by Nina Crespo
They moved as one. And found pleasure as one in pure ecstasy.
Chapter Twenty
A chiming sound of a text woke Rina up. She lifted her head from Scott’s chest as he slept beside her in bed and peered at her phone lighting up in the darkened room. Moving slowly, she slipped out of his one-armed embrace and quietly got out of bed. The hem of the black T-shirt she’d borrowed from him fell to her midthigh, but without Scott’s warmth she shivered in the air-conditioned room. Grabbing her phone from the dresser, she tiptoed to the bathroom, shut the door and turned on the light.
For a moment she was blinded as she blinked away sleep to focus on the screen. It was four-thirty in the morning and Philippa was texting her.
GM, sunshine. How was your night with Scott?
Rina paused in answering. How did she know she was with him?
GM. Why are you asking me about him?
Philippa’s text bubble popped up with a rolling eyes emoji.
Your car has been in the guesthouse parking lot all night. BTW Zurie noticed too and she’s looking for you.
Zurie was hunting her down? Great. Leaning a hip against the white counter, Rina replied.
Did you tell her?
Dots appeared and seconds later so did Philippa’s answer along with a laughing emoji.
Seriously? No but for the rest of the day I’m avoiding her like bad shellfish. Love you but I’m not lying to my boss.
Rina answered with a heart emoji and closed out her text messaging app. Avoiding Zurie this morning was probably a good idea for her, too. One, she hadn’t had her tea. Two, she needed a moment of silence in the shower. Three—she wanted to hold on to the perfect memory of last night with Scott for a while longer. The best way to accomplish all of that was to leave now before Zurie found her.
After taking care of the essentials and brushing her teeth with one of the complimentary prepasted toothbrushes the guesthouse offered, she slipped out of the bathroom. Using the lit-up screen on her phone for light, she made her way to the bench at the end of the bed and picked up her folded dress.
The sheets rustled. Scott sat up in bed and turned on the bedside lamp. His hair was messy. His eyes were hooded from sleep, and a faint beard shadowed his jawline and framed the mouth that she loved to kiss. “You’re up?” His low husky voice settled inside of her raising goose bumps on her skin. Blinking sleepily, he raked his hand through his hair, and muscles tightened in his arm and bare chest. “What time is it?”
“Almost a quarter to five.”
His gaze moved from her face to the dress in her hands. “Why are you leaving so early?”
“I have to go.”
He reached for the bottled water on the side table. “Have to or want to?”
“I think you know the answer to that.”
“All I know is that you stayed with me last night, which I’m happy about, and now you’re in a hurry to leave. Why?”
He didn’t waste time going straight to the difficult questions. “It’s Belgian waffle special day.”
“Which is Ben’s specialty. He also opens on Sundays. You normally don’t go in until eleven.” His eyes held hers as he removed the cap from the water and took a long sip.
How could she explain that want to didn’t fit anywhere into the equation, but had to... That was a different story. Rina walked over to his side of the bed. She tried to keep her eyes trained on his face, but she couldn’t stop her gaze from lingering on his chest or dropping to the sheet riding low on his hips. Longing pooled inside of her like warm chocolate, wonderful and sweet. The excuse she’d planned to make momentarily escaped from her mind.
He took hold of her hand. “I understand if you’re nervous about us spending time together causing people to pay more attention to your personal life.” A small smile tipped up his mouth as he kissed the back of her hand. “But personally, I’m happy about being with the prettiest woman in town.”
The prettiest woman in town, huh? She almost challenged his claim with a teasing snarky comment, but what did that article say in the same magazine at the dentist’s office where she’d found the pie bars? Something about women needing to embrace compliments instead of downplaying them?
She allowed him to tug her down to sitting on the edge of the mattress. “I’m glad you feel that way, and I’m happy to be with you, too. But for some people, it’s going to take a little more time for them to adjust to me having a personal life.”
“By people you mean Tristan and Zurie.”
She already knew where Tristan stood on the matter. He had concerns, but with Zurie, she’d probably view it as an unnecessary distraction getting in the way of everything from Rina winning the Gwen’s Garden contract to paying off the loan.
“Yes. They’ll have concerns.”
Scott drank more water and set the bottle down on the table. “Concerns are okay, and if they need a minute to adjust, I understand. But I think that adjustment needs to take place on their time not ours.” He intertwined their fingers. “What about you?”
Time. She and Scott didn’t have a lot of it. Why would she let any of it go to waste?
As Scott shifted his legs, the sheet slipped lower.
Rina tossed her dress back on the bench seat.
* * *
Hours later, as Rina stood at the door clothed in the dress and wedge-heeled sandals she’d worn the day before, Scott laid out a path of kisses from her ear down her throat. “Sure you can’t stay longer?”
The brush of his lips over her skin renewed her desire. She’d never wanted to play hooky so badly in her life. “I can’t.” As she rested her hands on his chest, she intended to push away but remained, her heart beating as strongly as Scott’s was underneath his dark shirt under her palm. “I have to go.”
He stopped his gentle assault to look at her. “I wish I wasn’t busy today or tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I’d come see you tonight, but I’ll definitely come by tomorrow night to put up the tiles.”
