Prairie Redemption

by Tessa Layne

  He paused, searching the clinic for her, blood heating as he watched her work with another patient. She moved with an ease and confidence that was captivating. The intensity of his response to her took him by surprise. Sure, he had physical reactions to women all the time, but this was different. Unsettling.

  “Wanna explain to me why Carolina’s been as twitchy as a jar full of jumping beans, this morning?” Greg’s gruff voice sounded in his ear. “Something happen between you two?”

  Cody stiffened. “If it did, it would be none of your goddamned business.”

  “It is when she’s upset and can’t do her job.”

  He risked a glance Giant Greg’s direction. The man’s eyes were hard as steel. “Have you tried asking her?” Cody kept his voice level. He refused to get into it with Greg. Who did this asshole think he was?

  Greg nodded once, jaw ticking. “She won’t say. And seeing she only winds up when you’re around. You’re the common denominator.”

  She wound up when he was around? In spite of himself, he grinned. That bit of information shouldn’t please him as much as it did, and he couldn’t resist yanking Greg’s chain. Just a little bit. He lifted a shoulder. “I’m not the type to kiss and tell, and even if I were, you’d still be the last to know.”

  Greg made a growling noise in the back of his throat.

  Cody smirked, enjoying their exchange for once. “But for the record, there’s nothing to tell.”

  “You hurt her…” the unfinished threat hung in the air.

  Everything in Cody tightened, and he grew dead serious. “Same for you, buddy. Like I said before, Caro and I go way back. Anyone crosses her or harms a hair on her pretty head, they’ll answer to me.”

  “If you boys are done with your pissing match,” Carolina’s clipped voice broke in. “I’m making a change to today’s schedule. Greg, I need you to work with Cody. I’ve got to assess a new patient.” Her eyes snapped with anger.

  Oh damn, they’d pissed her off, but good. “I was just-”

  She held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it.” Her eyes flicked from Greg back to him, giving them both the same Dottie Grace evil-eye. “And for the record, if anyone harms a hair on my pretty head, I’m quite capable of kicking ass on my own.”

  Indeed. Her words shouldn’t turn Cody on the way they did, but the image of Carolina Grace kicking ass was sexy as sin. And one that wouldn’t leave his imagination for quite a while.

  “Cody.” Her voice became all business. “I’m clearing you for strength training. I also want you to consider joining my afternoon yoga class. You need to work on increasing your flexibility, and yoga, with modifications-” Her eyes grew steely. “Will be beneficial.”

  His cock jumped in his shorts. So would seeing her in a pair of yoga pants.

  “Four p.m. in the community room across the hall. Come in your workout clothes.” Her mouth pulled tight, but even that wasn’t enough to tamp the heat in his veins. “Don’t be late.”

  Shit. Shitshitshit. Cody gunned the gas, speeding as much as he dared, down the main road into Prairie. He and Teddy had spent the afternoon observing a mama in labor, and ultimately, Teddy had made the call to contact the vet. The vet had run long, and now he was late, after Carolina had expressly told him to be prompt.

  It couldn’t be helped, and surely she would forgive his tardiness this once? He slammed on the brakes as he wheeled into the parking lot and hurried into the medical center as fast as his gimpy leg would let him. His uneven footsteps echoed down the deserted hall as he paused hand on the knob of the community room door. Indecision wracked him. Should he go in? The last thing he wanted was to call attention to himself. Muffled ambient music played on the other side of the heavy wooden door. He peeked in, then shook his head. It was dark in there, and most everyone was lying down.

  But before he could turn around, the door swung open, and Carolina, hair pulled back into a ponytail, smiled up at him. “You made the effort to come to the door. I’m not letting you get away that easy.” She gestured for him to enter.

  His stomach dropped as he took stock of his surroundings. The room was filled with women his mother’s age. Hell, if she hadn’t been off galivanting around with her gazillionaire boyfriend Zack Forte, she’d probably be here too. Carolina handed him a rolled-up mat and pointed to a space between Gloria McPherson and his aunt Martha.

