by Em Petrova
He blinked at her.
“Ice pack and wrap?”
“In the freezer. Wrap’s down at the barn.”
“How high is the injury? Is this something we could use an ice bucket for?” She reached into the freezer, past frozen burger patties and steaks. Not a bag of vegetables in sight. She located an ice pack and pulled it out.
“Ice bucket could work, if you could get Gusto to stand in it. My guess is he might put up a fight. How do you know so much about horses?”
“Told ya—I’ve seen it on TV.”
He started to get up, but she waved him back down. “You should prop up that foot. Your toes look plenty swollen too. I’ll handle Gusto.” She flashed a grin and headed out the front door, letting the screen slam behind her.
With each step she took toward the barn, she felt lighter, happier than she had in too long. A light bounce hit her heels and by the time she reached the fence she was whistling. Getting Gusto to grow accustomed to her took some time, but soon she had him nosing her hand for more pets.
She was just getting down to business when she heard the screen door bang again.
He just can’t sit still.
Wheeler came across the uneven ground, and she kept an eye on him in case he went down. When he made it to the fence, she had the wrap halfway off Gusto’s leg.
“How’s it look?” Wheeler leaned against the fence.
“Swollen. Your vet doesn’t have ultrasound, does he?”
“Lady, you watch too much TV. This is back country up here.”
She shot him a look and then finished unwrapping the leg. She didn’t touch the injured area, not wanting a good kick from the horse. But she applied the ice pack and new wrapping, giving it a nice blue, bulging sock by the time she finished.
She sat back on her haunches and watched the horse test it. Then she straightened and brushed her hands off on the butt of her jeans. “I’ll take that off in about twenty minutes.”
Wheeler grunted. When she glanced up at him, she found him staring at her. A second passed—a very long second.
“I’m gonna muck out the stalls and scatter fresh bedding. Fill the feed bins. Why don’t you go back to the front porch? Looks inviting.”
They both looked that way. The porch was dark and sagging, far from inviting.
“Think I’ll come into the barn with you,” he said.
“Suit yourself.”
Inside, she overturned a five-gallon bucket and patted it. “Get off that foot.”
“You watch doctor shows too?” He gingerly lowered himself, careful of his foot.
“No”—she grinned—“but I played one on TV.” She really hadn’t. Her only claim to fame was this role on Redemption Falls. The kiss of death to actors was being typecast, but she couldn’t imagine playing anything but a country girl. It was all she knew and if she thought on it, all she cared to.
Thankfully if Wheeler got the joke she’d just made, he didn’t comment. While she shoveled out the stall, he watched her every move. She ignored him and got into the rhythm of work. Muscle memory had her finishing the job swiftly and efficiently. When she turned to Wheeler, she leaned on the pitchfork.
“Is it to your liking?” she asked.
To her surprise, his face turned a deep purple and he pushed to a stand, knocking over the bucket and almost losing a crutch.
She rushed forward to catch the object and kept it steady for him to take. With his eyes downcast, she wondered if he was trying to man up and hide the pain he was in.
“Look, I’ll help you to the house. I really think you should have that foot up on a pillow.”
He shook her off. “I got it.”
She watched him limp back out of the barn and head to the house. Shaking her head at the general stubbornness of men, she returned to Gusto to check his leg. The ice had done a bit of its job, and the swelling seemed improved. She removed the ice and securely wrapped the leg again before taking one last look around the barn.
Everything seemed to be in order. No more chores for her to do.
There was only one thing left and that was leave.
In the house, Wheeler wasn’t even sitting, let alone tending his injury. He was staring out the back window at what appeared to be birds at a feeder in the yard.
“All good with Gusto and the barn chores,” she said.
He didn’t turn.
Aria’s heart dipped a little at the lack of response.
“Thank you,” he said after a minute.
“Least I can do. I enjoyed the work. And…”
He turned his head and pierced her in his intense stare, shocking her so much she almost took a step back.
“Are you in pain?” she asked.
“No,” he grated out. “Yes. But no.”
“Okay, that makes no sense to me. But I’m going to take a leap here and ask you…”
He waited, his stare centered on her face.
“Look, I don’t really have a place to go right now. And I’m not ready to go back to… where I came from. Would you mind if I stick around a bit longer? I can clean the floors or—”
“I’m not making you a slave, Aria. But if you need to stay a bit longer to figure out your next move, you’re welcome.”
Chapter Three
Goddammit, when was the last time Wheeler had found himself getting hard over a woman? Months. Hell, maybe years. It wasn’t like he didn’t love women—their lips, breasts, hips, legs… and what was between them. He just had other things to focus on than going out to bars to find someone to take to bed and later end up disappointed.
But watching Aria… Fuck, not only did she have built-in sex appeal but she knew her way around a horse, and that was sexy as hell.
He battled to get himself under control and turning away from the window was a difficulty because he was pitching a tent in these sweats.
Add in that her plea to stay was turning him inside out, and he could barely think of anything but what he’d do without these crutches and a bum foot.
