Straddling the Fence (12 page)

Tucker Lindley was one good-looking guy. Bellamy didn’t find
him quite as attractive as Eli, but he had that All-American vibe going for
him—dirty-blond hair, pretty blue eyes, devilish dimples when he smiled.

They grew them big and ripped around these parts, and their
momma’s were raising them up right because she’d never seen better manners
anywhere. There was a lot to be said for men who behaved like gentlemen, even
as they were coaxing you out of your panties, which Tucker
wasn’t
currently
doing, but still. He was charming and sweet, with a body built for hard work
and harder playing.

He was also full of shit.

Oh, he was trying hard to play it cool and convincing, but
Bellamy wasn’t buying a word of his tale about how he came to be in possession
of one very familiar-looking paint gelding. Something about randomly
approaching the old man who owned him and asking if he’d be willing to part
with the horse, which might’ve actually happened—but by Eli, not Tucker. The
timing was too coincidental.

However, the story he gave her about how he’d acquired the
five-year-old, buckskin-colored quarter horse standing next to the paint was
probably one-hundred-percent true. It was reassuring to know the paint would
now have a buddy though, in addition to a good home. Already they seemed to be
getting along.

Bellamy gave both animals a thorough physical examination,
finding nothing that couldn’t be made better by proper diet, exercise and a
little TLC. As a precaution, she drew blood and took stool samples to send off
to the lab she used in Athens. She wormed them, administered their necessary
vaccinations, and recommended a few types of feed and minerals to help them get
healthier. The cuts and scratches on the paint were cleaned, and Bellamy gave
Tucker a tube of ointment that would help keep the tissue moist and aid with
healing.

“So, do they have names?” Bellamy asked, removing her latex
gloves and tossing them into a bucket with her supplies.

“This is Huckleberry. Huck for short,” he said, patting the
neck of the quarter horse. “And that’s Soldier. The previous owner was calling
him General, but he doesn’t look like a General to me.”

Bellamy scratched the paint’s nose, already halfway in love
with the affable beast. “Soldier suits him better.”

“I’ve got a farrier coming out tomorrow to trim and re-shoe
their hooves,” Tucker offered. “He comes highly recommended by some friends I
trust in Americus.”

“Good. If he discovers anything he thinks I should know
about, feel free to give him my number.”

“I will.”

“Nice job on the barn and stalls, by the way.” It was small
by Carter Farms standards, but everything looked new and well put together.
Like there’d been some real thought and planning put into the construction
instead of just throwing something up last minute. Compared to the paint’s
previous home, his new digs would probably look like the Ritz Carlton. And she
was thrilled to see that Tucker went with American wire fencing over barbed
wire. It was much easier on horsehide.

“I’ve been working on it along and along when I had the
time. Even ran both hot and cold water lines. Still have to hang permanent
lights, but I’m happy with how it turned out. I had good help finishing it,
though.” Tucker grinned sheepishly.

“The same person who helped you
acquire
the paint
horse?” Bellamy shielded her eyes with a hand and watched the ruse melt right
off Tucker’s face.

“I promised I wouldn’t say anything, Doc.”

“Well, you didn’t. But did you really think I wouldn’t
know?”

Tucker shrugged. “I figured you’d recognize the horse, but
hopefully buy my story.”

“And the whole truth is…?”

“Eli approached his neighbor, old man Herman Fuller, earlier
in the week about Soldier. Herman was grateful to be rid of him since he wasn’t
able to take care of him properly. He didn’t want the horse to begin with. His
niece dumped him off after her teenage daughter grew bored and inattentive.”

“Happens too often, I’m afraid,” Bellamy said.

“We had horses when I was a kid, then my dad lost his job
and money got tight. Naturally, the first things to go were the animals that
ate as much as we did. Hurt like hell, but you didn’t argue with my dad. Now
that I’m out on my own, making decent money and my house is finished, I can
finally have ’em again.”

She could hear the pride in his voice at the end. They
apparently had something else in common outside of a love for horses—a father
whose word was law. Hard to miss that tinge of bitterness as well. Bellamy
didn’t want to dig too deep at a sore spot, though. “I’m sure you’ll take good
care of them.”

“You ride?”

“A little, although I’d be rusty as hell if I mounted up
right now. I’m probably still considered a novice since my riding has been
sporadic over the years. Mostly in college and a few times while I did my
residency at an equine hospital in Athens.”

“Consider this an open invitation, Doc. Rusty or not,
anytime you wanna ride, you’re welcome.”

