When It's Right(102)

She leaned forward and combed her fingers through his golden brown hair. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. She went willingly. His lips met hers, and she melted into him. The kiss was soft and filled with love. He tasted of coffee and restrained impatience. He’d been waiting for her a long time. Not just tonight. Like her, he’d been waiting his whole life to find someone to love and be loved by.

She thought about turning on the heat and getting Blake riled enough to take her up to bed, but they still needed to talk about Ken. She wanted to feel Blake’s hands and mouth on her body and know this dissension between them was over, but they’d never settle anything that way.

Blake pressed one long, soft kiss to her lips, tore his lips from hers, and stood up. Finding himself towering above her, he frowned and walked down the steps to the path. She stood on the second step to face him. Face-­to-­face. She appreciated his gesture. He understood her. Intimidating her with his size and height was an unfair advantage he never exploited with her.

“About Ken.”

She sucked in a breath and opened her mouth to defend herself, but Blake touched his finger to her lips to stop her.

“Listen.” He dropped his hand, and she closed her mouth. “Jeff told me today wasn’t the first time Ken came after you. He found the two of you in the stable. Ken had backed you into a stall door. He said he came in just in time to save you before Ken did something suicidal.”

Meaning Blake would kill him if he touched her.

She stepped down to the path and walked a few steps away, keeping her back to him.

She hated to think Ken was more than she could handle. She wanted to tell Blake, It’s fine. Nothing to worry about. She’d keep her distance and avoid Ken at all costs.

Ken was a threat Blake wanted to eliminate. If some woman was causing Blake trouble, she’d want to protect him and get that person away from him at all costs. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to do the same for her.

Ken was too aggressive, refusing to take a hint or even an outright snub. He didn’t really have an interest in her outside the fact that he wanted to have sex with her. Ken’s motivation for harassing her came from his underlying hatred of Blake. Ken wanted Blake’s job, training the best horses and having the money that went with it.

“We managed to come to a compromise on Boots. Let’s find a middle ground with Ken,” Blake coaxed.

“There is no middle ground. He’s an asshole. He’ll always be an asshole. I want you to fire him.” In over her head, she’d concede this one to Blake. Actually, she’d trust him to handle Ken for her. “The time in the stables isn’t the only time he got too close.”

“Now I’d really like to pound my fist into his face and make him bleed for touching you. Since that’s useless, though it would be satisfying, I’ll settle for the fact that Bud and I fired him today.”

“What?”

“Your grandfather made it clear to everyone on this ranch. This is your home. Anyone who made it uncomfortable for you to be here, or did something that you didn’t like, would be fired. No exceptions. No excuses. Ken’s made a nuisance of himself with you. He’s neglected his work. His primary job was to work with the horses that ­people board here. He’s gotten into the habit of transitioning his work to others so he can spend time training the racehorses. I’ve warned him several times that he needed to do his job.”

“I can’t believe you guys actually fired him for me,” she whispered, touched deeply.

“If someone had been making things difficult for Justin, you’d want them gone immediately. That’s how your grandfather and I feel about you. As much as you want to take care of Justin and keep him safe, I want the same for you. You aren’t alone anymore, Gillian. You don’t have to take care of everything yourself.”

“When I left, I didn’t worry once about Justin. I knew I could count on you to take care of him.” She closed the distance between them and stood on tiptoe to put her arms around his neck and look him in the eyes. “For the first time in my life, I let the worry slip away. I let someone else carry the burden. I didn’t worry about Justin getting something to eat, that he got his bath and went to bed safe and sound. I didn’t think about the problems with Ken. I sat and was quiet with myself, so I could hear what it is I want.”

“What do you want, sweetheart?” He sat on the porch steps and drew her down onto his lap with her head on his shoulder.

“When I brought Justin here, I wanted him to have the childhood he deserved, a second chance to grow up like a normal kid. That was for him. I had no idea what I wanted for myself, but this place felt like the place I needed to be, too. Tonight, I realized I like helping run the ranch. I like working with the horses. I’d like to continue working with the sick and injured horses. Maybe take in more abused and neglected racehorses. I’ll rehabilitate them. I’ll help them find their way back to what they used to be, the way I did with Boots today.”