Take her to bed.
Tumble her down and kiss those sweet bowed lips of hers.
Sink down into her.
He hardly knew the woman. He had to get the hell out of here before he regretted something.
Aria had gone back outside. When he stepped onto the porch, he found her leaning with her forearms on the railing, looking out over the mountains. Without turning, she said, “I love how your property rolls right up to the foothills.”
“Yeah, it’s somethin’.” His gritty tone reflected only his lust and none of the sentimental shit he really felt about his land.
She pivoted her head to look at him. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just gotta head over to my buddy’s and see if I can do anything for him.” He didn’t—it was just the closest thing he could see to an exit.
Her brows pinched, and she drew away from the railing. “Oh. Do you want me to leave then?”
“Nah, just hang around if you want.” And be naked in my bed when I get back.
He hurried as best he could down the steps. Lucky he could still drive since the break was on his left foot. Hell, to get away from her for a spell, he’d drive with the cast if he had to.
King’s place was only a few miles off, and he was still half hard by the time he reached the gates of Blackwater. As he bumped to a stop before the garage, he took a moment to think on the past few days. It didn’t even seem like his life.
He should be here right now, out with the herd or checking on King’s new horse stock.
At this time of day, he knew his buddy would be hanging around the house, and sure enough, King had heard Wheeler’s truck and rounded the barn. He nudged his hat up with a gloved fingertip and strode toward Wheeler, who fumbled his crutches out and managed to stay upright as he hit the ground.
“Everything all right?” King asked.
“Yeah, just had to get out for a bit. Wanted to see if there’s anything I can do around here.”
“Going stir crazy after only a few days, huh?” King gave him a crooked grin.
“You know it.”
“Not a lot you can do for me with that.” King gestured to his foot and the toes that were still sticking out, as he hadn’t yet bothered with the footie.
“Yeah, I figured. I just…” How to explain finding a woman—and a sexy as hell one—in his barn and all that had come afterward?
“Can you make it to the porch? I’ll grab us some water.” As always, King had a way of knowing what was going on without being told. In this case, that Wheeler had something on his mind.
“Yeah, I reckon I can make it.” He headed across the yard at a slow pace that King hung back for. When he finally settled into a chair on the porch, he did so with a sigh. “That’s a lot harder than you’d think. I don’t consider myself an unfit man, but that makes me wonder.”
“You’re using muscles you never used before. I’ll get us that water.” He went inside and a moment later stepped out with two bottled waters hooked in the fingers of one hand. They sat side by side sipping.
“It’s nice to rest a spell. Bellarose has been up all night.”
“Oh?” Wheeler cocked a brow.
“She’s really upset. Something happened on the set of Redemption Falls.”
King’s wife was an actor who’d spent time with King to learn about ranching and ended up becoming a rancher’s wife. The pair couldn’t be more suited for each other, and Wheeler was really happy for him. The set of the show wasn’t far off, and she was able to live here at Blackwater and drive to work each morning while they were filming the show.
The publicity had many tourists coming to the area, and it made the townspeople happy, but luckily it hadn’t touched Wheeler’s world much. He liked to steer clear of that sort of thing.
King took a swig. “There’s an actor on set who apparently took off when her boyfriend showed up with a surprise wedding for her. The dress, the minister, the flowers, you name it.”
Wheeler’s blood chilled like he’d just dumped the ice water straight into his veins. He lowered his bottle. “Wedding you say?”
“Yeah, I guess this woman couldn’t face it all and took off, but nobody’s heard from her and they’re all very worried. The mountains tend to swallow people.”
“Shit. Yeah.” But in this case, the mountain hadn’t swallowed the woman. Wheeler was pretty damn sure she was tucked up on his porch, safe and sound while staring at those mountains.
“I’m sure she’s okay,” he said. “Montana girl, isn’t she?”
King jerked his stare to Wheeler. “How’d you know?”
Damn, he’d been called out. Shrugging, he said, “I read about her once and figured that’s who you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, it is. There’s a search party. The sheriff’s on the case. Nobody saw which direction she went, so there’s a lot of trails to follow.”
Yeah, right to Wheeler’s front door.
He set aside his bottle and got to his one foot with crutches in place. “I’d best be off. Thanks for the water.”
“Already? Did you have something to talk about?”
“Nah, just felt the itch to come to Blackwater, I suppose. I’ll go on home and prop up this foot.”
“Looks like you need it. The toes are swollen.”
Wheeler eyed him. “I’ve been told that. Thanks, man.”
As he made his way back to the truck, his mind raced.
Aria was the actor off the show? And her fiancé had shown up with a surprise wedding? No wonder she’d made a break for it—Wheeler couldn’t think of a worse surprise. Even being a man, he understood women enjoyed things like weddings and with no say in what was to become her special day…
Then again, it might have been more than the wedding ceremony that had her on the run. Maybe she hadn’t been prepared to marry that man. Or any man. Wheeler got it. And now that he knew Aria’s situation, he was more than happy to let her hide out at his place until she decided what to do.
