by Diana Palmer
“We haven’t said grace yet,” Teddie reminded her with a pointed look.
Katy rolled her eyes. “Sorry, sweetheart. Let me start the coffee and I’ll be right there.”
She sat down and before she and Katy bowed their heads, Parker was already bowing his. “When in Rome . . . ?” he teased softly.
Katy smiled and said grace.
She got back up then and went to pour coffee into two cups.
“Cream? Sugar?”
“I’m a purist,” he returned. “I take my coffee straight up mostly.”
She grinned. “I do too.”
“I don’t,” Teddie piped up. “Cream and sugar helps kill the taste! Can I have some?”
“When you’re thirteen,” Katy said, without missing a beat.
“Thirteen?!”
“That’s when my grandparents said I could have it. My parents said it, too. Coffee’s supposed to stunt your growth or something if you drink it earlier than that.” She frowned as she put the cups down on the table. “That sounds very odd.”
“It does,” Teddie agreed enthusiastically. “So where’s my cup?”
“When you’re thirteen, regardless of why,” Katy said easily and sat down.
They made sandwiches. Parker bit into his and his expression spoke volumes.
“Hey!” he said. “This is great!”
Katy smiled broadly. “Thanks. I learned how to make it from my granddad. He had a secret ingredient that set it apart from most tuna salad.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “And . . . ?”
“Oh, no,” she retorted. “I’m not giving it away. It’s a secret,” she said in a loud whisper.
He gave her a wicked look. “For now,” he said, and the way he was looking at her made her flush.
Teddie noticed. She smiled to herself.
They ate in a pleasant silence, except that Katy looked guilty and Parker wondered why.
After lunch, Teddie asked to be excused to watch a special program on the nature channel. Katy agreed at once.
She put up the lunch things and put the dishes in the sink, worried and unable to hide it.
“What is it?” Parker asked when she sat back down at the table.
She managed a jerky smile. “The vet called. They let Bart’s owner out of jail and dropped the charges.”
He sighed. “I know. I just found out this morning. I was going to tell you earlier, but I didn’t have the heart.”
“He suggested I get an attorney.”
“That’s a good idea,” Parker said. “He has one out of Denver,” he added. “A relative who’s a big-city attorney with a great track record.” He sighed. “Problem is, getting you an attorney who can stand up to him in court.”
“I thought about that.”
“We have some good local ones,” Parker continued. “But not one of them has ever gone up against a sophisticated city lawyer. Not to my knowledge. You need somebody comparable to the horse abuser’s counsel.”
“As it happens, I do know one back East.” She gave him an apologetic look. “The attorney who handled my husband’s affairs,” she began.
He rolled his eyes. “Not the suit with the attitude problem who doesn’t like Teddie?”
She winced. “Well, he’s the only big-city attorney I know, and if Teddie loses that horse, I don’t know what will become of her.”
He made a face. He sipped coffee. “I guess it’s not a bad idea.” His dark eyes met hers. “So long as he keeps his hands off you.”
Her heart jumped. Her lips parted. “Oh.”
Both dark eyebrows lifted and he smiled wickedly at her expression.
She threw a napkin at him and laughed.
“As it happens,” he said dryly, “I’m not kidding. If he makes a move on you, he goes on the endangered species list. I have squatter’s rights.”
Her whole face became radiant. “Really?”
He cocked his head and studied her. “I hadn’t planned on getting involved with anybody, ever again, you know.”
“Actually, neither had I.”
His big hand reached across to hers and linked fingers with it. “Life goes on. Maybe we both need to look ahead instead of behind.”
She beamed.
“I have a few things to do at home before we leave for the theater. But I’ll be back around six. That okay?”
“That’s fine.”
He stood and drew her gently up out of her chair. His dark eyes looked down into hers, warm and soft. “They say it’s a great movie.”
“Teddie will love it.”
He bent and kissed her very softly. “So will we. See you later, pretty girl.”
