Sweet and Wild (29 page)

He was stubborn and couldn’t accept the
fact that now was not the time to talk about their relationship. Now was not
the time to get into Marisol’s face. The girl needed her father, and right now
Quinn needed to be left alone. Conflict like this, fighting for the man she’d
fallen totally and completely in love with wasn’t her forte, and if the storm
hadn’t hit so hard, she would’ve grabbed the rein from Craig’s death grip and
gone on her way back to Emerald to sulked in private. Not now, though. She
wasn’t so foolish as to think she could make it back without risking Piper or
herself with bodily harm.

There would be words.
Hell, yes.
After he took care of Marisol, she’d make sure he understood how pissed off she
was.

Not necessarily at him, certainly not at
Marisol. She was angry at Robby, at the damned awful timing of his finding out.
Of the way things couldn’t just fall easily into place. At the fact that no one
seemed to be
happy
for them. Marisol acted in a way totally normal for a
girl in her predicament. If anything, the girl had been honest. More honest
than any of them had been with her. The words spoken may have been exaggerated,
said out of anger, but Quinn couldn’t discount them. Wouldn’t discount them.
They were the very reason she didn’t want to be heading to Long Knife Creek.
Selfish reasons, like she didn’t want to be hurt anymore, didn’t want to be
under assault from this child for whom she had a strong affection.

And didn’t like the fact that each
caustic word, how she would never be able to live up to the woman Elise had
been, was true. She’d lived with that pain years ago and now, as silly as it
seemed to worry about how people would compare her with Craig’s late wife, she
felt like an ten year old again, some silly kid with a trivial crush on her
brother’s best friend.

As soon as they reached the ranch yard,
the storm reached full fury. Black clouds hung so low, she could all but reach
up and grab a fistful from their full underbellies; somewhere ahead, not
quarter of a mile, a jagged bolt of lightning struck the ground. Quinn felt the
electricity in the air. Craig relinquished her reins and she dismounted while
the horse was still in motion. Without missing a beat, she ran toward the barn
where Lance and Jack called them in. Craig followed close on her tail.

“Damn, that one almost got you,” Lance
said with a laugh that made Quinn want to smack him upside the head.

“It was a quarter of a mile away,” she
muttered and loosened the girth on Piper’s saddle.

“Hell, no. I’m talking about the one
that hit behind you. Should’ve singed the horse’s tail.”

Quinn swore silently. Sure, he could
laugh at it. The pinhead had the sense of humor of a twelve year old.

“Take Craig’s horse,” she told him
tightly and turned to Craig. “Go up to the house. We’ll make sure Sunny is
taken care of.”

Craig didn’t reply, but ducked his head
and ran toward the lodge where Marisol would be.

Quinn dried Piper off, rubbing her down
with towels, then walked her up and down the aisle until the mare’s sides
stopped heaving and her coat was dry. Then she put her in a vacant stall. Lance
did the same with Sunny. As she watched him, her mind turned to the house. What
was going on up there? Was Marisol letting her father get a look at her or was
she still being stubborn and angry?
Damn.
If only she hadn’t let her
selfish desire for Craig cloud her good sense, this never would’ve happened.
Marisol wouldn’t be hurt right now and they’d be home safe and sound. And she’d
be doing what she wanted to do all her life. Running her ranch and
concentrating on building her stock.

But no, she had to go fall in love.
Again. Then try to hide it from everyone, knowing quite well someone could be
hurt.
Very bright.

As soon as Tuck had Sunny settled in a
stall, Quinn grabbed his arm. “Can you get me out of here? I need to get back
to Emerald.”

Tuck’s brows furrowed and he nodded
toward the door where rain sluiced out of the sky. Another rumble of thunder
battered off the aluminum barn roof, seeming to shudder right down to her
bones. “Not ‘til this is done. Best if you settle in. Why don’t you go on up to
the house and see how that little girl is doing?”

