Sweet and Wild (19 page)

He had things to do around the place so
he couldn’t watch them work, but when they started the barrel racing portion he
made it a point to stop and observe from a distance.

Watching Marisol in the saddle was a
pleasure. She’d come a long way in a short time. She had plenty of Lynch blood
in her after all. Sunny helped. She turned out to be the perfect horse for his
daughter. Marisol’s enthusiasm for the sport hadn’t waned. In fact, since she
returned from Bonnie’s house she’d suggested that maybe Robby could teach her
how to rope. She had a lot of catching up to do, she told him, to be as good as
her friend. All these were good signs.

The crème de la crème was the fact that
in four days she’d be leaving with Quinn and the crowd from Long Knife Creek on
the overnight ride. Excitement and anticipation radiated from her. Everything
she did she did with an extra bounce in her step, a brighter twinkle in her
eyes.

Things were coming together for them.

Who would’ve thought Quinn Emery was the
reason behind all these changes.

Could he fall in love with her? From the
barn, he watched her work with Marisol then turned his attention on his
daughter for a moment. Quinn had a big concern about how Marisol would react to
a romantic relationship between the two of them. How would
Marisol
feel
if he were to fall in love with Quinn?

The possibility existed that he could
fall in love. He stood very close to that threshold. It wouldn’t take much to
reach that point. Quinn hadn’t wanted him to make any false declarations but
she hadn’t forbidden him from falling.

Marisol would get used to it. They
enjoyed each other’s company so why wouldn’t she look favorably on a different
kind of relationship? After all, she was old enough to realize there’d come a
time when he’d maybe want to get married again.

Craig went to the fence and watched the
two. Marisol trotted Sunny around the barrels in the correct cloverleaf pattern
as Quinn gave her commands. Marisol looked the part of cowgirl, her long hair
in a braid like Quinn’s. She wore a straw cowboy hat, well-worn jeans and the
pair of boots her mother had left behind when she’d made her escape from Falstad.
They were two sizes too big for her, but Marisol insisted on wearing them
whenever she rode.

Look at her, Elise. She looks happy now.
It was a long road. Who’d have thought it would’ve ended up back here.

He wondered what Elise would think. What
she’d think of his budding relationship with Quinn.

“Oh Dad, did you see? It was awesome!”
Marisol trotted her horse to the fence after she completed the pattern. Her
face glowed under the wide brim of her hat.

“That was great, hon.”

“Oh wait ‘til Bonnie hears. I’m going to
work so hard to be better than her. Can I try it again, Quinn?”

Quinn joined them at the fence. “Go
ahead. Then walk her out.”

Marisol grinned, swung Sunny around and
headed back to the barrels and a fast trot.

“She’s tenacious to say the least.
Reminds me of me,” Quinn chuckled and leaned against the fence, her attention
on Marisol and Sunny.

Craig looked at her and covered her hand
with his own. It was the first touch since they’d made love. She turned her
hand over so their fingers linked, and glanced at him.

“Have dinner with us tonight.”

Quinn raised her brows. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Marisol has to get used to
us, no matter where we go from here.”

“I, uh, have horses to feed, and stuff.”

“Afterwards.” He bent his head so his
mouth was an inch from her ear. “Don’t say no. Please. After all if we’re going
to have a mad, passionate affair I think we should be allowed a dinner or two
together.”

“We’re not going to tell her tonight are
we?”

“No, don’t worry. Dinner as friends.
Tonight.”

Quinn gave him a crooked grin. From
underneath her hat, her eyes glittered, a flirty look meant to drive him nuts.
Make him want her again. It worked.

“Tonight then. What time?”

He told her and she slowly withdrew her
hand from his, the pull of her warm skin on his sending shots of desire through
him.

Marisol finished with Sunny and headed
back toward them.

“Hey, you think you can handle grooming
on your own?” Quinn asked, her voice returning to normal.

