by Judy Baer
“Marlo, I…” Something in his tone made her look up at him just as he tilted his head down and his soft warm lips grazed her own.
She didn’t pull away. She didn’t want to. The moment she’d thought was already perfect was made doubly so. She could barely breathe. Her chest was too filled with joy to take more than a short, shallow breath before she exhaled again.
“I’m sorry, Marlo, I didn’t mean… I want to tell you…”
She lifted a finger to his lips, not wanting him to mar the moment with words. “We were swept away by a miracle. It’s all right.” She tipped her head to look at him and he kissed her again. As her eyes fluttered shut, her ever-vigilant mind added, Just this once.
Her eyes flew open and, realizing how deeply she was falling under his spell, Marlo pulled away. To accept a kiss was one thing, to divide affections between a couple like Jake and Sabrina was quite another.
She was exceptionally emotional at the moment, she told herself. That was all understandable, having been witness to the miraculous. “What will you name him?”
“Oh, something long and convoluted that refers to his bloodlines, I suppose.” Jake kept his arm draped across her shoulders. “We usually refer to the foal’s parents’ names within its new name. I often tack on a more manageable nickname, as well.”
“Like what? Do you have something picked out for this little guy?” Marlo continued to marvel at the enthusiastically nursing colt and its forbearing mother.
“I do. Want to hear it?”
She turned her face up toward his. “Please.”
“Marlo’s Miracle. Miracle for short. What do you think of that?”
If her heart stopped beating from sheer delight, would it start again? Marlo put her hand to her chest to check. “It’s too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you.” His words were tender. “Marlo’s Miracle it is.” He looked her over much like he’d studied the colt. “You look like you were actively involved in this birth. I see you have hay in your hair.”
Marlo swatted at her head. “Is it gone?”
“Most of it.” Gently, he pulled a long bit of straw from somewhere behind her ear.
He began to lower his lips toward hers again when she pulled away. “I don’t know how to thank you for this….”
“No thanks needed. This is what I wanted to do. Marlo, I…”
He was interrupted by the sound of a sports car roaring into the yard.
She took the moment to say, “We’d better go outside.”
When they emerged from the barn, Sabrina, Alfred and Cammi were there talking to Randall. Sabrina, her eyes glittering like hard glass, stared at them and focused a daggered stare at Marlo as she and Jake approached.
Then Sabrina turned away, put on a dazzling smile that didn’t hint at the silent fury she’d directed at Marlo and sashayed toward Jake.
Knees trembling, Marlo glanced wildly around for Lucy. The Divas van was parked in the driveway of the house and Lucy was just getting in.
“I’d better go now,” Marlo murmured to Jake. “I’d call this very bad timing.”
Randall chose that moment to stride across the driveway to Jake. “Alfred has a question for you,” he said brusquely.
“Later,” Jake whispered in her ear, before walking off. When he was out of earshot, Randall turned to Marlo. “My son is charming, but don’t let him fool you. His path has been set for a long time. Our family has…plans…for him.”
Cheeks flaming, Marlo headed for the van that Lucy already had idling. She jumped in and closed the door as Lucy, seeing Marlo’s expression, hit the gas.
“What was that about?” Lucy asked, her eyes large in her head. “Randall Hammond looked very upset.”
“He just warned me away from his son. He says the family has ‘plans’ for him. They obviously don’t include me. Little does he know that I’m not after his son.”
“Jake’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. Besides, you are the last person who would disrupt Randall’s ‘plan’ for Jake and Sabrina to get together. We both know that.”
Tears pressed at the back of Marlo’s eyes. “Let’s go home, Lucy.”
Just what she didn’t need, Marlo thought as she looked at the day’s schedule. Angela had made an appointment to come in to talk about her wedding. After the dustup with Sabrina and Randall at Hammond Stables, Marlo felt sure that the single life was meant for her. There was no way she was going to put herself in a position where she could be the “other woman,” no matter how innocently it had come about. What was more, Marlo didn’t want to hear Angela’s gushing, when all she felt about herself was disgust and dismay. Worse yet, she’d only been apart from Jake for twenty-four hours and she already missed him.
