Chapter 8
Kate slept fitfully. Her mind was filled with thoughts of a new office, although they’d strayed to Tegan more often than not. He was so damn handsome. Those blue eyes were filled with emotion, and damn, time had put muscle on his frame. She’d used Tegan as a measuring stick for every man she’d ever dated. None had ever come close. She didn’t want some perfect image of a man who ticked all her boxes, but she did want someone like Tegan. Someone honest and kind. Someone who treated her like she was something special, even though she wasn’t.
She may have taken extra care blowing out her hair and definitely added a dab of perfume and some lip gloss before heading over to Tegan’s. It was about thirty miles to his ranch, not far, but long enough she got nervous. Had she come on too strong yesterday? She laughed. Of course, she had, but if she waited for Tegan to ask her out, she’d be old and gray. Tegan was timid with the ladies; though he was anything but that in bed. The memories of their sex were almost pornographic. Well, by definition, they were. The man was spectacular in bed. The best she’d ever had. Not that she slept around much, but she’d tried intimate relationships with others both before and after Tegan. None had measured up. But it wasn’t just the physical. Tegan had the kindest heart. He was smart and funny. After he realized she wouldn’t judge him, he spoke freely around her, and they talked about everything under the sun, including their hopes and dreams. She’d witnessed his gentleness when dealing with animals and his strength while working to help his aging grandfather. He’d managed to do the lion’s share of the work on that ranch without letting his grandfather lose the independence he needed. Tegan was the first to volunteer to help someone in the community, and he never asked for anything in return. He was a gentleman, a friend, and someone she could love. She sighed. Could love? Did love. Maybe still …
Kate gripped the wheel of her truck and drew a deep breath. She was nervous. If she hadn’t signed the contract with the Army before she’d come to stay with her brother and Bridgette twelve years ago, she would have stayed. She’d even looked into how to get out of her contract, but unless she made up some lie, there was no way out. So, she left. She didn’t cry until she was on the plane heading to the Army’s basic officer leadership course. To say she’d missed Tegan was a gross understatement. They’d tried keeping up with each other, but over time, the letters, emails, and calls had lessened. Distance, job requirements, and time zones became a wedge, and over the course of a year or so, the connection was lost.
She turned down the long, winding road that would lead to Tegan’s place. The cottonwoods they’d planted that summer along both sides of the road were so much bigger than she thought they would be. In the summer, the foliage of the trees would be resplendent. She couldn’t wait to see it.
Kate slowed down as she approached the ranch house. Her jaw dropped at the expanse of new board fencing around a large pasture where ten or fifteen horses grazed. The barn had been completely replaced and doubled in size. A smaller building off and to the right of the barn mimicked the larger structure.
She continued farther and stopped when she saw the ranch house. It had been resided and reroofed. A wraparound porch now circled the house. The yard was hemmed in by a four-foot-tall white picket fence that matched the color of the house. Black shutters surrounded the windows, and the overall effect was amazing.
Tegan walked out of the house, breaking her spell of disbelief. She finished her drive to the house and parked next to Tegan’s truck, then got out and shut her door. “Wow. You’ve completely renovated this place. How did you do it?” She spun around. “This is amazing.”
“Thank you.” Tegan glanced around. “I’m happy with it, but there are still things I can do to fix it up some.”
“Really? Like what?” She stared at him in disbelief. “This is amazing. Show me around?”
“Sure.” He motioned toward the barn just as a mini horse ran toward the fence. “Well, first off, this is Doodle.” They walked across the graveled area to the pasture. A llama walked sedately after the small horse and pretended it wasn’t interested in anything that was happening. Kate bent down and reached through the fence. “Hey, little guy.” She extended her hand. Doodle was not impressed when he found nothing. He moved to Tegan and nipped at him through the fence line.
“Greedy thing, aren’t you.” Tegan reached into his back pocket and took out a plastic bag filled with carrots. “Come on, Leon, you get one, too.”
The llama stretched his neck over the fence and took the carrot from Tegan. “This guy I rescued from a ranch in Kansas. I’m kind of plugged into the ASPCA, and they give me a call when they’re against the wall.” He nodded to the horses in the pasture. “Twelve rescues there. All wonderful animals who needed a break. Come on, I’ll show you the new barn.”
She walked with him, taking in everything. “Tegan, this had to have been expensive. I mean, I expect this at a Kentucky Thoroughbred farm, but here? This is lavish.”
He glanced around and shrugged. “You remember my grandpa always saying I never had to worry because he invested in apples, and that when he died, I could cash in half of what was left to me and live like a king.”
Kate chuckled. “Yeah, did you ever figure out what apple farm he bought and where it was?”
Tegan stopped at the door to the barn. “He didn’t buy the fruit. He bought into the tech company.”
Kate blinked. “What now?”
Tegan nodded. “Right? He left shares for me, Dad, and Cara. I got three times the amount they did, but none are hurting, that’s for sure.”
