Good Together (22 page)

Tears had filled her eyes by the time she reached Chaser’s stall. She felt like she had a tennis ball in her throat and a dark pit of sadness where her heart ought to be.

Fortunately Tip was too busy reacquainting himself with the quarter horse to notice her sudden quiet. She stayed in the aisle, turning her back as she swiped away the tears. She’d said her goodbyes to the horses yesterday when she’d groomed them, then again this morning as she gave them what would probably be their last feeding at Bishop Stables. Today she would keep her distance and try not to break down in front of people who were virtually strangers.

“Yup. Still looking good. Thank you, Mattie. I can tell when a horse has been taken care of by someone who loves him.”

His words brought tears to her eyes again, despite her resolve. “Want help loading him in the trailer?”

“We’ll be fine.” Sure enough, once Tip had attached the lead rope, Chaser followed him contently out of the barn.

“Go ahead,” Mattie kept her face averted “I have some things to finish up with in here.”

“Okay, then. Thanks again. You take care now.”

“Drive safe. And good luck to you both.”

“We’ll go far. You’ll see.” Tip winked, before leading the horse out the main door and disappearing from her view. She slid the door back into place, closing her eyes and resting against the solid pine for a moment. It was somewhat reassuring to know that she’d be able to follow Tip and Chaser’s career next year—it would be a way of maintaining contact with the courageous and hardworking quarter horse.

She puttered in the tack room, waiting until she’d heard Tip’s rig rumble on down the road before emerging and heading toward the house. She hadn’t taken three steps, however, when she noticed a new vehicle driving in from the main road. Another rig, a bigger one this time. She shielded her eyes and watched as it drew closer, until finally she recognized Guy Medley’s white and silver unit.

He drove in slowly, raising one hand in greeting, before maneuvering the trailer for an easy exit. His head was bowed slightly when he walked toward her, as if he was fascinated by the tips of his boots. Finally when they were only a few yards apart, he halted and lifted his round face. He looked at her rather sadly with his little brown-button eyes.

“Mrs. Bishop. I don’t suppose you’re be happy to see me again.”

She didn’t need to ask. Obviously he was here to pick up the rest of their horses for the family outfit near Ronan. “Thanks for letting me know the first batch went to a decent place.”

“No problem. I wouldn’t have felt good about it myself, otherwise. I don’t often get to handle horses of this caliber. Frankly they’ll be under-utilized on that swanky ranch. But they’ll have a good life and be treated well. As will this batch. I know the Claypools myself and they’re good people.”

Mattie had heard of them, too, and despite the fact that they had a small outfit, their reputation was fine.

So that was reassuring.

“Want some coffee?” Mattie offered. “I’m afraid I’m all out of pie, though I could find you something else.”

This time he shook his head. “If I get moving now, I’ll be in Ronan in time for lunch. Might as well pull the Band-Aid off fast.”

He felt bad. Poor man. None of this was his fault. He was just doing his job. “They’re all in the barn. I gave them a good grooming yesterday. I—” her voice hitched and she stopped talking. In her mind she could picture them, Copper, Princess Bride, Madame Curie, lining up and trustingly getting into that trailer. Never guessing they would never come home again...

How could she do this to them?

If only she had some other option.

N
at was just driving out of Polson, about to get on the Memorial Bridge that crossed the Flathead where it ceased to be a lake and narrowed into a river, when he noticed the truck with the Wyoming license plate. The cowboy at the driver’s seat was pulling a horse trailer with living quarters attached. Not an uncommon sight on these roads. Still, it made Nat’s lips thin into a hard, angry line.

Cause he had a good idea where that cowboy had been and which horse was in the back of that trailer. Nat turned off the radio, no longer in the mood to listen to up-beat rock tunes. Fifteen minutes later he was off the highway heading south toward home—and the Bishop place. When he saw the huge tractor-trailer rig parked next to Mattie’s barn, he swore. Losing them all in one day. This was going to kill her.

He didn’t even consider driving by. He pulled in and parked his truck next to Mattie’s, by the house, then hurried over to the big rig. The horses had already been loaded and Mattie was talking to a rotund man with a round face and small, dark eyes. He thought she looked glad to see him, but she didn’t say anything. She was gripping onto the corral fence, though, like she needed the support. And she looked like she’d been crying.