“I’ll take care of dinner.”
“We can work on dessert together.” His sexy smile said it all.
“That sounds good, too.”
He opened the door and they indulged in one last slow kiss. Her hand lingered in his, a part of her wishing he would pull her back inside instead of letting her leave. If he had, she could have claimed his kisses had wiped away reason. But in reality, responsibility dictated. She had to leave.
Downstairs she got off the elevator following guests with their rolling bags down the hall into the modern wood-floored lobby.
It was morning checkout time.
On the right, sunlight beamed through a window over guests occupying the navy couches in the seating area. The gold frames around paintings on the walls of horses running and grazing in rolling fields gleamed in the natural light.
On the opposite side, more guests stood at the front desk or waited in the short line.
Across the space in the crowd, Rina spotted a familiar face.
Zurie warmly thanked guests for staying at Tillbridge and invited them to come back and visit. In the midst of directing other guests and visitors around the corner toward Pasture Lane Restaurant and the rest of the guesthouse amenities, her gaze landed on Rina.
Smile. Ignore. Deflect. No. Not this time. This wasn’t about business. This also wasn’t a walk of shame. She was a grownup and more than allowed to have a personal life. Rina slid her purse strap higher on her shoulder. Zurie was looking for her, she’d find out why. As she started closing the distance, Tristan walked through the glass front door.
He glanced at Zurie then Rina and his brows rose a fraction. He veered right to Zurie and leaned down to say something to her. As Zurie responded, he subtly guided her around the corner.
Rina paused. Had Tristan purposely gotten in the way or had he really needed Zurie? On the drive home, an incom
ing call rang through the speaker system. Tristan.
What did he have to say? She answered. “Hello.”
“You can drop the lemon pie you owe me for saving you from Zurie at the office.”
“Saving me?” Light traffic flowed past. She slowed down behind the car in front of her. “Last I heard, Zurie just wanted to talk to me.”
“A talk, huh? I can only imagine what the topic would have been. From the look on your face, you were gearing up for a fight.”
“You’re exaggerating. And if Zurie did have something to say to me about a particular topic, I would have politely told her she needed to adjust to the situation.”
“You’re right. She does. What’s happening between you and Scott isn’t any of our business.” He paused. “I’m sorry for butting in yesterday.”
Surprise had her easing her foot off the accelerator. “What made you change your mind?”
“You did.” He huffed a chuckle. “I haven’t seen you this angry at me since my G.I. Joes borrowed your dollhouse.”
“Borrowed? It was an invasion.”
“It was a hostage rescue.”
A laugh slipped out of her. “Either way, I forgive you. And I’ll bring your pie tomorrow.” She never could stay upset at him for long. They were back to their easy relationship. If only she could have the same with Zurie.
Chapter Twenty-One
Juggling two boxes with pies, Rina opened the door leading to the back hallway at the stable. She’d already dropped off pies to Pasture Lane. This was her last early morning stop before driving back to the cafe.
As she walked into the office at the end of the hall, Gloria, the stable’s admin assistant looked from the wide screen monitor on her desk. “Hi, Rina.” The older brown-skinned woman with silver-streaked dark hair peered over the top of her electric-blue–framed glasses. “Let me guess. One of those boxes has a lemon pie for Tristan.”
“As always.” Rina returned her smile as she went to the corner fridge. “And I brought over an apple pie for you.”
“Oh that’s so sweet. Thank you.” Gloria adjusted the white sweater hanging over her thin shoulders and partially concealing the front of her Tillbridge navy shirt. “The grandkids are coming over for movie night. They can have some for dessert.”
“What are you watching?”
“Frozen, for the two-hundredth time.” Gloria chuckled wryly. “I thought we’d finally weaned them off of that one, but apparently, they sang it at school and learned some dance movements to the ‘Let it Go’ song. They can’t wait to show us, and knowing them, they’ll have us singing and dancing right along with them.”
Gloria had the ability to intimidate a grownup with a single stern look, but when it came to her grandchildren, she was a total softie.
“Sounds like fun. Is Tristan in the stable?”
“Yes. He’s helping one of the trainers from the movie set with a horse, but I’m sure he’d like it if you stopped in and said hello.”
“Okay. See you later.” Rina walked out of the office. In the long hall leading to the stable, gold and silver framed photos from the early days at Tillbridge, mostly of her parents, Mathew and Cherie, and Uncle Jacob, hung on the walls. They depicted the highlights of their lives from hanging a sign on the front gate at the opening of Tillbridge to competing in rodeos to happy moments with Rina, Zurie and Tristan.
A photo near the end of the array of her father and mother in a stadium dressed in cowboy hats, Western-style shirts and jeans laughing and embracing each other made her pause. They’d been so happy together. Nostalgia tugged at her heart as she smiled, kissed her fingers and press them to the glass. “Love you.”
She walked into the modern stable. As she went down the wide rubber-floored aisle separating a line of stalls on the right and left, a few horses peeked over the top part of the navy Dutch-style horizontally split doors. Their whinnies and soft snorts echoed along with the low drone of the ventilation system.