But she and Jake could still be friends, Marlo thought, despite Sabrina’s disapproval. She was hardly competition for Sabrina in the beauty department, Marlo thought. There was nothing glamorous about her—she was the cute, dark-haired girl-next-door type. It was almost unearthly how lovely Sabrina was, though her personality left something to be desired. According to the photos she’d seen at Jake’s house, his mother and grandmother were also beautiful women. The Hammond men obviously liked trophy wives. The only kind of trophy Marlo knew she could win was a 4-H blue ribbon, or maybe a third-place softball prize.
The bell rang, indicating that Angela had arrived. Before Marlo could go out to greet her, she’d forged her way into the back room, waving a large, white three-ring binder with a photo of her and her fiancé on the cover.
“I’ve got it all planned and it’s going to be wonderful,” she announced. “All the Divas have to do is implement it. How are you at making popovers in the shape of hearts? Let’s sit down and get started.”
Silently, Marlo made a vow to never—ever—work for Angela again on anything bigger than the Bridesmaids’ Luncheon. If this didn’t go down in history as the most complicated, frustrating, perfect wedding in history, she’d eat her socks.
“And I want handmade mints in the shapes of hearts, leaves and gerbera daisies.” Angela tapped the front of her notebook with a Waterman pen that had to have cost well over a hundred bucks. “The hearts will be pink, of course, and take up the center of the plates. Won’t that be lovely?”
“A vision,” Marlo said wearily.
Lucy, who had been scribbling notes as fast as she could, looked up. “Some of these details—attractive as they are, could add up costwise.”
“Expense is no issue,” Angle said grandly. “We both want everything to be perfect.” She eyed her two friends. “You will have to figure out how to make the catering work while you are both bridesmaids, you know.”
“About that,” Marlo began, hoping that she could somehow worm her way out of double duty.
“I insist. Hire whoever you must. I can’t get married without the two of you in my party, that’s all there is to it.” Angela tucked the expensive pen into her even more expensive purse. “You two are brilliant. I know you’ll figure it out.”
And that was that.
After two hours of detailed instructions about everything from the flavor of the wedding cake to the size mushrooms she preferred, Angela skewered Marlo with a sharp look. “You will be bringing a date to the wedding, correct?”
Marlo’s heart sank. “I’m not sure I can juggle being a bridesmaid, running the kitchen and entertaining a date, Angela. Something would have to be left out, and it would likely be the poor fellow I dragged with me. Maybe I should…”
“I’ve got the tables planned already. You must bring a date, or you will throw everything off.” Angela smiled at her and Marlo imagined she could see Bridezilla’s fangs. “Put it on your list.”
And in a pouf of perfume, she was gone.
Marlo turned to her friend. “Lucy, I just can’t… A date? Not on top of everything else!”
Lucy held up a hand. “We’ll find you someone who doesn’t mind entertaining himself to come with you, as a place filler. What’s Brya
n doing that weekend?”
“Kelly will be home and you know she won’t let him out of her sight.”
“Then he’s out. I’ve already asked my brother to escort me, or I’d let you have him.” Lucy frowned. “Isn’t there someone with whom you feel totally comfortable?”
Sure, Marlo thought—but she’d been clearly warned to stay away from him.
Despite her misgivings and reservations, Marlo couldn’t steer free of Jake for long.
“Why haven’t you been out?” was his first question when Marlo picked up the phone three days later. “We aren’t going to have much time to make you comfortable with the animals, once the kids are here.”
“I haven’t had time, Jake. Maybe I’m not the best one to do this. It’s a great program, I’m sure. You should find yourself people who…”
“Care? I want people who feel passionate about this, and I know you do. I can feel it in you. Don’t give me the runaround. Come out later today. I’m tying up details, and you’re one of my details.” His voice softened. “Please?”
