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Teague pulled the truck to a stop at the wide shed door, then grabbed his bag and hopped out. The shed was in worse condition than the house. “Hullo!” he shouted, wondering if there were any station hands about.
To his surprise, a female voice replied. “Back here. Last stall.”
He strode through the empty stable, each stall filled with moldering straw. A rat scurried in front of him and he stopped and watched as it wriggled through a hole in the wall. While the rodent startled him, it was nothing compared to the shock he felt when he stepped inside the stall.
Hayley Fraser knelt beside a horse lying on a fresh bed of straw. She was dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, the toes of her boots peaking out beneath the ragged hems of her pant legs. They stared at each other for a long time, neither one of them able to speak. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Teague thought, his mind racing. He’d always imagined they’d meet on a busy street or in a restaurant.
Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, she blinked and pointed to the horse. “It’s Molly,” she said, her voice wavering. “I’m pretty sure she has colic. I don’t know what else to do. I can’t get her up.”
Teague stepped past Hayley and bent down next to the animal. The mare was covered with sweat and her nostrils were flared. He stepped aside as the horse rolled, a sign that Hayley’s diagnosis was probably right. Teague stood and reached into the feed bin, grabbing a handful of grain and sniffing it. “Moldy,” he said, turning to Hayley.
“I got here last night,” she explained, peering into the grain bin. “When I came in this morning she was like this.”
“She might have an impaction. How long has she been down?”
“I don’t know,” Hayley said. “I found her like this at ten this morning.”
Teague drew a deep breath. Colic in horses was tricky to treat. It could either be cured in a matter of hours or it could kill the horse. “We need to get her up. I’ll give her some pain medication, then we’ll dose her with mineral oil and see if that helps.”
“What if it doesn’t?” Hayley asked. “What about surgery?”
Teague shook his head. “I can’t do surgery here. And the nearest equine surgical facility is at the university in Brisbane.”
“I don’t care what it costs,” she said, a desperate edge to her voice. “I don’t care if I need to charter a jet to fly her there. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
He chuckled softly at the notion of putting the horse on a jet. “We’ll cross that fence when we come to it,” Teague murmured. “Help me get her up.”
It took them a full ten minutes of tugging and prodding and slapping and shouting before Molly struggled to her feet, her eyes wild and her flanks trembling. The moment she got up, she made another move to go down and Teague shouted to distract her, slapping her on the chest and pushing her out of the stall.
He handed the lead to Hayley. “Keep her walking, don’t let her go down again. I’ve got to fetch some supplies.”
Teague ran toward the stable door, then glanced over his shoulder to see Hayley struggling with the mare. Thank God they had this to focus on, he mused. It was difficult enough seeing her again without demanding answers to his questions and explanations for her behavior.
He opened up the tailgate on the Range Rover and searched through the plastic bins until he found a bag of IV fluid, which he shoved in his jacket pocket. He took a vial of Banamine from the case of medication. Then he grabbed the rest of the supplies he needed—a hypodermic, IV tubing, a nasogastric tube and a jug of mineral oil—and put everything into a wooden crate. When he got back to the stable, he saw Hayley kneeling on the dirty concrete floor with Molly lying beside her.
She looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I couldn’t stop her. She just went down.”
Teague set the crate on a nearby bale of straw, then gently helped Hayley to her feet. In all the years he’d known her, he’d never seen Hayley cry. Not a single tear, not even when she’d fallen from her horse or scraped her knee. He’d never thought much about it until now, but it must have taken a great deal of strength to control her emotions for so long.
“Don’t worry,” he said, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll get her up.”
Then he brushed the pale hair from her eyes, his thumbs damp from her tears. It had been so long since he’d touched her, so many years since he’d looked into those eyes. But it seemed like only yesterday. All the old feelings were bubbling up inside him. His instinct to protect her had kicked in the moment he looked into her eyes and he found himself more worried about Hayley than the horse.
Teague didn’t bother to think about the consequences before kissing her. It was the right thing to do, a way to soothe her fears and stop her tears. He bent closer and touched his lips to hers, gently exploring with his tongue until she opened beneath the assault.
