For Keeps

by Rachel Lacey

  He frowned, feeling somewhat like an ass. “You didn’t have to leave them in the car.”

  She glanced up, brows furrowed, but then Amber trotted into the room, tail wagging, and Merry’s face lit up. “Amber!” She bent and gathered the dog into her arms. Amber licked her face eagerly. “T.J., she looks amazing. She’s really blossoming here with you.”

  He shrugged. “We’re doing okay.”

  “No, really, this is a huge change. She was overwhelmed at my house with Ralph and the puppies. It was too much for her. She likes it here.” She paused. “She likes you.”

  The air between them heated. Merry sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest. Nope, she wasn’t going to initiate things again, not after the way he’d treated her last time. Couldn’t say he blamed her.

  He could have handled that better, but he wasn’t wrong. He and Merry weren’t compatible romantically, no matter how hot she made him.

  “Did you come by for something in particular?” he asked, before he lost his mind completely and crushed her against the wall again. Right now he was aching to do just that.

  “I did.” She looked away. “Some money went missing from my purse yesterday.”

  “What? How much money?”

  “Five dollars. It’s not a big deal, except…” She trailed off, still not meeting his eyes.

  Why was she telling him this? Unless… “Are you suggesting someone from camp took money out of your purse?”

  She nodded. “I can’t be sure, of course, but I’ve been leaving it in the barn. I know I had a twenty and two fives in there yesterday morning. One of the fives is missing.”

  “Are you sure?” Because he had no fucking clue how much cash was in his wallet. Seemed a little OCD to keep such close track, and Merry didn’t exactly strike him as that type.

  “Yes. I went to the ATM on Tuesday to get cash to pay for a prescription for one of the fosters. When I got to the pharmacy, there wasn’t enough.”

  “Don’t you have a credit card?”

  She rolled her eyes, and he remembered watching David decline her card last week. How much trouble was she in?

  “That’s beside the point. Someone took five dollars out of my purse. The only time I left it unattended was here in the barn. I’m not trying to start any trouble. I just thought you should know.” She turned and stalked toward the front door.

  Amber followed at her heels. Traitor.

  “You’re saying one of the kids took it?”

  She shrugged. “I’d hate to think so, but kids these days, who knows? Like I said, I don’t want to make any accusations. I just thought you’d want to know.”

  “You’re sure you didn’t spend it?”

  She spun, hazel eyes snapping. “You think I’d be standing here if I wasn’t sure?”

  “You’ll leave your purse here at the house from now on.”

  “Fine.”

  “And let me know if it happens again.”

  “You got it.” She waved a hand over her shoulder and breezed out the front door, taking Amber with her.

  T.J. stood there, watching her go. Had one of the kids stolen from her purse? It was a disturbing thought. He couldn’t picture any of those kids for a thief. Sweet Jules, the girl with Down syndrome? Never. Lucy sat in a wheelchair. Parker? The boy had an attitude, but he was just a kid, and his mom drove a Mercedes. Surely he wasn’t hard up for five dollars.

  He’d be keeping a closer eye on them at any rate. There’d be no stealing on his farm, under his watch. And Merry Atwater? He’d be watching her closest of all.

  * * *

  This was embarrassing, having to wait around after camp to go up to the house with T.J. and get her purse. It almost felt like she was the one under suspicion.

  Knowing T.J., that might be the case.

  Merry narrowed her eyes at his back as she waited for him to finish fussing over his horse and turn her out to pasture with the others. He knelt beside Peaches, pressing and prodding her right front leg.

  “Everything all right?” She leaned against a stall door and crossed one foot over the other.

  T.J. stood, frowning. “She was lame during lessons this morning. I’ll give her some bute and see how she does over the weekend, but I may need to give her a few days off from camp.”

  “Is she hurt?”

  He shook his head. “She has navicular disease. It’s degenerative. She has good days and bad. The bute will keep her pain-free for the weekend. It’s a shame though, because she really loves carrying those kids for camp.”

