The First Wife (5 page)

As she stepped through the gate, the white dog she had seen from the bedroom window
her first day here burst out of the bushes.

“Hi there.” She squatted down and held out her hand. He scurried over, his whole back
end wagging with his tail. She scratched him behind his ears and he went almost epileptic
with pleasure.

“Tony,” she said, “you’re a friendly little guy.”

Not so little, she decided. But a puppy still.

A mutt, obviously. White and scruffy looking, with mismatched features, a black spot
over one eye and a big, goofy smile.

“You have a bit of pit in you, don’t you?”

Tony smiled and she laughed. “Where’s your master? I’ll bet he’s missing you. Go on
now. Go home.”

She started in the direction of the barn; Tony followed. She stopped. “Stay. Henry
will be looking for you.”

The dog ignored her, loping along with her, then running ahead and circling back.
Occasionally tearing off into the brush, only to return looking almost comically pleased
with himself. Bailey decided she would ask about Henry at the stable and return Tony
to him herself.

As she neared the barn, a couple of other dogs trotted out to meet her, the ones from
her first day on the farm. In a flash, Tony had joined them in a game of tag. Bailey
watched for a moment, then stepped into the barn. The interior smelled earthy but
sweet, like fresh hay and clean straw. Several of the animals came to their stall
doors to peer out as she passed, looking balefully at her when she passed without
stopping to stroke their neck or offer a treat.

Logan had told her mornings were busy times at the barn: all the animals needed to
be fed and exercised, the stalls cleaned and vet visits made. She supposed that all
happened early; it was quiet now.

She had been through here with Logan, at least once every day since she arrived. Those
trips had felt totally different from this one. He had been in charge. He’d pointed
out each horse, which ones were boarders and which belonged to Abbott Farm. He’d explained
that warmblood was a classification, not a breed, then patiently told her the differences
between stallions, geldings, colts, fillies, and mares.

Each day had been another lesson; one day about naturalizing foals by handling them,
another about the right age for a colt or filly to start under saddle training, and
another about dressage.

For that one they had sat in the bleachers and watched August and a client. The man
had been a complete son of a bitch, shouting corrections from the corner of the arena,
yet his student never seemed to lose her cool, reacting with adjustments so subtle
Bailey couldn’t even pick them out.

Logan could. He’d been enthralled, the entire time whispering a running commentary
about the skill of the rider and the athleticism of the horse. She had realized that
although Logan claimed horses had been his mother’s passion, they were his as well.

Which was another reason she was in the barn today. She meant to get over her fear
of them. She wanted to be able to share this with Logan.

Bailey kept to the middle of the aisle between stalls, an uneasy flutter in the pit
of her stomach. They were beautiful. And terrifying. She remembered being young and
galloping across a field bareback, wind in her hair and against her cheeks, feeling
completely alive and totally free.

And she remembered climbing onto the stallion that had thrown her, feeling his power
and knowing real terror, maybe for the first time in her life. In that moment she
had realized that the twelve-hundred-pound animal she perched upon was in control,
not she.

And he had been in control ever since, Bailey thought ruefully. That, she promised
herself, was about to change.

“Bailey?”

She whirled around, nearly colliding with August.

He reached out a hand to steady her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s all right.” She took a step away from him. “My fault, I was lost in thought.
Excuse me.”

“Wait. I wanted to talk to you. To apologize for my behavior that night at dinner.”

“It’s forgotten.”

“It’s not. Not by me.” He caught her hand again, his grip almost tender. “I was rude,
my behavior shallow and … unforgivable. I know that. But I’m asking anyway. Will you
forgive me?”

She studied him. He could be playing her, but so what if he was? “Forgiven and forgotten,
August.”

“Really?”

She slid her hand from his. “Really.”

“No wonder Logan fell in love with you.” He matched her steps. “Have you come to visit
Tea Biscuit?”

“How did you know?”

“A hunch. And tipped off by what looks like a carrot sticking out of your pocket.”