  “Come on in, sweetie,” Gloria said with a knowing smile, patting the floor next to her. He couldn’t tell if he was the recipient of a cougar smile, or if Gloria had somehow instantly sussed out that seventy-percent of his motivation to attend class was to shamelessly ogle Carolina. Okay, ninety-percent. He was a perv.

  Dropping his gaze to the floor as heat curled up his spine, he unrolled his mat and tried, awkwardly, to sit like the other ladies. Carolina cocked her head, studying him. “I think you might be more comfortable with a bolster.”

  “Here.” Martha pushed a hard, rectangular pillow his direction. “Sit on the edge of that.”

  Cody’s pulse drummed in his ears. What had he been thinking? This was the dumbest idea in a day chock full of dumb ideas. He glanced around the room. Thankfully, no one was staring at him.

  Carolina’s voice, calm and gentle, called out from the front of the room. “If you’re not already in a sitting position, I invite you to come to a seated position, eyes closed, and drop your attention to your breath.”

  Her voice had a hypnotic quality, and slowly, at her direction, Cody could feel his breathing slow, and muscles across his body beginning to relax. She moved about the room as she talked, and soon, he could sense her presence right next to him.

  She spoke low, so only he could hear. “I don’t want you supporting your body weight with your shoulder, yet. You can move into child’s pose when we’re holding plank or downward dog. Any of the vertical poses will be fine for you. When we get to the balancing poses, move as your body allows.” Then she raised her voice for the class. “Remember, this practice is about you. About your personal journey. Not the person on the mat next to you or in front of you. Your challenge is always to bring your mind into harmony with your body. Keep your attention on your breath. If at any time your breath becomes labored, pull back.”

  Funny to hear Carolina talk about mind and body. The only time he felt like his mind and body were one was when he was on the back of a bull. In that moment, everything else dropped away. His mind wandered as Carolina took them through a sequence of poses, none of which he performed with the grace and ease she kept talking about. His was too far down memory lane, replaying pivotal rides that had launched his career. He jerked back to the present with the sensation of her hand at his back. “See if you can adjust your hips this way,” she murmured, gently turning his right hip more toward the front of the room. “Better?”

  “Not sure,” he grunted. “I feel a big stretch at the top of my left quad.”

  “If it’s too much, you can bring your feet closer together.”

  “I’m fine.” At least he was for the moment. Tomorrow he’d be sore.

  “Go ahead and turn lengthwise on your mats and widen your stance,” she called from next to Gloria. “Keeping the arch in your lumbar spine, continue to lift your sternum as you float your upper body to the floor, dropping your head last. This is excellent for your hamstrings and lower back. Place your fingertips on the floor if you need extra stabilization.”

  Her voice came through muffled, and Cody struggled to keep his breathing steady, hamstrings straining. Jeezus. He’d made fun of yoga for years, passing it off as something only health nuts did, but this was hard.

  “Now,” she said. “Bring your arms behind your back, interlace your fingers, and slowly raise them. You should feel a nice stretch across the front of your chest. Prasarita Padottanasana.”

  What had she just said? Cody’s head popped up, a movement he instantly regretted because the picture of Carolina’s perfect ass was burned into his brain. With her ass sky high like that, all
he wanted was to drop to his knees and worship her, holding on to her luscious hips so he could lose himself in her pussy. The scene hovered before him with startling clarity. He’d start at the base of her swollen, wet pussy, and sweep his tongue through her slit, tasting every crevice. Then he’d seal his mouth around her clit and lave and suck at it until she cried his name, flooding his mouth with her essence.

  With a grunt, Cody dropped his head and arms, forcing his attention back to his breathing. Teddy would shoot him on sight for that thought, or the ten others, equally as dirty, that flew through his mind in rapid succession. What kind of an asshole was he? An asshole with a raging boner in a room full of women, that’s what. He sank to his knees, taking the child’s pose Carolina had demonstrated at the beginning of class. At least that would give him some cover while he brought his cock to heel. Motherfucker. He had no business being in a class like this. It was the worst kind of torture.

