Wild for the Girl (5 page)

“How are you, Caroline?”

She laughed. “You sound so formal, darling. Did I catch you at work?”

“Yes, actually. I just arrived.”

“So early? I thought you might get to sleep in.”

“Eight o’clock isn’t early. I have several meetings and a planning session to get out of the way before lunch.” As if she’d get the hint that he didn’t have time for her.

“My goodness!” She laughed. “Isn’t a resort supposed to be restful?”

“Not for the person running it.” His dad had a demanding schedule, and he could see the necessity for it. Caroline probably wouldn’t; her job working on displays at the museum had been created for her after a phone call from her influential daddy, on the theory that a “career women” had a better chance of meeting and marrying a successful man. The museum couldn’t say no to the chairman of their board, even though it wasn’t as if they’d
needed
Caroline’s help. They didn’t seem to mind when she took a day off, which she frequently did.

“Don’t work too hard, Reese. I called to tell you I signed you up for the weekend regatta and race over Labor Day, and Daddy likes his crew to be fresh and well rested.”

He gritted his teeth. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

He’d helped crew her father’s sailboat last year as a favor to his boss, who was Chaz Milbourne’s friend. That was when he and Caroline had met. He didn’t remember promising to do it again. Being part of the crew after breaking up with Chaz Milbourne’s daughter would be too awkward.

“Why not? You’ll be back here before then, won’t you?”

He was supposed to be, but he found himself enjoying the challenge of filling in for his dad. Breakup aside, the prospect of sailing and rubbing elbows with the Milbournes’ friends didn’t excite him. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. It depends on how quickly my dad recovers.”

“Oh.” She drew it out, filling the one syllable with distress, although he didn’t think any of it was for his dad. “I’d so hate to cancel. Daddy’s counting on you.”

Since when did he have to please Caroline’s daddy? He didn’t ask it aloud because he knew the answer: since he’d started dating Caroline.

“You didn’t tell him we broke up, did you?”

She sighed. “Reese, don’t be provincial, we didn’t break up. You just wanted to see other people.”

“And you agreed that I should.” In her high-society phraseology, he thought that meant she’d given him his walking papers. It sure as hell would have meant that to any woman in Barringer’s Pass.

“Of course. I’m not naive, you know. You’re allowed to have your little fling before settling down, and I appreciate your having it in another state. But I wouldn’t want to upset Daddy by making him think you might not be back. He likes you.”

As usual, her thought processes made his head spin. “I’m not thinking of settling down, and I’m not having a fling with anyone. Caroline, listen to me. We are not a couple. You need to look for another crew member.”

“Now, darling, that’s not positive thinking. I have confidence that you’ll be here on time. Besides, I miss you. Doesn’t that provide some incentive?”

He wasn’t getting through. Thank goodness he was half a country away, because he didn’t have time to deal with this now. “I have to go, Caroline. I’m pretty busy here.”

Her sigh had a sex-kitten quality that he suspected she worked at perfecting. “Then I guess I’ll get started on work myself.”

Since it was two hours later in Boston, well into the working day, that was probably a good idea. “We’ll talk later, Caroline.” Not that he wanted to, but he needed to make sure she understood the concept of breaking up.

“That would be nice.” She enunciated the last word so that it practically hung in the air before dissolving before him like sprinkled fairy dust. Nice, with a special emphasis. Figuring out her subtleties had taken months, but he had most of them down now. Hinting that a call would be nice was essentially an order that he call. Proper form required that he say he was looking forward to it.

“Fine,” he said, and hung up. Caroline was a beautiful girl with an impressive pedigree, and the disturbing ability to twist phrases into whatever she wanted them to mean. Being away made him realize he’d gotten too used to playing her games.

He pulled back onto the road, checking the time. It was still early enough to catch part of Tad’s lesson, which would serve two purposes. He could satisfy Beth’s obsession with Tad’s safety, and enjoy the warm sun while watching puffy clouds form over Two Bears.

He could also watch T.J. work. Spending twenty minutes admiring the curves beneath her T-shirt and the way her ass filled out her tight jeans was a good way to start the day. If Tad kept his mind on his lesson instead of his libido, Reese’s day would be even better. He might invent an excuse to drop by later when Tad the Charming was gone, just to see what she was doing to get the stable ready for business.

