by Nicola Marsh
‘Fine. Just a bit of residual stiffness, nothing major. The doc said I’ll be back to full time duties in a few days.’
And not a moment too soon, the way she’d taken to indulging in fanciful daydreams while watching Riley work.
She’d worked around men and horses her entire life but had never found any of the guys remotely attractive, yet somehow, every time Riley got within two feet of her, the smell of fresh hay combined with male sweat drove her crazy.
Add to that the fact he had a great body clearly on display in faded denim and soft cotton T-shirts, and the constant smiles he sent her way, and her imagination was on overload and in definite danger of short-circuiting.
‘Is that the people’s doc or the horse doc?’
‘The only doc I trust,’ she said, flexing her ankle several times, amazed at the progress she’d made thanks to ‘the horse doc’ as Riley labelled the stable’s resident vet, Doc Larkspur. ‘I’ve soaked my ankle in that goop he gave me every night and it’s done the trick. Even you can’t deny that, Mr Conservative.’
He straightened and moved around Material Girl but not before she’d seen the smile that hovered around his mouth vanish in a second.
‘Guess you’re right. Though I swear that blackishgreeny muck looked like something I’ve been scooping up in the stable rather than a remedy for inflamed tendons.’
He’d squatted down on the mare’s far side and Maya couldn’t see him. She heard his flat, controlled tone and wondered what it was about.
She’d been teasing with the Mr Conservative remark. Heck, he openly confessed to being a serious business-oriented type—one of the qualities she admired about him. Then again, he didn’t know that and she had no intention of letting him in on the secret.
‘Whatever, it worked. I thought you’d be rapt. You can leave all this mucking about, no pun intended, and head back to the skyscrapers you love so much.’
To her surprise, he stood up and glared at her over the mare. ‘For a person who hates other people judging her, you’re doing a fine job of assuming to know a lot about me.’
His jibe hurt—a lot more than it should—and she racked her brain for some throwaway comment to fling at him to show she didn’t care. Instead, she opened her mouth and the first words that popped into her head came out.
‘I thought I’d learned a lot about you.’
‘You thought wrong,’he snapped, pocketing the pick and wiping his hands on a dusty rag he pulled from the waistband of his jeans.
‘Oo-kay.’
Maya didn’t know where to look. Staring at Riley’s closed-off face wasn’t an option so she chose the next best thing, the mare’s hind quarters. Fitting actually, as Riley was acting like a horse’s ass.
‘Think what you like, but at the end of the day I’m not the guy you claim to know so much about,’ he said, closing the stall door with a resounding thud as he stormed past her and out of the stable.
Riley stomped around the yard, sweeping as if his life depended on it and wishing he could get in his car and drive away. He’d never been a hoon but a decent screechy exit, leaving flying gravel in his wake sounded damn good at the moment, totally in sync with his foul mood.
However, he had responsibilities, namely taking Maya and Chas home and since when did Mr Responsible shirk his duties?
He was a fool. An A-1 first class fool.
He’d thought he could steel himself against Maya these last few weeks. If he concentrated hard enough on the job and ignored her constant presence, he could get through their enforced proximity with flying colours.
For a smart guy, he’d turned into a dumb schmuck.
Concentrating on his work hadn’t been the problem; dealing with his attraction for Maya had. Though there was nothing remotely romantic about scooping horse droppings and mucking out stalls, he’d grown to enjoy the time he’d spent with her in the cool, dim stable, surrounded by softly neighing horses and the scent of hay.
The stupid part was that he’d enjoyed it so damn much he’d started creating ridiculous fantasies in his head, working out how he could prolong his involvement in her life now that his knight-in-shiningarmour gig was coming to an end.
‘You ready to leave?’
He stopped slamming the broom into the dust and looked up, momentarily stunned by the enticing vision of Maya, dressed in old denim and a faded red and white plaid shirt, propped against a post with a chuckling Chas in her arms.
He wanted her.