Cupping her face in his hands, he molded her mouth to his, stunned by the flood of desire racing through him. They were teenagers again, the two of them caught up in a heady mix of hormones they couldn’t control and emotions they didn’t understand.
He drew back and smiled. “Better?” Hayley nodded mutely and Teague looked down at the horse. “Then let’s get to work.”
It was as if the kiss had focused their thoughts and strengthened their bond. Though he wanted to kiss her again, he had professional duties to dispatch first. And saving Molly was more important than indulging in desire. They managed to get the horse on her feet again and pushed her up against a wall to keep her still as Teague inserted the IV catheter into her neck. Drawing out a measure of the painkiller, he injected it into the IV bag.
“There. She should start feeling a little better. Once she does, we’ll dose her with mineral oil. If it’s an impaction, that should help.”
They walked back and forth, the length of the stable, both of them holding on to Molly’s halter. At each turn, he took the time to glance over at her, letting his gaze linger.
Without all the slinky clothes and the fancy makeup and hair, she didn’t look anything like a television star. She looked exactly like the fresh-faced girl he used to kiss and touch, the first girl he’d ever had sex with and the last girl he’d ever loved. Teague clenched his free hand into a fist, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her again.
“So you got home yesterday,” he said.
Hayley nodded, continuing to stare straight ahead. He could read the wariness in her expression. If she was feeling half of what he was, then her heart was probably pounding and her mind spinning with the aftereffects of the kiss they’d shared.
“I’ve seen you on telly. You’ve become quite a good actress.” This brought a smile, a step in the right direction, Teague thought. “I heard you won some award?”
“A Logie award. And I didn’t win. I’ve been nominated three times. Haven’t won yet.”
“That’s good, though, right? Nominated is good. Better than not being nominated.”
“It’s a soap opera,” she said. “It’s not like I’m doing Shakespeare with the Royal Queensland.”
“But you could, if you wanted to, right?”
Hayley shook her head. “No, I don’t have any formal training. They hired me on Castle Cove because I looked like the part. Not because I could act.”
He wanted to ask why she had decided to run away from home. And why she hadn’t come to him as they’d always planned. Teague drew a deep breath, then stopped. Molly had settled down, her respiration now almost normal. “See, she’s feeling better,” he said, smoothing his palm over the horse’s muzzle. “That’s the thing with colic. One minute the horse is close to death and the next she’s on the mend. Have you ever twitched a horse?”
Hayley shook her head. “I don’t want you to do that. It will hurt her.”
“It looks painful, but it isn’t if it’s done properly. It’s going to release endorphins and it will relax Molly so she won’t fight the tube.”
“All right,” she said, nodding. “I trust you.”
Three simple words. I trust you. But they meant the world to him. After all that had happened between them, and all that hadn’t, maybe things weren’t so bad after all.
As they tended to Molly, they barely spoke, Teague calmly giving her instructions when needed. Hayley murmured softly to keep her calm, smoothing her hand along Molly’s neck. Once the mineral oil was pumped into the horse’s stomach, Teague removed the tube and the twitch and they began to walk her again.
“She is feeling better,” Hayley said. “I can see it already.” She looked over at him. “Thank you.”
Teague saw the tears swimming in her eyes again and he fought the urge to gather her into his arms and hold her. The mere thought of touching her was enough to send a flood of heat pulsing through his veins.
He’d kiss Hayley again, only this time it wouldn’t be to soothe her fears, but to make her remember how good it had been between them. And how good it could be again.
HAYLEY STARED OUT at the setting sun, her back resting against the side of the stable. A bale of straw served as a low bench. Teague sat beside her with his long legs crossed in front of him and his stockman’s hat pulled low to protect his eyes from the glare.
They’d spent the last hour walking Molly around the stable yard, and to Hayley’s great relief, the mare seemed to be recovering quite well. Hayley wanted to throw herself into Teague’s arms and kiss him silly with gratitude. But she knew doing that would only unleash feelings that had been buried for a very long time—feelings that could sweep them both into dangerous waters.
