Wild Horses (19 page)

The coyote was still wandering out beyond the window. Nora opened her eyes, looking a little lost for a moment. “Hey,” he said quietly, kissing her shoulder. “It's morning, and we have a visitor.”

She sat bolt upright, the sheet clutched to her breasts. “Who? Where are my clothes?”

“No, out there!” He pointed to the coyote, laughing at her reaction.

She flopped back down with a sigh of relief. “I thought Wade was here. That maybe something was wrong.”

“Do you want to call him? Just to see how he's doing?”

“He'd kill me if I did. He keeps reminding me that I'm not supposed to hover.”

Todd sat up and arranged pillows against the headboard so they could lean on them, then brought the covers right up to their chins. “Perfect. Warm and comfortable, with an excellent view. Now all we need is someone to bring the coffee.”

She put a hand out of the covers and snapped her fingers. “Waiter?”

“Wishful thinking.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her on the head. “I'll be your waiter in a moment.”

“I like the sound of that.” She smiled up at him. “After last night I could get very spoiled, you know.”

“I'm lucky to be the guy who gets to spoil you.” And he meant it. He felt incredibly lucky to be here, with her, by some crazy miracle of fate.

They sat and watched the coyote, who was now digging at something near the deck. Nora leaned her head on his shoulder. Last night had felt all new, but this was something he remembered from when they were young. The way they could just sit together, watching something simple like a coyote searching for breakfast, and be completely content.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“A
RE
YOU
SURE
you won't come with me?” Nora handed Wade a cup of coffee. “You always liked the rodeo.”

“Nah. I've got too much to do here.” Wade leaned on the counter, the morning sunbeam coming through the kitchen window illuminating his dark hair. “Plus, I wouldn't want to be a third wheel on your date.”

“It's not a date,” Nora protested automatically. “Todd's riding in the opening parade to raise awareness for mustang adoption. We'd just be cheering him on.”

“Well, I'll leave you to do the cheering. I'm not sure I feel like whooping it up just yet.”

“I get it,” Nora assured him. “You do what feels best.” But she wanted him to come with her, as if Wade's walking through the Benson rodeo would be proof that he was okay, that Dr. Miller's antidepressants were working and all her brother's invisible scars of war were on the mend.

Wade got a to-go cup out of the cupboard. “I'll just take this coffee with me and get started on the chores.”

“You haven't even had breakfast. Let me make you something.” She'd spent almost every night with Todd this week. She was neglecting her brother right when he needed her most.

“I'll eat later. Have fun today.”

Nora listened as he pulled his boots on in the mudroom and watched through the window as he crossed the yard and headed toward the barn. Worry tugged at her. Maybe she should stay and help him. Maybe he was overwhelmed by all the work he had to do today. Maybe he was back to pretending everything was okay.

All she could do was watch him more carefully and look for signs of stress. She'd stay home more this week. And pray that eventually he'd find his own way to be a part of the town he'd come home to.

* * *

T
HE
FAIRGROUNDS
PARKING
lot was packed. Nora pulled her Jeep into one of the last available spots. At the sight of all the cars, she felt a sudden urge to head home and do chores with Wade rather than run into people she'd known growing up.

But then she remembered Todd's experience with his leg and his limp. If people asked about her family, she would remember that they were just curious. She'd answer their questions simply, and then she'd change the subject and ask about them. People loved to talk about themselves.

She climbed out of the Jeep and clapped her straw cowboy hat on her head, taking a minute to artfully arrange her hair over her shoulders. It was going to be hot today, so she'd put on a tank top. Combined with her low-cut jeans and her favorite tan cowboy boots, it was a pretty cute outfit.

It was fun being attracted to someone again. Her girly side was coming out. She'd put on eyeliner and mascara this morning, and even added a clear lip gloss. She wasn't much for dressing up, but she wanted to see the desire in Todd's eyes, an expression she was quickly becoming addicted to.

A flush of heat flowed through her as she remembered when she'd last seen that expression on his face. It had been in his bed, just a few hours ago. She'd gotten up the courage to take him in her mouth, and although her experience was limited to their former relationship, and she was definitely rusty, she'd managed to make him pretty happy.

Her bones felt mushy and she paused, taking in a deep breath of the dusty summer air. No more thinking about sex with Todd, unless she wanted to look like a grinning fool in front of all of Benson.

