The Wedding Rescue

by Dianne Castell

“Heard Alvena had another horse come down with whatever this is.”

  Every muscle in Charity’s body ached. Maybe from fatigue, probably from the sense of helplessness that ate at her insides like a sickness. She put the furry back on the sheet. “Every phone call brings more bad news, horses going from bad to worse. I don’t know where this is all going to end. No one does.” She looked at Tanner. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  He stopped chewing. “Why? What I know about horses you can put on the back of a postage stamp.”

  “You flew all over the Ridge today, paid for the yeast with your own money, and I heard what you did for the foal and Mrs. Chandler’s medication. You didn’t have to do any of those things.”

  “Ha, you were just aching for an excuse to feed me to those bears.”

  This brought a smile. She needed a smile right now. “You still sit a horse like you were born on one. Raising horses may not be what you want to do with you life, but it suits you.”

  She sat on the stool next to Tanner’s and put her hand on his leg, wanting to feel him and to add sincerity to what she said. “You could have taken over one of the best horse farms in the state, but you had to do what you had to do. I respect that, even though I don’t understand it.”

  “Sure you do.”

  She arched her brow in question.

  “Hell, Charity, you follow your dreams every bit as much as I do. When things were tough, you could have sold MacKay Farms and bailed out. Bet Billy Ray would have snapped it up in a heartbeat. Probably one of the reasons he married Savannah was to get his clutches into the place. Bet he was the one who suggested the fifty acres to divorce Savannah. You could have moved the family to town, got a regular job, lived a comfortable life.”

  “And then I’d be horseless. I was horseless once, Tanner, for five long years, and it sucked rotten eggs.”

  He took her hand in his and studied it. “Guess that’s like me being without a plane. I can’t imagine not having a plane or two and taking off whenever I wanted to.”

  Patience came back into the kitchen, a frown on her face. She didn’t say anything but just stood there like a mannequin.

  “Well?” Charity asked, letting go of Tanner and missing the physical connection to him more than she thought possible. “What did Mama say? Are the caterpillars off the hook? Not guilty? Give.”

  “Puck was with her.”

  “We’ve been through this. They’re together in Lexington. He drove. More than likely Mama read aloud the latest issue of Thoroughbred Monthly; they probably ate at Bob Evans off the senior citizens menu. What did she say about the blasted caterpillars? In case you didn’t notice, we need some answers here.”

  “They had a picnic in an orchard, under flowering apple blossoms. She said they noticed the tent caterpillars there, too.” Patience cut her eyes to Charity. “They had wine and cheese and watched the sun set.”

  Charity summoned all her self-control to keep from thumping Patience on her scientific back and yelling, Caterpillars, think caterpillars. “Just spit out what Mama said!”

  Patience rolled her eyes. “All right, all right. She said we should bring what we have to her ASAP. The vets are working twenty-four/seven, so the sooner we get to her the better. She’ll take them to the labs for tests.”

  Charity nodded at Patience. “You should go.”

  “Me? I’m a lowly biology student. What the heck do I know about anything?”

  “You have some pretty neat Latin names for caterpillars and cherry trees and you’re a lot more qualified than the rest of us. You and Tanner can tell the vets what they need to know about things around here. He’s the one who got us on to this.”

  Tanner stood and draped his arm around Patience. “Guess this means me and my copilot here are flying to Lexington tonight. He looked down at her. “You know, you’d love Alaska. Lots of trees, big weeds. Insects the size of small dogs. No sisters telling you what to do. Dandelions grow two feet high in Juneau, and there are ten men for every woman.” He rumpled her hair. “Not that you’d care about that.”

  A devilish grin played at the corners of Patience’s lips. And a twinkle in her eyes? No grins and twinkles, Charity pleaded to any powers that be who were listening at the moment. At this rate she’d get Savannah married off, then have to start worrying about Patience.

  Patience said, “Of course I don’t care. All I want is to get my Ph.D.”

  Well, thank heavens for that. Charity didn’t need any more men problems in the MacKay family. Nathan and Savannah. She and Tanner.

