Ladd Haven (18 page)

“
Take all the time you
need,” Delaney said. “Tell him to take a break, if you need
it.”

Joy flushed out Casey’s angst. “Thank
you.”

Delaney stepped aside. Drawing her
buttery yellow lengths of hair aside, she waved Casey forward. “Now
go on. Don’t keep the boy waiting. You remember where the barn is,
right?”

“
I do.” She took a few steps
in that direction and stopped. “Thanks.” Casey meant for
everything—for giving Troy a job, for believing in him, for
encouraging her to be with him. Delaney had turned out to be a real
ally, and Casey appreciated her more than she could say.

“
I’m here anytime you need
me.”

Passing through the stables, Casey
emerged, instantly warmed by the open sky. In the distance she
could see the barn. The barn. Where Troy was working. A huge
building, she knew it housed equipment, feed rooms, wash stations.
Nerves battered her heart but she shook them away. Would he be
happy to see her? Mad?

Whatever. Come what may, she had a
message to deliver!

Casey neared the building and
reservations inundated her. Slowing, she edged around the open
doorway and froze. There in the center of the spacious
high-ceilinged barn was Troy and a gorgeous dark brown horse, free
of gear except for a bridle with a lead rope attached. The sight
took her breath away. Standing before the massive animal, dressed
in his black hat and T-shirt, Troy was in his element. Casey
flattened her body against the wall. He was perfect.
Beautiful.

Man and horse were seamless in their
focus.

“
Good boy,” Troy cooed to
the horse he was working, gently placing pressure against his neck.
“That’s right, Spirit. We’re friends.” With his other hand, Troy
tossed the lead rope over the horse’s body. The animal was alert,
but calm. Not jumpy. “Good job,” Troy said, giving a gentle stroke
to the horse’s snout.

Spirit was a real beauty, a chocolate
brown Quarter Horse that reminded him of his own stallion kept at
his parents’ place. Both were tall and strong. Strong-bodied and
strong-willed. Troy moved to Spirit’s opposite side and repeated
the gentle toss of rope over his body. The horse didn’t flinch.
“That’s a boy,” he rewarded softly, maintaining contact with the
animal, mindful of the ears which were twitching. One went back and
forth, stiffened. “Nothing going on here,” Troy told him, lightly
patting the horse on the neck. The animal pushed into Troy but Troy
held firm. “It’s okay. I hear you but I’m not doing anythin’ to
hurt you,” he said, following up with a stroke along the animal’s
body. “I just want you to feel it. Just want you to get used to it,
that’s all.”

Delaney had asked him to train the
animal for riders. She’d received the horse from a friend of hers
in Georgia, but it came with a warning. The animal wasn’t suitable
for trail riding. Didn’t matter. Delaney fell in love with the
horse at first sight and bought him on the spot—something Troy
totally understood. This boy was special. You could see it in his
eyes. Animal and man were equally tuned in to what the other was
doing. So far, Spirit was proving an easy train.

With measured movements Troy wrapped
the rope around the animal’s front hoof and lifted. The animal
resisted, stepping forward. “It’s okay, buddy.” Troy leaned down
and brought the hoof up again, repeating his rope wrap. Spirit eyed
him but allowed him to hold it steady in the air for several
seconds. “That’s right,” Troy said with a smile. “Didn’t hurt a
bit, did it?” He proceeded to repeat the move with the other hoof.
“Good job, Spirit.”

Yesterday the animal refused to let him
loop and lift. Troy gave a vigorous stroke down the length of the
animal’s snout. Today was an improvement. “Excellent.”

But next came the most risky move.
Dialing in, Troy watched the animal’s head as he moved the rope and
lightly brushed it over and around the flanks. The horse turned his
head and stepped away from Troy. “That’s it, boy. All done. Nothin’
but a simple brush,” Troy said, stepping with him. The rear was a
sensitive area. If the horse became uncomfortable with the feel of
the rope, he might kick. But Troy needed the animal to understand
that if he let his defenses down around people, no one was going to
hurt him. He was safe. It was the key to training an animal for use
around people.

