“This is Charlie.” She nodded toward the burly man dressed in a sleeveless shirt and jeans. A faded red bandana tied around his forehead kept the sweat from his eyes.
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s making a shoe for one of the horses.” Smiling at Scotty, she selected a metal horseshoe from the trailer, handed it to him. Scotty held it as though it were made of gold.
“Each horse has different size feet, just like people do. Charlie selects a shoe close to the size of a horse’s hoof, then heats the metal so when he beats it with the hammer it will change the shape a little bit until it fits. Then he cools it and nails it on.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Nope. He uses special nails. The horse can’t feel a thing.”
Scotty looked again at the metal shoe, then held it out to Shea.
“Keep it,” she said. “Hang it on a wall in your room. Like this.” She turned the metal shoe around so that it formed the shape of a cup. “It will catch good luck.” Fascinated, Scotty smiled up at her. He took a few steps in Charlie’s direction before stopping and looking back at Shea and his father.
“It’s okay, son.” Alec assured him. “You can go over and talk to Charlie. Just don’t get too close to the horses.”
He hesitated only a few seconds before walking over, proudly holding his horseshoe with both hands.
Alec was moved by the gentleness and attention she’d shown Scotty. It was something he hadn’t anticipated. There was no hidden agenda he could see. Unlike some women, she certainly wasn’t doing it to impress him. She seemed genuine, as though she not only enjoyed teaching Scott about the things in her world, but she honestly liked Scotty, as well. And his son seemed equally fond of her.
She glanced at Alec as she walked past to return to the medic unit.
“Thanks,” he felt obliged to say.
She frowned. “For what?”
“For taking the time for Scotty.”
She shrugged it off. “I like kids. He’s a sweetie. There’s no point in making him feel unwelcome. But you brought him. He’s your son. Your responsibility. If he gets hurt, it’s on you.”
With that, she picked up the clipboard and began to check her data.
“How many cattle do you have?” Alec asked, glancing beyond the barn at the distant hills.
“On average the Bar H runs about three thousand head.” She turned to him, her captivating eyes moving over his face. “The number, of course, drops after we ship in the fall, but is reestablished the first of the year when the calving begins.”
“Shea?” Hank called from the doorway. “Where do you want Shonie?” He led a large painted gelding into the area.
“Bring him over here,” Shea instructed, setting the clipboard aside.
“Is there something I can do to help?” Alec wanted something to keep his mind occupied, his hands busy. In the short time he’d been back, his body already had begun responding to her.
His question appeared to take Shea by surprise. “Have you ever been around horses?”
“Some.”
“I’ve got eight more to check.” She looked down the hallway. “The stalls are numbered. I’ll need to see the ones in eight, twelve and fifteen next. Their halters, with leads attached, are hanging on the doors.”
Finding the correct stall, Alec slipped the halter over the head of a docile mare and led her out of the barn.
Shea took the lead from his hands. “She’s no problem. I can handle her by myself. While I check her out, go ahead and get Ransom. Number twelve.”
She was just finishing with the mare when Alec arrived with the spirited bay gelding. The feisty animal nickered playfully and attempted to rub his head against Alec’s shoulder.
“You seem to have made a friend.”
“You sound surprised,” he noted, turning to rub the neck of the striking animal. He appreciated quality and this big gelding reeked of good breeding, as did most of the horses he’d seen here.
“I am. Hold him here while I take Essie to Charlie. Her shoes need replacing.”
On the horizon, fiery remnants of red and gold accented the darkening sky as Shea checked the last of the horses. When she brought the final one around the corner of the barn, she was surprised to see Scotty perched on top of one of the trail horses tied securely to the fence. Frowning, she looked at Alec, who stood next to the child.
“He’s fine.” Alec assured her, as though reading her mind. “Having the time of his life.” His booted foot was propped on the lower rail of the fence, his jeans hugging his muscular legs and hips. His arms rested easily on the top rail. He looked lean and strong. She swallowed hard, fighting back the insane desire to walk over and step into his arms.
