Chapter 2
2
Liam Keagan
“ I heard Hudson got married. Tell him congrats for me,” Zeke called out from where he stood on the back of Liam’s truck.
“Actually, he’s just engaged. Henry got married.” Liam held his hands out for the bag of feed Zeke Callahan tossed him. “It’s funny, though, that they’re marrying a set of sisters. Makes me wonder if their kids are going to look similar.”
“Are the girls twins?”
“No,” Liam grunted as he caught another bag of feed.
“Then it’d be just like any other match-up, I suppose.” Zeke dusted off his hands and climbed down from the truck. “Seems your family is doing pretty well compared to when I hired you to help out around here. It’s been what? Almost ten years?”
“Just about.” Liam grinned.
“You’ve turned into quite a fine young man if I say so myself.” Zeke’s large, heavy hand patted Liam on the shoulder. “There is one thing that surprises me, however.”
“What’s that?” Liam glanced at him as the two of them took what they’d unloaded in wheelbarrows toward the barn.
“I haven’t seen you with any girls.”
Liam chuckled. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard such a statement. The town had their noses in everyone’s relationships. No one could start dating without someone finding out. Thankfully, he didn’t have anything for them to gossip about.
“Is that chuckle something that would interest me? You’re not even having fun on the weekends?”
Liam shook his head. “No, sir. There’s no one in my life. I mean, I go out on dates, but the girls around here… they’re just not for me.” Truth be told, there was only one girl for him. She’d won his heart when he was only eight years old, and all it had taken was half a ham sandwich and a chocolate chip cookie. It was a story he held close to his heart, and not even his brothers knew about it.
Zeke shook his head with amused disbelief. “You’re breaking hearts, young man. Any father in town would love to have you as a son-in-law. If my daughters weren’t all hitched?—”
Liam laughed, cutting him off. “I know. You’ve said as much before.” He shrugged. “I guess it will happen when it happens. I’m not in any rush.”
His boss nodded, ending their conversation. “I’m going to head out to the northern pasture to check on the cattle. I’ll take Tom with me. Do you think you can handle feeding and exercising our guests?”
The guests he was referring to were the dozen or so horses they had in their boarding stalls. Each one of them belonged to someone who either didn’t want the animal on their property or they were out of town. And one in particular was Liam’s favorite. He nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good man.” Zeke winked at him and strode down the aisle toward his own horse. Liam set to work unloading the feed and stacking it in the corner of the barn. Then he headed out to the other structure where the horses in his care waited.
The first stall he stopped at held a beautiful black horse with a white star on her nose. The animal reminded him of the main character in one of his favorite books as a kid. If he had to pick a horse to star in an adaptation of Black Beauty , Prada would have been it.
She poked her nose out of her stall, and he rubbed it and then scratched her cheek. Prada blew a long breath out her lips and bobbed her head as he moved his hands to scratch her shoulders and give her a good rub down. “How are you doing today, beautiful?”
“I’m doing great.” A female voice behind him startled him to the point that he let out a shout.
Liam didn’t know who he expected the voice to belong to, but it wasn’t Margot Bennet. Her deep green eyes flashed with amusement. Her long black hair had been pulled up into a messy bun on her head, but wisps had come free. It was the sort of look that appeared effortless, but he knew better. Girls complained all the time about how hard it was to make their appearance seem natural and easy.
“Hey, Liam, do you know where my dad went?” Grace materialized beside Margot. “I don’t remember him saying he was going to go anywhere today. His truck is still at the house.”
He had to drag his eyes from Margot to give Grace his full attention. “Yeah… um… he went out to the north pasture with Tom.”
Grace nodded. “Okay, thanks. I guess I’ll have to catch him later. Nice catching up with you, Margot. Let me know if you need anything.” She gave Margot a pointed look. “I mean anything.”
Margot shifted uncomfortably. Then again, maybe that was Liam’s interpretation because of how uneasy he felt in her presence. She offered Grace a smile and a nod. “I will.”
Grace reached out and touched her arm, then slipped away before Margot returned her focus to Liam.
“Well, if it isn’t the infamous Margot Bennet.” Liam held out his arms and closed the distance between them. “Did you tell anyone you were coming for a visit? I would have thought I’d hear something about it in town.”
She shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. “It’s not just a visit. I’m… home.” Her voice faltered on that last word. “Back. I’m back.” She looked away and moved past him toward Prada. “Turns out the people running the ballet programs in New York don’t like it when you break your leg.”
His eyes widened before dropping to look at her foot. She wasn’t wearing a cast. Whenever it had happened, it’d been long enough ago that she could walk on it again. “What happened?”
She shook her head again. “It’s a stupid story.”
Liam strode forward and put himself in front of her. “You can tell me, you know that, right? I get that we haven’t exactly stayed in touch, but we’re still friends.”
Her smile warmed him, much like it had that day when they were children.
