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Daniel’s hand tightened on the rope. Rider immediately came to a halt.
Heat rose up his neck and into his face as Daniel turned toward the voice.
Megan leaned over the arena’s metal fence, her arms folded over the top rail, lines etched across her smooth forehead.
Though he was happy Megan had returned, Daniel couldn’t erase his concern over the content of his dreams, and he worried his thoughts would be easily discernible in his eyes. Without meeting her gaze, Daniel nodded. “Good morning, Megan,” he acknowledged, gathering the rope until he held the horse on a short lead.
The normally reserved and always confident young woman chewed on her lower lip, and her brows puckered. “We need to talk,” she blurted.
His stomach knotting, Daniel braced himself. “Yes, we do. Let me take care of Rider first. Then we can talk uninterrupted.”
“Okay,” she said, biting on her lower lip again, driving Daniel nuts with the nervous movement that only drew his attention to the mouth he’d kissed so hard the day before.
He opened the gate to the arena and led Rider through.
Megan closed the gate and trailed behind Daniel and Rider, following them into the barn.
Not certain what he was going to say, Daniel chose to concentrate on the horse, putting off the talk as long as he could, hoping he could say something that would make sense and put things back on an even keel. He liked Megan. A lot. And he didn’t want to lose her over something as stupid, and inconsiderate, and completely unforgettable as a kiss.
Holy hell, he couldn’t even come up with an apology when he wasn’t at all sorry he’d kissed her. He’d be sorry only if she left because of it.
After grabbing a brush, Daniel stalled by running the brush over Rider’s back.
Megan fetched another brush and took the other side, working quickly, her strong hands smoothing over the horse’s sides, meeting Daniel over the horse’s hindquarters. She stared across the animal’s rump and said, “Daniel, I have to quit.” Then she spun and paced away from him.
“Won’t you at least give me the chance to apologize properly?”
Her head down, her boot heels pounding the dirt, she marched to the end of the barn and back. “Normally I’d give two weeks’ notice. But that’s impossible.”
His chest tightening with each of her words, Daniel stood with a brush in his hands. How could he salvage this situation and keep her on the Lucky C? “Under the circumstances, I don’t blame you, but I wish you’d reconsider.”
She paced, shaking her head, her long French braid whipping side to side. “If there was any other way, I wouldn’t go, but I don’t see another option.”
“Again, I don’t blame you. I blame myself.” He set the brush on a workbench and gathered Megan’s hands in his. “I wish there was something I could say or do to make it better. Please don’t go. I need you here.”
She stared up into his eyes. “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t leave, he’ll sell them all.” Her eyes swam with tears.
Daniel stared down at her. “What are you talking about?”
“My horses.” She frowned. “What did you think I was talking about?”
A wave of relief nearly made Daniel weak. “I thought you were mad about yesterday.”
Her frown deepening, she stared into his eyes. “Yesterday?” Then her eyes widened and her mouth formed a kissable O. “Yesterday.” Twin flags of color flew high on her cheekbones. “The kiss.”
“The kiss.” His hands slid up her arms and stopped before he pulled her close and kissed her again. “I thought you were going to leave because I crossed the line.”
“You think I’d leave because of a kiss? I thought you knew me better than that.”
“You had every right to quit. As your boss, I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“For your information, there were two people involved in that kiss. It was not one-sided. And that’s not the reason I’m leaving.”
“Then what is?”
“My father.” She pulled in a long breath and let it out. “He gave me an ultimatum. He’s going to sell my horses if I don’t come home to live.”
Daniel’s fingers tightened on her arms. “I thought the horses at the Triple Diamond were quality stock. They are ranked right up there in standing with the Kennedys’ breeding program.”
“Yeah, well my father doesn’t really give a damn about the horses. It was just a project he took on at my suggestion until I left.”
“Can’t you buy them from him?” Daniel couldn’t wrap his mind around throwing away some of the best horseflesh in the nation.
“If I had the money my grandmother left to me.” She shook her head. “But I won’t get that until I’m married. It’s a stipulation of her will. Even then, I’d have to purchase them through a third party. My father would never sell them to me. He wants me home, and this is his leverage.”
“Didn’t you say he was sick?”
