Love Bites (24 page)

Even though Jake didn't know much about horses, he couldn't imagine the mind-set of any human being neglecting a helpless animal simply because they weren't bringing in a paycheck. What kind of sick person thought like that?

As he glanced around to the other horses in their stalls, he had a sinking feeling he wasn't going to like any backstory he heard about the vulnerable animals. He also figured he wouldn't like Allison's backstory, if he ever got that out of her.

“By the time we got her, she was pregnant, malnourished, and I instantly fell in love.” Allison turned to face him once again, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. “I fall in love with all of them, but she just touched my heart.”

Allison laughed, swiping at her damp cheeks with her palms. “And I have no idea why I just told you all of that.”

To be honest, he didn't either, considering he'd asked about the breed of the horse, but now that he'd gotten another glimpse inside Allison Barrett, he was all the more intrigued by her own past. He didn't need a PhD in psychology to know she had just as dark a history as these neglected horses. And that unspoken truth hit him in the gut and squeezed his heart more than he liked.

“I've been told I'm pretty easy to talk to,” he replied, reaching over to stroke the mare's silky coat. “So what's your story?”

Those watery eyes turned to slits. “Are you going to fix this place up and sell it?”

“Yes.”

“Then my story is irrelevant to you.”

The steel behind her words was obviously the material she used in her line of defense. How many times had she had to erect that instant wall? She didn't want to let an outsider into her world, that much was obvious. But if he'd come here under different conditions, would she be so cold? Jake knew her bitterness stemmed from fear—most anger did—but how could she already hate him so, when none of this was technically his fault?

He certainly hadn't wanted to take time from his remodeling of the condo in Florida to come to some small farm-town that was barely a speck on the map, just to discover a job he thought would be a cakewalk was going to be, in fact, months of work.

He should know by now, in his line of work, things were never what they seemed on the outside. There were always layers and layers of wear and tear. And in that aspect, he’d learned
the houses he fixed up were much like people. If everything was loved and cared for in the proper way, it could thrive for years.

Unfortunately, his ex-wife hadn't received that memo on life.

But that was the distant past and he was here now, and there was a two-story, old farmhouse in desperate need of some major cosmetic renovations. Unfortunately, he had no doubt the interior had more problems than just peeling wallpaper. Hopefully Allison would let him have a thorough walk-through to make notes and see for himself exactly what he was dealing with.

“Doc just pulled in,” Tucker called from the stable doors.

Allison simply nodded, not taking her eyes off the mare.

Jake didn't want to make Allison angrier, so he stood off to the side when the vet came in. He'd wait out here as long as she did. What else did he have to do? Besides, now that he knew the horse's history, he wanted to see just how the foal would turn out.

And Jake had a sinking feeling that, if he stuck around too long, he'd get pulled deeper and deeper into this world he knew nothing about. But knowing nothing and feeling nothing were two completely separate things.

After only a few hours of sleep, Allison threw on her heavy flannel coat, shoved her socked feet into her rubber boots and made her way out to the stables. The grass was slick with heavy frost, and the low fog settled over the acres of land.

She breathed in the crisp morning air and smiled. Sunday was her favorite day of the week. Since Tucker mostly volunteered his time, Allison insisted he take Sundays off to spend with his family. On Sunday she had the entire day alone with her horses. Most people would think she had no life, the way she spent every waking moment in a stable talking, exercising and grooming the once-neglected animals. She didn't really care what people thought of her—they hadn't walked in her shoes for even one step, so what did they know?

Life was so much more than appearances, flashy lifestyles and one-upping so-called friends. Superficial people had never meant much to Allison. Perhaps that's why she found herself alone again. Other than Charlie, she'd yet to find someone to give her unconditional love.

Love. Allison knew, better than most people, that love mattered more than anything. If there was love, the stability, trust and compassion followed. Unfortunately, love had been missing from not only her life, but the lives of the eleven, now twelve, horses she owned.

After she let the five bundles of fur out of the tack room so they could roam free and get their puppy energy spent, she moved to the stall where Jezabel and her new foal lay. The bond of a mother and child always made Allison's heart clench. If only her own mother had lived, perhaps her life would've turned out different. The few pictures she owned of her mother showed how much the woman had loved Allison. The love was evident in her eyes and in the hugs captured on film.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Allison stroked the mare's nose, laughing as Jez nudged her hand when she stopped. “I know, I know. You're in need of some extra lovin’ today. You had a big night.”

It wasn't until Doc Warner reassured her that the foal was perfectly fine that Allison had allowed herself to go in to bed, but she'd only slept about three hours. She had to see for herself that Charlie was okay.

And she hadn't even needed to think twice for a name when the foal had come out a male.

