She turned back to the dog, trying to shut down the negative thoughts. Yes, life wasn’t fair, and bad things happened, and she had to roll with it. But Parker couldn’t be so unlucky as to have a dad who walked away, a mom killed in a car accident, and then his adopted mom…what? She didn’t want to think about it. Life was also full of good things, too. Lucking out on the living arrangements with Mr. Meizner for the last year and a half of his life had definitely qualified to be in the very, very good column of life her and Parker’s life.
Talon cleaned the dog as much as possible without giving it a full bath, sterilized and stitched all the deeper gouges and tears, before what she’d been worried about for the past half hour became obvious even to Colt and Parker.
Parker began fist pumping and jumping around the small cluttered room. Colt muttered “When it rains it pours. Parker, settle down. Dog’s freaked out enough.”
“Oh, right,” he whispered. “Can I watch?”
“Ask your mom.”
Talon watched the beginnings of a very active labor. And blew out a breath. It wasn’t that she hadn’t observed a birth before. She’d helped deliver stuck sheep, calves, foals, llamas and alpacas, and a couple of prized bulls when Noah had been called out either because the ranch was understaffed or too busy or worried because the animal in trouble was more prized for its breeding capabilities. It was just she didn’t know this dog. How sick it was. And because of the malnutrition, it was possible that some or all of the puppies could be stillborn or that the mom wouldn’t have the strength to deliver or nurse. With her schedule, she couldn’t bottle feed puppies.
“Parker, I think we should all keep a safe distance at this point. I’m going to have to take her cone off so that she’ll be able to smell and clean and bond with the puppies, but she’s pretty sick, and, Parker, some of the puppies might not make it.” She forced herself to say it.
“They might.”
“Yes. They might.” She smiled.
She’d always been called Sunnyside Up in the group homes she’d bounced around; especially by the teen years, many girls in long term foster care had a tendency to be sullen, angry, thinking the world owed them something. Her view had not been embraced by anyone but Jenna, which was why they’d probably bonded. Jenna had been positive that “this time it was going to work out and be perfect.” Even though she hadn’t told Talon about Parker’s father, she had been sure he would return for both of them, and each rodeo she’d dragged the two of them around to, she’d always dressed up and looked around with such an expectant air it had broken Talon’s heart, but she hadn’t been able to let her go alone. She knew what it was like to hope, and it seemed like Parker had inherited that as well as his mother’s thick, straight, black hair.
Four years later, and she still thought about Jenna every day. Missed her.
“What do you need me to do?” Colt asked. “Is this bench thing a good long term option? Should I figure a way to safely contain her in case she gets over protective?”
“There’re a few large animal crates in the barn that Noah stores there, but I hate to lock her up.”
“Leave the door open. We’ll put it in the barn. I’ll find some wood to close off one of the pens. She can move, but the pups, if any survive”—he looked at Parker—“will be safe. Parker, want to help me clean up a crate.”
“Awesome.” Parker jumped up from his crouched position.
Colt looked at him a bit bemused. He mouthed awesome at Talon and she laughed.
“Careful, his enthusiasm is contagious.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
Talon watched the progress of the birth and wished over and over that the dog could have held on a few days so she could have gotten some nutrition in her. At least she’d have the bag of fluids although there was plenty of water access this time of year. She prepared some towels, warm water if they needed to clean any surviving pups and then rummaged through her fridge to see what she could give the dog to eat if she were later inclined. She also made a list of supplies she’d need from town. And tried not to think of the cost. Or how they’d take care of one dog and then any resulting puppies.
“One thing at a time.” She reminded herself. “The list.”
Talon finished the list. Grabbed a few more old towels and a heating pad to make an easily washed bed in the crate and happened to glance out the kitchen window. Parker was enthusiastically spraying the crate, while Colt stepped far out of range.
“Smart man.” She breathed, thinking of all the times she’d been hit with Parker’s overly thorough cleaning bouts. Although she would have loved a little of the spray to hit Colt. Okay, to be honest, soak his shirt so she could see the thin fabric plastered to his body. She wondered if he had any tats. Heat pooled low just at the thought of ink on his taut skin, how the ink would flex with his movement, follow the contours of his cut body. He must have ink. She wanted to check it out. Hear the story about each one.
Parker turned off the hose and then Colt lifted the crate high, nearly over his head, but out away from his body, and Talon sighed to watch the flex of his muscles across his back and digging in, defining his arms. He vigorously shook it. Droplets flew everywhere and she could see the breadth of his shoulders narrow down to a V at his hips and she didn’t even bothering trying to distract herself.
My God, he was beautifully made. Did his work in the army keep him so fit? And how was she going to be around all that amazing maleness and deny herself, and why should she? They were adults. He wasn’t staying around long, and he said he didn’t have anyone special. Opportunities this fine and uncomplicated didn’t come around very often. How could she say no? Or get him to say yes?
If she could persuade him to stay in the cabin…her stomach flipped at the idea of having him so close, so accessible although with her dinner shifts at the Main Street Diner and work with Noah and studies she didn’t have a lot of time, but a little time was better than no time.
