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He shrugged. “Something to hide behind, I guess. She still wants riding lessons.”
Callie clicked Kirra forward and began to walk from the arena. “Well, Janelle Evans is a good instructor.”
He stepped in beside her. “She’s asked for you.”
“She can’t … you can’t … I just …”
Something happened then. Her legs stopped moving. Her lungs stopped breathing as she turned and their eyes locked. For one extraordinary moment Callie knew that whatever she was feeling, he was feeling it, too. It was crazy, heady and blindingly powerful.
He spoke first. “Lily rarely asks for anything.”
Callie continued walking. “Which means?”
“Which means I’m inclined to do whatever I can to see that she gets what she wants.”
They got to the gate. Callie tied Kirra to the railing, took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I—”
“Callie,” he said “Please, reconsider.” He placed his hand on her arm. A light touch, but the electricity coursing between their skin could not be denied. He looked at his hand but didn’t remove it. Callie stood still, held in place by his touch, by the mere wisp of space that lay between them. “Lily needs you.” He paused, watching her. “And I … and I need you.”
Chapter Four (#u418be5ea-a9d5-52b7-a196-c52cb9116728)
Callie moved her arm. Away from his touch. Away from temptation. Away from the realization that she liked how his hand felt against her skin.
I need you …
There was something startlingly intimate about the way he spoke the words. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had said that to her. Maybe never. Craig hadn’t needed her. And Noah Preston didn’t need her, either … not really. He just wanted her to teach his daughter to ride a horse.
“I can’t.”
He smiled. “Yes, you can.”
God, he was relentless. Callie lifted her chin. “I said I can’t.”
“She’ll be on her best behavior,” he said.
Callie expelled a heavy breath. “Even if she is, I’m not—”
“Is your unwillingness actually about Lily?” he interrupted her. “Or something else?”
Her heart quickened. “Like what?”
He looked at her. Really looked. Callie felt compelled to turn her gaze away, but she didn’t. Couldn’t. She’d never felt this kind of intensity with anyone before. She’d spent years convincing herself she didn’t want it.
“I thought that perhaps you and …” He stopped, hesitated and sort of half smiled. “I think we … I think we might have started off on the wrong foot.”
He wasn’t kidding. But she wasn’t about to admit it. She wasn’t about to admit to anything. Instead, she thought about the practical. “Why this sudden confidence in my abilities?”
“Because Lily believes in you.”
Callie didn’t break their eye contact. “Even though you don’t?”
“And if I said I did? Would you reconsider teaching Lily? If I apologized again for being a jerk and asked you to do this for my daughter?”
Her insides quivered. Don’t be nice to me. “You don’t give up easily.”
He shook his head. “Not when I want something.” He looked around. “I heard you’d lost some students recently.”
She stared at him. “How did you know that?”
He grinned. “Local gossip.”
Callie’s skin prickled. Just like the local gossip she’d listened to last weekend. “Yes, I did.”
He looked around, to the house, then back to her. “So, it looks like you’re not doing well financially.”
More prickles. “I’m not filing for bankruptcy just yet.”
A full smile this time. “I didn’t mean to imply you were,” he said carefully. “But I thought perhaps we could strike a deal.”
Cautious, Callie’s interest spiked. “What kind of deal?”
“Your usual fee—plus I’ll help prevent your house from ‘crumbling around your ears.’”
She stilled. “And how exactly will you do that?”
“I’ll do whatever maintenance needs to be done while Lily’s having her lessons.”
Callie looked at him suspiciously. “Do you work construction?”
“No,” he replied. “But I know my way around a toolbox.”
I’ll bet you do. Suddenly she was tempted. Very tempted. She did need the money. And as for his offer to help repair her house … that idea dangled like a juicy carrot in front of her nose. With windows that wouldn’t open, doors needing repair, fence palings hanging loose and the knowledge she needed to chase the entire house with a paintbrush, the lure of his offer teased her. Refusing would be impulsive. And foolish.
And Lily … she wanted to help Lily. Helping Lily was suddenly important to her.
Oh, hell.
“Okay,” she said quickly, before she had time to think about what it might mean to have him hanging around her house every Sunday morning. Him and his adorable kids.
Noah looked instantly pleased. “Good. Will you start today?”
She shook her head. “No. Next week. Sunday, nine o’clock.”
He stepped back, finally, and she dipped underneath Kirra’s neck, feeling safer with the horse between them. “Thank you, Callie. You won’t regret it.”
Too late … she already did.
He walked off without another word, collecting his kids along the way. Once his truck had disappeared down the driveway, Callie took off Kirra’s tack and led her to the washing bay.
Joe appeared, his hair spotted with straw from the bales he’d been lugging off the truck and into the feed room.
“So, what’s the deal with Vampira?” he asked, grimacing as he passed Callie an old towel. “Scary.” He shuddered. “Do you reckon she’s got tattoos, as well?”
Callie wasn’t about to admit that she had one herself. “That’s not nice.”
He shrugged his lanky shoulders. “If my little sister went around looking like that my parents would go ballistic.” He made a disagreeable face. “Was that her dad—Noah Preston?”