  Yeah, Merry had noticed that too. Twilight looked bored walking in circles with the kids, but Peaches seemed to be having the time of her life. “That’s terrible. What will you do when she can’t work anymore?”

  Her skin prickled with misgivings at the idea of this horse being sold in such a condition. Did horses still go to the glue factory?

  T.J. looked at her, his dark eyes intense. “She’s essentially already retired. I knew she had navicular when I bought her from my parents.”

  Merry’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh.”

  Oh. T.J. had already rescued her. He’d taken a lame horse no one would want and given her a peaceful, happy life. That threw her view of him completely off kilter.

  “She’ll live out her days here on my farm, as long as I can keep her comfortable.”

  Merry came forward and stroked the mare’s face. “You’re a lucky girl, Peaches.”

  “Oh, she knows it.” He looked so irrationally sexy she wanted to fling herself in his arms right there in the barn.

  “So you know a thing or two about saving animals yourself.”

  He straightened. “Told you I’m not all that bad.”

  “Not half bad at all.” Her heart was pounding now, every cell in her body begging him to kiss her.

  That was the problem with chemistry. If you didn’t give in to it, didn’t let it start to burn itself out, it only grew stronger, until just standing within two feet of the man left her in danger of spontaneous combustion.

  But hell, he’d set the ground rules. She stared straight into his eyes, daring him to kiss her, knowing he wouldn’t. She might not be known for her self-control, but she could possess it when necessary, and there was no way in hell she was going to be humiliated by T. J. Jameson again.

  Peaches thrust her head between them, and Merry distracted herself stroking the mare’s soft forehead. She was a gorgeous creature with that golden face and flaxen mane and tail. Palomino had always been one of Merry’s favorite horse colors.

  “You like horses,” he said.

  “Sure. I’ve always liked them.”

  “So why don’t you ride?” He stood near enough that her skin sizzled under his scrutiny, his scent mixed with the warm, earthy smell of the horse.

  She kept her eyes on Peaches. “I’ve never been on a horse, if you can believe it.”

  T.J.’s head lifted, and she felt the intensity of his gaze. “Not even a pony ride when you were a kid?”

  She shook her head, mortified when she felt the ache of tears pressing at the backs of her eyes.

  “Why not?” His voice was lower, more intimate.

  She felt heat gather on her face. No way. This was ridiculous. “I just never did.”

  “Want to?”

  She threw her palms out in front of herself, backing away. “Nope. I’m good.”

  His lips curved in a wicked smile. “Yes, you do. You’re a terrible liar.”

  “Really, no.”

  “I have an appointment to get to today, but stay after camp tomorrow. I’ll give you a lesson on Tango.”

  She stared him straight in the eye. “That is such a bad idea.”

  He cocked his head, his eyes twinkling devilishly. “Scared?”

  Terrified. “Not even a little bit.”

  “Okay then, wear jeans tomorrow. And boots, if you have them.”

  And with that, he unclipped Peaches from the cross ties and led
her out into the sunshine to join her companions in the pasture.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Noah sat at the kitchen table, sliding his fingers back and forth over its smooth surface, lost in his own thoughts. T.J. sat across from him, ready to rip his hair out if he couldn’t get a conversation started with his nephew soon.

  “So your mom said you went over to Brendan’s house yesterday. Did you have fun?”

  “Yes.” His brow furrowed as his fingers traced a swirl in the wood grain.

  “You’ve been really quiet lately. Is something bothering you?” T.J. asked.

  Noah shook his head, then got up and walked into the living room. Amber walked beside him.

  “Hey, Noah, I’m just trying to help here. It’s not polite to walk away while I’m talking to you.”

  “Sorry, Uncle T.J.,” he said in his tiny voice. He stood by the couch, picking at the sleeves of his shirt until several new strings popped free, then busied himself unraveling them from the shirt completely.

  T.J. watched, feeling wholly inadequate and ashamed of himself for intimidating the boy when he’d only meant to help. “No need to apologize. Just tell me what’s bothering you.”

  Because even for Noah, this was unusual. It was Friday, the end of the first week of camp. Noah was more withdrawn than ever, and T.J. was at a total loss for what had gone wrong.

