Unforgettable: A Loveswept Classic Romance (17 page)

“You get help. I’ll do the distracting—”

“Dammit, James! I need your help, not an argument!” Before he could say a word, she swerved, then threw herself at a fence, scrambling over it to take a shortcut to the far pasture.

He veered toward the barn, all the while cursing her obtuseness. She had damn well better be all right after he got help, he thought. Because then he was going to kill her.

“Battle Cry’s loose!” he yelled the moment he was within hearing distance of the barn. “He’s in with some mares in the far pasture!”

Curtis, who had just emerged from the barn,
looked at the nearest pasture, saw it was empty, and began to shout curses and orders. Men ran everywhere at his commands.

“Redman Chief just went crazy in his stall,” Curtis said, running up to James, “and we were all in with that! But it was only for a few minutes—”

“I don’t give a damn how it happened!” James said over his shoulder as he raced back toward the pasture. “Just hurry. Anne’s trying to distract him now.”

He left Curtis to his cursing and shouting and returned to the pasture in record time. His heart stopped when he spotted Anne in the middle of the field, running dangerously close to the galloping horses while screaming and waving her jacket. It wasn’t worth the risk to herself just to keep the stallion from mating with a few mares not on the schedule.

He boosted himself over the six-foot fence and peeled off his sweater, swirling it above his head and yelling at her, “Get out of there before you get hurt!”

She shook her head. “Got to … kept them … moving!”

He swore at her, more angry than he ever thought he could be at her foolhardiness. The men arrived with ropes and halters. Not bothering to waste more breath, he ran onto the field, grabbed Anne around the waist, and pulled her back to the fence.

“Dammit, Anne,” he said when they reached it, “you could have been hurt, and for what? A couple of foals born on the wrong side of the blanket?”

“And that could ruin my farm,” she said. She was gasping for breath, but that didn’t stop her
from stiffening with indignation. “And the purity of Battle Cry’s lineage.”

“I don’t give a damn about that. I care about you. I love you.” He rubbed his forehead, completely winded. “That’s it. Our agreement’s terminated as of now. A security firm will be here before the day is out.”

“But—”

“No buts, Anne. Until we catch whoever is doing this, they’ll be here twenty-four hours a day … and so will I.”

“I shouldn’t have tried to help with the other horse.… I should have been watching my boy.…”

Anne gritted her teeth at Mac’s words. He’d been saying them continually over the past few days. At first she had sympathized. Everyone had. But now it was an annoying litany with no way to stop it. And truthfully, she couldn’t help wishing that he
had
stayed with Battle Cry. This second incident never would have happened if he had. She ignored the plainclothes guard sitting unobtrusively on the bales of hay in the far corner of the barn, a constant reminder of her failure.

“Mr. James is really angry over what happened,” Mac went on. “You know, Miss Anne, he’s not happy with the care here—”

“Thank you, Mac,” she said, pushing herself away from the stall door. She already knew how James felt. Or, rather, she didn’t know. Angry, worried, and hurt, and determined not to show it, she said, “Battle Cry looks just fine—”

“Oh, to be sure,” the little man interrupted. “But I should have stayed with him.…”

She came to a decision. “This is not a criticism of you, Mac, but because of what happened, Curtis will work with you.”

“Oh, no!” Mac exclaimed. “Mr. James won’t like it—”

“Mr. James will like it,” she said firmly. “He understands the necessity, as I’m sure you will. I want someone
I
trust with that horse at all times. That’s final, Mac.”

She ignored his grumbles as she checked on Redman Chief, who was none the worse for wear. By sheer luck they had found a large thorn on the floor of his stall. Obviously, someone had walked by and jammed it into his flesh, counting on the combination of sudden pain in an enclosed place to make him frantic. It had, and all that same person had had to do was take advantage of the confusion. All the men had rushed into the barn, thinking it was a stallion fight. And, of course, no one had noticed who
hadn’t
rushed in.

Mac babbled on, and she nodded absently until she could escape outside.