Right here, right now.
And the knowledge smashed into his consciousness, leaving him rooted to the spot and unable to broach the short distance separating them.
‘Car,’ Chas chortled, waving a chubby fist in his direction and smiling. Riley’s heart contracted, knowing how much he’d grown to love his nephew.
‘You heard the little man. It’s time for us to go home.’
Maya spoke softly, as if testing his mood and he couldn’t blame her after the way he’d stormed out.
However, worse than his feeling like an idiot was the fact she’d included him in the ‘us’ to go home.
‘Sure thing,’ he said, not quite meeting her eyes as he stored the broom, had a brief word with the stable manager and did a final check on Material Girl, which basically involved a fond pat on her nose. Ironically, Maya wasn’t the only female he’d miss when he went back to stockbroking. He’d always loved horses but there was something special about ‘The Girl’ as everyone called one of the top fancies for the Melbourne Cup.
‘I’ll meet you at the car, okay?’
He nodded at Maya, unable to tear his eyes away as she hobbled towards his car, holding Chas’s hand as he tottered beside her on the uneven terrain.
Shaking his head, he shrugged into his jacket and followed them.
He’d overreacted, taking his frustration out on Maya. Not one of his brightest moves.
Then again, spending all this time around her, whether helping out or not, had been none too smart either.
Time to wise up. Starting now.
Maya hated the awkward silence between her and Riley. Usually their car trips home at the end of the day were filled with chatter and laughter, punctuated with gurgles and the odd ‘ma-ma’ from Chas in the back seat. But not today. Something had soured Riley’s easygoing mood and she had an uncomfortable feeling she knew exactly what that was.
Her big mouth. She’d scared him, implying she knew him, and he’d reacted accordingly, putting as much emotional distance between them as possible. A predictable pattern, one she easily recognised. It had happened to her repeatedly throughout her life: the closer she’d tried to get to her mum, the harder her mum pushed her away. Joe had been the same.
She should’ve learned from her life experiences yet here she was, reaching out to another human being again just because he’d shown her a little kindness. She’d be better off sticking with horses. They understood her a lot better than anyone else on the planet and she didn’t destroy her relationships with them.
‘Here we are,’Riley said, sliding to a stop outside her place, not switching off the engine as he usually did.
‘Thanks.’
Maya toyed with her seatbelt, furiously marshalling her thoughts. She couldn’t leave things between them like this. Tomorrow was Saturday and she’d be back at work on Monday, without Riley. He’d done so much for her and what had she done in return? Scared the living daylights out of the man by implying she knew him better than he knew himself.
‘Would you like to come in for dinner?’ she blurted, issuing the invitation in a rush before she chickened out. ‘It’s the least I can do after the way you’ve helped us out the last few weeks.’
Riley’s long fingers drummed the steering wheel as if he couldn’t wait to get away. ‘Thanks, but I’ve got other plans tonight.’
‘Oh. Right. Of course you have,’ she said, fumbling with the door latch in her hurry to escape the car. ‘I’ll let you go.’
Riley nodded, sending h
er a cursory glance before turning to Chas in the back seat. ‘You be good for your mama, okay?’
Chas grinned and shoved his fist in his mouth, the picture of bashful innocence, and she smiled, knowing one guy in this world wouldn’t let her down.
‘Come on, little man. Let’s get you inside.’ She un-buckled the child restraints and swung Chas into her arms, inhaling his unique smell of powder and no-tears shampoo, knowing the two of them would be okay.
Thanks to Riley.
He’d given them a fighting chance by helping her out these last few weeks and she owed him. Not that he wanted a bar of her gratitude.
Lifting Chas on to her left hip, she closed the door and waved, wondering why the front façade of her rundown house suddenly seemed more derelict than ever. She rarely noticed the peeling paint or rusty screen door but, then again, Riley usually kept up a steady stream of conversation, adding entertaining to the list of his endearing qualities as he helped her and Chas into the house. While she’d been stuck using the walking stick he’d bathed Chas, fed them both and generally gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Yes, he was Chas’s uncle and she knew that had been the main motivation for his chivalrous behaviour but it had been nice to dream that he cared about her too. For a woman who’d been starved of affection most of her life, she’d lapped it up.