She smiled with her whole heart. “Okay.”
He winked and left her standing there, vibrating.
* * *
Teddie came bouncing into the living room when her program was over. Her mother was sitting on the sofa reading, but she was alone. “Oh, Parker’s gone,” she exclaimed. “Aren’t we going to the movies, then?”
“Yes, we are. He had a few things to do before we leave. Sit down, honey.”
Teddie didn’t like the expression on her mother’s face. She dropped down into the armchair across from the sofa. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”
Katy nodded. “Dr. Carr called while you and Parker were out riding.” She sighed. “I hate having to tell you this,” she added sadly.
“They let Bart’s owner go, didn’t they?” Teddie asked.
Katy nodded. “And he wants his horse back.”
“No!” Teddie exclaimed. “Oh, we can’t let him take Bart back! He’ll kill him!”
“I know that. He’s not getting him back. But he has a big-city attorney from Denver who’ll be representing him. We don’t have any such person in Benton who can go up against him.”
Teddie looked unhappy. “What are we going to do?” she wailed.
Katy made a face. “I called Maryland,” she said.
“No,” she said miserably. “Not him!”
“Honey, if we want to keep the horse, we have to fight fire with fire. We need somebody who’s formidable in court, and Ron Woodley is. He’s practiced criminal law for ten years and he’s only lost one case. He started out as an assistant district attorney. He knows what he’s doing.”
Teddie took a breath. “Okay, then. Is he willing to do it?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Katy said. “He said it would be better if he came out now than at Thanksgiving, anyway, because a rich client invited him to stay for a couple of weeks at his estate in the Virgin Islands over the Thanksgiving holidays.”
“Lucky him.”
“I don’t like islands,” Katy confessed. “They attract hurricanes.”
“Not in November,” Teddie teased.
“Anything can happen. I like dry land.”
Teddie smiled. “Me, too. Well, I guess I can hide in the closet while he’s here,” she said. “He doesn’t like me at all.”
“He doesn’t like children,” she replied. “I guess he’s never been around any.”
“No, he doesn’t like me, because I’m in the way. He said so. He likes you a lot.” She studied her mother. “I like Parker, and I’m not in his way.”
She smiled slowly. “I like Parker very much.”
“I know he feels that way about you,” Teddie said. “He’s always talking about you.”
Katy’s heart lifted. “So, you’re not mad at me, because I invited the lawyer out?”
Teddie shook her head. “I don’t want Bart to die. Anything’s better than that. Even the eastern lawyer.”
Katy smiled. “That’s what I thought.”
* * *
The movie was hilarious. It was about a crime-fighting family of superheroes, and focused on the baby, whom nobody thought had any powers. There was a scene with the baby beating up a raccoon that had all three of them almost rolling on the floor laughing.
When they were back out on the street, they were still laughing.
“That poor baby.” Katy chuckled.
“The poor parents,” Parker commented. “Imagine having a child who could burst into flames or walk through walls?”
“You do have a point,” Katy had to admit.
“It was so funny! Thanks for taking us, Parker,” Teddie added.
“Oh, I like being around you guys,” he said, smiling. “You’re good company.”
“So are you,” Katy said softly.
He winked at her and she flushed.
“Are you going to have Thanksgiving with us?” Teddie asked.
Katy gave him a hopeful look.
His lips parted. He grimaced. “Well, you see . . .”
“Don’t tell me. You don’t celebrate it,” Katy guessed. “You probably don’t celebrate Columbus Day, either.”
He laughed. “Caught me.”
“But Thanksgiving is about sharing,” Teddie protested. “Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down together at the harvest.”
“At first,” Katy agreed. “Afterward, when the vicious cold killed their crops and they exhausted the local game, they died in droves.”
Parker pursed his lips. “Some of them were rather helped into the hereafter, I understand, after they attacked people who did have food and tried to take it from them.”
