Chapter Twelve #2
“Perfect,” Finley said, noticing he sounded a little breathy.
“Try the other leg.” Once Kieran mastered those, he moved closer again.
“I need to place my hand up higher now.” Kieran swallowed hard but nodded.
His thigh bunched under Finley’s hand, and what he wouldn’t give for the privilege to slide it up even higher.
Finley explained how Kieran should use his inner thighs and what those cues told Loretta.
“Okay,” Kieran said. “I think I understand better.” They ran through a sequence of moves, but Kieran’s tension and posture countered the correct cues he gave the horse. He turned frustrated eyes to Finley. “What am I doing wrong?”
“You’re doing great,” Finley replied. “You’re making the same mistakes all rookies make.”
Kieran sighed. “Bring those hands over here and show me.”
Finley couldn’t resist waggling his brows and earning a snort from Kieran.
He tried to keep his touch indifferent and professional as he helped Kieran adjust his posture in the saddle.
He quickly discovered Kieran was trying to give cues with one side of his body but tightening his resting side to maintain balance in the saddle.
After some slight adjustments through practice, Kieran and Loretta were in sync.
“Relaxing in the saddle and trusting your horse is easier said than done,” Finley told him. “You’re doing great.”
Kieran grew more confident with each lesson, and before long, he didn’t need to fake interest in the skill.
He wasn’t quite ready for dance routines to music, but there was no doubt in Finley’s mind that he could pull that off with enough practice and commitment.
He’d nearly said as much the following Saturday when they were testing the night-vision capabilities on Finley’s equipment.
Kieran had asked if the others would think it was weird the two of them were sneaking off toward the trees together, but Finley reminded him it was poker night.
“I can’t believe that night was your first time playing poker.”
Finley laughed. “I make enough bad decisions without adding gambling to the mix. Trust me when I say I deserve the razzing the guys give me about my love life.”
Kieran stopped suddenly when they reached the edge of the woods. The shade from the trees blocked the moonlight and shielded his expression. Kieran placed a gentle hand on Finley’s bicep. “Did someone hurt you?”
Finley’s eyes adjusted to the dark, and he couldn’t look away from Kieran’s glittering gaze, not even to drop his head in shame. “Not physically, but let’s just say you and I both know there are other ways to cut a man.”
Kieran’s fingers tightened around his arm but not too hard, more like he didn’t want to let him go. “I hate that for you.”
“I hate it for you too.” Finley’s voice sounded huskier than he’d intended.
“Finley,” Kieran said, his voice a rough rumble that teased every nerve ending awake. “I don’t want to be just another guy who hurts you or brings sadness into your life. Maybe we—”
Finley moved closer, planning to cut him off before he could sever their burgeoning bond, though he hadn’t chosen a method of distraction.
A pitiful meow came from the darkness surrounding them, beating Finley to the punch.
He turned his flashlight on and shone it around.
Meow. The wail was closer, but Finley hadn’t located the cat.
He stepped deeper into the shadows looking for gleaming eyes.
“Here, kitty kitty,” he called.
Kieran followed his lead but aimed his flashlight in the opposite direction. “We have a cat?”
Finley didn’t miss that he’d said we but didn’t dare point out his blunder. “We do now. It would seem someone recently dropped a cat off near the road, and it wandered down here like the sorry assholes had hoped.”
“How could you possibly know how long the cat has been out here, and why assume someone dumped him?”
Finley moved deeper into the woods. “Come on, sweetheart,” he said, doing his best impression of Kieran when he wooed Nellie. “Outdoor cats don’t survive out here long. There are too many predators. It’s a miracle the poor thing made it this far.”
“God, I hate people sometimes,” Kieran growled, then lowered his voice to call out, “Here, kitty, kitty.” Unsurprisingly, a calico cat slowly climbed out of a tree and headed right for Kieran.
A quick look at her swollen belly explained why someone had dumped her.
“I really hate people,” Kieran corrected.
Finley watched in awe as he knelt and picked the cat up, cradling her against his chest. The feline released another cry, but this one was of relief, not fear. “She weighs next to nothing.”
“She looks young, not much older than a year or two, and soon to be a mama herself.”
“Little Mama,” Kieran said, scratching her ears. “That’s what we’ll call you.”
“We can test out the camera equipment another night. Let’s take her back to the barn and check her over. Ivan has two house cats at the old homestead. I bet he can spare some litter and food, but I think we should keep her separated from the other kitties right now.”
