Mr. Miracle (Harlequin Super Romance) (24 page)

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Authors: Carolyn McSparren

BOOK: Mr. Miracle (Harlequin Super Romance)
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Vic froze. Oh, Lord. The cavalry had arrived to rescue the dotty aunt from the fortune hunter. She gave Mike a withering look over Liz’s shoulder and was rewarded with a shamefaced grimace.
“Where’s Pat?” Vic asked the moment she could draw a breath.
“With the Thompsons,” Liz said. “She and Lucy Thompson have become best friends. They were glad to look after her. They’re going to Disney World.”
“And the horses?”
“Jack Robey is looking after them.” Liz’s eyes began to tear up. “Oh, Vic, this is all my fault.”
“What is all your fault?”
“I was so selfish. All I could think about was what I wanted. Going off to Florida and leaving everything to you—the renovations, the stallion, looking after the entire place with nobody’s help but Albert’s. It wasn’t fair. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m perfectly capable of handling things by myself.”
“Of course you are,” Mike said. “She didn’t mean that.”
“But you never said anything about Angie’s broken collarbone. And now...”
For the first time in a long time Vic found herself getting truly angry with her niece. “And now I am having a blistering affair with a young saddle burn who’s after my money and my land.”
“Oh, Vic!”
“Listen to me, Elizabeth Whitten. I don’t need a keeper. I make my own decisions, my own choices, and I’m not some dotty old woman who signs over her estate to the first charmer that comes along.”
“Vic, I didn’t mean—”
“Yes, you did. Well, come on in, Miss Elizabeth, and meet Jamey McLachlan, my Gypsy lover.”
“Your Gypsy liar, you mean,” Mike said softly.
Vic rounded on him. “That’s enough from you, too, Michael Whitten. Just because you married into this family, you don’t have the right to sit in judgment of me or the people I mix with.”
He held up his hands. “Whoa! Jamey told me the whole story this morning. He wasn’t exactly honest with you about all this.”
“And no doubt you gave Liz chapter and verse on the way from the airport. No, he has not told the truth. But he also has
done nothing
underhanded. He hasn’t stolen anything or cheated anybody. He’s worked his can off taking up the slack in this place—working harder than three men. And he’s as good a rider as Liz is with only one decent hand. And by God, he makes me feel great in bed for the first time in my life. So you can watch your mouth.”
“Vic, I’ve never seen you like this,” Liz said. “I...we...only want you to be happy.” She burst into tears. “And now I need you more than I ever did before in my life. Mike says he told you about the baby.”
Instantly Vic felt a wave of guilt. Liz was not a woman who cried easily, but hormones in the first months of pregnancy were notorious for screwing up one’s moods. She enfolded Liz in her arms and held her tight. “I know, baby. I know.”
“And this guy waltzes in off the street and—”
“It’s all right, Liz. I’m all right. Really.” She took Liz’s hand and led her into the barn. Jamey stood by the open door to the arena with the stallion’s reins in his hand. Angie and Kevin stood with him. Talking with hands and mouth when she spotted Liz, Angie yelled and flew at her.
In a moment Kevin, Angie, Albert and Mike were all talking at once.
Jamey stood quietly by the horse with his eyes on Vic.
She held his gaze. She could feel her heart beating. It was as though the metronome of her soul was ticking in perfect time with his. She slipped past the others, walked over to him and stroked the stallion’s nose.
“So that’s Liz,” Jamey said quietly.
She nodded. “She came to rescue me.” She looked at him and giggled. “I don’t need rescuing. Not even from you.”
He managed a tiny smile in return. “I love you,” he said urgently. Over her shoulder he saw the others turn to stare at them. “Come with me. Marry me. Be my love forever and forever. I can’t live without you.”
“Sure you can, Mr. McLachlan,” Liz said as she moved closer to them. “You’ve managed very well for a lot of years. So has my aunt. And she’s done it for a few more than you, am I right?”
Now, Vic thought, this was the old Liz. Blunt and intent on defending her family against all enemies, even if the weapons she picked were guaranteed to hurt the very people she wanted to protect.
