“Until Mom breaks the gray.” Frankie gave Gypsy a final pat. “Have you named the gray yet, Mom?”
“I’m still thinking about it. Maybe you can help me. It’s a big responsibility giving a horse— What’s that?” At a raucous sound, her gaze flew to the stall at the end of the row. “That’s no horse.”
“No,” Dillon said. “It’s a jackass. He’s supposed to keep the horses calm, but they don’t seem to know that. From what I’ve seen this afternoon they pretty much ignore him.”
She stiffened. “A jackass,” she repeated. She started slowly down the row. It didn’t have to be Cosmo. A jackass’s braying was pretty much the same from animal to animal. “Kilmer didn’t mention a jackass. Did he lease it with the rest of the livestock?”
“I guess so. Or maybe not. He only talked about the horses. Maybe the jackass is a new addition.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.” She was standing in front of the small gray jackass. “The question is, how new?”
The jackass was staring at her belligerently. He pulled back his lips and brayed, spraying her with saliva.
Damn him. It was Cosmo.
She turned on her heel. “I have to see Kilmer. Stay with Frankie and bring her to the house when she’s ready. I’ll see you back at the house, Frankie.”
“Okay.” She turned back to Gypsy. “I think she’s got eyelashes like a movie star. Maybe Julia Roberts. What do you think, Mr. Dillon?”
“I can’t see the resemblance,” Dillon said. “But then, I’m a fan of Julia Roberts, and I wouldn’t want to compare her to a horse face.”
“Just the eyelashes,” Frankie said. “And maybe the teeth. She has fine, big teeth too.”
They were the last words Grace heard as she tore out of the stable and headed for the house. Damn Kilmer. He’d promised her, and there was Cosmo in that stable.
She flew up the porch steps and toward the front door.
“May I help you?”
She whirled. Kilmer was standing in the far corner of the porch, a dim figure in the darkness.
“Cosmo, dammit. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize him?”
“No, I knew that you’d know him right away. That’s why I was waiting for you.”
“When did you get him?”
“I liberated him six months ago.”
“How?”
“It wasn’t easy. I had to wait until they took the horses and Cosmo to the Sahara for their yearly jaunt. They put him out to graze at an oasis when they took the Pair into the desert. I had to grab him and then I had to keep him quiet until I got him away. Damn ass has the loudest mouth on the planet.”
“You could have been killed.”
“I considered the risk worth taking. I wasn’t ready to take the Pair, but I could get their stablemate. Cosmo is the only quieting influence that the Pair would accept, except you. Without him, I’m sure that the handlers are going through hell with the Pair.”
She was sure of it too. “Six months. Then you didn’t lease this ranch for Frankie. You were getting ready for the Pair.”
“I hoped I’d never need a hiding place for either of you,” he said. “But it would have been stupid for me to not take advantage of a place that I’d made safe for the Pair.”
“There’s no place safe for the Pair.” She shook her head in frustration. “I can’t believe you’re going to try for them. Marvot obviously knows you’re coming. He’ll be waiting for you. You can’t do it.”
“I can do it. I just have to take it one step at a time.”
“And Cosmo is a step.”
“A completely obnoxious one.” He smiled. “But a step nonetheless. Don’t worry, I’m not taking any other steps at the moment. It would be too dangerous for you.”
“Am I supposed to be grateful?”
He shook his head. “I’m the one who’s grateful to you. I just wanted to put your mind at rest about Cosmo.”
Her mind wasn’t at rest. Cosmo might be a small step, but it indicated the relentless drive that was pushing Kilmer. He’d even gone to the trouble of stealing the Pair’s stablemate. He was getting ready. And as soon as she and Frankie were out of the picture, he was going to go for it.
And probably get himself killed.
“Fine.” She turned and headed for the door. She stopped. “You told me that you’d taken something from Marvot that made him mad enough to start after us in high gear. Cosmo?”
“No, it was a little more important than Cosmo. One of the items of information that Donavan uncovered for me.” He smiled. “But there’s no need for me to share it with you. You’re not interested in all this.”
“No, I’m not.” And she wouldn’t worry about him. He’d opted out of her life and it was just as well. He was still running around blowing up ammo depots and rescuing kidnap victims and putting himself at risk in a hundred different situations. Her life was completely different. It was centered around Frankie and life, not death. If he was still fanatical about getting the Pair, then good luck to him.
He’d need it.
Kilmer’s team arrived in a helicopter the next morning.
“Who are they?” Frankie whispered as Kilmer went out to meet them in the stable yard. “They look like—” She frowned. “I don’t think they’re cowboys.”
“I’m sure a few of them are,” Grace said. “Remember? Dillon said they’d help with the horses.” She knew only two of the team, Luis Vazquez and Nathan Salter. The rest were strangers to her, but she recognized the quiet, understated air of confidence that Kilmer seemed to instill in every man he accepted for his team. “That tall man in the orange shirt is Luis. He knows a lot about horses. He grew up on a ranch in Argentina. He was a vaquero. Do you remember I told you about vaqueros and their bolos?”
“May I meet him?”