The offer landed like a fuzzy blanket around her heart.
Everyone in Serenity was so warm and friendly, downright welcoming. Not that
she hadn’t made plenty of casual friends in college and found people nice all
over. But here it just felt different, like she’d never been a stranger. With
any luck, the acceptance would trickle over into the professional side of her
life.

“I appreciate that, Tucker.”

“Now that they’ve both been checked over, I’m going to give
’em a good bath while the sun is out and it’s warmer. Might want to figure up
my bill before I start slinging water and suds.”

Bellamy made a quick trip to her truck, returning in less
than five minutes with the invoice. He took one look at the number scratched on
the bottom and started shaking his head.

“Aw, come on, Bellamy. You’ve gotta charge me more than
fifty bucks.”

“No, I don’t.” When he tried to hand her back the bill, she
pushed it away. “That’ll cover the lab fees and the salve for Soldier’s cuts.
The rest is on me, no arguments.”

“Well, damn. I don’t know what to say. Except thanks.” He
fished his wallet out and handed her the money, which she stuffed into her back
pocket.

“It’s not easy being a softhearted vet sometimes, especially
when I see animals I know aren’t being properly cared for,” she said. “You can
thank me by treating these two like princes.”

“I plan on it. Might even get a few more as time goes on.”

She studied Tucker’s patch of land. It was mostly rolling
pasture dotted with clumps of trees, maybe twenty or thirty acres all totaled,
with a small area cleared around his house. Plenty of room for more horses.

“You don’t farm?” she asked.

“No. Right now I work for the John Deere dealership in town,
selling tractors and equipment to farmers while I’m finishing up my bachelor’s
degree at night.”

“Oh yeah? What’s your major?”

He grinned wryly. “Agriculture.”

“Nice,” Bellamy said. “There’s a lot you can do with that
degree.”

“I’m leaning toward land and livestock management, but I
wouldn’t mind a job with Peach State Seed and Soil either.”

She’d heard of Peach State, one of the largest agricultural
supply and consulting companies in the state of Georgia. “How close are you to
graduating?”

“Nine credit hours, which doesn’t sound like much, but with
holding down a full-time job and taking night and online classes, it seems to
be taking forever.”

“I know that feeling.”

Tucker adjusted the bridle on Huckleberry, then began
gathering up the bathing supplies from a small room near the end of the horse
stalls. “I bet. You went to school for how long?”

“Almost ten years, when internships, externships and
residency are factored in. I knocked out my bachelor’s in three while working
thirty hours a week at a horse farm outside Athens. Getting into vet school is
harder than getting into medical school, so I grabbed any industry experience I
could get, even if it was mucking stalls and hauling feed. On the plus side, I
got to help with breeding and foaling.”

Shoving the sleeves of her Henley up her arms, Bellamy
started to rinse her hands off in the hose, then changed her mind and decided
to help Tucker wash the horses. Her schedule was clear for the rest of the day,
and she wasn’t supposed to meet Kai and Grace at Sam’s until eight. That left
plenty of time to kill. Eli was busy, had been all week for the most part,
cleaning out a barn with his brothers for Ruby’s upcoming surprise birthday
party, and apparently helping Tucker finish his barn. They’d talked on the
phone almost every night, but he’d sounded exhausted, as he should be, so she
hadn’t pushed for more. Didn’t mean she hadn’t missed him.

Tucker didn’t balk at her silent offer of help, he just
handed her a sponge and sat the bucket of warm soapy water between the two
horses where they could both reach it. Soldier shifted nervously at first until
Bellamy petted and murmured to him, trying to soothe his anxiety. He eventually
calmed, dipping his head into the bucket of feed pellets Tucker hung on the
fence, and she began washing him in slow, easy strokes.

“How long have you known Eli?” she asked after a bit.

“Gosh, since we were little kids. I’m the same age as
Fritz—twenty-seven, if you didn’t know—so Eli’s older, but the age difference
has never mattered much. Where one went, we all went.”

“And when one got into trouble…?”

“Yep, usually all of us followed there too.”

Bored teenagers, a small town with nothing to do but seek
out mischief as a way to blow off steam. She could imagine them skipping
school, finding a mud hole to bog their trucks, buying beer with a fake ID and
chasing girls. All in the name of youthful fun and an overabundance of
testosterone, and there was nothing wrong with that. Just a part of boys
growing up.

It made her wonder how old Eli was when he lost his
virginity. Probably much sooner than her twenty.

“You single, Tucker?”
Jesus, why are you being so nosy?

“Sure am. Why? You got somebody in mind for me?”