“I’ll take her,” Kieran said. “She can bunk with me.” He looked at Finley. “Unless that’s against the rules.”
“Cash won’t have a problem with it,” Finley said.
They worked together removing burrs and washing the cat.
If someone had dumped her as recently as he thought, her existence beforehand must’ve been pure misery.
She was malnourished and filthy to the point she didn’t even resist a bath.
Then again, who would when Kieran Sullivan was running gentle hands all over your body while telling you how pretty you were?
Finley reminded himself to hold on to his heart.
While Kieran was nothing like the assholes he’d fallen for in the past, he probably wouldn’t stay once he got his revenge on Ritchie.
Finley couldn’t let himself forget that.
“Our vet will stop by for a routine checkup on the horses on Monday. I’ll ask her to examine Little Mama and see if she needs treatment. She can probably tell us how much time she has before the babies arrive.”
Once they finished, Kieran took Little Mama to his cabin, and Finley interrupted the poker game to talk to Ivan.
“What’s up?” the foreman asked.
“A pregnant cat wandered into the barn a little while ago. We got her cleaned up, but I think she’s malnourished. Can I borrow some food and litter from you until I can get supplies?”
Ivan held his gaze for several moments. “We?”
“Huh?”
“You said ‘we got her cleaned up.’”
He knew damn well who Finley was talking about, but he wanted to make things more difficult.
Everyone on the ranch liked Kieran, even Tyler and Owen.
Why couldn’t Ivan let up on him? “I’ll just drive into town.
Sorry I bothered you.” Finley moved to step around Ivan, but he sidestepped to block his path.
Finley tilted his head back to meet his friend’s gaze.
“Of course you can have the supplies,” his friend said. “If you promise to do something for me in return.”
Finley quirked a brow. If Kieran had said the same thing, many innuendos would’ve popped into his brain. With Ivan, all he felt was dread. “What?”
“Guard your beautiful heart, Fin.”
“There’s no danger to me here.”
Ivan pursed his lips as if mulling something over, then said, “Everything you need is in the utility room. I even have an extra litter box. There’s some special food for malnourished cats at the top of the cabinet.
My big boy doesn’t need it anymore.” Finley remembered the condition Scruffy had been in when Ivan had adopted him.
He’d lovingly nurtured the cat back to health.
As if he knew they were talking about him, the big, beautiful tabby swaggered into the room and rubbed up against Finley’s leg.
“I appreciate it, Ivan. I’ll replace what we use when—”
Ivan shook his head. “That’s not necessary. Where are you going to keep the cat?”
“Little Mama is going to stay with Kieran.” He smiled as he recalled the adoring look on the cat’s face as she stared up at her rescuer during her bath.
“Not in danger, huh?” Ivan asked.
Finley rolled his eyes. “I was thinking about how the cat is already smitten with Kieran.”
“Everyone else seems to have fallen under his spell, so why should she be any different?”
“No witchery is afoot,” Finley replied. “We just gave him a chance. Why can’t you do the same?”
Ivan stepped closer but not threateningly. A hand the size of a dinner plate landed softly on Finley’s shoulder. “I’m just concerned about the time you spend with him. He has an agenda, Fin. I don’t know what it is, but Kieran Sullivan isn’t here to find redemption.”
Finley knew just how wrong his friend was.
Kieran had come to the ranch for redemption, but it was just a different kind.
His secret wasn’t hurting anyone, and Finley would rather lose a limb than betray Kieran like everyone else had.
“You’re wrong, Ivan. And if you can’t believe me, then at least trust Cash. ”
The remark landed hard. There was no one Ivan liked or respected more than their boss.
Finley saw his acquiescence in the big man’s gaze first before the rest of him relaxed.
Ivan lowered his arm, and it seemed like they stared at each other for an eternity until Owen yelled that it was Ivan’s turn.
The big man returned to the game without another word or a backward glance.
He hated that his budding friendship with Kieran was a source of discord, but he wouldn’t turn his back on his new friend to please his old one.
Ivan was in the wrong, and Finley refused to back down.
He retrieved the supplies and hurried to Kieran’s cabin.
He’d set one of the throw blankets on his bed and the cat had already curled up and was fast asleep.
Finley set the litter box in a free corner and unpacked the contents.