It wasn’t because she was the hottest thing he’d set eyes on in ages. Or that she was strangely easy to talk to, when he was often awkward with strangers.
No, none of those things.
However, she sure knew her way around a horse, and that surprised—and excited—him.
* * * * *
With too many worst-case scenarios playing in her head and enough energy to gallop all the way to Canada, Aria went back down to the barn to see what she could do to help Wheeler out.
It still stunned her that the man would allow a stranger to have free rein of his property with no question if she was trustworthy.
Or maybe it was just that he didn’t have much of worth to steal. The place had loads of potential but needed some money to update. Even looking out at the land, the small barn and fenced area could be expanded to hold a lot more stock, if that was his desire.
She felt a bit grubby but hoped he wouldn’t mind if she showered later. The dilemma of clean clothes was another thing. She couldn’t exactly stay here for much longer—she needed to face her problems.
Whether or not her jilting Jason Lee had hit the media was a huge question mark as well. After all, he hadn’t let the story slip that he’d proposed before she’d left for Washington. Was it possible that his embarrassment would keep him from saying more?
Then again, there were too many witnesses on the set of Redemption Falls, and it wouldn’t be the first time an assistant or a crew member let a story leak out for a bit of side pay.
Tightening her lips over her teeth, she grabbed onto the fence and studied the horses. They either dozed or grazed. Three horses was almost laughable to a girl who’d grown up on a ranch for breeding, training and even sometimes boarding when times were lean. Her knowledge of horses extended far and wide, and her true love lay with the reining horses.
From the age of six, she’d wanted to compete to show off the skills and temperament of the horses she adored, but her father had seen her talent was in the training, and she had been encouraged to help with that as much as possible.
Which left her dream of competing unrealized, and that had been the first of many times a choice had been made for her. It was all downhill from there. Perhaps if she’d stood up to her daddy and explained how passionate she was about competing…
But she’d done a lot for the horses on the ranch, which was nothing to belittle. She was proud of those achievements as well.
Just as she was proud of becoming a handler on the set of Redemption Falls. And in some ways being thrown into acting as well. They were all accomplishments, even if she hadn’t actively taken those paths in her life.
But I escaped what would have been a disaster of a marriage.
She was far from proud of how she’d gone about it. Now to get the gumption to face the damage she’d done and apologize to Jason.
She pushed off and leaped the fence, landing on her boots inside. The horses looked up at her, a bit wary of a stranger. As she approached Gusto, she crooned to him, talking in a low voice.
An inspection of his leg told her the ice had helped some, and though the horse had months of rehab to be whole again, at least it wasn’t getting worse.
The horse was much like the man, watching her without reaction. When she reached out to stroke its neck, it stood there and accepted her touch, but she could tell it wasn’t exactly happy to see her.
Yes, like Wheeler.
Maybe she should leave before he returned. He had enough on his platter without adding an actor who’d run away from more than a marriage she didn’t want. At first, that had been the case, but after spending a few hours on Wheeler’s small homestead… Well, she felt more alive than she had in a long time.
How long could she shirk her duties and ignore her contract? She was needed back on set, and she owed it to everyone to do her job to the best of her ability. Not to mention let them know of her whereabouts.
She inched closer to the horse, needing to
smell it, lean into its solid warmth. She thought of Wheeler making his way down the mountain with a broken foot and the comfort Gusto must have been, even as the horse was his torment. He must have been seriously broken up by the injury and not knowing what the future would bring for the animal.
Gusto let her near, and she rested her forehead on his neck. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears. She wasn’t a crier, and she hadn’t shed a tear since running from Jason, which said a whole lot about how she felt for the man.
He deserved better. She deserved better than a one-sided relationship that would most likely land in the toilet like most celebrity marriages.
The tears didn’t fall.
After a while, she moved away from Gusto and spent some time with each mare, talking to them and giving affection. Then she jumped the fence again and circled the barn, just inspecting everything.
It seemed to be in good repair, the wood solid and nothing like a protruding nail to catch a horse’s flesh and tear it. Wheeler kept good care of his property. Even the house, though in need of updates, was kept in good repair, besides the porch steps. He was a man who had pride of ownership.
Noticing the hay in the barn was getting low, she found the dry stacks and hauled a few inside. Then she swept the space clean using an old broom with worn bristles and cleaned out the debris. After that, she oiled the tack hanging on the wall by the door.
By now, she was hungry again, but she hated to eat all of Wheeler’s food. The man had little as it was, unless she broke out the contents of the freezer and grilled herself a steak.
Her stomach groaned at the thought of steaks with fried onions, but she couldn’t do that.
The rumble of a truck engine brought her head up. She wiped her hands on the polishing cloth she was using on the tack and placed the cap back on the oil. When she stepped out of the barn, Wheeler was just planting his crutches beneath him. He must have caught her movement, because he turned his head to look at her.
She felt that gaze like a punch.
Oh no. Why was he looking at her that way? Like he was about to ask her a question she didn’t want to answer.