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“Who is going to look after your horses and Yogi while we’re up here Mathis? I didn’t even think about that before we left.”
Mathis waved a hand to dismiss my worry. “I messaged a friend of mine. He’s gonna stay there while we are gone. No need to worry.”
Another hour spent riding through knee-high wild grass and farther out into the unknown, and at long last, I caught sight of a small, humble cabin and wood barn looming on the horizon. Old wooden fences surrounded the cabin in what had probably once been a cattle chute of some fashion. Glancing at Mathis, I was about to ramble off my questions, but the serious, almost comatose look on his face made me hesitate. His jaw was set tight, his golden eyes laser focused on the little cabin, as if maybe he was caught up in a memory. As we made our way closer, I looked back and forth between the structure and the man. There was obviously a history here, and although I wanted to know what, I could tell by the look on his face that now was probably not the time.
The cabin was nestled snuggly into a small meadow valley bordered on all sides by thick trees. Although it was small and very plain, I found it instantly charming, with its A-frame design and stone chimney. A small porch had been built all around the cabin, and although the grass here had overtaken its humanity, the sight of wild iris and rose bushes struggling to maintain control beside the peeling wood of the porch made me smile. It reminded me that even in adversity, beauty and life can, and will find a way. The roses made me think of my mother. She was a rose. Beautiful, strong, but not without her thorns. They made me recall my oath to finish what I had started so long ago and plant her roses.
I was so caught up in the beauty that lay hidden behind the façade of this seemingly abandoned place, I hadn’t realized Mathis had dismounted and walked up to my side. The brush of his hand on my calf startled me, and I swung my head around, surprised to lock eyes with him. His expression was somber, his normally overbright hazel eyes guarded.
“Yeah, I know it’s not much to look at, but I promise it will not fall down on you, and there’s food stocked in the cupboards, and no cockroaches.”
He started to turn away, and I reached down to grab his hand. “Actually, Mathis, I was thinking how beautiful this place is.”
There was a tingle in my hand, where the thickened skin of my palm made contact with the top of his hand. It seemed to sizzle, where our bodies connected, and just the realization of that little feeling caused my heart rate to increase. I tried to shake it off, but eventually, I had to let go of him, allow the moment to be lost, because I couldn’t take the intensity of the connection between us.
Mathis let his hand fall when I released it, but he stood there for a long moment, his gaze boring into my own, and for a second, a spark ignited, but it was extinguished quickly, and he turned away from me, gathering the rope connected to Dark Temptation, but not before I saw that guarded look slip back into place.
“Well, it sure as hell isn’t that big fancy house I live in now. Look, if you want to go back, I can work with this horse and you can just go on home, I wouldn’t blame you, Callie. This isn’t exactly any woman’s fantasy.”
What the hell? I didn’t get it, this sudden drop in his mood. Did he think I was the kind of woman who wouldn’t rough it out here in the woods? He knew so little about me, yet here he was, ready to judge me! Now that my anger was piqued and my own mood dropped a notch, it was much easier to ignore my attraction to him.
Now that the big unruly black stallion was tired out from the ride up here, Mathis easily led him into a small round pen constructed about ten feet away from the other corral, the grass there was waist high, so the stallion was content to munch away. Without a word to one another, we unsaddled our own horses, and placed Pizazz and his gelding in the larger corral. Once we’d seen to our animals, we headed slowly, toward the cabin. The mood between us hadn’t improved, and I wasn’t going to break the ice. Now that we approached the enchanting homestead, my attention was diverted by the mystery that awaited us within.
Mathis may have been in a cruddy mood, but he was still a gentleman. He held the door open for me and followed as I preceded into the dimly lit structure. Sunlight funneled through the windows, casting an eerie light on the empty interior. The place was a little musty from disuse, but the furniture seemed to be in good repair, and it was surprisingly clean inside. A small couch stood near the fireplace, and a modest kitchen took up one wall. I glanced around, drinking it all in, and frowned when I didn’t see any bedrooms. As my eyes travelled upward, I realized the bedroom was a loft above the living area. I found this little place more and more charming by the minute.