“As soon as Kilmer gets finished talking to them.” It was almost over now. The men were separating, moving quickly and with purpose as they received their orders. A few minutes later the yard had emptied. “Well, I guess they’re busy now.”
“Not cowboys,” Frankie repeated positively. “And not soldiers. But they kind of look like both of them.”
“No, they’re men who know how to protect us. That’s what they do for a living. You can count on them. I’ll introduce you later today.”
Frankie nodded. “But not now. I have to sit down and work with my keyboard.”
“By all means. I’ll go down to the stable and make sure they know how to properly take care of the horses.” She held up her hand. “Except Gypsy. You and she seemed to get along fine this morning.”
“Yeah.” Frankie’s response was abstracted as she opened the screen door. “See you later, Mom.”
“Right.” Frankie wasn’t seeing much of anything right now. She was concentrating on the music. Grace could already see her mentally toying with the notes running through her mind. “Later.”
Kilmer was coming back up the steps.
“Donavan didn’t come?” she asked.
“I told you he was keeping an eye on Marvot.”
“Have you heard from him lately?”
“Not since we got here. That might be a good sign. I’ll call him tonight if there’s no word.” He studied her. “You’re worried about him.”
“I always liked Donavan. He saved my life once in Libya.”
“Really?” His brows rose. “He never told me.”
“It wasn’t your business. It was between the two of us.”
“It was my business if it endangered the mission. Did it?”
“Go to hell.”
He smiled. “I take it that it did. I’ll have to talk to Donavan.”
“For God’s sake, it was nine years ago.”
“And Donavan always did have a soft spot for you.”
Friendships weren’t encouraged on Kilmer’s team, but it was difficult not to form attachments when you were depending on each other for your life. “Not that you could tell. You had him put m
e through my paces until I dropped when I first came to you.”
“And you toughened up nicely. I was proud of you.”
And his pride in her had meant everything. She had been willing to do anything, work her body to the breaking point, to get his approval. God, she had been naive. “I was young and stupid. I thought doing well for you meant something. I suppose I had a king-size case of hero worship.”
“I know.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Conceited bastard.”
“Why do you think I had Donavan work with you? We’d have been in bed the second night after you got there if I’d handled your training myself. Hell, I couldn’t wait to touch you from the moment I saw you. I was being bloody ethical.” He turned away. “It didn’t matter. It ended the same way a week later. I’m not one to resist that kind of temptation for long.”
She watched him walk away. She’d always loved the way he moved, every muscle response graceful and coordinated. Now she couldn’t tear her gaze away. God, it was happening again. She could feel the tingling heat in her palms, the shortness of breath, the urge to go after him, touch him.
He looked back over his shoulder. “Me too,” he said softly. “Hell, isn’t it?”
She opened her lips to speak and then closed them again. She turned on her heel and went into the house.
She stopped inside and tried to steady her breathing. Jesus, she didn’t want this. She had a good, steady life with Frankie. She didn’t want to dive into that pool of sensuality that had given her only one golden gift. The rest had been crazy, animal-like need that had made her question her own will and strength. She had wanted to give everything, take everything, and she hadn’t cared about the consequences.
She cared now. She owed Frankie a mother who had the strength to fight that weakness that had conceived her. And she wasn’t sure she would be able to do it if she stayed here close to Kilmer. She needed time to build her defenses.
Christ, how much time did she need? she thought in disgust. She’d had nine years, and the barrier she’d built had been torn down in a matter of a few days. Then start again and don’t stand around and think about Kilmer and how he looked, and moved, and—
Keep busy. She had a horse to break. The gray would make her pay attention to something besides the way she felt.
And if she didn’t pay attention, the stallion would break her instead.
What a pretty boy you are,” Grace said softly as she gently stroked the gray. “You’ve had a great life, haven’t you? Running and kicking up your heels with no one able to touch you. I wish I could let you go on like that. There’s nothing more beautiful than a horse in the wild. It would fill my heart just watching you. But life isn’t always that good for horses. You’re safest if you learn how to get along with us. You can pretend it’s a game. You do what we want you to do for a little while every day. Then you get to go back to doing what you want to do. Fair?”
The gray backed away from her.
“Maybe not so fair. But that’s the way it has to be. And I’ll make sure you’re safe and happy. We don’t have a name for you yet. Shall I call you Samson? He was strong and didn’t want to be tamed either. But you’ll be smarter than he was.” She stepped closer and rubbed his nose. “Now listen to me and I’ll tell you what we’re going to do together. Can’t you feel how much I want you to be happy? You will, Samson. You will. . . .”
I thought she was going to break the horse.” Robert came up to stand beside Kilmer at the corral fence. “I’ve been watching from the porch and she hasn’t done anything but stand and look at him.”
Kilmer felt a ripple of annoyance. He might have to have Blockman here but he didn’t have to like it. And he didn’t want him hanging around when he was trying to concentrate on Grace and the stallion. “She’s doing something.” He didn’t take his gaze off Grace standing in front of the horse, her lips moving with words he couldn’t make out from this distance. “Haven’t you ever seen her break a horse before?”
