Authors: Candice Poarch
There was something about his scent, the way he held her, that appealed to her. But before she was completely satisfied, he pulled back as if he was reluctant to let her go. Those kisses left her churning with the ache of unexpected need.
“Don't forget the swimsuit,” he said.
And then he was gone. Just like always.
She'd thought a man with his finesse could think of a hundred ways to get her alone to make love. Maybe he was making sure she was ready. She didn't know what his game was, but she'd been ready long ago. These little prim kisses and minutes of necking were getting old fast. Maybe
prim
was the wrong term.
Heated
was a better description.
Noelle climbed the stairs to her room once again. Alone.
The hardest thing Colin had ever done was walk away from Noelle. He wanted to carry her up those stairs and take her to bed. He wanted to love her until he was sated beyond wanting. He opened his truck door and sat, staring at her door, trying to cool the fire in his blood. Every muscle ached with tension.
The light in her room flicked on. In seconds he saw her silhouetted through the curtains. She was taking off her clothes.
Damn. Abruptly, he started the motor and lowered the window in the truck even though the temperature outside hovered around zero. He was burning up with desire and he needed to cool off. If it weren't for her brother, he'd be at her door that very minute. But Colin didn't want Noelle holding back. And she wasn't one of those women who could let loose and be free with lovemaking with her brother next door. Truth was, he didn't think he'd let her touch him with her brother that close.
Colin was still burning up. He unbuttoned his coat, but the short drive to his house failed to quench his desire.
He drove directly to the barn. His trainer was there wrapping a bandage around a horse's leg.
“What's wrong?” Colin asked.
“Leg's a little swollen.” That wasn't unusual with racehorses. One had to be vigilant about taking care of impossibly thin legs that supported huge bodies. Wrapping it helped ease the swelling.
Colin laughed to himself. Too bad he couldn't ease his own swelling that way.
It was cold and misty when Noelle and Greg went to River Oaks. They drove up and down the rolling hills. They stopped at the guardhouse at the gate to show ID before they were allowed to enter the barn area.
“They have serious security here,” Greg said.
“They have a prized horse. You wouldn't believe the security at some of these places.”
Cresting a hill, Noelle got her first daylight view from River Oaks property of the Blue Ridge Mountains. When they'd had dinner there, night had fallen by the time they'd arrived.
“It's something to look at, isn't it?” Greg asked.
“This is breathtaking,” she said. “No wonder Colin wants to hold on to this place.”
When she got her first view of Colin, he too was breathtaking, dressed in jeans and a jacket. When he saw her, he directed her where to park and then met her, kissing her lightly on the lips. Heat spread through her.
Noelle knew a little about the horse business from when she was a child and Mackenzie had brought her to the farm. But that had been years ago when her grandparents had still been alive.
“To get the true feel of a thoroughbred farm, you have to come early in the morning when a lot of activity is going on. That's when the horses get their workouts while the stables are cleaned.” He smiled. “You might want to skip that part. Only horse lovers appreciate it.”
A groom walked past with a chestnut. The horse nudged Colin on the shoulder. Without breaking a stride he pulled a carrot out of his pocket and fed it to the horse. The animal gulped it up quickly. Colin patted him on the neck. “He loves carrots. He had a good workout this morning.”
The groom tugged at the reins and got the horse moving.
Noelle saw a groom tuck carrots in his pocket from a bucket filled with them. One beside it was filled with apples.
“Your barn is impressive,” she said. It was built of stone and stained wood.
“It was renovated a few years ago by Mennonite artisans. Each stall has an automatic heated waterer,” Colin said.
It was midday feeding. “The horses are eating their individual mixture of oats, bran, vitamins and electrolytes,” Colin said.
When she approached a stall with mare and foal, she wanted to stroke the foal. It was small and alert. The date of birth on the door showed it had been born just after the New Year. But it was suckling its mother while the mare ate her lunch.
“Takes your breath away, doesn't it?” Colin said. “I'm going to get you over here to see a birthing. You'll like that.” But he wasn't watching the foal and mare; he was watching her.
Colin took her by the office where a woman was scheduling breeding sessions for Diamond Spirit and other stallions on the property. “We have to be very selective in choosing the mares we breed with Diamond Spirit,” Colin said. “We want to breed only to established winning bloodlines or Diamond Spirit's offspring could be devalued.”
The woman hung up the phone and Noelle finally saw her face.
“Casey, I didn't know you worked here,” she said.
“I didn't know you knew the owner. I've been here a couple of years now. I love working with the horses. I have a nice view and a great boss.”
“You're only saying that because I'm here,” Colin muttered.
“You're right.” She laughed. “But I'm serious. Unless he's in one of his moods, I couldn't ask for better.”
“Casey shares a house with Simone and a local teacher,” Colin said.
“Do you know Simone?” Casey asked Noelle.
“They met last night,” Colin murmured.
“That explains why she came home throwing a hissy fit last night. Colin's name was mentioned along with âsome woman.' She doesn't take rejection very well.”
Colin spread his arms wide. “Hey, she broke it off with me.”
“Because you wouldn't settle down.”
“I think on that note, we need to go inside and take a swim. Maybe eat snacks after. Got your suit?” he asked Noelle.
“I have it.” She noticed Greg paying more attention to Casey.