  She and Tanner? She looked at him and her heart did a little flip. More like a big double somersault right off a high diving board. Not that it counted for much because there was no she and Tanner, except for that great sex part.

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON midday sun poured into the entrance of the MacKay’s foaling barn as Tanner strolled through the wide-open arched double doors. He yawned, thankful for the few hours of sleep he’d grabbed in Lexington before he and Patience returned.

  Off-key humming came from the back stalls. Charity. He knew so much about her, the little things. He knew that she hummed and talked to the horses, that she liked tea instead of coffee, the way her hand fit in his, the feel of her fingers on his skin. And he knew the second she came into any room where he was, and the way she looked at him with hunger in her eyes when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. He’d miss those little things. Hell, he’d miss the big thing, too—making love to her.

  He found her in Misty Kay’s stall, pitchfork in hand, tossing fresh hay from a pile as Mama Misty, full and round, waited patiently. He said, “Glad to see someone’s holding down the fort while Patience and I were off lollygagging in the big city.”

  “Tanner?” Her head snapped around and she faced him. Damn he’d missed her. He’d been gone for a whopping sixteen hours and he’d missed her more than he thought possible.

  “Why are you here? Why aren’t you in Lexington? I didn’t expect you back so soon.” She came out of the foaling stall.

  “Just landed at Thistledown and drove Patience home.” He leaned against an upright beam and stuffed his hands into his pockets, enjoying having her so near. He watched her scoop a mound of hay as she’d probably done a million times before…then she dumped it on his head.

  She hadn’t done that a million times before. He righted and wiped hay from his face. “What the hell was that for?”

  Shafts fluttered down around him, sticking in his hair, eyebrows, ears and lips, slithering into his shirt, itching like mad.

  “For not calling me, you big oaf. Blast your Alaskan hide. You stand here all calm and complacent as if you just came back from the Bahamas. You could have phoned. There are phones in Lexington. You know I’m worried into a stupor. It was my hair the caterpillars dropped into. That gives me certain rights and—”

  “I did call and I got the answering machine. You need to get a phone out here. Besides, all you had to do was turn on the TV.”

  She wiped the hay from his shoulders and off his shirt. It was worth getting dumped on just to have her touch him. She continued, “Guess Savannah turned on the machine before she went to see Nate. And what’s TV got to do with this?”

  “Mama Kay and the scientist issued a tentative statement. Preliminary tests point to the caterpillars being guilty by quantity.”

  She stopped brushing. “That doesn’t make one bit of sense.”

  “If you look at the whole picture, it does. There are a ton more of the furry guys this spring because of the lack of rain and abundance of cherry trees. They eat the leaves, releasing the cyanide and—”

  “Cyanide?” She dropped the pitchfork to the concrete floor where it landed with a resounding clank.

  “There’s cyanide in cherry leaves—guess that’s why there’s no such thing as cherry leaf salad. Anyway, the poison gets into their systems and their droppings, which fall into the grass and get eaten by the horses. They can ward off some of the poison as they have in other
years but not such large quantities.”

  “And nobody paid much attention because they’re used to seeing them around in the spring.”

  “Bingo. And the ridge is high and dry. Now we have to cut down the cherry trees around the pastures and limit grazing till the caterpillars turn into moths and we get some good rains to wash away the droppings. Your mother and Puck should be home tomorrow. She’s a media star, the darling of Kentucky. Has the reporters wrapped around her little finger. They’ll probably make her a Kentucky Colonel.”

  “Do they have women Kentucky Colonels?”

  “If they don’t, they will now.”

  Tears pooled in Charity’s eyes and his heart squeezed into a tight knot. He touched her cheek. The horses, this farm, her family were her life.

  “It’s over, Charity. At least, the worst part of it. Everything’s going to be okay because now we know what we’re dealing with and can fix it.”

  Her face lit up brighter than fireworks on the Fourth of July. She jumped into his arms, surprising the hell out of him, the action thumping the back of his head on the beam he’d been leaning against. She rained kisses on his cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. Then she kissed him full on the lips, making his blood flow hot with wanting her.

