Destined for Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens, Book 2) Contemporary Romance

by Melissa Foster

  “Good,” he said.

  Jade noticed that he had a sharp edge to him, and she wondered what he wasn’t telling her. Another grouping of cars came through the gate, and Jade took their money while Rex handed out tickets, but she couldn’t stop worrying about Hope. A horse’s health could go downhill fairly quickly if they were dealing with something serious. When the cars slowed, she asked Rex to go check on Hope.

  REX HURRIED TOWARD the ring, where he saw his father having a hell of a time walking Hope, while Hannah, wearing an adorable pink Western shirt with black and white embellishments and black jeans, her blond curls surrounding her fair cheeks beneath her felt hat, watched on.

  “How’re you doing, Hannah?” Rex asked with a smile.

  “I’m fine, but I’m not so sure about Hope. She keeps pacing and pawing, like she’s really nervous.” Hannah still had the soft, innocent face of a child, and the makeup she’d worn for the show made her look a little like a Kewpie doll.

  Rex saw a strain on his father’s face as Hope arched her neck back, like she was looking for something. His boots thudded against the dirt with each determined step toward his father.

  “What are you thinking? Colic?” Rex asked.

  “She’s got plenty of gut sounds, but let’s get the vet over here and have her checked out.” His father looked sadly at Hannah. “Son, tell Hannah we’re gonna have Hope checked out. The poor girl. She’s been looking forward to this for so long.”

  “I’ll tell her, and track down Dr. Baker.”

  By the time Rex reached Hannah, she’d figured things out on her own.

  “She’s not doing well, huh?” she asked in a disappointed tone.

  “We don’t really know. She might just be nervous. I’m going to get the vet and have her checked out. Do you think you can hold on a bit? Maybe notify the judges for us and ask her to be called up last?” Rex knew just how difficult it was for kids not to be able to lead a horse after practicing and getting all psyched up to be in front of a crowd. He watched her head toward the judges, and for the first time ever, the thought of having his own children rolled through his mind. He asked himself what he would do if Hannah were his daughter. He didn’t have an answer, but it was another first for him to even have such a thought, and he chalked it up to Jade.

  Rex’s stomach rumbled as he passed the concession stands and headed for the house to call Dr. Baker, the town veterinarian. Then he remembered that he had his cell phone hooked to his belt.

  Rex broke clear of the crowds and called information. He stole a glance at Jade, leaning down by a car at the gated entrance to his left. As he dialed Dr. Baker’s office number, he wished he could ask Jade to examine Hope. This whole mess with his father was like an octopus, and the deeper he fell for Jade, the more he felt the tentacles of the feud strangling them.

  Twenty minutes later, Dr. Baker was examining Hope.

  “What’s going on with Hope?” Savannah sidled up next to Rex with a big pink fluff of cotton candy.

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Rex answered.

  Josh appeared beside Savannah. “Did you guys see how proud Hannah’s little brother was when he won his halter class? Remember that feeling?”

  “I remember feeling like a girl in my outfit,” Treat said as he tugged a piece of cotton candy from Savannah, ignoring her smirk.

  “You did not. You begged me for a new vest and hat. You thought you were John Wayne,” his father said.

  “Dad, really? You wanna kill my image?” Treat teased.

  “Your image is still pretty hot, if you ask me,” Max said. “I’m sorry Hope isn’t feeling well. I heard you down at the barn this morning, Hal. You seemed upset. Was she sick then?”

  Rex shot a glance at Treat.

  “No, she seemed fine, just didn’t eat much. I was just mumbling to myself,” he said, but his children knew the truth. He was no more mumbling to himself than Treat hadn’t loved his cowboy costume.

  “Well, her temperature is fine,” Dr. Baker said. “I’m not hearing anything concerning in her gut sounds, but her pulse is slightly elevated, and given her behavior, with the pawing, the way she’s watching her flank, I’m concerned that we might be looking at a mild case of colic.” Dr. Baker had been the Weston veterinarian for the past forty-five years. Rex appreciated his calm demeanor. His careful nature had always led to solid treatment results as far as their horses were concerned. He trusted the pasty-skinned, bald-headed man’s judgment completely. A pang of sorrow passed through him at the realization that Jade couldn’t have looked over Hope instead.

