The Child Between Them

by Helen Lacey

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  About the Author

  Helen Lacey grew up reading Black Beauty, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie. These childhood classics inspired her to write her first book when she was seven years old, a story about a girl and her horse. She continued to write with the dream of one day being a published author. Now she is published by Harlequin®™ Enterprises Ltd and also has her self-published books. She loves creating stories about cowboys and horses and heroines who get their happily ever after.

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  Coming Soon…

  Men of Mulhany Crossing

  Her One And Only (Men of Mulhany Crossing, Book 3)

  Veterinarian and all-round great guy, Sam Beckett, is definitely over Jesse Redmond. Five years ago she left him and Mulhany Crossing and the life they’d planned together. In fact, she’d left the day before their wedding! But now she’s back and Sam is determined to never forgive her. However, when her beloved horse is injured, Jesse calls Sam and he’s forced to face her again. The last thing he wants to do is to help the woman who left him at the altar and broke his heart.

  Jesse has no illusions about Sam. He hates her. She hurt and humiliated him five years ago and she will never be able to make him understand why she had to leave. They were over. At least, that’s what she thinks. But fate, it seems, has other ideas.

  The Taming Of Levi Miller (Men of Mulhany Crossing, Book 4)

  Ex-rodeo champion Levi Miller has a reputation for fast women, fast cars and more than his share of bar fights. When forced to do community service after a brush with the law, Levi ends up at Serenity Farm, a camp for troubled kids. Easy time, he thinks. Until he meets counselor and former nun Julie Ward. The no nonsense, charm-proof blond sees right through him…and soon becomes his undoing.

  Julie is determined that super-sexy, super bad-boy Levi won’t get under her skin, into her heart, or into her bed! But add into the mix a meddling grandfather, a bar-room wager and a troublesome alpaca named Nobby, and Julie soon discovers that the bad-boy she dislikes, is the best man she had ever known!

  Read an Excerpt from:

  Her One And Only (Men of Mulhany Crossing, Book 3)

  ©Copyright Helen Lacey

  Chapter One

  Weddings had always made him uneasy.

  Okay…not always.

  Sam Beckett tugged at the tie constricting his neck and managed to smile at something the woman at his side said to him. He’d been struggling all afternoon, trying to keep the smile plastered on his face and maintaining a reasonable façade of civility. And she seemed nice enough. She was a friend of the bride and he’d been partnered with her for the ceremony. He made polite conversation and told her she looked nice in her pale pink dress. It’s what was expected of him, after all. And he always did the right thing. He was the go-to guy. The peacemaker. Mr. Reliable. The person who everyone knew could be counted on to get things done, to fix a problem, or be on hand to make things right.

  Yeah, he was a freaking boy scout.

  He drained the Club Soda he’d been cradling for the past thirty minutes and got to his feet, politely excusing himself to the woman he was seated with, and then headed for the bar area situated at the end of the tent. The dance floor was packed with couples swaying to some corny country tune that barely registered on his radar. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d danced. Couldn’t remember the last time he’d done much of anything other than work and sleep and be the all-around, steadfast, wonderful guy that he was.

  He laughed to himself and traded his empty glass for another full one. If he wasn’t on call he would have downed a bourbon straight—but the locum who worked alternate weekends at his veterinary clinic had been called out of town for a few days due to a family emergency, so Sam was forced to be on call for the whole weekend—wedding or not.

  “You look like you want to be somewhere else?”

  He turned and faced the owner of the deep voice talking behind him. Levi Miller. His best friend. Probably the one person who knew exactly how much he didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of a wedding. Any wedding. Since his own disastrous attempt nearly six years earlier.

  Well, his almost attempt.

  He didn’t actually make it to the altar. His ex-fiancé had bailed twenty-four hours before the ceremony. His very own runaway bride. He really was a damned cliché.

  Sam shrugged and cradled his drink. “Gotta stay. Groomsman duties,” he said with a wry smile. “Like you.”

  Levi laughed. “Well, Marshall is our friend, it’s the least we could do.”