Bellamy chuckled. “Just wondering. I don’t know any women in
town besides Kai who aren’t married, and she’s spoken for. Although I’m
supposed to meet her friend, Grace, tonight at Sam’s Tavern. We’re having a
girls’ night out.”

He slid her a sly grin. “Thanks for the info, Doc.”

“Why so smug?”

“Because I’ve seen pretty Miss Grace on the very rare
occasions when she cuts loose. I’ll make sure to pop into Sam’s around ten or
so, just in case she’s in need of a designated driver.”

When Bellamy arrived at Sam’s around eight, Kai and a woman
she assumed was Grace were already there, sitting at a square high-top table in
a corner near the front window of the bar. A giant platter of cheese fries sat
in the center of the table—minus the bacon—along with a frosty pitcher of
margaritas and three salt-rimmed glasses.

Kai introduced Bellamy to Grace, and naturally, Grace
eschewed a handshake in favor of a hug. Bellamy was starting to believe that
was the customary greeting in Serenity.

Sitting between the two of them, Bellamy felt downright
drab, although she’d dug out her best jeans and newer boots, pairing them with
a floral western-style shirt and leather belt. She’d even applied a little
makeup and attempted to curl her hair. She’d be lucky if the style lasted an
hour.

Kai always dressed nice, and tonight was no exception. She’d
forgone her usual cute dresses for a pair of slim jeans tucked into heeled
black boots and a pale-yellow sweater that made her blue eyes pop. Her long
blonde hair hung in a loose braid over one shoulder.

Grace was like a garden in springtime. Everywhere you looked
was color. From her strawberry-blonde hair—more strawberry than blonde—to her
jade-green eyes, red-stained lips and purple nails. Freckles dotted the bridge
of her nose and trickled across her cheeks. It looked as though she’d come
straight from her job—a loan officer at a local bank, Kai had explained—because
her outfit was more work than casual, and more Atlanta than Serenity. Her gray
fitted blouse accentuated the fullness of her breasts and her slim waist, and a
charcoal-colored pencil skirt hugged her hips and thighs, ending just above her
knees. On her feet was a pair of leopard-print pumps with heels so high,
Bellamy winced at the thought of them pinching her toes, let alone trying to
walk in them.

Questions flew for an hour about Bellamy’s job, mostly from
Grace, before the topic shifted to men. By this point, the cheese fries were
long gone and the second pitcher of margaritas had been ordered.

“So, Eli, huh?” Grace asked, bobbing her perfectly arched
eyebrows.

Kai refilled their glasses as soon as a server returned with
the fresh pitcher.

Bellamy shrugged and took a sip of her drink, shuddering at
the amount of alcohol in it. The bartender was more liberal with the booze this
go-round. Good thing they’d eaten the fries and were drinking slow, otherwise
they’d be kissing Buzz Town goodbye on the way to Drunkville.

“Bellamy’s not an over-sharer like you are, Grace,” Kai
said, giving Bellamy a playful wink.

“I didn’t ask for details about their sex life!” Grace said.
Then mumbled, “At least not yet.”

“There’s so much there, I doubt I could find the right words
anyway,” Bellamy said. “I mean, of course there are the obvious traits that
don’t need repeating, but there are other things I don’t think his brothers
even know about him.”

“I told you he was special,” Kai said, smiling softly.

“He is that,” Bellamy agreed, feeling her face flush.

“But does he make you forget your name in bed?” Grace asked.

“And here we go.” Kai rolled her eyes. “I knew it wouldn’t
take long.”

“My name, social security number, date of birth, what I had
for breakfast. And I think I’m developing a fetish for pearl snaps,” Bellamy
blurted, then scowled at her drink. What the hell was in the thing, truth
serum? Something that induced diarrhea of the mouth?

Oh right. Tequila, and lots of it.

Kai grabbed Bellamy’s arm. “Omigod, tell me about it. Fritz
has this faded denim shirt that I swear is going to disintegrate every time I
wash it, but all I have to do is hear those snaps come apart and it’s on,
sister.”

“Eli wears this cream-colored one. Man oh man. I don’t even
have to hear the snaps pop and I’m in need of a cold shower. And his
forearms…Jesus.”

“Okay, you two can shut up now, says the girl who hasn’t
gotten laid in four months, two days and eight hours.” Grace waved a hand at
them.

“Hey, you asked first,” Kai said.

Grace pointed at her drink. “Alcohol makes you stupid. And
obviously a glutton for punishment.”

