Trouble Me: A Rosewood Novel (23 page)

She always tried to end the kids’ lessons with a couple of games; it was an easy way to make sure a horse was properly cooled down. Cooling off a heated horse was one of the horse-care concepts kids had difficulty grasping. Even kids who knew horses well, like Kate, Max, and Olivia, skimped unless reminded.

Today, Jade extended the game period even longer, half-hoping that, after watching Olivia, Max, and Kate touch their right toes with their left hands and their ponies’ tails with their right hands, Rob would grow bored and go away. Never to be seen again.

But when Max crowed with delight because he’d won the day’s round of Simon says, Jade glanced over at the rail. And there he was.

He was such a cop, she sighed inwardly. Stubborn and determined. It was a shame she couldn’t stop remembering what he’d been like as a lover.

But then Travis arrived, leading her old pony Doc. Owen and Tito followed with Archer and Sweet Virginia.

Always super-generous with Jade, Tito volunteered to take the ponies back up to the barn with Olivia while Max and Kate hacked Archer and Ginny. Although she accepted the offer, she wished he hadn’t been so thoughtful.

And when she factored in Owen and Travis’s presence, there were just a few too many helpful adults around, with everything moving a tad too efficiently. To compensate, she spent several minutes checking Archer and Ginny’s girths, fiddling with their throatlatches, and making sure Kate’s and Max’s stirrups were even.

“I don’t think there’s anything left to check, Jade. You might as well give Rob a break and listen to what the guy has to say,” Travis said.

“Now, here’s an instance where you and I disagree, Travis,” said Owen, who was busy helping Olivia run the stirrups up on Hopscotch’s saddle. “I think Jade should make Cooper wait a good long time.”

“That’s because you’re still steamed over getting a fine from him,” Travis replied, lifting Georgiana into the saddle. She looked adorable sitting on Doc.

Owen nodded his dark head. “Absolutely. I consider Jade’s giving him a hard time payback. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but having her brothers-in-law discuss Rob Cooper was actually more unsettling than the prospect of marching over to him and finding out what it was he wanted to say. Once he’d said his piece, she could start to forget his existence.

“Travis is right,” she said in a resigned tone. “I better go see what he wants.” When they grinned at her, she shook her head in exasperation. “You know, sometimes you guys are such
guys
.”

“Even so, we must have some endearing qualities.” Owen’s grin widened as he added, “I guess even Cooper does.”

Just thinking about what endearing qualities Rob possessed caused a very unlike-Jade blush to steal over her cheeks. “Right. I’m outta here,” she said, and stomped off before their annoying grins turned to laughter.

It was weird, Rob thought, watching Jade stride across the sandy ring toward him as if she were marching to do battle. On the one hand, he knew a great deal about her. He’d spent an entire night exploring that long-limbed body of hers, discovering what she liked and how she liked it. He knew the sound of her breathless moan when his mouth traveled along her inner thigh, the way her fingers clutched his head to hold him close as his tongue bathed the puckered aureole of her breast before drawing it deep into his mouth and sucking hard.

On the other hand, he didn’t know how she took her coffee.

Weird, indeed. At least he knew that she liked pumpkin cream-cheese muffins. Emma had told him about meeting Jade in Braverman’s earlier that morning, and, for some reason, knowing that he and Jade shared the same taste in baked goods had made the corners of his mouth curve upward.

Women usually liked his smile. With Jade, it had the opposite effect. As she ducked between the wooden rails, her own mouth flattened in a grim line. Then he recalled what an ass he’d been last night and realized that he’d probably have to do a lot more than smile to get her to not want to spit in his eye. And though he’d told himself he was there at Rosewood primarily for Hayley’s sake, he knew he didn’t want to be enemies with Jade. Exactly what kind of relationship he was looking to have with her, he couldn’t presently define.

Jade stood a good six feet away from him. But that was close enough for him to see the glitter in her leaf-green eyes, the red flags of anger staining her cheeks,
and to take an appreciative inspection of her long legs encased in rust-colored breeches and tall brown leather riding boots. She looked as different as day from night in her riding gear rather than in the outfit she’d been wearing in Norfolk, but that didn’t make her any less alluring or prevent his pulse from jumping as desire pumped through his veins. Christ, why did she have this effect on him?

