Trouble Me: A Rosewood Novel (34 page)

“I assume this means you and Jade have patched things up,” Margot said. Her sister’s amused tone performed a
miracle. Jade regained her senses. She straightened as if her back had suddenly been fused with an iron rod.

Rob’s reaction was far more relaxed. He stepped back, letting his hand slip from Jade’s neck. “Yeah, she’s decided to forgive me.”

Margot offered him a wide smile, one of the ones she reserved for people she liked. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

He nodded easily in reply before shifting his attention back to her. He didn’t seem fazed by Margot, which Jade found kind of remarkable. Her sister’s stunning beauty and confidence generally transformed men into babbling idiots or mute lumps.

“See you, Jade.”

“See you. And thanks for the muffin.” Considering that her heart was still playing leapfrog in her chest, she was pleased at how normal she sounded.

“Anytime. I figure I owe you after all those donuts you sent me.”

She smiled weakly, while beside her Margot whispered a shade too loudly, “Busted.”

Trying not to squirm when one was definitely in the hot seat wasn’t easy. “Oh, yeah. I’d almost forgotten about those donuts.”

The mirth in his eyes told her he wasn’t buying her line. “I was a real hit with the guys in the department for a while there. Bye, ladies.”

Margot managed to keep quiet for about three seconds after he’d walked away. “Way to go, sweetie. Rob not only is a hunk with brains, but he’s also got a sense of humor. And let’s not overlook the fact that he knows how to kiss. I approve of a man who kisses like he means it.”

Jade did too. “Margot, you are so superficial.”

“Too true.” She sighed heavily. “It’s a lucky thing that in addition to being a seriously fine-looking, intelligent male—which often sadly seems to be an oxymoron—who knows how to use his lips, he’s also a protector of
law and order and a loving dad. Wow, you really have hit the jackpot.”

“Will you stop?” she grumbled, feeling her cheeks grow hot. “Some of us have work to do. I’ve got to get Carmen groomed and tacked—right after I eat this muffin.” She opened the bag and, pulling it out, gave a sigh of bliss. Rob had picked one with a generous cream-cheese center. The first huge bite had her thinking of the ways she might thank him on Saturday night, and she smiled as lust mixed with cinnamon, pumpkin, nutmeg, and sweetened cream cheese. Delicious and possibly addictive. She took another bite and let her imagination run rampant.

“Actually, that’s why I came to find you. You don’t have to inhale that muffin at warp speed. Carmen’s already groomed for you.”

Jade paused and swallowed. “She’s groomed?”

“And looking like a million bucks—not to sound too superficial. Topher McCallister called while you were teaching. He’s heard we have a promising eventing prospect and wants to see her in action.” She glanced at her watch. “He should be here in about twenty minutes. Sorry to throw this at you, but Travis thought you’d be the best person to put Carmen through her paces. You’ve been doing so well with her. Andy put your saddle out along with Carmen’s bridle, but I imagine Topher will bring his own saddle.”

Topher McCallister. It was a shock hearing his name. She hadn’t thought of him since she’d read his name on Greg Hammond’s list of possible candidates who might have been involved with her mother.

Greg was busy making his inquiries, but that shouldn’t prevent her from doing a little investigating too. This was a golden opportunity to ask Topher a few subtle questions.

“It’s no biggie, Margot. Today’s Carmen day for
jumping anyway, so we’re not messing up her workout schedule. What’s Topher up to these days?” Then, so Margot wouldn’t suspect she had anything but the most casual interest in him, she took a humongous bite of her muffin and chewed busily.

“I’ve heard he’s very active in the Warburg Hunt Club. He’s also big into cross-country events and point-to-point races. Personality-wise he hasn’t changed much. He still has an ego the size of the Goodyear Blimp.”

Would it have floated his blimp-size ego to sleep with her mom? It was possible, she decided. Her mother had been beautiful; fooling around with her behind RJ Radcliffe’s back would have been a major notch in a lot of guys’ bedposts.

“Well, Carmen’s like a Ferrari. She’s got enough flash and power to satisfy the most narcissistic and overcompensating of dudes. He’ll probably love her.”

“Luckily he’s an excellent rider, and Kevin Donnelly, his trainer, is a good guy, so we don’t have to worry about whether Carmen would be in good hands. From what Travis says, Topher seems pretty eager to buy.”