  Noah and Amber were two peas in a pod, communicating with some secret language that no one else could hear, always touching, always together. At camp, he was mastering the tasks set forth by Merry with the dogs and Pat with the horses.

  But he was talking less, and his autistic stimming—the repetitive arm movements and hand flapping—had increased to proportions T.J. hadn’t seen since the boy was first diagnosed.

  Why wasn’t camp helping? Why was he getting worse?

  “Talk to me,” he said again.

  Noah stared at his arm, fully intent on ripping a thread from the seam.

  T.J. crossed the room and took the boy’s hands in his. “Hey, stop that for a minute and talk to me. Did something happen? Is your head still bothering you from the fall? Has your new friend done something to upset you?”

  Noah tugged free, flapping his hands wildly through the air until he turned and threw his arms around Amber.

  T.J. raked a hand through his hair. “If you decide you want to talk, I’m always here, okay? I’m your uncle. I’m the guy you can tell things you’re embarrassed to tell your mom, right? No judgment here.”

  Nothing.

  “All right then, let’s head down to the barn and see if anyone else is here yet.”

  “Okay.” Noah scampered into the hallway to fetch Amber’s leash. The dog ran after him and stood patiently while he clipped it to her collar. Amy had dropped him off early this morning to run errands, and T.J. had jumped at the chance to spend some extra time with him.

  He just wanted to hang out with his nephew. Was that so much to ask?

  T.J. took a deep breath and blew it out. He tamped down his frustration, throttling himself back before camp began. This was no way to begin a four-hour session with four kids, already feeling like he was ready to blow a gasket.

  Noah yanked the front door open, then stood there with a huge smile on his face, the first smile T.J. had seen all morning. Merry stood in the doorway, looking like a vision in a gauzy yellow top and dark jeans.

  “Morning, Noah. T.J.” She ducked around the corner to leave her purse in the kitchen, then headed for the barn, hand in hand with Noah.

  T.J. scowled as he followed them.

  “Today we’re going to work on teaching the dogs to lay down. How does that sound?” she asked.

  “Good,” Noah answered, then walked to his usual corner with Amber and sat.

  “Why don’t you stand over here with me today?” T.J. suggested. It was time for Noah to come out of the corner and join the group.

  Noah shrugged, making no move to leave his usual spot.

  At the other end of the aisle, Pat was already setting up. He waved.

  Savannah, working next to her father, smiled at Noah. “Good morning.”

  He gave her a quick wave, his arm still wrapped around Amber.

  Madison walked by on her way to the tack room and swiped him a high five.

  Merry stood nearby, practicing commands with Salsa. Ralph lay behind her, his leash discarded on the dirt floor. The best-behaved dog T.J. had ever met.

  Currently, Ralph rested his head on his front paws, watching as Merry taught the puppy how to lay down on command. She held Salsa’s leash in her right hand, a handful of treats in the left. The damn puppy wore a purple shirt today with rhinestones on the back.

  “Okay, Salsa,” Merry said. She palmed a cookie and pressed her index finger into the dirt. “Down.”

  Salsa slid down to her belly and thrust her snout into Merry’s palm.

  “Good girl! Oh, good Salsa.” She lavished the puppy with praise and gave her the cookie. Salsa wiggled with joy.

  T.J. had to hand it to her; she was good with those dogs. The kids too. They all adored her, even Parker, who was generally hard to please and often failed to listen when T.J. was directing him on grooming the horses.

  “Ooooh, pretty Salsa!” Jules skipped into the barn, her brown eyes bright. She wore pigtails today, with a purple T-shirt and jeans.

  Merry grinned at her. “Oh look, you guys match.”

  Jules looked down at her shirt, then clapped her hands with glee. “We do! So pretty. Salsa, you are the prettiest puppy ever.”

  Salsa looked overcome at the compliment. She bounced in circles around Jules, covering the girl with slobbery kisses. They were a match made in purple-jeweled heaven.

  Parker dashed through the open door. “Where’s Chip?”

