Coming Home (5 page)

"You should have waited, damn it! By the time I found out...."

“By the time you found out, you had already decided I wasn’t what you wanted,” she snarled. “But you should have had the balls to just say so instead of trying to paint me as a…”

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am, this is a hospital,” a harsh voice intruded. “I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voices down."

Nicole took a step back as a nurse entered the waiting room and frowned at them, wrapped in disapproval. Wyatt thrust an angry hand through his thick hair, and frustration rolled off him in waves.

Nicole couldn't believe he was the one acting like he had a right to be angry.

After all, he wasn't the one who'd been left, rejected, and pregnant at age seventeen.

He opened his mouth to say something, but frankly, she wasn’t in the mood to hear it. So before the nurse had even turned around to leave them alone again, she stormed out of the waiting room, determined to avoid Wyatt for the rest of her time here in Florida. Because if she didn’t, sooner or later she was going to reveal the one secret she didn’t want him to know: that despite what he’d done—and what he
hadn’t
—she had never gotten over him.

He had hurt her more than anyone else in the world. But Wyatt Clayton was still the only man she had ever loved.

Her father was moved into a private room two days later. He was recovering nicely, though he complained constantly about being stuck in bed and the lack of fresh air. Doctor Kendall told them he'd be able to leave the hospital in five or six days.

"But that doesn't mean back to work," the doctor insisted. "That just means home...for recuperation. No work for another six to eight weeks."

"Weeks? Impossible," Dad declared.

Nicole rested her hand on her father's arm. Since they'd moved him out of the intensive care unit and into his own room, Dad had acted as if he was perfectly fine. He flirted with the nurses and complained about the food, but Nicole wasn't fooled. He tired easily, his face looked pale and drawn.

Humoring him, she said, "Now, Dad, you haven't had a vacation in years."

He snorted. “A vacation? You call lying around at home with you and Maria hovering over me a vacation? Now, put me on a cruise ship with gambling and show girls...and I might consider it."

Nicole and Dr. Kendall laughed together at his disgruntled tone. "Now that you're better, Dad, I'm going to start making rounds for you. I can look after things.”

"Have you been out to the Four C, Nicky? Wyatt has been having some problems with one of his mares, and I've been keeping a close eye on her."

Nicole slowly shook her head. She hadn't seen Wyatt in a couple of days, since their angry confrontation in the hospital waiting room. He had stormed off, and hadn't been back. She knew he checked up on her father, though. The nurse Nicole had spoken with the first night mentioned he had called several times.

"No, I haven't. But I'll head out there today, all right?"

He nodded, satisfied, and suddenly looked very tired. Dr. Kendall noticed as well and said, "Get some rest, Josh. If you want to go home next week, you better take it easy and prove to me you're up to it."

"Whatever it takes to get out of this place," Josh muttered.

"I'll be back to see you this evening, Dad," Nicole said as she pressed a kiss on her father's forehead. "I think Maria will be in this afternoon."

He nodded and smiled before closing his eyes to rest. Blowing him another kiss, she followed Dr. Kendall. “Doctor, you're sure he'll be up to going home next week? He suddenly looked so tired."

"Yes, but that's to be expected. It's very important for Josh to take it easy for several weeks."

"Guess I'll be sticking around for a while, then."

"Is that so bad?"

"No, I love spending time with him. I just need to make some arrangements."

“You’ll be the best medicine he can get. He perks up every time you walk in the room.”

“Thanks.”

He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Listen, if you get bored while you’re in town…”

"She won’t be bored,” a voice snapped.

Nicole jerked her attention toward the door and saw Wyatt standing there, wearing the frown she'd grown so accustomed to in the short time she'd been back in Florida.

"Hello, Wyatt," she managed to say.

Wyatt forced himself to offer her a small nod of greeting, wondering why the hell he’d walked into the room and inserted himself into what had obviously been a private—intimate—conversation. The supposedly oh-so-professional doctor had been about to hit on his patient’s daughter. Yeah, Nicole was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. But damn it, there had to be something in the doctor rule book that said they couldn’t make moves on the vulnerable family members of their patients.

"How's Josh?" he asked, not trying to hide his frown.

“Better. He'll probably go home next week,” the doctor said. Then, saying he had another patient to see, he turned to leave. Wyatt noticed the intimate smile he gave Nicole, and the way he brushed his hand on her arm before departing.

He nearly bit the inside of his cheek to force himself to keep his mouth shut. Telling himself it was none of his business, he sent up a silent prayer that she wouldn't be able to tell he was the least bit bothered by the other man's obvious interest in her.

"Dad won't be back to work for a while," Nicole said when they were alone. "He asked me to check on one of your mares. I thought I’d come out to the ranch today if it's convenient."

"Are you sure? I mean, if you and I can't hold a civil conversation, maybe I'd better make other arrangements."

She drew a deep, visible breath, as if she’d been steeling herself for this conversation.

Well, that was appropriate. So had he.

"Look, Wyatt, I was tired and angry the other night. We both opened up some old wounds. I don't want to revisit the past right now, it’s just not the time for it.”

He gaped. “You really think we can just ignore the past, that we have nothing to talk about?”

A bitter laugh escaped her pretty mouth. “We have a million things to talk about. Believe me, I’ve been wanting to have this conversation for a long time—years.” She swiped a hand through her hair, then rubbed at her weary-looking eyes. Finally, still not looking up, she whispered, “Are you even going to ask about him? About Justin?”

His body rigid, he shot back, “No. I’m not. I honestly don’t give a damn.”

“You rock-headed son of a bitch,” she snapped, jerking as if he’d slapped her. “You still don’t trust me, still think I’m a liar.”