She’d already turned into an emotional wreck over Molly. Since she’d returned to Wallaroo, she’d rediscovered her emotional side. It had disappeared after her parents died, when she’d stubbornly refused to surrender to sorrow or pain. But in these familiar surroundings, her past had slowly come back and she’d found herself grieving, for her parents’ deaths, for her difficult adolescence and for her fractured relationship with Harry.
There was no telling what might happen if she and Teague revisited their past. With so many unresolved feelings, so many mistakes she’d made, she’d likely cry for days.
Now, it seemed so clear, his leaving. He’d been going off to university, starting his life away from home. But at the time she’d seen it as a betrayal, a desertion. Though she’d known he’d be back, Hayley’s insecurities had overwhelmed her without Teague to help hold them in check.
From the moment she’d met Teague, she’d found a home, a family and someone she could trust. She’d come to depend on him. He had been the only person who loved her, the only person who cared that she existed and suddenly he was gone. She’d been angry. And though she’d tried to tell herself she’d be all right on her own, she’d been terrified.
So she’d run, away from the place that held so many memories, away from the boy who might not want to return.
She snuck a glance at him. He’d grown into a handsome man. Working in television, she’d met a lot of good-looking blokes, but none of them possessed Teague’s raw masculinity. Teague Quinn was a flesh-and-blood man, seemingly unaware of the powerful effect he had on women.
“She looks almost frisky,” Teague commented, nodding toward the horse.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you,” Hayley said.
“Don’t worry. I’m glad I could help. I know how much Molly means to you. I remember the day you got her.”
“My sixteenth birthday,” Hayley said. “My grandfather was never one for birthday celebrations. He’d shove money into my hand and tell me not to spend it on silly things. And then, he gave me Molly and I thought everything had changed.”
“You rode her over to Kerry Creek to show me. You looked so happy, I thought you’d burst. You immediately challenged me to a race.”
“Which I won, as I remember.”
“Which I let you win, since it was your birthday. You were such a wild child. Looking back, I wonder how you managed to survive to adulthood. Remember when you were determined to jump the gate near the shack? You were sure Molly could do it. You even bet me my new saddle against your Christmas money.”
“That wasn’t my finest hour,” Hayley admitted, wincing.
“She stopped dead and threw you right over the gate. It took a full minute for the dust to clear from your fall. And what about that time you decided to try bull riding?”
“Another embarrassing failure,” she said with a giggle. “But at least I tried. You didn’t.”
“You were crazy. But I thought you were the most exciting girl I’d ever seen. You were absolutely fearless.” He paused, then reached out and touched her face. “What’s going on here, Hayley?”
She turned away, staring out at the horizon. “What do you…I don’t know what you mean.” Was he talking about the kiss? About the attraction that they still obviously felt for each other?
“Look at this place. It’s a bloody mess. He’s feeding your horse moldy grain. And she doesn’t look like she’s been exercised or groomed in weeks. Your grandfather used to take such pride in the place.”
“I—I didn’t know it was getting this bad,” she said, grateful that she wouldn’t have to analyze the kiss. “I haven’t been home for three years. I thought Benny McKenzie was taking care of everything. I was sending money and they were cashing the checks. But then, I spoke to Daisy Willey last week and she told me Benny’s mother had taken sick and Benny had left to tend to her. He’s been gone a month. But this couldn’t have all happened in a month.”
“What about the other stockmen?”
“There are no others. My grandfather ran them all off. He thought they were lazy and not worth their pay. And when there was no one left to care for the stock, he sold it. Molly is the last animal on Wallaroo, besides the rabbits and kangaroos and dingoes.” She forced a smile. “I’m going to try to convince him to sell the station. Or maybe lease out the land. His health is bad, he’s still smoking and he hasn’t been to a doctor since I came to live on the station thirteen years ago.”
“You’re not going to get him off this station,” Teague said.
“I have to try,” she said, her voice tinged with resignation. “And if I succeed, I want you to take Molly and find her a good home.”
Teague nodded. “But until then, I’ll bring some decent feed from Kerry Creek when I stop by tomorrow to check on her.”
“You’re coming back?” Hayley asked, unable to ignore the rush of excitement that made her heart flutter. She’d see him again. And maybe this time, she wouldn’t be weeping uncontrollably.
