Claire rose and quickly cleared the table. “Thanks. I’ll definitely take him up on that offer.” She led him to the door. “I’ve just got to grab my pocketbook. Meet you at the stables?”
“Sure thing, my lady. Thank your mother for her hospitality.” Claire closed the door behind him, resting against it for strength.
“You know that man baked that pie for you himself, right?” Claire’s eyes opened at her mother’s playful remark.
“I seriously doubt that, Mom. He’s a busy man, and I can’t imagine he’s got time to bake pies.”
“Oh, he baked that pie, angel. I’d stake my life on it.” She walked over to Claire, gently rubbing her daughter’s arms. “It’s OK to start fresh. I know you’re still hurting from Kyle, but don’t let that keep you from finding what’s intended for you.”
Claire shook her head violently. “No time for that, Mom. Not right now. Besides, I’m sure he’s got lots more options than me.”
“Humph,” Carmen scoffed. “A man with options doesn’t come over with a homemade pie, but what do I know?” She laughed and grabbed Claire’s pocketbook and pressed it into her hands. “Get on out there, pay your workers, and make sure you give that man a proper goodbye.”
Chapter Five
Jess walked slowly toward the stables, hoping that Claire would catch up with him. He was torn between wanting to take Horatio for a good, hard ride in the fields on Bar None and lingering at Heart’s Home. He could offer to help with the moving or see if there was something he could do to set up the stables. He shook his head to clear it. Claire and her mother seemed to have everything under control.
Damn, she’s beautiful. Claire was unexpected. Sure, Cella had said she was pretty, but what did his niece know? The woman knew her horses, too; she was starting small, but that was smart in his book. He’d heard of and seen enough new ranchers build too fast, and that usually meant they’d be out of business quickly, too. Two mares might be a bit of a smaller start than he’d recommend, but the work she’d put into the stables clearly indicated she had plans to grow her herd.
He would invite them for dinner. Surely, that would be a nice thing to do for new neighbors just settling in, and Lacey would love to have a chance to meet this new woman. Lacey’ll try to set me up with this new woman. He scowled at the thought, not because he found the thought of taking Claire out unappealing, but because if he ever got to the point of asking, he wanted it to be on his terms, not through his sister’s maneuverings.
She’s a pretty face, that’s all, he told himself. Damn pretty. He clenched his fist, resolved to get Horatio and himself out of there as quickly as possible. There was work to be done at Bar None and his new neighbor deserved some privacy to get settled.
He was leading the horse from the stables when she arrived, and he watched from the doorway as she said her parting words to the crew that was now headed to his ranch. His hands gripped Horatio’s bridle, the horse giving him a soft whinny at the tension. Jess led the horse out into the open and toward Claire, who was now leaning against the rail around the corral, watching the mare that was pacing in a way that clearly indicated she was in heat.
As they neared the corral, Horatio caught the mare’s scent and became agitated. Jess was reluctant to bring him closer, but he needed to talk to Claire, to say goodbye and see her smile at him. “Careful boy,” he said, trying to soothe the excited horse. “She’s not for you.” He looked at Claire. “Well, maybe not just yet.”
By the time they reached the rail, Horatio was fully aroused, and Jess knew he needed to make this quick. “Just wanted to say goodbye before we head home,” he said, then added, nodding toward the mare who was now heading straight toward them, her eyes on the stallion, “don’t want things to get out of hand.”
Claire looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened as she realized what was going on between the horses. “Yes, that’s a good idea, heading home. I should have told you; she went into heat right before we left, and it’s going take her a few days to cycle through it.” She took in the sight of Horatio, stamping at the ground, eager to press his suit with this new mare. “I’ll get hold of Calliope until you’re well on your way.” With that, she jumped over the railing and started to speak to her horse.
Jess waved goodbye, calling out as he put more distance between them, “I’ll send Jasper over after the crew is gone with the foals. He can tell you who might be available to help you out.”
“Thanks,” Claire called out, then added, “and thanks again for the pie. My compliments to the chef.”
Jess nodded and waved, his head dipping a bit to hide the blush creeping over his cheeks, even though she was certainly too far away to see how flushed he was becoming.
It was difficult to get Horatio back to Bar None. The stallion kept trying to change direction, instinct and desire pushing him to return, but Jess held firm to the reins until they were well inside the boundaries of the ranch. Then, when he was sure that the horse was under control, he mounted him, snapped the reins, and sped off across the fields.
Horse and rider moved in perfect synchronicity, both running off the pent up anxiety they’d felt at Heart’s Home. Jess wasn’t surprised at Horatio’s response; the mare was a beauty, deep red coat and strong haunches, and the stallion was primed for breeding. He needed to keep him under control, though; there was already a great deal of interest from other breeders, and Jess was nothing if not a man of business when it came to his horses.
Still, he felt a kinship to the beast, the turmoil stirring his own belly making his long denied needs come rushing to the fore. As they raced through the fields, he indulged in the thought of her, imagining what she’d look like with her hair loose and flowing over her shoulders as she rode.
