Riding Hard (13 page)

She smiled at him as she walked past. “Or an indecent one.”

“Better watch out, sweetheart. You’re playin’ with fire.”

“I surely hope so.” Catching his hand, she led him over to the shelves filled with Western hats. “What strikes your fancy?”

He took his time looking over the display. “It needs to be black.”

“I hope that doesn’t have anything to do with your story about white hats and black hats.” She was only half teasing.

“No, it doesn’t.” He picked up a black Stetson by the brim. “Much as I loved those movies, white hats make no sense. They’ll just get dirty.”

“And they don’t look nearly as sexy as black.”

He smiled at her. “Lord knows I want to look sexy for you.” And he put on the hat.

Tracy caught her breath. Whether by accident or instinct, he’d chosen the perfect hat. He’d also managed to put it on at exactly the right angle. The brim shadowed his eyes just enough to make him look even more manly, if that was even possible.

He gazed at her from under that brim. “Is that sexy enough for you?”

She swallowed. “I think...it might be overkill.”

13

I
LLOGICAL
THOUGH
IT
might be, Drake felt different wearing the hat. He’d never have bought it without Tracy’s urging, without her belief in him. She’d given him a renewed faith in his essential decency, and then she’d made the hat into a symbol, one he could relate to. One he could wear, for God’s sake. How great was that? He owed her, big-time.

Wearing it out of that store, he wasn’t convinced that he’d been magically transformed into a cowboy. That would be delusional. But he did feel like a better man.

He might never learn how to twirl a rope, but he would live up to what the hat stood for. He would never again attempt to ease his own pain by causing pain to those he loved. He was better than that.

Tracy kept staring at him, so he was pretty sure the hat was working for her, too. He took hold of her hand again as they stood on the sidewalk outside the store. “Anything else you want to do while we’re in town, little lady?”

She laughed, which made her eyes light up and her cheeks rosy. “Just because you have a hat doesn’t mean you have to talk like John Wayne.”

He loved seeing her like that, so he continued the riff. “Oh, I think it does. And look. Now I’m bowlegged.” He managed a pigeon-toed stance that was fairly convincing. “I’m also hankerin’ for a cold sarsaparilla and a tin plate full of beans.”

“Stop, just stop!”

But she was still bubbling over with laughter, so of course he didn’t stop. “If I could find me a nice long piece of straw, I do believe I’d chew on it.”

Giggling, she shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And here I thought the hat was supposed to make me sexy. Maybe I should return it and get my money back.” He started to take it off.

“Don’t you dare remove that hat, cowboy, or I’ll have to hurt you.”

“Whoa!” He crammed it back on his head so the brim made his ears stick out. “I sure hope you’re not packin’, little lady, or I might have to vamoose.”

Grinning, she stepped back and surveyed him. “You have totally screwed up your sexy, but I think it’s salvageable. Come here and lean down. Let me fix you.”

He did as she asked because he had to agree there was way too much space between them.

Lifting the hat slightly, she set it back on his head more as he’d had it the first time. “There.”

“I like it when you say that word.” He straightened. “It makes me think of you...naked.” He cupped the back of her head. “I might have to kiss you in the middle of Jackson instead of waiting until we get to Shoshone.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why? Is there a law against it around here?”

“No, but—”

“Then let’s do it.” But the minute he started the maneuver, he understood the problem. Damned if his hat wasn’t in the way. He angled his head one way, then the other. “How the hell can I do this without poking your eye out?”

“Nudge it back like this.” Tracy reached up and pushed it slightly back on his forehead.

“Ah.” Simple and elegant. He could finally achieve the desired connection with her smiling mouth. As always, making that connection felt like coming home. He settled in with a sigh. It wouldn’t be a long kiss, just enough to hold him until they got back to the house.

She wound her arms around his neck and pressed against him with a carefully controlled passion that matched his own. It was an open-mouthed kiss with a restrained use of tongues, a PG-13 kind of kiss suitable for a public street corner. But any kiss involving Tracy could swing into X-rated territory if he didn’t watch himself. He ended it before he forgot where he was and embarrassed them both.

Drawing back, he smiled down at her. “Nice.”

“Yeah.” She reached up and pulled his hat back where it had been. “Now take me home, cowboy. I want to have my way with you.”