“Follow-up visit,” he said. “It’s part of the service.”
Joy welled up inside her and Hayley couldn’t help but smile. Her arrival on Wallaroo had brought nothing but sorrow. And though she knew it would be best to get her grandfather off the station, she’d thought that selling the land would cut her last connection with the boy she’d once loved.
Now that connection was alive again. He was here with her, touching her and kissing her and making her feel as though they might be able to turn back the clock. “Thank you,” she said again.
“You need to exercise her,” Teague suggested. “Easy at first. A nice gentle walk. You could always ride out to the shack. That’s not too far.”
Surprised by the suggestion, Hayley couldn’t help but wonder if it was an invitation. The shack had been their secret meeting place when they were teenagers. The place where they’d discovered the pleasures of sex.
“Maybe I’ll do that.”
“I mean, I don’t know how long you’re planning to stay, but—”
“I don’t know, either,” Hayley said. “My plans are…flexible. A week or two, at least.”
This seemed to make him happy. He looked at his watch. “I really should go. Don’t feed her tonight. Just water. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She quickly stood up, wanting him to stay but unable to give him a good reason. “Tomorrow,” she repeated. Hayley glanced down, wincing inwardly. There were so many things she needed to say, but now didn’t seem like the right time. She looked up to find him staring at her. And then, acting purely on impulse, she pushed up onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
She slowly retreated, embarrassed that she’d shown him a hint of the emotions roiling inside her. But then, an instant later, Teague crushed her to his chest, his mouth coming down on hers in a desperate kiss.
In a heartbeat, her body came alive, her pulse quickening and her senses awash with desire. He was so familiar, and yet this was much more powerful than she’d remembered. Her knees wobbled but he was there to hold her.
They stumbled until she was pressed against the rough siding of the stable. His hands drifted lower, cupping her backside and pulling her hips against his. Hayley felt herself losing touch with reality. How many times had she dreamed of this moment? Over the years, she’d wondered what it might be like if they saw each other again. And now, the time had come and she wanted to remember every single second, every wild sensation.
Hayley clutched his shirt, fighting the urge to tear at the buttons. She wanted nothing more than to shed her clothes and allow him to have his way with her. She knew, just by the effects of his kiss, what he could do to her. It had been so long since she’d felt such unbridled passion. Was Teague the man she’d been waiting for all this time?
His palm slid beneath her shirt and up to her bare breast and she arched closer. Cupping her warm flesh, Teague ran his thumb over her nipple until it grew hard. God, it felt so good to have his hands on her body again. All the years between them seemed to drop away and the world was right again.
Hayley worked at the buttons of his shirt and when she pressed her hand against his chest, she could feel his heart pounding in a furious rhythm. “Make love to me,” she pleaded.
Her plea seemed to take him by surprise and he stepped back and stared down into her eyes, as if searching for proof that she’d spoken at all. She saw confusion mixed with his desire. Had she made a mistake? Had she moved too fast?
“Hayley! Where are you, girl?”
The sound of her grandfather’s voice shocked her into reality. She quickly straightened her clothes and brushed her hair from her eyes. “Here,” she called.
Teague reached for the buttons of his shirt as she turned to wait for her grandfather in the doorway of the stable. “We’re watching Molly,” she said with a bright smile. “She’s better. See?”
He stepped out into the late-afternoon sun, shading his eyes as he searched the paddock. His eyesight had been failing for years, yet he refused to get glasses. Sometimes his stubbornness was downright silly, she mused. At this moment, though, it was convenient. “Where’s that damn vet?”
“I’m here, sir.”
Hayley steeled herself for what she knew would be a litany of harsh words between them. A Quinn setting foot on Wallaroo was unthinkable. “Grandfather, I don’t think—”
“What’s your name, boy?” he demanded.
Teague glanced at Hayley, sending her a questioning look and she frowned. Hayley quickly cleared her throat, stunned that her grandfather hadn’t recognized Teague. “His name is Tom,” she said. “Tom Barrett.”
It was the name of one of the characters on Castle Cove, but her grandfather had never seen the program so there wasn’t much chance of him recognizing the name.
