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He frowned. “What?”
“I volunteer with an organization that saves abused and neglected horses,” she explained. “A couple of weeks ago I got word that there are three horses somewhere on the other side of town that are stuck in a bare paddock and need veterinary care. We’ve only had sketchy reports on their whereabouts so far. The owner moves them around to avoid impoundment.”
“That’s terrible. What can you do?” Lily asked in a shrill voice.
“Seize them, hopefully.”
His ever-astute daughter picked up on the obvious. “Isn’t that stealing?”
“Not when the owners are breaking animal protection laws.”
Lily nodded. “If you need any help, I’ll—”
“Leave it to the experts,” Noah said. “I’m sure Callie has it under control.”
“Your dad’s right,” Callie assured Lily. “But you can help me nurse them back to health when we finally find them. Joe’s saddled Samson for you,” she said as she pointed toward the sand arena.
Once Lily headed off, Callie turned to face him. Her eyes were blue and luminous. “I have a list,” she said quickly. She pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket and held it toward him. “Of things for you to do.” She made a dismissive gesture. “Of course, if you’ve changed your mind I’ll—”
“We had a deal,” he said, sensing she was mentally backing out from talking to him as fast as she could. She half shrugged and took a breath, trying to look causal, but Noah wasn’t fooled. The tiny pulse at the base of her throat beat like a wild thing. And the promises he’d made to himself only minutes before vanished. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her Fiona greeted. “Good to see properly.
“It’s only small stuff,” she said. “A couple of windows that won’t lock right and the back fence—”
“No problem,” he said quietly and took the list.
“I’ll be about an hour with Lily,” she said and pivoted on her heels.
Noah watched her walk into the arena, back rigid, arms held tight to her side. He lingered for a few minutes and observed Callie’s interaction with his daughter. Lily looked unusually cheerful and he knew she was excited to finally be in the saddle. The lesson started with Callie laying down a firm set of rules and Lily agreeing to every single one.
Lily respected Callie. Somehow, Callie understood what Lily needed.
Noah experienced a strange pang in his chest, dismissed it and headed for his truck to unload the toolbox. He had a lot of work to do.
* * *
Callie was wound like a spring. She’d barely slept the night before and had struggled to concentrate during a lesson earlier that morning with Maddy Spears, her newest student.
She knew she had to concentrate on Lily … and ignore the fact that Noah was only a couple of hundred meters away.
I kissed him. And he didn’t exactly kiss me back.
She wasn’t sure whether she should feel relieved or insulted.
“How’s this?” Lily asked Callie, interrupting her reverie.
Callie focused her attention on the teenager. She was impressed with Lily. The girl had a natural seat and good hands. Once the lesson had concluded she eased on the long reining lead and called Samson to a halt in front of her.
“That was good. Well done.”
Lily raised her brows. “Do I get to ride off the lunge rein next week?”
Callie unclipped the lead. “No.”
Lily dismounted and landed on her heels. “Why not?”
“Balance,” Callie replied and handed the reins to her.
Lily frowned. “Huh?”
Callie began walking from the arena. “Every rider needs to start with balance. Once I know you’ve aced it, the lead comes off.”
Lily clicked the horse forward and followed. “And what if I don’t?”
“You will,” Callie said. “You have a good seat and soft hands, essential for a successful rider. Take Samson to the wash-bay and Joe will help you strap him down.”
Lily buried her face into the animal’s neck and smiled. “I can do it by myself.”
Callie raised her brows. “What was rule number five?”
Lily exhaled heavily. “Don’t question the four other rules.”
“Exactly. Go and get Samson sorted. I’ll see you when you’re done.”
When Lily was out of sight Callie considered her options. Hang around the ménage or show some guts and see what he was up to. Her boots made their way across the yard until she reached the house. She stood at the bottom of the steps. Noah had his back to her and she watched him maneuver an old window off its track, make a few adjustments and then replace it. Her heart raced. No man should look that good in jeans. He raised his arms and she got a quick glimpse of smooth skin beneath the hem of his T-shirt. Oh, sweet heaven. Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing, turned and looked at her.
“How was it?” he asked.
She gulped. “Huh?”
“Lily—how’d she do?”
Callie put the image of skin out of her mind. “Very good. She’s a natural.”
He smiled at her and she felt the power of it through her entire body.
“Are you okay?”
It’s just skin. I’ve seen skin before. “Yes,” she replied and swallowed. “I’m fine.”
He stepped away from the door. “She behaved herself?”
“She did,” Callie replied. “She’s quite sweet, actually.”
He grinned. “Well, I’m pleased the two of you are getting along.” He leaned back against the balustrade. “Seeing as that’s out the way, are we going to talk about us now?”
Callie took a quick breath. Here we go. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yeah, there is.”
“It was just a kiss,” she said, and the moment she’d said the word kiss, she regretted it immediately.
“It wasn’t just anything, Callie.”
He was right. Callie felt it down through to her bones. “Okay,” she admitted. “It wasn’t.”
“So, what shall we do about it?”