Everyone was milling around the main arena, since that was where the opening parade would be. She was running a little late, and she could hear someone singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” fairly off-key. Maybe being late wasn't such a bad idea.

This rodeo would have been the perfect place for the town to do something for Wade in honor of his service. They had a decorated warrior in their midst, just barely home from war, and they had done nothing to honor him. Still they all stood around pretending to be patriotic.

Her sudden anger surprised her and had her stopping on the edge of the crowd. She needed to think about this rationally. Wade had barely been to town since they'd returned, and many people here probably had no idea that he was back, or even that he'd served his country. If she got upset at anyone, it should be at herself for not planting herself in front of the town council and demanding they honor him.

She thought of Wade and his refusal to come today. He'd probably hate it if she'd planned anything public, but still, it just seemed wrong.

The anthem was over and the announcer was thanking sponsors, so she made her way through the crowd to the corral on the other side of the arena, where people were warming up horses. She spotted Todd riding Edward and stopped before she reached the fence, content to ogle him from a distance for a moment. He was in clean dark jeans, with dark brown chaps over them. He'd tucked in a brown-and-blue Western shirt that hugged his torso perfectly. A silver belt buckle helped to set off his waist. His hat was dark brown like his chaps, with silver accenting the hatband.

She walked closer. “Will I ever get used to seeing you like this?” she asked, smiling up at him and holding her hand out through the fence for Edward to nuzzle.

He grinned at her. “I must look pretty different from the day we met.”

“What? Different from the skinny skate rat in the concert T-shirt and the Converse? Nah.”

His laughter made her own grin grow wider. It was just so good to see him.

“You haven't changed much, aside from the cowgirl look, which I love, by the way. Except that you've gotten even more beautiful.”

“Hey, quit flirting, Todd. We're going in next.”

Todd's friend Jack rode up on a large paint gelding that Nora recognized from Todd's pasture. He was holding a flag that said Protect America's History. Walt, whom she'd met at Todd's party, was with him, riding a small, beautiful gray. He had a flag as well that read Adopt a Mustang Today. He looked as if he'd spent most of his many years in the saddle.

Walt tipped his hat to her. “Nice to see you again, Nora.” He poked Jack with his flag. “If this one had any manners, he'd have said the same.”

“Hey, Nora,” Jack said, obviously amused by his friend's teasing. “Nice to see you. I heard your brother's a great fisherman. Think he'd go fishing with me if I asked him?”

Nora glanced at Todd, who gave her a wink, lodging a lump in her throat. He was advocating for Wade, encouraging people to befriend him. And her brother needed every friend he could get. “He's been a little busy this week, but you should give him a call and set something up.”

“Great.” Jack turned to Todd. “We need to line up. Nora, we'll see you later?”

“Sure,” she told him.

Jack and Walt both turned their horses toward the arena entrance, but Todd stayed, walking Edward a few steps closer. “A kiss for good luck?”

Nora froze. It was one thing to show her face at a Benson event, but to kiss Todd in front of everyone?

“Think of it as another risk,” Todd said wryly. “You've been getting good at them lately.”

She shrugged and climbed the fence, leaning in when he bent down. He caught her chin with the tips of his fingers, tilting her face up so he could kiss her, gently, slowly, longingly on the mouth. When he was finished she almost lost her balance.

“See?” Todd grinned like a big, satisfied cat. “Not such a bad risk.”

Her whole body buzzed, wanting more than just that kiss. She watched him ride off, sure that even Edward had an extra skip in his stride, a little more jauntiness to the way he carried his tail, as if he knew his rider was a pretty outstanding guy.

She strolled over to the arena but watched from the fence instead of the bleachers. It was one thing to brave the rodeo, another to plunk herself down right in the middle of it. She'd keep to the outskirts today.

The announcer called out information about the wild mustangs while Todd led Jack and Walt in a circle around the ring, all horses in sync in a brisk trot. He looked so good out there that once again Nora marveled at the change in him. It was as if he'd found what he was meant to do. If she didn't know him, she'd never guess he'd only learned to ride a few years ago.

When he came out of the arena, he was smiling and giving Edward some congratulatory pats on the neck. Jack and Walt stopped to talk to people who wanted to meet the horses. Both of the mustangs were for sale. But Edward was Todd's own horse, so they led him back to the horse trailers.

“You were amazing out there,” she told him.

“I just hope it worked.” He took her hand in his. “I want people to come to me when they need a horse. If they do, we'll be able to adopt out a lot more of the captured horses and get them a better life.”