Someone was definitely out to ruin her, she thought as she emerged into the sunshine. And ruin Battle Cry too. Someone who was right here at the farm. She didn’t know who to trust anymore. She even had doubts about Curtis, who had been with her from the beginning. But of all her people, he was the one she trusted the most. It was a nightmare that had to end soon.

And then there was James. Her face heated with embarrassment, as it did every time she thought of the way he had yelled at her in front of her people. How could he have done that? She
had been perfectly safe. She was so angry with him, and yet she couldn’t help remembering that “I love you” right in the middle of his yelling.

She caught sight of Curtis, deep in conversation with James. And not a happy conversation, judging by the glowers on their faces. Both men were barely talking to her—Curtis because she agreed to the hiring of the security firm, and James because she hadn’t listened to him. Curtis could stay as mad as he liked, but James …

Granted, she was angry with him, but she was terrified that he had changed his mind about her. Every time she looked at him, love and need pumped through her veins like rich syrup. He had made no move toward her, though, and now he was sleeping on her office couch every night. And every night she was right upstairs in her big, lonely bed.…

She shook off the thought. They’d had no chance to really talk with the current chaos, and right now she had to separate the two men. Unfortunately, as bad as they were with her, they were worse with each other. She hurried over.

“Well, everyone looks fine, Curtis,” she said in an overly cheerful tone, stepping between the two of them. “I’ve told Mac you will be with the horse at all times. He’s not happy, so you’ll have to—”

“I know my job,” Curtis snapped.

“That’s debatable,” James muttered just loud enough to be heard.

“Stop it!” Anne rubbed her temple. So much for subtlety. Enough was enough. “Okay, so we have a security firm poking around that none of us wants, Curtis. We may not like it, but we can hardly complain about it. And maybe it’s better this way. We’re not in the protection business,
and we ought to stop trying to be. We’re in the horse business.”

She rounded on the other man, the man who had humiliated her in front of everyone for protecting
his
horse as best she could. “And you damn well better remember that, James. Curtis and his men were doing their jobs that morning when they went after Redman Chief, just as I was when I went in the field with Battle Cry. Now, back off!”

She stormed away, furious with him. How she ever could have thought he was perfect was beyond her now.

“Are you done yelling at me?” James asked, catching up with her.

“Are you done punishing me?” she asked in return.

“I’m not punishing you—”

“And you’re not talking to me either.”

“I don’t see you babbling away, lady,” he said, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “You almost got yourself killed, Anne.”

“That’s a convenient excuse.”

“Convenient excuse!”

“Yes. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I was in no danger. Why can’t you understand that?” She glanced at him, then at the ground. Her steps unconsciously quickened. “Why not just tell me you’ve changed your mind about … me?”

“I’ve—” He grabbed her arm and spun her around, effectively stopping her. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“About me … and you.” Her voice broke, and she took a deep breath to compose herself. She’d get to the truth and behave like an adult while she was doing it. “About why you have been
keeping your distance, and why all this anger is an excuse to stay away. Just say it and get it over with.”

“Dammit, Anne, you were the one who told me to stay away!” he exclaimed. “I yelled at you because you took unnecessary risks—”

“Very necessary risks—”

“And you scared the life out of me,” he continued, ignoring her interruption. “But I am keeping my distance because you said ‘Not in the house,’ and I completely agree. And you haven’t exactly been attacking me at every moment. You’ve avoided even being alone with me.”

“I have not! You’ve barely been talking to me.”

“No, I haven’t!”

She stared at him. He stared at her. Then they both began to laugh. He pulled her against him, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, not caring who saw them. Under her amusement she had never felt so relieved in her life.

“Things have been so crazy,” she murmured. “I just didn’t know what to think.”

“Neither of us have been thinking straight. We’ve both been under pressure with this damn mischief maker loose.” He sighed. “Please, no more risks. My heart couldn’t take it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind—when I’m taking a risk.”

“Annie,” he warned, then rubbed her back. “I’ll get used to your job and you get used to my yelling. Agreed?”

“Agreed. As long as you don’t yell at me in front of my people.”