Robert shook his head. “I’m not exactly the bucolic type. I never went to the farm except when I was invited for a meal. I know Charlie thought she was some kind of voodoo priestess where horses were concerned.”
“Smart man.” Kilmer climbed the fence and threw his leg over the top bar. Patience. It had been his choice to bring Blockman here. Now he’d have to accept and work with it. “I’ve seen her at one or two truly amazing sessions. Horses seem to understand her.”
“Does that mean they won’t buck?”
Kilmer shook his head. “She says that’s very rare. Every horse hates to have its independence curtailed. But it makes the process very short if they’ve reached an understanding before she actually gets on them.”
“Understanding?”
Kilmer shrugged. “Ask her.”
“If we’re not going to see any fireworks, why are you here?”
He was silent a moment. “Because if there are fireworks, the gray could kill her. I have to be here.” He glanced at Robert challengingly. “And why are you here?”
“The same.” Robert’s lips tightened. “But I wasn’t sure that the gray really posed a threat. Grace always seems so confident around horses.”
“He’s a threat. Grace wouldn’t have it any other way. She says a horse without spirit is a horse without heart.”
“You seem to know her very well,” Robert said slowly. “How long was she on your team?”
“Six months.”
“Not long.”
Kilmer felt a surge of irritation. He gave him a cool glance. “Long enough.”
Robert studied his expression. “Look, I don’t know what was between you two, but I’m not getting in the middle. I take it that whatever you had going was pretty heavy. If I thought I had a chance with Grace, I’d step in. She’s special. But I don’t have a chance or I’d have done it before this. I might compete with you, but not with Frankie. She’s too much to—” He broke off. “Is Frankie your kid?”
Kilmer’s gaze flickered warily. “Why would you think that?”
“The age is right. Eight years. And you were together sometime in the months before she came to Tallanville. I started adding up the possibilities. And after I came up with that one, I took a good look at Frankie. She resembles Grace, but there’s something of you in the shape of her eyes.”
“There is?” Kilmer stiffened in surprise. “I didn’t see that.”
“I did.” He smiled. “My God, I believe I’ve caught you off guard.”
He had done just that, Kilmer thought. He had been careful to keep from thinking about Frankie as belonging to him. He had given up that privilege when he’d left Grace to raise Frankie by herself. Even though he hadn’t been able to smother the possessiveness he still felt for Grace, that would necessarily be an equal passion. In the end, it would be her free choice. Frankie was . . . different.
“She really looks like me?”
Robert nodded. “She really does.”
“Hot damn,” Kilmer murmured. “Not that it changes anything.”
“No.” Robert glanced at Grace. “I think she’s going to mount him.”
Kilmer’s gaze swung back to Grace. She was still talking, her foot in the stirrup.
The gray shied, almost pulling her from her feet. She freed her boot just in time. She was shaking her head and laughing. The gray stared at her indignantly. She started to move toward him again.
Three times she tried to mount him.
Three times he shied.
She kept talking.
Two more times she made the attempt.
He shied.
The next time he only moved slightly, as if bored with the game.
The following time he let her slowly, painstakingly, swing into the saddle.
Kilmer held his breath.
The stallion wasn’t moving, but Kilmer could see the muscles of his haunches tense.
Grace was bent over his neck, talking, murmuring, letting him get used to her weight.
&n
bsp; “Look at his eyes. He’s going to blow,” Kilmer whispered. “Watch him, Grace.”
She didn’t appear to be worried, dammit. She was stroking the gray and seemed perfectly at ease. Kilmer tensed and found himself preparing to slip off the fence and go to her. No, that would only startle the horse and make Grace furious. Let her do it. She would know what—
The stallion exploded!
Bucking, gyrating, making Grace’s slim body jerk and toss back and forth like a puppet’s.
“Jesus,” Robert said. “Hold on, Grace.”
She rode him.
It went on for minutes, and a dozen times Kilmer was sure she’d be tossed.
“Can’t we get her off of—” Robert broke off. “Stupid. Of course we can’t. It’s— He’s stopping.”
The stallion was standing still, shaking. Grace bent over him and murmured something. Then she gently kicked him.
He didn’t move.
She nudged him again with her boot.
He took a step forward, then another.
Grace took him around the corral, gently asserting, never forcing.
She finally stopped him and slid from the saddle.
Kilmer let his breath out. Christ, he hadn’t realized he’d been holding it.
“Shit.” Robert jumped down inside the fence and headed toward Grace and the stallion. “That was damn scary.”
Kilmer started to follow him and then stopped. He’d been crowding Grace, and she wouldn’t appreciate having him near her at this moment. He watched Blockman laughing and ruefully shaking his head as he fell into step with her while she led the horse from the corral.
He didn’t like it. It stung like hell.
It didn’t matter what Blockman had said. Kilmer was experiencing the same primitive response that had stirred him since the moment he’d realized what a big role Blockman was playing in Grace’s life.
Then get over it. There were more important things to deal with than the—
His cell phone rang. Donavan.
“Problem?”
“Maybe,” Donavan said. “Hanley left the compound last night. I had Tonino follow him. He went to Genoa to see Kersoff’s wife.”