by Kaliana Cole
Smiling acquiescence, Jade privately wondered what muscle-bound fool she was going to have to put up with today. She pointedly ignored the cloud of dust approaching and set off to help Harry run the first batch of colts into the race.
She was leaning through the rail to pull the slide gate shut behind the last horse when the first prickling awareness feathered down the back of her neck. Freezing instinctively, Jade tried to get her senses beyond the fevered drumming of her heartbeat to identify the threat.
The shadow that loomed over her coincided with the large, callused, and decidedly male hand that closed over hers on the gate. “Let me get that for you, darlin’.”
The low voice drawled seductively in her ear, so close she swore she could actually feel the deep rumble of his chest through her jacket. Pulse pounding, she turned to find herself caught between a rock and a hard place. Or in this case, between steel rails and the broad, well-muscled chest of Nate Kelly.
While her scattered wits screamed at her “run, escape!” the traitorous, shameless hussy that was her body rolled out the welcome mat to the towering masculinity surrounding her. The same way it had since she had turned fourteen and known what her confusion meant.
Nate gave her a cocky grin as she felt her body betray her. Moisture flooded her panties as her nipples hardened enough to poke an eye out. Jade knew the thin shirt over her bra was not up to the task of concealment even before the bastard cocked an eyebrow in admiration.
“Jesus Christ, Nate! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Jade tried to hide her primal reaction behind the outburst as she jerked her jacket closed. She attempted to push past, only to find an arm blocking her path, one that wasn’t any more yielding that the steel rail at her back. “Nate!” she growled in warning.
With a patronizing grin, he gripped her stubborn chin with his other hand and tilted it so she was looking straight into the smoky blue depths smoldering under the brim of his well-worn cowboy hat. “How about we start again, darlin’? I say ‘Why, Jade, it’s so good to see you after all this time.’ And you say ‘You, too, Nate. I’ve missed you so much.’ And if you won’t let me steal a kiss, you will at least let me hold you because I have sure missed you, darlin’.”
Jade shook her head ruefully. The sweet-talking devil had always been able to circumvent her temper, either with a few lazy words or if that failed, sheer brute force. Being held by his arms had defused her anger since she was a child.
She folded in against him as his arms came around her to hold her tight to his chest. Feeling as if she had finally come home, Jade inhaled his earthy, masculine scent through the heavy cotton of his work shirt as her hands came to rest on his taut sides.
He had grown into the promise of the big, raw-boned youth he had been, and then some. Ropy, flat muscles of true physical strength wrapped his large frame, born of hard physical work. Not at all like the bulky, gym-bred physiques so popular where she had been living on the Californian coast.
Nate slid one hand to tangle in the shoulder-length mass of her dark blonde hair, gently pressing her face closer into his chest. “It feels so right to hold you, Jade. Seeing you last time with your husband, it just about tore my heart out not being able to touch you.” He buried his face in her wealth of dark blonde hair.
Jade pushed at his chest. Nate grudgingly allowed her to pull away, meeting her accusing gaze. “If I remember correctly, Nate Kelly, you wasted more than enough opportunities to touch me many years ago. A girl can only take so much rejection before she gives up for good. You were part of the dream I gave up when I left. I’m over it, Nate. I’m all grown up now.”
“You sure are, darlin’.” He ran an appreciative glance down the length of her body.
“Stop it, Nate! I’m not anyone’s ‘darlin’, let alone yours! If we have to work together today, I expect you to behave yourself!”
He dropped the ever present, mocking grin and fixed her with a no-nonsense stare. “Okay, Jade, I’ll make you a deal: I will be a complete angel today, but when Elly heads home, you and I are going to talk. You can’t keep hiding from us forever.”
Reluctantly, Jade assented, choosing to ignore the fact that he had said “us” not “me.”
“Let’s get this done then.” She turned and left him to follow.
Chapter 3
Nate Kelly felt like he had been gut punched.