Her heart raced. Do? “I don’t know if we … I don’t think we should do anything.” She took a deep breath and inhaled a burst of bravado. “We just won’t kiss again.”
There’s that word again … When the word should probably be bliss. Because she suspected that’s what really being kissed by Noah would feel like.
He smiled and came down the steps. “I don’t think I can make that promise to you, Callie.”
Stupidly, she smiled back for a second. “You didn’t kiss me back.” The words popped out of her mouth. “I figured you weren’t interested.”
He took another step toward her. “Would you like me to prove to you that I am?”
Callie almost swallowed her tongue. He is interested … he wants me. “Right here?” she asked, wondering what kind of madness had taken hold of her.
He shrugged. “Why not?”
Callie took a step backward. He wouldn’t, would he? Kiss her out in the open, where anyone could see? Possibly in front of his daughter? She warmed from head to toe. But no … she looked at him and saw he was smiling. “Are you teasing me?”
“Just a bit.”
Callie didn’t quite know how to react. Teasing and flirting were almost an alien concept to her. Craig had never teased, never flirted. It was always business, always work, always pushing toward being better, being the best. Only now, years later, did Callie realize how little laughter there’d been in their relationship. But Noah had a relaxed sense of humor, a relaxed sense of self. She was sure he worked hard—but he didn’t live to work. He lived for other things. Like his kids. It would be hard alone, raising four children single-handedly.
Craig hadn’t wanted one child.
In the end Craig hadn’t lived to see his son born. And Callie had buried them both within days of one another—her tiny son and the man who was supposed to have loved her but instead betrayed her.
The worst week of her life. Excruciating. Soul-destroying. Heartbreaking.
“Where are the rest of your kids today?” she asked, shifting her thoughts from Ryan. And, for some reason, she wanted to know where his children were and who was caring for them.
“With Evie,” he replied. “I didn’t think you’d want them underfoot while you’re working.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” she said quickly. Too quickly.
He’d heard the tremor in her voice because his brows slanted together for a brief second. “You don’t like kids?”
You don’t like my kids … that’s what his question sounded like.
Callie shrugged again. I adore kids, she wanted to say. If I had my way I’d have a dozen of my own and love them with every fiber inside me.
But that was a pipe dream. Ryan was the only child she would ever have. And I can’t replace him. I won’t let myself love like that again.
“I like kids,” she said softly.
“Me, too,” he said, smiling again. “Can I call you sometime this week?”
Callie was startled. “For what?” she asked, her heart beating wildly.
“Don’t look so suspicious,” he said quietly. “Nothing sinister.”
Callie felt foolish then. “Sorry,” she said on a breath.
“I thought you might like to go out sometime.”
Like a date? She should run as fast as she could. The idea of going out with him was terrifying. Because she sensed it was something she could get used to. “I don’t … it’s just that I’m … I’m better with horses than I am with people.”
“And yet you became a teacher?”
She shrugged. He had a point. She could have turned her skills toward training horses for the show circuit. But teaching the kids … that’s where she found real happiness.
“Speaking of which, I have to get back to work,” she said. “I have a new student starting in fifteen minutes.”
His green eyes scanned her face. “Business looking up?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “Much better. I had a new student start this morning, plus three calls yesterday and now four new students starting over the next two weeks.”
“That’s good news for you.”
“I know,” she said, a little breathlessly because she always felt as if she didn’t have quite enough air in her lungs when talking with him. “When I lost clients following the incident with the Trent girls I wasn’t sure I’d be able to recoup. Sonja Trent accused me of discriminating against her daughters and threatened to lodge a complaint with the equestrian federation. Nothing came of it, of course, except she managed to persuade half-a-dozen parents to pull their kids out.”
“And then some jerk says he wants to see you lose your license?”
Callie smiled fractionally. “Ah—well, that was a bit of a red flag for me.”
“Rightly so, considering the circumstances. I would never have done it, you know?”
“I know,” she said, softer this time, feeling like their worlds were moving closer. “I lost my temper. When I called you a jerk I didn’t know you.” She paused, searching for the words. “I didn’t like you. But I know you now. I … like you now.”
I more than like you…
“I like you too, Callie.”
Her heart beat like a freight train and it was so loud she wondered if he could hear it.
Minutes later he took Lily and left, leaving Callie standing by the porch with a smile on her face so deep her jaw ached.
Lily arrived unexpectedly at Sandhills Farm on Wednesday afternoon, riding her bicycle. She wore her school uniform, sensible leather shoes and her black hair tied back in a ponytail. The uniform looked oddly out of place with her full makeup. “I’ve come to see Samson,” Lily told her when Callie approached her.
“Does your father know you’re here?” Callie asked.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Sure.”
Callie began her next lesson with Maddy Spears and Lily began chatting with Maddy’s mother, Angela. They seemed to know one another quite well. Her suspicions were confirmed a little later, once Maddy’s lesson had finished and Lily came forward with a kind of indulgent authority and steered Maddy and Sunshine toward the washing bay, flipping Callie an assurance that the gelding would be looked after.