  The remainder of the class flew by in a blur, and by the time they stretched out for shavasana, he was done. He bent and began to roll up his mat. Carolina rushed over, concern written all over her face. “Is everything okay? Was it too much?”

  In a word, yes. But he’d never admit it. He shook his head. “I need to get back. There was an issue with one of the cows.”

  She nodded. “Go. We’ll talk later.”

  Oh, yes they would.

  Chapter Seven

  Carolina checked her phone for the millionth time that afternoon. Cassie should have checked in by now. She always checked in after training exercises, and again before she drove home from Guard weekend. Had something happened? Her breathing quickened as she imagined her sister in a heap of burning metal. Just the other week, a helicopter had crashed in Texas, leaving no survivors. Dread gripped her. She couldn’t cope with one more death.

  In the living room, her parents had taken a rare afternoon off to watch college basketball, but she couldn’t sit still and pretend like nothing was wrong. Pressing her fingers to her temples, she took a deep breath and blew it out. She could feel the panic rising through her chest, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was going crazy, wearing a path from the living room to the kitchen. She should have agreed to help her mother bake pies this morning. But she’d said no, because this time she thought she could handle it. That enough time had passed since Michael’s death, that she could compartmentalize her irrational fears about her family.

  Lydia hollered down the hall. “Do we have another bag of chips?” Three seconds later, she appeared in the doorway, plastic bowl perched on her growing belly. “The little person needs a snack,” she said with a grin. She cocked her head. “You okay? Why don’t you come watch with us?”

  “I’m fine,” Carolina fibbed, forcing a smile. “Just feeling restless.”

  Lydia gave her a sympathetic smile. “I get that way every time Colton has a show.”

  Yet, she seemed to handle it just fine. Lydia didn’t go to crazy land like she did, imagining the worst possible outcome for those she loved. “Sweet potato chips or barbecue?” Carolina extended her hand for the bowl.

  Lydia grinned. “Definitely barbecue. This little child is going to be born with a barbecue tooth. I just know it.” Her eyebrows knit together. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. Now get back to the game and make sure daddy doesn’t have a heart attack.”

  Lydia crunched on a chip, a look of delight passing over her face. “Alrighty. If you need to talk…”

  “I know, I know.” Carolina waved her down the hall. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered, grabbing her shearling from the back of the chair. She hated that Michael’s death had turned her into such a fraidy cat. Cassie had served tours in Afghanistan. She’d been shot down and lived. She was in no danger on a Guard duty weekend. Not like she’d been overseas.

  Carolina slipped out the front door, and before it even registered where she was headed, she’d pushed open the barn door and stalked down the aisle toward Angel’s stall. The smell of the barn always seemed to calm her when she got wound up. She’d start with grooming Angel, and then she’d scrub the tack room from top to bottom. Anything to keep her mind off the fear that seemed to grip her whenever Cassie left town for guard duty.

  Angel let out a little chuff when she entered the stall. “Hey, baby girl, happy to see you, too.” The horse seemed to sense her anxiety, and nosed into her, as if to give her a little horsey hug. “I love you too, girl.” Carolina wrapped an arm around Angel’s neck and inhaled, pressing a cheek against her silky coat. Her breathing slowed, coming into harmony with Angel’s. Bit by bit, as she lost herself in the details of tending to her beloved horse, calm stole over her. By the time she started in on cleaning and reorganizing the tack room, her panic had mostly subsided.

  “What in the hell is this?” Cody’s rough voice asked with a note of surprise.

  Carolina yelped, the saddle soap clattering to the floor of the tack room. “What does it look like?” she snapped defensively. “Tack room needed a once-over.”

  Cody leaned against the doorjamb and cocked his head. “On a Sunday afternoon during March Madness? Rest of your family is inside watching KU get their asses handed to them by Villanova.”

  She shrugged, retrieving the saddle soap and attacking the saddle in front of her with a vengeance. “Not my scene.”

  “What is your scene? I never see you at the Trading Post. In fact, every time I do see you, you’re working. Do you ever stop to have fun?”

