* * *
H e wanted her help with a horse. That was a simple request. One Pip had no doubt she could meet. Some of the tension filling her lessened. Became more manageable. Of course, it helped that Matt’s clinic was on the outskirts of town, far away from that damned diner. She hadn’t been there before--they used a vet located just over the county line for their livestock—but she’d heard good things about him .
More, she knew he genuinely loved the animals in his care .
He’d purchased two of her Quarter Horses just a few months back, after Phoebe had been hurt, when they’d needed money to pay the hospital for Phoebe’s care .
She’d planned to wait a year or two longer and get a higher profit, but that hadn’t been in the cards .
They were the first of her horses she’d ever sold. It had broken her heart to watch him drive away with them. But she’d done it. And she knew the two geldings she’d trained as cutting horses would always be well taken care of .
Now that her sisters lived on his property, she’d even see those horses occasionally. Pip had to admit it had worked out well for them .
But that meant she was basically starting back a few paces on her plans to build her own AQH breeding program. She’d been meaning to invest the money from those horses back into her program eventually. Instead it had gone to the Masterson General Hospital. Just like every other spare penny the family had. They were still paying hospital bills from the wreck that had killed her mother and injured both Perci and her brother Phoenix. And bills from the heart attack her father had had after .
The loss of profit from those horses was just another setback .
She was a Tyler. Tylers handled setbacks. It was kind of their stock in trade .
She waited next to the man while the rescue organization’s trailer backed in. It was a good rescue. She’d heard of them before. Some of the tension filling her started to relax .
It always did whenever Matt was close by—after the initial panic that a man like him was so close receded .
She had to admit he made her feel at peace. Relaxed in a way she hadn’t been before .
They both knew what they were doing, and she and Matt worked quickly, with the need for only minimal communication between them .
The trailer was backed to the paddock behind the clinic, and everything was ready .
The horse refused to come out. Even with the handler .
Pip knew patience was sometimes the only thing that worked with some animals. Heck, she understood it herself .
Sometimes the world was a very frightening place .
The instant Matt entered the trailer to try to help the horse protested .
Matt stepped out quickly .
Pip heard the horse inside, heard the fear .
“She’s afraid. So very afraid,” she said. “You’re both big men. Threats. How was she loaded ?”
She looked at the man who’d driven the truck from Montana .
“We were set to have two of us, but Charlie’s mom called, and she had to go. Family emergency. Charlie loaded her .”
“Let me go in. See if I can calm her some .”
10
M att didn’t know a damned thing about this horse, not really. The thought of Pip getting close to such an unknown didn’t sit well with him. But they had to get the horse out. “Step in. See what the situation is. I don’t like this, Pip. The risks .”
“Are there for anyone working with an animal this size.” Pip looked at him straight on, confidence in her stance once again. The woman lost her fear of the world when it came to horses, didn’t she? Forgot everything but the animals that she loved .
Matt stayed close, ready to pull Pip out of the trailer if necessary. He knew he was probably being a bit too cautious, but something about her made him want to wrap her up and just keep her safe .
Protected .
Was that so wrong ?
Maybe it had something to do with the first few times he’d met her after she’d sold him a pair of cutting horses. He’d for damned sure never forget pulling her from the flood. Of holding her close as Rutherford took potshots at them all .
He’d practically had her imprinted on his body for days after that .
Maybe it had been more than that. Maybe the need to protect her had just burst from that day ?
She could have died that day. Most likely would have, if he and his brother Nate hadn’t shown up to help .
Her sister most definitely would have drowned. And Rutherford would have shot Perci. Pip could have been shot—or drowned herself. If he and Nate hadn’t been there at that exact moment .
Matt had a hard time forgetting that. It was almost like those Tyler sisters had somehow become his to protect .
His and his brothers .
Matt knew the truth—he was a protector type. He needed to keep those around him safe. And it was hard not to go overboard with Pip, even though she was a perfectly competent, capable woman .
He just wanted to be the one to protect her. Her, specifically. Because Pip had stuck with him for months now .
He knew Levi felt the same with their housekeeper. It was hard to miss how Levi watched over Pan like a mother duck with only one duckling. It was starting to drive Pan nuts, but Matt and Nate found it amusing at times .
Levi had never met a woman he couldn’t charm when he wanted. Except this one .
Pan didn’t have a clue how his brother felt .
Rather like Pip had no idea how Matt felt about her. It was hard not to want to protect them; there was something about the entire family that made him feel that way. Him, Levi, Joel—and he suspected Nate, though his most contrary brother wouldn’t dream of admitting it .
Joel had practically taken every one of Pip’s siblings under his own wing .
Nate just tolerated them, though Matt knew his younger brother mostly had a problem with Pip’s twin. Nate sure pampered Phoebe, though. Protective of her .
Hell, they all were .
Phoebe was fast becoming the center of their entire house, and they all knew it .
She was the first wife any of them had ever had. That made her damned special to all of them. It was hard not to go overboard with her .
And since Pan had moved in…well, Levi had already made it clear how he felt—even if Pan had no real idea. Yet. It was just a matter of time. Made it hard not to treat her like a baby sister .