“I’m beat.” She could hear the tiredness in her own voice, no doubt the cause of her temporary insanity. “I’ll see you back at the house.”
Alec nodded before she turned and headed toward the house. She refused to let her mind dwell on the night ahead and the possibilities it could hold. Entering through the kitchen door, she walked to the stairs and made it as far as the second-floor landing when she saw the open door at the end of the hall.
The master bedroom.
She stopped in her tracks.
The new furniture had been delivered, the bed prepared with clean linens and the door closed. It had remained closed—until today. Until Alec returned and opened it. Now it taunted her, dared her to enter and face the moment of truth.
She clenched her hands at her sides, fighting her growing panic. She turned and almost flew down the stairs.
Alec and Scotty were just coming in the door when Shea reached the kitchen. She grabbed her car keys and a manila folder containing information Leona had asked for a month ago.
“I’ll be back,” she muttered.
“Mind if I ask where you’re going?”
“Um...I’ve got to take some records over to Leona.”
Without waiting for any further comment, she quickly walked out the door.
The house was quiet when Shea stepped into the kitchen much later. Closing the door behind her, she dropped the car keys onto the counter and walked toward the stairs.
“Have a good visit?”
“Oh!” She spun around in the direction of Alec’s voice. “You startled me.” She clutched the neckline of her shirt.
“Sorry.” He stepped out of the shadows. “I came down to get some water and heard you drive up. What are you doing back here?”
“I live here?”
He shrugged. “I just didn’t think you’d come back tonight.”
He didn’t know how close he was to the truth.
Or maybe he did.
He was clad only in jeans, the ripple of hard muscle in his arms and chest apparent even in the semidarkness. She could sense the pure male aura that always seemed to surround him.
“Did Scotty settle in all right?”
“It took a while, but he’s asleep.”
Shea gave him a strained smile, nodded and together they climbed the stairs. When she stopped in front of the door to the bathroom, he proceeded down the hall without another word.
Stripping off her dirty clothes, she turned on the shower, stepped under the fine spray and let the hot water massage away the stress running rampant through her body. But she knew it would take more than hot water to make her relax. Alec had to go. Finding a way to make him leave was imperative and she had to do it quickly. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.
Her arm was tender from the bashing she’d taken from Bonnie Blue earlier. A large, reddish-purple bruise had begun to appear over much of her shoulder and upper arm. She carefully donned a worn-but-comfortable cotton T-shirt. After drying her hair, she applied moisturizer and brushed her teeth. With nothing more to keep her in the bathroom, she swallowed her trepidation and opened the door.
Two steps down the hall in the direction of the master bedroom, her feet suddenly reversed direction. Vivid in her mind’s eye was the picture of lying in the bed, Alec’s hands and mouth caressing her body, preparing her, priming her for the sex to follow. While she couldn’t argue he oozed sex appeal, he was still a stranger: a cold man whose sole reason for being here was to take away her home.
Quickly, she made her way to her old bedroom, and quietly closed the door. With any luck, Alec would be asleep and never notice her absence. She pulled back the covers and climbed into bed.
She lay still, hopeful, watching the shadows from the leaves on the tree outside her window dance on the ceiling. She was so tired. Slowly, the tension began to leave, her muscles relaxed, and she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.
She was floating. Yet she could feel an iron brace holding her firmly against tremendous warmth. Groggily, she blinked open her eyes. She was being carried. Instantly she was awake, and just as quickly, she knew who was carrying her and where they were going.
Seconds later, Alec placed her on the large new bed. Before she could scramble away, he leaned over and placed his hands on either side of her, effectively preventing her escape.
“I told you in the beginning, you will sleep in my bed.” She could hear the annoyance in his voice. “Unless you want to start packing right now, you’d better learn to deal with it.”
Slowly he stood over her and Shea scurried to the far edge of the mattress, eyeing him with apprehension. He frowned, resting his hands on his hips.