Texas Orchids (The Devil's Horn Ranch Series) Page 10

  Maddox laughs. “You’re unbelievably strong for your size.”

  “I do work with thousand-pound animals.”

  He picks up the rest, and we leave.

  “You think he’ll buy the story about the pipes?” he asks when we’re back in the truck.

  “I’m not planning on telling him unless he asks. We don’t normally see each other much during the week.”

  “Kind of risky, don’t you think?”

  “We’re not at the stage where we tell each other everything, so I don’t think so.”

  “What stage are you at?”

  “We’re not at any stage. I’m pretending, Maddox.”

  “Right.”

  “I keep thinking about what would have happened if I’d been sleeping with him. Would Katherine have expected me to continue to do it?”

  Maddox sneers. “No fucking way.”

  I try not to smile. I don’t know him very well, but he’s already protective of me. “Tell me about the guesthouse. Vivian gave me a tour a long time ago. I seem to remember brown walls.”

  “They’re white now,” he says. “Actually, they’re ‘summer linen’ in an eggshell finish.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I painted them last week. The old color made it too dark inside. I didn’t want you to feel closed in.”

  “It’s a three-bedroom house. I hardly think it’ll feel small.” I stare at his profile. “You painted it for me?”

  He shrugs. “Had some free time.”

  “You’ve had no free time. You spend your days mucking out stalls, mending fences, and learning all there is to know about ranch life.”

  “Okay, I’ve had some free nights.”

  We pull up to the ranch and park. He goes straight to the guesthouse, which shares a driveway with the main house. The back doors of each can’t be much more than fifty feet apart. My skin prickles as I imagine sneaking over to the main house in the middle of the night.

  He helps me bring my belongings inside. Everything I see reminds me of Vivian. She loved to find furnishings at antique stores. I run a finger along the edge of a breakfront bookcase and stop when I come to a picture of me sitting on Baby Blue.

  “She obviously thought of you as family,” Maddox says.

  “And I her.”

  My stroll through the living room is like a walk down memory lane with all the pictures. Maddox picks up a photo of him. “You’ll want to stash this for now, and any of the others we don’t want Victor seeing.”

  “It feels wrong.”

  “It’s just temporary, Andie. You won’t have to keep up the act forever.”

  Temporary. Just like Maddox’s presence here.

  I inhale. “Still smells like paint.”

  “I can get you some air freshener if the smell bothers you.”

  “It doesn’t. It reminds me of my granddad. When I was growing up, I was always changing my mind about what color I wanted my bedroom. One month he painted it twice. I thought I wanted black, but it creeped me out, so he painted it pink. If I recall correctly, he had to give it three coats to cover the black. He never complained. I think he felt bad about me losing my mom at such a young age. I suspect that’s one of the reasons why I want to help Katherine. I got to say goodbye to my mom. That little girl didn’t have the opportunity.”

  “Must have been hard for you.” He takes the picture of her out of my box and puts it in a prominent spot on the bookshelf.

  “I was young. Kids bounce back quicker. It would have been harder if I’d lost her during my teen years.”

  “I lost someone once,” he says. “She was my nanny, and I was seven. I know it’s not the same, but she lived with us for years. She was part of the family.”

  “What was her name?”

  “Callie.” He laughs. “She used to call me Mad Max. She used the nickname so often that Dad ended up naming his production company after it.”

  “Mad Max Productions?” I smile. “I like it. If you don’t mind my asking, why are you a bartender if your father owns a business?”

  “He owns a gym, too. He and my uncles. I tried working there. It seems like I’ve tried working everywhere.” He walks to the window and looks out into the darkness toward the stables. “Nothing ever felt right until…” He checks the time. “It’s not important. Listen, it’s late, and I’m sure you want to hit the hay. Let me help you change the sheets. I wasn’t expecting you until Thursday, so I hadn’t gotten to that yet. Who knows how long it’s been since they’ve been changed.”

  “I can do it, Maddox. You don’t have to treat me like a guest. I’m grateful this place was available and you offered it to me. You need to let me pitch in where I can.”

  He ignores me and goes to the master, where he removes the decorative pillows and starts stripping the bed. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Where are the sheets?”

  “Bathroom closet. Top shelf.”

  When I’m in the bathroom, I quickly check my appearance in the mirror. Then I roll my eyes at myself. I return to the bedroom with the sheets. It’s so domestic, making the bed together, and oddly intimate. Our eyes lock momentarily and I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing.

  When we finish, he starts to pile the decorative pillows back on. I toss one at him. “I’m only going to take them off in about five minutes.”

  “Right.” He throws a small one at me.

  I catch it and throw it back. He dodges, grabs a larger one, and runs around the bed to hit me on the backside. I squeal and jump up on the bed to escape him, but my foot slips, and I fall back, right into his arms.

  His face is inches from mine, and we’re both laughing. My heart is beating wildly. We’re silent as we stare at each other. Surely he can feel my chest thundering.

  Kiss me! I’m screaming in my head.

  And then he does.