“Well, when you put it like that.” Marlo was relieved that he approached her as a business detail. Even Sabrina couldn’t quibble with that.
Chapter Thirteen
“She’s awfully big.” Marlo eyed the glistening roan. The mare eyeballed her right back. “I’m not so sure about this, Jake.”
“She’s small, actually, only about fifteen hands.” He leaned casually against the animal, his arm draped against her rump. With his wind-ruffled hair and easy smile, Jake looked as natural and comfortable as if he were lazing in a recliner. Marlo, on the other hand, was developing a nasty sunburn, and her windswept curls felt like she was in a hair-conditioner commercial gone wrong.
Brave in the face of danger, she thought. Check.
“It’s all relative.” She reached out a hand and the horse shifted its weight, eliciting a small squeak from Marlo. “She’s mad at me.”
“How can you tell? Horses have fixed features. They can’t frown.” Jake moved nearer and the heady masculine scent of leather and warm horse swirled around her.
Even fearing for her life beneath the hooves of this creature didn’t diminish the blissful moment. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her, their sleeves brushing. The touch had a rather unfortunate effect on the pounding of her heart.
Then the horse tossed its head and Marlo jumped back.
“Look at her eyes, she’s rolling them. She thinks I’m an idiot. I know I agreed to come to the stables and get up close and personal with the horses you’re using for the hippotherapy program, but I’ve reconsidered. I think I’d be better as a receptionist or bookkeeper. My forte is obviously not working with animals.” The mare whinnied and both Marlo’s feet nearly left the ground.
“She’s not upset, she’s part Appaloosa.”
“As if that explains everything.” How much more foolish could she feel about her lack of knowledge?
“She’s not part of our breeding program.” Jake rubbed the horse’s neck with a practiced hand. “Lovey is my mother’s personal riding horse. Mom doesn’t ride much anymore, and needs a very gentle horse. She’s part quarter horse and part Appaloosa.” He pointed at the horse’s rump. “See those faint white spots in her hair? That and the showing white around her eyes are clues to the Appaloosa portion of her heritage. Lovey is one of those bomb-proof horses I talked about.”
“So, if a five-year-old can ride her, then I should be able to brush her without getting trampled?”
“Something like that.” Gently, he slipped her fingers through the strap of a curry brush, his touch as calming to her as it was to the horse. “Try it, you’ll like it.”
Marlo reached out to brush a flank and Lovey swung her back end just out of Marlo’s reach.
“Why is she doing that?”
“Because you’re nervous.”
“Oh, sure, blame me!” She backed up, sat down on a nearby wooden stool and crossed her arms. “Fire me here and now, Jake. I’ll be no help to you whatsoever.”
Why had she thought she could do this, anyway? Discouraged, she waited for him to send her away.
Instead, he took her hands and tugged her to her feet. Then, standing close beside her, Jake put his hand over hers as she held the curry brush, and guided her gently along the horse’s side. “Horses are able to sense and mirror the emotions of their riders and the people around them. Lovey is particularly sensitive. She’s feeling your nerves. When you calm down, she will, too.”
He seemed to be getting a case of nerves himself, he thought and Marlo was to blame for that. The woman was a riddle—gentle yet strong, savvy yet innocent, cautious yet brave. She got to him in a way that hadn’t happened to him often. As he stood between her and Lovey, crooning something unintelligible into the horse’s ear, he felt Marlo begin to relax. Tension eased away as they stood and Jake could sense Marlo’s shoulders releasing just as Lovey lowered her head. The horse’s body shuddered and she gave a contented sigh.
“Hear that?” Jake said. “She’s calming down.”
“Me, too,” Marlo said on her own sigh. “She’s a beautiful animal.” Lovey turned her head toward Marlo and gave her an affectionate nudge.
“You can ride her if you like. I’ll saddle her. We’ll take one of the easy trails. Just a walk, no trotting or loping required.”
“Can’t I just keep doing this? It feels so…safe.” Marlo rested her cheek against the horse’s smooth neck.