Jade popped the last of her muffin into her mouth. “Well, then. Time for me to show him what Carmen’s got.” But if she discovered that Topher had been sleeping with her mother, it would be kingdom come before he ever owned one of Rosewood’s horses.

In the main barn’s office, she grabbed a quick cup of coffee and thanked Andy and Travis for making Carmen’s coat and white blaze shine with horse-show-ready luster, the way all of Rosewood’s horses were presented when potential buyers came a-calling.

Like most females who’d just been treated to a deluxe spa treatment—complete with mane pulling, ear, muzzle, and fetlock clipping, and a pedi, her four hooves gleaming with hoof dressing—the mare knew she looked
good. When she saw Jade walking toward her, she tossed her black head proudly, making the cross ties dance, and gave a snort of welcome.

“Hey, you sexy thing,” Jade murmured as she reached out to scratch Carmen beneath her jaw, another of her favorite tickle spots. “Going to strut your stuff today for the man who’s got an eye for mighty fine equines?”

“Be fair, that’s not all I have an eye for,” a male voice joked. “It’s Jade, isn’t it? It’s been too long. May I say that you are looking mighty fine as well?”

Topher McCallister was like many men who thought that, because they were good-looking, they only had to toss off a compliment with a flash of a practiced smile to have a woman’s brain go as soft as an underboiled egg.

He must be nine years older than she—Jade recalled Greg telling her that Topher was a year younger than Jordan. He had the blond, muscled equestrian look down pat, dressed in a blue-check button-down shirt, a navy cable sweater, and fawn-colored breeches with brown field boots. Margot would have said that he looked like a Ralph Lauren wannabe.

Even if Jade didn’t have Rob to hold up as the gold standard in terms of sexy, charismatic guys, she’d have found Topher sadly lacking. On another day she might have been tempted to let him know it.

Instead, she gave him an easy smile. “Hey, Topher. How are things?”

“Good. Really good. So, you’re home from college. The grapevine has it that for the past four years you put all the other collegiate riders to shame. Way to go. You doing any competitive riding now?”

“I’ll probably enter some shows next summer. For now I’m busy teaching and helping train our prospects.”

He nodded and his gaze shifted to the mare before him. “This is Carmen, huh? Nice-looking.”

What a load of bull. They both knew Carmen was a
hell of a lot more than “nice-looking.” But she stifled the spurt of annoyance his comment caused. “Carmen’s got it all. Looks, brains, heart, and speed. In addition, she’s a blast and a half to ride. Always keeps you on your toes.”

“Yeah? I like a female who presents a challenge.” Unfortunately, Topher was looking at her—her mouth specifically—rather than at Carmen when he spoke.

Ugh. The longer she spoke to him, the higher the “ick” factor climbed. But just because she didn’t like him, that didn’t mean he’d gone and slept with her mom. Steering the conversation in a direction that might yield an answer was proving trickier than she’d supposed, though. Now that she was face-to-face with him, she couldn’t think of anything to ask except, “Hey, Topher, are you into sleeping with other men’s wives? Like my mom, for example?”

Luckily, if the afternoon turned out to be a bust in terms of figuring out whether Topher McCallister was TM, the hero of her mom’s diary, she could always cede the field to Greg Hammond. He had to have more-sophisticated ways of ferreting out information.

Travis, Margot, and Ned came out of the office, where they must have been having a last-minute huddle, discussing what price to negotiate if Topher made an offer for Carmen.

Better horse dealers than these three a person couldn’t find. It was time to concentrate and do what she could to help the sale: ride Carmen and show him just what a special mare she was.

After shaking hands with Topher, her family set to work. Ned gave a rundown of Carmen’s bloodlines; Travis talked about how much he liked their stallion Nocturne’s get (a topic near and dear to his heart since it was Travis who’d bought Nocturne, introducing a new bloodline to Rosewood’s stock), and Margot commented
on the progress Carmen was making in dressage.

The sell wasn’t heavy-handed, though. Every nugget of information came with a question about Topher’s family, who’d known theirs for years, or about his job in insurance and his activities at the Warburg Hunt Club, Warburg’s most important—and exclusive—social and equestrian institution.

And while they shot the breeze, Topher got to see that Carmen had lovely manners. No fuss was made when Jade bridled her. A swish of the tail was her only reaction to having the girth tightened about her belly. She walked out of the barn alert, her ears cocked forward, and her carriage confident.