  “He had an appointment at the vet this morning, remember?” Merry said. “You get to work with Ralph today.”

  The little troublemaker was getting snipped, and not a moment too soon.

  Parker nodded. “Oh right. Cool.”

  Merry handed him Ralph’s leash with a warm smile. She placed a hand on his arm and spoke to him softly. Parker listened, brow furrowed in concentration. He nodded periodically, then accepted a handful of dog cookies from Merry and began practicing with Ralph.

  Merry stood close, watching and coaching as Parker asked the dog to sit, then practiced some leash manners. The grin he gave Merry left no doubt in T.J.’s mind that the boy was suffering from a preadolescent crush on his teacher.

  If she realized it, she gave no indication.

  By now, the rest of their group had arrived. Olivia led the group through basic exercises while Merry worked one-on-one with the kids, working on harder tasks and furthering the bond between the children and their dogs.

  She was damn good at her job.

  T.J., on the other hand, was failing miserably. While Pat, Madison, and Savannah gave lessons on Twilight, T.J. worked one-on-one with the kids to groom Peaches. She was too lame to be ridden today, but still thrilled to have the attention.

  Jules flitted around like a happy butterfly, twirling with the curry comb until T.J. felt dizzy. Parker became frustrated when the mare didn’t lift her hoof for him the first time he asked and stomped out of the barn.

  He called his mom to come and pick him up early.

  All the while, at the other end of the aisle, Merry worked her magic, somehow keeping dogs and kids in line without even breaking a sweat.

  How the hell did she pull it off?

  At noon, they all sat together at the shaded picnic tables behind the barn to eat lunch, then finished off the day by letting the dogs play in the sprinkler and feeding carrots to the horses.

  By one, the kids were sweaty and exhausted when their parents came to claim them. The dogs lay in the cool shavings in the spare stall, stretched out flat and fast asleep. Olivia tossed her blond ponytail and waved as she scurried toward her Prius. T.J. had to hand it to her, the girl worked hard, but as soon as the kids went
home, she hit the road.

  Merry usually lingered, helping him clean up, and hell, he couldn’t pretend he minded. If he’d found her pretty before, seeing her hot and sweaty working in his barn was about the most gorgeous sight he’d ever seen.

  She’d worn jeans today instead of shorts. She’d remembered about the riding lesson.

  He couldn’t quite figure where she stood with horses. She seemed to adore them, but there was a funny tension about her whenever he mentioned it. It was odd for a woman raised in North Carolina never to have even had a pony ride.

  She stepped out of the stall where the dogs slept and brushed a brown curl from her face. “You know, those puppies weren’t very reliable about sleeping through the night before camp started. This week? Not a peep.”

  “They’re working hard.”

  “Yeah. So I’ll just go get my purse…”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and blocked her path. “Don’t pretend you forgot.”

  She deflated like a ruptured balloon. “Look, I appreciate your offer to teach me to ride, but I have to pick Chip up at the vet soon, and Ralph and I still have to make our rounds at the hospital, so let’s just call it a day, okay?”

  “Nope. You love those horses, but there’s something holding you back. I don’t know what it is, but let’s find out, shall we?”

  Her chin went up. “There’s nothing to find out. I’ve just never ridden before, and I’m not sure I want to start now.”

  “No time like the present.” He walked outside.

  All three horses lounged beneath the oak tree by the fence, grazing and swatting flies. Tango raised his head and whinnied, then trotted to the gate, hopeful for some attention after watching Twilight and Peaches work with the kids all morning.

  T.J. unlatched the gate and slipped the gelding’s leather halter over his ears. “You ready for some exercise?”

  Tango tossed his head and snorted.

  “We’ll give the pretty lady a ride, then maybe I’ll take you down to the stream to cool off.”

  Because T.J. was going to need as much cooling down as his horse after this lesson. Just thinking about Merry on his horse was turning him on. He didn’t even want to contemplate his reasoning for wrangling her into a riding lesson. Clearly, he needed someone to knock some sense into his fool-headed brain.