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, all crackling defensiveness. “Travis said you wanted to talk. So?”

“I’d like to apologize.” If his voice sounded terse, it was because he was more than a little annoyed that his body was reacting to her simply because she was standing there. Unbelievable.

A single eyebrow rose mockingly. “You know, I can think of a whole boatload of things you might want to apologize for. But I’m afraid I don’t have that much time. Or interest.” She turned on her boot heel.

“I’d like to apologize for what I said about taking Hayley out of your class. It was wrong and uncalled for.” Rob felt a surge of satisfaction that his words had her glancing over her shoulder and that the angry glitter in her eyes had been replaced by astonishment.

“The only excuse I can give you is that I wasn’t thinking too clearly last night.” His mouth lifted in a half smile. “Seeing you was a bit of a surprise.”

“Apology accepted.”

She’d turned back to face him, but she’d yet to smile, Rob noted. He remembered her smile as being pretty amazing, full of mischief and joy. “Hayley really likes being in your class, and it would be foolish to move her. I was stupid even to consider such a thing.”

Jade wasn’t often at a loss for words, but her usual gift for snappy comebacks or even diversionary remarks had deserted her. Any clever retort was swept aside by a
swell of happiness at hearing that Hayley would remain in her class. Worried that if she opened her mouth, all manner of gushy and effusive stuff might come out of it, she kept it shut. The last thing she wanted was to sound mushy, especially in front of Rob.

That some of the happiness buzzing through her might be due to the fact that Rob had taken the step to apologize to her, she absolutely refused to consider.

Affecting a casual nonchalance wasn’t easy, but she attempted it anyway. “I’m glad to hear she’ll be staying. Hayley has nice friends in the class. I’ll look forward to seeing her on Monday. Um, thanks for coming by to let me know.” She spoke through lips that felt simultaneously rubbery and stiff, as if she’d just been treated to massive novocaine injections from a not-so-friendly dentist.

Rob hiked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the riding ring. “So, are those ponies you’re using for your riding school?”

His question had her brows drawing together in a quick frown of confusion. Was he intentionally trying to throw her off balance with these remarks? She was not going to let this guy unnerve her simply because he’d busted her teenage self twice and made her adult self orgasm she couldn’t remember how many times. She wished he didn’t look so good in his faded jeans and polo shirt; it would have been easier to remain riled if he’d shown up in his police uniform.

“Yeah. We already had two ponies and I bought four new ones. Um, I have to head up to the barn now. I have some horses to exercise.” It wasn’t a lie. She was due to ride Valentine and Carmen. But she’d have been tempted to invent just about anything, if it meant getting rid of him. Those blue eyes were too intense. She swore she could feel the heat coming off his body, and she wasn’t even standing next to him.

“I’ll walk you back up.”

What was she to do? Tell him he couldn’t? But why in the world was he doing this? She wouldn’t have pegged him for an obtuse clod, but he didn’t seem to be getting the very clear will-you-
please
-buzz-off signals she was sending.

“They look like nice ponies.”

She didn’t bother to stifle her snort. “Well, that’s generally the goal when you go pony or horse shopping: to not come home with the equine from hell.”

“I’d like to sign Hayley up for riding lessons with you.”

His words sent her stumbling on a pebble. Righting herself, she glared at him. He was doing it on purpose, this whole let’s-say-totally-off-the-wall-things-to-Jade-and-see-whether-she-falls-on-her-face ploy. “This is a joke, right?” she snapped. “Because yesterday you seemed real keen to tar and feather me and run me out of Warburg on a rail.”

It wasn’t the only thing he’d been real keen to do, Jade thought, but she would rather be devoured by fire ants than go near that topic.

“It’s not a joke. Everyone says that your lesson program will be the best in town, and Hayley is desperate to have lessons. I promised them to her for her birthday.”

“Nice of you, but you’ve been misinformed. There are lots of really good riding instructors around Warburg. Go to Steadman’s—”

“First place I went,” he interrupted calmly. “Adam and Sara Steadman told me you’d be the best teacher, hands down.”