Troy tried again—keeping his pressure
light and tender, reassuring. This time the animal moved in a
circular fashion with him, allowing Troy to maintain his rope
contact. Troy pulled the rope from his body and that’s when he saw
her. His heart stopped—bucked out of control. Casey was hovering by
the entrance to the barn. The horse circled him, momentarily
blocking his view.

What was she doing
here
? Gently moving the horse from his line
of vision, Troy was stunned to see her approach. Instinctively, his
gaze dropped to her stomach. With the sun at her back, he could see
the outlines of her belly through the sheer material, the sticks
that were her legs disappearing into black boots. Next to him the
horse tugged at the rope but Troy held firm. He was busy right
now.

As Casey neared, he tried to read the
expression on her face, the strange look in her eyes. She seemed
uncertain about him, like she didn’t know him the way she did but
was advancing anyway. Like a stranger. Recalling their night
together, the fact that she’d been with Jimmy, he resented her for
making him feel like the bad guy. Drawing Spirit close, Troy shook
it off. Why was she here? What did she want?

“
Troy.”

“
Casey,” he replied coolly,
avoiding the impulse to stare at her stomach, the immensity of what
it meant to him. “What are you doing here?”

“
I came to talk to you.” She
glanced up at the horse, shuttering her gaze in a timid sort of
way.

“
About what?” he asked. And
what did she have to be timid about? She was the one holding the
gun. She was the one who’d fired first. Impatience got the better
of him. “I have work to do,” he said, leading Spirit to a wood
railing. From the corner of his eye, he saw her follow him. Desire
and longing tore at him, mingling with anger and hurt. Why was she
here? Hadn’t she said enough already? The horse snorted, jerking
its head up as Troy tied him to the top board. He turned. “What did
you want to talk to me about?”

Blue eyes quieted. “I came to tell you
the baby...” she began, but her voice fell away.

The baby
. Disgust roiled through him. Jimmy’s baby. Troy stepped away
from her, adjusted his hat forward. The way she was looking at
him—her gaze filled with longing, want—it was too close to the way
she looked at him the night before he left.

“
The baby is
yours.”

“
What
?”

Troy dropped his gaze to her stomach as
she took a step toward him. “The baby,” she murmured, cradling her
belly with both hands, exposing the size and dimension of her
stomach clear as day. “It’s not Jimmy’s. It’s yours.”

“
What are you talking
about?” Troy stepped back, grappling for reason. What did she mean
the baby was his? It didn’t make sense. She and Jimmy were dating.
She’d said it was his. Why was she telling him this now? “I don’t
believe you,” he snapped.

“
It’s true.”

“
You said it was
Jimmy’s.”

Sadness punctured her gaze. “I lied to
you at Ashley’s.”

Troy walked away from her, a tide of
emotion choking his thoughts. “I don’t understand,” he said over
his shoulder, unable to look at her. Part of him wanted it to be
true. Part of him feared it was a lie. “Jimmy said you two were
dating.”

“
We aren’t.”

Troy whirled on her. “Why would he say
it then if it ain’t true?”

“
He was trying to protect
me.”

“
Protect you—from what? Me?”
Troy spit. He turned from her, tired of feeling the bad guy,
someone to be afraid of. He wasn’t, yet that’s how she was making
him feel.

“
From myself.”

The fragile quality of her reply
shattered his anger. When he returned to face her, the beaten look
of defeat that met him split Troy in two. What was going on? First
she was mad, now she was sad. “Dad gum, Casey. You’re not making
any sense.”

“
I know. I’m sorry.” She
brushed strands of silky black hair behind an ear, stepped closer.
The stallion he’d been training was watching them, its ears
forward, dark eyes glancing at them as he angled away from
them.

The baby was his? Was she for
real?

“
I just... When you left...”
Casey narrowed in on him with a pop of emotion, “I was so hurt and
angry. You didn’t ask me to come with you. You didn’t tell me where
you were going. I had to find it out from Felicity, because you
didn’t have the decency to tell me yourself!”