“Whose fault is it you’re not getting any?” Kai asked.
“Because it ain’t for lack of available candidates. Case in point, Mr. Lindley
over there.” She pointed to where Tucker sat alone at the end of the bar,
watching something sports-related on television and nursing a beer. “He’s attractive,
sane, gainfully employed and available.”

“I spent the afternoon with him, checking over his horses
and shooting the breeze,” Bellamy said. “He seems like a super-nice guy.”

“I agree with both of you. It’s just that I’m carrying a
torch.” Grace frowned. “Well, really more like a pyre.”

“For?” Bellamy asked.

“Sage,” Kai supplied with a sad sigh.

Bellamy’s wide-eyed gaze swung back to Grace. “Ooh. And?”

“And he’s immune to my charms. Or just flat-out not
interested. Or he’s in the closet.”

Kai gasped. “Sage is
not
gay!”

“How can you be so sure? He’s always going out of town, yet
when he’s home, he’s practically a hermit.”

“How do you know that?” Bellamy asked.

Grace shrugged. “This is Serenity. News travels.”

“You mean gossip,” Bellamy said.

“Is there a difference?”

“Sage is not gay,” Kai repeated. “Trust me on that.”

“Have
you
slept with him?” Grace asked.

“You know I haven’t! But I happen to be engaged to his
brother. I’ve heard tales of certain sexual escapades that would set your hair
on fire.”

Grace’s brows rose. “Involving females?”

“Yes, involving females.
He’s straight
.”

“Do tell then,” Grace said.

“I’m sworn to secrecy,” Kai said.

“Pics or it didn’t happen,” Grace countered.

“Are you insane? You think I want pictures of Sage doing the
nasty with some random chick or three on my phone?”

“
I
sure would,” Grace muttered against the rim of her
glass.

Kai’s mouth twisted wryly. “Of course you would.”

Then Grace’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head and she
shoved a purple-tipped finger across the table at Kai. “Aha! You said ‘or
three’! He’s had a ménage! Er, wait, that would be a…” Her gaze went skyward
while she thought. “What’s that called? A qua…quatrage?”

“Just call it a foursome, goofy, and I was being flip.”

Meanwhile, Bellamy was getting whiplash and her sides hurt
from laughing at the two of them bicker good-naturedly, and perhaps a little
drunkenly, back and forth. She was having a great time and she was glad they’d
invited her to join them. Glad to have met them both and been welcomed so
warmly into their small fold.

“But he’s had one?” Grace asked. “A foursome.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny any information unwittingly
divulged while under the influence of alcohol and cross-examination from a
tipsy, persistent redhead.”

“So. Sage Carter is
not
gay, he’s a closeted porn
star,” Grace said smugly. “That Airstream is probably equipped with video
cameras in the bedroom, a bucket o’ lube in the nightstand, and whips and
chains in the closet. I bet he buys condoms by the truckload. That’s where he
goes on the weekends when he disappears—to Atlanta to sell his self-made movies
in the underground.”

Bellamy accidentally snorted her margarita, making her eyes
water and her sinuses sting. She wheezed in a breath while trying not to choke
on more laughter.

“See, this is how rumors get started.” Kai sighed, shaking
her head, and reached for Grace’s glass. “I’m cutting you off.”

Grace giggled and slid the glass back toward her. “All
right, I’ll stop. God, I really needed this night out.”

“Bad day at work?” Bellamy asked her once she’d recovered
enough to speak.

Grace frowned down at her glass, flicking salt off the rim
with a fingernail. “Bad
every
day at work. No matter how hard I bust my
ass, it never seems to get noticed. At least not enough for me to lose the
‘junior’ part of my title. Five years I’ve worked for that bunch of
misogynistic asshole cronies, bringing in big clients and consistently making
good loans. All for nothing. But I’ve heard rumors another bank might be coming
to town. I sure hope it’s true.” Then just like that, she perked up, the misery
disappearing from her expression. Or at least she made a great showing of it.
“Enough of my sob story. We’re here to have fun and cut loose, not grouse about
my employer.”

“Allow me to take advantage of your slightly inebriated
constitutions and plead for help with Ruby’s party,” Kai said to Bellamy and
Grace.

“You don’t have to plead, Kai,” Bellamy said. “Just say when
and where, and I’ll be there if I don’t have appointments. Even if I do, I’ll
come over after I’m done.”

“Me too,” Grace said, topping off their drinks with what was
left in the pitcher.

“I hate to be a pain, but I could use the help with
decorating. The boys have been cleaning up the barn and I think they’re almost
finished, but if I leave the decorating in their hands, the place will look
like a stag party.”

