Chapter 1 

 

Rachel

 

Cheerful voices filtered out of the staff dining room as I walked up the path. I pulled my sleeves down to protect my fingers from the cold winter air. Warmth hit me as soon as I opened the door, and it wasn’t just the heat in the room. The whole atmosphere was welcoming.

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The dining room had been transformed for Isabelle’s party. Fairy lights twinkled above the guests, and lanterns glowed on the tables. It was cozy and dreamy, just like Isabelle, who was wearing a flowing navy and teal dress.

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“Wow, this is amazing,” I said as I made my way to Taylor and Ciaron and their daughter, Isabelle. I handed Isabelle her birthday present wrapped in gold paper. “I love your dress, Isabelle. Happy Birthday.”

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Isabelle smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. “Thank you.”

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Oh, to be sixteen again and not have a worry in the world. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She’d seen her parents’ marriage implode in front of her eyes. None of us on the farm had seen it coming. I guess there were signs, but they hadn’t really registered. After all, Ciaron and Taylor had been the strongest couple any of us knew.

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But with a little intervention from Isabelle and her brother, their relationship seemed to be back on track. It was a good thing, too, because having two managers who barely spoke to each other could make for an uncomfortable workplace.

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The door opened, and Curtis crossed the threshold, his stride measured. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his jeans, accentuating his broad shoulders, and his gaze darted around the room. When it landed on me, his square jaw unclenched, and he smiled. From resting bitch face to some blond, green-eyed, god-like specimen in less than a second. Gosh, he was beautiful. I sighed.

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OK, maybe I was exaggerating, but I’m sure half the girls on the farm and at the vet surgery would think the same … and half the town. They’d all probably had a crush on him since he’d arrived a few months ago. He didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he did, but he didn’t pay them any attention. That was my go-to method as well—ignoring men who hit on me. I wasn’t interested in them or their false promises or the broken trust.

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He gave Dan a wave and then strode over to us and stood beside me. “Thanks for the invite,” he said to Ciaron. His gentle, rhythmic American drawl washed over me.

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Ciaron grinned. “Glad you could make it.”

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The door opened again, and a few teenagers walked in, followed by an adult. Isabelle went to greet her friends, and the volume in the room rose in an instant.

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“Excuse us,” Ciaron said as he took Taylor’s hand and led her away.

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Curtis turned his attention to me. “How was your day?”

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“Not bad. It’s my weekend on. Weekends are quick and easy—feed runs only.”

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He nodded. “No such luck for vets. Our weekends are never easy.”

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“Your weekend on too?”

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“I swapped with Dan. He wanted to get a haircut and buy a new shirt for his date with Lorraine.”

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I glanced over to Taylor’s mum, Lorraine, and Dan, both grey-haired, standing close to each other but not too close. They’d been friends forever. Tonight, there was a hint of anticipation between them; something had shifted. “You know this date has been over thirty years in the making.”

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Curtis moved nearer, claiming the space between us as if he owned it. “I think he’s had a crush on her since elementary school.”

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“We call it primary school here.”

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Lorraine beckoned to us, and we went over to join them.

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Dan gave me a light nudge in the ribs. “I hear you’ve finally been let off the leash.”

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Curtis’s brow furrowed.

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Lorraine laughed as she handed Curtis and me a beer. “Good things come to those who wait.”

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Dan grinned at her. “Don’t I know it.”

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Lorraine studied Curtis. “Hasn’t Rachel told you yet?”

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His resting bitch face was back. “Told me what?”

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Why would I tell Curtis? There was no need for him to know. We’d told the staff at our last meeting; they were the ones who needed to know. Curtis was just a vet who serviced our farm.

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I took a couple of swigs of beer.

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“Taylor and Ciaron have given Rachel more responsibility. They’re sharing the on-call roster with her. So, when night watch needs assistance during a foaling, they’ll call her first on her week.”

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Curtis smiled down at me. “Congratulations.”

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“Thanks.”

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It probably didn’t mean much to him; he was an accomplished vet who treated horses all over the area, sometimes in life and death situations. But knowing that Ciaron and Taylor trusted me meant the world to me. I felt like I’d accomplished something important.

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I’d been foaling unit manager for years, but as the drought dragged on, Taylor had wanted to keep more and more control over things. That meant she and Ciaron were on-call and not me. I understood. For me, the farm was a home and a career, but for her and Ciaron, it was their future, their legacy.