Jade, as a teenager, had been both the bane of his existence and a temptation he couldn’t risk succumbing to. Fourteen years had tempered her into the creature of his grown-up desire.
Her body had ripened into a woman’s body, lush curves now covering the muscles that had frightened off more than one prospective suitor in her youth and so fascinated his brothers. Her hair was shorter and darker now, her lips slightly fuller, but the hazel green eyes still flashed with emerald fire when she was riled. Or horny, he amended with a grin.
And she was so damn easy to read. He would play poker against her any day. He had seen the exact moment her body had creamed for him, and her self-loathing because of it. She had always been a slave to her hormones, but it appeared she had gained some control. He had been impressed just how quickly she had pulled her prickly armor around her. Stripping it from her would be a challenge to be enjoyed.
Time was supposed to heal all wounds, but some took longer to scar over than others. The gaping hole she had left in the lives of all the Kelly brothers had been patched over but never filled.
Matthew had drifted, lost, until he had decided on a whim to test for the Army. Discipline and structure had provided him with direction and purpose in his life. Nate had seen quite a few changes in his baby brother, but the wistful way he would stare over the ridge at Douglas Park whenever he was home on leave said that Jade was never far from his mind.
Brett was a different story. He had left home as soon as the dust from Jade’s departure had settled. He had started up the battered, old Ford he used to drive and just left.
He knew now that Brett had used that time to develop an iron-clad control over the volatile temper he had inherited from their father. He had returned six years later a different man and a fully qualified mechanic. He never touched alcohol, but neither of his brothers would have more than two beers for the same reason. Brett didn’t raise his voice or get flustered over anything now. Nate had thought that was unhealthy, that it would just lead to a greater blow up when it finally happened, and then Brett had introduced his older brother to his little secret. A secret that would shock Jade to the core.
Nate wondered what kind of experience his little darlin’ had now. Her husband had seemed insipid and bland when he had met him a few years ago, insecure about Jade talking to an old friend. Not the sort of man who would have had her screaming out her pleasure every night.
He gave a grin. She always had been an independent little wretch, the kind to beg forgiveness afterward rather than ask permission. She probably just took matters into her own hands. God knows he’d done enough of that himself over the years.
He kept his eyes on the sway of her hips as she strode ahead with purposeful steps, admiring how each angry stride made an ass cheek peek out beneath her jacket. God, she had a great ass now. She probably hated it, but any red-blooded man would love it.
She had the kind of body that was strong enough to take a pounding and give you enough to hang on to. He could imagine driving into her with two handfuls of her sweet ass giving him leverage or thrusting into her from behind with his handprints striping the well-rounded globes.
He mentally shook himself. He would end up getting hurt today if he didn’t have his mind on the job. But he found himself matching his stride to hers with his head keeping time with the alternate flashes of ass.
The Lord knew he’d have trouble not tripping over his halo today. No one but his grandma had ever accused him of being an angel.
Chapter 4
They quickly worked out a routine. A horse was quietly pushed up into the confines of the crush where it
was reassured with soothing voices and practiced hands as a general assessment was made. It was Jade’s decision as to whether the scalpel was called for.
She was pleased to see that the new vet was confident and didn’t waste time. Nate proved all that muscle came in handy. After he gave Jade a hand up off the concrete floor for a second time, which was where a nice, little black colt had flung her when she tried to halter him in the confines of the crush, she decided to let Nate halter the rough ones.
Nate had to know her pride was hurting just as much as her ass as she conceded her place. She had always been as independent as hell, and that hadn’t changed much.
Jade silently fumed that she had let herself get soft living in the city.
Nine colts were kept for potential stallion material, and two yearlings were left with balls in place to grow for another six months. All were wormed, and branded if need be. Two near identical sorrel colts had mane samples taken for DNA testing as a positive identification could not be made. The blood bay was in the last group to come through. His big frame quivered at the scent of blood and disinfectant as they hushed him into the crush. Nate gave him a wide berth as Elly readied a syringe. Jade hummed softly as she drew close to his shoulder.