“You of all people, Mrs. Whitten, should be aware of what a difference love makes in your life.”
“Real love does, yes.”
“And who are you to judge what’s real love and what’s not?”
“Real love doesn’t screw up people’s lives. Real lovers don’t lie and cheat and steal.”
Liz and Jamey now stood toe-to-toe. Their anger was fast communicating itself to Mr. Miracle, who began to stamp and fret.
Vic took the reins from Jamey’s hand. He didn’t seem to be aware that he’d let go.
“We both love her. Why do we have to fight?” he said.
“Who says we both love her, Mr. McLachlan?”
Suddenly Vic had as much as she could stand. She turned the stallion back to the mounting block. She had to get away from these people. All of them. They were loving her to death.
Liz glanced past Jamey’s shoulder just as she climbed on the mounting block. “Vic! My God, Vic, what on earth are you doing?”
She swung aboard. “I’m opting out of this little fight, people. Jamey, I love you with all my heart. Liz, I love you every bit as much. You’re all so busy trying to convince me to do what you think is best for me, as though I don’t have a clue what’s best for myself.”
“Vic—” Jamey began.
“You, too. Why do you have to have everything your way? Why can’t we just go on as we are? Why does it have to be Scotland and marriage or nothing?”
“Right,” Liz said, turning to him with narrowed eyes.
“And you hush up, too. I want to see your baby born. But you’re blackmailing me into losing the one person who has become more important to me than life.”
“Blackmail?” Liz looked thunderstruck.
“What else would you call it? Why does life have to be either this or that? What can’t it be this
and
that?”
“You can’t even get to Scotland,” Liz said. “You’d die cooped up in an airplane for ten hours.”
“I know I would. For God’s sake, all of you, can’t you simply let me be?” She wheeled and dug her heels hard into the stallion’s sides. He grunted, sat back on his haunches and exploded. Three strides later they cleared the three-rail pasture fence and galloped off into the gathering darkness.
“She’ll kill herself!” Liz shouted.
“No, she won’t,” Jamey said quietly. “Not Vic. Not on that horse.” He sounded so calm that Albert glanced at him in surprise.
“She hasn’t been on a horse in twenty years!” Liz cried.
“Oh, yes, she has,” Albert said. “Because of him.” He pointed at Jamey. “He’s got her riding as good as she ever did.” He held a hand up to shield his eyes from the last rays of the sun, to watch horse and rider flying down the pasture. He laughed. “Better, maybe. Whoo-ee! Look at ’em go.”
Liz turned to stare at Jamey. “You did this? I should have forced Mike to have that damn horse gelded. If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you.”
“She’ll come back when she’s cooled off,” Albert said.
Jamey continued speaking to Liz. “But she’s right. We’ve all been pulling on her—me, most of all. She doesn’t need me any longer.”
“At least we agree on that.”
“She’s strong enough to do it all on her own now. Make her own decisions.” He turned to Albert. “I’m out of here. Tell her my offer stands. If it takes a lifetime, I’ll be waiting for her in Oban when she’s ready to marry me. God knows how we’ll work out the living arrangements, but together we will.”
“You gonna walk out? Just like that?”
“The way I walked in. One more thing—tell her I love her.”
“Yeah.” Albert stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “You got a hell of a lot of guts.”
“Actually I’m scared to death.”
Albert stuck out his hand. Jamey took it in his, and for a moment the two men stood holding each other’s gazes in silence.
Jamey walked to his motorcycle. “I’ve already got most of my things. I’ll let you know where to send the rest.” He raised a fist at Albert.
Albert raised one in return. “Now, that’s a man.”
“Well, I never,” Liz said. “He’s crazy.”
“I don’t think so,” Albert said.
Five minutes later Vic trotted up to the barn. “I heard a motorcycle.” She and the horse both dripped with sweat.
“He’s gone,” Albert said.
“Oh, dear. I guess he needs to cool off, as well.”
“You might say,” Liz said. “He’s gone home to Scotland.”
“What?”
