by Rachel Lacey
“Off the bed,” Megan announced, shooing the dogs toward their blanket by the door.
Chandler let out a bark of protest but did as he was told. Barnaby hopped down quietly. Once the bed was dog-free, Jake retrieved a condom. As he pushed inside her, he forgot everything but the overwhelming pleasure they shared. Sex was somehow softer and gentler in these moments, while their bodies were still sluggish from sleep, but the rush of pleasure he felt as he came inside her far surpassed the energizing power of coffee.
They showered together and shared bagels and coffee in the kitchen before Megan began gathering her things. “I need to get these guys back to the castle. I’ve got a portrait session booked at nine.”
“And I need to get down to the barn.” He drew her in for one last kiss. “Will I see you later?”
“Sure.” Her smile seemed charged with the energy of the sun. “Text me.”
“Will do. Good luck with your portrait session.”
“It’s a family who adopted a dog from us last month. I can’t wait to see them again.” She clipped leashes onto the dogs, slung her duffel bag over her shoulders, and headed for the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later.” He stood there in the kitchen for several minutes, absorbing the stillness and quiet in her wake. No dogs barking or sniffing around his kitchen. No laughter or happy chatter over breakfast. His ears rang with the silence.
Unsure what to make of it, he headed down to the barn. After he’d finished Duchess’s training session, he spent some time with Dusty Star, discovering that she accepted a bridle and saddle readily. He took her for a walk around the property, thrilled to know she could be ridden.
By the time he made it back to the farmhouse, it was past one, and he was starved. He fixed himself a sandwich and guzzled a can of soda. His phone buzzed with an incoming text as he was cleaning up his lunch, and a thrill resonated inside him that it could be Megan. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
Beers tonight at Bar None? It was from his buddy Sean.
A different kind of thrill buzzed through his system, because his friends would probably want to hear about his new relationship with Megan, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about it yet.
Tucker and Theo are already in, Sean texted.
Okay, Jake agreed, knowing it was probably easier to just get this over with. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. Maybe he could use their advice. Maybe.
Restless, he wandered toward the castle under the guise of returning a book he’d borrowed from Theo’s library, halfway hoping he might bump into Megan. He wanted to tell her about Dusty’s progress, and hell, he just wanted to see her. Instead, he found Theo.
“Any good?” Theo asked, gesturing to the book Jake was putting back on the shelf.
“Not bad, but I figured out whodunit about halfway through.”
“Well, that’s no good,” Theo said, his lips quirking in a smile.
“To be fair, I have a habit of doing that.”
“Probably what makes you so good at writing them,” Theo commented, reaching to pick up a different book.
“Could be,” Jake agreed.
“I hear we’re meeting Tucker and Sean later?” Theo said, turning the book over absently to read the back cover.
“Yeah.”
Theo put the book back on the shelf and turned to leave. “I’m going to have James drive me. You’re welcome to ride along, just meet me up here around seven.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that. Thanks.” He wouldn’t mind not having to drive tonight or the chance to get to know Theo better.
“Absolutely. No sense taking two cars to the same place.” Theo left the library, headed toward his office in the rear of the castle while Jake headed for the front door.
As he walked down the path toward the farmhouse, he was still plagued by the uneasy, restless feeling he’d had since he woke that morning. Without fully realizing where he was headed, he climbed in his truck and started driving. The castle’s winding drive gave way to a series of mountain roads that he knew by heart. He bypassed downtown, instead driving toward the Towering Pines Baptist Church.
In the back of his mind, he’d realized this was his destination, but it wasn’t until he was walking through the cemetery toward Alana’s grave that he realized how much he needed to be here. He knelt in front of her headstone, wishing he’d had the foresight to bring flowers or something to leave here for her.
A fresh arrangement of pink roses—Alana’s favorite—already sat in front of the headstone, no doubt left by her parents, who still visited her at least once a week. Jake hadn’t been here in over a month, not since he moved into Rosemont Castle. He pressed his fingers against the cold stone, feeling an ache in his heart that might never heal.
“Been thinking of you a lot,” he said quietly. “Wondering what you’d think about the direction my life has taken this year, wishing you were here with me for it.” But as he spoke the words, he realized the sentiment behind them felt almost abstract. Alana had only been buried for a year, but she’d been gone for a decade. What would she have been doing with her own life in her late twenties? Would they have already started a family together?
“You’d like Megan.” This he was sure of. Alana hadn’t exactly been hard to get along with. She was one of those effortlessly outgoing people who liked virtually everyone she met. She and Megan had the same way of looking through the bullshit in life to see the beauty most people missed.
With Alana, it had come through her faith. She would meet a total stranger, share a conversation more meaningful than anything he’d managed in a month, and pray for them the next day in church. Megan used the lens of her camera to explore the beauty of the world around her. He knew she was hiding behind it a little bit this year, since her accident, but from what she’d told him, photography had always been her passion.
She’d shown him some of the photos she’d taken of him with the horses, and he was blown away by what she’d captured. Not just the mechanics of his training sessions with Duchess, but the animal’s spirit, the light in her eyes, the fluidity of her movement. It was impressive. She had real talent.