She involuntarily brought a hand to that pocket, then laughed. Sure enough, the top
of the carrot poked out.

He glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. “I saw you in the stands the other
day, watching. What did you think?”

“Of what?”

“Me, of course. It’s always about me. Ask anyone.”

She laughed again. At their first meeting she had thought him skilled at the art of
laughter at others’ expense. She saw now that the skill extended to himself as well.

“Do you want the truth?” she asked.

“Of course.”

They reached Tea Biscuit’s stall and the pretty mare came to greet them. Bailey dug
one of the carrots out of her pocket. “I thought you were a total bastard. In fact,
it occurred to me that I’d rather take a bullet than a riding lesson from you.”

He laughed. “I knew we were going to be friends.”

Friends? With this man? Bailey couldn’t imagine that happening. Ever. The mare nudged
her with her nose, then nickered.

“She knows you have them,” he said. “She can smell them.” He took the carrot from
her and broke it into pieces. “Cup your hands, like this.”

She imitated him, and he dropped the pieces in them. “Just like that,” he said softly.
“Offer them to her.”

Bailey tried, but her hands shook so badly he had to support them with his. When he
did, the horse took the treats, her muzzle as soft as velvet against her palms.

“See,” he murmured, “she’s so gentle. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Bailey laughed. She had done this as a child, fearlessly. It’d felt as natural as
feeding herself. Those days were gone, but these may be better, she decided. There
was something magical about reconnecting with something so elemental. She would never
take it for granted again.

She fed the rest of the treats to Tea Biscuit, this time without his help. “Look,
no shaking.”

“I see that. Now, touch her.”

“Touch her?”

“Stroke her neck.”

Bailey nodded and reached out her hand. The mare moved sideways, out of reach.

“She doesn’t like me.”

“She takes her cues from you,” he said. “She picks up on your fear and responds to
it. Pet her with confidence. With affection.”

Bailey tried again. This time Tea Biscuit submitted. “She’s so warm. And soft.”

She looked over her shoulder at him, to find his gaze on her. Something in his dark
eyes had her wanting to put distance between them. Unlike the mare, she couldn’t just
jerk away.

She dropped her hand. “Thank you for the lesson, but I need to go.”

He stopped her, a hand on her arm. “I meant it, Bailey. I want us to be friends. True
and I were.”

“Pardon me?”

“Friends.” He lowered his voice. “I loved her.”

His words shocked her. She stopped cold.

He smiled sadly. “You misunderstand. She was a beautiful person. Everyone who knew
her loved her.”

Insecurity shot through her. A pang of jealousy. “Oh.”

“I’m sure Logan told you.”

“Of course.” She wondered if he could see she was lying. That she could fit what Logan
had told her about True in a thimble. “We share everything.”

“Except what he doesn’t want you to know.”

She stiffened.

“Wait! I’m sorry. I’m awful, it’s why I have so few friends. It’s why True’s friendship
meant so much to me.” He searched her gaze. “You’re like her, aren’t you? Not just
your looks. Your heart as well.”

“I look like her?”

“Similar. You didn’t know that?”

“No one said.”

“I hope that doesn’t upset you?”

“Of course not.”

But it did. It bothered her very much.

“Let me help you overcome your fear of riding.”

“I don’t know. I was thinking Logan would want—”

“You could surprise him. For his birthday, you could ride together.”

“The end of April,” she said. “Do you think that’s possible?”

“Absolutely.”

It would be a wonderful surprise. A gift for her husband, a man who had everything.

He saw agreement in her expression and broke into a smile. “What a strange friendship
we will have.”

“Complete opposites. Sweet and rotten.”

He laughed. “Spunk with all that sweetness, I like that. We will get along quite well,
I know it.”

She smiled. “Perhaps we will.”

“Unfortunately, I see my client has arrived, a miserably uncoordinated girl, but I
shall do my best.”

Bailey watched him walk toward the woman. Tall, beautiful and lithe. And obviously,
anything but uncoordinated. They embraced and August kissed her cheeks.