  They both glanced to where the bride and groom were dancing closely. Marshall Harris and his new wife, Holly, looked ridiculously happy. And they’d fought long and hard to get to this point. Holly looked radiant and beautiful in her gown, Marshall looked like a man who had everything he’d ever wanted. And he supposed, his friend did. Marshall was now married to the woman he loved, a woman who clearly loved him in return, and they were expecting a baby. It was a nice, happily-ever-after.

  Some people, it seemed, got what they wanted.

  “Your bridesmaid’s cute,” Levi said and grinned. “You plan on taking her home tonight?”

  Sam shook his head. “She’s not my anything. And her name is Siobhan.”

  Levi shrugged, and was clearly amused that he had remembered her name. “I’ll trade you for the nun.”

  His friend has spent most of the afternoon with Julie Ward, the other bridesmaid, who had actually been a nun up until a couple of years ago. Sam really liked Julie—she was a no-nonsense, no frills kind of woman and he figured Levi’s reaction to her was because she didn’t have any reaction to him. Levi, a champion bronc rider, had always had a revolving door on his bedroom and women were attracted to him like bees to a flower. Unlike Sam, who was usually plonked into the friend-zone. Not that he was looking for a relationship. Far from it. But he couldn’t deny that a little female companionship might do him some good. But he wasn’t about to start hooking up with bridesmaids. Casual flings were Levi’s specialty, not his.

  “I’m guessing Julie’s immune to your charms,” Sam said and grinned.

  Levi made a disinterested face. “It’s a mutual immunity issue.”

  Sam laughed. “You’re so damned predictable.”

  “And you’re not?” Levi shot back. “For the record, you’re unbearable these days. You should hook up—getting laid would do you some good.”

  He didn’t deny it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent the night in a woman’s bed. Months. Damn…eight months to be exact. And that had been a part of a fleeting, two-month relationship with an intern at the local hospital. She’d since left town, and Sam was relieved he didn’t have to pass her in the street after breaking things off. He wasn’t good at hurting people and knew that Averill had begun feeling something that simply wasn’t there for him. So, he’d broken it off and when her contract was up, she’d moved on. Still, the guilt lingered.

  “You’re a jerk,” he said to his friend.

  Levi didn’t deny it. “And you can’t admit the real reason for your bad mood. But you’re not fooling anyone. It’s all because—”

  Jesse’s back…

  Sam didn’t need to hear the words to recognize the truth.

  He’d been wound up as spring for the last month, particularly the last two weeks since she’d come back to town. Jesse Redmond. Brown eyes. Brown hair. Curves that had always set his blood on fire. Too bad she’d also busted his heart and ego into a thousand pieces.

  And too bad everyone knew she’d done exactly that.

  Their breakup had become part of the town’s folklore. Everyone knew the story about how the then twenty-five-year old Jesse had bailed right after the wedding rehearsal dinner, leaving her gown, bouquet and ring be
hind, and a note that said two words—I’m sorry. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d hightailed it out of town with her beloved horse, Sam’s truck, and with the wedding photographer! It was Levi who’d told him, Levi who’d borne the brunt of his disbelief and then his quickly gathering rage. Levi who ended up with a black eye because Sam was so angry, so humiliated, that he’d aimed to punch the wall and instead had connected with his best friend’s face.

  The truck was returned a few days later, but Jesse hadn’t set a foot back in Mulhany Crossing since the day she left. That is, up until two weeks ago. Now, she was back, living at her parent’s farm—and he assumed she was keeping a low profile, as neither he or any of his family or friends had seen her since she arrived. Of course, his mother had spoken about Jesse. In passing a couple of times and once, the day she arrived in town. His dad was a little more discreet, making a couple of grunting sounds when his mother mentioned her. And Sam knew they were all geared up and waiting for his reaction—his rage and resentment toward the woman who had callously busted his heart into pieces.

  But all Sam felt was numbness.