Near the end of the aisle in front of a stall on the right, Tristan was talking to another man around his age, dressed similarly in boots, faded jeans, and a short-sleeved, pullover shirt. Scott was with them. She hadn’t expected to see him until dinner.
Tristan noticed her first. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
Scott turned and smiled. For a brief moment she was rooted to the spot as her own smile took over her face. Her heart kicked up and warmth pooled inside of her as she thought about his promise of “dessert.”
Denying the urge to wrap her arms around Scott first, she walked over to Tristan. As he gave her a one-armed hug, she poked his chest. “Someone insisted I make a special delivery.”
He grinned broadly. “You made my day. Rina this is Frank.” He pointed to the man with short, spiky light hair. “He takes care of the horses that are performing in the movie.”
“Hello.” Frank nodded. Too much time in the sun had reddened his nose and cheeks.
The deep chestnut-colored horse inside the stall snorted. As he shook himself from nose to tail, his coat glistened.
He’s beautiful. Rina couldn’t stop herself from gravitating toward the gelding. The horse put his head through the top door opening, and she rubbed along his neck.
“Well that’s a first,” Frank said.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “What do you mean?”
“Nash and Scott were supposed to ride Showdown, but he’s been shying away from everyone, including me.”
“You have? What’s wrong with you, sweetie?” Showdown moved closer and stuck his head farther out. She scratched closer to his ear.
Tristan chuckled. “That’s a promising sign.”
Scott stood just behind her. He was so close she could feel his warmth. “He’s practically eating out of your hand. You’ve definitely got the magic touch.”
Memories of Scott’s caresses heating up her skin raised goose bumps. She couldn’t look at him. If she did, Tristan and Frank would probably see the longing for Scott in her eyes. Rina focused more on Showdown. “Has a vet checked him out?”
“Yes,” Frank replied. “I took him to the vet Tristan recommended last Thursday. She checked him out for colic, viruses, infections, inflammation—even botulism. I just spoke to her this morning. The scan and the blood tests came back negative. She mentioned it could be psychological, but nothing unusual or bad happened to him on the trip up here. The only thing I can think of is that one of the older horses Showdown lived with at my stable passed away, but that was a couple of months ago. He seemed to be over it. He even worked on another movie last month.”
Was Showdown still grieving? Sometimes horses were complicated. At least humans could tell someone what was wrong. Horses couldn’t. With Noble Wind, she’d always been able to feel him out and he’d seemed to sense her moods, too. Showdown’s liquid brown gaze called to her like a plea. “Can I try to ride him?” The words slipped out.
“I don’t see why not,” Frank replied. “He’s better with an English saddle. Are you comfortable with that?”
Four years. That’s how long it had been since she’d been on a horse. She could still hold her own. Right?
Scott lightly rested his hand on her back as he stood beside her.
Learning to face adversity meant starting by trying something first. That’s what he’d said. And when she’d taken that chance by not knowing what was ahead, she’d been able to fly. Maybe she would again with Showdown. But shouldn’t she get back to the cafe?
Rina glanced back at Frank. “I can handle it.” She looked to Tristan. “Do you still have my boots?”
A little over twenty minutes later, she was on Showdown in the exercise ring wearing her tall black riding boots and fresh-out-of-the-package tan riding breeches from sample items the stable had received from a vendor.
Showdown fidgeted and shook his head.
Frank waited off to the side near the entrance to the ring just in case there was a problem. Tristan and Scott each leaned a booted foot on the bottom rung of the white ladder fence surrounding the dirt circle. They watched as she maneuvered Showdown where she wanted him, clearly ready to jump in and help if needed.
Showdown had let her put a saddle on him and hadn’t attempted to throw her off. They were fine.
Excitement and a hint of anxiousness hummed inside of her, but she reined it in. “You’re okay, Showdown.” She patted his neck. “We’re just going to hang out for a little while.”
Using leg cues, she walked him around the ring. Legs before reins. That’s how her mother had taught her to stay controlled and balanced while riding. She eased him into a trot then a canter. Time and the surroundings faded away as muscle memory kicked in. She was simply there for Showdown, learning how he liked to move as she cued him to change gaits, turn and circle. He willingly responded, easily going through the sequences over and over again.
Applause filtered into her concentration.
A couple grooms had joined them and were cheering her on. Frank nodded in approval. Tristan and Scott both grinned at her.
A happy laugh bubbled out of Rina. If only she could take Showdown to the pasture and give him his lead to gallop through the field. But she really had to get back to Brewed Haven.
Reluctantly, she halted Showdown near Frank at the entrance to the exercise ring and dismounted.
Frank’s expression was slightly stoic, but appreciation filled the trainer’s eyes. “Thank you. I was worried that he wouldn’t let anyone reach him.”
“It was my pleasure.” Rina stroked Showdown. “I wish I could stay longer and groom him.”
“Next time,” Frank said. “At least I hope you’ll consider coming back. I don’t know that he’s ready to work yet, but I could tell he enjoyed having you ride him. I haven’t seen him that way in a long time.”