Marisol dismounted. “Breeze,” she
replied.

“Cool. I have some things to do back at
Emerald. Then I shall be back.”

As Marisol led Sunny toward the gate, Quinn
looked at Craig again with a longing as powerful as his own. He had no idea
when they’d be able to share another private moment.

Feeling brave and unwatched, Craig
leaned down and gave her a fast kiss on the mouth. “Hurry.”

Back at the house, after all the chores
at the barn were done, Marisol disappeared to get cleaned up. Craig had told
her on the way to the house that Quinn was joining them for dinner and Marisol
accepted it with a smile. It was a first step toward drawing Quinn more into
their life outside the riding lessons.

“What can I help with?” she asked when
she returned to the kitchen.

“You can set the table.”

“You know what we should do, Dad? Invite
Uncle Robby over too. I don’t think he’s been having much luck asking Quinn out
for a date. Maybe we can help.”

Her words were sobering. She still saw
Robby and Quinn together? That wasn’t exactly promising. “We can’t force Quinn
into doing something she doesn’t want to do, sweetie. If she hasn’t said yes to
Uncle Robby she probably won’t.”

“How can she not like him? I mean, he’s
so cute and he really likes her.”

Craig shook his head. “Well, he might
like her, but he hurt her once. She might not trust him enough to take him
back. Besides, what if she’s seeing someone else? Or is interested in someone
else?”

Marisol frowned. “She doesn’t talk about
anyone. Maybe she thinks I’m too young to talk about that stuff with.” She
shrugged, gathered three forks and three knives and carried them out to the
dining room.

What was going through her mind? He
recalled her comment about Quinn having a crush on him and wondered how much
that bothered her. Why should it? She liked Quinn. Why would that change if he
and Quinn started dating? Oh, the mind of a ten year old girl. Would he ever
understand it?

She finished setting the table in
silence, despite his attempts to bring her out of her newly formed shell. Not
even a discussion of school shopping drew her out. Her mood could make for a
long night, but she’d come around. He didn’t want to think otherwise because he
didn’t want things with Quinn to end now.

Quinn arrived and somehow, despite
Marisol’s previous dark mood, cheered the girl with talk of the overnight trail
ride right around the corner. The two females took over the kitchen and urged
Craig to go find something else to do. He studied them doubtfully then focused
his attention on Quinn. She was such a cowgirl, a woman who lived most her life
under the sky. Could she manage in the kitchen? She raised one slim eyebrow and
tilted her head.

“Thea taught me how to cook. Whenever I
couldn’t be outside with the animals, I’d hang out with her. Don’t be scared?”
she asked with a small smile lifting a corner of her lip.

He narrowed his eyes. “Not at all.”

She gave him a slow smile. “Hmm, you
look it. I don’t do this too often, so take advantage. High tail it out of here
and let us work. We will shock and amaze you. I promise. We promise.”

Marisol gave him a grin and shooed him
out of the kitchen, closing the door firmly. For a long moment, he listened to
the comforting sound of the two giggling and chatting. This is good, he
thought, and retreated to his office to do some paperwork.

An hour later, Marisol retrieved him.
They’d laid out dinner and by the looks of it, he had nothing to worry about.

“I hope you don’t mind I adjusted some
of your recipes and borrowed some extra ingredients,” Quinn said and took a
seat across from him. “Marisol is a good cook. And adventurous. I like that.”

His intended fried chicken breast had
transformed into Chicken Cordon Bleu. They’d added garlic and cheese to the
mashed potatoes and the green beans were now a casserole with French fried
onions and a creamy sauce.

“Incredible. I’m embarrassed I was going
to offer you such simple fare.”

Quinn waved her hand. “I can’t help
myself. I always have to alter things. Sometimes it doesn’t work; so don’t
think I can do this on a regular basis. Sometimes even my dog, Zorro won’t eat
it. I lucked out tonight.”