It was Pip’s face he saw in his dreams at night. Pip and that damned flood. The fear. The courage. The determination to save her sister, no matter what the cost .
Damn, that girl got to him. And she didn’t have a clue .
Matt didn’t know how to change that without running her off completely .
11
P ip got her first look at the horse after Matt shifted out of her way. She was a beautiful creature. A cream buckskin; a small one. Delicate, feminine .
Frightened. Half-starved. And very, very pregnant .
Whatever had happened to this beautiful girl had left its mark on the horse’s soul .
Pip didn’t even know her name .
She kept her manner unthreatening, her tone soft. Her eyes met the horse’s. “Hello, beautiful girl .”
The wind kicked up outside the trailer. It would storm soon. Pip could smell the rain coming. So could the horse. The mare shook her head as a breeze blew through the trailer. “Do you feel that? The rain, the wind ?”
She stepped closer .
The animal tensed, her fear of everything new almost palpable on the air. “Yes. You smell the world and you wonder where you’ll go in it, don’t you, baby? If you’ll ever go anywhere, do anything at all in it. You wonder at your place in it. A part of you just wants a safe place to hide out in forever. But we both know the world doesn’t spin that way.” Pip didn’t know where the words came from; she just kept talking as the beautiful girl began to relax. A little. The fear would always be there. But the panic was receding. Pip just kept talking. “We have to
keep taking the next step. Maybe you see it, too. Someone makes you take that first step, and then it’s a fenced pasture. Safety. But a cage, still. With the real world just on the other side of that fence. Waiting. You can’t always hide from the world, baby. We have to do this. Come with me, sweetheart. We’ll do the pasture first. With the big scary men right outside. They’re not so bad. I promise. Then we’ll fly together .”
12
M att heard her crooning to the horse, heard the words she said. The rescue driver respectfully looked away. Neither man said anything about the emotion they heard in the woman’s voice. How could they ?
Matt hadn’t had such a glimpse into a woman’s soul like that in a long time. Did she realize what she was revealing to him? Did she even realize he could hear her ?
Somehow he doubted .
It took another half an hour of her crooning to the horse before she and the buckskin mare emerged .
Giving Matt his first real clear look at the horse .
He bit back a curse, seeing the abuse and the fear right there .
But the animal was walking docilely with Pip .
“Honey, can you get her down the ramp ?”
“Should be able to.” Pip kept her tone slow and hushed. For the horse’s sake .
But his gut tightened anyway when she looked over her shoulder toward him. She’d taken her hat off. Without it she really couldn’t hide that easily. Her hair was long and in a braid, but it was starting to loosen. It was a dark mix of reds and browns that shown in the bright sun .
But it was the blue eyes that caught a man. Stuck with a man for a long, long time .
Made Matt’s gut tighten in a way it hadn’t in quite a while before he’d met her .
He forced himself to focus on the horse. The mare was going to need quite a lot of care. And if she was skittish of all men, there were going to be problems. He had one female vet tech, and she only worked weekends part -time .
It was only Tuesday. They needed to come up with another solution-- and fast .
“What’s her current medical condition?” he asked the driver from the rescue .
“She’s stable, health wise. No underlying problems, just needs some good food and a steady hand. Someone who can love her. A woman that can love her.” The driver was a man about Matt’s own age, and had a healthy appreciation in his eyes for the redhead currently leading the horse down the ramp. “Bet that one will do real good. Your wife ?”
Matt hesitated. He looked at the woman in question. The sun had turned her hair to dark fire, a stark contrast to the cream horse with black points next to her .
They were both gorgeous. And he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. There was a handful of other people across the street, watching. Watching her. Did Pip realize ?
Even that damned director Rowland Bowles was staring at her and the mare. Matt wanted to shout from the rooftops that Pip Tyler was off limits .
That she was his .
“No. She’s not my wife .”
“I see. Very pretty lady. Well, I need to get back to where I came from. I need you to sign for receipt of her .”
“What’s her name ?”
“She didn’t have one. Previous owner just called her Horse . Guy had a sick sense of humor.” The driver’s tone told Matt exactly how the driver felt about the previous owner .
Matt looked at the horse. “Apparently. Thanks .”
“No problem. Just glad to see she’s in good hands. Smaller than we anticipated, but good ones .”
“Pip Tyler’s one of the best with horses I’ve ever seen. You should see her ride. Flies like the wind. The wind just loves her .”
“I’ll bet it does .”
Pip was walking the horse around the space, crooning encouragement. Matt took the opportunity to study the animal more closely. “When she due to foal ?”
“Within the month. We shouldn’t have moved her, but we didn’t have much choice. We just found her last week and don’t have the space .”
“We’ll see she’s taken care of,” Matt promised. The pregnancy was a complication he hadn’t been aware of. He’d have to get the horse settled someplace warm and safe quickly. Matt watched the trailer pull away, then closed the gate himself .
After the driver left, Matt stood and watched the woman and the horse. It was hard to miss the signs of her pregnancy. Or how timid and frightened the small mare was .