I was exhausted. Between the events of the last few days, and the ride that lasted nearly half a day, I had spent all of my energy. I grabbed a granola bar from my pack and headed outside. I felt Mathis’ eyes on me the entire time, until I was out of eye shot, but I ignored him. I was still irritated with him, and distance was the best way to deal with Mathis. As much as I hated to admit it, I was too drawn to him, both emotionally and physically, and the last thing I wanted was to be near him. So, I picked a spot in the long rain-fed grass, and I sat just outside the round pen. My eyes sought the dark silhouette at the far end, and once I had found the big black horse, my gaze remained on him.
Vise-like jaws tugged the tough-stalked grass from its roots, and I could hear the grinding of his teeth as he chewed contentedly from the mountain forage. The stallion meandered closer to my side of the round pen, either unaware of my presence, or, more likely, unconcerned at the moment. I watched him swish his tail, observed the muscles bunch and shift in his hind quarters as he moved about, and admired the long ebony mane that trailed across the tips of wild oats as he lowered his head and foraged about. He really was an exceptional looking stallion. His conformation was near perfection, his coat glistening and healthy, his face bold but refined. Large dark eyes full of intelligence, and, unfortunately, mistrust.
Pizazz whinnied at me from the nearby paddock, and the stallion jerked his head up, ears flying forward and back, chest puffing out, as he strutted across the pen and bellowed his response in that deep throaty way of stallions. I smiled. I couldn’t help but find peace out here, hidden in the pale green grasses, surrounded by the still of nature and the silence of peace. This place was perfection. It was untouched, uncorrupted, and breathtakingly right. In all my years riding the back acreage of my parents farm, I had come close to this feeling, had felt it in my grasp, but never really held it. Now, in this wild meadow, I not only caught it in my grasp, but I clutched it to my chest, and held it tight. This place just felt right.
The stallion had moved closer to me, distracted by his interest in my mare, and I used the opportunity to project my feelings to him. I was still experimenting with this ability of mine and had no idea if it would work. Pizazz nickered at me, but she and I shared a very strong bond, so I knew it worked with her. This black horse and I had never touched, had no bond, and I was uncertain about my range of power. I was going to try anyway. I was going to do everything I could to save Dark Temptation and prove to everyone I wasn’t crazy. I had to.
For several moments, nothing seemed to happen, and my spirits began to fall. Then, just as my hope was diminishing and the feeling of peace had begun to recede, I felt a warm breath caress my cheek. Not daring to move even a twitch, I sucked in a slow breath, and lifted my eyes. A dark muzzle greeted my view, where the stallion had shoved his face through the wooden panels of the fence. His wide nostrils flared in and out as he took in my scent, but inches still separated us. His ears were pinned back to his head, which made me nervous, and his eyes had rolled back to reveal white. Not a good sign.ButI told myself,he had come closer when I projected my feeling. Concentrating, I pushed my feeling of peace further toward him, and hoped and prayed I could reach him without physical touch.
I watched in silence, my heart pounding within my chest, as the stallion’s ears left his neck, raising slowly in curiosity, as his upper lip wiggled slightly, and his eyes seemed to relax. I felt the briefest, softest of touches as his lip grazed across my cheek, and I held my breath. Dark Temptation blinked slowly, his head lowering, his muscles relaxing. The moment was over in a heartbeat when the screen door on the cabin snapped closed. The stallion jerked his head back, squealing in anger, and I sighed, watched him rampage across the pen, thrashing about and kicking out. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Mathis standing on the worn wooden porch. His arms were crossed over his chest, causing the muscles in his arms to bunch up, and he’d shed his hat, allowing me a glimpse of his dark, disheveled hair.