He wasn’t sure what she meant, or why she’d imagine he gave a flying leap about whether she lied about this boyfriend of hers or not. That hint of hurt in her voice—buried deep below the anger—made him wonder. His resolve softened a little, and he almost apologized.

But then he reminded himself of all the reasons he had not to trust her. More importantly, he remembered why he needed to keep a firm wall in place between them: because she still affected him more than any woman ever had. So he said nothing.

Not that she waited for an answer. Nicole spun around and strode across the room toward the exit. But rather than bursting through it, she stopped, shook her head, and muttered something under her breath. He studied her stiff, straight back, knowing a major argument was going on in her head.

Finally, she turned back around. “I have to work with you, I have no choice.”

And she hated that, he’d lay money on it. Which made him smile. “Guess not.”

“Right now, the most important thing is Dad’s recovery. And if taking care of his practice—including working for you—helps in that recovery, then our epic blowout will just have to wait.”

“Epic, huh?”

Her eyes narrowed in visible resentment. “Beyond epic. But until that day, can we just pretend we have no history? Act like we never knew each other? At least until Dad’s better.”

Forget they ever knew each other? It would be easier for Wyatt to forget to draw breath. For more years than he could remember he had defined his life and the man he was by the lessons he'd learned in his relationship with Nicole. He mentally ticked them off in an ugly litany: trust no one, love never lasts, it's better to be alone than betrayed.

Yet, what she said made sense. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed her help. Plenty of vets practiced in the horse country of north-central Florida. There were as many vets as there were ranches, and that was a considerable number. But, there weren't many he'd trust with his livestock.

Nicole had been born with a gift. Her affinity for animals had been obvious from the time she was a little girl, and he suspected she was as good with four-legged creatures as her father was. So what if she was lousy with the two-legged variety?

That didn’t matter. He didn’t want her around for his own sake, just for the sake of the Four C and the beautiful, valuable animals who kept the ranch in business. So it would be business only. Wyatt didn’t need to spend time with her, wouldn’t have anything to do with her outside of his own stables. Which suited him just fine.

"All right , I guess we don’t have any other choice," he muttered finally. "Our
epic blowout
will just have to wait.”

And hopefully, after it came, Wyatt could finally say what he had wanted to say for eleven years…and then get on with his life. Without any more thoughts of Nicole Ross.

Nicole left her father's farmhouse about fifteen minutes before she was due at the ranch. The Four C was located five miles outside of Windover, off a main state road, and comprised about two hundred acres of mostly flat Florida ground. There were a few hilly spots, hilly for Florida at least, but nothing like the lush Maryland countryside where Nicole's mother lived. Still, the land was appealing. Only in Florida could one see a few small alligators swimming lazily in a ranch pond, just yards from where horses grazed in open pasture.

She pulled off the highway and onto the long gravel drive leading to the first stable building at the Four C. A few trucks stood outside, and she parked her father's SUV nearby.

"Well, if it isn't little Nicky!"

Nicole smiled at the greeting as Caleb, one of the old ranch workers came out of the barn wiping his hands on a rag. He looked the same as he had the last time she'd seen him, with a craggy, wind-burned, tanned face, long gray hair tied in a ponytail with a dirty strip of leather, faded jeans and scuffed brown leather cowboy boots. "It's good to see you, Caleb. Are you still the only one who knows what he's doing around here?"

The ranch-hand picked her up by the waist and gave her a hug so hard it squeezed the breath out of her. "Darn right. Though, young Wyatt has learned a thing or two. Billy, come out here and see who it is."

Another man came out of the barn, and Nicole also recognized him from her teenage years. "I'm glad to see some things are still the same around here. I almost didn't recognize the place with all these new buildings," Nicole said as she grabbed her father's suitcase full of medical equipment out of the back of his SUV. She glanced ruefully down at her sleeveless blue chambray top, now stained with grease...or worse...from Caleb's enthusiastic greeting. Then she grinned. So what if she'd made a trip to the mall in Ocala to buy work clothes? The shirt, khaki shorts and work boots would soon be stained beyond recognition anyway. Besides, a little grease would loosen up the new material which felt stiff and scratchy against her skin.

"We sure are sorry about your pa being sick," Caleb said as he fell into step beside her. "But what a treat that it finally brought you home."

"It's good to see you, too. Is Wyatt around?"

Billy jerked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing toward the stables. "He's in there, but you might want to wait a bit. He's not exactly in a great mood right now."

"Is he ever?" Nicole muttered as she walked past the men into the stable.

The building was huge, immaculate and state of the art. It was every bit as fine as the facilities at her mother's estate in Maryland. Nicole glanced into stalls as she walked past them, pausing to appreciate the exceptionally fine horseflesh she saw in each and every one.

As she neared the back of the stables, she heard men's voices raised in anger. "Dammit Brady, we don't need any more stock right now and you are not going to that auction in London. If you want to take a trip to Europe, go ahead. But don't say it's work related because I'm not paying for your vacation!"

Nicole rounded a corner and saw doors leading to an inner office. Inside, Wyatt stood toe to toe with his blond-haired cousin. She easily recognized Brady and wasn't a bit surprised to see the other man was just as breezily handsome as ever. He didn't seem to have his usual calm composure, however. Now his face was red and blotchy; his hands clenched like he wanted to strike out at someone. Namely Wyatt.

"One day you'll push too far,” Brady said. “I've let you get away with playing boss until now, because you seem to know what you're doing. But one of these days I'm going to start pushing back."

"Hello, boys. Still playing nicely I see?"