He didn’t need more motivation than that. They were back in the SUV and on the road in no time. He started to take his hat off, because it seemed silly to keep it on for the drive home.

She put a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Leave it on. For me.”

He settled it back on his head.

“Do you like it?” she asked. “I hope you do, because it wasn’t cheap.”

“Yeah, I do like it. A lot.” He glanced over at her. “Thank you for talkin’ me into it.”

“You’re welcome.”

He returned his attention to the road, but from the corner of his eye he could see that she was staring at him. “Are you fixated on my hat?”

“A little. But I’m also thinking about what you said tonight at dinner, about not loving your job, although you do seem to like working with horses.”

“Apparently I like it fine when the horses aren’t valuable thoroughbreds. I had fun supervising Dottie’s foaling.”

“So did I.” Her voice rippled with amusement.

“I wasn’t talking about the sex!”

“I know. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. So you had fun supervising the foaling.”

“I did. I was working with a beautiful, but essentially ordinary, horse. Dottie’s not going to run in the Derby. Neither is Sprinkles. I finally recognized that night that I
do
want horses in my life, just not under the conditions I had before. I also like the idea that we were there for Dottie when she had nowhere else to go.”

“So you like the rescue angle?”

“It’s brilliant. I hope the computer game Lily developed continues to pay those nice royalties so she can afford to keep Peaceful Kingdom goin’ forever.”

“So do I, but even if the royalties dry up, she’ll find another way to pay for it. She’ll organize fund-raisers of some kind or look for wealthy investors. She’s committed to the horses. So’s Regan.”

Drake nodded. “You’re right. She’ll move heaven and earth if she has to.”

“You could do that, too.”

He looked at her in confusion. “Help her raise money? I suppose I could.”

“No, I mean raise money for your own rescue operation. You’re a charmer, Drake. You’d be great at running a horse-adoption facility. Fund-raising would be a snap for someone with your personality.”

The suggestion caught him completely by surprise. “I don’t... Wow, I’d never thought about
me
doin’ it.”

“Think about it. You’d be a natural.”

Slowly the possibility took hold of his imagination. “I was planning to sell my share of the practice, anyway. I could use that as seed money, maybe a down payment on a location.”

“There you go.”

His brain clicked into high gear. “You know where something like that is needed?”

“Everywhere.”

“That’s true, but I was thinking of Virginia. Racehorses are worth a ton of money until they’re not. There may already be equine rescues for racing thoroughbreds, but it’s a big industry. They could probably use another one.”

“And you already have the vet skills. You wouldn’t have to worry about getting a volunteer for that.”

“No, and thanks to my practice, I have a network of wealthy people who might be looking for a tax credit or a write-off. Tracy, this might actually work.” Excitement fizzed in his veins until he realized the big drawback to his plan. She wouldn’t be part of it.

Not that she couldn’t be, but he couldn’t ask her to leave this town and the people who had practically raised her. Shoshone already had an equine-adoption facility. The town was small and didn’t need another one. Nick and Regan had the vet situation covered, and all they might require in the future was a part-time employee, somebody like Jerry Rankin.

“You’re quiet over there.”

“Just thinkin’.”

“If you don’t mind thinking out loud, I’d love hearing whatever plans you’re cooking up for this new place. It’ll be wonderful, Drake. You might even have time to do some writing on the side.”

“I might.” He decided to test her reaction to an alternative. “I wonder if maybe I should consider a different location, something closer to this area.”

“Why? All your connections are back there, and you know thoroughbreds so well. You’re uniquely qualified to set up a rescue and adoption facility for racehorses.”

He knew he was on shaky ground, but he’d give it a shot. “You thought this up. It seems like you should be involved, somehow.”

She was silent for quite a while.

“Tracy? You okay over there?”

“Yes.”

“Look, I realize we haven’t known each other very long, but speaking strictly for myself, I’d like to see where this relationship might go. If I head off to Virginia, we won’t get that chance.”

Her voice was soft, but filled with sincerity. “You shouldn’t base your decision on me.”

“But—”

“Seriously, Drake.” Her voice grew stronger. “You haven’t said it in so many words, but I get the impression you’ve been doing what other people want for a long time. You should do what’s best for you now.”

“What if being with you is what’s best for me? You need to be here. I get it. So if I choose to work around your needs, what’s so terrible about that?”

