by Janet Dailey
Turning away smoothly, he began walking toward his horse, leaving Valerie standing there with a mouthful of angry words. She ran after him, trembling with rage.
"You'll rot in hell before I do," she told him in a voice shaking with violence.
His green eyes flashed her a lazy, mocking look before he slipped between the rails of the board fence with an ease that belied his six-foot frame and muscled build. The tall gray horse whickered as he approached. Valerie stopped, staying on the opposite side of the fence, her hands doubled into impotent fists.
Unhooking the reins from the post, Judd looped them around the horse's neck and swung into the saddle with an expert grace. The big gray bunched its hindquarters, eager to be off at the first command from its rider, but none came. Judd looked down at Valerie from his high vantage point in the saddle.
"I meant it when I said I wanted to buy this place," he said flatly. "If you decide to sell, I want you to know my interest in purchasing it is purely a business one. No other consideration will enter into the negotiations for the price."
"I'm glad to hear it." She struggled to control her temper and sounded cold as a result. "Because any offer from you with strings attached will be rejected out of hand!"
His half smile implied that he believed differently. If there had been anything within reach, Valerie would have thrown it at him. Before she could issue a withering comment to his look, her attention was distracted by the sound of someone running through the tall pasture grass.
It was Tadd, racing as fast as his short legs could carry him straight toward Judd. A breathless excitement glowed in his face, the mop of brown hair swept away from his forehead by the wind he generated with his running.
"Is that your horse?" The shrill pitch of his voice and his headlong flight toward the horse spooked the big gray. It plunged under Judd's rein, but its dancing hooves and big size didn't slow Tadd down. "Can I have a ride?"
"Tadd, look out!" Valerie shouted the warning as the gray horse reared and it looked as if Tadd was going to run right under those pawing hooves.
In the next second he was scooped off the ground and lifted into the saddle, Judd's arms around his waist. Her knees went weak with relief.
"Hasn't your mother taught you that you don't run up to a horse like that?" Judd reprimanded the boy he held, but Valerie noticed the glint of admiration in his look that Tadd had not been afraid. "It scares a horse. You have to let them know you're near and walk up slowly."
"I'll remember," Tadd promised, but with a reckless smile that reminded Valerie of Judd. "Will you give me a ride? I've never been on a horse before."
"You're on one now," Judd pointed out. "What do you think of it?"
Tadd leaned to one side to peer at the ground, his eyes slightly rounded as he straightened. "It's kind of a long way down, isn't it?"
"You'll get used to it." Judd lifted his gaze from the dark-haired boy to glance at Valerie. "I'll give him a short ride around the pasture."
"You don't have to," she replied stiffly, and tried to figure out why she resented that Tadd was having his first ride with Judd, his father, and not her. "Worming your way into Tadd's favor won't get you anywhere with me."
A dangerous glint appeared in his look. "Until this moment that hadn't occurred to me. I have a whole flock of nieces and nephews who are always begging for rides, and I lumped your son into their category. I know you're disappointed that I can't admit to a more ulterior and devious motive."
Their exchange was sailing over Tadd's head. He couldn't follow it, but he had caught one of the things Judd had said. "Are you going to really give me a ride?" he asked.
"If your mother gives her permission," Judd told him in silent challenge to Valerie.
At the beseeching look from her son, she nodded her head curtly. "You have my permission."
"Thank you," Judd said mockingly as he reined the spirited gray away from the fence.
At a walk, they started across the grassy field. Tadd laughed and nearly bounced out of the saddle when the horse went into a trot, but he didn't sound or look the least bit frightened. After making a sweeping arc into the pasture, Judd turned the horse toward the fence and cantered him back to where Valerie was waiting.
With one hand, he swung Tadd to the ground. "Remember what I told you. From now on, you'll walk up to a horse." Tadd gave him a solemn nod of agreement. With a last impersonal glance at Valerie, Judd backed his mount away from the small boy before turning it toward its home stables.
