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Handle with Care (Saddler Cove)

Page 23

by Nina Croft


  “Yeah. Those sorts of times. I’m sure there’ll be many. He’s not an easy man.”

  “The interesting ones never are.” Did she give him a look then? Did she consider him interesting? Maybe he was just a novelty.

  “Okay, enough chatter. Up you get.”

  The moment of truth. A tingle of excitement ran through him.

  “Hands on the pommel,” she said, taking his left hand and putting it on the sticky-up bit at the front of the saddle. “Put your foot in the stirrup. No, your other foot, or you’ll end up facing her tail.”

  He had this horrible image of going straight over the top and onto the ground on the other side. At least the ground looked soft. “You do realize I’m sixty-eight,” he said, looking down at her. “My bones are likely to snap like twigs.”

  “Nonsense. I’m seventy and I haven’t broken a bone in…at least three years. Now up.” And with that, she placed her hand right on his ass, and he almost shot into the air. Just as he was about to catapult over the other side, she grabbed the back of his pants and steadied him. He somehow managed to get his other leg over and he came down with a ball-crunching slam.

  But he was up.

  He closed his eyes for a moment. Somewhere along the way he’d dropped the reins. He had no way to steer or stop this thing. If he didn’t move, not a twitch, maybe she wouldn’t either.

  “Ride ’em, cowboy.”

  He opened his eyes at the sound of Tanner’s voice, sounding enormously amused. He was standing by the railings, Emily at his side. An inane grin on his face.

  “Ignore him,” Mimi said. “You’re doing extremely well.”

  “I haven’t actually moved yet,” he pointed out.

  She took hold of his foot and moved it back slightly. “That’s better.” Then she handed him the reins. “Keep your hold loose. If you want to turn, just rest the reins along her neck.”

  “What if I want to stop?” Right now, that seemed more important than turning. Why had he agreed to this? He couldn’t remember.

  “She’s actually trained to voice commands. Just say whoa and she’ll stop.”

  “Really?” Sounded too good to be true.

  “Relax, Josh. Close your eyes for a moment and breathe deeply and slowly.” He did as he was told. He felt much better with his eyes closed. “Now open them.” He knew it had been too good to last. “And squeeze gently.”

  Nothing happened.

  “Maybe a little less gently than that.”

  He squeezed again, and this time they moved smoothly forward. Shit, he was riding. But he wanted to check the brakes before he went any farther.

  “Whoa.” And she actually stopped.

  “You need to go a little farther than that,” Tanner called out.

  “Do you want to have a go?” Mimi snapped.

  “Hell no.”

  “Should we get away from them?” Mimi asked.

  He looked back at Tanner’s grinning face. “Hell yeah.”

  “Then follow me.”

  She led the way out through the gate to the back of the house and the walk they’d done along the creek the other day. Josh didn’t do anything at all—the horse seemed happy to just follow. He was riding. Solo. The sun was warm on his back, the movement of the horse rhythmic, and a sense of peace washed over him. In that moment, he was happy. He almost didn’t recognize the emotion. Maybe the answer was to just live in the moment.

  “So, Josh,” Mimi murmured. “Perhaps now’s a good time to tell me about the man you killed.”

  Well, she had warned him she was tenacious.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “It’s a girl,” the doctor said.

  “Really? You can tell from that?” Tanner leaned in closer to the screen and stared, an expression of such concentration on his face that Emily felt a smile tugging at her lips.

  “And is everything okay?” he asked.

  “She’s perfect,” the doctor replied.

  “Shit.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Wow. A girl.”

  She hadn’t known whether he’d had any preferences. If he had, he’d kept them to himself. But from the grin on his face, she decided he was happy with the outcome. He looked like a different man when he smiled. If only she could find a way to keep that smile on his face.

  This was the twelve-week dating scan. They’d decided they would ask the sex of the baby, if only to narrow down their name choosing.

  The baby looked about the size of a plum. Hard to believe something so small could cause so much havoc.