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I finished my beer. Before I even had a chance to put the bottle down, Lorraine replaced it with another.

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“Curtis, how do you find living with an old bachelor?” Lorraine asked, giving him a wink.

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“Hey, who are you calling old?” Dan said. “We went to kindergarten together, remember?”

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I suppressed a smile as Curtis and I glanced at each other. So, this little crush had started even before Curtis predicted.

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“You’re old compared to Curtis,” Lorraine stated.

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I went to take Curtis’s arm so we could retreat and leave them alone on their first date, but Cleo and Sophia came to join our circle. I was sure it wasn’t for my company; they saw enough of me at work every day.

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“And you’re much older than these two young ladies.” Lorraine laughed.

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Cleo managed to find space between Dr Dan and Curtis. Obvious much? Curtis stepped closer to me so that we were touching. I moved sideways to give him some more space. Poor guy. I bet he got that all the time. That’s the problem with being model material.

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“I think Curtis is more of an old man than me,” Dan said. “He’s usually in bed before ten.”

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“Early to bed and early to rise,” Curtis said.

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“Whose quote is that?” I asked.

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Curtis’s green eyes locked with mine and I was captured in his gaze. A prickle ran across my skin. “Benjamin Franklin: ‘Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’”

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“Couldn’t have been a farmer or horse owner, no wealth there for the common man,” Lorraine said.

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“No, but your horses make us vets wealthy.” Dan chuckled.

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“Have you always wanted to work with horses, Curtis?” Sophia asked.

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He broke eye contact with me. “Yes.”

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And we were back to the man of few words. I’d seen this many a time on the farm. People probably thought he was rude or awkward. I didn’t think so. It was just him.

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When it seemed like he wasn’t going to say more, I took hold of his arm and said, “I reckon Dan only became interested in horses because of Lorraine back in kindergarten.”

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Curtis pursed his lips, but he couldn’t hide the smile from his eyes when he glanced down at me. Warmth spread in my chest. He was just as beautiful in that moment as we silently shared a joke as he was when he first walked in the room. I looked away, not sure why I was obsessing about how good he looked. It wasn’t like this was the first time I’d ever spent time with him. We worked together on the farm often enough.

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Dan shrugged. “I will neither deny nor confirm.”

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“I think you just did,” I said, giggling. My third beer was going to my head. That’s what happens when you’re not usually a big drinker.

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Dan clapped his hands together and nodded towards a table. “Time for pizza.”

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Curtis didn’t wait for further invitation. He placed his hand on the small of my back, warm and steady, tethering me to him, and led me to the food. He held two plates while I added slices of pizza to them. The smell of the dense dough, tomato sauce, herbs and smoky meat made my mouth water.

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We headed to a table and sat next to each other.

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“So, when exactly did you decide you wanted to work with horses?” I asked.

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“Ever since I was a child.”

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“And?”

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“We lived near a lot of farms, and I loved visiting the horses when I could.”

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I gave him a nudge and a smile. “See, that wasn’t so hard sharing a bit about yourself, was it?”

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Curtis rolled his eyes.

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And that was an open invitation for a little more teasing.

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“Next thing you know, you’re going to tell me your favourite book and how you take your coffee?” I said.

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His gaze darted between my eyes. The thoughts must have been running at a hundred miles an hour. I bit into my slice of Hawaiian pizza while I waited … salty ham and sweet pineapple melded together.

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He didn’t look away. “Black. Strong. Do you want to know how I take my eggs as well?”

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“If it means you’ll keep talking and I get to hear that accent of yours.”

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He blushed. “Scrambled.”

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Like my brain at the moment.

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We were huddled together, ignoring the rest of the room. Heat radiated off him. I liked Curtis’s company; he didn’t expect anything from me.

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“Mmm. I need a more open-ended question, it seems. What do you like about being a vet?”

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“Horses.”

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“Wow, Curtis, don’t surprise me with a two-sentence monologue, will you?”

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He grinned. “Nope.”

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Challenge accepted.

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“What is it about horses that you like so much?”

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“Their heart.”

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“Oooh, two words.”

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He chuckled. The sound was deep and seductive. I took a sip of my beer. I didn’t dare finish it in fear that Lorraine would deliver another one. I was already feeling the heat in my cheeks … from the few I’d had already … not his chuckle.