She rolled her eyes. “The Steadmans are biased. They sold me my first pair of jodhpurs. Try Steffi Connors at Winsome Farm. She gets lots of kids.”

“I’d rather have Hayley ride with you. Do you have an opening for a beginner? She’s had some lessons, but I’d like her to start right.”

The man must be seriously unhinged. Having her teach Hayley to ride was the worst idea ever, and yet he seemed to think it was just fine and dandy. Being Hayley’s teacher at Warburg Elementary would already bring Rob into Jade’s life too often. Giving her riding lessons at Rosewood would exacerbate the problem tenfold—the problem being that, whenever Jade saw Rob, she couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked naked and how he’d made her feel when he was moving inside her.

A situation like this should be avoided like the plague.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of a plausible lie when he was looking at her with his electric-blue gaze and determined expression. Why she found that concentrated focus unbearably sexy made her wonder if she was as certifiable as he.

Then Rob said, “So you do have an opening?” And she knew she’d blown her chance by hesitating too long.

She sighed heavily. “Look, it’s just not a good idea for me to teach Hayley. I’m her teacher. She should take lessons with someone else.”

“And yet you’ve agreed to let Jenny Ferris sign up and she’s in your class too,” he pointed out.

Crap
. In her distraction, she’d forgotten that Hayley and Jenny were best buddies. Hayley would know where Jenny was riding this fall and would have shared the info with her dad.

“That’s different,” she muttered.

“The only difference I can see is that I’m Hayley’s dad. You’re not going to hold what happened between us against her, are you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “No, I’d say that’s more your style.”

“Ouch.” For a second he was silent. “Okay, I deserved that. I admit this thing between us is somewhat awkward. But I want to make Hayley happy, and she’s so
excited at the prospect of taking lessons from you. I don’t like disappointing her if I can help it.” As he said this last, he reached up and tugged his earlobe.

It was that simple, unconscious gesture that made Jade relent. Hayley made the very same one—tugging absently on her earlobe—whenever she talked about the things she loved, like going to her grandparents’ home for Sunday dinner or playing catch with her dad.

No matter what else was going on between Rob and her, Jade couldn’t forget that he was a widower raising his daughter alone and doing whatever he could to make her happy. Refusing to give Hayley lessons would bring Jade on par with the Grinch. But just because she was caving didn’t mean she had to be gracious about it. No one had ever accused her of being a saint.

“I have Tuesdays and Thursdays available. Lessons are twenty dollars. Take your pick.”

“How about both?” Her slack-jawed stare had him grinning widely. “She really likes ponies.”

Jade shut her mouth with a snap. “Fine. Whatever,” she ground out. “Make sure she has a hard hat. And since you already haunt Steadman’s Saddle Shop, ask Adam next time you’re in if they have any secondhand jodhpurs.”

She was surprised to see him stiffen.

“I can afford to buy new gear.”

Ah, so he was proud, she thought. Well, she could relate to that. “It’s your money,” she said with a shrug. “But I can guarantee you Hayley will outgrow her riding clothes in three months. Riding’s not a cheap sport. If you intend to keep her in the saddle, you should economize where you can. Because once she talks you into buying a pony, you’re going to start feeling poor real quick.” Irritated by the spurt of pleasure that filled her when her words erased his tension, she said, “Well, this
has been fun, but, as I said, I have horses waiting for me.” She jerked her thumb in the direction of the main barn.

Rob was surprised by how much he wanted their conversation to continue, but he said, “Oh, sure. I don’t want to keep you from your work.” He liked talking to her, liked her wit and the offbeat sense of humor she’d displayed. He really liked her decency in agreeing to give Hayley riding lessons. Not everyone would have done so.

He’d surprised himself as much as he’d surprised her when he’d abruptly asked about lessons for Hayley. But suddenly it had seemed ridiculous that he should look anywhere else. Jade was obviously a great teacher, both in the classroom and in the riding ring. And he wanted the best teacher he could find for Hayley.

So what if having her take lessons with Jade contradicted everything he’d told himself last night. Maybe being around Jade wasn’t such a bad thing. It certainly felt fine right now, more than fine.

“So, see you.” She turned to head into the barn.

“Wait,” he said abruptly, though even a blind man could have seen her impatience to be gone and rid of him.