“For sure. When’s the party?”

“The Saturday after Thanksgiving, so two weeks from
tomorrow. I’m praying the weather is nice because I don’t have a backup plan at
this point.”

“What do you have lined up as far as food and
entertainment?” Grace asked.

“I’m having it catered by the Cottonwood Diner since Ruby’s
not big on barbeque. Just a couple entrees, a few side dishes, salad, rolls and
tea. If people want to drink alcohol they can BYOB. Marilee Martin is baking
her cake, and I’ve booked Sam’s nephew’s country band.”

“Girl, you got this,” Grace said.

“Did you send invitations?” Bellamy asked.

Kai nodded. “But only to Ruby’s family and friends who live
out of town. The rest I’ve called or told in person. I’m figuring on around
seventy-five guests.”

Grace whistled. “Wow, that’s some birthday party.”

“She’s worth it, especially since she didn’t have a bash for
her fiftieth and she’s always made the boys’ birthdays so special.”

“Speak of the devil and in he walks,” Grace said, nodding
toward the front door where Eli and Fritz stood, their gazes landing on them.
Kai, Grace and Bellamy waved then Grace slumped back in her chair. “Party’s
over. Where’s the third musketeer, I wonder?”

“In Atlanta peddling homemade pornos,” Bellamy said,
spurning another fit of laughter.

Kai covered her face with her hands. “I’ll never be able to
look at Sage again without giggling.”

Instead of joining them, Eli and Fritz wandered down to the
end of the bar where Tucker sat, and ordered beers. Probably a good thing,
since it would be hard to explain what they’d found so funny.

“Why didn’t they come say hello?” Grace asked.

“Because I told Fritz I would kick his ass if he showed up
before ten. I might require a ride home, but I don’t need a chaperone.”

Grace high-fived her. “You tell ’em, sister. Now, if you’ll
excuse me, I have to pee like a racehorse.”

“I need to go too,” Bellamy said, sliding out of her chair.

Kai sighed. “Well, fine. I guess I’ll go say hi then.”

Grace and Bellamy were standing at the sinks washing up when
two girls burst into the restroom, chattering and preening in front of the
remaining mirrors. Both looked to be just a day over twenty-one to Bellamy,
wearing jeans so tight, bending their knees had to be difficult.

“Oh my God, Eli Carter just walked in. He’s
so
hot!”
the brunette gushed, fanning her face for effect.

In the mirror, Grace met Bellamy’s gaze and winked as she
reapplied a fresh coat of lipstick.

“Ain’t he, though?” the second girl said. “So are his
brothers, but Fritz is taken. I hear he’s engaged to Kai Donnelly now. And I
also heard Eli was seeing that new lady vet in town.”

Jesus, the gossip vine in this town rivals the internet.
Bellamy pressed her lips together and made a showing of finger-combing her hair
while she waited for Grace to finish.

“Well, he’s alone tonight and that makes him fair game, as
far as I’m concerned,” the brunette said saucily.

Bellamy felt her eyes narrow.
We’ll see about that.

It would be easy to say something nasty, but it wasn’t her
style to get into catfights over men. There were other ways to handle
situations like this, and she preferred to let actions speak louder than words.
They tended to carry more weight.

Grace must’ve been thinking the same thing. She looped an
arm through Bellamy’s, saying, “Come on, girlfriend. Let’s go polish a few belt
buckles.”

Fritz had Kai on his lap when they exited the bathroom,
kissing her neck, putting a secret smile on her mouth. Bellamy laced her
fingers through Eli’s, tugging him off his barstool. “Dance with me, cowboy.”

He smiled warmly, wrapping an arm around her waist as she
led him out onto the dance floor. Grace followed with Tucker in tow, a wide
grin of pure delight on his face, and maybe a touch of disbelief. It wasn’t
long before Fritz and Kai joined them too.

Eli pulled her close as a country ballad started playing on
the jukebox. She slid her hands around his neck, relishing the heat and
awareness that flared as their bodies touched.

Over his shoulder, she noticed the two young girls from the
bathroom gaping at them while they whispered to each other, probably calling
Bellamy all kinds of ugly names. She didn’t care. When Grace and Tucker drew
closer, Grace gave Bellamy a fist bump. In the high heels, her and Tucker were
nearly the same height, and his grin hadn’t faded one degree.

“What was that all about?” Eli asked.

“Just silly girl stuff.”

He pressed his mouth to her ear, whispering, “You look
beautiful.”