No, that was the last thing she should
do, no matter how much she wanted to. Not yet. Give Craig a chance to smooth
things over with Marisol first.

“I’d be in the way. I’m going down to
Jacob’s office and try to get through to Emerald.”

After checking on her ranch with Scott,
who’d taken up residence in the old bunkhouse the day before, Quinn decided to
remain in the office until someone could get her home, even if it meant taking
Piper out onto thet soggy prairie. Sitting still made her mind go in directions
she wasn’t too happy to go.

Despite knowing the anger and hurt with
which the words were said, Marisol, and Robby too, for that matter, had been
able to draw upon one of Quinn’s biggest insecurities when it came to Craig.

Elise.

Elise, the tall, willowy blonde, who was
both elegant and intelligent. Who lit up any room she walked into and always
made Quinn feel like an uncouth little kid who was too much of a tomboy for
anyone to notice. Anyone, in this case, being Craig.

Elise, who not only grabbed the man of
Quinn’s dreams, but also took that man out into the big world and became a huge
success. She was one of Falstad’s favorite daughters. Famous television
journalist who traveled around the world not once but probably a dozen times, always
looking cool and gorgeous in front of the camera.

Add to it, she’d had a successful
marriage and a beautiful daughter. Elise had juggled all aspects of her life
with perfect precision.

No wonder why Quinn felt, and with
staunch agreement from Marisol, that she’d never add up. Did she want to live
in that kind of shadow all her life?

“Stop,” she grumbled to herself and
stood to glare out the window, which overlooked the rain soaked prairie.

Playing second fiddle didn’t fit into
her plans, and right now there wasn’t much hope of Marisol coming around. Maybe
eventually, but in the meantime it wasn’t fair to any of them. She loved them,
yes, both of them. Marisol had become maybe not a daughter figure yet, but
definitely someone she had taken under her wing. She felt more than fondness
and Quinn didn’t want to settle for anything less than what they had before
today.

And Craig. How could they continue on
with what they had under these clouds, heavier than those that smothered the
landscape? Maybe their relationship happened too soon for him, for them.

Some invisible hand reached in and
twisted her heart.
God this hurt.
It hurt so much she remembered why she
hadn’t wanted to fall in love with anyone. It never would end in some dreamy,
unrealistic future. No, for her love would be heartache.

A gentle knock interrupted her dark
thoughts. She didn’t reply but didn’t have to. The door opened and Jacob walked
in. He looked tired, but there was a small smile on his face. Always the
optimist. Why she hadn’t inherited some of that, she didn’t know. Doom and
gloom dominated her personality.

“How’s Marisol?”

“Craig took her to the hospital. Don’t
think anything is broken, but they’re going to need to be sure.”

“They make up?”

Jacob shook his head and joined her at
the window. “She wouldn’t say a word to him. Just to Thea. She went along with
them. In case they needed an interpreter.”

Quinn sighed. “What a mess I’ve made. I
can’t tell you how sorry I am, Jacob. I never meant…”

“I know. Quinn, I know. You’re not that
kind of woman. Even though you hate to admit it, you have a soft spot in you
under that tough cowgirl exterior.” He bumped into her arm lightly.

“Don’t tell anyone. Promise.”

“My secret. Though I think a few others
know.”

“Listen Jacob, I know everything came as
a bit of a shock to you, what Robby said. I do love him. Craig, I mean. Did you
two talk?”

“No. Thought it best to let him tend to
Marisol without having to deal with my issues.”

That gave her pause. She took a deep
breath and frowned. “Do you really think that way? That our feelings for each
other are ‘issues’?”

Jacob wrapped his arm around her
shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. “For me, yes, they are issues. Maybe I
have a hard time believing you’re a grown woman, but I’ve become very used to
being a protective big brother. My instincts are what they are, Quinn. Can’t
fight human nature. I know you’re an intelligent woman and I trust you’re going
to do what’s right for you. For everyone. In fact, I think you put everyone
else in front of your own needs sometimes.”