But she was responding to Pip. He’d yet to see a horse that hadn’t .
Pip finally released her hold on the horse when the mare lost interest in the woman and found a nibble of grass more tempting .
Pip joined him at the fence. They turned and watched the mare. “What’s going to happen to her ?”
“I don’t know yet. The sonofabitch hadn’t even bothered to give her a name, honey. All I got on her is that file.” And it wasn’t very thick. He’d seen it before--the rescue sometimes just had to work with what they got and pray for the best in some cases. It would always anger him, though. Abuse always would .
“She needs a name. At least some kind of identity. How old is she? Three ?”
“Closer to two, I think.” He checked the file quickly. The horse was just a few months beyond her second birthday .
“A bit too young to be a momma .”
“Yes. She’ll probably not grow as large as an adult because of it. I’ve seen it before .”
“She’s rather large; you think it’s twins ?”
“I’ll check the files. I don’t think she’ll let me do too thorough of an exam. The rescue has never sent me a seriously unhealthy horse, though. I think she just needs ...”
“Safety .”
He’d been going to say love. But to Pip fear was the biggest motivator, wasn’t it ?
“Look at her. She’s enjoying the wind.” She laughed lightly after she said it. Matt closed his eyes for a moment and just tried to breathe her in. Tried not to act like an idiot over the woman next to him .
“From what I was told she spent most of her time in a dark barn .”
“No more. What are you going to do with her?” She looked up at him out of those blue eyes that made him feel like the center of her world in that instant .
Pip wanted her. Matt could see it in her eyes. But she would never ask. “I was going to ask you the same thing .”
The words had just popped out, but when blue eyes looked up at him and widened he knew he was making the right choice. Hell, he didn’t need another horse, or foal. He had a strict plan in mind for his own horse operation. This little girl, he estimated she was barely thirteen and a half hands tall, didn’t fit that plan. But the animal was a Quarter Horse .
Pip was raising Quarter Horses. Damned fine ones she’d trained as cutters. He’d purchased two geldings to use for that very purpose—not for breeding .
The horse’s foal would help Pip regain the strides she’d lost when she’d been forced to sell to him a few months back. Especially if it was a filly .
And he’d give her more than just a horse if she’d let him. He’d give her just about everything he could. Everything he had .
“You heard me. She is going to take too much time for me to gentle her now. I just don’t have it. Not that you do, but hell, Pip, I’m stuck out on calls all day. She needs frequent attention during the day. I just can’t do it.” A lie. They had plenty of hands on his family’s ranch. It was one of the largest spreads in the county, after all. If he wanted the horse taken care of, he had people who could do it. He just…Pip wanted the mare, and he knew it. “Take the horse. And the foal. Re-socialize her. We’ll talk about what to do with her later .”
“I ...”
“It’s not charity. At least not for you. But for her. She needs a chance, honey. A place to see that life doesn’t have to be all fear. ” He brushed a hand down her cheek, moving the tendril of loose hair off her cheek and tucking it behind her ear. Pip had small ears, and wore the tiniest little diamond stud in each one. “I can�
�t think of a better place for Wind Lover than at the Tyler Ranch .”
13
H e’d always been fascinated by horses--but not enough to actually get near one of the beasts. Rowland had always hated feeling like a coward, though. He watched the yellow horse being unloaded and felt like exactly that when he realized the person in charge of the big creature was none other than that teeny tiny redhead. Pip? Was that right ?
Rowland studied her quickly. She was identical to the other one, wasn’t she? Though this one had on an obviously old t-shirt and had her hair braided down her back. She wasn’t ugly--she wasn’t even plain-- she just didn’t play up her assets .
This woman didn’t wear make-up or paint her nails or dress to catch a man’s attention at all, did she ?
Rowland had to admit that some women didn’t need to. And this was probably one of them. She wasn’t the woman he wanted. Still, Rowland was a man, and a straight one at that. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. A long time .
He’d definitely never been with a woman as small as these Tyler sisters. Would that make a difference in bed? Small, but fiery, perhaps? Small and eager ?
Or would this Pip be the type for long, slow loving? Gently treated, like Matt Masterson obviously was treating her now ?
Rowland watched the two as they stood with the horse for the longest time. Masterson leaned closer to her whenever she spoke. Was it because she was that soft-spoken or because he was overeager to catch everything the woman said? Was that behind why Masterson had given his not-quite-friendly warning earlier, reminding Rowland not to overwhelm and upset the girl ?
How did she feel about Big Bubba hovering over her ?
Rowland had a much harder time figuring out the answer to that question .
But his writer’s mind could imagine ...
14
I t took some doing but they managed to get the horse Matt was now calling Wind Lover into the vet clinic’s trailer and out to Pip’s barn. They had three barns on the place, the one in the best repair was where her horse Air Dancer ruled supreme, along with Perci’s Wind Dancer. Pan and Phoebe had taken Sky Dancer and Cloud Dancer with them when they’d relocated to the Masterson place. But it wasn’t there that Wind Lover would be the most comfortable. Not with all those males hanging around, demanding her attention .
Discovering the Doctor (Masterson County Book 2) Page 3