by Rachel Lacey
“That’s actually what I came down here to talk to you about,” she said. “Are you familiar with the program we’re running at Rosemont Castle?”
“Only what I’ve heard around town,” he told her.
“Well, when Elle, Ruby, and I came in as property managers last year, we opened an inn inside the castle, so guests can come and have a ‘royal’ getaway. There are twelve guest rooms that were sitting empty, and now they’re generating income for Theo and his family to help Rosemont Castle pay for its own keep, so to speak.”
“Sounds good,” he said, not having any idea what this had to do with him.
“We also run a program with rescue pets. It’s called the Fairy Tails program,” she said with another of those irresistible smiles. “Get it? T-a-i-l-s.”
“I like it,” he said, returning her smile.
“We foster adoptable dogs and cats from the Towering Pines Animal Shelter here at the castle, and our guests can meet them while they’re here. Then, if they’re interested in adopting, they can put in an application and hopefully take their new pet home with them when they leave. It’s been really successful so far, and popular with our guests.”
“That’s great.” He stared at her, momentarily distracted by the way the sun danced in the cinnamon depths of her eyes. Megan seemed to radiate energy, making everything feel lighter and brighter when she was nearby. It was more than just physical attraction—although he certainly felt plenty of that too. He’d felt a sort of instant connection with her that night at Bar None, and the intervening months had done nothing to dampen his interest.
Whatever was or wasn’t between them, though, he couldn’t afford to become distracted by it. He and Megan were linked by business now that he lived here at Rosemont Castle, and that meant she was off-limits romantically, assuming he was even ready to embark on his first relationship since Alana’s death, and he wasn’t at all sure that he was.
“Anyway, I got a call from the Towering Pines Animal Shelter this morning,” Megan told him. “They’re trying to help the local humane society place some rescued horses and were wondering if we could put them up here in the barn until they find homes.”
Jake rocked back on his heels, frowning. As much as he wanted to say yes, he needed to rent out these stalls to keep himself afloat. His new business was barely off the ground, and right now, his budget was stretched as thin as the prickly whiskers on Twister’s chin. “What do you know about their background?”
“Only that they were seized due to neglect. Priya said they’d completed a quarantine period and were ready to move. The humane society needs to clear out their livestock facility to make room for animals they’re seizing from a hoarding situation.”
“And who would care for them?” he asked.
“She said she might be able to send someone out to help. And the humane society would pay any expenses like feed and medical care.”
“Hmm.” He watched as Twister began to nibble at the hay in his stall. Neglected horses would require a lot of extra care, even if the humane society sent someone out to help.
“I hate even having to ask, and I totally understand if you say no,” Megan said. “It’s the worst timing, right? If only they’d needed a place to put a couple of foster horses anytime over the last year, we would’ve been able to take them in a heartbeat.”
“Although you wouldn’t have had anyone to care for them,” he commented, gut desire to help warring with the knowledge that doing so would put his new business at financial risk. And he’d already risked so much just to get this far.
“Very true,” Megan said. “I wish I could give you some time to think about it, but apparently these horses need to be moved today.”
“Any idea how quickly horses like that usually get placed permanently?” he asked, running numbers in his head. He might be able to get by without boarder income for a few months, depending on how many hours of business his off-site training clients generated for him.
“No,” Megan said apologetically. “I could call Priya and find out, though. Our dogs and cats are usually with us anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, so I’d imagine horses would be similar.”
“Priya Sharma?” he asked. They’d gone to high school together. Of course, he could say that about half the town, if they were anywhere near his age. He knew Priya better than most, though. She and Alana had been good friends.
As Megan nodded, a shaft of sunlight from the window in Twister’s stall caught the scar that ran down the left side of her face. “She mentioned that she knew you too.”
He’d heard peripherally about the car accident when it happened last year, although he hadn’t realized at the time that he knew her. “It’s not that I don’t want to help, but these horses are likely to need a fair amount of time and attention to get them ready for adoption, and I really was counting on boarder income.”
“I understand.”
He rubbed Twister’s neck as he realized the inevitability of what he was about to say. “But, far be it for me to turn away an animal in need, so I’ll make it work.”
Megan’s expression brightened. “I realize this is a huge imposition, and we’re more than happy to make it up to you any way we can.”
An image of her in front of the castle that morning with her camera drifted through his mind. “Actually, maybe there is something you could do for me.”
She nodded. “Just let me know what you were planning to charge to board two horses, and I’ll subtract it from your rent until they’re adopted. I already cleared it with Theo. We’ll even throw in a little extra to account for the inconvenience.”
“Oh.” He straightened. “Well, I hate to…I mean…”
She waved away his pride. “Consider it done.” Her eyes narrowed. “But wait…what were you going to ask me for?”
“It’s nothing.” He shook his head, embarrassed to put his idea into words, especially now that she’d offered financial compensation for the rescue horses.
She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him an amused smile. “Just tell me.”
His cheeks felt too warm. “Well, I was going to ask if you could take some pictures for me, you know, while I’m working with the horses. For my website.”
