“After you’ve drank your soup, how’s about you and I go and check on the horses? You always liked that before... well, last time you were here.” His voice went gruff, and I got the sense it was hard for him to bring up our past.
I nodded. “I would like that a lot. Being around them reassures me that all is right with the world.”
“I know the feeling.”
Chapter 7
Dylan
As promised, Jake took me down to the stable. The scent of horses wrapped itself around me protectively, promising to insulate me from anything bad happening in the outside world.
“Here. Your first task for the day is to clean up the stables.”
Jake handed me a shovel and I spent the morning mucking out the stalls. It was my element. The physical activity kept me occupied and made me feel strong. When my biceps and shoulders burned, I knew I was building more muscles I could use to fight back against anyone who tried to hurt me. I tried to stay focused on the task at hand, rather than letting my mind wander into dangerous territory.
Jake had been so good to me since I’d called him. When he’d picked up the phone, I’d almost hung up, because I didn’t think this was anything I should bother him with. When he’d found me cowering in the horse trailer, I’d expected him to tell me to grow up, then yell at me for losing the horse. And I don’t know why I’d expected that.
He’d never raised his voice to me while we were dating. I guess I just thought that was what I deserved for losing a horse.
Once again, my mind ran through the events of last night. There had to be something I could have done differently; some way of turning the tables on the guy with the gun, so he hadn’t been able to take Betsy. I felt personally responsible. I’d been tasked with moving Betsy from Lemon Tree Ranch to Blueberry Horse Sanctuary and I’d failed.
Perhaps if I’d gone back into my truck and locked the door before calling Lisa, he wouldn’t have had a chance to sneak up on me from behind. That was it. I knew better than to stand in a dark empty parking lot, distracted by a phone call, out in the open instead of being in my vehicle with the doors locked.
I felt so stupid. It was one of the most basic things every woman knew not to do. But I’d been distracted by the events yesterday with Jake, and besides, I’d worked at Blueberry these past three years.
The horse sanctuary had always felt like a safe environment, even in spite of the occasional horse theft. It was out by itself, far from the city, where crime was low. Hell, I knew Lisa had forgotten to lock up properly once, and nothing bad had happened.
Which only left the conclusion that I’d brought this down on the sanctuary. It was my fault Betsy had been taken. I hadn’t been careful enough and the thief had seen an opportunity. But I still couldn’t figure out what he’d want with a knackered old mare. Or why he’d made such nasty threats to me.
The whole thing made literally no sense.
I shoveled more horse shit. That, at least, was the end result of a clear cause and effect relationship. Horses ate food. They pooped. It was one of life’s constants at the stables.
I was grateful to Jake for giving me something to do which simultaneously grounded me and made me feel safe.
* * *
Jake
When Dylan helped out, the chores got done in half the time. I’d forgotten just how hard she worked and how devoted she was to horses—any horses. Aside from a couple of new additions from the past couple of years, she knew all the animals by name, and she remembered every one of them. It was something I did, too. Animals were just more memorable than people. It was refreshing being around someone else who felt the same way I did.
I decided not to overthink any of this stuff. Dylan was here because something bad happened to her while she was taking one of my horses to Blueberry. I felt a little responsible, and I would do my best to take care of her while she stayed, but I couldn’t let myself get tangled up with the possibilities that might come from Dylan being nearby.
I’d missed her every day she was gone, and I’d never truly understood what happened between us, until last night’s revelations. Everything had changed. She wasn’t who I thought she was. Beneath her icy exterior, she was a fragile little thing, scared of being broken again.
I wanted, more than anything, to believe there might be hope for us. But I couldn’t let her hurt me one more time.
When I’d finished grooming the horses, I went to talk to Lawson, Clay and Barrett.
“This better be good,” Barrett complained, as we all sat around Clay’s kitchen table.
“Betsy was stolen last night,” I said quietly.
“No!” Lawson breathed.
“Is Dylan okay?” Clay asked immediately.
“What happened?” Barrett asked.
I explained the events of the night before, and three shocked faces listened in silence until I’d told them everything I knew.
“So this guy’s threatened Dylan?” Clay asked.
“We’d best call Bob,” Lawson added.
I nodded. “That was my next plan.”
“Do it from here. I’ll go check on Dylan,” Clay said. I nodded. Clay had always had a soft spot for Dylan. She was the little sister he’d never had. I’d been jealous at times in the past, because Clay and Dylan seemed to get along so easily, and I’d almost punched Clay over that fact.
I understood, now, why she responded so well to him. It was because there was no sexual tension there, at all, and as a result, she didn’t have to keep her guard up around him. The fact they were such good buddies proved I didn’t need to be jealous of a thing when it came to Clay. I hoped Kinsley knew that, too.
I dialed the local sheriff’s office. “Hey, Bob, it’s Jake from Lemon Tree Ranch. We got a bit of a situation that’s threatenin’ to unfold...”
* * *
Dylan
I was using leather polish on the array of saddles when Clay sauntered in.
“How’s it going?” he greeted me. I didn’t look up from what I was doing.