He barely flinched as she laid her hand on the arch of his neck, softly crooning the same song she had sung to him the night before. Elly tentatively offered the heavy sedative used for the operation, but Jade waved her away, gesturing for the tube of avomectin. Without any fuss she was able to squirt the worming paste high into his tongue, provoking a lot of head tossing and lip curling.
Stepping back, she continued petting him in strong, rhythmic strokes. She talked nonsense to him, telling him what a big darling he was.
“You’re not going to cut him?” Elly asked, quite surprised.
“Nope, I think I might keep this one for myself. Once I get him going, he will be just the showcase Douglas Park needs to get it recognized again.”
“Quite a challenge, taking on a seven-year-old stud that hasn’t had a hand on him since he was weaned.” She looked the big horse over critically. “He is a nice type and all, but you will be up against a hell of a lot of testosterone and more than a touch of arrogance, I would say.”
Nate had a grin teasing his lips as he quipped, “Don’t worry, Elly, Jade can handle any amount of both of those.” Apparently, Nate’s halo could only go so long without slipping.
It turned out that Elly knew when to ignore the big man, too. “What name do you want on his paperwork? He is registered as DP Executive, but he doesn’t look like an executive to me. Have you got a ‘devil’ yet?”
“Nope, we’ll call him ‘Kenny,’” Jade replied, still running her hands all over the bay.
Nate groaned theatrically. “That’s what that song was supposed to be. At least your taste in music has improved.” He turned toward the vet. “When she was thirteen, she was Bon Jovi all the way. She had Jon, Richie, and Tico. When she was fifteen, Alice, Axle, and Slash got added to the fold.” He swung around to give Jade one of his irresistible trademark grins. “But I never could explain Sam, who came along after them.”
Jade decided to give him something to choke on. “Remember that bull rider you introduced me to over in Cheyenne that summer? Well, that big paint reminded me a lot of him—all gorgeous, icy blue eyes and cheeky as hell. Way too big for comfort, but one hell of a wild ride.”
Jade managed to get it said without blushing, but the dark, possessive heat that flared in Nate’s eyes brought color of another sort to her cheeks. Subtle changes to his constant grin said clearly that there would be repercussions for her smart mouth, while Elly managed to smother a grin of her own.
With feigned casualness, Jade opened the gates that would put Kenny in one of the day yards in front of the stables before turning the big horse loose.
Since Elly had elected to work through instead of breaking for lunch, by three o’clock she was packed up to leave. All that remained was to run the horses in to their respective paddocks. The ones that had been gelded moved a lot more sedately than the others.
They got it all accomplished with little effort. Within an hour all were fed, and Harry had tooted his horn as he rumbled on out the drive. Jade tried to ignore the eyes she could feel boring through her back as she unnecessarily checked on Kenny again.
“You’re stalling.” The drawled accusation pulled her up before she could find something else to do. No one had ever accused Jade Douglas of being a coward.
“You’re right.” She scuffed the toe of her boot against the ground before turning to face the man leaning nonchalantly against the side of the stable block. “I am. Let’s go get this over with.” She led the way up to the house.
Chapter 5
The old dog didn’t shift from its position next to the empty bowl at the front door, but its long whip of a tail beat a steady tattoo on the weathered hardwood decking as she watched them approach. Nate leaned down to rub the hound’s floppy ears.
“This is where you have been hiding, you old tart.” The fondness in his voice belied the words.
“She’s yours?” Jade asked, not really as surprised as she should be. Fate always had been a manipulative bitch where Jade was concerned.
“No, Gypsy is Matt’s. Leastwise that is who she is supposed to belong to. It’s a bit hard to explain that to her when he has only been home one month a year.”
Jade filled the bowl with kibble. “She has been here more than a week. When did she go missing?”
