Acting Lessons (Off Guard)

by Katie Allen

  “Just us. The rest are wussies. Are you up for football this afternoon? It’ll be colder, but at least the mud will be frozen.”

  “Sure!” Charlie’s face brightened. “I wonder if anyone could get a hold of a bunch of balls so that we could play dodgeball.”

  “Are you high?” Topher asked, frowning at him. “No one plays dodgeball unless they’re forced to by a sadistic gym teacher or if there’s some kind of cash prize.”

  He must’ve thought she was joking, because his smile didn’t falter. “I love dodgeball. I’m in an adult league back home.”

  “No, Charlie. Just...no.” She was starting to shiver standing there, and a quick glance at Jamie’s face showed he was just getting angrier, so she hurried down the porch steps, dragging Jamie along with her, and started toward the barn. She called over her shoulder, “Football, baseball, soccer, badminton... I don’t care what we play, as long as it isn’t dodgeball. Or Frisbee golf. Frisbee golf is just stupid.”

  Charlie gave a wave before going in the house, but Topher wasn’t sure if the wave meant he agreed to her terms, or if it was the gesture version of “Sure...whatever.” A cold wind flattened her jacket against her front, and she hurried her steps. “Brr.”

  “You’re positive you want—”

  “Absolutely positive,” she interrupted, knowing exactly what he was in the middle of asking. “It’ll be warmer once we’re riding, especially in the trees. I can’t believe he suggested dodgeball.”

  “I don’t like him,” Jamie all but growled, and Topher squeezed his arm.

  “I’m not holding the tackle against him, since he seemed really sorry about that,” she said. “Dodgeball, though? That makes me wonder about his soul.”

  He gave a short laugh, and Topher felt him relax slightly under her grip. “I’ll be glad when that whole group is gone.”

  “Oh!” Topher hopped up and down as she remembered the gossip she’d forgotten to share. “It might be sooner than you think. Danny’s planning to break up with Barb. Well, technically, he’s planning to get her to break up with him, but the result should be the same. I can’t imagine she or her parents would want to stay here if Danny and Barb are no longer together.”

  “That guy...” he grumbled. “I know he’s my nephew, but most days I’m tempted to strangle some sense into him.”

  Topher giggled.

  “What?”

  “You just sounded like an eighty-year-old grandpa when you said that.”

  “I did not.” Jamie dropped his arm and gave her a teasing smack on her butt. The soreness from the previous day’s spanking was gone, but she still jumped as the memory of being put over his knee sent a bolt of heat through her.

  Topher had to clear her throat before she could speak. “Yes, you did. It’s okay, though. You’re a hot grandpa.”

  His hands were busy unlatching the barn door, but the look he gave her promised future retribution. Topher couldn’t wait. Her ass cheeks tingled with anticipation. “I’m just teasing, Jamie-Bear. I know you have a few decades to go before you reach eighty.”

  “A few? I’m thirty-one, brat.” Despite his indignation, he was laughing as he slid the door closed behind them. The barn felt positively toasty now that they were out of the wind. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against him, murmuring in her ear, “You’ll need to be punished for that later, baby girl.”

  Her entire body flushed with a delightful heat. “I know, Daddy. Why do you think I said it?”

  He squeezed her tightly, his arm as hard as an iron bar, only releasing her when Laurie emerged from the office.

  “You’re going to brave the cold, huh?” she asked.

  Topher stepped away from Jamie. His arm tightened around her for a moment before he released her. “Yes, but just the two of us. The others all bailed. Wimps.”

  Laurie chuckled. “I brought your horses in from the pasture, but I haven’t tacked them up yet. I figured I’d wait to make sure you were riding first.”

  “That’s okay. I like tacking up.” Grabbing a halter off a hook on the front of Popcorn’s stall, Topher slid open the door. As if knowing that his break time was over, the pony started eating his hay faster, making her laugh.