“Gosh, I didn’t know that,” Teddie said.
“History isn’t quite as pleasant as most people think,” Katy said. “It’s brutal and ugly in places, and some people in historical times don’t stand up to modern scrutiny. Of course, historians are also taught that you can’t judge the morality of the past by that of the present when you read history. And they’re quite right. Can you imagine opium dens in today’s world, or children working in mines?”
“We’ve come a long way,” Parker agreed.
“Not quite far enough, it seems sometimes,” Katy replied. She smiled at him. “It was a great movie. Thanks.”
“We’ll do it again in a week or so.” He paused. “When does your eastern Perry Mason show up?” he added.
She burst out laughing. “I’m not sure. He said in about two weeks. He can’t come at Thanksgiving because a rich client invited him to the islands.”
“Nice,” Parker said. “He’ll get a suntan. Then he might look almost as good as I do,” he added, tongue-in-cheek.
“Oh, Parker, you’re funny,” Teddie said. She hugged him. “I think you’re just the right shade of tan.”
He hugged her back. “Thanks, sprout.”
Teddie sighed. It would be so nice if her mother ever hugged her.
“I’m going to play games on the Xbox. Okay?” she asked her mother.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday. Just remember, we’re going to church. Don’t stay up too late.”
“I won’t,” Teddie promised. She looked at Parker. “Do you go to church?”
“Of course,” he said. “But not quite in the way you do.”
“Can you tell us about it?” she asked excitedly.
He chuckled. “Plenty of time for that. What game are you playing?”
“Minecraft,” she said. “It’s awesome!”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s maddening. I like sword and sorcery stuff, like Skyrim.”
“That’s ancient,” she said.
“That’s why I like it,” he returned.
“No, it’s ancient. Old. Out of date!”
“Not my fault,” he said. “Tell Bethesda Softworks to get busy on Elder Scrolls VI and I’ll give up Skyrim.”
“As if,” she said with downturned lips. “I’ll be grown and married before we ever see it.”
“Don’t I know it,” he agreed.
Teddie waved and went down the hall.
“Bethesda? Elder Scrolls? Skyrim?” Katy wondered aloud.
“I’m a finicky gamer,” he said. He moved toward her, pulled her into his arms, and bent to kiss her very softly. “I’ll have more chores for a week or two, so we may have to put Teddie’s riding on hold, just for a bit,” he said gently. “But I should be free by the time your attorney gets here, so I can defend my rights.”
She laughed softly. “He’s just going to help us keep Bart. I don’t have any plans to move back to Maryland, whatever the temptation.”
His mouth brushed hers. “You sure about that?”
“I’m becoming addicted to Benton,” she said, and she sounded breathless.
“To Benton?” he asked at her lips. “Or to me?”
“Same . . . thing,” she managed, just before his mouth covered hers and became drugging, deep and slow and arousing. He lifted her up against him and held her hungrily for a long time before he finally drew back and let her go.
“Wow,” she managed unsteadily.
His eyebrows arched and he laughed involuntarily. “You’re bad for my ego,” he teased. “I won’t be able to get my head through doors.”
“You’re bad for my self-restraint,” she returned.
He pursed his sensuous lips. “That’s a sweet admission.”
“Don’t take advantage of a weakness I can’t help,” she said firmly.
He smiled. “Not my style,” he said gently. “I don’t want anything that isn’t freely given.”
“I think I knew that already. But it’s nice to hear.” She lowered her eyes. “I don’t seem to have much willpower when you’re around.”
“That works both ways, honey. Keep your doors locked, okay? We’ve got a pack of wolves roaming nearby. The feds don’t think they’ll pose a threat, but if we have severe weather and they get hungry enough . . .”
He let the words trail off. She knew what he meant. A wild animal was likely to look for food anywhere he could get it when he was starving. There were some horror stories about wolves and settlers, back in the early days of western settlement.
“We always lock the doors,” she assured him.