  Okay, he could handle this. She was happy, a little exuberant. He could want her, he just couldn’t have her, again, and kissing wasn’t having her. He could walk away from a few hot kisses and a one-time lovemaking.

  Then her tongue stroked his and raw male desire sent all his great plans, logical thinking and good intentions up in smoke.

  His heart pounded, passion exploded and a ravenous groan that had been eating at him for two days escaped his lips. He slid his hands under her sweatshirt, needing to feel the warmth of her silken skin against his palms. He splayed his hand across her back.

  He wanted more of her, unobstructed access. He pulled up her sweatshirt, revealing midriff, ribs, her plain white bra. “So practical, so Charity.”

  “I’m working on the practical part.”

  He slipped the shirt over her head and tossed it free, watching it land on Misty’s head. He unsnapped her bra and sent it airborne, to wind up across Misty’s back. Charity drew in a quick hot breath, her passion almost palatable. She gasped, “Maybe practical isn’t so bad, after all.”

  He grinned and fondled her breasts as they swelled, the nipples pinking. “Is that good for you?”

  Her eyes darkened, her cheeks flushed. “Yes,” she whispered. “Is it good for you?”

  “Honey, if it was any better we’d both melt onto the floor.” He kissed her. “And it’s going to get a hell of a lot better.”

  She panted, “Don’t know if I can stand better.”

  He winked, laughed wickedly and scooped her into his arms. Gently he laid her into the mound of clean, fresh hay, which gave way as she settled into it. Then he lay beside her and greedily took her left nipple deep into his mouth.

  CHARITY FELT HER HEAD spin as he sucked at her other nipple, sending electric currents of desire racing through her.

  “Not that I’m all that knowledgeable on the subject,” she gasped. “But making love can’t get better than this.”

  He looked at her, his eyes as dark as wet earth in the spring. He winked, then unsnapped her jeans and rested his hot hand possessively at the junction of her legs.

  Barely controlled lust pulled his features into hard lines and Charity reveled in the fact that she had triggered it. If this was just sex to him and nothing more, then she’d have to deal with it…later. She unsnapped his jeans and slid down the zipper, feeling his erection surge against her fingers.

  “We should take to going barefoot.” He uttered a colorful expletive, sat back and yanked his boots off. He pulled off his shirt, spread it out on the hay and rolled her back onto it. Slowly, deliberately, tantalizingly, he slid off her jeans, flipped them aside and planted feather-light kisses at her navel…then below.

  He parted her legs; her heart racing, her fingers traveled his dark, thick hair. His warm, moist lips connected with the inside of one thigh, then the other, filling her with never-felt-before ecstasy. “Tanner.”

  Was that her voice? She hoped so. She’d hate like heck for anyone else to be around. He slid off his jeans, located the condom and made himself ready for her.

  He looked at her, his breathing uneven, fire in his eyes. Had there ever been a more perfect male specimen than Tanner Davenport—broad-shouldered, narrow-hipped, muscled legs and an erection that made her eyes widen? “Were…were you that big before?”

  He flashed a lopsided grin. “You sure know how to flatter a guy, Kentucky Girl.”

  Then he lowered himself over her and she quivered in anticipation. Her legs parted more, her body welcoming his, as she fell back against the soft hay. His male heat encouraged her to open her legs wider still and he slowly pushed himself into her damp softness, filling every inch of her body and soul with his own.

  She moaned and he kissed her as he pushed deeper still, as her hips arched to meet his. Then he moved, easily at first, driving her crazy with wanting, building a steady rhythm. Her entire body sizzled. Every nerve, every one of her senses was consumed by him. He took her higher and higher till she yelled his name, and they climaxed together, one in body and spirit and desire.

  He kissed her hair, then nuzzled her neck as his body sagged onto hers, pushing her into the hay. If she could only stop time and keep Tanner with her, always like this. But that was impossible; he didn’t care for her, at least not in a just-you-and-me-babe way. Being with him now was just another episode of Great Sex brought to you by Tanner Davenport. Dang. She couldn’t blame him, only herself. He’d been perfectly honest with her.