  The moment his lips touch mine, I melt. He lays me on the bed, climbing on top of me on all fours. Our lips are the only parts of us that are touching. He kisses my top lip, then my bottom one. Then my cheeks, my chin, my neck. Then he’s back at my mouth, his tongue swiping my lips. I tilt my head, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Only one thing is going through my head right now: how have I never known kissing could be this good? He’s way better at it than Victor.

  Victor. I close my mouth and pull away.

  Maddox hops off the bed, confused.

  I sigh. “You’re—”

  He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “A jerk? An opportunist? A terrible host?”

  “I was going to say a good kisser.”

  He smiles. “Thank God.”

  “But we shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Why not?”

  “What if Victor saw us? You’d be in danger, not to mention I work for you.”

  “You don’t work for me. You work for the ranch, and even so, you’re not an employee, you’re an independent contractor. Don’t worry about Victor. I’ll make sure he never sees us.”

  I sit up. “You’re leaving soon. It’s probably best that we don’t.”

  Disappointment crosses his face. “Maybe you’re right.”

  My head is screaming at me, telling me what an idiot I am.

  “You’ll let me know if you need anything?” he asks.

  We go to the living room. “Of course. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  I call him back before he reaches the front door. “Connecticut? What’s your favorite meal?”

  “Lasagna. Why?”

  “Because I’m going to cook it for you, that’s why.”

  “But I thought we weren’t doing this.”

  I nod to the bedroom. “Just because we’re not doing that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Friends eat together, don’t they?”

  “Sure. Sounds great.”

  “Seven o’clock good for you?”

  “Seven tomorrow?”

  “Seven every night. I mean, u
nless you have other plans. I’m not about to cook only for myself when I know you’re over there eating sandwiches. Plus, it’s easier to cook for two.”

  “I’d better get to work building the bank teller drive-through sucker thingy.” He winks at me and leaves.

  I chastise myself. How is it possible that I made it twenty-five years without experiencing a kiss like that? I’ve made out with my share of guys. Dozens of them. I thought I knew everything there was to know about kissing.

  I was wrong.

  I might have to go my whole life settling for boring, mediocre kisses, because I kicked out the one guy who made me feel more with his lips than any other man has ever made me feel in his bed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maddox

  I’m early. I lean against the truck and watch a few private planes land as I wait for Dad’s. There’s a big town meeting tomorrow. A lot of people will be talking about the future of the ranch. He wanted to be here.

  A couple emerges from a small single-engine plane. He picks her up and swings her around, then they kiss. She can’t stop looking at her left hand. Damn, what a way to get engaged. They seem to be about my age. I watch them almost skip with happiness to a waiting car and drive off.

  Seeing them has me thinking of Andie and how happy I am when we’re together, despite the whole thing of her pretending to date a murder suspect.

  We’ve had dinner together the past three nights. We’ve been careful. Matteo and the guys know to alert us if Victor comes around, but we haven’t told them why. They probably think Andie is stepping out on him with me. It upsets me to have them thinking she would treat someone in such a manner, but they’ll know the truth soon enough. Either way, they treat her like a sister and, surprisingly, they have welcomed me as one of their own.

  Andie is an amazing cook. We sit and talk until well after the sun goes down. She tells me stories of her granddad, Nana, and horses. I tell her about my family, my string of failed career attempts, and my famous best friend. I’m not sure I have ever learned so much about a person in such a short period of time. I can’t seem to get enough of Andie. After every story she tells me, I want to know more. After every moment of silence, I come up with something else to ask so I don’t have to leave.

  Her blue eyes—I swear they put me in a trance. She’s beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. But she only wants to be friends. I can’t blame her. Look at where her last relationship got her. She’s right about one thing: I’m not going to be here forever.

  I sigh and lean against the truck. I glance at the boots I’ve only recently broken in. I think about my hat and how it no longer feels awkward when I wear it. I feel like something is missing when I’m not. Leaving this place will result in an emptiness inside me. For once in my life, I feel like I belong. I snicker, because if someone had told me a month ago that I’d feel at home on a horse ranch in Texas, I’d have called them crazy.

  “What’s so funny?”

  I was so preoccupied, I didn’t even see his plane land. “Hi, Dad.”

  He comes in for a hug, then takes a step back to appraise me. “Well, look at you. Hat, boots, scruff, tanned skin. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was looking at a genuine cowboy.” He pats my mid-section. “They puttin’ you to work, son? I’ve never seen you in such good shape.”

  “They aren’t putting me to work. I asked for it. I had no idea how much was involved in running a ranch.” We get into the truck, and I tell him all about it on the way home. “When I was a kid, I thought having horses meant you rode them, cleaned them, and fed them, but there’s so much more to it. Rotational grazing systems, semi loads of hay, hundreds of pieces of equipment for training, boarding, and showing. Land contracts, leases, building maintenance. Did you know there’s even an airstrip on the property?”

  Dad’s eyebrows shoot up. “An airstrip? Why did we just land forty miles away then?”

  “It hasn’t been maintained. I rode Tadpole out there the other day. Lots of cracks in the asphalt.”

  “Tadpole?”