"Come on, Tadd," Valerie called to him. "Let's go to the house and have something cold to drink."
He lingered for a minute in the pasture watching Judd ride away, a sight that pulled at Valerie, too, but she resisted it. Finally he ran toward her and Valerie wondered if he knew any other speed. He ducked under the fence as if he had been doing it all his life. He skipped along beside her, chattering endlessly about the ride.
"Where did you two disappear to?" Clara asked when Valerie reached the houseyard. Her question bordered on an accusation.
"I went for a ride," Tadd chimed out an answer, unaware he wasn't the second person Clara had meant.
"We just walked along the fence," Valerie answered, realizing a bushy shade tree had blocked her and Judd from Clara's sight.
"What was his business?" The tone was skeptical that there had been any such reason.
"He offered to buy the place," Valerie answered, and murmured to herself, "among other things!"
Chapter Five
AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION and debate, Valerie persuaded Clara that the three of them should spend the summer on her grandfather's farm. She refused to be intimidated by Judd's proximity as a neighbor. This was the only chance she would ever have to show her son what it had been like for her to grow up in this house. And perhaps it would be the only time she would have to devote solely to Tadd while he was in his formative years.
Eventually she swayed Clara into going along with her. Once the agreement had been reached, they had to tackle the problem of arranging things in Cincinnati to be absent for possibly three months.
Clara's married sister agreed to send both of them more clothes from the apartments, forward their mail, and see that everything was locked up. Valerie's telephoned request to her employer for an extended leave of absence received a notification of her dismissal, as Clara had warned. But all in all, the arrangements were made with minimal complications.
Amid all this was the decision of what to do about the farm and consultation with Jefferson Burrows, the attorney. At the end of the following week Valerie came to the decision she had known all along she would have to make. After confiding in Clara, she sought out Mickey at the stables.
Valerie came straight to the point. "I wanted to let you know, Mick, that I've decided to sell the farm."
Sitting in the shade of the building, cleaning some leather tack, the retired jockey didn't even glance up when she made the announcement. He spat on the leather and polished some more.
"Then you'll be selling the horses?" he asked.
"Yes, I'll have to," she nodded.
"Since you're not keeping the place, you'll be better off to sell them soon," Mickey advised. "Were you going to have an auction?"
"Yes. Mr. Burrows, the lawyer, said if I decided to sell the horses, an auction could be scheduled within two weeks," she explained.
"It won't give you much time to do very much advertising," he shrugged, "but word has a way of getting around fast among horsemen. I'm sure you'll have a good turnout. As soon as you set the date, I'll call some of my friends in the business and start spreading the word."
"Thanks, Mick."
"It's the least I can do. There is one thing, though." He put the halter aside and stood up. "You see that bay mare grazing off by herself?"
Valerie glanced toward the paddock he faced and saw the bay mare he meant, a sleek, long-legged animal with a chestnut brown coat with black points.
"She's a beauty," Valerie commented in admi
ration.
"Don't put Ginger in the auction," Mickey said, and explained, "She's the best get out of old Denny, brook, but she's barren, no good for breeding at all. She's got no speed, but she's a good hack, might even make it as a show jumper. But you'd never get your money's worth out of her in a breeding sale. If I was you, I'd advertise her as a hunter and try to sell her that way."
"Thanks I'll do that," she promised. His thoughtfulness and ready acceptance of her decision made her feel a little guilty. This farm and these horses were practically like his own. He had lived here and taken care of all the animals here, many of them since birth. Now they were being sold and he was out of a job and a place to live. "What will you do, Mickey? Where will you go?"
"Don't worry about me, Valerie," he laughed. "I've had a standing offer from Judd for years to come to work for him taking care of his young colts. He claims that I'm the best he's ever seen at handling the young ones."
The mention of Judd's name made her glance toward the paddock again to conceal her expression. "Judd wants to buy this," she said.