  Laurie ducked back into the office, and Topher and Jamie tacked up the horses. The same relaxed quiet fell over them as it had after their ride the day before. This time, though, Jamie used every opportunity he could find to touch her. When she was bent over picking out Popcorn’s hoof, he ran a hand over her ass. As she passed him in the doorway of the tack room, he blocked the way, so that she had to slide against him to get past. By the time they were ready to ride, Topher’s heart was pounding, and she was so worked up that only Laurie’s presence in the barn kept her from shoving Jamie into a stall and having her way with him.

  “I’ll give you a leg up,” he said once they’d led their horses out of the barn.

  “A leg up...to get on Popcorn? Is this your way of calling me extra super-short?” As she spoke, Topher hopped up onto the pony’s back.

  Jamie frowned at her. “No. I just wanted to help.” He moved to mount Endeavor with his usual ease, and Topher watched hungrily. There was something about seeing Jamie on horseback that made her want to bite him—in a good way, of course.

  Topher scrambled to pick up the conversational thread. “Help? Or feel me up?”

  He gave her the naughtiest, smoldering grin that lit up her body and made her want to keep him forever. “Both.” As she continued to stare at him, still off balance by the intensity of her feelings, his smile faded. “Everything okay?”

  “What? Yes. Of course. It’s not that I want to tackle you off your horse and give you that rain-check blow job or anything. Ready? Let’s go.” She squeezed Popcorn, and he strode off at his usual mall-walker pace.

  Jamie quickly caught up to her, and they rode in silence until they reached the edge of the trees. “You drive me absolutely crazy,” he admitted in a completely nonchalant tone.

  “Ditto.” Topher gave him a quick glance, and just the sight of him fired up her hormones again. “Ditto times infinity.”

  He laughed and picked up a trot. “C’mon, Tophie. This’ll distract you.”

  As the pony bounced along happily, she had to admit he was right.

  It was a chilly—but wonderful—ride. The footing was less muddy than the day before, so they were able to move at a faster pace. They chatted a little, but mostly rode in contented silence. Topher kept sneaking glances at Jamie, taking a million mental snapshots, knowing that she’d be filing the memory of the ride into her best-day-ever brain folder.

  “Tophie.” She glanced at Jamie and saw that he had his phone aimed at her. Before she could prepare, he’d taken the picture and was zipping his phone back in his pocket with a satisfied look on his face.

  “Hey,” she protested. “I didn’t even have a chance to smile or check if my helmet was on straight or ask if I had dirt on my face or—”

  “You’re beautiful,” he said, cutting off her list of complaints.

  Since she didn’t want to argue with that, she let it go. “You’re taking a selfie with me when we get back to the barn.”

  He made a face. “I hate pictures.”

  “Too bad, so sad. You started this whole photography thing.” She stuck her tongue out at him, and his expression instantly changed from annoyance to desire. Their gazes met for a long moment, and Topher forgot that it was cold, forgot she was riding Popcorn, forgot everything except for Jamie. The spell wasn’t broken until he cleared his throat and looked away.

  “Want to canter?” he asked, his voice rough.

  “What?” Shaking off his spell, she realized that they were at the base of the gentle hill where they’d raced the day before. “Yes, please.”

  Without waiting, she brought
her leg back slightly, sending Popcorn into his usual bouncy canter. A glance over her shoulder showed that Jamie and Endeavor were behind them but easily catching up. Topher urged the pony to go faster, and Popcorn picked up speed, urged on by the other horse on his tail. They pulled ahead of the other pair by several horse lengths, and Topher let out a laugh of sheer happiness. The cold air burned her eyes and she couldn’t feel her fingers, but she was having the time of her life. Even the sun was cooperating as it peeked out from behind the bank of clouds, brightening the gray landscape.

  Topher stood in the stirrups and Popcorn ramped up another notch as they crested the top of the hill. A glint of something on the trail ahead caught Topher’s eye. The sun gave it a slight metallic sheen, drawing a silver line a foot off the ground. Before her brain could process what she was looking at, her instincts kicked in.

  “Hold up!” She dropped back into the saddle, hauling back on the reins. Popcorn stopped almost instantly, his back hooves underneath him in a sliding stop that would’ve made a reining horse proud.