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Let’s see if this question would trip him up. “If you had to choose between mares and women, which would you choose?”

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“Depends.”

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I had him now. The next question would need more than one word. “On what?”

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He was deadpan. “Whether the woman was a horse.”

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I giggled. “You have a one-track mind.”

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“Most men do.”

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I laughed so hard I snorted. I leant my cheek against his shoulder, the soft cotton carried the faint scent of pine and hay. “Not like yours.”

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“You have no idea,” he said, his voice deep and gruff.

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I let his masculinity wash over me as a little voice inside my head told me to move away. Our position was too intimate.

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I didn’t.

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And neither did he.

​

 

*

 

It was a week after the party, and Taylor and I were in the office at the foaling unit, checking that we had all the foaling information from previous years entered into an app she’d created for the farm. She sat on one side of the desk, reading off the old paperwork, and I cross-referenced it.

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In the middle of reading out the information on Mermaid, she said, “So, you and Curtis were pretty cosy at the party.”

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My stomach dropped. I’d avoided Curtis as much as I could since the party. Whenever I saw his ute on the farm, I’d made myself scarce.

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The intimacy … his presence … his warmth … it was all too much. The memory was too much.

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Taylor was staring at me from across the desk. Obviously waiting for an answer. Deflection was my best option.

 “The party was a week ago. Why do you care all of a sudden?”

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“In case you hadn’t noticed, I was busy saving my marriage.”

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I sucked a breath in. It had been a very tense week. I didn’t want to talk about her and Ciaron, but I would be relieved if she did. Better than talking about me.

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“So, you and Curtis?” she prompted.

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Shit. No such luck. She was like a stallion trying to get to a mare.

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“I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable.”

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She raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, because he didn’t know anyone else there.”

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“He’s not much of a people person.”

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She grinned. “No, but he’s certainly a Rachel person.”

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I stiffened. “Maybe he knows that I’m not interested in him that way, and that makes him feel comfortable.”

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“Are you saying you’re immune to his looks and charm?” She cocked her head, watching closely.

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I grunted. “You are.”

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“I’m happily married. But if I wasn’t married … besides, he only turns on the charm for you. He hardly speaks to anyone else unless it’s work-related.”

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Enough. I was not entertaining whatever thoughts were travelling through her mind. “Have you finished reading Mermaid’s info?”

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She shook her head. Her eyes stayed on me instead of returning to the paper in her hands. I shifted in my seat. Taylor was my boss and best friend, but right now I wished she was in boss mode.

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“I don’t want a relationship, OK?” My voice was hard, and I meant it to be. “I have no time to entertain a man. I have debts to pay off, and that takes focus and commitment.”

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Her mouth twisted as if she was in thought, and then she giggled. “Is that what we call it these days? Entertaining?”

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I narrowed my eyes. She wasn’t here to talk about horses or check their info. Anyone else on the farm could have helped me with that job. I’d asked Cleo to, and then Taylor had turned up in her place. Taylor, who was always so busy. But it seemed not busy enough for a menial task. Or to drill me. Out of love, I’m sure, but that didn’t make it less annoying.

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She ignored my death stare. “A little bit of fun doesn’t mean you will be distracted from that goal. Are you saying you won’t get with anyone until you’ve paid off all the debts Justin left you? That’s a long time.”

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A very long time.

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“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Can we continue now?”

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Taylor got the hint and kept reading.

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And I wouldn’t be getting with anyone after those debts were paid off either. Not everyone could have the kind of love Taylor and Ciaron had. I’d had my taste of so-called love, and it was sour.

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Last week I’d been riding high, and I’d let that happiness and the beer go to my head. I hadn’t meant to give Curtis the impression I was interested in him. I knew the next day that I’d made a mistake being too friendly. He may have misread it. Some men were quick to assume that when a woman was friendly, it meant they wanted more.

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I did not want more.

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I wasn’t interested in a bit of fun or a relationship, now or ever. The debts weren’t the only thing Justin had left behind.

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I couldn’t keep ignoring Curtis, though. That was rude. Just because I was feeling like he may have got the wrong impression, it didn’t mean he had.

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Next time he came in, I would make an effort not to avoid him and continue the friendship we had. I hoped it happened before I lost my conviction.