Her smile was wide and genuine. “I’d love to.”
“No need. Really. Compensation for boarding is more than enough.”
She placed a hand on his forearm. Her touch was light, casual, but it sent a burst of fire through his veins. “You’re doing the humane society a huge favor by taking in these horses, and anyway, I’m building my portfolio right now, so I’d be getting as much out of it as you are.”
“Well, okay then. I’d really appreciate it.”
“It would be my pleasure.” She was still smiling at him, and it was doing all kinds of uncomfortable things to his body, reminding him exactly how long it had been since a woman smiled at him with anything other than pity, or even touched his damn arm, for that matter. Let alone how long it had been since a woman had touched any other part of him. Maybe that was the reason he was about to lose his damn mind every time Megan so much as blinked in his direction.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to get settled in, but I’ll call once I’ve talked to Priya,” she told him. “And thanks again. We really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it.” He watched as she walked toward the castle, trying not to stare at the sway of her ass inside her jeans. Megan was tall and lean, curved in all the right places. Her mahogany hair shone in the sunlight. Gorgeous. Every inch of her. Megan’s tanned complexion and dark hair and eyes were the opposite of Alana’s pale features. He’d thought blonde hair and blue eyes were his “type,” but lately, it was Megan’s face inspiring his fantasies.
And he had a serious problem on his hands. He and Alana had started dating at fifteen. She’d been his first date, first kiss, first girlfriend, and he had been hers. But her strictly religious family had insisted she wait for her wedding night. After watching his
mother’s life disintegrate from too many men and drugs, Jake had been happy to wait if it meant being a part of the wonderful thing he’d shared with Alana, the glimpses of stability and happiness he experienced when he visited her parents’ house.
And so, at just eighteen years old, he had walked down the aisle, ready to start his new life with the woman he loved. When he first heard the screams, when he saw Alana on the ground in her white dress, he’d thought she would jump up at any moment, laughing at her own clumsiness. It would be a funny story to tell. “Remember how you fell down the steps behind the VFW hall during our wedding reception?”
But Alana hadn’t gotten up, laughing or otherwise. She’d gone into a coma, where she lingered for almost nine years. He’d been forced to watch her wither away in that hospital bed, becoming a fragile shell of the vibrant woman he’d loved since he was fifteen, until finally, she’d left him forever.
Now, Jake found himself in the most uncomfortable and unwanted position of being a twenty-eight-year-old virgin widower, and he had no idea what to do about it. Part of him wanted to get drunk at the local bar, take a woman home, and be done with it. But he couldn’t do that in a small town like Towering Pines, not unless he wanted the whole town to know about it, anyway.
His attraction to Megan was quickly becoming a problem, though. There was no way he was going to lose his virginity with the woman who managed the property he’d just leased. That was asking for disaster. Megan was off-limits. If only he could as easily convince his body as his mind.
2
The trailer rumbled up the drive just past five o’clock, and Megan hurried the rest of the way down to the barn to meet it. Jake was already waiting, hands shoved into the pockets of his well-worn jeans. Her gaze dipped to the way the denim hugged his lean muscular legs and cupped his firm ass. Quickly, she yanked her eyes up to his face before he caught her staring, but his gaze was locked on the trailer crunching over the gravel lot in front of the barn. For a moment, she got caught up in the equally distracting sight of his handsome face, coated now with a day’s worth of stubble.
The truck’s engine shut off, and Megan turned her attention toward the people climbing out of the cab. Priya was in the passenger seat. Megan didn’t recognize the man who got out of the driver’s seat, but Priya had told her Sheriff Alvarez would be transporting the horses tonight.
“Hi guys,” Priya said as she walked around to the back of the trailer, long black hair blowing in the breeze. “Thanks so much for helping out with these horses. We would have really been in a bind if you hadn’t had room for them.”
“Happy to help,” Jake said.
The sheriff walked toward them, extending a hand to Megan. “Jesse Alvarez.”
“Megan Perl,” she said as she shook. “Nice to meet you.”
He nodded, a friendly smile on his face. “Always nice to meet a new face in town. I’ve heard a lot about you and your friends since you came to Rosemont Castle. The whole town’s buzzing about it.”
She smiled, ducking her head. No doubt he’d also heard about the accident. The whole town had been buzzing about that too. “Thanks.”
Jesse and Jake exchanged greetings, and then they opened the trailer, revealing the two horses inside—or their rear ends anyway. They were tethered facing away from the door with a partition between them. One horse was a tan color with a black tail, and the other had a white coat speckled with darker spots. Both of them shifted anxiously inside the trailer.
“They’ve already received veterinary care and completed a two-week quarantine,” Priya told them. “They’ve had their Coggins and been dewormed. Someone from the humane society will be in touch tomorrow to schedule follow-up care for them.”
Jesse stepped up and backed the black and brown horse off the trailer. “This is Dusty Star. Buckskin mare, approximately ten years old. Should be in good shape once she gets some weight on her.”