  “What is it?” Jamie was standing next to her as she swung off the pony onto shaky legs.

  “A wire?” She couldn’t believe it, even as she crouched in front of a metal wire that had been stretched across the path. Popcorn had stopped with his forelegs just inches from it. If they’d been galloping when he’d hit that wire... Her stomach twisted at the thought. At best, he would’ve tripped, but at worst, the wire would’ve cut him deeply. Popcorn would’ve gone down, and she would’ve been thrown off—or gone down with him. Both would’ve been very, very bad.

  Jamie was silent as he examined the wire. “Hold Deav.” His voice was ice-cold. As she hurried to take the reins, she shivered at his tone, even though she knew it was directed toward the person who’d set up the wire, rather than at her.

  Jamie took a multi-tool out of his pocket and snipped the center of the wire. He moved to one side of the trail and then the other, examining the ground around the trees where the wire had been fastened.

  He took out his phone and took a few pictures before making a call. “We’re on the south trail at the top of the hill just east of Gate Six. Bring Lester.” He glanced at her. She was shivering from a mix of cold and horror at what had almost just happened, and his jaw tightened. Dropping the phone back in his pocket, he reached for her, pulling her against his front. With both horses’ reins in her hands, she couldn’t hug him back, but she did bury her face against the front of his coat. “You okay?” he asked, his hand stroking her back.

  “I’m fine,” she said, trying unsuccessfully to keep her voice from shaking. “I just keep thinking about what might’ve happened to Popcorn if he’d hit that wire.”

  His arms tightened around her. “You spotted it and stopped him in time, though, so Popcorn is just fine. Good job, baby girl. You saved the pony and the day.”

  For some reason, his praise brought tears to her eyes. Knowing that she’d start bawling if she allowed herself to stay pressed against Jamie, she pulled away. As she started to say something, she glanced at his face, and Jamie’s expression made the words die on her lips. He was staring at something over her shoulder, and he looked positively lethal.

  “What...” she started to ask, turning to look in the same direction. This time, it was a flash of red through the trees that made her fall silent. Her heart started pounding as she realized that someone was moving through the woods, possibly the same someone who’d booby-trapped the trail.

  “Stay here,” Jamie ordered, taking Endeavor’s reins out of her hand.

  As Topher stepped back, moving Popcorn out of the way, Jamie swiftly mounted. Endeavor took off through the woods, weaving through trees and crashing through underbrush. The pair jumped a huge downed log as if it were nothing. Even in her anxious state, Topher had to admire the sheer grace and athleticism of horse and rider. Then the person in red started to run, and her attention was drawn back to the situation at hand. She wasn’t watching Jamie on a cross-country course. Someone had just tried to hurt—if not kill—them, and Jamie was chasing the suspect down.

  The runner went down a hill, disappearing from Topher’s view. Without thinking, she hopped onto Popcorn and turned him to face the way they’d come. She stayed out of the woods, since just watching Endeavor and Jamie plow through the trees was scary enough. Topher definitely didn’t want to try it on Popcorn. Instead, she trotted Popcorn down the trail until they came to the base of the hill. They then turned and carefully picked their way to the other side of the slope. From there, they had a good view of the valley, where the person in the red coat was running across a clearing.

  Endeavor and Jamie exploded from the woods like a cannonball. Without any trees to dodge, they sped up to a gallop, eating up the space between them and the fleeing suspect in seconds. As they drew close, Endeavor extended his neck, ears flattened against his head, and nipped at the runner. The man’s yelp of protest carried all the way to where Topher and Popcorn were standing.

  Before Endeavor came to a full stop, Jamie was jumping off the horse and onto the guy in the red coat. Topher’s breath caught in her throat as she urged Popcorn to move closer. She was suddenly worried that Jamie would need her help, and she’d be too far away to respond. Bumping Popcorn up to a canter, she rode into the valley.

  By the time Topher got close, Jamie had the man pinned facedown on the ground. Endeavor was grazing a few feet away.

