“You’re killing me, Mom.” Joanna brought a hand to her mouth. “He can stay, but just until we find a better placement for him.”
Her mother looked toward Bradford. “You would never know he’s blind. He’s not nervous at all. This is one smart horse. We were loading the alpaca onto our trailer and he unlatched his gate and filed right onto the trailer with them.”
“What?” Joanna asked.
Waving her hands in the air for emphasis, her mother said, “I’d never seen anything like it. It was as if he knew nothing good would happen to him if he stayed where he was and decided to take a chance on us. He stood there in the middle of the alpaca like he belonged with them and when we tried to get him off the trailer he refused to budge. I sent your father in to pay for him which, by the way, was more than he went for because a meat buyer had already purchased him and we had to bribe him to get him to give him up. I don’t know why, there’s hardly any meat on him.”
Her father unlatched the back of the trailer and called out after lowering the ramp. “He might have been headed off to a zoo. They pay by carcass rather than weight.”
Joanna’s hand shook in Bradford’s before they both sprinted toward the back of the trailer as soon as the horse came into view.
Head hung low, the horse wobbled off the trailer on the thinnest legs Bradford had ever seen on a horse. Every one of the animal’s ribs protruded, his hips looked like wings behind him and his face was gaunt. One of his eyes was missing, the other cloudy. There were marks on his chest and shoulder—marks that looked as if they’d been inflicted by a whip. The spot just above the horse’s hooves was bald and raw from likely being cobbled for long periods of time. Bradford’s stomach churned with anger at whoever had mistreated this creature. He stepped forward and laid a hand on the horse’s thin neck.
The horse raised his head. The world narrowed, and for a moment there was only Bradford and the pain the horse had endured. Then the horse knickered and leaned into his touch. Bradford blinked back his welling emotion. This animal had gone through hell only to be tossed away as if it were trash and somehow it still craved a kind hand.
“No one will ever hurt you again,” Bradford muttered. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Joanna placed her hand next to Bradford’s on the horse’s neck. “He might not make it, Bradford. Sometimes they don’t when they’re this neglected, but I’ll call the vet to come out and we’ll do our best.”
Bradford couldn’t look her in the eye—she would have seen too much of his own pain if he had. He cleared his throat. “I’ll cover his expenses. Consider it a donation to your rescue. Tell me what he needs and he’ll have it.”
Joanna wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. “Well, okay. I guess I also rescue full-size horses.”
Chapter Thirteen
After settling the rescue horse into a stall in the quarantine area of the barn and putting in an emergency call to the vet, Joanna was alone in the aisle with her mother. “I couldn’t have left him there either, Mom.”
“We didn’t choose him,” her mother said, “he chose us. I should have taken a photo of him trying to hide between the alpaca. He knew we were his only chance, and I couldn’t take that from him.”
Joanna watched the horse move restlessly around the large stall. He had water, but food would wait for the okay from the vet. A special diet would have to be introduced slowly. “Do you think he’ll make it?”
“The will to live is a powerful thing. When I saw him, I pictured you writing him into a series of books one day. It wasn’t this horse’s time to die and he knew it. I have to believe he came into our lives for a reason.”
“I’ll do what I can for him, Mom. If he’s suffering too much, I’ll do what I have to as well. Sometimes the kindest thing to do is the hardest.”
Her mother nodded. “I know. I have a good feeling about him though. He belongs here with you.”
Joanna remembered how Bradford had connected to the horse as soon as it had stepped off the trailer. It was as if Bradford had met a survivor of a journey he’d been on himself. Please, God, don’t let this horse die. Please help me save it—and Bradford.
Pulling her back to the present, her mother said, “So, when were you going to tell us you and Bradford are dating?”
“It just happened.” And I don’t know if we are dating. He could leave today with no plans of coming back. “And before you ask, it’s too early to know any more than we make each other smile.”
“That’s a good beginning.” Her mother held out a hand to the horse and snapped her fingers. The horse made his way over to the sound and nuzzled her hand. “I like him.”
“He’s very sweet, considering what he’s been through.”
“I was referring to Bradford.”
The same applies to him. “I like him too.”
“What do you know about his family?”
“Nothing I can share, but he didn’t have an easy childhood.”
“Sophie has only wonderful things to say about him.”
“Mom, are you talking to the Barringtons about me again?”
“Mothers talk. Sophie and I have a lot in common.”
“Really? What do you and one of the richest women in the country have in common?” Sure, she was giving her mother shit, but sometimes it was the only way to get the whole story out of her.
Her mother’s grin was shameless. “You. We’d both like to see you happily married.”
“I want that too, Mom, but one step at a time. I met a man I’m interested in seeing more of. It may or may not go anywhere.” She looked around. “Speaking of Bradford, where did he go?”
“Oh, I think Dad took him outside to grill him.”
Bradford had never been the kind of man a woman took home to meet her parents. He didn’t do idle chitchat. He wasn’t a smooth talker. If walking away from Joanna’s father wouldn’t have hurt Joanna’s feelings, Bradford would have done just that. Instead he’d listened to the older man talk sports for the last ten minutes and braced himself for the questions he was sure would come.