“I thought I'd find you here.”

Allison whipped her head around to see Jake standing in the open doorway that led to the stable. The rising sun breaking through the fog sent an angelic glow all around him. Ironic, considering she certainly didn't feel that he was a saint.

The puppies were jumping around him, trying to get his attention. He squatted down, rubbing the tops of each of their little heads.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, coming to her feet, brushing the hay from her jeans and resisting the urge to fiddle with the messy hair she'd haphazardly pulled into a topknot.

Since when did she worry over her appearance in the stable?

Jake stood, too, and moved on into the stable, making her aware that once again they were alone, and once again she couldn't deny that this man was beyond attractive. Why couldn't Charlie have had a nephew who was an obese slob—or better yet, a niece? Another woman would've certainly been easier to handle.

“I had a feeling you'd want to be near the baby horse—”

“Foal,” she interrupted.

“Sorry.” He grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Still not sure on the lingo to use around here. Anyway, I wanted to come by when I was positive we wouldn't be interrupted.”

Fear slid through her, gripping her heart. Was he going to tell her the potential buyer had decided to purchase without seeing the property? Was he going to tell her that she needed to start packing and finding homes for the animals sooner rather than later?

She needed to be strong. She certainly hadn't conquered her past only to fall on her face when she was just getting everything she'd ever wanted.

“Actually, Tucker is off today, so we’re alone,” she told him.

“Perfect, because I have a lot to discuss.” He turned and started to head toward the door.

“Let's go inside the house and talk.”

Allison stared at his retreating back. Seriously? He was just going to come here, order her around and expect her to follow?

A burst of laughter spilled out and Allison sank back down to her knees next to Jezabel. If he wanted to go on into the house, more power to him. The place was his anyway, so it wasn't like she could stop him, but she certainly wasn't going to jump at his command. Oh, she had no doubt many women did just that when those dimples and sparkly grin were flashed, but Allison liked to think she wasn't that shallow.

“I think I'll just stay right here,” she said in defiance, holding out a sugar cube for Jezabel.

Jake Anderson may think he was running the show since he’d discovered his inheritance, but Allison was not going down without a fight. She only hoped that it wouldn't get ugly and she wouldn’t cave and become a crying, blubbering mess when she had to face reality and leave. Confrontation had never been her strong suit, but she refused to give up everything she loved, everything she'd ever known.

Jake stared out the wide kitchen window toward the stables, not a bit surprised that the defiant, lovely Miss Barrett kept him waiting. He admired the fact that she wasn't some wilting flower that shriveled up at the first sign of cold weather.

As he glanced around the kitchen, he took a number of mental notes on all the repairs that needed to be done. The ceiling had dark spots from water, but he already knew the shingles were falling off and needed replacing. Since the kitchen jutted out from the rest of the house, there was no second floor over it. He assumed the second-story bedrooms also had dark spots, but he highly doubted Allison would care for him traipsing through the house uninvited…especially into her bedroom. He'd quickly deduced she was a private person.

Jake used his time alone to get a closer look at what he would need to do before he could actually start on the cosmetic side of sprucing up this old farmhouse.

It didn't take long to see that the rusty old pipes beneath the kitchen sink would also need to be replaced. And more than likely the entire kitchen would have to be gutted, because he had no doubt there were mold and mildew beneath the cracked linoleum.

“What are you doing?”

Jake eased his head out of the cabinet, rose to his full height and smiled. “Just checking out the plumbing.”

Allison's anger radiated from her as she stood in the doorway, hands on her rounded hips. The screen slammed as she stepped further into the room.

“And is that what you plan on starting with?” she asked.

Part of Jake wanted to rise to his reputation for not backing down in getting what he wanted. But the side that was captivated by this intriguing woman had him closing the gap between them. Fiery passion in women never failed to turn him on, but his emotions had sure picked a hell of a time to come to the surface.

“I'm not the enemy, Allison.” He stepped close enough, forcing her to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. “I have an obligation.”

Her eyes held his as moisture gathered in them. Damn. He certainly didn't want to upset her, and normally tears did nothing to his hardened heart, thanks to his ex, but something about Allison's did. He just had a bad feeling this woman had shed too many over the years.

“And what is that obligation?” she asked. “Make the only home I've ever known something grand and flawless and sell it to the highest bidder? Did you ever think that not everything can be saved, can be made new again?”

Jake studied her face, the defiant tilt of her chin, the unshed tears. He took a slight step back, not wanting to be the overbearing, intimidating man she seemed to think he was.

“Who hurt you, Allison?” he whispered.

When she only stared, he reached a hand toward her cheek, but she jerked away from his touch.