  It was two weeks since he’d come to the ranch. She’d been sort of avoiding him. She’d been busy helping Mimi, who was on the organizing committee for the pony swim on the nearby island of Chincoteague. It was a huge tourist draw for the area, and there was a lot to organize. The swim was tomorrow, and so far everything was going really well. Mimi was riding with the saltwater cowboys, herding the horses over from Assateague to Chincoteague, where the foals would be auctioned off at the end of the week. And she’d asked if Emily would go with Josh, show him around.

  Tanner phoned every day to ask how she was, which was sort of cute. She’d actually been feeling like crap, still throwing up every morning and sometimes every afternoon and evening as well. She was losing weight rather than putting it on. Then yesterday, she’d woken up and felt wonderful. And she’d been feeling pretty good ever since. Well, good enough to face Tanner, anyway. Not that she had a choice. He’d insisted on driving her to the scan. And on the drive, he’d told her all about the baby, how big it was right now, that it had all its features, that it looked like a little human being.

  He was taking his fatherhood role very seriously. Which was sweet.

  “Would you like a print of the scan?” the doctor asked, handing her a wipe to clean the gel from her skin.

  “Can we have two?” Tanner said.

  “Of course.”

  The doctor stepped out of the room, and as the door closed behind her, Tanner turned from the screen, a big grin on his face. “We’re going to have a girl.” He reached across and touched her belly lightly. “She’s in here, all warm and safe.” He took the wipe from her hand and gently stroked it over her skin. Then he lowered his head and kissed her right there where his hand had been. Just a brief caress, but at his touch warmth washed through her. “I think there’s a little bump showing?”

  She swallowed. Almost overcome with need. She’d missed his touch. They hadn’t really touched since that day they’d made love when she had asked him to marry her. She placed her hand over his, pressing his palm against her skin.

  But then the doctor returned, and the moment was gone. Emily pushed herself up and went behind the screen to change back into her own clothes. Her hand rested on her stomach. A girl. A daughter. She hoped she took after her daddy, because then she’d be a real beauty.

  “You’re really feeling better?” he asked as he helped her into the truck five minutes later.

  She nodded. “I haven’t been sick in nearly forty-eight hours.”

  “I’m glad.” He was silent for a minute as he settled in the driver’s seat and switched on the engine. Then he turned to her. “You want to go out for dinner on Saturday?” he asked. “We could drive into Richmond, maybe stay the night somewhere.”

  “You mean a hotel?”

  “Yeah. A hotel. Just you and me.”

  A whole night with Tanner. Alone. Nobody to butt in and remind them what a bad idea this was. She could touch him. He could touch her. They could make love. Her nipples hardened at the thought, and tingles ran down through her belly, a little pulse jumping between her thighs.

  “That would be nice. We can talk.” They needed to discuss the wedding. She didn’t want to leave it too long. She’d prefer she didn’t look pregnant in the wedding photographs, though she supposed they could always photoshop them.

  “Maybe we could find a few minutes to talk. But I’m expecting to be busy with other things.”

  “Other things?�
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  He took his eyes from the road for a second and cast her an over-the-top leer. She giggled.

  “I like it when you laugh.”

  “Well, I haven’t felt much like laughing recently.”

  “I know. And I’m sorry.” He was silent for a moment. “Have you heard anything from the school board yet?”

  “Not yet.” It would be soon, though. There were only a few weeks before school started, and if they were going to sack her they’d need to start looking for another teacher. Unless they’d already started looking.

  “That’s probably good, then. Maybe they’re not going to push it.”

  “Maybe.”

  But she remembered Jed Forrester’s face at that last meeting, and she suspected he was going to push it as far as he could. But she’d try not to worry about that until it happened.

  In fact, she didn’t have much time to worry. That evening, she was roped into running one of the stalls at the Chincoteague Fireman’s Carnival, which was run every evening throughout the week of the pony swim.

