by Rachel Lacey
“Yeah, I think so too.” She walked over to stand next to Twister, rubbing his neck.
“Did you have a good…celebration?” he asked, suddenly aware that he had very little knowledge about Jewish holidays—apart from Hanukkah—and hoping he hadn’t just put his foot in his mouth.
But Megan’s smile only widened. “Yes, thank you. Purim’s kind of like the Halloween of Jewish holidays, so we had fun. Mostly, it was good to see my family. I miss them.”
“You’re close, then?”
She nodded. “Very.”
He swung down from Twister’s back to face her, noticing the way she watched his every move. “You want to ride him?”
She looked at the saddle, hesitation warring with excitement in her eyes. “Right now?”
“Sure. I mean, if you want to. You could walk him around the riding ring. He’s as steady as they come. You’d have nothing to worry about.”
She nodded, stepping closer to Twister’s side. “Yeah, you know what? I’d love that.”
“Okay, then.” He led Twister over to the mounting block, positioning him so she would have an easier time getting up. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She stepped up, slinging her right leg over Twister’s back. As she settled into the saddle, a wide smile broke across her face. “It’s been years since I’ve been on a horse.”
Jake adjusted the stirrups for her as she got comfortable. “Just cluck to ask him to walk, say ‘whoa’ when you want him to stop, and steer him by laying the reins against his neck, like this.” He reached up to adjust her grip on the reins, demonstrating.
“Got it.” She wrapped her fingers around the pommel to find her balance, and Jake’s mind tumbled straight into the gutter.
Also, his pants were suddenly too tight. So much for getting his head on straight where Megan was concerned. He stepped back, watching as she and Twister entered the riding ring, setting off for a loop around the well-trodden earth. Megan’s hips swayed to the rhythm of Twister’s gait, and really, what had he been thinking to put the woman he was already hot for on his horse?
Because the sight of her up there on Twister’s back might be the most beautiful—and arousing—thing he’d ever seen. He could see her talking to Twister as she rode, a happy expression on her face.
“This is so much fun,” she called to Jake as she and Twister passed the entrance to the arena, heading out for another loop.
He watched, transfixed, as she spent the next ten minutes walking Twister around the arena before guiding him back over to Jake.
“Thanks for the ride, dude.” She reached down to pat Twister’s neck. “I really enjoyed it.”
“Ready to get off him?” he asked.
She nodded, looking down at the ground, her smile dimming. “Um, how…”
“Take both feet out of the stirrups, then lean forward and swing your right leg over his back. I’ll help you from there.”
She did as he’d said, lowering herself toward the ground as he put his hands on her hips, guiding her down. He tried very hard not to notice the dip of her waist beneath his fingers, but he didn’t succeed. His cock was rock hard inside his jeans. As soon as her feet were on the ground, he stepped back.
Megan turned to face him, cheeks flushed. “Thank you. That was amazing.”
“You’re welcome. Just let me know if you’d like to ride him again sometime.”
“I’ll do that.”
He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, attempting to disguise his condition. “I’d better get him back to the barn.”
“Okay.” She leaned in to press a quick kiss against his cheek. “Thanks again.” And then she walked off in the direction of the castle.
Jake took Twister into the barn and got him settled, ignoring the lust still burning inside him. It was no use, though. As soon as he’d finished his evening chores, he strode toward the farmhouse, desperate for relief.
He stepped into the half bath just inside the front door and freed himself from his jeans. As he gripped himself, he had to hold in a grunt of pleasure, surprised by the sensation. The lack of pleasure was the reason he so often resisted the urge to jerk off. At some point over the years, it had started to feel weird to fantasize about Alana. He was a grown man now, and she hadn’t touched him since she was eighteen. It had felt equally inappropriate to fantasize about other women while he was still married.
But now, images of Megan filled his brain, sending shockwaves of sensation through him. He pumped himself hard and fast, imagining her hands on his body, her fingers on his cock. He felt the beginnings of an orgasm, bigger and stronger than anything he’d experienced in years, building inside him, tingling at the base of his spine and in his balls. His breath caught, and he shut his eyes, losing himself in the fantasy. Sweat beaded on his brow, and every muscle in his body clenched.
He stilled his hand, opened his eyes, and grabbed a wad of toilet paper to catch his release. He gripped himself again, feeling an urgency he hadn’t felt in years. A groan tore from his throat, and he couldn’t hold back another moment. His hand moved at a frenzied pace, carrying him swiftly toward release.
“Jake?”
At first, he thought he’d imagined it. Her voice was part of the fantasy, and he stroked harder, faster.
“Jake, are you there?”
Through the haze of arousal, he became aware of knocking too. His hand stilled. His balls burned, but that was really Megan, standing at his front door, and here he was, just feet away in the half bath, pants open and seconds from coming.
His whole body clenched, surprise and need and embarrassment tangling themselves up inside him. Hands shaking, he removed the still-dry wad of toilet paper from the head of his cock. He tossed it in the trash and cautiously zipped his jeans, too uncomfortable to move another muscle.
“Jake?” she called again.
“Just a minute.” He leaned against the sink, breathing heavily.
“It’s Bug. I think something’s wrong.”