Cara was Tegan’s sister, and the last she’d heard, the girl was heading down the wrong road with drugs. “How is Cara?”
“Married. I swear that guy saved her life. Allen is his name. They don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs. She went back to school and is a counselor for one of the schools in New Castle.”
“That’s wonderful!” She followed him into the barn. The wide walkway was clean to the point of being spotless.
“Tack room is there. The feed room is over there. I have eighteen stalls. When it’s wicked cold, I bring the horses in. There’s a heating system for the building.” He stopped at one of the stalls. “This is Max.”
She walked up and looked into the stall. The animal was huge. She immediately assessed him. “He’s been neglected.” She shook her head. “For a long time.” Max tentatively walked toward them and extended his neck as far as he could to take a carrot from Tegan. “Josh is coming over tomorrow afternoon to work on his hooves. I think that’ll help him a lot. I’m being careful with his feed right now and giving him supplements.”
“I can see why. Is he foundered?” The poor animal. It made her blood boil that people could and would treat an animal that way.
“Noah did tests on him at the stockyard and took blood. He would have told me if he was. I think he just needs a good trim and some shoes. Poor guy hasn’t had a good life so far.” Tegan reached in slowly, and Max stood still while he scratched his neck a bit. “A couple of the horses I took in were foundered. Josh is really good, and he makes padded clogs he screws to the hoof. That, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and a lot of praying have seemed to work. So far, I haven’t lost anyone to it.”
He motioned for them to keep moving. They went out the back of the barn. “The coop.” He motioned to a large structure with a huge enclosure. “I use the chicken droppings and compost for the gardens behind the house. Which I have to build a fence around because of Mr. Doodle deciding he can eat anything I grow.” Tegan laughed. “I swear that little devil causes me more work than any other animal on this ranch.”
“He seems adorable.”
“It’s a trap. I’m serious; don’t fall for it like I did.” They laughed and walked past the coop, and she asked, “How many hens do you have?”
“Ah, about thirty. Sometimes, I get a broody one. I have to let her hatch a fertilized egg. I usually get three or four to make sure at least one hatches. My girls have a high success rate.”
“What do you do with all the eggs?”
“They usually stall out in the winter but produce enough for me. When they’re laying, I take the excess to the stockyard when I’m working there and give them to the guys who work with me. When I work at the Hollisters’, I’ll give them to Gen. They never go to waste.”
“And what’s this?” Kate pointed to a low structure quite a way away from the house. “That is the hog house.” He chuckled. “A rescued mini pig that weighs about six hundred pounds. Of course, I couldn’t let her hang out alone, so …” Tegan shrugged and blushed a bit.
Kate laughed and spun around, walking backward as she asked, “How many pigs do you have?”
His face flamed red, but he smiled hugely. “Three. The ladies remind me of Edna and her group. In fact, I call one of them Edna.”
“You do not!” Kate tripped, and Tegan reached out, grabbing her, keeping her from falling on her ass.
“Yeah, I do. Come on. I’ll introduce you.” She walked the distance with him and was expecting a heck of a smell, but it wasn’t that bad. The smallest of the pack snuffled her way up to the fence. Tegan reached over and scratched her head before handing her a carrot from his bag. “This is Petunia. The spotted one over there is Alice, and the one staring at us from behind the partition is Edna.”
“She’s spying on us.” Kate laughed.
“Hence the name.” Tegan tossed a carrot to each of the other pigs. “They’re a lot of work, but again, I mix their waste with the compost and use it for the garden. When I have too much, I take a truckload of it to Gen’s garden in town and spread it.”
She leaned against the fence and scratched Petunia’s head. The animal seemed to go into a trance. “You know it takes a special person to take in and care for all these animals.”
Tegan sighed. “It really doesn’t. I have the means to do it, and I have the time. It does make me sick so many people mistreat animals or, like Petunia here, buy them, assuming they’ll never grow up.”
“I get what you mean. Right now, there’s a craze for Malinois and German Shepherd dogs. The animals are high drive and high energy. They shed like it’s their job. On top of that, they can be aggressive if you don’t socialize them properly. People have no idea what it takes to raise an animal like that, and the shelters are full of surrendered animals that deserve a chance but will never get one. I get sick when I think of it. I wish there was something I could do.” It was heart-wrenching to think about.
“You can only do what you can do. Even if that’s education or providing spaying and neutering at a discount. Make a small impact. That’s what I’m doing. I’m only one guy.”
“You’re one hell of a guy,” Kate said and bumped into him. “Show me what you’ve done to the house?”
“Sure.” They walked toward the house.
“How’s your dad doing?” She didn’t ask about his mother. The bitch.
“He’s good. Still working the ranch. He has two hands to help him now. Mom has been in and out of the hospital. She divorced Dad and moved into town during Cara’s senior year. She’s been getting worse and worse. About six months ago, she physically attacked a neighbor’s son. The police got involved, and they finally decided she needed in-patient care. From what Cara tells me, she’s improving.”