“Not much of a sports fan, are you?” her father asked.
“No, sir.”
Her father frowned. “You can call me Gerry.”
Bradford met his gaze without acknowledging that he would or wouldn’t.
After a pause, her father said, “You’re not my daughter’s usual type.”
There really wasn’t anything polite a man could say to that so once again Bradford chose not to respond. Most people, unless they were harming someone and he couldn’t stop them, had little ability to strike at Bradford in any way that hurt.
The smile her father gave Bradford surprised him. “That’s a good thing. Joanna has always been strong-willed and I applaud that, but if she’s with someone who isn’t the same she quickly loses respect for them. She dated this one man, I forget his name, but he really liked her—enough that he took her home to meet his family. When she found out he let his grandmother pay him to mow her lawn, she was done with him. His head was still spinning as she tossed him out the door. She told us she couldn’t be with a man who didn’t mow his grandmother’s lawn for free, and I had to give her that. My daughter knows what she wants and won’t settle for less.”
That was Bradford’s impression of Joanna as well. He tried to imagine Joanna with a man like her father had described and couldn’t. “The world is full of all kinds of people.” It was a noncommittal response but the best he could come up with.
“It sure is.” Gerry turned to face Bradford. The smile returned to Gerry’s face. “I remember being in your shoes. Lydia’s father took me aside when we first started dating and polished his shotgun the whole time we spoke.”
Bradford chuckled at that. “That’s one way to get a point across.”
“It didn’t stop us from running a little wild, but it did make me look over my shoulder a lot while we did.”
Bradford laughed at that as well. He could see where Jo
anna got her sense of humor and her easygoing nature.
Gerry raised a hand. “The thing is—I know you’re both adults. We’re not here to judge what goes on, but we are here if you need us. Be good to our daughter, and you can call me anytime—night or day—and we’ll be there for you.”
His words hung there in the air, too kind for Bradford to immediately accept. Bradford texted his number to Gerry. “If you need anything, this is the best way to reach me.”
Gerry looked down at the message that popped up on his phone. “How did you know my number?” He shrugged. “Must be one of those new phone to phone apps. Am I right?”
“Sure.” Bradford had committed Gerry’s number to memory back when he’d first looked into Joanna’s life. The clarity of his memory was both a blessing and a curse. Some people called it having a photographic memory, but that wasn’t a real thing. He just retained information better than most, a skill that had served him well for not leaving a paper trail of evidence.
“Looks like the women are coming to make sure I haven’t scared you off,” Gerry said. “Quick, look terrified of me. I need them to know I’m doing my job.”
A laugh rumbled out of Bradford that put a smile on both Joanna and her mother’s face. Gerry lifted and dropped one shoulder, looking pleased with himself. “That works just as well.”
When Joanna rejoined them, she slid under his arm and laid her head on his chest as if they’d known each other forever and it was natural for them to do. “The vet said he’ll be here in a few. Cross your fingers for good news.”
“Whatever it takes,” Bradford said firmly.
The smile she sent his way was strained. “Whatever is best for him. Sometimes, Bradford, things are not within our control.”
Bradford didn’t like that answer, but he did like the prognosis the vet gave the horse after doing a full examination. There was a feeding schedule to be strictly adhered to and shots that were needed but could wait until the horse was stronger.
Volunteers and trainers dropped by the barn to meet the new horse. The quality of the people Joanna surrounded herself with said a lot about who she was. The horse would find nothing but kindness at their hands.
As soon as the vet left, Joanna’s parents announced they would need to be going as well. Joanna’s mother hugged her then took Bradford by surprise by hugging him as well. The expression on his face must have revealed his discomfort because Gerry was laughing as he shook Bradford’s hand afterward. “Remember what I said, son,” Gerry said as he closed his wife’s door, walked around and climbed into the driver’s seat of his truck, and pulled out.
“What did he say?” Joanna asked.
There was no reason to lie. “He told me I could call him if there was ever anything I needed.”
Joanna snuggled against Bradford’s chest. “He likes you.”
Bradford kissed Joanna’s forehead. “That’s good because I like his daughter.”
After a pause, Joanna said, “I was thinking.”
“Uh oh.”
“You probably have to get back to your place tonight. I’m sure you have a ton of work waiting for you.”
“Not as much as you’d think.” She was right, he did need to leave. Their second date didn’t end with him moving in. He shook his head, freaked a little that such a thought was even bouncing around in his head.
“How far away do you live?”
Locally? “Less than an hour.”
“I have an idea. It might be a crazy one or it might be a wonderful one. Really, whatever you decide is okay.”
He held her back. “What are you hatching in that beautiful head of yours?”
She bit her bottom lip, looked away, looked up at him again. Whatever she wanted he doubted he could deny her. “You seemed to really connect with the rescue my parents brought today. I’ll need help with him. What do you think of coming by a little every day and working with him?”
What is she asking me? He studied her face. “You want to hire me?”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t be paying you.” She blushed. “I’d just like to see you.”
“Daily?” He liked the idea of that more than he was comfortable admitting.
She wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t have to be anything formal. Come by when you can, spend some time with him, walk him around. If you want to hang out we can spend some time together. If not—”
He looped his arms around her hips and turned her so she was flush against the front of him. “What do you want?”
She met his gaze and the emotion burning there was so intense it set his own heart racing crazily. “I’d like to spend time with you. How much? I don’t know yet, but I don’t want you to leave today and not come back.”
He tucked her beneath his chin, held her close, and breathed the moment in. He’d given up trying to make sense of his strong attachment to her. “I don’t want that either.”
“I don’t dive into relationships as fast as we have. It’s kind of wonderful and kind of scary all at once.”
He adjusted their position so he could see her face. “I could not describe what we’re doing better than that.”
She let out an audible breath. “So, go home tonight and come back tomorrow. If it feels right, come back the next day.” She searched his face. “Or stay over if that’s where the day takes us, but I need a little time to breathe tonight and find my footing again.”
He kissed her gently then. Everything she was saying rang true and matched his own needs. He wanted to be with her, but he also needed a little space to get his shit together.
“What time do you want me back tomorrow?”
“Depends on what you’d like to help with. Chores start at eight a.m.”
“What time do you shower?” he asked with a grin he couldn’t hold back.
Her cheeks flushed and she looked up at him with a flutter of lashes. “Seven.”
“Want company?”
She ran her hands up his chest and linked them behind his neck. “Better get here at six then. I don’t like to rush.”
The kiss that followed was a mix of shared laughter and desire. He didn’t want to leave her, but time away would make returning that much sweeter. After breaking off the kiss, he helped her clean up a little, then grabbed his bag and waved to her as he drove off.
He was still smiling as he let himself into his apartment nearly an hour later. Still smiling as he fell asleep that night. Definitely smiling as he sped back to her place the next morning. He hadn’t done a lot of thinking, just a whole lot of anticipating.
And it was good.
Chapter Fourteen
Two weeks later Joanna finished writing a chapter book about Buddy and his journey from failure to miniature horse herd-guardian. She hoped it would inspire children who read it to see failing in one area wasn’t a sign of being a failure. Buddy might not have made it as a traditional service dog, but he was still helping the cause—just in his own way.
After sending the manuscript off to her editor, Joanna stood, stretched, and headed outside to see what Bradford was up to. She had a pretty good idea where to find him.
She found him in the horse paddock he’d fenced for the rescue horse her parents had brought to the farm. Bradford was on a tractor back blading an area. He cut the engine when he noticed Joanna approaching and hopped down.
He lifted her off her feet then slid her down the front of him and kissed her deeply. She wound her arms around his neck and savored having a man in her life who knew how to properly greet his woman. She’d had two weeks of early morning sex, late night sex, time working with him on her farm, lots of laughter, and nights cuddled to his side. Joanna had never been happier.
The first night apart had been a good idea, but it had also convinced Joanna that having Bradford’s toothbrush next to hers wasn’t such a scary idea. He technically wasn’t living with her, all he had at her place was one black bag, but he was at the farm most of each day and every night.
It could easily ha
ve felt like too much, but they were both independent by nature. Joanna returned to her schedule of working with horses in the morning and writing each afternoon. During the day Bradford spent more time with the farm’s staff and volunteers than with Joanna. They adored him. He fixed fencing, painted areas, watched training sessions, cleaned stalls, and hand-walked the Appaloosa he had so far refused to name. The more time he spent on the farm, the harder it was to remember what it had been like before him.
Between kisses, Joanna asked, “What are you working on?”
He raised his head and nodded toward the run-in shed he’d built. “I brought the Appy out here yesterday to let him get some exercise and he didn’t leave my side. I walked him around to show him where the fencing was and that seemed to reassure him, but last night I thought of something that would really help him—pea stone paths.”
Joanna looked around and had to fight back happy tears. Bradford had made a path from the gate to the shelter for the blind horse. At the shelter he made short paths to the water trough and hay. “This is incredible.”
He beamed with pride beneath her praise. “I used a different stone, less comfortable to walk on, to create a two-foot buffer before the fence so the horse has a warning that he’s approaching fencing. Now I just have to show him what it all means.”
“I love you.” The words were out of her mouth before she considered how they might be received.
Bradford tensed and stepped back.
“It’s how I feel, but you don’t have to say it back, Bradford.” Joanna took a deep breath. If life had a rewind button she would have used it then and not taken him by surprise like that. Like the Appaloosa he was working with, Bradford did best with slow and easy. “I’m happy with things the way they are between us.”
The frown on Bradford’s face would have saddened Joanna in the beginning. She would have seen it as a sign he didn’t feel the same toward her, but that’s not what she believed. Actions meant more to Joanna than words ever would.
The day after Bradford met Leslie and heard about her situation, a lawyer called and offered to get her back into her house—pro bono. Job offers had poured in and she accepted one that included a scholarship for her to continue her education and her son to attend a private school in the area. There was no doubt in Joanna’s mind that Bradford had arranged all of that.
Reluctantly Rescued (The Barrington Billionaires, Book 9) Page 17