“I'll be back in a couple of hours, Casey,” Colin said, leading Noelle toward the door. But Greg stood where he was. “Greg, are you coming with us?”
He jumped. “What?”
“Come on,” Noelle said. “We're interrupting Casey's work.”
“No chance in your joining us, is there?” Greg asked Casey.
“I'm working,” she said with a smile.
“Okay. I'll be back over spring break.”
Casey outright chuckled. “I'll be here,” she said indulgently. Noelle almost felt sorry for her brother, but she knew very well he'd be back checking out the ladies on campus in a few days.
“You won't settle, huh?” Noelle said.
“I wasn't ready then.” He took her hand in his. “You know, I'm getting a bad rep here. I was younger then, and I hadn't found the woman to make me want to.”
Noelle wouldn't mention it, but she wondered if he'd ever find the woman to make him settle down.
Noelle drove Greg to Dulles International Airport early the next morning.
“Thanks for all your help,” she said.
“What are kid brothers for, if not free labor?”
“Okay, I owe you my first child.”
“No, thanks. You're the one who likes the brats, not me.”
She felt a tug in her gut. “I'm going to miss you.”
“Don't get teary-eyed on me now. I'll be back before you have a chance to miss me.”
He grabbed his bag from the backseat.
“Have fun at school,” she called out.
He raised a hand and loped to the door.
Noelle watched him enter the terminal and drove off just before an officer came to urge her to move on. At least she was driving home against rush-hour traffic. Driving in had been stop and go.
When she returned home she expected to see Carp working on the campground, but his truck wasn't there. He was having problems with his truck, but Carp had told her he'd call if he couldn't get it started.
She went to the campground. Maybe someone had given him a ride. She went to the dorm where he was to work that day, but he wasn't there. From there she drove to his house. His truck was parked in the driveway. Getting out of her car, she walked to the door. A bite was definitely in the air and the weatherman predicted snow that evening. She hoped it was more than the scattering they'd received the last time. She was going to bring wood in for her fireplace, because there was nothing like a fire on a snowy day.
She knocked on Carp's door. It took five minutes of knocking before he responded. His eyes were bloodshot, he needed a shave and he'd slept in his clothes. Worse, he reeked of stale alcohol.
He was drunk.
“Carp, you promised.” Noelle was really disappointed. He'd seemed to need the job as much as she needed a reliable carpenter.
He ran a hand across his face. “Sorry. Ran into a little trouble last night.”
“I'll say you did.”
He squinted against the bright light. “Got a headache.”
“Well, you're looking in the wrong place if you expect me to know what to do.” Noelle pushed open the door and went inside, heading straight to the kitchen. “Where's your coffee?” she asked.
He was sitting at the table holding his head in his hands. Carp was going to be no helpâwith either finding the coffee or getting any work done today.
“Why don't you take a shower while I fix coffee and breakfast?”
“Head hurts.”
“It'll feel better after a shower. I'll look for some aspirin.”
“You've never had a hangover.”
“No, I've got more sense. Now go.”
He lumbered off. A minute later she heard water running from a distance. Assured he was indeed taking his shower, she turned to prepare breakfast.
Noelle looked around his galley kitchen. It was large and he had little food in the fridge. At least there were a dozen eggs. She quickly checked the carton for an expiration date. Taking the eggs out, she started to search for a pan, but the kitchen was too messy to cook in.
She rolled up her sleeves. First she washed out the coffeepot, then she got the coffee going. She washed the dishes, wiped down the counter space and the small table tucked in the corner before she swept the floor. At least the floor had been mopped recently.
She found a can of corned beef hash in the cabinet. By the time she fried it and the eggs, Carp came in the kitchen looking a thousand times better.
“Need aspirin,” he said, sinking into a chair.
“Let's get some food in you first. I have eggs, corn beef hash and toast.”
He groaned. “I don't think I can hold it down.”
“Let's give it a try.”
After she coaxed food and coffee into him, she said, “Feeling any better?”
“A little.”
“I'm depending on you to get my camp ready for summer.”
He sighed heavily. “I'm always letting people down. You can get just about anybody to do your work. Some people work pretty cheap. Why are you fooling around with me?”
She sensed there was story behind his alcoholism. She patted his hand. “I think you're being hard on yourself.”
He shook his head.
“What happened?” she asked.
“My ex called last night. I spoke to the kids. I miss them so much. And then I got to feeling lonely. I took one sip.” He shrugged as if to say the rest was history.
“I'm sorry, Carp. You ever thought about getting some help?”
“Thought about it. That's as far as it goes. I can stop if I want to.”
“How often do you see your children?”
“Some holidays and a couple of weeks during the summer. It's not enough,” he said.
“Where do they live?”
“In Baltimore.”
“That's close enough for you to get them on some weekends.”
“But they're involved in things. Sports and school activities.”
“Tell you what. Call your ex. Tell her you want to see them at least once a month. It's not going to hurt them to miss one game. Or you can spend a weekend in Baltimore and have them stay with you there.”
He seemed to perk up at the thought of seeing his children. “I'll try it.”
Noelle could relate. She felt the same about seeing Colin tonight. Especially since she'd got a good glimpse of his body in swim trunks yesterday. Her heart still tripped when she thought of his hard, lean and gorgeous form.