Yeah, which is why I’m in this mess
right now. Because I was thinking of everyone else when I fell in love with
Craig and decided to sleep with him.

The damned pessimist raised its whiney
voice again. How she hated that cynicism sometimes, and it disheartened her to
find how comfortably it fit.

“I need to get home. My horses need me.
The rain has lightened up and looks like the clouds are out of my way.”

“I can drive you.”

“Nah. I could use the ride. Clear my
head.”

Jacob kissed the top of her head. “Okay,
be careful out there.”

“Careful is my middle name,” she
muttered.

Except when it came to Craig.

***

Scott was finishing up with the feeding
when Quinn rode in, soggy and covered with mud from the long ride from Long
Knife Creek. She wasn’t in any better frame of mind despite, the fresh air that
had followed the colossal storm. Quite the contrary. The ride took longer than
she would’ve cared for, due to the sloshy footing, and her mind continued to
dwell on her predicament and the directions it could take. None of those roads
led to a happy ending. She refused to allow Craig to compromise his
relationship with Marisol or force her into a situation in which she’d be
miserable. That would be grossly unfair to the child who’d already had her life
turned upside down several times in the last few years.

So then what? Pretend she could work
here, be neighbors with the man she doubted she’d ever stop loving; hoping that
one day Marisol would approve of their relationship? Sneak around behind the
girl’s back and carry on their affair? No way—she wanted more. She wanted it
all. Or nothing. Anything in between would break more hearts.

“Sorry I took so long,” she told Scott
when she brought Piper into the barn.

“No problem. Did they find her?”

“I found her. She took a fall, but her
dad has her on the way to the hospital now, to check her out. I don’t think
it’s serious. Hope not anyway.” Because that would be one more thing to add to
the plate of guilt she’d been serving herself.

“Hope you beat the storm, though by the
looks…”

Quinn chuckled. “No, we didn’t beat it
back. What’s a little rain, right? Thanks for taking care of the place for me.
You’re doing a super job.” He proved a good addition to Emerald. No, priceless,
she amended, and wondered if she could manage getting him on full time. With
the stock she planned on adding soon, she’d need him.

“I’ll finish up if you want to knock
off. Looks like all the excitement is done for the day. I hope.”

Scott took his leave and Quinn found she
had little more to do than putter around the barn, checking on her moms-to-be,
sweeping the aisle that didn’t need sweeping, cleaning tack. Night crawled in
and settled over Emerald and she still didn’t want to go to the house.

It was because of Craig. If she went up
there, everything would remind her of Craig. It was his house after all, and
she’d never forget that. She couldn’t put it off any longer unless she wanted
to sleep in the barn. Besides, her stomach told her it needed sustenance. Food
was in the house, so she’d have to suck it up and go inside.

She made it halfway across the yard when
twin beams of light cut through the night. Inwardly she groaned when she
recognized Craig’s SUV.

“Hey there,” she said when he came
around the vehicle. God he looked good, even with worry and exhaustion clear on
his face. His shoulders had a slight stoop to them and he didn’t smile.

“Hi.”

“How’s Marisol?” Keep the conversation
focused on her.

“Resting. At home. My mom is with her. I
told her I was going out to get a pizza and some ice cream.” A slight smile
pulled at his lips, enough to produce half a dimple.

Enough to send Quinn’s heart rocketing
against her will. It simmered down quickly when she realized he had to sneak
over while on his way to somewhere else.

“She okay? Nothing broken?”

“Bruised ribs, sprained wrist. Knot on
her head. Nothing that won’t heal, but enough to make her uncomfortable. She
must’ve taken some fall, but she won’t tell me.”

“She was riding hell for leather, I
guess to Long Knife Creek. I can’t think of where else she would’ve been going.
I was coming down the fence line, and when she saw me, Sunny either spooked or
she tried to turn her real fast to get away from me. She fell off but she
wouldn’t let me touch her. That’s when you found us.”