  “Nice job, sugarplum!” She slid off of Popcorn’s back and hurried over to grab Endeavor’s reins before he could step on them. “I think Endeavor was a cavalry horse in his past life. Did you see the way he bit this guy in the butt? Need any help? Oh, my goodness, is that Charlie?” Eyes wide, she goggled at the man on the ground for a long moment. He turned his head so he was facing away from her. “Charlie put that wire up there? I told you something was wrong with someone who played dodgeball by choice!”

  “What are you doing here?” Jamie scolded her from his position with one knee on Charlie’s back, barely sounding out of breath after his dramatic takedown. He rummaged in Charlie’s coat pockets, extracting a spool of wire, vice grips and a wire cutter. It looked pretty much like a smoking gun or three from where Topher was standing. “I told you to wait at the top of the hill.”

  “I couldn’t see anything from up there. Besides, I wanted to be here if you needed any help.”

  “Topher...” The buzzing sound of ATV engines interrupted his scolding.

  “Want me to meet them on the trail and lead them back here?” Topher asked.

  “I’ll just call them.” With the hand not cranking one of Charlie’s arms into an uncomfortable-looking position, Jamie pulled out his phone. He made the call and barked out new directions. The sound of the ATVs got louder as they drew closer.

  Making a wide circle around the two men so she could look Charlie in the face, Topher asked, “Why in the world did you want to hurt Popcorn, Charlie?”

  “Popcorn?” he asked. His breaths were still coming harshly from the run. “What?”

  “Popcorn.” Topher waved at the horse under discussion. “He’s a really nice pony, and hitting that wire could’ve really hurt him.”

  “I didn’t want to hurt the horse.”

  “So...me? What did I do to you?”

  Charlie let out a snort. “I don’t have anything against you.”

  “Jamie then?” Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead when his expression went grim with hate. “Why did you want to hurt Jamie?”

  Returning the phone to his pocket, Jamie looked down at the man beneath him. “I’d like to hear the answer to this one.”

  Charlie’s mouth clamped shut.

  “Seriously?” Topher scoffed. “We’re just getting to the good part, and you’re not going to tell? Figures that a dodgeball-lover would leave us hanging.”

  Jamie’s short huff of la
ughter was drowned out by the ATVs as they pulled up and parked a few feet away. Justin and Lester climbed off and immediately moved to help Jamie. Serious and brisk, they looked like different guys than the ones who’d played football with Topher the day before. In short order, they had Charlie’s wrists zip-tied together, and Jamie was giving them the abridged version of what had happened.

  It was decided that Charlie, his hands still zip-tied, would ride on the back of Justin’s ATV for the return trip to the house. Jamie tried to convince Topher to ride back with Lester, but she thought that sounded cold and like not much fun at all. If Jamie had been driving, she could’ve at least snuggled against him and stuck her cold hands in warm places, but she couldn’t do that to Lester. He’d probably have a heart attack and then Jamie would kill him. Instead, she insisted on riding Popcorn.

  After Lester, Justin and a morose-looking Charlie took off, Topher and Jamie climbed back on their horses. Endeavor had a scratch on his right fetlock from their cross-country gallop, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. Even though Topher was worried that Popcorn would be getting tired, he bounced along at his usual jaunty pace.

  Jamie grumbled about her refusal to take the ATV with Lester as they rode, but Topher easily ignored him. “Why do you think Charlie would do that? Do you think Tiny’s involved?”

  “No,” Jamie answered after a moment of consideration. “Are you cold? The ATVs are probably back at the house by now. You could’ve already been inside, warming up.”

  “I’m fine. Why don’t you think Tiny was behind this?”

  “He doesn’t have any reason to want me dead,” Jamie said. “Are your hands cold? Why are you tucking them under your legs like that?”

  “Quit fretting.” Pulling her fingers out from under her thigh, she switched the reins to her newly warm hand so she could sit on her other one. “He does too have a reason.”

  “I’m not fretting. You’re still sitting on your fingers. Do you want my gloves? What would he gain from my death?”

  “If you died—” her stomach tried to turn itself inside out at the thought “—Danny—and therefore Barb—would get your money. Boom! Motive for Tiny to hire Charlie as his death squad of one.”