Or to watch her work with the horses.

Or just to talk. He especially liked it when she gave him one of her blunt, no-apologies opinions, the kind of things most of the resort employees would never say to the boss. The kind of thing that never came from Caroline’s proper mouth. Talking with T.J. was refreshing.

Just like the mountain air. He drew in a deep breath as he took the turn toward the stables, enjoying the scent of damp earth and pine.

Bam!

Reese jolted as the rifle shot tore the air, leaving his eardrums vibrating. He braked quickly, trying to figure out where it had come from. It had been close, but the sound was echoing off granite walls and dense stands of trees, making it hard to pinpoint a direction.

Bam!

The second shot ripped through the air, coming from his right. He looked that way, panic already building. It had come from the stables.

5

Reese floored the gas pedal, not slowing when the asphalt drive gave way to dirt. A cloud of dust hung in his wake as he bounced over ruts and rocks, whipping the car up to the main barn just as two more shots broke the quiet. The blasts overlapped, and came at him from all sides, bouncing off every building and tree. A pause followed, then two more shots in rapid succession. He didn’t have to guess at the direction. From behind the barn, nervous whinnying carried over the deeper sound of pounding hooves. Jumping out of the Porsche, he ran toward it.

He rounded the corner of the barn and came up against the black boards of a corral. Inside, two horses watched with bored indifference as two others cantered in wild circles, throwing kicks and tossing their heads. They skidded to a stop near Reese, eyes rolling nervously and feet stamping.

Another explosion sent them off at a canter as the sound wave merged with the rapid thumping of Reese’s heart. His frantic gaze swung to the other side of the pasture. Outside the corral near a second, smaller building, T.J. raised a rifle to her shoulder and sighted along the barrel at something he couldn’t see.

Fear punched his gut as his mind conjured up images of a marauding cougar, or a mother bear with cubs. Or Beth, bent on taking care of something.

“T.J.!” he yelled. Not waiting for an answer, he vaulted over the fence and raced across the corral. He didn’t know how he could help, but whatever it was, he couldn’t leave her to face the danger alone.

*   *   *

T.J. turned at his call, then lowered the rifle and watched, bemused, as Reese crossed the corral, scaled the fence, and ran toward her. Expensive-looking leather shoes churned the dusty ground as his tie flew sideways and his jacket billowed. With his wind-whipped hair, he looked more alarmed than the two horses who stood snorting and blowing in the far corner, watching him.

She lowered the rifle. He didn’t seem the type to lose his cool, and she wondered uneasily if something bad had happened.

“What is it?” Reese asked, stopping beside her, eyes scanning the tree line a hundred feet away.

That had been her line. She turned a worried look on the trees, but didn’t see anything odd. “What’s what?”

“What are you shooting at? Wolves? A cougar?” His gaze stayed on the trees where she’d been aiming the rifle. “Did you scare if off?”

She stared. “I’m not shooting animals! Is that why you ran over here? Jeez, Reese, are you crazy? Wolves and cougars are protected! They don’t usually come this close to human habitation, anyway.”

She tried to look annoyed, but the rise and fall of his chest was a bit distracting. He really did have a nice body, and it was hard to ignore when he stood so close to her, even beneath that stuffy white shirt. His gaze was even harder to ignore, boring into hers with a wild edge that turned his eyes all dark and stormy. Impressive, although the stormy look was probably due more to the creases in his brow and the tightness of his jaw.

He took a deep breath and got his breathing under control. “Then what were you shooting at?” he demanded.

“The dead limb on that aspen over there.”

He followed her gesture, eyes narrowing as they returned to her, which made his expression even darker. A tiny thrill slipped down her spine; he did the macho stuff pretty well for a guy in a suit.

“You’re shooting a tree?” He said each word carefully, as if making certain he’d understood correctly.

“Well, it’s not like I’m
killing
it. What’s your problem?” Not that she really wanted to know, because it looked like whatever it was might blow up in her face.