  She jerked her head up, gaze tangling with his. “Sure?” She drew out the syllable.

  Cody cocked an eyebrow. “‘C’mon. When was the last time you did something nice for yourself?”

  The day Michael died. “Oh, I don’t know,” she fibbed, rubbing extra hard on a dirty spot. The last thing she wanted was for Cody to psychoanalyze her.

  “Then it’s been too damned long. How ‘bout a ride?”

  “A ride?”

  He chuckled. “You know, with horses and saddles? For fun?”

  She smiled in spite of herself. “Okay, fine.” Her stomach fluttered. She didn’t want to think about why she reacted to him that way, or about why she seemed so willing to break all her rules where he was concerned.

  He grabbed a rag from the bucket hanging by the door, and closed the distance between them, taking the saddle soap from her.

  “What are you doing?”

  He grabbed the bridle she’d laid out over a barrel and started cleaning. “What does it look like?”

  “I can see what it looks like, but I don’t understand.”

  He glanced over, giving her a look somewhere between amusement and exasperation. “Because, Carolina. I’ve never known you to leave a project half-finished. And I’d like to take a ride with you before sunset.”

  Oh.

  Butterflies launched in her belly, beating their wings with enough force her ears buzzed. “Is this like a date?” she asked, when her brain could finally form words again.

  He smirked. “I’ll leave you to decide.”

  Double Oh. She turned back to the saddle, certain her cheeks were bright pink.

  They worked quickly, silently, fingers brushing when they both reached their rags for the saddle soap. The entire time, her thoughts kept drifting back to the almost kiss from a few weeks before. Would it be such a bad thing to kiss Cody? Her body found the idea brilliant. It was the rest of her that still struggled. He was a patient. He was family. And the number one thing her brain screamed late at night, when her hormones imagined every type of naughty with Cody? How could she do that to Michael?

  “I’ll clean up,” Cody offered when they’d finished the last piece of tack. “You go saddle up Angel and meet me outside.

  She had to admit. Tack cleaning was tedious, but once it was over, she loved how shiny and new everything looked. And the smell of freshly cleaned and oiled leather. It was a comforting scent only a rancher’s daughter could appreciate. With a smile on her face, she
saddled Angel and led her sweet baby out into the barnyard. She was mounted and waiting when Cody appeared, checked the cinch a final time, and mounted up effortlessly.

  “It’s amazing how much you’ve improved,” she said with an approving smile. “If only all my patients worked as hard as you did.”

  “Give ‘em a reason and they might.”

  “That so?”

  Cody nodded. “Sure. People only work hard when they’re motivated.”

  “What motivated you, then?”

  Cody didn’t answer. Instead, he urged Jackpot into a light canter and Angel followed suit. Then he spurred Jackpot into a gallop and with a devilish glance over his shoulder, dared her silently to join him.

  Maybe it was the late afternoon sun, maybe it was the desire to shed the blanket of sadness and worry that seemed to plague her. Or maybe it was the fact that Cody’s look dared her to let go, and for once, she wanted to. Truly wanted to. But she spurred Angel into a gallop and gave the horse her head, racing over the pastures, up and down the gentle hills that dotted their property until at last Cody slowed to a walk, as winded as Jackpot.

  Carolina couldn’t wipe the grin from her face as she laughed, breathless. “I haven’t done that since… I don’t know when.”

  “You were overdue for a little excitement.” He grinned back at her. “A little danger looks good on you.”

  “Is that what this was?”

  “In your book it is.”

  “Is that what you think? That I’m too scared to run my horse across familiar territory?”

  “Prove me wrong,” Cody answered lightly, but with a challenge in his eye.

  “Fine. I will do this every day.”

  “Be careful what you promise, sweetheart. I’ll hold you to it.”

  “You know what? Fine. I will race you. Every morning. This… is not dangerous.” It wasn’t. She knew the dips and curves of her family’s acreage like the back of her hand.

  “Isn’t it? Angel could stumble in a woodchuck hole and toss you. Break your neck.”