“Deal. One of the best I’ve ever made.” His arms tightened. “At least this time there was no attempt at physical damage to Battle Cry.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “But it was
real damage, James. Somehow the business with the steroids has never come out, but I don’t hold much hope for this second incident. My reputation for careful breeding will be ruined. As it is, my farm is on the line.”

“I know.” He smiled gently. “We’ll stop this before it goes any further. Whoever he is, he’s either incredibly clever or stupid. I’m banking on the latter. In broad daylight like that … it was as if he wanted to get caught.”

Anne sighed. “Fortunately, all the mares Battle Cry was in with were already in foal. By sheer luck we’ve avoided a breeder’s worst nightmare. Now we have to wait and see if the mares were too upset by the ‘excitement’ and miscarry. So far they’re holding.”

“They’ll hold.” He stroked her hair. “We need a diversion, and I think I have a solution to our other problem. We need some time alone with each other, sooo … tonight we’ll take a late tour of the farm. We’ll find a cozy spot under the stars. I’ll pledge my eternal love, and then you’ll be all over me like cream cheese on a bagel.…”

“Sounds wonderful,” she murmured, chuckling.

“Have you told Philip?”

“No. There hasn’t been time for one thing, and I wasn’t sure …”

“We’ll both talk to him tonight.”

They reluctantly separated and walked hand in hand to the house.

“It figures,” James said, “that I’d have to court you in the middle of a disaster. I should have seen it coming the moment you threw up on me when you were a baby.”

She grinned, feeling better for the first time in days. “I aim to please.”

His smile was intimate. “And it will be my pleasure. Tonight.”

“Go fish.”

James sighed and rooted through the pile of cards on the kitchen table. He pulled one out and tucked it into the cards fanned in his hand.

From across the table Anne grinned wryly at him. Playing Go Fish with Philip and Lettice wasn’t exactly the way he’d planned their evening, he thought as he gazed at her, seeing the longing in her expression. Still, they were spending time with Philip as a family. Maybe that was more important right now than themselves. They still had to tell Philip, and this time together could make the difference in his reaction to the news. James had to admit he was finding a special pleasure in every moment of Go Fish. He was coming to care for the boy as much as he cared about Anne.

“Got any threes?” Philip asked his great-grandmother.

The boy held his cards with a studied carelessness. He looked almost bored with the proceedings in spite of the five completed sets lying in front of him. Nobody else had any points yet. James vowed never to play poker with the kid. He’d probably lose his entire stock portfolio in the first five minutes.

“Brat,” Lettice grumbled as she handed over three cards.

Philip grinned at her, placing another completed set on the table. “Now, now, Grandmother Lettice. A Kitteridge is not a sore loser.”

Lettice eyed him sourly. “One Kitteridge at this
table is going to have a sore butt if he doesn’t stop being a smug winner.”

James looked at Anne, and both of them started laughing. Philip grinned, unrepentent, while Lettice tried to look dignified and unruffled. James admired Philip’s courage with Lettice, who could make a great white shark look like a cuddly kitten at times. Losing at cards was one of them.

Suddenly he found himself the recipient of Philip’s nonchalant expression. He sobered.

“Got any aces?”

“Wehll,” James drawled, studying his hand. He grinned at the crossed-out hearts and A’s on one of his cards. “I have one that used to be an ace. I think. It’s not an ace now.”

“Really, Anne,” Lettice said, groaning. “This is ridiculous, playing with two decks of cards combined into one. And changing some of them into completely new cards! I’m not even sure what I have anymore. If you don’t buy one decent deck of cards, then I will!”

“It’s not on your list of things you can have with you while you’re here,” Anne replied, laughing. “Besides, this way is more fun. Right, Philip?”

“Right. Are you sure you don’t have any aces?” the boy asked earnestly. “Maybe you’re tired and not reading it right. I can help you.…”

“Nice try to get a peek at my cards, Philip,” James said, chuckling. “But I’m reading just fine tonight. Go fish.”

Anne set her cards down on the table, drawing his attention. She was staring at him. “Philip knows about your dyslexia.”

“I told him a while back.” He frowned, puzzled. “Why?”

“A while back? You told my son before me?”

He nodded, growing uneasy with her questions. She seemed upset, and he had no idea why.