As he stood there in the cemetery, facing Alana’s grave, the restlessness inside him stilled. Maybe this was peace. Maybe Alana had granted it to him, or maybe he’d found it on his own. Either way, coming here had been the right decision.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised before he walked back to his truck and drove away.
I have some good news.
Megan stared at the text from Jake, a spark pinging through her belly at the sight of his name. Oh yeah?
I rode Dusty this morning. She’s solid under the saddle.
That was so far from whatever she’d expected his news to be that she sucked in an audible breath, sitting up straighter on her bed. Wow. Really? That *is* good news!
Yeah, I’ll spend some time working with her, but I think it’s safe to list her as rideable when she goes up for adoption.
That’s wonderful, she replied.
It is. I’m having dinner with the Robertsons and then going out with the guys tonight. Want to do something tomorrow?
Definitely. Enjoy your night.
She set her phone down, disappointment mixing with relief that she wouldn’t see him tonight. When they were together, everything felt so intense and wonderful and right that she never wanted it to end. But right now, when she had the clarity of a little distance from him, she knew it was all too much too soon.
Space was good. Because neither of them needed anything serious right now.
She flopped on her bed and almost immediately felt paws slam into her chest, knocking the air from her lungs. “Oof.” She reached out a hand, combing it through Chandler’s shaggy dark fur. He lay with his front half across her, brown eyes bright as he tried to decide whether to snuggle or wrestle.
“You’re too big for this, dude,” she mumbled, pushing him to the mattress beside her. Barnaby, not wanting to
be left out, hopped up on the bed, tail wagging enthusiastically.
“Who are you talking to?” Ruby asked from the doorway.
“This creature,” Megan said, tousling Chandler’s shaggy head.
“Hey, ladies.” Elle popped up next to Ruby in the doorway.
“What are you doing up here?” Ruby asked with an amused smile. It was true, though; Elle rarely visited this hallway anymore now that she’d moved into the owners’ quarters.
“Looking for you, actually,” Elle said. “The guys are going into town for beers tonight, so I thought we should have a girls’ night.”
“Jake told me the same thing,” Megan said. “And I’m totally down for girls’ night.”
“But not at Bar None,” Elle said. “Because that’s where they’re going. Remember that time we accidentally crashed their night when Theo and I were fighting?”
“The night I met Jake,” Megan murmured, still flat on her back in bed with two dogs jockeying for position on top of her.
“Let’s go to that new wine bar,” Ruby suggested. “You can order delivery from any of the restaurants downtown.”
“Sounds perfect to me,” Elle said.
And so, three hours later, they were cozied up to a table in the rear of the bar with a platter of sushi in front of them and two open bottles of wine—because Ruby preferred white wine with sushi, while Elle and Megan were most of the way through their bottle of red.
“I have my first dress fitting on Friday,” Elle said. “I’m so excited to see it, you know, not the sample dress, but the actual dress I’ll be walking down the aisle in.”
“Ooh, can we come?” Ruby asked.
“I was kind of hoping you would,” Elle said, something a little sad in her smile. She’d lost her mom when she was ten, so she often leaned on her friends at times like these when she needed someone to fill these mother-daughter moments.
“I’ll bring my camera,” Megan said. “Get some shots of you seeing your dress for the first time.” The sample dress Elle had tried on was ivory, but she’d ordered it with pink rhinestone embellishments around the bodice, and Megan could hardly wait to see it on her.
“I’m so lucky to have you guys.” Elle’s eyes went glossy.
“Likewise.” They leaned in for a group hug, careful not to spill any of their wine.
“We’re all lucky to have each other,” Ruby said as they broke apart, and if Megan wasn’t mistaken, her eyes were a bit glossy as well.
“Any action on your new online dating profile?” Megan asked as she picked up her chopsticks and went for some sushi.
Ruby scrunched her nose. “I’ve had a few messages, but nobody worth meeting. I’ll keep looking, though.”
“Definitely do,” Elle told her. “Who knows, the future love of your life might contact you tomorrow.”
“I don’t know about that,” Ruby said, taking a sip of her wine. “But I’ll keep trying. Maybe soon we’ll all have someone special in our lives.”
Megan’s thoughts drifted to Jake, imagining a future where they hung out with Elle and Theo, and Ruby and her date, before shaking it from her mind. Everything about her relationship with Jake was supposed to be simple and uncomplicated, but right now, it felt like the opposite.
14
Over the next three weeks, Jake’s new routines continued to solidify. He and Megan spent more and more time together. She often spent the night at the farmhouse with her foster dogs. He’d almost finished training Duchess. In fact, Mr. Nichols was coming out on Monday to see Jake’s progress with her.
His training business was still off to a slow start, but he was trying not to worry too much about it. He’d picked up a new part-time client whom he visited twice a week for training sessions. In his spare time, he worked with Dusty. She had shaped up nicely as a trail horse and might even be suited for some light lesson work.
Bug’s bite wounds healed, and she no longer had her magical purple spots. She was still too skittish to begin even basic saddle work, though. He’d concentrated his work with her so far on taking long walks around the property on a lead line to build her trust.