There was still enough light to ride outdoors, which was great, as it offered better viewing than in the indoor ring, where Carmen’s black body would get lost in the shadowed corners. And jumping outside would show how she behaved in an environment where there were far more distractions.

Jade warmed up the mare, letting her work off some of her friskiness. An experienced rider, Topher wouldn’t be surprised to see how hot to trot Carmen was; a potential eventer had to be full of rocket fuel. What a buyer wouldn’t want to see was a horse that was completely loco, too revved up to respond to its rider’s aids. Although Carmen loved speed, she knew when it was time to settle down and work. Topher would be impressed by that, as well as by the fact that the mare, young as she was,
liked
to work.

Warm-up complete, Jade began to show Carmen off. It was fun. Illuminating too, as it made her realize how far the mare had come in terms of the fluidity of her gaits, the suppleness of her body. The dressage work they’d been doing was really paying off. Once Carmen was nice and limber from the flatwork, Jade took her
over a combination of fences: a wall, a chicken coop, a brush jump, and then a triple combination—a line of three brightly painted rail jumps, spaced at different distances—to demonstrate the mare’s agility and scope.

As she cantered over the course, feeling the mare beneath her eat up the ground with her powerful strides and then soar over the fences, Jade knew Carmen was being scrutinized intensely, her every movement analyzed and judged. She got the distinct impression Topher was looking at her just as intently.

His interest was probably in part professional—he wanted to see whether she was struggling to control Carmen—but she suspected there was another motive for his unwavering attention.

He was checking her out from head to toe and, she sensed, paying particular attention to her ass.

His interest didn’t faze her in the least; the only thing that mattered was that her mom had had a pretty good butt too. Maybe Topher was an ass man.

If it had been Rob standing where Topher was now, the story would be entirely different. She wouldn’t be feeling completely cool and detached, not when a single glance from Rob could melt her insides, send her brain spinning, and cause her heart to gallop faster than even Carmen going full throttle.

It was time she faced the facts. She had it pretty bad for Officer Rob Cooper.

And wasn’t this the perfect moment to nail the last fence that Travis had suggested she take, a big brush jump that had Carmen picking up and folding her knees as nice as you please. They landed smooth as butter, Jade settling her rear back into the saddle while Carmen cantered on, snorting a little as she shook her black head, her way of saying, “Wasn’t that fun? Let’s do it again.”

With a bittersweet smile, Jade reached out and scratched
Carmen’s black mane as she brought her down to an easy trot. If Topher was seriously considering buying a three-day-event horse, he’d have to be a dunce not to invest in Carmen. She was strong, fast, 100 percent sound, and she loved challenges. Although there were other young horses that Travis would assign her, Jade would miss the mare.

At least she’d had the opportunity to help in her training. That was something to be proud of.

She trotted Carmen over to the center of the ring and then halted. “So, Topher, is your appetite whetted? Feel like trying her out?”

“Most definitely.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Jade said with a smile before swinging her leg over the saddle and dismounting lightly. Looping an arm inside the reins, she gave Carmen a fond pat and made quick work of running up her stirrups and loosening her girth. She slipped her saddle off the mare’s back so he could replace it with his own, larger one. Within minutes, Topher was guiding Carmen back out onto the rail.

Jade went to stand by Ned, Travis, and Margot, who’d stayed put by the wall jump while the saddles were exchanged and Topher mounted Carmen. A lifelong rider, Topher didn’t need a gang of people helping out. The commotion wouldn’t serve Carmen either. “Nice work, Miss Jade. The two of you looked real good.”

“Thanks, Ned. It’ll be interesting to watch Topher and see how he clicks with Carmen.”

“He’s a good rider. They’ll get along just fine. It’ll be a shame to say goodbye to Carmen,” Ned said.

“Exactly what I was thinking. She’s a fun horse.”

Travis wrapped an arm about Jade’s shoulder and squeezed it briefly. “You’ve done a great job with her. I could see Topher’s eyes light up when you took that combination as easy as one, two, three.”

“Thanks. You know, this weird thing happened when
I finished jumping her. All of a sudden I knew that I’d be saying goodbye to Carmen soon, whether it’s Topher or someone else who buys her. And I actually felt tears come to my eyes. I must be getting sentimental in my advanced age. Pretty soon I’m going to be as bad as you, sis, wandering off to bawl my eyes out every time we make a sale.”