“Yes, but I can never tell how sick he is. He always tries to manipulate me and make me live according to his standards. I don’t want to go back, but I don’t have another choice. I have to go home. I can’t let him sell those horses. They’re top breeders...and...my friends.”
Daniel gathered her in his arms and stroked her head. “It’s okay. We’ll think of something.”
She rested her cheek against his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt. “There’s nothing to think about. I have to go. The sooner the better.”
He tipped her face up. “When is he selling?”
“He gave me one week to get home or the horses go on the auction block.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“Well, that gives us a week.”
“One week isn’t enough.” She shook her head. “I don’t see any other way. If he sells them as breeding stock, they’ll go high. I won’t be able to buy them. I barely have enough money to pay next month’s rent. So you see, I have to go home.” She took a step back and stood in front of him, her shoulders slumped, the first tears sliding from the corners of her eyes. “I thought he was bluffing. But I can’t bet those horses on a bluff.”
The anger he could handle. But as the tears slid down Megan’s cheeks, it felt like a large fist had clenched around his heart and squeezed. He pulled her against him again and held her close, resting his cheek against the top of her head. “I have a little money saved.”
She laid her face against his chest. “I can’t take your money. This isn’t your problem. It’s mine.”
“Well, don’t do anything today. Give us some time to come up with some solutions.”
“I’m out of solutions,” she said, pressing her face into his shirt.
“Just promise me you won’t leave right away. Can you do that?”
“It’ll take time for me to organize my apartment, shut off my utilities and inform my landlord. But once I have all that done, I have to drive to California.”
“Just hold on for a day or two. We’ll think of something.”
Her arms slipped around his waist. “I don’t expect you to take on my problems. You’re my boss, not my fairy godmother.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’d look pretty silly in a dress, carrying a fairy wand, and I’m not such a great boss at that.”
“Why do you say that?” She looked up at him through watery green eyes. “You’re great.”
“Because a good boss doesn’t go around kissing his employees.” He stared down at her damp cheeks, his belly flipping. “Right now, I want to be a very bad boss.”
Her eyes flared with desire. “How so?”
“I want to kiss you. Again.”
She sucked in a breath and bit down on that lip before saying, “I told you, I quit. That means you’re not my boss.”
He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed. How he wanted to kiss her. “I’m not accepting your resignation.”
“You don’t have a choice,” she said, her lips so close.
Daniel could almost feel how soft they were. He wanted to kiss her so badly his lips tingled. The warmth of her breath feathered across his mouth. His hands shook with the effort it took to resist.
Then he pushed her to arm’s length. “I can’t screw this up. If we find a way to save your horses without you moving back to California, you’ll still be my employee. I don’t want to risk losing you as an assistant.”
Megan sighed and dropped her arms. “Okay, boss, I’ll be here for another day, but I’ll only be able to work half a day tomorrow. I have a lot to do to get my stuff packed for the move.”
“Don’t start packing yet. We’ll come up with a solution. In the meantime, I need you to call the vet lab and see if they came up with anything from the sample you took in yesterday.”
“They won’t have had time to process it,” Megan argued.
“Then research other breeding programs. The Kennedy deal might not happen.”
“Why? You have a fine program here. You’re a rising star in quarter horse breeding.”
Daniel snorted. “As far as the Kennedys are concerned, that isn’t enough.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to go into it. Just do that research for me, will you?”
She popped a salute and gave him a crooked smile. “Yes, boss.” Then she turned and marched into the barn office.
Daniel let go of the breath he’d been holding since the urge to kiss Megan again had nearly pushed him past reason. He had to come up with a plan to help Megan get those horses or he’d lose her. After working with her for only four months, he knew she’d be impossible to replace. In more ways than he’d ever imagined.
* * *
Megan entered the office, closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Her face burned and her heart hurt so much she could barely think straight. She’d wanted to kiss Daniel. She’d almost thrown herself at him. After yesterday’s kiss, she’d thought there might be something between them. But today he’d pushed her away. Apparently he wasn’t as infatuated with her as she was with him.
