The Double Deal

by Catherine Mann

  “It wasn’t the horse’s fault. It was an accident. That could have happened in the car or fishing or walking. Things happen. We can’t let accidents keep us from living our lives.” Trystan led a sorrel quarter horse with a blaze out of the stall. Handing the animal’s leather lead rope to Royce, he gave the horse a pat on the neck. “I’ve met Phantom before. Shouldn’t throw you on your ass.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Royce let the sorrel sniff his hand, the whiskers of the gelding tickling his palm. Leading the horse to the cross ties, he looked over at Trystan, who pulled a dapple gray from another stall and led him to another set of cross ties.

  Trystan pulled out two currycombs and a hard brush for them to use. Royce grabbed the currycomb, rubbing sinewy shoulders and flanks in circular patterns, loosing dirt and warming up Phantom’s muscles.

  “Once things settle down with Jack’s recovery, I would like to schedule a meeting to speak with both families together. Just to talk.” Royce brushed the loosed dirt off Phantom and used a hoof pick to clean out his hooves.

  “Naomi was persuasive, huh? She’s always been a top-notch negotiator.” He took them into the climate-controlled tack room and hoisted an intricate Western saddle, saddle pad and bridle for Royce to grab.

  “Actually, it was seeing the Steeles and the Mikkelsons pull together. That integrity made me want to know more about your operation.” He’d been considering the move since they’d arrived here, but now... How awkward might it be to work in the company if he and Naomi weren’t a couple?

  As they exited the tack room, Royce placed a hand on Phantom’s haunches, letting the horse know he was there. In a quick motion, he placed the saddle pad and saddle on the gelding and cinched the girth. Keeping one hand on Phantom’s neck, he moved up to unhinge the halter from the cross ties. Eschewing the halter, he slipped the sorrel’s head into the bridle.

  “Let’s ride and talk.” The dapple gray let out a low nicker as Trystan led him past Phantom and Royce, moving from the barn to the open field.

  “Is this a business test of some sort? And if so, shouldn’t we be in a boardroom?” Royce followed, clicking his tongue to command his horse to follow. The quarter horse responded with a spirited toss of the head and a prance forward.

  They made their way into the open space. Trystan, already seated in the saddle, looked at ease. He leaned on the horn, tipping his Stetson. “I’m not the boardroom sort. Let’s call this more of a challenge.”

  Staying silent, Royce pulled himself up into the saddle adjusting his weight.

  “A rite of passage, really—” Trystan urged the dapple forward “—if you expect to be a part of this motley crew.”

  “I think you have that backward. I’m the one deciding if I want to share my research with your company or another.” Squeezing his calves, he prompted Phantom into a working trot.

  “I’m not talking about business. I’m talking about the way everyone’s blending all these families together. I may not be as diplomatic as the rest of them, but since Naomi’s not my sister, I’m also less likely to punch you in the face. So I got nominated to take measure of you. And, well, I guess you’ll do.” With that, Trystan and the dapple surged forward, kicking off into a headlong gallop. A challenge indeed.

  At Royce’s whoop, Phantom lunged into a gallop, gaining ground on Trystan. Each stretch of the stride seemed to melt some of the tension away. It’d been too long since his last ride.

  After a quarter mile along the beaten path through sprawling trees, Trystan slowed his horse into a loping canter and then a slow trot. Reluctant to disengage from the speed, but eager to see what Trystan meant by his comment, he slowed Phantom down.

  “Hmm?” The nonanswer hung in the horse-length distance between them. The sounds of the others riding carried on the wind. The roar of a snowmobile hummed as Aiden drove just ahead.

  “What?” Trystan asked. “Nothing to say?”

  “I didn’t hear a question.” A technicality on Royce’s part.

  Trystan cast a glance backward at the family they’d left behind, then shifted forward in the creaking saddle again. “Are you and my future stepsister seeing each other?”

  Such a loaded inquiry. One that made Royce reel. The fight from earlier flashed before his eyes, the fear of losing the woman in his life again, a woman pregnant with a child he was already learning to care about. “No, we’re not.”

  “Man of few words. I like that. But it’s obvious to all of us that the two of you have some kind of connection.”

  “You’re a little old for the overprotective stepbrother routine,” Royce said drily, stroking Phantom’s neck as they slowed to a walk.

  Barking out a laugh, Trystan shot him a look. “Clearly you don’t have siblings.”

  “Touché.”

  “Well, if you are seeing each other—or plan to be seeing each other again—be careful with her. I’ve been around horses enough to get a sense of things. Naomi’s more softhearted under that tough exterior than people think.”

  “I noticed.”

  “And there’s the baby to consider—as you told everyone.”

  Royce scratched along his neck, remembering Naomi’s pain over how he’d shared her secret before she was ready. “I’m an intelligent man. This is all obvious.”

  Or rather it should have been.

  “Okay, then there’s this. Be very certain before you start a relationship with her. My brother Chuck, my future stepbrothers and I outnumber you five to one. Not to mention my baby sister is quiet, but can hold her own in ass-kicking.”