Nat walked up to the man with his hand outstretched. “Hi there. I own the place up the road. Nat Diamond.”

“I’ve heard of the Double D,” the trucker driver acknowledged, shaking his hand willingly. “I’m Guy Medley. I was out here last week picking up some horses for transport out to the Whitefish area. Now I’m back for the rest, though I can’t say I’m very happy about it. This little lady is having a hard time seeing her horses go.”

Mattie had turned away from them, was pretending to fuss with a section of fence closer to the barn. Nat knew she wasn’t meaning to be rude. She was just trying to hold herself together.

“Where are you taking these horses?” Nat wanted to know.

“John Claypool’s place, they just have a small outfit, mostly looking for nice horses for their kids to ride.”

“What will they do with the yearlings?”

“No idea. Train them I suppose. It’s too bad about that nice bay, though, looks pretty old. Would have been nice for her to finish out her days in a familiar place.”

He had to be talking about Copper, who’d been Mattie’s horse since she married Wes and moved out here. “That’s for damn sure,” he agreed.

Once Guy had taken off with the horses, Nat took Mattie by the arm and led her inside. He could feel her trembling and didn’t know if he felt more sad for her, or plain furious at Wes. Tuff greeting them enthusiastically, but not even the puppy’s cute antics drew a smile from Mattie.

He couldn’t leave her alone this way.

“How about you change out of your work clothes and we go into town for some lunch?” So he’d just been in Polson. Wouldn’t hurt to drive back.

Rather than hang her jacket and tuck away her boots the way he’d seen her do before, Mattie dropped everything to the floor, mechanically washing her hands before she headed to the kitchen. He removed his own boots and followed her.

“Mattie? Lunch?” he repeated, since she seemed to be in something of a daze. She’d gone to stand by the window. It made him kind of crazy to see how beautiful she was, even in her sorrow. He didn’t want to be feeling any sort of attraction to her. It wasn’t right. Not in these circumstances.

“I—just can’t, Nat. I don’t want to be around people right now.”

“Does that include me?”

She gave him a feeble smile and a gentle head shake.

“Then come with me to the Double D. I’ll bet Eadie has made something good we can eat for lunch. We’ll bring Tuff and she can play with her sister again. It’ll be a win-win.”

Mattie ended up agreeing, mostly Nat suspected, because she lacked the energy to argue. She did seem a little less fragile once he had her seated at the kitchen table at his place. The blueprints for the renovations were still on the counter where he’d been studying them that morning. He had a few last minute changes to run by Timothy. Nat rolled them up and took them back to the study. Then he put on the kettle for tea.

A minute later Eadie came through, carrying a laundry hamper of freshly folded sheets and towels.

“Hello Mattie—I thought I heard two sets of footsteps. I was in the laundry room.” She turned to Nat. “I’ll put away these towels, then make up your bed and I’ll be finished for the day. I made a chicken enchilada casserole for your dinner. It’s in the fridge, along with a dry salad.”

“Perfect. We can have the casserole for lunch.”

“Then what will you eat for dinner?” Mattie wanted to know.

“Oh, there will be lots of leftovers,” Eadie assured them, before heading down the hall toward the master bedroom.

An hour later, Eadie had left, and Mattie and Nat had finished lunch. The casserole had been delicious, but Mattie only picked at her portion. She was going through tea, however, like nobody’s business. He picked up the empty pot. “Should I make some more?”

She let out a long, unhappy sigh. “I should be getting home. You must have work to do.”

“Not really,” he insisted. “Why don’t we be decadent and watch an afternoon movie.” Not the action, adventure type that he preferred but something feel-good that would cheer her up a little. Without waiting for her answer, he turned the TV on then gave her the control so she could scroll through the offerings.

“Oh, this is cute,” she said after a few minutes. “It’s about two women who switch houses for the holidays. Have you seen it?”

He glanced at the screen as he carried the fresh pot of tea in from the kitchen. “Nope, haven’t seen it. Let’s give it a try.”