He urged the horse faster, enjoying the freedom of the ride. When they reached a small lake, he stopped, dismounted, and allowed Horatio some water and a few moments rest. Jess walked the length of the lake, then decided to indulge in a quick swim. He stripped quickly and dove in, letting the cool water calm and refresh him. After a couple of laps, he swam back toward Horatio and his clothing.
As he emerged naked and wet, he thought the horse gave him a peculiar, almost defiant look, an idea that was soon validated as the stallion suddenly turned and broke into a hard gallop right in the direction of Heart’s Home.
“Damn!” Jess barked, scrambling up to the bank and grabbing for his phone and dialing Jasper. “Jasper? Horatio’s lose and I think he’s heading to Heart’s Home. Whatever you’re doing, stop it and get over to there right away. Send one of the wranglers with a horse to me; I’m out at the lake behind the arena. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
He hung up and pulled his jeans over his wet skin, then got into his boots, grabbed his briefs and shirt, and started to run. When Pauline met him with Sugar Shaker, one of their fastest mares, he quickly mounted and took off toward Heart’s Home.
As he went through the gate between the two properties, he noticed a broken fence post, and raced on, hoping that Horatio hadn’t hurt himself in his haste to get to the mare. He cursed under his breath at his foolishness for leaving the horse unsecured and hoped he could avert anything that would make for strained relations with Claire.
When he arrived at the corral, he saw that he was too late. Horatio was calmly nibbling on the grass, docile, and in Jasper’s capable hands. There was damage to the fence here, too, the horse apparently so determined that he’d broken through the wood planks to get to his destination. He dismounted and tied off Sugar Shaker, then looked around. “Where’s Claire? Where’s Calliope?”
Jasper let out a sigh and motioned toward the stable. “In there. I’d wait a minute. She’s plenty sore right now.”
Jess ignored his warning. “Take Horatio home. Tell Pauline thanks for getting to me so quickly.” With that, he strode purposefully toward to the stable, pulling on the shirt and hastily buttoning it.
The two mares were in their stalls, perfectly content.
He paused to look Calliope over. She seemed fine, happy, even, and he breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t been hurt. Breeding was always done carefully, especially with such valuable mounts, and the loss of such a fine mare to his recklessness would have been a grievous thing, indeed. Satisfied that nothing more was broken than some fencing, he went in search of Claire.
He found her in the tack room, her hands holding a short, thin piece of brown leather that she kept snapping between her hands. The leather made a rhythmic popping sound as it brought her hands together before quickly yanking them apart, and he wondered if this was what she did when she was angry. He could see the tension in her back and shoulders, and he felt his own tension rise again as her arms worked the leather.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “This is all my fault.”
She didn’t turn to face him, the movement of her arms increasing in speed, the leather making rapid thwapping noises. “Yes.” Her voice was angry and sad. “It is.” She took a deep breath to steady herself before turning to face him. “How could you let him loose? Do you know what he did? He could have hurt her, killed her. I tried to stop it, but I was alone and you knew I was alone and you just let him…”
Jess cut her off. “I’m sorry, okay. We were well away from here, and I thought he was over it. We stopped for a minute so that I could give him a rest after a hard ride. I just…I just needed to breathe for a minute. I should’ve tied him off. I shouldn’t have let him get away.” He looked at the toes of his boots and ran his hand through his hair. “I checked in on Calliope. She looks like she’s okay now.”
Claire’s mouth was tight as she replied. “Yes, she seems to be. I’ve got to call the vet to be sure.” She drew her hand over her face as she exhaled. “This was her first time. My poor girl.” In an instant, the tension seemed to drain from her body, and Jess was sorely tempted to take her in his arms, to comfort her.
“It’ll be alright,” he whispered. “It’s natural for them. Can’t really say that I blame him. Stallions appreciate a fine mare, just like men do.”
He instantly regretted his words. She balled up her fists at her sides, one hand holding the leather strap tight, the other squeezing back whatever motion it felt compelled to make.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted. “Just tell me what I can do to make this right. I’ll do anything.”
“Yes, you will.” Her tone was razor sharp. “I want you to leave and keep your stallion under control. You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”
Chapter Six
“Do you really think a lawsuit is a good idea?” Carmen asked at dinner that evening.
“These are horses, baby. This is what they do. Besides,” she continued, slathering fresh butter on the warm bread she’d just pulled from the oven, “from what you’ve said, you’ve just bred your prize mare with his prize stallion, at no cost to either of you. This could turn out very well.”
Claire was sullen as she stared at her half-eaten lasagna. How could she explain this to her mother, a woman who’d never really understood horses or her love for them? Yes, this wasn’t the end of the world; frankly, it would have hardly registered in the grand scheme of things for most of the horse folk she’d come across in her life.
To them, this would be an unfortunate happenstance with the best possible outcome: two healthy, fine horses, neither the worse for wear, and the possibility of a successful breeding and all that entailed. Still, it rankled.