Bailey shifted her gaze and found Raine standing beyond them, watching the pair with
naked animosity.

Or was that jealousy? she wondered. Was Raine in love with the flamboyant trainer?

“Bailey, good morning.”

“Paul,” she said. He’d emerged from what she assumed was his office and was walking
toward her, smiling broadly. “Logan told me you might venture out and to keep an eye
open for you.”

She returned the smile. “And here I am.”

His smile slipped. “I saw you and August, he wasn’t being … inappropriate, was he?”

She found the question strange, and shook her head. “Not at all. Trying to make amends
for the other night.”

“He should. His behavior was abominable.” He paused. “Just be on your guard. He can
be—”

“A flirt?”

“To put it mildly.”

“Logan warned me.” Tony and the two other dogs came tearing through the barn; Tony
saw her and charged her way. He threw himself against her legs and she laughed. “As
you can see, I’ve made a friend.”

“I see that. He’s Henry’s dog.”

“I know. I thought I’d return him.”

Paul bent to pet the pup, but he darted away, rejoining the other dogs. He straightened,
met her eyes again. “That’s not necessary. As you can see, there are several dogs
on the farm and they all pretty much run free. Tony knows where he lives. Have you
met Henry yet?” he asked.

She shook her head and he went on. “Henry has a small place on the northeast corner
of the farm.”

“Logan mentioned the accident.”

“She had no business being in that stall with King’s Challenge, not with mares in
heat and another stallion nearby.”

He paused, looking off in the distance. “But she thought of herself as a bit of a
horse whisperer. And in truth, she was. But not this time.”

Bailey swallowed past the lump in her throat. “You were there? You saw it happen?”

He nodded. “I was just a kid. Twelve, I think. Maybe eleven.”

“My God.”

“Henry was one of the groomers. He realized what was happening and put himself between
her and the stallion. It was the most—” He shook his head. “I never looked at a stallion,
any horse for that matter, the same way again. They’re powerful creatures.”

Bailey could only imagine how traumatic it must have been for Paul to have witnessed
the attack.

Bailey rubbed her arms. “How old was Henry when it happened?”

“I’m not sure. Old enough to have been Raine’s father.”

“Excuse me?”

“That sounded wrong. I meant he was around the same age as Logan’s parents. She never
forgave herself.”

He fell silent a moment. “Elisabeth took care of all his medical expenses. In fact,
she promised she would take care of him forever. And she has, even though she’s gone.
She deeded him the land and when the time came, built him a small home, gave him a
job and a salary for life. It’s all legal. No one could take it away from him.”

“She was something special, wasn’t she?”

“Yes.” A faraway expression came into his eyes. “She was more of a mother to me than
my own.”

He took off his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his short-cropped, sandy-colored
hair, then fitted it back on. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on that way. Is there anything
I can get you, Bailey? Any questions you need answered, directions someplace?”

“I do have one question.”

“Shoot.”

“It’s about True. August said I look like her. Do I?”

Her question had taken him by surprise, she saw. He cleared his throat. “No. Resemble,
maybe. In your size and coloring.”

She didn’t quite believe him, but didn’t know why. Most probably her own insecurity.

“One more question.”

He glanced at the clock. “Shoot.”

“I overheard Logan and Raine, did he and True marry as suddenly as—”

He cut her off. “You should talk to Logan about this, Bailey. It’s not my business.”

His brusque tone felt like a slap and her face warmed. “You’re right. I’m sorry, it
wasn’t fair to put you in that position.”

“If there’s anything else I can help you with, just ask.”

She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Thanks, I will. Paul?”

He stopped and looked back.

“I’m not like True.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“I just wanted you to know that. I’m not going anywhere.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Bailey stepped out into the bright, cold day. She shivered slightly and drew her sweater
coat tighter around her. She’d been on the farm nearly a month and had learned its
rhythm. The activities here revolved around the horses and their physical needs. Food
and exercise, health care. Even schooling for the young ones, discipline for the headstrong.
Like a barn full of children to care for.