Riley tooted the horn and Chas squealed with delight, wriggling frantically in her arms as he waved at his uncle.
Wishing she didn’t feel so dejected, she took a step towards the house as the passenger window slid down in a smooth electronic glide and a blast of cool air-conditioning hit her.
‘Are you and Chas free on Sunday?’Riley leaned across the passenger seat, craning his neck to look up at her.
‘Uh-huh,’ she said, ignoring the instant firing of her pulse at his question.
She shouldn’t have been surprised. The Riley she knew wouldn’t turn his back on Chas no matter how much he wanted to distance himself from her.
‘Good. I’ll come by and we can go for a picnic.’
‘Sounds great,’ she said, hugging Chas tighter as he tried to climb through the open window, reaching out for his uncle with increasingly loud yells. Maya was almost using him as a human shield against the surge of emotion that had her heart flip-flopping in a way it hadn’t done since Joe.
‘Later, little man,’ Riley said, blowing Chas a kiss before lifting his too-blue gaze to focus on her, an unfathomable expression in their depths.
‘See you Sunday.’
He didn’t smile, he didn’t say much but there was something in the way he looked at her that had her dreaming the impossible dream.
‘Okay.’
She straightened, cuddling a distraught Chas and watching Riley drive away, her emotions in turmoil.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WHEN MAYA OPENED the door to Riley’s knock at eleven a.m. on Sunday morning she could barely summon the energy to notice how incredible he looked in navy shorts, a white polo shirt and brown boat shoes. Nor did she pay particular attention to the monstrous picnic basket at his feet. Instead, she managed a weary smile and gestured him in.
‘Everything okay?’
‘Rough night.’
He didn’t push her for details, picking up the basket and following her in. She took him through to the tiny kitchen, grimacing at what he must see: empty pizza box on the bench, unwashed dishes piled in the sink, stack of newspapers covering the table and the remnants of Chas’s cereal breakfast splattered over every surface within throwing distance of his high chair.
‘Take a seat if you can find one,’ she said, padding across the kitchen to flick the switch on the kettle. ‘Want a cuppa?’
‘How about you sit and I’ll make it?’
Her glance flew to his, looking for judgement or condemnation, only to find concern. She could’ve argued the point that she wasn’t entirely helpless but right now, she couldn’t summon the energy.
‘Be my guest,’ she said, plopping into a wobbly wooden chair and rolling her neck in semi-circles to ease the tension.
‘Where’s Chas?’
‘At the Goulds’. I was called into work early this morning, some sort of scare with the Girl, so I took him along.’
‘And left him there?’
She heard the censure in his voice but didn’t care. Now that she’d sat down, she couldn’t get up if her life depended on it and she really needed that cup of tea, the one he was making for her. Insulting the chief tea-maker at this point in time would not be a smart move.
‘Brett saw I was dead on my feet and offered for the nanny to mind Chas for a few hours. His boys are being looked after today too because of the lead up to the Cup so I took him up on the offer.’
Riley placed a steaming mug of English Breakfast tea with a dash of milk and two sugars, just the way she liked it, in front of her and she made a frantic grab at it, practically inhaling the sweet caffeine hit in her desperation for a soothing sip.
‘What happened?’
She savoured the intense flavour and the instant pick-me-up it gave her, cradling the mug in her hands and tucking her bare feet on to the rung beneath her.
‘Chas was teething last night. Slight fever, runny nose, screaming in agony, the works. We both got about two hours sleep max and then Brett called, asking if I could make it in for the Girl’s gallop.’
Riley sent her a startled look. ‘You were at the track at five this morning?’