Albert stepped in front of her. “He says he loves you and you’re right and you don’t need him anymore. You can do it without him. He’ll be waiting for you in Scotland when you decide to marry him, and somehow you’ll work out the way to live together.”
Vic felt as though someone had hit her in the stomach. She swayed in the saddle. Albert put his hands around her waist and lifted her down. She clung to him for a moment on shaky legs.
“Vic?” Liz said, and ran to put her arms around her.
Vic shook her off. “I’m fine. Albert, would you walk this big guy out for me? He’s sweating like a hog.” She walked past them with her head held high, just as the stallion trumpeted his first call.
She wheeled. “No, you don’t,” she snapped. “Neither one of us is going to scream about this, you hear me?” She retrieved the reins from Albert’s hand and turned the horse toward the arena. He bounced on tiptoes for a moment, then she stroked his nose and began to croon to him as she had heard Jamey do. He bumped her shoulder with his head so hard she stumbled and nearly fell.
“Vic, watch out,” Liz said.
“He’s okay.” She turned to Liz. “Actually he could use a few more minutes’ work. So could I. Albert, how about giving me a leg up? After all, we have a dressage class to ride on Saturday.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
A
NGIE AND LIZ sat side by side on a tack trunk as they watched Vic exercise Trust Fund in the arena.
Liz’s eyes were red and her skin was mottled. “The last couple of days Vic’s only been off a horse to eat and sleep,” she said. “What have I done that’s so wrong? I was only trying to protect her.”
“I know.”
“Am I just being selfish because I want her close while I’m pregnant?”
Angie took a deep breath. “Okay. What would you do if Mike came home tonight and said he had to move the family to Alaska?”
“I’d say he was nuts!”
“And if he wasn’t nuts? If you knew he was right?”
“I’d go of course. He’s my husband.”
“No, Liz, honey. He’s your love, just the way Kevin is mine.”
“And the way Jamey is hers?” Liz’s jaw set. “I don’t buy that. He’s a thief.”
“He’s not, you know. You need to get to know him. He may not have told the whole truth, but he never lied outright. It is his horse, after all.”
“Are you going to take his side?” Liz sat up.
“I don’t think I’d have the nerve to walk away the way he did. Smartest move he could have made.”
Liz began to cry softly. “I want my aunt Vic back. I want her to be happy. This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life, and all I can think about is how miserable she is.”
Mike walked out of the office, came over to her and began to knead her shoulders. She leaned back against him. His eyes were deeply concerned. “You’ve got to relax, honey. This can’t be good for the baby.”
“I know. I’m sorry. If this is such a great love, why can’t he just move here and live with her?”
“I couldn’t have,” Mike said quietly.
She looked up. “What?”
“I wanted to
marry
you. Nothing else was good enough. He feels the same way. A damn gutsy way to go about proving it. I wouldn’t have done that. If you hadn’t agreed to marry me, I’d have courted you and badgered you until you did. Took nerve to walk away like that.”
“You sound as though you like him.”
He sat on the edge of the tack trunk beside her. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
 
SATURDAY MORNING dawned clear and still, with the soft sunshine that only comes in early spring.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Liz said. “All those people, those strange horses?”
Vic nodded. “Got to try sometime.”
“I warned the show committee we were bringing a young stallion. They’ve promised to keep any mare in season on the other side of the arena until we’re warmed up.”
Mr. Miracle—Vic knew she’d call him that for the rest of his life—erupted from the trailer at the show grounds with his head and tail at full alert. He was like a big kid at the circus. She and Albert manhandled him into one of the stalls secured for the day and went to work getting him ready for his class.
They were soon the center of attention. His size and his status as a stallion at a small local dressage show brought everyone running.
“One class, then we load up and get out of here,” Liz said.
“Absolutely,” Vic said.
“They all think I’m going to ride him.”
“I know.” Vic grinned.
Liz and Albert walked the horse out to the exercise ring. Several horses were already warming up.
“Oh, God,” Liz whispered to Albert. “She’ll never be able to do this—not with these other horses. It’s like it was when she crashed at Madison Square Garden.”
