort.
Finally, she broke through the strong flow. Laughing in accomplishment, she treaded water directly behind the beautiful blue curtain. She looked around to see a small cavern worn into the rocky wall about the same size and depth as the backseat of her Toyota and completely blocked from view by the falling water. Not exactly a secret cave but still a nice find.
Enjoying the peaceful setting, she gripped the rocky wall and caught her breath. After a few minutes, she let go of the edge and slipped under the water again, ready to return to the shore. Before she could push off the wall, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist haul her above the water and backwards into a hard, male body.
Sage yelped in surprise.
“Are you okay?” Pax asked over the pounding beat of the waterfall, his voice rough with concern.
“I will be when you let me go!” She struggled against him until he dropped his arm. “What the heck was that for?” she demanded, spinning in the water to face him.
Soaking wet and fully clothed, Pax glowered at her. He gripped the rocky ledge with one hand and shoved the other through his wet hair. He looked ticked. Really ticked.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he said. “I walked away for a few minutes and when I came back, you were gone.”
“You walked away? Some lifeguard.”
His jaw clenched. “I needed a break.”
“From what? Is watching me swim that hard of a job?”
“You have no idea.” He spoke so low that his words were almost lost in the sound of the cascading water.
“Fine. We can take a break now.” Sage grabbed the ledge, boosted herself out of the water, and scooted over to put some extra space between them.
Pax stared at her with a hard, unreadable expression. “I thought you were hurt.”
He’d been worried about her? Right or wrong, the thought was satisfying.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” She shrugged. “I just wanted to see if the waterfall hid a cave full of pirate’s booty.”