5
“Sorry to bother you,” Megan said as Jake opened the door, “but I stopped by the barn to see the horses, and Bug seems…off. It’s probably nothing, but I just thought I should let you know.”
“How so?” he asked as he fell into step beside her. Something about him seemed off too. He looked stiff, flushed and breathless like he’d just come in from a long ride…or something.
“She just seemed restless, like she was in pain or not feeling well, and she wasn’t eating her hay.”
Jake frowned. “Could be colic.”
“Is that serious?”
“It can be.” He glanced over, and Megan’s expression must have reflected the knot of worry lodged in her gut, because he added, “but it’s usually not, especially if you catch it early.”
He led the way into the barn, stopping at Bug’s door. She stood motionless in the middle of her stall, much like the way she’d looked when Megan first saw her a few minutes ago. As they watched, she shifted her hooves and swung her head toward her belly.
“She’s probably fine,” Jake said, “but I’m going to check her out to be safe. What’s the process for calling the vet with a foster animal?”
“Well, ideally they like you to call and clear any expenses ahead of time, so they can send you a pre-authorized form to give the vet for payment, but in an emergency, we can treat first and ask later.”
“Okay.” He walked to the room at the end of the hall where he kept his supplies, returning with what looked like a small, plastic toolbox. “I’m going to take her vitals and listen to her gut, and we’ll take it from there. Will you hold her for me while I examine her?”
“Yeah, of course.” She followed him into Bug’s stall, accepting the lead line after he’d fastened Bug’s halter.
“Hey there, girl. How’re you feeling?” He spoke to Bug in a low, soothing voice as he took out a stethoscope. He stood beside her, talking and stroking her until Bug’s stance softened. Still talking gently
to her, he bent and pressed the stethoscope against her belly just behind her front legs, checking his watch as he took her pulse. He then placed the stethoscope against her flank near her hind legs, moving it around periodically as he listened through the earpiece. Bug tossed her head.
Jake spent the next ten minutes or so examining her, and Megan felt less silly about calling him down to the barn the longer he spent with Bug, because if she wasn’t mistaken, he looked worried now too.
“Her pulse is slightly elevated, and I’m not hearing much going on in her gut. Looks like colic to me,” he said at length as he put away the stethoscope and removed Bug’s halter. “I’m going to put a call in to my vet and see what he recommends. I imagine he’ll want to come out and see her, given her recent medical history. Do you mind calling the humane society and letting them know what’s going on?”
“I’ll call right now.” She spent the next few minutes on the phone while Jake talked to his vet. The humane society volunteer she spoke to told her to go ahead and do anything that needed to be done, but to call back before taking any drastic—or drastically expensive—measures.
“He’s on his way now,” Jake said when he hung up. “You did really well to spot this so early. Colic isn’t always easy to see, especially to someone without training. I wasn’t planning to come back down to the barn for a few hours, and by then she could have gotten much worse.”
Megan felt oddly proud at the compliment. “What is colic, exactly?”
“A stomachache, more or less. Could be a pocket of gas in her gut or a blockage. She’s had some major changes to her diet since she was rescued, and I’ve been keeping a close eye on her and Dusty for just that reason. There isn’t any manure in her stall, although that isn’t necessarily a bad sign because she’s only been in it for a couple of hours. She could have gone outside earlier.”
The next hour was a blur of activity as the vet arrived and examined Bug. He gave her some pain medication and mineral oil to help soften up whatever might be inside her but didn’t seem to think she was in any immediate danger. He left them with very specific instructions for care and monitoring her over the next twelve hours and a promise to be back first thing in the morning to reexamine her.
“Not the first night I’ve spent in the barn with a colicky horse and won’t be the last either,” Jake said as they led Bug out of the barn for a slow walk around the grounds to see if that would help stimulate some movement in her gut.
“I’d be happy to stay with her,” Megan offered, feeling somewhat helpless over the situation and guilty for bringing in sickly horses that were causing so much extra work for Jake, not to mention worry for Bug herself. Megan had spent a lot of time in the barn and out in the pasture with her in the week and a half since she’d arrived.
“I don’t mind,” Jake said. “We could really get away with coming down to check on her every hour, but with her history, I’d like to keep a closer eye on her, just to be safe. I’ll bring my laptop down and work most of the night, probably. I’ve done it many times.”
“What part of your work can be done on a laptop?” she asked as they walked down the path that led behind the pastures alongside the edge of the forest.
Jake glanced over at her, something guarded in his expression.
“I didn’t mean to pry,” she added, turning her gaze to Bug, who loped along between them, head down and looking fairly apathetic about this turn of events.
“You didn’t. I brought it up. It’s just not something I share with many people, but I supplement my income from horse training as an author.”
Megan felt herself grinning like a fool. “An author? That’s so cool. What kind of books do you write? Are you secretly famous?”
He was already shaking his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “Not famous. You’ve probably never heard of me. I write mysteries as Jake Tappen. It was my father’s last name.”
“Hmm.” The name didn’t sound familiar, but she couldn’t wait to look him up as soon as she was back at the castle. “You’re full of surprises.”