Marisol dished up the food, serving Quinn
first then her father before serving herself. “She doesn’t even need a recipe
book. And it smells really good. Dad, Quinn offered to take me school shopping.
Could she come along with us?”

Any doubts regarding Marisol’s
acceptance of Quinn into their lives beyond horses were put to rest. She’d
apparently forgotten her mood from earlier.

“I guess. If she doesn’t mind.” He
looked at Quinn who had a grin on her face.

She glowed and glanced over at Marisol.
“I think your dad sounds a little nervous. Does he think I’ll have you dressed
in nothing but jeans and baseball shirts?”

Her comments made him draw his gaze down
her body. He’d forced himself to ignore the way she dressed before because his
daughter was there, but now how could he? The top wasn’t anything he ever
thought she’d wear, a form fitting halter-top in every color of the sunset,
setting off the color of her hair and the creaminess of her skin. Though he
couldn’t see the rest of her body, he knew it, had it branded in his mind. She
wore a pair of off-white capris and sandals. Her loose hair, secured only by a
silver barrette, flooded over her shoulders. He had no idea it was so long and
so thick. A tattoo of a colorful Indian pony on her shoulder peeked through the
tresses. Nothing of her cowgirl image existed tonight. She was all woman. And
it disturbed his peace of mind and body.

“I don’t think that at all,” he replied,
forcing his eyes back to her face.

“That way you don’t have to go into all
the stores and stuff,” Marisol said brightly.

“Just have to provide the credit card,”
he added and turned his attention to his daughter.

“Well, yeah. And lunch.”

“Sounds like a date.” Craig’s glance
went from Marisol to Quinn. There was a distinct twinkle in her blue eyes.

Conversation went back to the overnighter
and by the time they finished dinner Marisol had convinced him to join them on
the trip. Not a good idea, he told himself, but he found himself saying yes.

They could be adults about this. Just
because they were in the same space didn’t mean they couldn’t keep their hands
off each other. After all, they’d managed to restrain themselves all evening.

He insisted on clearing the dishes while
Marisol talked Quinn into staying for a game or two of cards, an offer Quinn
accepted. Craig sighed deeply. Earlier he’d been prepared for an uncomfortable
evening, but now, well, everything was good.

The three of them played four games of
Uno before Marisol retreated to the couch where her two kittens joined her. Her
eyes drooped and she put her head onto the pillow. Within a few minutes she was
asleep.

“Wow. That was quick. Wish I could drop
off like that,” Quinn commented in a whisper.

“She’s had a full day. Lots of fresh
air. Lots of activity. She’s really thrown herself into life here. She talks
nonstop about horses and even is looking forward to starting school. I never
would’ve thought when we moved here she could’ve adapted so fast.”

“I hope it lasts.” Quinn gathered the
cards and put them in the box. “She hasn’t faced a winter here. That may undo
all the good that’s happened so far.”

From outside the sky lit up, catching
their attention. Thunderstorm.

“I need to get home. Don’t want to be
caught in that.”

The rumble of thunder rolled over soon
after, but Marisol remained asleep. Another thing she’d learned to do, sleep
through a storm.

Craig walked her out to her truck. It
hadn’t started to rain yet, but he could smell it, mixed with dust stirred by
the breeze that twisted along the ground. He could even smell the lightning in
the air. He thought he’d lost that ability over the years, but it remained a
part of him, never completely forgotten.

“I could stay out here forever,” Quinn
said with a sigh. She inhaled deeply and held it. A look of absolute
satisfaction came over her face, her eyes closed and the smile on her lips
widened. He had no doubt where she belonged. No shrinking away from something
as ferocious as a summer prairie thunderstorm. It reminded him of the time when
he found her out in one when she was little. She’d wanted to feel what it was
like to be out in it, like the animals who lived on the grasslands. She’d
caused quite a ruckus at Long Knife Creek, Emerald and even the Shady H.