Megan’s gaze drifted to the way the horse’s ribs protruded beneath her scruffy coat. Jake stepped forward to touch Dusty Star, running a hand down her neck in an affectionate way that seemed to help put the horse at ease. He and Jesse took her into the barn and settled her into a stall before returning for the second horse.
“They call this one Bug,” Jesse said as he led the speckled horse off the trailer. “She’s just a filly, about three years old. Quarter horse, but obviously part Appaloosa with her coloring. She was attacked by a pack of feral dogs and left to heal without medical attention.”
Megan resisted the urge to flinch when she saw the wounds on the horse’s face and neck, stained purple by whatever the humane society’s vet had treated her with. The color stood out in sharp contrast against her white coat, giving her a slightly cartoonish look.
“She’ll have some battle scars once she heals, won’t you, Bug?” Jesse said, patting the horse’s shoulder. Bug flicked her ears, dancing nervously to the side as they neared the barn.
Scars. Megan’s chest felt like one of the horses was standing on it. The left side of her face ached the way it had in those first days after the accident, when the pain had kept her from thinking farther into the future than an end to the ceaseless throbbing.
As Jake and Priya followed Jesse and Bug into the barn, Megan turned and walked off into the gathering dusk, letting the shadows swallow her whole.
Jake released a deep sigh. It had taken over an hour to get the horses settled and all the paperwork signed for the foster arrangement with the humane society. Now, it was almost seven, and his stomach was impatiently reminding him he’d missed lunch in the chaos of the day. The sheriff’s truck crunched down the lane away from the barn, tail lights gleaming in the dark.
Megan lingered in the doorway, eyes fixed somewhere in the distance. She’d been unusually quiet since the horses arrived, and she’d messed with her hair so that it covered the scar on her face. That made his gut churn with something other than hunger, something that made him want to brush her hair back and kiss every gorgeous inch of her skin until she saw herself the way he did, which was absolutely perfect.
“Long day,” he said instead, mostly to break the silence that had fallen between them.
She turned toward him. “You must be exhausted. You just moved in a few hours ago, and here I am, pushing foster horses at you.”
“The timing isn’t great, but I’m glad we were able to help out.” He looked in at Bug, contentedly munching hay in her stall. “Plus, I think Twister’s glad for the company tonight.”
Megan walked over to stand beside him, and they watched the horse in silence for a minute. “I’ll never understand how someone could keep horses like this. How do you look at them and not feed them?”
“Humans are capable of unfathomable acts of cruelty,” he said.
“We’re the worst, aren’t we?” She sounded almost surprised, hands resting lightly on the bars at the front of Bug’s stall.
“I’d argue we’re both the best and the worst of the animal kingdom.”
“Hard to be both,” she said.
“And yet, we manage it.”
“Do you ever just…” She paused, staring at Bug’s withered frame, dotted here and there with bite wounds. “Just look at something like this and fear for humanity?”
“Nah. Because, for every person who’d mistreat an animal, there are ten out there working to make it right and do good in the world.”
“I hope so.”
“Hey.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
She drew back, arms clasped across her chest. “What? Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You tell me.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“I’m okay,” she said, but her voice had dropped a little, and this time her words sounded honest instead of defensive. “I guess seeing her like that just got to me a little bit.”
“Yeah, me too. I don’t see a lot of this kind of thing first hand. You guys are doing a great thing with your Fairy Tails program.”
; She gave him a small smile, fingers going absent-mindedly to her face to tuck her hair into place, no longer hiding behind it. “Did you manage to get yourself moved into the farmhouse earlier?”
“Well, my stuff’s inside, and my bed’s made. Beyond that, I’m not so sure, but that’s a job for tomorrow.”
She gave him a sympathetic look. “We really owe you one for spending your evening here at the barn instead of unpacking. Do you have anything for supper?”
At just the mention of food, his stomach grumbled loudly. He rubbed a hand against it. “I’m sure I can rustle something up.” Although, the truth was, he knew for a fact his pantry was bare. Grocery shopping was another task for tomorrow.
“Come up to the castle and have dinner with us,” she said.
“Thank you, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“Oh, come on.” Laughter danced in her eyes. “I know you haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping yet. Come up and eat with us. Beatrice, our weekday chef, always fixes plenty. The least we can do is feed you after hijacking your evening.”
“I don’t know.” He felt intensely uncomfortable with the idea of dining up at the castle. He was tired and sweaty from a day of moving and probably smelled like horses. He’d always been the help, never the guest. But then again, Megan was an employee at the castle too.
“I insist,” she said. “We usually sit at the farm table in the kitchen. Nothing fancy.”
“All right,” he agreed reluctantly. “Thank you. Just let me go back to the house and clean up.”
“Okay, come on up whenever you’re ready. Theo’s in town this week, so he’ll probably be joining us too.” She touched his shoulder as she walked away.
As Jake stepped into the shower five minutes later, he could still feel the warmth of her fingers as though she’d branded his skin.
By the time Megan made it into the kitchen, Elle and Ruby already had a bottle of wine open and were sitting at the bar top, chatting with Beatrice.
“How did it go with the foster horses?” Elle asked.