He’d just returned from one of these walks when he saw Megan standing by the upper pasture with Barnaby at her side, rubbing Twister as he hung his head over the fence.
Bug danced nervously at Jake’s side, but she didn’t panic at the sight of the dog. He and Megan had worked with her on this a lot over the past weeks, helping Bug to overcome her fear.
“Where’s Chandler?” Jake asked, because he didn’t often see her with one dog but not the other.
“He was adopted this morning,” she told him with a smile.
“That’s good news.”
“It is. He seemed really happy with his new family. I think it was a good fit.” Megan and Barnaby walked to the middle of the path in front of him and stopped.
Jake allowed Bug to approach at her own pace, head down and nostrils flaring as she sized up the dog at Megan’s side. Barnaby was just the dog for the job too, always quiet and submissive. He stayed close to Megan as Bug approached.
“We’ve made a lot of progress with her, don’t you think?” Megan said softly, watching as Bug sniffed at Barnaby from a few feet away. The dog watched, ears pricked, posture relaxed.
“We have,” Jake agreed. “Most animals are pretty willing to work through their issues, if you just give them the chance.”
“With the right person,” she added.
“That’s true.”
“Look at that,” Megan breathed as Bug put her nose right up to Barnaby. The dog stood, tail wagging, and greeted her, nose to nose. Megan pressed a hand over her mouth.
“See? She just needed a little patience.” Jake stroked Bug’s neck as she continued to sniff at the dog. “I’m going to go ahead and put her out with Dusty now, to make sure we end things on a good note.”
Megan nodded, following him toward the pasture. “The Spring Fling festival is this weekend. Will you be there?”
He nodded. “Most of the town will be. Have you been before?”
“No. We had just moved here last year this time and missed all the hype. But this year, we’re going to have a table during the vendor fair to advertise our program here at the castle, right next to the shelter’s table so we can show off our foster dogs.”
“Minus one,” he commented as he put Bug in the pasture, securing the gate behind her. He led the way into the barn.
“Yeah. I’ll get a new foster, but probably not before the festival. I think Priya’s already picked out a little poodle mix for me.”
“A poodle mix, huh? Sounds kind of frou-frou,” Jake said with a smile, looking down at Barnaby, who was currently rolling around on the barn’s dirt floor, paws waving in the air.
“Sometimes the frou-frou dogs are the easiest to adopt.” She looked down at Barnaby and shook her head with a smile. “This guy loves the barn.”
“He’d be a good barn dog.” Jake knelt, and Barnaby rolled to his feet, bounding toward him. Chandler, while more outgoing and sociable, had been too unpredictable to have around the horses, darting underneath them and barking in a way that had made both of the rescue horses nervous. Quiet, steady Barnaby had been the obvious choice for their work with Bug.
“He’s so shy that he’s had trouble bonding with any of our guests when they ask to meet the Fairy Tails dogs,” Megan told him.
“They just need to spend a little time getting to know him,” Jake said as he rubbed Barnaby’s belly.
“Hard to do when they only get to spend a few minutes with him. He takes a while to warm up to people.” She paused. “He loves you, though. You just said he’d make a great barn dog. Maybe you should give him a try.”
“Whoa,” Jake said as he stood. He remembered mentioning the possibility of getting a barn dog once a while ago, but he hadn’t really thought about it since. “I don’t know about that.”
“I’m not trying to pressure you or anything.” She walked over and p
laced a hand on his arm. “I was just watching you play with him, and it hit me how comfortable he is with you, compared to the way he acts around the potential adopters who come by the castle. Anyway, if you wanted to try him out, you totally could. Just keep him at your house for a few days, see what you think. He’d still be our foster dog, and if you don’t want to keep him, you can just give him back to me.”
He grinned at her. “He’s already practically lived at my house for the last month.”
“Yeah, but I was usually the one caring for him, and he came back to the castle with Chandler and me every morning. Anyway, just something to think about.” She turned to leave, calling to Barnaby to follow her. He trotted after her, his leash dragging on the barn floor.
“You know what? Let him stay with me tonight and see what happens.”
“Really?” She paused in the doorway of the barn, looking over her shoulder at him.
“Yeah. But if anyone’s interested in adopting him in the meantime, don’t hold him back on my account.”
She was nodding and smiling. “And I’ll bring him with me to the Spring Fling, unless you tell me not to.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” He stooped to pick up Barnaby’s leash, and the dog moved obediently toward him, tail wagging. “Will I see you tonight, or will it just be me and Barnaby?”
“I wish I could, but I promised Elle and Ruby I’d help with prep for the festival. Apparently, we’ve got brochures to fold or some similarly exciting activity.” She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Wine will be involved, I’m sure.”
“I’ll leave you ladies to it, then. You’ll give me a chance to catch up on my word count.”
“How close are you to finishing?” she asked.
“I’ve got two chapters left to write, but these last scenes usually go really fast. I might even finish tonight if I pull a late night.”
“Now you’ll have someone to keep you company.” She leaned in for a quick kiss. “Text me later?”
“Count on it.” He watched her walk away before turning to look down at the dog at his side. “You and me tonight, buddy. Guys’ night.”