"Are you going to sell it to him?" he asked, not surprised by her statement.
"It depends on whether or not I get an offer better than the one he makes." Common sense made her insist that it didn't matter who ultimately purchased the property. She wouldn't be here when they took possession.
"If Judd has set his mind on buying it, he'll top any reasonable offer you get," Mickey grinned. "'Cause once he makes up his mind he wants somethin', he seldom lets anything stand in his way till he gets it."
It was a statement that came echoing back a week later. Valerie was walking out of the bank in town just as Judd was coming in. Courtesy demanded that she speak to him, at least briefly.
"Hello, Judd." She nodded with forced pleasantness, and would have walked on by him, but he stopped.
"Hello, Valerie. I saw the auction notice." His tone sounded only conversational.
"For the horses? Yes, in less than two weeks from now," she admitted. His gaze was inspecting her in a most bemused fashion. Valerie had the feeling a strap was showing or something, and her hand moved protectively to the elastic neckline of the peasant-styled knit top. "Is something wrong?" she queried a bit sharply.
"You look very cool and proper with your hair fixed like that," Judd answered. It was pulled away from her face into a loose chignon at the back of her head.
"It's a very warm day. I feel cooler if my hair is away from my neck," Valerie replied as if her change of hairstyle required an explanation.
"It's attractive, but it isn't exactly you," he commented in a knowing voice. Without skipping a beat, he continued, "I suppose once all the legal arrangements are completed after the auction you'll be leaving?"
"We're staying a little longer." She didn't see the need to tell him she would be there for the summer. He would discover it soon enough, so there was no point in informing him in advance.
"We?" A jet-dark brow lifted at the plural.
"Yes—Tadd, Clara and myself," Valerie admitted.
"The old battle-ax isn't leaving, either, huh?" But the way he spoke the word was oddly respectful. Then his manner became withdrawn. "I must be keeping you from your errands. Will you be at the auction?"
"Yes." She was a bit puzzled by his behavior and curious as to why he hadn't mentioned anything about buying her land.
"I'll probably see you there," he said.
Valerie had the feeling she was being brushed off. "Probably," she answered with a cool smile, her chin lifted stiffly, then walked away.
Between that brief meeting in town and the auction, she didn't see Judd. She ignored the knotting ache in her stomach and told herself she was glad she had finally convinced him that she wanted nothing to do with him. She was positive Judd had only pursued her at the beginning of her return because he had thought she would be easy. Now he knew differently. She wasn't easy and she wasn't available.
But the way her heart catapulted at the sight of his familiar figure in the auction crowd made a mockery of her silent disclaimers of interest in him. It was a bitter admission to recognize that she was still half in love with him.
The stable and house yard was littered with cars, trucks and horse trailers. There seemed to be an ocean of buyers, lookers and breeders. Around the makeshift auction ring was an encircling cluster of people jostling to get a look at the brood mare up for bids.
Valerie looked for Tadd and saw him firmly holding on to Mickey's hand, as if concerned he might get separated from his friend in the shuffle of people. Another look found Judd working his way through the crowd toward the trailer being used as the auctioneer's office.
A horse neighed behind her, a nervous sound that betrayed its agitation at the unusual commotion going on around it. Valerie turned to watch a groom walking the horse in a slow circle to calm it, crooning softly. All the horses looked sleek and in excellent condition, thanks to Mickey's unstinting efforts.
She glanced back to the auction ring where in a rhythmic droning voice the auctioneer was making his pitch. She walked in the opposite direction to the relative peace and quiet of the stables. Here the fever pitch of activity was reduced to a low hum as the grooms Mick had handpicked for the day prepared the brood mares and colts for the sale.
The warm air was pungent with the smell of horses. Straw rustled beneath shifting feet. Valerie wandered down the row of stalls, pausing to stroke the velvet nose thrust out toward her. She stopped at the paddock entrance to the barns and gazed out over empty pastures.