“Make sure you keep the stable doors closed as well,” he added.
She made a face. “That would be horrible, after all Bart’s been through, to have him fall prey to a wolf.”
“I agree. But if you take reasonable precautions, it shouldn’t be an issue. Just don’t let tidbit go out alone at night to see Bart, okay?” he said, meaning Teddie. “Not now, at least.”
“I won’t. Or I’ll go with her.”
“I know you don’t like guns; you’ve said so often enough. But do you have a weapon at all around here?”
She sighed worriedly. “Not really.”
“Then both of you stay inside and keep the doors locked. You’ve got my phone number. You can call me if you get afraid, for any reason, and I’ll be right over. Okay?”
She felt warm and cosseted. She smiled. “Okay.”
He moved closer. “I love the way you look when you smile,” he whispered. He bent and kissed her hungrily one last time. He drew back almost at once. “I’m leaving. You’re getting through my defenses. I fear for my honor.”
She burst out laughing. “I feel dangerous!”
He made a face. Then he winked. “Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
She watched him out the window until he drove away. She felt as if she could have walked on air.
* * *
Ron Woodley arrived several days before he was expected. He checked into the local motel, after being told firmly by Katy that he wasn’t living with her and Teddie while they fought for possession of Bartholomew. He showed up at her front door one Saturday morning in a fancy rented sedan while Parker was in the barn with Teddie, saddling the horse.
“Hello, you gorgeous woman,” he enthused, and hugged her before she could back away. “It’s so good to see you again!”
She drew back. “Good to see you, Ron. Thanks for coming. We may have to pay your fee on the installment plan—”
“Don’t insult me,” he interrupted. “I do some pro bono work. This will add to my curriculum vitae,” he added on a chuckle. “Got some tea?”
> She was briefly disconcerted. “Hot or cold?”
“Hot.”
“Okay. Come on in,” she added with a glance at the stable. Parker and Teddie were looking in her direction, but they didn’t come out.
“Where’s your daughter?” Ron asked with barely concealed distaste.
“She’s out in the stable with Parker.”
His chin lifted. “Parker?”
She nodded as she boiled water and searched for a few scarce tea bags. “He’s a horse wrangler for J.L. Denton, who owns the big ranch property next door. His wife writes for television, that Warriors and Warlocks series.”
“Never watched it,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Do you think it’s safe to leave a man you barely know alone with your little girl?”
She stopped what she was doing and turned to him, her pale eyes flashing.
He held up both hands. “Sorry. Obviously you know him better than I do. If you trust him, that’s the main thing.”
“The main thing is that Teddie trusts him,” she said in a soft, biting tone.
He shrugged. His keen eyes looked around the room. “Primitive, but I suppose it’s serviceable,” he mentioned. “Some nice collectibles on that shelf,” he added. “World War II?” he asked.
“Yes. My grandfather brought them back from Japan.”
“They’re worth some money,” he said. “Do you still have those old Western pistols your husband had?”
“I sold them,” she said. “I don’t like guns.”
“Neither do I,” he agreed.
She finally managed to get a tea bag and hot water in the same cup. She handed it to him.
“Sugar’s on the table,” she told him.
He waved it away. “I learned to drink tea in Japan. They never offer sugar with it. You have to ask for it.”
He sipped the tea and frowned. “What is this?”
“I’m not really sure,” she said apologetically. “We don’t drink tea. That was in a housewarming gift the Dentons sent over when we moved in.”
“I prefer Earl Grey,” he said, sipping it. “Or Darjeeling. But this is okay.”
“I’m so glad.” She bit her tongue to keep from making it sound sarcastic.
“So. Tell me about this horse.”
“He’s a beautiful old horse, a palomino. Teddie named him Bartholomew and she loves him dearly.” She drew in a breath. “The previous owner had neglected him so badly that his hooves were clogged and infected, and he had deep cuts where he’d been abused with a whip.”