“Hey. So I guess Jake’s filled you in?” Polishing the saddles was easier than looking into Clay’s eyes and seeing exactly what he now knew about me. I felt like a failure because I hadn’t been able to keep myself or Betsy safe, and I hated that I’d probably disappointed Clay after I was charged with taking care of his horse.
“He didn’t go into specifics, no. Guess he thought that was your truth to tell, not his. But I got a pretty good idea someone stole Betsy out from under you last night, and threatened to come back and do it again, and do bad stuff to you next time, too. That about sum it up?”
I nodded, grateful that he was skirting the finer details.
“Jake’s gonna call Sheriff Bob Halsey. You ever met him?”
“Yeah, I think he visited at Christmas, didn’t he?” I was pretty sure he’d also been involved when I called the cops on Jake, but I didn’t want to drag it up right now.
“He usually does. Lives by himself so we often invite him over. He would have been at yesterday’s barbecue but he was at his desk. Takes his job real seriously.”
“What do you think he can do?” I didn’t like the idea of having to explain things to yet another cop.
“He’ll figure that out once he has a thorough understanding of the situation,” Clay replied.
I wasn’t sure whether that was reassuring or worrying.
“What if he doesn’t believe me?” I asked in a very small voice. It was my biggest fear, after what happened before.
Clay stepped closer and pulled me into a hug.
“If he doesn’t believe you, he’ll answer to four ranchers who’ve spent enough time around you to know exactly when you’re lying, missy.” He sounded like he was trying to caution me to be truthful on the ranch, but instead, I just felt reassured.
“You really think he’ll want to know, after last time I called him?” I was reluctant to say the words and remind Clay of what I did.
“He will. He’s a lawman.
His job is to uphold the law, not to judge you for something stupid you did two years ago.”
I hoped Clay was right. His arms loosened around me and I stepped back.
“Hey, are you sure you’re allowed to hug me, still?” I asked. I didn’t want Clay’s new girlfriend to get the wrong idea and be mad at me.
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re practically family, aren’t you?”
“Even... even after all this time?” My heart ached again.
“Yeah. I figure so.”
“I don’t feel like I deserve any of you guys.” My cheeks flushed as I admitted it.
“I know. And I’m pretty sure Jake will hold you accountable for what you did, one day soon.”
My eyes widened and my head snapped up to look at Clay.
“He’d still... he’d still do that?” I breathed. The idea that Jake might still contemplate spanking me.... I hadn’t even thought about it! A little twitch from my pussy told me I wished I’d been braver last time, instead of freaking out and doing such a stupid thing.
“It’s part of who he is.” Clay said it like it was so simple. “And I think one day you’ll realize it’s part of who you are, too. The worst thing you two can do right now is rush into anything.”
“How are you so much wiser than any of the rest of us?” I asked him. “Like, how do you know all this stuff?”
He shrugged. “Guess I just pay attention.”
“Knock knock,” Jake’s voice called. He appeared with an older man with a silver beard and salt-and-pepper hair wearing a sheriff’s uniform. Sheriff Bob Halsey.
“Dylan Pines, good to see you again, missy,” Bob said. Any anxiety I’d been having about whether he would be mad at me over last time I’d called him evaporated.
“Hey, Sheriff,” I replied. “Uh... did the boys fill you in on what happened?”
“We got a missing horse and the suspect has threatened you, correct? I couldn’t get the report you filed last night because Blueberry’s out of my jurisdiction. Don’t suppose you have a copy, do you?”
“Sure. It’s upstairs.” I went back to Jake’s place and retrieved the flimsy sheets of paper I’d acquired the night before. They seemed so small and inadequate in the face of this whole problem, but I returned to the tack room and handed the report over to Bob, anyway.
He spent a few minutes reading everything before he looked up.
“Why was Betsy going to Blueberry Horse Sanctuary? I remember bringing my nephew Oliver here for his first ride. She was so patient with the kiddies,” Bob pointed out.
“She went lame,” Jake explained. “Our vet said she must have gotten tangled in some barbed wire, but we never figured out where, and when Dylan came to collect Betsy, she said the horse’s tendons looked cut.”
“Is there much of a difference between a barbed wire injury and a deliberate cut?” he asked me.
“Yeah. Betsy’s leg had a straight, deep injury, not a jagged, superficial one,” I explained. “But either way, tendons are tricky things. Rehabilitation would have taken a very long time and due to her age, she might never have been able to return to her former state. Everyone decided it was best for her to live out her twilight years where humans weren’t trying to sit on her.”
Clay laughed at my turn of phrase, but Jake nodded in earnest agreement and Bob remained focused on his case.
“So you called the vet again?” Bob asked.
“No,” Jake said, looking at me.
“I cleaned out the wound to prevent infection, stitched her up properly and came back two weeks later to move her,” I said.
“Young lady, are you operating without a license?” Bob asked sternly. I flushed and shook my head.
“No, sir. Just dealing with an emergency when there was no one else around who could do the job,” I replied. “I haven’t practiced as a vet in about five years.”
“I see.” Bob sounded like he was filing that information away for future use. If he thought he could get me to return to my former career, he was going to be disappointed. I wasn’t going there, again. I’d told myself as much when I quit.