He grasped her upper arms and ducked his head to get a better look at her face. That was when he saw it. She was struggling. It was more than just coming home with her tail between her legs. She’d been knocked around, and she’d come home with a bruised spirit. His heart ached for her. This wasn’t the girl he knew and loved. That girl was spunky and bright. She was sarcastic, but she could also be the sweetest spirit when the time called for it. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” he murmured.
Margot’s eyes darted up to meet his for a moment, but that was all it took. They brimmed with moisture, and she leaned into him, slipping her arms around his middle and wrapping her hands up to his shoulder blades. She pressed her face into his shirt and heaved a shuddering breath. “You’re a sweetheart,” she mumbled into his shirt. “You always have been.”
Slowly, his arms wrapped around her. They’d only ever gone on two official dates before she’d decided that they weren’t compatible—much to his disappointment. And what did he do? He told her he felt the same.
Stupid.
He’d regretted that moment his entire life. There was so much he’d wanted to tell her, one being that his feelings ran deep. It was more than her looks. It was more than her wit. He loved her because when a frustrated little eight-year-old boy was being bullied about not having a lunch or clean clothes, she’d been there. That was all it had taken.
Margot withdrew and let out a sad laugh. “I didn’t realize you were taking care of the horses here. How did you manage to swing that? Zeke is really picky.”
Liam grinned. “I guess that’s what you call connections.”
She gave him a look.
He laughed. “Okay, okay. Toward the end of senior year, I’m pretty sure my family became a charity project for one of his daughters. Wade couldn’t afford to send anyone older, so they let me work for Zeke to earn a little extra money. I’ve stuck around even though we’re doing better now.”
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit.” She gave him a playful slug in the arm. “You were always the charmer in high school. Of course it translated to your job. I bet Callahan really loves having you here.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He glanced over at Prada. “You come to take her for a ride? I could saddle her for you real quick.”
A sad expression fell over her features. She moved closer to the horse and rubbed her nose, then gave her a hug. “I don’t think I should. I just got my cast off and my leg is killing me.”
“She needs some exercise anyway. How about we go out to the pen, and I’ll take her through some exercises. You can see her in action.”
Margot smiled, turning her head so she could meet his gaze. “Sure. I’d like that.”
Liam got Prada fitted with a lead, and together the three of them headed for the circular corral. Margot climbed up on the top rung of the fence and watched as Liam got started. Prada moved gracefully from walking to trotting, then into a quick run. She took Liam’s cues like the pro she was. Her high breeding and training were easily seen in the way she reacted to every movement or sound he made.
Every so often, Liam glanced toward Margot, pleased to see a smile and some color returning to her face. The sun could do wonders, and it looked like she’d not gotten nearly enough of it over the years. Her porcelain skin could only have been obtained by long hours indoors. She looked just like a graceful white swan.
The desire to ask her out tugged on him harder and harder with each pass that Prada made in the corral. She had to be single. There was no way she would have found a guy that fast when she’d only just arrived in town. This was his shot. He could ask her out for old time’s sake.
Margot climbed down from her perch as he unclipped the lead and gave Prada a pat on the backside. He turned toward her, praying he didn’t lose his nerve. He didn’t want to push her away when they’d managed to stay on good terms after their short-lived romance.
She shoved her hands into her pockets and gave him a shy grin. “You’re really good with that stuff. I bet my mom would have been impressed.”
“It’s not as remarkable as you think. I just know Prada really well. She’s a good horse.”
Her eyes flitted to the animal, who was now picking at a few weeds that had sprung up in the corral. “Yeah, she’s a good horse.”
Now. He needed to ask her out right now. “Hey, Margot?—”
“I should probably get going?—”
They looked at each other with amused smiles as they cut themselves off.
“Ladies first,” Liam murmured. His heart was pounding at an unhealthy rate, and he wasn’t even sure how he was going to pose the question. Should he tell her they should go out as friends? Should he confess how deep his feelings really were? He needed to get grounded before he made a fool of himself.
She tilted her head to the side, then rocked back on her heels. “I’ve got to get going. I heard there’s a cool country club that’s nothing like the country clubs in New York.”
“Did Grace tell you about it? I think she works there with the veterans.”
“Actually, no. I was chatting with a guy on the Greyhound. He’s visiting a friend who’s getting therapy over there.” Her grin widened. “Can you believe he asked me out for tonight? He’s not going to be in town long, so it’s short notice, but it sounded fun anyway.”
Liam’s stomach bottomed out. “That’s… cool.”
“I know, right? I can’t remember the last time I got to just go out and have some fun.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice with a wink. “That’s actually not true. It was the reason I was kicked out of Julliard.” She held a finger to her lips. “But don’t tell anyone. I might have to take it easy, though. Last time I did too much, my leg ached like no other.” She straightened. “Anyway, thanks for taking care of my baby. You’re the best.” Margot moved toward him and brushed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you around, Liam.”
He watched her go, feeling absolutely sick to his stomach. That wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Liam gritted his teeth. He still had a shot. The guy wasn’t a local. All he had to do was bide his time. He’d gotten pretty good at it. What was a few more days?