  Unlike earlier, Royce realized he wasn’t looking at data or science at all. He was hearing the words, the way he’d learned from Naomi. He tuned into the nuance. To the way data was framed. The word outnumbered echoed in his mind. Outnumbered positioned him as a threat, sure, but also signified to his mind that even as a fully capable and dynamic adult woman, her brothers thought of her in the framework of the teen who was sick with cancer.

  Well-intentioned, just as he’d been earlier by insisting she eat, insisting she rest. No wonder her reaction had been so severe. So sharp. She constantly worked to not feel smothered. To not be pampered. She wanted to be taken seriously and seen as strong.

  He knew she was strong.

  So what could he do to win her back? To prove he could be the man a strong woman like her needed and wanted in her life?

  This time, it couldn’t be about the numbers or logic. He was going to have to dig deep for what came tougher for him, the part that—because of Naomi—he was learning was crucial.

  Because Naomi was his future and if he wanted to win her—and God, he did—then he knew.

  He would have to lead with his heart.

  * * *

  Pacing around her loft, Naomi couldn’t seem to work out the problem that had nagged at her mind for the past few hours. Guilt over how things went with Royce, how she’d snapped at him, tore at her soul. And yes, it had something to do with the fact that scared her down to the core of her being.

  She loved him.

  There. That certainty swelled in her chest. It ought to give her relief. But there was still the issue of her needing to be an equal partner, cared for, sure, but not smothered. How could she make things right while ensuring he understood?

  Could he understand?

  Of course, all of that was contingent on him even wanting to see her again after their fight.

  Another turn about the room didn’t bring on the inspiration of a plan. Nope. She came up empty again. Every apology sounding horrible as she imagined the conversation in her head.

  Those thoughts would have to wait. Her cell, which she’d clutched as she paced the room, screamed to life in her hand. Glancing down at the screen, her heart beat out of time.

  Royce.

  For a moment, she’d forgotten he’d placed
his number into her phone. And it wasn’t just a phone call. He wanted to video chat.

  So much for having her plan smoothed out.

  She stroked back her hair, breathed in and out to steady herself, then tapped the screen. His dark eyes smoldered, struck into her.

  Naomi wished she’d taken in a couple more of those bracing breaths. “Hello. Did you leave something here?”

  He gave her a lopsided smile. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

  Her heart sunk. She’d been hoping... “What is it? Let me know where to look and I’ll leave it with one of the staff.”

  “It’s not something you can return, actually.”

  She searched his face, hoping, and yet still wary of voicing as much. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  His smile—full-on shining now—made her heart skip a beat.

  “Look out of your window, Naomi.”

  Her window? She walked to the enclosed balcony and...her heavy heart leaped right into her throat.

  Royce stood in the snowy yard, with Tessie by his side. Just like something out of a movie. He’d come to her, tall and handsome against the background of glistening trees. She looked at the phone image of him again and wondered why she hadn’t recognized the surroundings before. She could hardly believe he was here, after the way she’d pushed him away at the hospital.

  Tessie barked once, twice, pulling Naomi’s attention back to the phone, back to Royce and the hope that they could rediscover what they’d found at the retreat. “Are you going to stay out there or are you planning to come inside?”

  “I could, but actually I had something else in mind. Do you think you could come down so we can talk more about what I left at your place? I would come up there, but I’m fairly sure we’ll end up in bed together and there are some things we should discuss.”

  He was reaching out and from the roguish grin on his face, what he wanted to say was most definitely something she wanted to hear. “I’m on my way down.”

  She practically tripped over her own two feet as she tugged on her pink parka, snow boots and sheepskin gloves. A blur took her from loft to elevator, barely registering the rest of the compound as determined footfalls led her outside to the chilled air. To Royce.

  Flipping up her hood, she raced to where he stood. An enchanted prince against a snowy backdrop. Tessie bounded in the fresh powder to Naomi, tail wagging with anticipation and excitement. Naomi tilted her head, gesturing to the landscape. “Where have you been?”

  “Here, actually. I came to get Tessie and ended up going riding with Trystan. It gave me some time to think, get perspective.” He extended a hand to her. “Would you like to go on a sleigh ride so we can talk?”

  Joy shimmered inside her at his magical offer, all the more special as it was unexpected from the reclusive scientist who claimed his life was all about work.

  “You know how to handle a horse and sleigh?” A rhetorical question, really. She was more taken by the fact he’d arranged this for her, for them.

  “I’ve driven a wagon in Texas.” He shrugged a shoulder, confidence glinting in his eyes as he stepped closer. “I’m hoping it’s the same. But if it’s not, I trust my Alaskan companion can teach me how.”

  Was he serious? He’d been worried about her falling off a balcony, for crying out loud. Would he give her that kind of control?

  “You’re willing to let me drive?” She said it slowly, wanting to be sure he understood the underlying issue.

  She needed to feel like he trusted her to be strong. Capable.

  “Of course. I’m trying to send a message here, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not always as good at emotions as I am at science.” He extended his hand again. “But I am trying,” he repeated.

  This time, she took his hand, and together they made their way toward the barn, snow crunching beneath their feet.