“If she can’t, you get your britches on and do it for her,” Albert snapped. “Nobody’s gonna know it wasn’t supposed to be you all the time.”
“I’ve never even been on that monster,” Liz hissed. “I haven’t ridden a dressage test in ten years. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m pregnant. Mike is already driving me crazy worrying about me.”
“You’re not that pregnant. You won’t fall off. He’s as broad as a table. You let her down, missy, and I will personally kill you. The woman’s come this far. I won’t have her embarrassed. You got that?”
“I don’t want her embarrassed, either, dammit.”
“Somebody give me a leg up,” Vic said from behind them. She wore new white britches, shining new boots, jacket, hard hat, stock, gloves—the prescribed uniform for the lowest-level dressage test.
It was as though time stopped. Every human head within earshot turned, every mouth opened.
She stepped up to Mr. Miracle’s side, leaned her head for a moment against him, then bent her knee for Albert.
A moment later she and the stallion did a tiptoe number into the practice arena that would have done credit to a prima ballerina.
“He’s too scared to misbehave much,” Liz whispered. “At least I hope he is.”
They began to work. Liz, who had refused to watch Vic practice with the stallion previously, stared at her. “My God,” she said. “He really is beautiful. No wonder Mike fell in love with him.”
“So is she.”
Twenty minutes later, when the excitement caused by Vic’s appearance had died down, a small Arabian mare trotted into the practice area with a teenage girl astride. The mare wore a red ribbon in her tail, signifying that she kicked at anything behind her.
Vic realized several seconds too late that the girl was riding a mare in full season, a mare who had just fallen deeply and passionately in love with Mr. Miracle—and had every intention of proving that love right then and there.
Albert and Liz both saw the same thing and started toward the ring just as the little mare stopped dead and let fly with every sign that she was ready to mate.
Vic realized what was about to happen as the stallion’s front feet started to come off the ground. If he reared too high, he’d go over backward and crush her beneath him. If he tried to mate with that mare, he’d kill the girl on her back.
She had one chance, but it meant doing something she knew was a bad idea. She kicked out of her stirrups and vaulted off Mr. Miracle with the reins still clutched in her hand. The instant her feet hit the ground she yanked him down and turned him toward her.
As she stepped backward to avoid his flailing front hooves, her feet slipped. She sat down hard. If he landed on her, he’d crush her chest. She closed her eyes.
She heard the thud and felt the ground shake. She looked up at his chest and neck, then swung her head to see two enormous hooves, one on either side of her hips. She scrambled to her feet and began to sing to him softly.
His eyes rolled frantically.
A moment later Albert and Liz took the reins from her. Liz threw her arms around her.
“Get that fool mare out of here!” Albert snarled over his shoulder.
Out of the corner of her eye Vic saw a member of the show committee descend on the girl.
The stallion shivered. Flecks of white foam stood out on his shoulders.
“You could have been killed!” Liz wailed.
“Let me go, darling,” Vic said. “I’m fine. Truly. That stallion would do anything to avoid landing on a squishy human being.”
“Let’s get you back to the stall,” Albert said.
Vic shouldered Liz aside and ran her gloved hand down the stallion’s neck. “It’s all right, baby. Mommy promises she’ll get you a fine fat mare for company just as soon as you’re home.”
“Come on, Vic.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ve got a class to ride and an oversexed horse to calm down. Albert, give me a leg up.”
“You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
Their dressage test was pretty much a disaster as far as scores were concerned, for both horse and rider were nervous. But as Mr. Miracle walked out of the ring on a loose rein, Albert and Liz met the pair with exultation.
“You did it!” Liz exclaimed. “You actually did it.”
“I’ve done better. My butt is bruised.” She slid off and turned to Liz. “I need a big favor.”
“Anything. Champagne, caviar—”
“Can you and Albert load Mr. Miracle and get him home by yourselves? I think that’s my cab over there.”
“Your cab? What cab?”
“The one I ordered to pick me up after the test to take me home.”