"It looks strange, doesn't it, not to see any mares grazing out there with their foals," Judd commented with an accurate piece of mind reading.
Valerie jumped at the sound of his voice directly behind her. "You startled me," she said in accusing explanation.
"Sorry," he offered, but she doubted that he meant it. "Is the auction going well?"
"So far," she answered with a shrug, and turned to look out the half door to the pasture. "It's bedlam out there," she said to explain her reason for escaping to the barns.
"A lot of buyers is what sends the prices up," Judd reminded her. "And, from the sound of the bidding on the number-fourteen mare, Misty's Delight, she's going to bring top dollar."
"Misty's Delight," Valerie repeated, and released a short, throaty laugh. "When I saw the names on the sale catalogue, I didn't know any of the horses. Granddad called that mare Misty's Delight by the name of Maude. As far as I'm concerned, they aren't selling Black Stockings. They're auctioning Rosie, or Sally or Polly."
"Yes, I'm glad your grandfather isn't here. Those mares were his pets, and the stallion, Donnybrook, was the most precious to him of them all," Judd admitted.
"If granddad were here, there wouldn't be a sale. There wouldn't be any need for one," Valerie sighed, and turned away from the empty paddocks. "But there is. And I'm selling. And I'm not going to have any regrets," she finished on a note of determination.
"Have you listed the farm for sale yet?" he asked, taking it for granted that she was selling it.
Since it was true, she didn't see any point in going into that side issue. "In a way," she answered, and explained that indecisive response. "It won't officially be listed for another couple of weeks."
"Why the delay?" He studied her curiously.
"I had a couple of appraisals from two local real estate agents," Valerie began.
"Yes, I know," Judd interrupted. "I saw them, and I'm prepared to buy it for two thousand more than the highest price they gave you."
She took a deep breath at his handsome offer and nibbled at her lip, but didn't comment on his statement. "They suggested I'd be able to get about five thousand more if I painted all the buildings. So I'm going to take some of the profits from the horse sale and have everything painted."
"I'll match that, and you can forget about the painting," he countered. "I'd just have to do it all over again in the Meadow Farms' colors."
Leaning back against a wooden support po
st, Valerie eyed him warily, unable to trust him. She knew how vulnerable she was; she had only to check her racing pulse to be reminded of that. So she was doubly cautious about becoming involved in any dealings with him.
"Tell me the truth, Judd, why are you so determined to buy Worth Farms?" she demanded, her mouth thinning into a firm line.
A brow arched at her challenge as he tipped his head to one side, an indefinable glint in his eyes. "Why are you so determined to believe that I have some reason other than business?"
"Don't forget that I know you, Judd Prescott," she countered.
The corners of his mouth deepened. "You know me as intimately as any woman ever has, considerably more so than most." He taunted her with the memory of their affair.
Her cheeks flamed hotly as conflicting emotions churned inside of her. "I meant that I know you as a man"
"I should hope so," Judd drawled, deliberately misinterpreting her meaning.
"In the general sense," she corrected in anger.
"That's a pity." He rested a hand on the post she was leaning against, but didn't move closer. "Meadow Farms needs your grandfather's acreage, the pastures, the grass, the hay fields. The stables and barns can be used for the weanlings and the yearlings. The house can be living quarters for any of my married help who might need it. If the old battle-ax had inherited it, I would still want to buy it. Have you got that clear, Valerie?" His level gaze was serious.
"Yes," she nodded, a stiff gesture that held a hint of resentment.
"Good." Judd straightened, taking his hand from the post and offering it to her to seal their bargain. "Have we got a deal?"
"Yes." Wary, Valerie hesitated before placing her hand in his and added the qualification, "On purely a business level."
"Strictly business." He gripped her hand and let it go, a faint taunting smile on his lips. "The matter is in the hands of our respective attorneys. We've agreed on the price, so the only thing left is for me to pay you the money for your signature deeding the land to me."