“My
problem
isn’t with the tree,” he said, biting off each word sharply. “It’s with you. You’re shooting a gun at a tourist resort. You don’t think that’s a little dangerous, not to mention a whole lot stupid?”

The last part went too far, and she slammed her eyebrows down. “Hey, I’m not shooting
people
. They don’t even come out here; they aren’t allowed. And for your information, I hit what I aim at. Which, I repeat, is a
tree
.”

His jaw moved jerkily as he ground his teeth. “You ever hear of shooting ranges, T.J.?”

“Of course I have. But that wouldn’t help my horses.”

His gaze, a bit more worried, shifted to the horses. “What do the horses have to do with it?”

“Everything. They’re the reason I’m shooting.” She didn’t add a “duh,” but was sure he got the implication.

He looked confused and rubbed his forehead for several seconds, which didn’t appear to help. “Please explain.”

She sighed heavily. “I did, when I called the front desk, but if you want to hear it again—”

“You told the front desk you’d be shooting a rifle out here?”

“Of course I did.” She finally got it. “You didn’t know?”

“No.”

He looked marginally less annoyed, but she bit back the laugh that tried to escape, because she was sure he didn’t see the humor yet. “See those two horses over there?” She pointed to the two that had been doing a mini-stampede a moment before; they’d calmed considerably, but still watched her with flared nostrils. “They’re part of the group I picked up a couple of days ago. They’re gun shy, probably never been around it, so I’m letting them get used to it. That little buckskin is already over his fear; he’s just kicking up his heels because the chestnut keeps bolting and it’s fun to run around with him. Pretty soon they’ll both get tired of it, realize the noise has no effect, and ignore it, just like those other two.”

Curiosity replaced worry on his face. “Why does it matter?”

“Because gunshots happen in the mountains, and you don’t want a horse reacting with fear and dumping his rider on the trail, or taking off toward home at a mad gallop.”

“No, we don’t.” He thought it over. “You’re right.”

Of course she was. “Thank you.”

“But you could use blanks. Same sound effect, no risk of wounded guests.”

Damn; good point. “I don’t have any.” It sounded petulant, even to her. At his raised eyebrow, she added, “Guess I could get some.”

“The insurance company and I would appreciate it.”

“Fine.” He looked skeptical, so she pulled back the bolt on the rifle and pocketed the remaining bullets. When he still showed no indication of leaving, she frowned at the apparent lack of trust. “If you’re waiting to make sure I won’t shoot again, you don’t have to. I said I wouldn’t. I mean what I say.”

For some reason, he seemed to find that amusing. In fact, he grinned as if he was enjoying the hell out of it. “I believe you do, T.J. I think you always say exactly what you mean.”

She was sure she was missing something. She squinted one eye. “Are you making fun of me?”

“No, sorry. Private joke.” He cleared his throat and made the smile disappear.

“Sometimes, I don’t get you.”

“That’s okay. I get you.” Hands in his pockets, he looked around, seeming thoroughly content. “Where’s Tad? Doesn’t he have a lesson?”

So that’s why Reese was here—checking up on her. “He had a different sort of recreation in mind this morning. Beth showed up to say he would be sleeping in today, with his date from last night.”

He gave an amused snort. “Bet she was ticked off.”

She shrugged. “Didn’t look like it to me. She seemed pretty happy about it, in fact. Almost gloating. Like I care what he does. I’d rather spend my time training horses than actors, so if he wants to skip out, it’s fine with me.”

“Huh. I could have sworn Beth had a thing for Tad.”

He leaned on the corral fence, still with hands in his pockets, and cocked one leg on the lower rail. She figured if the marketing people at Hugo Boss could see it, they’d be scurrying to find an available ranch to reshoot their next ad campaign. The man could sell it.

“We haven’t had a chance yet to discuss your plans for the stable,” he said.

She blinked. “What’s to discuss? It was all approved last year when Mike started constructing the barns and fixing up trails.”

“That was last year. He wants me to check on the final result before you’re done here.”

Mike knew nothing about horseback riding and had been glad to put it all in her hands. Suddenly he was interested in the stable? She gestured at the barn behind them. “You can walk through the barns anytime. I’ll be glad to explain anything you have questions about.”