  Slowly he rolled from her to lie on his back, spread-eagled. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

  Every bone in Charity’s body felt like Jell-O. “More heavenly than last time?”

  “I think it’s a tie. I wonder where our clothes are?”

  She glanced around and giggled. “On the clotheshorse.”

  He cut his eyes her way and she nodded to Misty who was bedecked in her sweatshirt, pants and bra. Tanner laughed. “Hell of a way to treat a pregnant female.”

  “I’ll give her extra oats. You know,” she said, snuggling up to Tanner, loving the way his arm tugged her near, “you’re a hero around here. If it wasn’t for you and your iron bird it would have taken a lot longer to narrow down the problem on the Ridge and we could have lost horses.”

  “I was lucky.” He kissed her forehead. “The scientists in Lexington and Patience and Mama Kay are the ones who pulled it all together.”

  “Yeah, but without you there wouldn’t have been anything to pull. Your daddy would have been proud.” She felt him stiffen at the mention of his father, but pressed on. It was important that he know what she knew. “Everybody cares what their parents think of them.” She turned onto her side and kissed Tanner’s cheek. “That’s from your dad. He reminisced about you a lot. When I was working over at Thistledown, he’d come into the barn, talk to the horses, hum a few bars of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ and—”

  “That’s what you were humming when I walked in tonight.”

  She smiled. “He taught me so many things. We’d discuss the horses, and you and Nathan and your mom and the good times you all had. Mostly he’d talk and I’d groom. I think he helped me to make up for losing you. He made a mistake and was too proud to admit it. I was his penance, Tanner.”

  She smiled. “Do you realize the one thing you both have in common—besides a hard head, a dimpled chin and loving Nate—is helping me?”

  Tanner let go of her and stood. He dusted off the hay, then wrestled on his briefs and jeans. He was quiet, too quiet. She sat.

  “I know you’re trying to help, Charity, but what happened between Dad and me happened a long time ago and nothing’s going to undo it.”

  She took her clothes for Misty and shrugged into her sweatshirt as Tanne
r retrieved his shirt from the hay pile. “But maybe you can understand him a little better. He loved Thistledown and couldn’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t, especially his own son.”

  “If he was alive I probably wouldn’t have come home.”

  “But you did come, to save Nate. And lo’ and behold, you fit in fine around here.”

  He pulled on his boots and slid her a sideways glance as she yanked on her jeans. “So far I haven’t saved Nate from anything. And as long as there was a need for me and my plane, I fit in. But now it’s over.” He smoothed back his tousled hair. “Especially between us.”

  She studied him, letting his words sink in. “That’s very interesting since I didn’t realize there was anything between us in the first place. So tell me, what’s over?”

  His eyes rounded a fraction into an uh-oh expression and he sucked in a quick, guilty breath.

  “You said this was all just sex between us. Some pretty great sex but nothing more. Right?”

  “Right.”

  He started to walk away, but she snagged his arm, turning him back. He peered at her as his breath fell over her in a warm caress. “You’re lying like a cheap rug, Tanner Davenport. You do care about me, just as Savannah said. And I know I care about you.”

  He squared his shoulders. “I’m not lying.” Then his shoulders sagged an inch and his eyes narrowed. “How do you know I’m lying? And you really care about me?”

  “Of course not. I just strip naked and jump into the hay with any man who waltzes in here. Ask Puck. Day and night, men stream in and out.” She waved her arm around. “This isn’t really a foaling barn, it’s Charity’s house of ill repute.”

  “I get the picture.”

  “And I know you’re lying when you do that little half-smile thing. You did it when we were lost in that rainstorm when you said you knew where the cabin was.”

  “I did know.”

  She arched her brow.

  “Look, it doesn’t matter two hoots in a holler how much I care about you. You’re here with the horses. I’m in Alaska with a partner and a business of my own, and that makes us as far apart as two people can get.”