But what about Parker? She couldn’t let him get attached only to have Colt walk out after a few weeks. But surely he was old enough to understand that. Maybe. If she explained. Or was she being selfish? Or hormone driven? Probably both, she derided, but if he stayed in the cabin, Colt would have a chance to find peace, and settle his uncle’s affairs. He had to do something about the land and the house. Sell it. Lease it. Either way, it meant another change for her and for Parker.
She watched Colt shake the crate again before shifting it to one hand and dangle it and head towards the barn. Parker coiled the hose back like he never did for her. Colt waited for Parker to finish before they both walked back to the house, and her stomach pinched a little when she saw Parker look at Colt sideways and then adjust his posture and walk a little, although that deadly, sexual, prowling swagger did not look the same on her seven-year-old.
She found it hard to breathe. Why was she thinking about a fling? It was selfish because Parker would get attached. Of course he would, and the benefit of having a positive male role model would be outweighed by losing that role model after a few precious weeks. And to be honest, she kicked herself, the longer she was around Colt, the harder it was to see him as just fling material.
She would be strong. Ignore her clamoring hormones.
And then Colt came in just as the first puppy slid out in a gush of fluid and blood, but instead of wiggling, it was ominously still. Parker ran over.
“I want to see. I want to see.” His voice was sharp with excitement.
The dog thrashed and struggled. With one hand Talon tried to sooth her, with the other she wrapped the puppy in a towel and massaged her chest a little.
“Parker.” Her voice was sharper than she intended.
He skidded to a stop, knocked into a shelf, which tumbled his backpack, several pairs of athletic shoes, and his bat to the floor.
“Parker, let’s go get the crate set up for the dog,” Colt said, his voice soft and low, but Talon could hear the command in it. “She’ll need some of
those blankets and we need to find an extension cord for the heating pad. Do you know what one of those looks like?”
“Yeah, we got one. Is it dead, mom?”
“Let her do her work,” Colt said easily, and Talon was a bit surprised when Parker followed Colt out of the room.
“But what if—” Talon didn’t hear the rest of Parker’s question, but she heard Colt’s low voice, quiet and calm. Damn, he was perfect.
Except the fact that he wasn’t hers.
Except the fact that he was leaving in a few weeks.
Except for the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
She cut off her unproductive thoughts. She massaged the puppy’s chest, suctioned its small nose, pressed as hard as she dared on its chest, puffed a bit of air into the puppy’s mouth and was finally rewarded with movement. Sighing with relief, she tucked the tiny pup against its mother and repeated the process with the next pup.
Colt and Parker came back to watch, Parker’s eyes and mouth wide with wonder, but he didn’t speak. But in the end, when the dog slumped, exhausted after a few halfhearted licks of her newborns, three puppies lived and two hadn’t been revived. Parker was heartbroken.
“Can we bury them?” he asked tearfully.
“Sure,” Colt said. “But let’s see if your mom needs me to run into town to get some supplies.”
“Let me wash up.” Talon followed Colt into the kitchen wishing she were paying more attention to her patients instead of his butt, and the way he moved.
She had a fantasy of what it would feel like to sink her fingers into his bare ass and haul him up against her, and it was so realistic she could feel her cervix spasm and clit supernova at the too visual image she was rocking, wetting her panties, which was more excitement than they’d seen in their entire lifetime.
So not the way a twenty-five-year-old woman should be living, her panties seemed to chide. She had to have him, her body demanded, earlier good girl, responsible single mom intentions forgotten.
Parker dashed off to his room to look for a box he could decorate where they could bury the two puppies that hadn’t made it.
“Want me to put the cone back on?” Colt asked as he learned against the counter next to the sink, strong arms folded. She walked up next to him, intending to wash her hands, but instead she stared at the front of his shirt.
“No. Let’s see how she does.”
He smelled amazing. Total man and outdoorsy, a mixture of pine and citrus and something indefinable that made her dizzy. She tried to breathe shallowly but still his scent wafted between them, and she could feel the heat roll off him, with a hint of sweat and wet cotton from when Parker had sprayed the crate, and it was all she could do to not lean into him.
He had a bit of spray from the hose on his neck near his Adam’s apple, and her mouth actually salivated for a taste. What the hell was wrong with her? She hadn’t jumped a guy since…well, since never. She been mildly attracted before and had definitely been an agreeable participant in her younger, less responsible youth, but it was as if she’d been snoozing and Colt sauntered up to her, steeped in silence and mystery, and her body responded as if he’d hooked jumper cables to her nipples. She could feel them beading, tighter and tighter so that even the thin fabric of her bra chafed. He’d been right to tell her not to wear a bra around him, she thought. Too bad she’d been too prudish to heed his advice. She so wanted a repeat of last night’s kiss and then some.
Just thinking about the way his hands had touched her, the way his mouth had dominated hers last night had her aching for more.
Bad, bad, bad. But her bad self rejoiced and her good self was silent, expectant.
“Colt,” she whispered, not knowing what she was going to say next, but needing to hear his name on her lips.
“I saw a list on the counter in the mudroom. Do you need supplies?” His voice was as tight as his expression, and he seemed to be leaning away from her.