  Mrs. Watson, the fire chief’s wife, was usually in charge of selling raffle tickets. Unfortunately, she was being operated on tonight for acute appendicitis. So now it was Emily’s job. She was happy to stand in. She usually ended up doing something at the carnival anyway.

  And it had been a good evening so far. In fact, she was feeling all warm and fuzzy. Two people had actually congratulated her on her engagement to Tanner. And they’d both sounded genuine.

  Tom Bailey, the music teacher at the school, let slip that Tanner was behind the scholarship that had been set up to pay for extra music lessons for the kids. Apparently, Tom had promised Tanner that the donation would remain anonymous—but he’d presumed as Tanner’s fiancée, she would know all about it. Nope.

  And then Mrs. Summers, the superintendent from the Saddler Cove Seniors Club, had come up to her, patted her on the arm, and told her she’d got herself a good man. A little probing and Emily had discovered that Tanner had been servicing the Club’s bus for the last five years. Free of charge. Not only that, but only last month, he’d rushed straight out and fixed it for them when they’d broken down in Virginia Beach. He’d never mentioned that to Emily.

  Clearly Tanner didn’t hate everyone in Saddler Cove, but, equally clear, he liked to keep his good deeds close to his chest. God forbid anyone should catch him doing something nice.

  She was humming to herself and tidying up the booth when someone stopped beside her, and she looked up, a smile spreading across her face before she could stop it. Tanner stood there in his usual jeans and T-shirt, hair pulled back in a ponytail, Keira holding onto his hand. He looked so goddamned cute with the little girl.

  “Hi, Keira,” she said.

  “Hi, Ms. Towson.”

  Keira actually looked more like Tanner than she did her father. She had Tanner’s dark blond hair and gray eyes. Presumably from his mother. His father had been black-haired and blue-eyed like the other two O’Connor boys.

  She turned her attention to Tanner. He’d only dropped her off at the ranch a few hours ago. She shouldn’t feel this thrilled to see him again so soon. But just looking at him caused a little fizz of excitement in her blood.

  “I didn’t realize you’d be here,” Tanner said. “You never mentioned it.”

  Was there a slight accusation in his voice? In his eyes. Maybe he’d thought she wouldn’t want him along. Wouldn’t want to be seen with him. Just about the whole of Saddler Cove was here tonight. Ryan had already been around and bought some raffle tickets from her.

  She looked over Tanner’s shoulder to make sure that he wasn’t still around, but there was no one she knew in sight, and she breathed a little easier. The last thing she needed was Tanner getting all riled up. Because Jed Forrester was here as well. No doubt he’d jump at any sign that Tanner was not a suitable husband for his town’s first-grade teacher.

  While she loved the way Tanner looked, just for once, she wished he didn’t look quite so…bad boy. That he could pretend, just for a few hours, that he did care what people thought about him. More to the point, what her boss thought about him. So maybe she’d just have a teeny chance of keeping her job.

  Was it so wrong to want Tanner and her job?

  “Mrs. Watson had a medical emergency this afternoon,” she said. “I was asked to stand in for her.” She smiled. “Can I tempt you into a raffle ticket? You can win a pony.”

  Keira’s eyes widened. “A pony? A real pony?”

  “They do it every year. The first foal to complete the swim gets named King or Queen Neptune, and he or she is given away in the raffle. It’s to raise money for the fire department.”

  “Why the hell would I want to win a pony?” Tanner sounded baffled.

  “Uncle Tanner. I want to win a pony.”

  “No, you don’t. We have nowhere to put a pony.”

  “Please, Uncle Tanner.”

  He was looking almost scared now. Clearly, he couldn’t say no to the little girl. She decided to help him out. “They’ve sold over ten thousand tickets so far,” she said. “You’re probably safe.”

  “I’d better be.” He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and placed it on the table. She counted it and then filled ten tickets out and handed them to Tanner.

  …

  Tanner looked at the tickets in his hand. The way his luck was going, he’d probably win the fucking thing. They’d have to keep it in the back yard.

  “I didn’t know you were coming tonight, either,” Emily said.