  He’d stopped thinking about Jesse a long time ago. Stopped wondering. Stopped hating her for wrecking the plans they’d made. Stopped believing that she’d ever loved him. How could she? She’d walked out without a backward glance or any real explanation. And a few weeks after she left Sam got a letter in the mail…Dear John…or words to that effect. She was sorry, but she’d changed her mind about getting married. She wanted to concentrate on her equestrian career. He’d thank her for it one day. He’d read the single page letter countless times since, and every time he saw the truth between the lines. She didn’t love him. She didn’t want to be trapped in a marriage to a man whose only ambition was to remain in the small town he lived most of his life, work at the veterinary clinic that had once been his father’s practice, and finally settle down to raise a family.

  And now she was back. Minus the photographer, it seemed. Truth be told, Sam had no idea if she’d hooked up with the other man after she’d done a runner. And he didn’t want to know. She could be married with a couple of kids for all he cared. But he doubted it. The rumor mill echoed with stories about how she’d returned home after having a bad accident on the equestrian circuit, alone, and was now keeping a low profile at the parents’ farm. He didn’t know the extent of her injuries and didn’t care one way or the other.

  Sam drank some soda and ignored Levi’s words. His friend liked dissing him and he wasn’t in any mood to retaliate. He glanced at his watch. Seven-fifteen. Too early to bail.

  “Do you think you’ll ever have that?” Levi asked, his voice suddenly serious as he motioned toward the bride and groom.

  Sam shrugged. “Don’t know. You?”

  His friend laughed softly. “Can you imagine me married?”

  “No woman would put up with you,” said a soft, female voice from behind them.

  Lana, Levi’s twin sister, sidled in between them and nudged her brother’s shoulder.

  “So you say,” Levi protested. “I reckon I could get someone to marry me if I put my mind to the job.”

  “Marriage is overrated,” Lana said dully, clearly remembering her own brief marriage and then bitter divorce. “And you’re not civilized enough to settle down with one woman. Sam, on the other hand…” Lana said and winked. “He’s marriage material.”

  “God, get a room, you two,” Levi said and groaned disagreeably.

  Sam chuckled. He and Lana had tried dating years earlier, but they had zero chemistry. She was like a sister to him, and he was pretty sure she mostly found him as annoying as her brother. She was also one of Jesse Redmond’s friends.

  But Lana had been unusually discreet and hadn’t uttered a word to him about her friend’s return to town.

  Until that moment.

  “I saw Jesse yesterday,” she said and ignored the way her brother gently jabbed her in the ribs with his elbow. “She’s lucky to be alive.”

  Sam offered a disinterested grunt. “Whatever.”

  “I didn’t say anything about you,” Lana said and groaned. “If that’s what you’re worried about. Actually, she seems different. Kind of…I don’t know…lost. Her horse died, did you know that? Perhaps that’s why she’s so sad. You know how much she loved that horse. I guess after having such a horror accident you wouldn’t be…”

  Sam zoned out. He didn’t want to talk about Jesse. Or speculate about Jesse. Or think about Jesse. He just wanted to forget she existed and carry on with his life in Mulhany Crossing as usual.

  “Holy crap, Lana,” Levi said irritably. “You talk way too much. Get a filter, will you?”

  She scowled at her brother and left them and once she was out of sight, Sam realized that Levi was about to say something about his sister’s renowned lack of tack.

  “Forget it,” he said and waved a hand. “We all know what Lana is like. That’s why we all love her,” he added and grinned. “And it’s natural that anyone and everyone in this town is gonna want to talk to me about my ex fiancé at some point.”

  Levi raised a brow. “You can’t even say her name, can you?”

  “Sure I can,” he lied. “I just choose not to live in the past. And I was thinking that maybe I will get back to my bridesmaid,” he said and saw Levi’s expression lighten. He was about to excuse himself when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Sam quickly checked the message and saw the text from his vet nurse, Karen. He had a call out. An emergency. An injury to a horse. He stared at the name and address and groaned inwardly.

  Gary Redmond. Four Winds Farm.