Callie stopped rubbing the towel over Kirra’s flanks. “Do you know him?”
“I met him last weekend when he was looking for you. My Uncle Frank bought one of his boats last year.”
Her interest increased tenfold. “He sells boats?”
Joe shook his head. “He designs boats,” he replied. “And builds them. Top-of-the-range stuff. He’s got a big factory in town. Uncle Frank reckons his boats are the best around.”
Noah was a boat builder. And a single dad. And too gorgeous for her peace of mind.
As she led Kirra back to her stall, Callie couldn’t stop thinking about how deeply he affected her. And how much she wished he didn’t.
The Crystal Point Twilight Fair was an annual event that raised funds for the local elementary school and volunteer Rural Fire Brigade. Callie had been invited to provide horse rides for a small fee. The money collected would go directly back to the organizing committee, but it gave her an opportunity to promote her riding school. Sunshine and Peanuts, her two quietest geldings, loved the attention and happily walked around the makeshift yard she’d put together with a little help from Joe. There was also a jumping castle, a small carousel, a baby animal pen and a variety of stalls selling homemade cakes and candies and assorted handicrafts.
“So, are you staying for the dance later?” Fiona asked as she navigated Peanuts past her.
Callie checked the child clinging to Sunshine’s saddle and smiled at her friend as they passed one another. “In this outfit?” she said, motioning a hand gesture to her worn jeans, thin sweater and riding boots. “I’ll skip it. I have to get the horses back anyhow.”
On their next passing Fiona spoke again. “I could use the company.”
“Maybe another time.’
Callie didn’t socialize much. Or at all. There seemed to be little time in her life for anything other than work. And she wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind to be thinking about dating.
Dating? Where did that come from?
She maneuvered the pony toward the entrance and helped the child dismount. The queue had grown and about six kids were waiting in line. She took the next one in turn.
An older woman came forward with two small children. They looked familiar and she glanced at the woman, taking in her attractive features, dark hair and deep green eyes.
Noah’s children.
Callie’s breath caught in her throat. The blond-haired pair were unmistakable. They were Noah’s twins. And she was certain the striking-looking older woman was his mother.
“Is something wrong?” the woman asked.
Callie shook her head. “Of course not … It’s just that I know your … Evie,” she said quietly, suddenly self-conscious. “And Lily,” she explained. “I’ll be teaching Lily.”
The other woman smiled. “Yes, I know. My son told me.”
Callie’s skin heated. She stopped herself from looking around to see if he was close by. “Let’s get the kids up on the pony.”
“Can they go together?”
“Yes.” Callie took the little girl’s hand and helped her into the saddle. She was such a pretty child and had an adorable smile. Something uncurled inside her with a sharp, ripping intensity. She’d become so adept at covering her feelings that children didn’t normally do this to her … didn’t make her think about Ryan. But this little girl did. With her bright eyes and rosy cheeks, Noah’s daughter made her remember all she had lost.
Callie managed a smile, fought against the lump suddenly forming in her throat and helped the little boy aboard the pony. He was quieter than his sister and didn’t say a word, while the little girl chatted for the entire duration of the pony ride.
She walked the perimeter of the arena a few times and learned that the girl’s name was Hayley and her brother was Matthew. They were four and a half and couldn’t wait to start school soon. They loved their grandma and Aunt Evie and didn’t like green vegetables all that much.
By the time the ride was over Callie had a strange pain wedged behind her rib cage.
She headed for the gate, passing Fiona on another round, and was surprised to find the children’s grandmother gone.
And Noah stood in her place.
“Daddy!” Hayley exclaimed. “Look at me.”
He was smiling that mega-watt smile and Callie’s stomach rolled over. “Hello.”
She swallowed hard and tried not to think about how good he looked in jeans and a navy golf shirt. “Hi.” She glanced into his eyes, saw awareness, felt that familiar jolt of attraction. “Your mother?”
He nodded. “She’s gone back to trawling the craft stalls.” He gestured to the kids. “Did they behave themselves?”
“They were perfect little angels.”
He laughed out loud. “Angels? That doesn’t sound like my kids.”
Callie smiled back. “She’s a natural. So is Matthew.”
Both children looked pleased as could be with the praise. He hauled Hayley into his arms and then placed her onto the ground. Matthew followed soon after. The kids moved around to the front of Sunshine and began stroking his nose.
“So, can you take a break from this gig?”
“A break?” she echoed. “What for?”
He smiled. “To talk. You could let me buy you a soda.”
“I really don’t think—”
“I’d like to get to know you better.”
There it was, right out in the open. “Why—”
“You know why, Callie.”
Without anything to hide behind, Callie felt so raw, so completely exposed, she could barely draw breath. She stared at him for a moment and then looked toward the now queue of one waiting for a turn on a pony. “Um … I probably shouldn’t,” she said on a whisper. “There’s someone still—”
“We’ll wait.”
We’ll wait. Him and the children she wanted so desperately to avoid—but somehow couldn’t.