  Was she sorry he was here? She’d smiled when she first saw him, but then she’d gotten that worried expression on her face. Nibbling her lip like she expected something bad to happen. Probably ashamed of him because he didn’t look all smart and dressed up like Ryan fucking Forrester. He’d seen him earlier, all smug in his smart suit. He’d caught sight of Tanner, but then taken one look at Keira, and turned and walked the other way.

  Tanner had seen Jed Forrester as well. The man had looked straight through him as if he didn’t exist. He should be used to it by now, but for some reason, tonight it rubbed him the wrong way. He’d gotten good at ignoring the looks he received from the townspeople, but tonight they niggled at him, grating on his nerves. The fucking unfairness of it.

  Since when had he expected life to be fair?

  He’d done his best to ignore it, because he didn’t want to spoil Keira’s evening. This was her first pony swim, and she was bubbling with excitement.

  Christ, he’d been on such a high that afternoon. He was going to have a daughter. And he’d never thought that would happen, but now it was, and he wouldn’t change it for anything. Or her mother. When he’d gotten back after dropping Emily at home, he’d tried to do some work. He couldn’t stop taking the ultrasound photo out of his pocket. And he was happy. Then he started worrying. What if people ostracized his daughter because of him? He knew what it was like to have the other kids look down on you. And no way did he want that for his daughter.

  The town was in a position to take something precious from him again, just like they’d taken his freedom, and the thought had him scared shitless. And angry.

  He looked up and realized Emily was waiting for an answer. “I hadn’t planned to, but Reese had promised to bring Keira and he was delayed in Richmond. Again. Keira wanted to come, so here we are.”

  “Daddy’s meeting us here,” Keira put in.

  And as soon as Reese was here, Tanner was out of there. He wasn’t fit company tonight. And didn’t trust his temper if anyone should come along and punch him. This time he wouldn’t just lie down and take it. Not that he’d had much chance to do anything else last time.

  He handed the tickets to Keira. “Here, pumpkin, look after these.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Tanner.”

  While she was studying them, her finger running along the writing as she read, he turned to Emily.

  “You’re not happy I’m here?” he asked quietly.


  She blinked at him as though she hadn’t expected the question and was searching for a suitable answer. She gave a little shrug. “I just don’t want any…unpleasantness.”

  “And you can guarantee that where I go unpleasantness will surely follow?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment Reese appeared, and Keira squealed and ran to him.

  Reese lifted her in the air and spun her around. He was great with her, considering he hadn’t even known he had a daughter until a year ago. Reese had been in a meeting with the bankers that afternoon and looked almost as smart as Ryan. He strolled over with Keira in his arms. “Uncle Tanner is going to win me a pony,” she said.

  “Is he now? But can you eat a whole one?”

  She pinched him in the shoulder. “I’m not going to eat it, I’m going to ride it.”

  “God forbid,” he muttered. “Hey, Teach, my little brother giving you problems?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Well, the night is still young. Give it time.” He punched Tanner on the arm. “I’ll leave you two to whatever it is you do. We have a date with the cotton candy man.”

  They watched as he walked away, tickling a giggling Keira.

  “He’s so good with her,” Emily said.

  “Maybe you should marry him,” he snapped.

  She widened her eyes. “I didn’t know it was an option.”

  “He was going to ask you out before…” He nodded toward her stomach and his baby. Never going to happen.

  “What you said before—about not wanting you here. It’s not true. I do want you here. I just…” She shrugged. “I just wish you didn’t have to go out of your way to antagonize people.”

  “Hey, I never start anything.”

  “No, but you finish it. They’re not bad people. Most of them would back off if you just met them halfway.”

  “And what would that involve? You want me to wear a suit and tie. Turn myself into your ex. You think people would then forget I’m the son of the town drunk. That I’m an ex-con they think killed his best friend. If you think that, you’re deluded and living in a dream world. Grow up, Emily. Not everyone is as nice as you are.”

 

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