‘No choice,’ she mumbled, taking another healthy gulp of tea and closing her eyes as the warmth infused her cold bones.
‘You could’ve called me.’
Her eyes flew open and she wondered if half the annoyance she felt at his throwaway comment showed in her eyes. Joe had always said her face was an open book. Pity he’d had no interest in reading the fine print.
‘You think? After the way you acted on Friday, do you reckon I would’ve been comfortable calling you in the middle of the night?’
A tiny frown creased his brow as his eyes darkened to a stormy midnight. ‘You can call me any time regardless of when or where. You know that.’
‘No, I don’t.’
How could she, when he’d withdrawn from her, establishing a wall she was too nervous to breach?
He ran a hand through his hair, sending dark spikes skyward, and shook his head.
‘I’m not Joe,’ he said softly, pushing away from the table and heading to the sink to stare out the small grimy window overlooking the minuscule back yard, which was strangled by weeds.
‘Obviously.’
Joe wouldn’t be making her cups of tea, let alone offering to help her. Though he’d openly encouraged her work, he hadn’t lifted a finger to make it easier on her even after Chas was born, hence the nanny arrangement at the Goulds’.
She’d been so stupid.
If she’d realised the reason behind Joe’s fervent support of her job right from the start, none of this would’ve happened.
Though Riley was right about one thing: he wasn’t Joe. He was ten times the man Joe had ever been and, rather than push him away, she needed him onside if only for Chas’s sake. She’d grown up without any extended family and she wouldn’t deprive Chas of the chance to know his uncle because of some hang-up she had.
Riley turned back to face her, uncertainty lending his face a vulnerability she’d never seen before. ‘Look, I’m sorry about Friday. It wasn’t your fault. Guess I didn’t know how to handle the possibility of not being needed any more and I took it out on you.’
Maya rubbed a hand across her eyes. Yes, she was sleep-deprived but she was sure Riley had just admitted that he wanted her to need him.
‘Can you say that again?’she asked, finishing the rest of her tea in record time. She really needed to stay awake long enough to hear this.
‘I’ve been like this my whole life. Playing the dependable big brother to Joe, taking on as much responsibility as possible, helping anyone and everyone. I thrive on it.
Joe said I was a control freak but it’s not like that. I like helping out. I like being here for…Chas.’
His pause caused hope to unfurl around her heart that he’d actually meant to say, I like being here for you.
‘But you know the crazy thing? I was there for Joe all his life but, when he needed me the most, I took the easy option. I brushed him off.’
Riley resumed pacing, which constituted a few steps left and right in the claustrophic confines of the kitchen.
Suddenly, a flash of clarity made Riley’s involvement with them clear. ‘So that’s why you’re helping us out? You feel guilty for not being there for Joe?’
It made perfect sense and she’d been a fool to contemplate any other motivation for Riley’s being there for her than his connection to Chas and his love for Joe.
He stopped and dropped into the chair right next to her, way too close for comfort, making her all too aware of her grimy jeans and thin cotton top.
‘Initially that was a driving force. Though now, my being around has nothing to do with Joe or any guilt-trip I’m on.’
His intent gaze, combined with his proximity, set off alarm bells in her brain.
He was too close.
And she had nowhere to run, let alone the energy to do so.
‘Then why are you here?’
‘Because I care about Chas. He’s family and you’re a part of that,’ he said, his steady gaze sending her pulse racing and her stomach dropping in a sickening free-fall without the safety net of her usual reticence.
For in that moment, she wondered whether Riley’s caring was about more than familial responsibility, whether he sensed the strange undercurrent of emotion that had developed between them over the last few weeks.
‘Chas is lucky to have an uncle like you,’ she said, choosing her words carefully, not prepared to delve into anything deeper when her mind was fuzzy and craving sleep.
Rubbing a hand over gritty eyes while stifling a yawn with the other, she sank further into her chair, wishing he’d take off so she could have a much needed nap.
‘Guess you’re not up for a picnic?’