“And I thought you were a risk-taker.” He intentionally kept his voice light. She reminded him of a butterfly ready to alight on a branch, but so easily frightened away. “Cammi rides Lovey. I think you’ll do as well as an eight-year-old.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I need to work up to it. Is there anything else I could do first to, you know, to get in the mood?”
When she turned those wide blue eyes up at him, he felt a pinch of excitement in his belly.
“Sure.” He took the curry comb from her hand. “I’ve got just the thing.”
He led her into the barn and shoved a pitchfork into her hand. “Since you know how to use a curry comb, it’s time for this.”
Her face crinkled in wrinkled distaste. “If this is your way of convincing me that I should ride, it’s not working.”
He opened wide a stall door. “I’ll get the wheelbarrow. You’ll need it to muck out the stall.”
“Muck?” Marlo looked more closely at the stall floor. “Oh, I don’t think…”
“There are plenty of things you can to do if you don’t care to ride,” he responded cheerfully. “We certainly have a lot of stalls to clean out. You’d better get busy.”
Marlo leaned the pitchfork against the wall and put her hands on her hips. “Wait a minute, buddy, if you think this is going to get me to agree to go riding with you…” a whiff of the interior of the stall hit her nostrils “…you might be right.”
“Great.” His wide smile revealed that he’d gotten exactly what he’d wanted. “Want to learn how to saddle Lovey? We’ll ride western. That will be a good place to start.”
“Haven’t I learned enough for one day?”
“Education is a wonderful thing. Let me show you the tack room.”
Jake carefully chose the bridle and bit, blanket and saddle, that he was sure would be best for her. He wanted no equipment failures the first time he got her on a horse. When they were outside again he said, “Take the blanket, make sure there is nothing like a burr on it. Then throw it over her back. If there’s a clump of dirt or a thorn next to her skin it will hurt her and she’ll be difficult to control.”
Marlo ran the palm of her hand over the blanket. “Now what?”
“Slip it over her. Move slowly and talk to her while you’re doing it.”
“What should I say?”
“Tell her what a beautiful girl she is and how much you like her.”
“That’s it?”
“Wouldn’t it please you if I told you t
hat?” His voice was soft and low and seemed to caress her, even from a distance.
He saw her skin flush and realized that, though she wasn’t about to tell him so, it was possible she could like it very much. Jake smiled to himself.
Carefully, Marlo lifted her arms and slid the thick pad onto Lovey’s back. “Nice girl, good girl. What a sweet little lady you are,” she crooned. Lovey didn’t shy. Instead, one ear quirked slightly, as if she were enjoying the compliments.
“Now the saddle.” Jake flipped one fender and stirrup backward so it lay across the saddle seat, and thrust it toward Marlo. “Toss it on her back.”
“Toss? Just like that?” She looked doubtfully at the leather contraption.
“Up and over.”
Taking the saddle from Jake, Marlo promptly staggered backward under its weight and landed on her backside with the saddle sprawling across her. “You didn’t tell me it was so heavy!”
“Now you know.” He tried to hide his lack of remorse and his amusement as he lifted the saddle off her so Marlo could scramble to her feet.
“Big help you are,” Marlo muttered, but obviously realized that he wasn’t going to let it get to him. “No lump of leather is going to get me down.”
You could say that again, Jake mused, as he watched her struggle. She was slapped with the flopping fenders and stirrups, and once pitched the saddle across Lovey entirely so it fell to the ground on the other side. It was painful to watch, but the only way she’d truly learn. He’d had to do it himself when he was only a child.
Finally, she stepped back triumphantly. “There! How’s that?” She felt a puff of pride at her handiwork.
“Interesting,” Jake acknowledged with a smile. “Very interesting, in fact.”
Wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, Marlo stared at him. “Interesting? What does that mean?”
“You must have a lot of confidence in your riding ability, that’s all. Not many people like to ride backward. Or were you planning to have Lovey walking in reverse all the way around the trail?”