His face was tight, and he offered no apology for ruining the moment. My anger ebbed, because he seemed so nonchalant about interrupting the very reason we had even come here, and because my traitorous body had responded instantly to the very sight of him. My nipples tingled and my stomach flip-flopped. Clenching my jaw, I shoved myself up from the warm ground, and dusted myself off. Stomping toward the house, my forgotten granola bar still in my hand, I glared at him. Reaching the porch, I waited for him to move aside, and when he didn’t so much as blink, I shoved my way past him, wanting to kick his shin for the way that miniscule physical contact made my heart race and my woman parts tingle.
Inside, I glanced around, wondering where I was going to sleep. Taking the stairs that led to the loft, I made my tired way up, surveying the single full-sized bed.Well, that’s great,I thought with deteriorating hope. Glancing back down to the kitchen area, I stared at Mathis’s back as he lit a fire in the large fireplace. I didn’t think it was very cold, but then as my eyes continued scanning the cabin, I realized there was no way to cook or heat anything without the fire. I’d assumed there would be propane, but realized how silly that was, because how would anyone get that all the way out here? This place was certainly rustic. My thoughts began to wonder, filled with questions about this place and Mathis’s sudden mood swing. Was this a hunting cabin used by his late uncle? That could possibly explain his melancholy, but I felt it didn’t make sense. The house he lived in had also been his uncles and he hadn’t acted like this there.
“Mathis, would you mind if I lay down for a bit?” I asked the question even as I crawled into the bed, not bothering to check for bugs first. I was bone tired.
Whether or not Mathis replied, I never heard it. The moment my head hit the softness of the mattress; I was out like a light. I fell fast into a dream induced sleep. Black horses danced across my vision, black horses and one very sexy cowboy with his golden eyes and crooked smile.
21
The aroma of coffee pulled me from my dreams, fantasies which had me writhing in need and moaning with desire. Blinking groggily, I sighed, trying to pull my sluggish mind from my hot, sweaty sex-filled dreams. Opening my eyes, I stared at the pine beams of the roof, taking a second to let my body cool off, and my brain adjust to my unfamiliar surroundings. Light shown in from the windows below, and I recalled my situation. With a dramatic sigh, I rolled out of the narrow bed, and tip-toed to the rail where I looked down to find a shirt-less Mathis bent over the fire, retrieving a pot of what I knew must be coffee. The sight of his sun-kissed back, the muscles flexing as he moved, was too much for me. My body flared instantly back to life, and I gritted my teeth. Knock it off, or I’m going to take a dip in the ice-cold stream, I mumbled to myself.
As if he heard me, which I knew he couldn’t have, Mathis turned around, glancing up at me. I froze, caught staring, and I felt my cheeks flush. Then, reality kicked in as I realized what state I must be in. Ducking back into the loft, I quickly ran my fingers through my disheveled hair, pulling it into a messy bun, I cursed myself. I hadn’t known I was staying anywhere, so I was completely unprepared. I had no extra clothes, no hairbrush, not even a mirror. Thank God, I hadn’t worn make-up the day before, or it would be even worse. I couldn’t imagine facing hotty down there with raccoon eyes.
Still trying to fix myself without the aid of a mirror, I heard his deep voice drift to me. “Callie, stop hiding and come have some coffee.”
Hiding! I wasn’t hiding! What a jerk…okay, I sighed. I was hiding. Totally, one hundred percent hiding like a coward. Mustering my nerve, I swallowed and made my way down the stairs.
Mathis had pulled a t-shirt on, and I was grateful, but also disappointed. I glanced at him briefly, dismayed to see the set of his jaw still reflecting his poor mood. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with him. If he was so upset over being stuck here, he should just leave. My hackles immediately went back up, and my wall erected itself around my heart. Perhaps I was finally getting to know the real Mathis. I wanted to tell him to leave me here alone, but my tongue tied itself in a knot, and I found myself silently if not begrudgingly, accepting the tin mug of coffee he offered me.
I stared at my black coffee with a frown, wondering if it would be dumb to ask if he had anything to add to it, when Mathis asked me, “I’m not sure how you take it. I have powdered creamer, sugar, even some Splenda, if you’d like any of those.”