“Two weeks ago, I went for a drive up through the state forest with the dogs on the back. Gypsy decided to come, and I had all the chains on the pups, so I figured she would be all right, but as soon as I crossed Stoney Creek, the old girl let out a bugle and tore off the truck and into the scrub.”
He shook his head ruefully. “She must have picked up a scent and decided to relive her youth. Matt hasn’t hunted her for years.” Nate nodded toward the rapidly emptying bowl. “I would say she got as far as here and decided the food was better. Not to mention the company,” he added with a grin, making Jade’s apprehension rise in anticipation of their conversation to come.
“How about some lunch before we talk? It has been a long time since breakfast.” Jade held the front door open for Nate to follow, feeling dwarfed as he pulled off his low-crowned hat and stepped into the kitchen.
“Sounds great.” He hung his hat on one of the solid, old ladder back chairs that matched the scarred and battered pine table in the kitchen. Making himself at home, he ducked through an open door to scrub his work-stained hands in the laundry.
Jade had quickly done the same in the kitchen sink and then checked the meager supplies in the fridge. Ham, cheese, and tomato sandwiches it would be, but after squeezing the loaf of bread, she decided to toast them.
“I’ve got tea, coffee, diet Coke, light beer, or water.” No way was she sharing her good single malt with anyone.
Nate stretched his long frame out in one of the chairs, leaning back to watch with all the patience of a seasoned predator, just waiting for the right moment to strike. “I’ll have a beer, thanks. I think I have earned one today.”
Jade put a frosted bottle on the table in front of him. “That you did, and thanks. I think Elly and I would have had a hard time of it without you today. Have you known her long?” Jade tried to sound casual as she fished for information. She had noticed a fair amount of familiarity between the two of them today.
“You could say that Elly and I go way back. She might be married to Craig now, but she knows if she ever needs a hand with anything at all, I’m only a phone call away.”
Jade quelled the pang of emotion before she could admit it was jealousy. That was one of Nate’s trademarks. When he broke up with a girl, they always stayed friends. She had heard he was even a godparent to two of his ex-girlfriends’ children.
She put the toasted sandwiches on the table and grabbed a Coke for herself, trying unsuccessfully not to compare her
self with the leggy, confident young woman she had met today.
“I can see why you like her. She’s gorgeous.” Jade sat at the table trying to ignore the smile playing around the corners of his mobile lips.
“Smart, too,” Nate added. Jade could feel the taint of jealousy, the visible taint if Nate’s little grin told true. “It’s a shame I’m not into incest.”
Jade choked inelegantly, only just refraining from spraying Coke out her nose. He laughed as he reached behind him for a serviette off the counter, handing it to her with fondness blazing in his smile.
“That was Elizabeth?” she got out between coughs.
“Yep, my baby sister grew up and became a vet. She came down here to do a work placement with Doc Johnson about five years ago and fell in love with Craig. I guess there’s no accounting for taste.” He wrinkled his nose in mock disgust.
A wash of nostalgia came over her. Craig Johnson was the same age as Nate and drop-dead gorgeous. Jade had wasted a dream or two over him before realizing that he was too much of a “good” boy to be good for anything but looking at.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Jade. You could have had him back in high school if Brett and I hadn’t threatened to break every bone in his body if he so much as laid a fingertip on you.” He gave her an unrepentant grin. “Come to think of it, you can blame us for Johnny Peters and Mike Bowler, too.”
“So what you are basically saying is that you didn’t want me, but no one else was allowed to have me either.” Jade rose from the table and cleared the plates, hoping he couldn’t see the hurt that still touched her after all those years.
Adolescence was a cruel stage for some. For Jade it had been a time of feeling inadequate: not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not confident enough. She couldn’t help but think if just one of those boys had of told her she was pretty or kissed her behind the art block, she would have made a lot of different decisions in life, but that was half a lifetime ago. She had grown in a lot of ways since then.