  “He’s the gelding I ride. Seems to have taken a liking to me. We have an understanding.”

  “What’s that?”

  “He understands I’m not a very good rider, and I understand he knows it.”

  Dad laughs. “Seems you know an awful lot about Devil’s Horn Ranch.”

  “That’s why you wanted me here, isn’t it? To help you with the sale. Well, what better way to help than to know everything there is to know about the property?”

  He pats my shoulder. “Looks like I made the right choice, then.”

  Andie’s truck is at the ranch when we pull in. She, Matteo, and Owen are standing around outside one of the stables, talking. Are they all here to greet Dad?

  I park, and we get out. None of them look happy. “What’s up?

  “Another mare and foal are presenting with colic,” Owen says. “They were fine yesterday when they were turned out, but this afternoon when Merle rode out, they were rolling. Add them to the mare with colic we found yesterday, and this is becomin’ a problem.”

  “Is that bad?”

  “It can be,” Andie says. “When a horse has colic, which is mainly an upset in their digestive system, they tend to lie down and roll when they’re in pain. But when they do this, their intestines can become twisted, which can cut off blood supply and make them necrotic. It’s a real emergency and one of the most common reasons for equine mortality. We treat colic with pain medication, which should keep them on their feet, but it’s important to keep them walking.”

  “Colic isn’t that unusual, is it?” Dad asks.

  “No, but to have three horses in the same pasture over a period of two days experience it, that could mean something.”

  “Like what?”

  “We don’t know,” Matteo says. “Colic is caused by a lot of things. Changes in diet, adverse weather, inadequate water intake, ingestion of foreign material, even worms.” He shakes his head. “We monitor them closely. I don’t get it.”

  “We’ve moved the remaining horses in the pasture,” Owen says. “We’re checking it now for animal carcasses and other possible culprits. We’ll keep the three sick ones inside until Andie gives them a clean bill of health.”

  “Good,” Dad says. “Keep us posted.” He turns to Andie. “Maddox tells me you’re quite the veterinarian. I have complete confidence in you.”

  Her cheeks turn pink. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to make sure they have a complete recovery.” She pulls me aside. “Before Owen called, I’d just put supper in the oven. Should be ready in about twenty minutes. Just take it out. There’s plenty for you and your dad.”

  “You’re not joining us?”

  “I want to stay with the horses.”

  “You need to eat, Andie.”

  “I’ll grab a protein bar later. Don’t worry about me.” She nods to the stable. “Worry about them.”

  Dad’s having a conversation with Matteo, and after they finish, we go inside the main house. He takes his suitcase to the downstairs guestroom and immediately comes back out. “You’re not staying in the master?”

  “Doesn’t seem right.”

  He looks at the family pictures lining the walls. “No, I suppose not. Guess I’ll take my old bedroom upstairs.”

  “It’s strange to think you grew up here.”

  “It was a lot different back then. We lived in a house with horses out back. We had a lot of property, but it was just that: property. It’s amazing what your grandmother turned it into.”

  He climbs the stairs, and I look at the time. “I have to run next door for a second. Be right back.”

  When I return with a steaming casserole dish, he looks confused. “Your oven broken?”

  “Andie made it. I invited her to live in the guesthouse.”

  His eyebrows shoot up.

  “Before you go getting any ideas, it’s what Nana would have wanted. She’s drowning in student loans,
and she’s here a lot anyway since DHR is her biggest client. The house was just sitting empty.”

  “I wasn’t going to argue with you. You’re the one running things here, and you seem to know what you’re doing.”

  “It would take years to know what I’m doing. I’ve barely scratched the surface. I really am in awe of Nana.”

  I put the casserole on the kitchen table. Dad gets three plates. I put one back. “We only need two. Andie will stay with the horses. She’s really dedicated.” I scoop us each some supper. “Did you know she went to Cornell? It’s one of the top vet schools in the country.”

  He looks amused. “So you and the vet—”

  “No. I mean, I would. I want to. But no.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  I tell him more about the ranch over our meal. Sometimes I amaze myself with all the knowledge I’ve acquired over the past month.

  “You really like it here, don’t you?”

  I laugh. “I shovel horse manure, mend fences, groom horses, clean equipment, paint barns, and do a dozen other odd jobs I’ve forgotten, but yeah, I like it here. In some way, it’s the most satisfying job I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m pleased to hear you say that, because there’s another reason I wanted to come down here in person. I’m glad I did, because now I know Aaron will be in good hands.”

  “My cousin, Aaron?”

  “Seems he’s taken up with the wrong crowd in high school. Been suspended for fighting, and Griffin found drugs in his room.” He makes a face. “His grades have taken a turn for the worse.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Your mom and I were talking to Skylar and Griffin about him last week. They’re at their wits’ end. Skylar had heard of places where you can send unruly children, where they work them hard and instill good values.”

  “Like boot camp or military school?”

  “Yes, but then when they asked about you, the conversation took a turn. They were wondering if we’d be willing to have Aaron here for the summer.”

  “You think his living here will somehow turn him into a good kid?”