Surprised by the hit, Troy knew she was
right. He should have been the one to tell her, but he didn’t know
where he’d end up when he left, and dragging her around the country
while he looked for a job wasn’t gonna happen. She deserved better
than that. They’d talked about this!

“
Then I found out I was
pregnant”—she continued through his silence—“and I was scared. I
was really scared. Jimmy was there for me but as my friend. We were
never more than friends, I swear.”

Old resentments flared. “Not cause he
didn’t wanna be more.”

Casey shook her head. “Jimmy is my
friend, Troy. He’s been good to me. I don’t want you to hold that
against him.”

Troy cursed under his breath, hating
the void he’d left for Jimmy to fill. It was his fault the guy ever
had the first chance with Casey.

“
Then all of a sudden you
showed up, and I didn’t know what to do. I, I...” She fumbled,
fiddled with a tie on her dress. “I didn’t want you to know.” Tears
moistened her eyes. “I didn’t want you to know because I didn’t
want you to leave me again.”

“
Leave you?” Troy rushed to
her, searching for reason. Grabbing hold of her arms, he forced her
to look him in the eye. “But I never left you, Casey. Don’t you get
that? I never left you.”

“
You moved to Kentucky!” she
shrieked, unsettling the horse.

Troy calmed his voice. “I
told you I’d be back. I went there to prove myself, to show you I
could be a better man. I thought you understood.” Her gaze darted
back and forth across his. “It was
you
who turned away from me. I told
you I’d be back and I am. Only I came back earlier than I planned
to,” he said, the admission a stain on his heart. “Because I
quit.”

“
Why?”

The doubt in her eyes hurt him. There
was still a part of her that believed he was a loser who couldn’t
hold down a job. Well, he might be a loser when it came to quitting
but not when it came to working with horses. He was good at what he
did. Horses were part of him. They were in his blood. He could beat
any challenge thrown his way when it came to training, but his
heart?

That was a different story. He thought
he could handle the challenge of being away, but he couldn’t.
“Being away from you was too hard. I told myself it was for the
best. I told myself it was the only way to prove to you that I
could do a good job. When you didn’t return my calls, I figured you
were mad, that your momma was probably turning you against me. I
figured you needed time, and once I got settled in with the new
ranch, I’d call and you’d move to Kentucky.”

Casey slackened within his grasp. “I’m
sorry about that.”

“
Mr. Foster said you were
okay so I figured it couldn’t be that bad.”

“
You called him?”

Troy nodded.

“
He never told
me.”

Troy stilled. “He probably didn’t
believe me.”

“
Oh, Troy...”

Her pity only made it worse. Mr. Foster
was right not to believe him. Troy hadn’t shown him anything
different. Why believe he’d changed? Troy shrugged it off. “It
don’t matter. I couldn’t do it. I had to come back. I love you,
Casey.” Then it hit him. The baby was his.

He was going to be a father.

A thousand thoughts ripped
through him at once. He was going to have a baby. He was a stable
hand, making minimum wage. He didn’t have a place to live. He had a
wife and child to support. A baby. He honed in on Casey.
Would she marry him
?

“
What’s the matter, Troy?
Are you upset now that you know?”

Realizing she was misreading him, he
said, “No, Casey. I’m not upset.”

“
You’re not?”

“
You’re not really dating
Jimmy, right?”

She shook her head. Looking her
directly in the eye, he asked, “You never slept with
him?”

“
Never.”

Troy swung an arm under her legs and
swept her from her feet. “How could I be upset? I’m going to be a
daddy!” he exclaimed, mindful of her swell of body between
them.

Casey clung to his neck. “You’re
happy?”

“
On my honor.” Troy beamed,
euphoria pouring into him. Casey wasn’t with Jimmy. She was
carrying
his
child.
“I’m happy as man ever could be.” He kissed her without thinking,
and the feel of her mouth caught him unprepared. Desire surged.
Holding her slender body in his arms, taking in the light scent of
her hair, her skin, brought so many memories and feelings rushing
to the surface that his head swam. How many times had he thought
about this moment? Holding her again, kissing her, touching her?
Hunger and need coursed through him. Too long. It had been too
long. She tasted so good...