“I’m not sure I can explain, but it doesn’t feel right to me. It feels as if you’re contorting your plans to fit mine instead of going straight toward your goal.”

“Hell, I wouldn’t even have a goal if you hadn’t suggested it!” The truth was, he wanted everything. He could envision the rescue operation in Virginia perfectly. She was right that it suited him right down to the ground. But he wanted to spend more time with her and find out if they had the kind of special something that would take them through the next fifty years. He thought they might.

Yet she was the town sweetheart, rooted firmly in this community, watched over by the likes of Josie and Jack Chance. She’d told him how much she loved it here, so coaxing her to move back east would be extremely selfish.

He might be able to do it because she liked him and she liked the sex. She might think that would make up for all she’d lose by leaving here. But it would be like yanking a beautiful wildflower out of the ground and then wondering why it wilted and died.

He had to think about this some more. He didn’t want to ruin the time they had together at Peaceful Kingdom by arguing about it, either. “It’s a great idea,” he said at last. “I want to mull it over for a while before making any firm decisions.”

“Would you care to translate that? It sounds like doublespeak.”

He chuckled. She wouldn’t let him get away with anything, which was one of her traits he cherished the most. “Okay. I love havin’ sex with you and we have the house to ourselves for at least another five nights. Let’s not mess that up with deep, philosophical discussions about the future. Let’s live for the present.”

She didn’t answer right away, but eventually she did. “Okay.”

“Excellent.”

“I want you to leave your hat on.”

“I am leaving it on. I have it on right this minute per your specific request.”

“I mean leave it on after you’ve taken everything else off.”

He laughed. “So when we get home, you want me naked except for my hat?”

“That’s what I’m saying. You were turned on by my boots. I’m turned on by your hat.”

“Fair enough.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“I’ll do it, although I can’t picture how it will work.”

“That’s okay. I can.”

* * *

T
RACY
HAD
A
very clear picture of what she wanted, and she kept it firmly in mind as they drove the rest of the way home. They talked about Dottie and Sprinkles. She told him that Josie had suggested Jack could take over from this point, but she was prepared to tell Josie that wouldn’t be necessary. She’d call her boss in the morning.

But even as she said that, she knew Josie wouldn’t need a call. She had Morgan, who might have already spread the word that Tracy was sleeping with none other than the evil Drake Brewster. Josie might not like hearing the news, but at least she wouldn’t have the kind of fit Morgan might have expected.

They talked about Dottie and Sprinkles for the rest of the trip. Drake wanted to let both of them out into the pasture tomorrow with some supervision, and he expected the new foal’s first outing to go fine. Tracy wished she had a proper video camera instead of just her phone, but she’d make do.

While she kept up her end of the conversation, she hadn’t stopped thinking about Drake’s equine rescue in Virginia. Establishing it there had been his instinctive response, and it was the right one. That first poem of his told her how much he loved his native state, even if he hadn’t loved his life there.

He needed to go back and create a different life, maybe even with Jeannette. Accepting that he would not stay here wasn’t easy. It hurt like hell. But she wouldn’t let his infatuation with her ruin what could be an exciting future.

She was convinced it was only infatuation, or perhaps even transference, a term she’d learned today while she caught up on her psych coursework during breaks at Spirits and Spurs. He wasn’t a client by any stretch. If he had been, then having sex with him would have been highly unprofessional.

But she had urged him to talk about his problems, and he’d gained insight into his issues. That kind of intimate discussion, she’d learned, could cause people to imagine they’d fallen for the therapist. That might explain why Drake couldn’t imagine going to Virginia without her.

She, on the other hand, had no such excuse. She was head over heels for the guy. Though it had happened quickly, she’d talked with enough women in this town to know that when lightning struck, time was irrelevant.

She was in love, but she’d never tell him. Instead she’d do everything in her power to guarantee his future happiness. Unfortunately for her, that meant encouraging him to leave.

Knowing the likely outcome of this brief affair made every minute bittersweet, but she didn’t want him to know that, either. She’d keep it light and fun. That was the gift they would give to each other, and she wanted him to have good memories. As would she. The best memories ever.

After they pulled into the front yard, she let Drake help her out of the SUV because the poor guy felt guilty if he didn’t perform those courtesies for a woman. They walked hand in hand down to the barn so they could assure themselves that Dottie and Sprinkles were fine.