Since the first day she’d come to work with Daniel, she’d known he was special. The man was quiet and dedicated. He loved horses as much as she did. His Cherokee ancestry didn’t hurt, either. He was tall and handsome. That dark, dark hair and even darker brown eyes made her crazy with longing. Maybe she should leave. Staying at the Lucky C and falling in love with Daniel would only set her up for a whole lot of pain.
The irony of it all was that all problems would have been solved if he’d professed a secret love for her and asked her to marry him. She’d have the man of her most sensual dreams and meet the stipulation of her grandmother’s will. She’d inherit her grandmother’s sizable financial holdings upon her marriage. That money would be enough to purchase the horses from her father and she’d never be subject to his threats again. Her life would be her own to live the way she saw fit.
Megan drew in a long, steadying breath and let it out on a sigh. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. She held out no hope for another solution to her situation. But two more days with Daniel were better than nothing.
She sat behind the desk and thumbed through her contacts to find the number for the vet lab in Tulsa and called. When she reached one of the lab techs, she explained she was calling for the Lucky C Ranch.
“Oh, we’re so glad you called. We had a lull in samples, so we were able to get right on the one you left last night. I’m surprised that horse is still standing. The sample you left us indicated she was poisoned.” The tech gave her the scientific name of the poison, which Megan wrote on a pad.
“It affects the animal’s nervous system, making her jumpy and overstimulated.”
“How would a horse get hold of something like that?”
“It’s not like it grows around here. Either it was present in the food she was fed, something brought it into her environment or someone gave it to her.”
Megan’s gut clenched at the final option. They fed all the breeding horses the same feed, and Halo was the only one to show any symptoms.
“Okay, I’ll let the boss know. Thank you for the information.” Megan hung up and stared at the phone for exactly two seconds. Then she pushed to her feet and ran out to the stalls.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel had just finished mucking Rider’s stall and stood the rake against the wall.
“The vet lab said Halo was poisoned.”
“What?” He hurried to Halo’s stall with Megan.
The mare stood with her head sagging, her breathing labored.
“She seemed fine early this morning when I checked on her.” Daniel entered the stall and ran his hands over her neck, checked her eyes and looked down her throat. “Call the vet.”
Megan ran back to the office and dialed the veterinarian who serviced the animals on the Lucky C. He was there within twenty minutes, and they spent the rest of the afternoon working to save Halo.
Megan and Daniel cleaned her stall thoroughly, took samples from her trough and searched the barn for anything contaminated that she could have come in contact with. Nothing stood out.
After the vet left with strict instructions on how to take care of the very sick horse, Megan stood by Daniel. “What now?”
“We wait and see how she does by morning. We’ve done all we can do.”
Megan stared at Daniel’s worried face. Neither one of them had eaten lunch, and the work they’d done all afternoon had depleted Megan’s personal store of energy. It had to have taken a toll on Daniel’s. “It’s nearly supper time. Why don’t we grab a bite to eat?”
Daniel shook his head. “I have deli meat and bread at the cabin. Help yourself. I’m staying with Halo.”
Knowing Daniel needed to fuel his system for what appeared to be an all-nighter, Megan left him in the barn and hiked over to his cabin. It wasn’t the first time she’d gone to the cabin to make sandwiches. The man didn’t take care of himself. As his assistant, she’d helped him set up a robust database to track horses, feed, lineage, exercise and all the other nuances of running a breeding facility. She’d also learned what kind of sandwiches he preferred and made sure he ate.
She entered the cabin through the front door and headed for the small kitchen. Having little in the way of decorations, the cabin reflected the male occupant through the dark leather furniture and large television screen for the occasional football game he liked to watch. The furnishings were spare and serviceable.
In the kitchen, his refrigerator held five bottles of beer, a couple bottles of water, one moldy orange, a few bottles of condiments, a jug of soured milk and a package of deli meat. Megan gave the meat a smell test. Thankfully it passed.
After throwing together two sandwiches, she grabbed the bottled water and hurried back to the barn, not wanting to be away from Daniel and Halo any longer than necessary.
Daniel was where she’d left him and Halo lay on the ground beside him.
Her heart went out to the horse. “She doesn’t look good.”
“The vet said tonight would be the big test.”
Megan held out the sandwich she’d wrapped in a paper towel. “Eat. You’re no good to anyone if you pass out from hunger.”