“Since Betsy was getting older, we decided it would be kinder to retire her rather than keep her for riding,” Jake reiterated, bringing us back to the point. I shot him a look of gratitude, since we’d been dangerously close to someone asking me why I wasn’t a vet, these days, and I didn’t want to talk about it.
“I’m sorry to ask this, Dylan, but do you have any proof you didn’t take the horse yourself?” Bob asked. “You were alone when the horse went missing, and it seems odd to me that you would find a different diagnosis to the regular vet who attends all the animals in these parts.”
I gasped in shock and frowned at the sheriff.
“You think... you think I did this? That I made it all up? What? I suppose I’ve just hidden the horse in my purse to sell on eBay!” I turned and ran out of the tack room, through the stables and outside into the open space beyond.
I was never going to convince anyone around here that I was telling the truth. It wasn’t fair.
Chapter 8
Jake
“I’m sorry, but I have to be thorough,” Bob said. “Were there any surveillance cameras at the sanctuary?”
“I have no idea, but you could call and ask them,” I said absently.
Dylan was upset, and it wasn’t safe for her to be out on her own. I sighed and went after her, leaving Clay to deal with Bob.
She was running out into the open grazing land, and I chased after her. My legs were longer, and I caught up with her after a few hundred yards. I grabbed her around the waist, tackling her to the ground and pinning her down.
“Oof,” she breathed, when she hit the sandy dirt face down.
“I got you,” I murmured gently into her ear. “You’re safe. No one’s accusing you of anything. Bob’s just eliminating things so we can find the real culprit.”
“He practically told me I’d done it!” she argued, and I heard the betrayal in her voice. Once again, she’d jumped to mistaken conclusions. Like two years ago, when I’d spanked her.
“No, he didn’t.” I tried to give her some perspective. “He asked exactly the kind of questions he needed to ask to eliminate you as a suspect.”
“I’m not imagining things! This guy is real!” She tried to wriggle free but I held her in place.
“I believe you. But we gotta find him and prosecute him. It’s going to take time. And you need to come back and answer Bob’s questions so we can get the real horse thief.”
I could only see the back of her head, but she was breathing heavily, and her scent made my cock twitch in my pants. I wanted her now, despite the fact this was not the time or place to do anything at all.
“Jake, I’m scared.” Her voice broke and all I saw was a vulnerable young woman. Until last night, I’d never really seen this side of Dylan. She’d always seemed tough and prickly, even when we were dating. She was far more likely to brush off a compliment with a sarcastic retort than to accept it with grace. Her outer shell was one of the things that had drawn me to her, but now I was finally getting to see what lay beneath, I couldn’t help the way my heart was pulled even harder toward her.
I didn’t know how I’d ever managed to let her go, but I’d been given a second chance and I wasn’t going to mess this one up.
“You don’t have to be scared of anything, Dylan. Not while I’m here. I promise, I’ll keep you safe.”
I expected her to wriggle free, just to make the point that she didn’t like depending on anyone, but instead, she stayed right where she was.
“Do you mean it?” she asked. “Even after everything that’s happened, and everything you know about me?”
“Hey, what are friends, except people who know where the bodies are buried, and who like you, anyway?” I joked, and immediately regretted my word choice.
“So... we’re friends, now?” Her voice was hesitant. Clearly, she didn’t want to be in the friend zone. I wasn’t s
ure I wanted to end up there, either. I tried to smooth over what I’d said.
“I don’t entirely know what we are, but we’re here, and we’re together, and that’s good enough for me. No sense analyzing things that are coming naturally,” I said. Saved it, my brain cheered.
“I guess.”
“So, are you gonna come back to the stables or do I need to carry you over my shoulder?”
She hesitated for a moment, and I thought I might have offended her, but instead, she said, “Carry me.”
I unpinned her and she rolled onto her back, gazing up at me with big eyes. Her lips were slightly parted and her chest rose and fell rapidly.
I forgot where we were or what we were supposed to be doing. Instead, I threw caution to the wind, leaned down and kissed her. After a two-year drought, her lips felt like the most incredible thing mine had ever touched. My heart clenched so hard I thought it might burst. Gently sliding my tongue between her lips, I tasted her. She made the sort of deep humming sounds that meant she was happy. When she kissed me back, I lost all sense of perspective. I reached between the sand and her head, and fisted her hair, tugging on it as I claimed her. She was mine, again, and this time I wasn’t letting her go.
I only came up for air when I heard Clay yelling across the grazing land.
“Hey! You two! Stop keeping the sheriff waiting and get on over here!”
I groaned, and got off Dylan before helping her sit up.
“Ready to go back?” I asked.
She nodded, looking as dazed as I felt.
“C’mon, let’s get this over with.” I got to my feet unsteadily, holding out my hands for her. She took them, which surprised me more, then she narrowed her eyes at me and cocked her head.
“Thought you were gonna carry me,” she quipped.
Oh, if she believed she could tease me about something like that, she had another think coming. I grabbed around her waist and put her over my shoulder, easily carrying her back to the stables and ignoring her squeaks of protest.
Leave Me Breathless: A second chance romance Page 5