She was making him uncomfortable. She spun toward the sink, embarrassed and angry that she kept reading his signals wrong. Talon ignored the question. Her cheeks flamed. She’d totally made a fool of herself and embarrassed Colt. Total rejection. She was like some sex starved, desperate mom, and he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. And she couldn’t blame him. Not really.
She held her hands under the spray of water, staring at them blindly. And then he was behind her, the warmth and strength of his body pressed against her, leeching all the tension and ache and sorrow from her bones. Strong arms wrapped around her, hands smoothed down her arms and then were over hers, massaging soap in, rinsing, and then he dried her hands off with a bright, royal blue hand towel while she focused on her breathing and trying not to let her legs shake. She could feel him hard against her bottom, and it took all her willpower not to spin around and climb him like a jungle gym.
“What do you want?” His words were a harsh whisper in her ear.
Her throat squeezed. She wanted everything. Him. All of him. But she couldn’t say that. It sounded insane even to her, and she was used to living in her head. She hadn’t even known of his existence yesterday at this time. Talon knew she was emotionally needy and she stuffed down the need as much as she could, but having breakfast together, sitting up in the tree and looking out over part of the ranch, watching him with Parker, had given her a peekaboo of a life she’d never had and tried to pretend she didn’t need.
“I need to know.”
“I want so many things.” She turned around, hoping to find some answers in his face but, as usual, his expression was shuttered, his masculine features stamped with restrained emotion, but, oh, so beautiful to her. “Can we talk about it later?”
“When?”
She would have laughed if she didn’t feel so frazzled by her desires and thoughts that were like sparklers in her brain. “Will you stay for dinner?” She took a deep breath and plunged on not wanting to see or hear his ‘no’ “You said you didn’t have plans or a place to stay, and I, well, I’d, we’d—” She was not sure if using Parker would help her case or not. “Love to have you.”
“Sure,” he said finally after his liquid gold eyes had searched hers. “I’ll get the list.”
Talon looked down at her hands that he had washed as if they were magic, as if they were holy. Nothing had ever happened to her like that before. Something so sweet and sensuous and intimate. He would stay! At least for one more night.
“One day at a time,” she said to steady her excitement, and then she remembered dinner. They could grill out. Colt probably ate a lot of meat. To keep up his strength. To build up his muscles. Red meat. She needed to add a lot to her original list.
Chapter Ten
“Colt.” She called out, rounding the corner to get to the kitchen. And slam, all her air was gone again. Colt was shirtless, his back to her. An amazing tattoo of some kind of tree—twisted trunk and branches—speared up his spine and spread out across his shoulders. Woven within the branches she could see the hint of other images, a crest of some sort. Words. And the musculature of his back—he could have been a model for a human anatomy book.
“We were a bit too premature,” he said, turning around, holding his shirt in his strong hands.
Talon stared at all that tanned skin, the flex of muscle in his pecs, his arms, and then when her eyes drifted down to his abs she could feel her lips part like she was going to take a bite, and even though she told herself to close it, her mouth hung open. She was counting. Actually counting his ridges like she was in a math class. Ugh. She was not twelve and she wouldn’t act like it.
“Look what I got.” Colt approached her.
She could see what he had!
“This little guy was just taking his time coming around.”
“Oh,” she said, stupidly looking at the little ball of squirming wet, white puppy.
Pull it together. She was a professional. Or working on becoming one.
“Let me…um…” Where was Parker and his in
terrupting when she really needed it?
There was a strange buzzing in her brain, making it nearly impossible to think. And speaking?
“Let me wash and suction this little guy, and we’ll get him to his mom and see if she accepts him.”
“Why wouldn’t she accept him?”
Why did stern sound so sexy? She’d always imagined she would like easy-going guys. Guys who were open books. Colt was complicated with a capital “C” and she couldn’t get enough.
“He’s smaller than the others. Weaker. And she’s going to need all her energy to nurse the other three. I really need to get her fed and fattened up.”
She quickly wet one of the towels with warm water and rubbed the pup Colt held to stimulate it. She hissed a breath in when a few drops of water trickled down his bare chest and abs to land in the waistband of his pants. She was now envying a drop of water. And was so thirsty.
She stepped in close to Colt, determined to be detached. In control. She suctioned out the pup’s mouth and nose. “Let’s try to reunite them.” She said, proud that she managed to turn away from all the top choice, prime fabulousness like she was the most virtuous vegetarian in town.
She tucked the pup up against his mother, but he didn’t suckle. Talon tried to latch him on, but the mom pushed him away with her nose.
“No, no, no,” Colt said softly, but with a thread of tension in it.
“I’ll keep trying,” she said, not surprised by the mother dog’s rejection but a little bit by Colt’s investment in the proceedings. She added a few things to the list. “There’s a feed store in town and—” She broke off. “You know all that. The basics haven’t changed all that much.”
Basics of man and woman. Basics of skin warm and firm under fingers.
She tucked the pup back close again. Crossed her fingers. Whispered a little prayer.
“Your tree tattoo is beautiful,” she said. “Does it symbolize anything?”
Seducing the Bachelor (The Bachelor Auction Returns Book 3) Page 9