Instantly Liz’s face was all concern. “Of course we can. You go home and get some rest. Why didn’t you ask Mike to pick you up? I am such an idiot. I should have thought.”
Vic touched Liz’s cheek. “No, darling. I need the cab so I can go home and pick up my bags. My plane leaves in less than four hours.”
“Plane? What plane?” Albert said.
“Connections in Cincinnati, then to Glasgow. I’ve got an Escort rented in Glasgow. I should be in Oban by afternoon tomorrow. I can get a map to McLachlan Yard at the local tourist information center.”
“Vic, you’re not serious. You can’t.”
“Yes, I can.” She lifted her head and smiled. “Hear that?”
At the same moment the stallion raised his head and trumpeted.
“What?”
“Jamey’s whistling for us. Look after Mr. Miracle. And if you geld him, I will geld Mike. That’s a promise. I love you both.”
“But Vic—”
“Jamey was right. He showed me that I
don’t
need him any longer. I just
love
him and I’m going to go find him. I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t certain I could do it on my own. And I knew you’d try to stop me.” She trotted up the hill and called over her shoulder, “I promise to be here when the baby comes. Who knows? I may take one look at Oban and run home with my tail between my legs.”
“No, you won’t,” Albert said softly.
“Is she going to be all right?”
“Honey, you better get used to saying those words. Vic’s been saying ’em over you since you was born.” Albert chuckled. “You been learning with Mike and Pat, and now with the new one coming, but you got a long way to go. Maybe it’s time you did some of the worrying for a change.”
 
THE HOUSE WAS a large square gray-stone building with a tidy front yard planted with well-trimmed rhododendrons. Vic climbed out of the Escort and walked up the front steps. As she reached for the bellpull, the door opened.
It was completely filled with a man whose size would give Albert a run for his money.
“Well, lass, it’s about time,” the man said. He grabbed her hand in his large one and pulled her into the front hall, calling as he did so, “Maeve, hot up the tea. She’s here.” Then to Vic. “Come in by the fire. We’d about given you up.”
“I think there’s been some mistake...”
“You’re Victoria Jamerson, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Up, man,” her captor said as he shoved her into the room. “The lass has finally deigned to honor us with her presence.”
“And about time, too.”
The room was in shadows. For a moment she thought the man who rose from the wing chair at the far side of the hearth was Jamey. Her heart lurched. Then she realized as he came into the light that he was much older—almost wizened—and that his riding kit was old and threadbare.
“You’re Vlado,” she said, and turned to the big man. “You must be Hamish.”
“And I’m Maeve.” A small woman, also in riding britches and boots, shoved open a door at the far side of the room with the tea tray in her hands. “Hamish, you great git, take this from me before I drop it.”
“Fine, Maeve, love,” he said. Then to Vic, “Sit down. You must be half-frozen.”
Vic felt the laughter bubbling up in her throat.
“What?” he said suspiciously.
“You sound exactly like a man who’s been bullying me for most of my life.”
“Indeed. According to Jamey, the good Lord himself wouldn’t dare bully you.”
“Where’ve you been the past few days?” Vlado asked as he reached for a biscuit.
“Getting my act together. I’m looking for Jamey. Is he here?”
“This isn’t his house,” Maeve said. “He lives up the road another kilometer or so. Behind the big wall. It’s a great old barn of a place with the stables and yard in back of it. This used to be the dower house—where the widows moved when their husbands died. Milk or sugar?”
“Oh. Milk, please.” She took the proffered cup of dark milky tea. She preferred tea over ice with lots of lemon, but she was among Jamey’s people now.
“Can I find him there? Can you call him for me?”
Hamish caught Vlado’s eye and began to rumble with laughter. “Afraid not. We got so fed up with his black mood that we sent him up to the high pasture to live with the yearlings in the caravan until you got here.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“He swore you’d come,” Maeve said easily. “But we knew he was afraid he’d done the wrong thing, walking out that way. And then when the days went by...well, he was simply impossible. So we sent him off. He’s got a cell phone with him, but how good the reception’ll be I don’t know.”

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