It soon became clear that she
had
seen it before, but she seemed to enjoy it just as much despite the fact. “Oh, I love this part,” she said, touching his arm as the American girl trudged in her high heels in search of the English cottage. “Isn’t she a hoot?”

At some point Nat realized he was watching Mattie more than the movie. He hadn’t seen her smile this much for a long time. She had a haunting beauty when she was sad. But happy, she glowed, effervescent and irresistible.

When the woman from England ran through the beautiful, sophisticated, LA house, delighting with each new discovery—from outdoor pool, to gourmet kitchen—Mattie looked as wide-eyed and happy as the actress.

They’d been sitting side by side, a good two feet between them. But somehow they were closer now. Every time she laughed, Mattie would reach for him, touch his arm for a second or two, nothing inappropriate, but man, how he was aware of those touches. And then, when the couple celebrating Christmas in England shared their first kiss, pulled back, then kissed again, a new tension entered the room.

Mattie looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You probably hate these mushy scenes.”

“Do you?”

“I love them.” She wasn’t looking at the screen, though, she was looking at him.

Never had he wanted to kiss a woman as much as he wanted to kiss her. He’d found her perfect from the first moment he’d met her. But seeing her withstand the onslaught of the past few months had only made her more precious to him. Her strength,
and
her vulnerability, the combination was irresistible.

“Nat? We don’t have to watch this if you don’t like it.”

“Why do you think I don’t like it?”

“Because you’re not watching the TV...” her gaze dipped to her hands, then rose back to meet his. “It seems more like you’re watching...
me.
”

“Guilty,” he admitted. “It’s just nice to see you smiling for a change.”

Her smile broadened, real and warm. “You’ve really seen me at my worst, haven’t you?”

“Even your worst is beautiful.”

They were both quiet for a moment, the soundtrack to the movie quite superfluous at this point.

Her eyes grew luminous. “Nat... you’re so good to me.” She reached a hand to the side of his face. And then she was leaning in toward him, lips sweetly parting.

She had probably meant for them to share a chaste kiss. But magic sparked from the first light touching of their lips. He cupped the back of her head, kissed her more deeply, inhaling her, tasting her, drowning in her... then pulled back to check her beautiful warm eyes.

They were glowing. He could tell she wanted more. He could feel the surrender in her body, as well as the heat and the need.

Just like his. Every fiber of his being wanted him to kiss her senseless then carry her to his bedroom. He wanted to explore every inch of her body. Claim her and please her. He groaned, imaging how intense and amazing it would be.

“Mattie, how I want you.” He stopped himself from adding,
how I’ve always wanted you...

“I feel the same way.”

He touched his lips to her smooth, high forehead, while he searched inside himself for the strength to hold back. “In another time... we could have been so good together.”

“Why do you say another time...”

He chose his words carefully. “For one thing... you’re still married.”

“After everything that Wes has done—you really feel my being married is an obstacle?”

“Legalities aside, there’s the rebound factor. A lot has happened in a really short time. You need to deal with the end of your marriage—really come to terms with it—before you jump into another relationship.” She looked so crushed. He felt as if he had rejected her, when the very opposite was true.

“What you say is wise.” She sighed. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I know I started that kiss of ours...”

“Maybe you started it. But I’ll bet I wanted it to happen more than you did.” He didn’t try to hide his emotions when he looked at her now, and was rewarded when a wash of pink spread up from her neck, until even the tips of her ears were red.

“This is kind of a mess, isn’t it? But please don’t tell me we shouldn’t see each other anymore—not even as friends. I couldn’t stand that.”

“I couldn’t either,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her to give her a warm hug. He’d been walking an emotional tightrope with Mattie from the beginning. Only now the rope was so much higher.

* * *

M
attie was confused by her sudden sexual awareness of Nat Diamond. She’d known him for almost twenty years, during which time she’d certainly been aware of his drop-dead gorgeousness. Why was it only now that her heart raced when he was near, and his every touch made her long for more?

Trouble was, Nat—so off-limits when she’d been a happily married woman—was no longer the forbidden fruit. The fact that he’d been the one to put the brakes on a potential sexual encounter between them made her feel slightly guilty, but also frustrated.