“That’s good to hear. She’s needed help for a long time.” His mother had berated Tegan all his life. Nothing the man did was good enough. His sister escaped most of her vitriol because Tegan protected her. Of course, the woman was sweet as could be to the children when her husband was in the house. But Tegan’s grandparents showed up one day unexpectedly and caught his mom in the act. That was the day Tegan went to live with them, and it explained why he was so insecure around women. His mom’s mental problems escalated after that. Cara and her father moved out of the main house and into a small cottage on the ranch. Cara spent most of her time during the summer at her grandparents’ with Tegan. With such a whacked-out mother, it was a miracle Tegan had turned out to be such a kind and loving man.
“True. Dad offered to pay for her medication and counseling. That went over like a lead balloon.” Tegan shrugged. “I’m sorry she’s sick, but I’m not sorry I escaped.” He looked over at her. “You know you’re the only one besides Cara I can talk to without feeling … inadequate.”
Kate took his hand in hers. “You’ve never been inadequate, Tegan. You’re an amazing man doing wonderful things for the animals and this community.” He squeezed her hand and opened the fence. Doodle raced from the backyard toward them.
“How did he get out of the pasture?” Kate dropped down into a squat, and the little horse stopped in front of her. She reached out a hand slowly and smoothed his mane before petting him.
“I built a small opening that only he can get through and … Well, I call it a chute between the pasture and the yard. I hand-raised him, and I may have spoiled him.” The horse spun and ran to the back of the house. “He’ll wait for us in the back.” Tegan chuckled. “Come on.”
They went into the house, and Kate gasped at the transformation. “Tegan, this isn’t the same house.” It had been completely renovated. The small boxy rooms were gone, and the living room, kitchen, and what looked like an entertainment area past the kitchen were modern and bright. A light wood floor with wide planks ran throughout the area. The furniture was brown leather and looked new. “This is beautiful. How long did it take you to do this?”
“After Grandpa died, I needed something to keep me busy. I started at the front door and worked back. When I finished the bottom floor, I redid the top. I had help with the plumbing. The old pipes were a mess, so when this floor was gutted, I paid someone to come put in the new plumbing. We added access points where I was going to add two bathrooms upstairs.”
They took off their boots and walked stocking-footed through the house. “There’s still a small bedroom over there.” Tegan pointed in the direction where the old kitchen used to be. “This is the utility and washroom.” He opened the door, and Kate chuckled. “Doodle’s feed tray. Did you make this?” The wood was sanded and smooth, and his name was painted on the front.
“Actually, no. One of my guys, Travis, out at the stockyard, made it for him. Doodle was a permanent fixture there for a while. He needed to be bottle-fed at first, and I couldn’t leave him alone with the bigger horses because most of them had issues of their own. When I got Leon, they bonded quickly, and that’s when I started leaving him at home. Leon protects Doodle.”
She looked out the sliding French doors to the backyard. Doodle had what looked to be a cloth-covered ball in his mouth. “He’s just like a dog.” She laughed as the little guy bobbed his head up and down, causing the ball to move.
“Yeah, he doesn’t know he’s a horse.”
“A tiny one.” Kate shook her head and laughed when Doodle kicked and bucked before running off. “Wait until I tell Blessing about this.”
“Who’s Blessing? He’s heading back to the pasture.” Tegan nodded, and Kate moved so she could see the chute he’d built. The fencing went right up to the wire of the pasture, and Doodle ran through the opening, racing out to where the llama was grazing.
“She’s a friend who seems to know a thing or two about small horses.” Kate looked up at him. Over the years, she’d forgotten how damn sexy the man was. “She’s given me some good guidance, which I plan on using.”
It seemed Tegan didn’t know what to do with that. Instead, he nodded and changed the subject. “Would you like to see upstairs?”
Bingo. The offer she’d been waiting for. Or close enough to it. She turned to him and smiled. Okay, that was it. She would put it right out in front of him. “I want to see your bedroom more than anything else.” Was she coming on strong? Hell, yes, but she knew Tegan wouldn’t. It wasn’t in his character. She would have to be the one to initiate sex the first time, and that didn’t bother her at all.
Tegan blinked, and then the way she said the words hit him. The blush on his cheeks was immediate. He took her hand, and they walked up the stairs. He bypassed what she assumed was another bedroom and a bathroom and took her into the primary suite. She glanced at the room, noting in passing it had a king bed on one wall and a beautiful built-in bookshelf with a television centered in the middle on the other wall. “The closet has built-in dressers.” He motioned toward the side of the room. She peeked past him to see where the closet and bathroom were located.
Kate turned to face him. “A beautiful home, but you haven’t shown me the best part.”
Tegan cocked his head. “What part is that?”
“The homeowner.” She put her hands on his chest and lifted up to her toes. Tegan’s arms belted around her and drew her in. She breathed in the familiar smell of this man. He lowered his head ever so slowly. The anticipation sent a shiver of pure, unadulterated lust through her.