  Off to the left was her father’s old-fashioned sleigh with two draft horses—Mars and Jupiter—already hitched. Mars shook his head, the rustle of bells filling the air with a hint of holiday cheer in an Alaskan spring.

  Climbing into the sleigh, she grabbed the plaid blanket he’d placed on the seat, then waited while he unhooked the horses from the post. Anticipation mounted in her chest. That determined heart of hers no longer feeling heavy, but alive, pounding with excitement.

  Stepping into the sleigh, Tessie close at his heels, he passed the leather reigns to her, an earnest gesture.

  His gloved hand touched hers in the exchange, that electricity once again growing between them, warming her from the inside. She clicked her tongue, urged the two draft horses forward. The sleigh gained momentum, gliding in the yet untouched snow.

  Royce sat next to her under the blanket, his leg touching hers, maintaining contact that almost threatened to distract her from driving and the scenery of a slowly sinking sun behind fresh white land.

  Her land. Silence stretched as she enjoyed the view, this pristine beauty that stole her breath as fast as the man beside her. Chunks of ice breaking loose in the water caused the family seaplane to bob, seeming to nod approval at their journey. She could see tracks where her brothers had ridden earlier today. As she passed the tree house she and her siblings had used as children, her heart nearly burst. So many memories here, in this place.

  “Naomi.” Royce’s low voice rumbled like a river through her thoughts, drawing her into the present. The beautiful present. “How’s your father doing?”

  “Sleeping well, as of when I spoke to Delaney an hour ago. The last nurse’s check showed all great vitals. No recurrence of the high blood pressure.” She couldn’t ask for more. Family was everything, a blessing she hoped to expand with the baby she carried.

  And with Royce?

  The possibility warmed her far more than any blanket.

  “That’s good, really good.”

  Her grip tightened on the reins. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you at the hospital.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for. While I was out with Trystan, I realized something.”

  “What’s that?” She pulled on the left rein with a tug-tug, signaling a change of direction to the horse team, striking out for the trail leading through a bower of snow-laden trees. Her favorite path.

  “We moved so fast that while we got the basics, we don’t know each other enough to instinctively understand where the other person is coming from,” Royce said, resting a gloved hand on her knee.

  His touch and words pulled her gaze back to him and she realized no way could she keep her attention on driving any longer. She slowed the horses until they came to a stop with a snort. Tessie, who had been on Royce’s other side, hopped out to tunnel through piles of snow in that way of hers that was becoming familiar and dear.

  Naomi shifted in her seat to face Royce. “Okay, I can see that. Is that your way of saying you understand I was on edge at the hospital?”

  “More than that.” He took her hand and linked their fingers, squeezing lightly. “You told me your family smothered you, and I didn’t listen, not really.”

  “You were being thoughtful. I realize that now. And you have your own fears from your past.”

  “You know those facts, just like I know the facts of what you went through. But fully trusting each other? That takes time.” His voice, so strong, filled the cold air with warm puffs.

  “Are you saying you want us to take that time?” She needed to hear him say it outright, to be sure she hadn’t misunderstood. And yes, maybe she wanted to savor the words, as well.

  “Yes, that’s what I’m saying.” Simple words, but honest and up-front—as this man had always been with her.

  She had to clear up one last, but vital, question. “Even though I’m pregnant?”

  “Yes. In fact, I seem to recall that I told everyone, when that should have been your news to share. I apologize for
taking that joy from you. I have the reputation as a recluse for a reason. Relationships and communication? Not my strong suit.”

  “You’re doing really well right now. And to be fair, I started things off on the wrong foot between us, not being honest.” Guilt pinched her even more than before, now that she knew him, respected him. Loved him. “I should have been honest with you. Now you’ve been more than fair in how you’ve dealt with my family. In how you’ve forgiven me.”

  “You’ve had solid reasons for your actions. I understand logic.”

  She laughed lightly, relieved and glad she’d trekked up the mountain to meet this man on that snowy day. “Thank you. You’ve made me so very happy.”

  “It’s that simple to make you happy?” he asked, his brilliant eyes a hint bewildered.

  “It’s a good start.” She took his hands. “But what makes you happy?”

  “Loving you.”

  She blinked, swiped snowflakes from her vision and wondered if perhaps she’d heard wrong. No one other than family had ever said that to her. And certainly no one in the romantic sense. She’d given up thinking she’d have this kind of love. She would have never imagined this kind of happiness when she went to that clinic alone to start trying for a baby.

  She swallowed down a lump of emotion and asked, needing to hear it again, “What did you say?”

  “I said that I love you, Naomi Steele. You blindsided me from the moment I first saw you in a snowstorm shouting down a bear.” His smile dazzled her. “I’m still working on the details of how we fit as a couple, but damn it, I know we have something amazing here. Once-in-a-lifetime amazing, and I want us to work together to build a future together, with the baby—Am I going too fast for you again?”

  “Not too fast at all. Just perfect. Absolutely perfect.” She stroked his strong jaw. “I’d been making lists of possible names, but I’m wondering. Would you like to do that together?”

  He kissed her hands clasped in his. “I would like that.” A wealth of emotion shifted through his deep coffee-brown eyes. He tucked her close, a perfect fit. “What are you thinking?”