  Uneasiness settled in his gut. He liked Gary and had been out to the Redmond farm many times…but not since Gary’s daughter had returned to town.

  He took a long breath and replied to the text.

  “I gotta’ go,” he said to Levi. “Work.”

  As he left the reception and headed to his truck, Sam realized a gut-wrenching fact. There was no getting away from it. He was heading out to the Four Winds.

  And he was probably about to come face-to-face with the woman who had busted his heart and left him at the altar.

  *****

  Jesse Redmond maneuvered her crutches and hopped on one leg against the side of the stable. The old paint mare—a horse she had since she was seven years old—looked uncomfortable and distressed. And no sweet wonder. Poor Sugar had become entangled in a misplaced roll of fencing wire and now had a deep and jagged injury on her back leg.

  She patted the mare, grabbed the crutches and regained her balance. After seven weeks of relying on them to get around, she was counting down the days until the cast came off her left leg. Seven weeks and three days, to be exact, since the surgery that she’d endured ten hours after the day her life was irrevocably changed. She lost her career, her beloved horse Romeo, and was lucky to not be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Very lucky, according to her surgeon. But mostly, Jesse didn’t feel lucky. She felt alone and completely out of pace with the rest of the world.

  “How’s it looking darlin’?”

  Jesse glanced sideways. Her father, Gary, was standing by the door, his hand on his chin, shaking his head as he always did when he was sure things were hopeless. Jesse’s heart constricted. She loved her father, but he was such a glass-half-empty kind of man, she was exhausted trying to pep up his spirits.

  “The same. She won’t let me near the leg.”

  “Well,” he said on a sigh. “The vet will be here soon.”

  Jesse’s already churning stomach did a loop-the-loop. The vet. Her father assured her that the locum worked on the weekends. And she hoped that was true. The last thing she wanted to do was face the man she’d left at the altar over five years earlier. She wasn’t ready. She doubted she ever would be.

  He’s in the past…

  He probably won’t even remember me…

  He would have moved on by now…

  But Holly knew he wasn’t married. Didn’t
have children. And wasn’t dating anyone at the present time. Her friend Lana Miller had filled her in on his movements. Not that Jesse had asked. But Lana had mentioned him several times over the past two weeks. And she was certain he was still the same man he’d once been—still as handsome, still as tall, still as broad in the shoulders, still have the same glittering blue eyes, and still be as honest and ooze integrity. Yeah…he wouldn’t have changed one iota since the day she’d left.

  “Your mother has made tea,” her father said and began to walk off. “I’ll bring something out for you later.”

  Once he left the stables, Jesse hobbled out and managed to shove some hay into a net for Sugar, but the old mare wasn’t interested in food. She patted the mare, inhaling the familiar scent of horse and straw that she loved so much. She’d missed Sugar, and her parents, and her friends and the life she’d had in Mulhany Crossing.

  But…not enough to stay.

  Her dreams had beckoned. Her longing for a different kind of life. Dreams manifested by ambition and also the fear that she would end up unhappy and disillusioned and resentful if she’d stayed and settled down in marriage with a man who was clearly content to remain in the small town for the rest of his life.

  But now she was back. Broken and trying to pull together the scraps of a life that at times felt as though it belonged to someone else. Her old room looked the same, the faded posters on the wall looked familiar, the quilt in the bed as colorful as it had been when she was a teenager. But she felt like an interloper, as though she was merely passing through. Perhaps that’s why she hadn’t completely unpacked her suitcase. If her parents noticed her mood they hadn’t said anything. Neither had her youngest sister, Bree. Which wasn’t really surprising, since Bree was only eighteen and was wrapped up in her own life. Her middle sister, twenty-seven-year old Clare, was a nurse and lived in town. She was married to a soldier currently deployed in the Middle East. Clare had a two-year-old child and was full of advice about Jesse’s rehabilitation from her injuries and what she should do now that her career was indefinitely on hold. It wasn’t that she didn’t get along with her sisters—she did—but she’d been away for so long and they’d all gotten along just fine without her being around.