“Started writing while I was sitting at Alana’s bedside, and it turns out I’m pretty good at it,” he said with a shrug.
“Seems like you’re pretty good at a lot of things.” And why did that come out sounding suggestive when she absolutely hadn’t meant it that way? It wasn’t like she even knew if he was good at those things. Her lips had barely brushed his. Heat crawled over her skin at the memory of their barely-there kiss.
“Training horses is my primary focus, but I really enjoy writing too, so I’ll keep both careers going as long as I can.”
“Kind of like me managing Rosemont Castle while I grow my photography business.”
“A lot like that, actually.” Jake gave her a warm smile that made her go all gooey inside.
“Truthfully, Elle’s handling most of the property management details these days while Ruby works on her web development business and I focus on photography. We all help out with the day-to-day stuff, but this way we each get to focus on what we enjoy.”
“That’s the way to do it,” he agreed.
Bug snorted, as if to remind them they were supposed to be paying attention to her. Megan reached over and rubbed her neck as she walked. “She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?”
“She’s not out of the woods yet, but yeah, I think she’ll be okay. Doc Kaminski didn’t see anything too concerning when he examined her.”
“I don’t want to lose her,” Megan admitted quietly.
“Well, neither do I. She’s just starting her second chance here.”
“Hear that, Bug?”
The horse made no response, walking quietly between them. The truth was, Bug wasn’t the only one starting her second chance here at Rosemont Castle. The same might be said about Megan herself, and Jake too. She hoped they all found what they were looking for. They rounded the farmhouse and walked quietly back to the barn.
“Time to put her in her stall and let her rest for a while. If you don’t mind holding her for a minute, I’m going to get rid of her hay.”
“She can’t eat it?” Megan asked.
He shook his head. “She shouldn’t eat hay until the colic has passed. We can try to tempt her with some grass later, though. It’s got enough moisture in it to help get things moving again for her, but if she does have a blockage, hay could make it worse.”
“Gotcha.”
He went into her stall with a pitchfork, returning a minute later with Bug’s hay. The horse watched with idle interest, but if Megan wasn’t mistaken, her eyes were a little more alert and inquisitive than they had been earlier. Megan, pleased with the horsemanship she’d learned so far, walked Bug into her stall and removed her halter.
“Nicely done,” Jake said. “Now we wait.”
Megan rubbed Bug again before walking out to the aisle and closing her stall door.
“Just need to keep an eye on her for any further signs of distress, walk her every few hours, and offer her some grass while we’re out. I’ll probably set up a chair here by her stall for the night.”
“Could I stay too?” she asked, reluctant to leave Bug just yet, or maybe her reluctance to leave had more to do with Jake than Bug. “Or do you need to work?”
He looked over, his expression intense and heated. “I’d enjoy the company.”
Jake sat in the aisle of the barn, leaning back against the rough wooden side of Bug’s stall. Megan settled herself beside him with a sigh. He’d spread several thick horse blankets on the floor for them to sit on. If he got tired later, he might lay back and nap here.
Behind them, Bug shifted restlessly in her shavings. Jake couldn’t quite shake the guilt that had nagged at him since Megan showed up at his door. If he hadn’t been so distracted by his attraction to her earlier, he would have noticed Bug’s colic himself.
What if Megan hadn’t come to check on her? Or if she hadn’t recognized Bug’s discomfort? He was responsible for these horses’ welfare while
they were in his barn, and he couldn’t allow himself to get distracted like this again.
“Hungry?” Megan gestured to the basket she’d brought down from the castle while he was getting them set up here in the barn.
“Starving. What’ve you got?”
“Chicken tortilla soup,” she said.
“Sounds good right about now,” he said. The temperature had dropped now that the sun had set, and the promise of filling his belly with something hot sounded perfect.
“I thought so too.” She lifted two thermoses out of the basket and handed him one. “There’s fresh bread in here too, and a whole stash of peanut butter cookies. Beatrice said we’d need fuel to make it through the night.”
“You don’t have to stay the night,” he told her.
“I know.” Her eyes flicked to his. “But I don’t think I’d sleep a wink if I went back up to the castle, worrying about her.”
“I know that feeling.” He screwed the top off his thermos and snagged a spoon from the open basket. A rich, slightly spicy scent filled the air. “It smells good.”
They slurped soup in silence, both of them hunched over their thermoses to keep from making a mess. Behind them, Bug watched, head down, eyes droopy. Across the aisle, Twister hung his head over his stall door, giving them a curious look. When they’d finished the soup and the bread, they dug into the cookies.
“I saw you out with Duchess this morning,” Megan said as she brushed cookie crumbs off her lap. “She looks like she’s coming along nicely.”
As if she’d heard her name, Duchess hung her head out of the stall next to Twister’s, and they nipped at each other playfully. Although the horses usually stayed outside overnight, Jake had brought them in tonight to help keep Bug company in the barn.
That morning, he’d worked Duchess on the lunge line in a bridle and saddle with the stirrups removed. “She’s almost ready for me to get on her back. She’s so steady, I don’t think it’ll take her long to get used to it. Plus, I’ve been letting her watch me tack up Twister and ride him, so she knows what’s coming.”