  “She’s not showing today, Rex,” his father said. “We need to break the news to Hannah.” Hal took off his hat and held it against his chest as he stroked Hope’s side.

  “I’ll do it after Dr. Baker’s through talking,” Rex offered.

  “Now, Hal, you’ve been moping about Hope for half a year or more. You’re a bright man. You know she’s got plenty of years left in her, so why are you looking so gloomy?” Dr. Baker had never minced words with Hal before, and Rex was glad to see him asking what everyone was wondering.

  “Maybe she does, but maybe she doesn’t.” His father set his hat back on his head with a firm nod, indicating that he was not going to go down that line of questioning with Dr. Baker.

  “So what’s the plan, Doc?” Treat asked, taking the attention off of his father.

  “Well, given that she’s never been a colicky girl before, I want you to keep a close eye on her.” He scratched his head. “You said she hasn’t been eating well, so I’m going to give her a shot of Banamine to try to alleviate any discomfort she’s feeling. I’d take her home. Let’s keep an eye on her. No food or water. You know the drill.”

  “Yes, sir, we’ll keep a close eye on her,” Rex said.

  After Dr. Baker left, Hal and Josh headed home with Hope. Max, Treat, and Savannah were going to stick around the show for a while and enjoy the afternoon, and Rex had to remain until four o’clock to tend the gate.

  Rex approached Hannah with a heavy heart. He hated to let her down after she’d worked so hard to prepare to show Hope.

  “Hannah, Hope isn’t doing very well. We’re going to have to take her home.” Rex watched her swallow hard.

  “That’s okay. I hope she feels better.” She tried to smile, but fell short.

  Rex watched her walk away with her head hung low, and he ached for her, but he couldn’t get too caught up in that now. He had to get back to the gate.

  JADE WATCHED MR. BRADEN’S truck and trailer drive off of the show grounds, and she knew something was wrong with Hope.

  “What happened?” she asked as soon as Rex appeared.

  “He thinks she has a mild case of colic. He gave her Banamine, and Dad’s taking her home.”

  “Banamine will help, but how mild? What was her temperature? How about her pulse?” Jade had nothing but respect for Dr. Baker, but he didn’t work with, or necessarily believe in, massage the way she did.

  Rex filled her in on the particulars and eased Jade’s mind. Dr. Baker had taken the right course of action—but still, she knew how much good a hands-on approach could be for horses.

  “I’d love to get my hands on Hope,” Jade said. “I can do massage to ease her discomfort.”

  Rex reached out and touched her cheek. “That’s what I love about you. You’re so caring.” He moved in closer, and Jade shot a look to their left, then right.

  “Sorry.” Rex took a step back. “I hate this.”

  “Have you come up with any ideas on how to handle all of this? I think, given Hope’s health, that we shouldn’t push things right now. If your father’s upset, he’s not going to be receptive to something like us.” She tried to smile, but her heart broke just a little at the thought of waiting even longer to be able to touch him in public. She didn’t really believe that they could do anything to change the situation, but she was more than willing to try.

  “Hey there, girlfriend!” Riley came
up from behind Jade and hugged her. “Sexy Rexy,” she teased.

  Rex arched a brow, and Jade cringed.

  “Sorry,” Jade said to Rex. Then she turned back to Riley. “I thought you were coming with that guy from the tack store. Where is he?”

  Riley tucked her hair behind her ear and rolled her eyes. “The guy’s a loser. All he wanted to do was get me into the sack.” She smiled at Rex. “Sorry, girls are crude, I know, but it’s true. Why do all men just want one thing?”

  “I can listen to you call me silly—and maybe true—names.” Rex looked serious, but Jade could tell he was fighting to hide a smile. “And I can even understand when you have a hard time with the way a guy treats you, but please don’t lump us all together. Not all of us are that way.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re already spoken for.” She winked at Jade.

