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Jared paced in the spacious living room while a fire roared in the stone hearth behind him. He drank his father's favorite whiskey from a hefty crystal glass. The room was so large that every little sound seemed to echo. His ears strained to hear the front door open and close. It was getting late and already dark outside. Beth hadn't come in yet. Delta didn't seem surprised or concerned about her missing dinner, but her absence bothered him. A woman in her condition needed to eat right and get plenty of rest. The problem was, Beth wouldn't listen to him when it came to her health. In fact, he was the last person she would take advice from. So how was he going to get her to take better care of herself?
He set his glass down on the coffee table, just missing the coaster, and grabbed his coat. With purpose in every step, he went in search of his reluctant bride. It only took a few minutes for him to find her. Watching Beth ride bareback in the middle of the night, dark hair flying behind her, was undoubtedly one of the most memorable things he'd ever seen.
Riding in the dark was dangerous, even for an experienced cowgirl such as herself. She could fall and get injured, lose the baby. He planned to demand she get off the horse, but the words stuck in his throat. The sight of her, beautiful and untamed, froze his limbs so he couldn't move a muscle.
Watching Beth ride the black stallion, he finally understood why men wrote poetry. His breath caught in his throat, and his eyes grew suspiciously damp. What was it about this girl that got under his skin? Since moving to Boston, he hadn't experienced anything similar. He considered Delta's advice. It was possible he could fall in love with Beth if he gave himself the opportunity. The only problem was, it wouldn't work out.
She loved the ranch; he hated it.
He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled to get her attention. The horse loped over to him with a stunned Beth sitting astride him. Her expression told Jared she hadn't directed the horse to walk his way. Perhaps the loyalty and affection Balefire had felt for him somehow descended into his offspring. He climbed over the fence and gently took hold of the bridle to keep the horse from bolting.
“Get down, please,” he said in a deceptively light tone even though he wanted to shout.
Her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“I don't want you to hurt yourself... or the baby.”
A weird look passed over her face, but he didn't have time to decipher it before it was gone. He stroked the horse's long neck and marveled at the familiarity. Memories nipped at the edge of his mind, memories of Balefire. Breaking Storm looked even more like his beloved horse in the dark, with only a sliver of moon for light.
With a sour expression, she reluctantly slid off the horse. It was obvious she was used to being the one in charge. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at him. “What do you want?” she asked.
“I want you to start taking care of yourself.” He sighed. “For now, I'll settle for you going inside while I put the horse up.”
“He needs—”
“I know how to put a horse in his stall for the night. I used to live here. You keep forgetting that.”
She mumbled something about not forgetting anything about him before she stomped her way back to the house. He stood there watching until she disappeared from view. Then he slowly walked the horse to the second barn. Childhood memories assaulted him, and they brought emotions long dormant back to life. How many times had he taken that same walk with Balefire?
Instead of putting Breaking Storm in his stall, Jared tied him to a post and finished grooming him. Because he'd interrupted Beth earlier, she hadn't finished the job. Grooming his horse after a long day was one of the few things he missed about living on the ranch. More feelings pulled at him. He remembered how much he’d enjoyed talking to Balefire while brushing him.
“I don't know what I'm going to do about her,” he told Breaking Storm. “That little filly is used to being in charge. Don't get me wrong. I admire anyone, man or woman, who can oversee an operation this big. Delta says Beth has the respect of all the men here. She's strong, stronger than any other woman I've ever met.”
Jared stroked a hand over the horse's back and thought about taking him for a ride in the morning. There were some things he needed to work out with Beth first. Tonight. The papers he’d been waiting on were supposed to be faxed to him in the morning. Then he could sign over the ranch to his new wife. He was in a hurry to leave, but it would be nice to ride Balefire's son before saying goodbye.
“She's changed,” Jared said in a soothing voice for the horse's benefit. “Little Beth, the girl I used to know, she was shy and sweet and seemed to be afraid of everything, except the horses. I guess that's why I want her to have this place. She's thriving here. If I forced her to leave, maybe she would lose this independent person she's become and go back to being scared. I certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for that.”
Breaking Storm snorted and tossed his head as if he understood what Jared was saying. It was too bad the horse didn't have advice for him. At the moment, he was desperate enough to listen.
“The second I saw her I knew I was in trouble. At least I'm not crazy. When she kissed me at sixteen, I thought I was a sicko attracted to young girls. My shrink told me not to worry about it, because I didn't like other girls that age. Just her. Now I know there is something between us, no matter what our ages, that won't go away.”
The horse neighed.
Jared sighed. “I am in big trouble. Buddy, I need to get out of here tomorrow and go back to Boston. I'll give her the ranch, but I need to stay away from her.”
The horse seemed to nod in agreement.
He chuckled. “Know what? You're a good listener.”
How long had it been since he talked like this with a person? Had he ever talked like this with a human being? Other than his shrink? Probably not.
“You remind me so much of Balefire. Tomorrow, before I leave, I will take you out for a nice long run. Promise. I'll take you down the same path your father and I used to take. It'll be fun.”
He put Breaking Storm in his stall, checked the automatic water tank, and made sure the horse had plenty of hay. Because he wasn't in a hurry to get back inside the house, he checked the other horses as well. They were all taken care of and ready for sleep.
It was too bad he couldn’t say the same.
Chapter Twelve