“You don’t get it, Mom. He had no right. He was irresponsible with his stallion and now I’ve got to pay the price.”
“Now honey, you know he didn’t do it on purpose. From what you said, that horse has a mind of his own, and he was going to get exactly what he wanted, no matter what y’all did. Am I lying?”
Claire shook her head, and when she spoke, her voice was small. “No, you’re not.” She thought about the way Horatio had responded to Calliope, and how Calliope had responded in turn. Claire had been around enough mares in heat to know that they could still be picky, that biological need was only part of the equation when it came to allowing themselves to be mated.
Calliope was certainly receptive to Horatio’s advances. Claire had come from the stable where she’d been checking in on Thalia to find the horses already engaged in the dance, Horatio nudging and pleading, Calliope responding and yielding to him as he mounted her and pressed inside. She watched, horrified and yet transfixed, helpless to do anything to stop them; she knew better than that.
They were beautiful. She had to admit that, there was little in the world more beautiful than two horses, free to be themselves, no fetters, no restrictions. She could appreciate what was happening between them outside the normal control and coaxing of the breeding process. This was natural, and on that point, Jess had been utterly correct. It was the rest of his commentary, though, that had pushed her to the promise to call a lawyer.
“He had no right,” she grumbled, taking a sip of her wine. “He had no right to say that.”
Carmen was puzzled. “To say what?”
Claire wished she could take back her words, or that her mother hadn’t heard. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” She willed Carmen to drop it.
Like a dog on a bone, Carmen wouldn’t let it go. “No, you tell me what he said, and I’ll let you know if he had the right or not.” She refilled her wine glass. “Sometimes you need a little help interpreting the language of men.”
Claire closed her eyes. There was no point trying to keep this from her mother. “He said that stallions appreciated a good mare just like men do.” She let out a deep sigh and emptied her wine glass before pouring another. “That was rude and uncalled for.”
“Sounds like that horse and his owner aren’t fooling around, baby girl. Man baked you a pie? And now you’re dragging him to court? Tsk tsk,” she clucked. “Don’t you see what’s happening here? Don’t slam the door in the man’s face over something neither one of you can control.”
At this point, Claire wasn’t entirely certain what her mother was talking about: the situation between the horses, or the situation she was dreaming up between Claire and Jess.
Either way, Claire was done talking for the night. She excused herself from the table, put the leftovers away and her dish in the dishwasher before kissing her mother goodnight and retiring to her bedroom.
She took a shower first, letting the hot water and the fragrant soap ease her tensions and clear her mind. As she put on her lotion afterward, her thoughts started drifting to her last encounter with the handsome rancher. There had been something odd about his clothing, and as she recalled his disheveled appearance, she began to wonder just what he’d been doing that so distracted him from his mount.
His shirt had been untucked, his hair damp, buttons in disarray. In an instant, it came to her. “Skinny dipping?” The thought of him naked and wet immediately set her skin ablaze, and she quickly pulled on her pajamas and dove into the bed.
Sleep wouldn’t come easily. Her mind and heart vacillated between anger and desire. She was furious about the damage to her property, but mostly she was angry about what had been taken from her and Calliope.
Claire knew that breeding was a matter-of-fact activity for a rancher, but this was new to her, and she had always had an idea about what she wanted for her girls, about how she wanted the experience to be for them.
Maybe she was foolish or too thin-skinned, but she’d expected to be able to carefully choose their mounts and have the final say in the whether or not the process would continue once the horses had met. That Calliope seemed entirely open to Horatio’s advances, eagerly accepting his nuzzlings and nudges before he’d mounted her, was some consolation. Her mare seemed to have been just as eager as the stallion.
Jess’s words brought out anger, but they sparked something else, too. He was attractive. He had done such a poor job buttoning his shirt that she couldn’t help but see the hair at his belly and upper chest. It wasn’t overly thick, and she imagined drawing her fingers through
the dark hair as he lay beneath her. She exhaled and shifted in the bed, punching the unused pillow with her fist in frustration.
One day into her new, uncomplicated life and she was facing a lawsuit against someone who’d sparked a strong fire inside her. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good choice after all. “Show me the way, daddy,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and willed sleep to come.
Chapter 7
The process server came four days later. Jess stared at the notification to appear in Judge Halloram’s chambers in two days, bewildered that things had gone so horribly wrong. His lawyer dismissed the whole thing, telling him to just “pay the claim and let her be,” but Jess wouldn’t have it. He would pay what he needed to, he’d already told her that, but if she wanted to drag this out into full view of the small town, he’d see it through, come what may.
Halloram was another matter altogether. He’d never forgiven the Hardys for purchasing his family’s farm some three decades earlier. The farm had been in financial straits for years, and having to sell was the last thing that Judd Halloram had wanted to do, but in the end, he had no choice. His only son, Trenton, wasn’t interested in carrying on the family business, and his daughters had all married and moved away.
The Cowboy's Girl Next Door: A BWWM Cowboy Romance Page 4