  “So you ditched him?” Jade asked.

  “Yeah, I didn’t want to waste a day on him. One day, I swear I’m going to meet a nice guy who isn’t so caught up in sex that he can’t see me for the great gal that I am.” Riley put her arm around Jade. “Right? Tell me I’m right, please. Just lie to me.”

  Jade laughed, a little embarrassed that Rex was witnessing them at their most comfortable, and private, interaction.

  “You know it, babe,” Jade said, planting a kiss on her friend’s cheek.

  “What are you doing these days, Riley? Didn’t you study fashion? What are you doing back here?” Rex asked.

  Riley groaned. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to break into the fashion industry? It’s harder than finding a worthy date.”

  Jade liked that Rex was taking an interest in her friend, and she imagined what it might be like to have joint friends. They had so much to look forward to—she was afraid to think that far ahead.

  “Did you do well in school?” Rex crossed his arm, studying her with a serious gaze.

  “Are you kidding? I graduated with a three-eight GPA and won two design awards while I was there,” she said with pride.

  “The field is really competitive,” Jade added.

  “It’s really more who you know than what you can do, and coming from Weston, Colorado, knowing ranchers and horse breeders didn’t carry much weight in the fashion industry. So, here I am. I’ve been working at Macy’s doing menial work for menial pay, good discounts, you know. In other words, I’m doing all the things I could have done without a college education.” Riley pulled her arm from around Jade’s neck. “I know I’m not destined for greatness,” she said.

  “She’s an amazingly talented designer,” Jade added. “Remember the white dress I wore on our date?” She saw the dirty memory pass through Rex’s narrowing, appreciative eyes. “Riley made it. She designed it and made it.”

  “That was a killer dress,” Rex said with mischievous smile.

  “Nah,” Riley said with a wave of her hand. “That’s not my best work. I have tons of designs that I haven’t had time to make, but I have them all laid out. They’re not really Weston Western wear, so…” She shrugged.

  “I don’t know if it will help or not, but my brother Josh is a designer. Why don’t you give me your portfolio and I’ll get it to him. He might have some suggestions.”

  Jade wanted to jump into his arms and thank him, but she didn’t dare.

  Riley, however, did. She jumped right up and kissed his cheek. “Are you kidding? Even if he doesn’t like them, which he probably won’t, he might have ideas of what I can change and what I need to work on. I know Josh from school. He was always nice to everyone, and everyone in Weston knows he’s only about the best designer ever. Gosh, I haven’t seen him in years. I’d give anything for more direction, but my parents and I kind of ran out of funding for extra stuff.”

  Riley was beaming, and Jade felt her chest swell with pride that Rex would even think to offer a hand to Riley. Even if Josh hated her stuff, Rex had still tried, and to Jade that meant more than any job ever would.

  “Are you guys going to the concert tonight?” Riley asked.

  Jade shot a look at Rex, knowing that his family was in town and they’d be worried about Hope.

  “Jade?” he asked.

  He always seemed to think of her first, which was just another reason Jade had fallen so hard for her sexy cowboy.

  “I’d love to go, but I know you have family to tend to, and it’s not like we can go together anyway.” His jaw began its clenching dance—confirmation that he hated the deception as much as she did.

  He stepped closer to Jade and softened his voice. “I’ll check and see what my family’s doing, but I’ll be there one way or another. Call me and let me know when you’re going.”

  Riley shook her head. “I get why you guys have to do this secretive relationship thing, but can I just tell you that anyone who would stand in your way is out of their minds. I mean, just look at you two. It’s like you were made for each other. He looks at you like you are the very oxygen that allows him to breathe, and she looks at you like all googly-eyed, like you’re Brad Pitt or something. And you both look like you’re ready to pounce on each other.”

  “Riley!” Jade gasped.

  “The girl’s got a good eye,” Rex teased.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  REX’S PHONE RANG at seven fifteen, after he and his family had finished dinner. He was surprised at the surge of adrenaline that ran through him. He hadn’t been excited about a phone call for as long as he could remember, and as he spoke softly into the tiny, strangely shaped phone, he was glad to hear Jade’s voice.