“Like Edward here.” Nora stroked the satin hair of his neck while Todd tied him to the trailer and got him a net full of hay to snack on. They worked together to unsaddle him and then turned him loose in a spare corral so they could walk back to the rodeo area.

Todd seemed to know exactly where he was headed, and Nora quickly realized today wasn't just for fun. They approached a table under a tent, which had a huge banner hung over the front of it, bright blue with Help Us Protect Wild Mustangs written in white.

“You have a booth,” she said.

“Of course. This is a great place to get people involved. Whether it's to consider adopting a horse or donating some money for their rescue, we can't miss this opportunity.” He stopped in front of the booth. A couple of older women were seated behind stacks of brightly colored pamphlets.

“Hi, Sandy. Hey, Helen. How's it going?” he asked.

“Todd!” They both jumped out of their seats with great enthusiasm.

“It's going very well,” said the taller of the two. “But we didn't get to see you take your lap around the arena.”

“None of us fell off and the horses did great.”

“Well, I guess you can't ask for more than that,” the tall woman chuckled.

The shorter woman peered at Nora from under her hot pink visor. “I'm Sandy, and this is Helen. You must be Todd's Nora.”

Nora glanced at Todd. He'd talked about her with these two?

“Yes, this is Nora.” He shot her a sheepish look and mouthed
sorry
.

“Nora!” Sandy took her hand and shook it vigorously. “Todd has talked so much about you the past couple weeks. We heard how brave you were during the flood and...well...” She glanced at Todd and winked. “Let's just say we've all been very curious. We've never seen him smitten before.”

“Thanks, Sandy,” Todd said with a grimace.

Nora could feel her cheeks turn red at Sandy's words, but she also felt a warm glow spread over her. Because she and Todd
were
smitten, and it felt like a miracle.

Helen, the taller woman, smiled. “It's really good to meet you.”

“Helen and Sandy are constantly asking me about my love life,” Todd explained, reading her thoughts. “So once you agreed to go on a date with me, I had to tell them the news.”

“And Helen gave him some advice about the champagne,” Sandy confided. “Did you like it, dear?”

Nora had forgotten about this part of living in a small town—the part where everyone knew everyone else's business.

“Helen works at the market,” Todd said, obviously more than a little embarrassed. “So when I was shopping that day, she helped me out.”

“I was happy to do it,” Helen said. “Now, Nora, funny enough, before I had my kids, I was a teacher. And I do believe I taught your mother way back then. She was Karen Hines, right?”

“Yes, that was my mom,” Nora said carefully. It was strange to even hear her mother's name spoken—it had been so long since she'd been in her life.

“Now, she moved away, right? How is she?”

“Um...” She glanced at Todd and he gave her an encouraging wink
.
“I don't know. She left our family when we were young. She moved to Europe and doesn't keep in touch.”

She'd done it. Just said it. And it didn't feel terrible. It didn't feel wonderful, either, but it was way better than stammering out some half-truth. Todd pulled her in under his arm, kissed the top of her head and they endured the awkward silence together.

“I'm so sorry, Nora.” Helen flushed. “I didn't realize. Or maybe it slipped my mind. That must have been hard for you.”

“It was,” she said simply. Todd was right. Just get it out in the open and move on.

“Good job,” he whispered. His breath tickled her ear, making her smile.

“Todd, have you heard about the new study the DRM is funding?” Sandy said, obviously trying to change the subject. “They've got some plant biologist on their payroll now. Doing a study to prove that wild horses are destroying native vegetation.”

Nora's newfound confidence disappeared. She felt Todd's body tense, then his arm tightened around her shoulders.

“I had heard something about it,” he said. “But I'm sure it's no big deal. Of course the horses are hard on the vegetation. That's sort of a given when you've got a bunch of large herbivores wandering around.”

“Well, I think it's a completely weighted study,” Sandy said. “If they gave the horses enough habitat, they wouldn't be overgrazing. I was thinking we should write something about it on our website. And when the study comes out, we'll need to put together a fact sheet explaining why the results are skewed. We'll need to get the word out.”

Nora felt sick. Todd might have talked to Sandy and Helen about his newfound love, but evidently he hadn't explained her profession. If she were following Todd's rule about handling awkward conversations, she'd just come out and say that she was the biologist in question. But it would make Sandy feel awful. And put Todd in a bad position with his fellow activists.