“This is not about me,” she told him, turning her back completely to him. “This is about the horses who count on me to keep them safe, to find them a loving home. I can't do that if I'm forced to move.”

Jake ran a hand through his hair, frustrated that he couldn't get her to open up. But there was one person she had obviously trusted.

“Did Charlie know your history?” he asked. “Did he know this pain you keep hidden inside?”

Allison turned once again to face him, her eyes red, her cheeks tear-tracked. “He knew everything about me.”

“I don't see why we can't work together on this.”

The corners of her mouth tipped slightly into a hint of a smile. “Work together? Really? Well, in that case, I have an entire list of things that need done around here.”

She skirted around him and gave a tug on what appeared to be a junk drawer. Pulling out a folded paper, she handed it to him.

“Every time something went wrong, I wrote it down,” she told him. “There should be enough work there to keep you busy for months.”

She was certainly eager to let him help now. Interesting. Perhaps she just wanted to keep him busy for a while until she could figure out a game plan, or perhaps she had some ulterior motive.

No matter what the lovely Miss Allison was thinking, or plotting, this place was his and he intended on fixing it up whether she agreed or not.

He glanced down at the list, and indeed there were plenty of projects listed, but most of them were minor. The largest projects were the roof and the kitchen.

How had Charlie let this house fall into such a shambles?

“I have some money to fix the house, but it's not near enough to do what all needs done. I was going to replace the roof in a couple months when it gets a bit warmer.”

The roof needed replacing now, but he'd take care of that and keep his thoughts to himself. He also wasn't taking her money for the repairs.

After reviewing the list, he glanced up to see her biting her bottom lip. Nerves were obviously getting to her. Well, if he were in her shoes, he'd be nervous and a bit scared, too. And for some reason he decided to open his mouth before thinking things through.

“I'd like you to help me,” he blurted out.

He hadn't planned on this, had never taken on another person while doing renovations, but he realized she needed to be close to this project. She needed the closure in case she ended up having to move, and perhaps he needed to prove to her that he wasn't the bad guy, that he could be on her side.

“I want you to help me make the changes,” he told her, amused when her eyes widened and she took a step back as if in shock. “You know this place better than anyone, and I'd like a woman's touch.”

“You've got to be out of your ever-lovin’ mind.” She propped her hands on her denim-clad hips once more. “Do you honestly think I'd help pick out things for my house, a house I love, just so you can sell it?”

“I want you to be happy with the changes I'm going to make.”

He would never understand how an idea could sound great to a guy and totally anger a woman. Just one of the little mysteries of life. And if this were a cartoon, Allison would have the whistle above her head with steam erupting from it.

“I'll never be happy with this entire situation,” she all but yelled, throwing her arms wide.

“I've just learned this house is no longer my home, and I have twelve horses that will need to find homes. That's thirteen beings you’re putting out just so you can make a buck off a man you never even knew.”

“Then what do you suggest I do?” he asked, mimicking her move by placing his own hands on his hips. “You're more than welcome to make an offer, but I should warn you, the man I have interested in the property has made a sizable offer.”

Allison took another step back, bumping into the cheap, crackled countertop. “You're serious? He hasn't even seen the place.”

Jake knew he should've kept that part to himself. He really was trying to find a way to let Allison keep the house.

“I haven't agreed to anything,” Jake repeated. “He wants to take a look at the place when I finish.”

Allison shoved a wayward curl from her forehead and nodded. “Well, then you better get to work.”

She turned on her booted heel and walked out the back door. She eased the screen door back in place, as opposed to letting it slam the way a person who was mad would do. Which only proved to him she wasn't mad…she was hurt, and he'd done it to her.

Jake slammed his hand onto the splintered wood table and cursed. This was not the way he had planned to earn a living—making perfectly happy people find another place to stay.

No, his career stemmed from his wife walking out on him, leaving him with no money and little more than a shack. Luckily he was good with his hands and had fixed up the place and sold it. Thus had begun the cycle of buying and selling.

Unfortunately, he'd put Allison and her horses in a tough position, and he didn't blame her at all for the hatred she must be feeling for him right now.

He didn't want her out in the stables crying, but at the same time he also knew when to leave a woman alone with her thoughts.

What he could do was show her he had a softer side, a compassionate side. He needed her to know where he came from, then maybe she'd see he wasn't some big-city guy destined to ruin her life.

And maybe he could still find a way to let her stay here, but he’d keep that bit of information to himself for now. He didn't want to get her hopes up, in case it turned out he had to sell. He just had to see how much he had invested in the house. This was still business, and he had to make a wise investment.

But his heart, yet again, seemed to be guiding his choices. He had a feeling that, by the end of this renovation process, he'd just give the house, property and all, to her without asking for a dime.

If only she knew the power she already held over him.