  “Hey, babe,” he said.

  “Hi. How’s Hope?” Jade asked.

  Her voice was so sweet and she was asking in such a tentative fashion that he had to sit down on the grass and just drink it in. “She’s not herself, that’s for sure. Dad’s gonna stay with her.” He and the others had discussed staying around in case his father needed help with Hope, but his father had waved them away. I’ve been taking care of horses all my life. Go to your silly concert. Have some fun.

  “Is she lying down? Because you can’t let her y—”

  “Jade.” He smiled at her caring nature. “Dad’s been breeding horses since he was a kid. He knows what to do.”

  “Right. I’m sorry,” she said. “So, you’re coming tonight?”

  Why does that word coming from those lips get me hard? “If you mean to the concert, yes. If you mean that some other way, not unless it’s with you.”

  She was silent, and Rex worried that he’d overstepped their playful bounds. He had no idea what would be considered appropriate cell phone etiquette, and going with his feelings had seemed right at the time. Now he worked to cover his tracks.

  “I’m sorry; that was crude.”

  “No, it was sexy,” she said in a hushed tone. “I just…You always take my breath away. I feel like a fifteen-year-old when I’m with you, even on the phone. When I dialed your number, my heart was racing. I swear, Rex, it’s so weird.”

  “I know, babe. I feel it too, and I have no idea how I’m going to stay away from you tonight, but I still want to be there and see you.” Could he do it? he wondered. Could he see Jade at the concert and not be with her? Not hold her hand or put his arm around her? Not talk with her alone in a dark corner, lest someone see them and their fathers get wind of their relationship? Hell, at this point, he wondered if he even cared. Then his loyalty rose to the surface, and he knew he did.

  “Me too. Maybe we shouldn’t go.”

  “No, not seeing you is worse than seeing you. Besides, Max’s friend Kaylie is singing tonight, so everyone is psyched to go. We’ll just be careful. Are your parents going? Your brother?”

  She laughed. “My brother hasn’t been to a community event in years, and my parents are too wrapped up in their own stuff right now to want to go, so no, they won’t be there. Meet me by the entrance?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be there at eight. Jade?” he asked. He debated telling her about the conversation he’d had with her m
other about how she and his mother had remained close and that she supported their being together and finally decided to do it when they were face-to-face.

  “Yeah?”

  “I miss you.”

  A simple, quick intake of breath told him that she was feeling the same longing as he was. “Me too,” she said.

  “Jade?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you.” Telling her he loved her was still so new to him that he held his breath until she said it back.

  “I love you, too, Rex.”

  TREAT AND MAX sat in the back of the SUV, snuggled against each other like they were keeping warm during a winter storm. Rex tried not to keep looking at them, but how could he not? The way Max gazed into his brother’s eyes and touched his cheek, like the sun rose and set around him, made Rex long for Jade’s touch.

  “Savannah, what’s happening with Connor?” Rex asked, to distract himself from Treat and Max.

  Savannah made her living as an entertainment lawyer, and she’d been A-list-actor Connor Dean’s attorney for the past few years. She’d also been his on-and-off-again lover for the past several months.

  “Nothing’s happening,” she answered.

  “Are you still dating him?” Treat asked again. He’d always been protective of Savannah, and even now, as an adult, he liked to be sure she was okay.

  “We’re…It’s complicated.” Savannah turned toward Rex and asked, “What’s the plan tonight with Jade? I mean, how do you do this not-tell-anyone thing in public?”

  “Hell if I know. This is all kind of new to me,” Rex answered. He pulled his hat down low, wondering the same thing.

  “I think you should just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen?” Savannah flashed a mischievous grin.

  “Savannah, don’t stir the beehive,” Treat warned.

  “What? He deserves to be with the woman he loves, just like you did.” Savannah winked at Max.

  “She’s right, you know,” Max said. “I can’t wait to hear Kaylie sing tonight. She’s amazing. Hey, Rex, can you dance with Jade, or do you have to be totally hands-off?”