Fate's Intervention (13 page)

“
You have good taste in horses,
”
Marcelle spun, startled. She started to say something to the man about sneaking up on people, but couldn
’
t seem to force any words past the lump lodged in her throat. She swallowed hard, but it didn
’
t budge.
Wow
was all her mind supplied. She stared at the stranger for a moment trying to steady her breathing and then her brain recovered its ability to
reason
, reprimanding her sharply about acting doltish.

In her own defense, it had been years since she
’
d seen such a fine specimen of a man. If he
were
a horse, he
’
d be on a par with the great creature snorting at her side.
Most of the men paraded in front of her had flesh that was within only a few years of deteriorating. This man, however . . . oh, why hadn
’
t her
father
been able to find someone like this?

He was taller than her five-foot-
eight
stature by a good six or seven inches and his skin was a deep bronze, which bespoke of many hours working out of doors. Splendid.
No fop here
, she thought. His dark black hair fell in gentle waves to his shoulders
,
but his eyes
were what ensnared
her
mind. They drew
her to him like nothing
she
’
d ever encountered. It was as if there was a magnet behind the large
blue
orbs
, p
ulling her closer.
Fortunately,
she had the maturity to resist.

She smiled,
and then
turned back toward the stallion, outstretching her hand again to stroke his jaw. She may have the maturity to resist his obvious charms, but she simply didn
’
t trust her voice to speak maturely.
At
least not until all her body parts returned to an even keel.

Matthew watched the struggle play across the strange woman
’
s features before she turned away and hoped he hadn
’
t made a blunder by approaching her.
She was young, to be sure, but so young to never have received male attention? Young, maybe, but definitely old enough to have wed and popped out several children by now, surely.

Still, she didn
’
t have the haggard appearance of a woman who spent time raising youngsters. Even his beloved Melody had aged beyond her years when she gave birth to his twin sons.
A
dmittedly
,
though Melody looked
as if
she
c
ould fall apart under the daily strain of raising two active boys, her beauty never diminished in his eyes.

This lady
’
s shock when he spoke to her, however, shouted inexperience with men. His eyes glanced over her body and he smiled approvingly.
God definitely built her for a man
’
s attention
, he thought, admiring the smallness of her waist and the curve of her hips.
Still
, if she was an innocent, no matter how old she looked, he
reason
ed, it was probably best to walk away.

He should, but he didn
’
t.

“
His name is White Star,
”
Matthew said instead, placing a foot on the bottom rail and leaning forward to add his affectionate attention to those lavished by the lady.

“
You know this magnificent animal?
”
Marcelle
was
careful to keep her gaze averted. If she looked at him again, she wasn
’
t certain whether she could maintain the ability to speak coherently and couldn
’
t guarantee that her legs would remain a solid mass strong enough to hold her upright.
As
long as she kept her attention on the horse and kept her mind focused on its obvious high quality, she felt on safe and solid ground.

“
Hear that, boy?
”
Matthew asked, rubbing his hand down White Star
’
s muzzle.
“
S
he thinks you
’
re magnificent.
”
The horse whinnied and Marcelle giggled.
“
Yes,
”
Matthew
continued,
again addressing Marcelle,
“
I know this big hulking beast. I trained him.
”

“
Really
?
”
Marcelle forgot her dictate not to look at the man, and brought her gaze to bear on his. He grinned, and just
as
she feared, her ability to speak fled. She quickly glanced away. Stroking the horse with one hand, she gripped the railing for dear life with the other as her legs began to wobble.

Focus on the horse
. She repeated the mantra until her mind calmed and her legs stilled,
and then
breathed
a sigh of relief as a feeling settled over her that she could possibly make it through this brief period of conversing
with her dignity intact
.

She detached her other hand from the railing and stroked White Star
’
s muzzle determinedly, not that the horse appeared to mind. In fact, he looked as if he were lapping up every bit of
the attention
.

“
It couldn
’
t have been too difficult a task,
”
she said after a moment, pleased that her voice didn
’
t quaver.

“
What couldn
’
t have been too difficult?
”

“
Training
him.
”

“
Why
’
s that?
”
Matthew asked.

“
He
’
s an intelligent animal. Even a monkey could have trained him.
”

Matthew started at that,
“
Sure
ly
you
’
re not suggesting what I think you are.
”

“
A
nd
what would that be?
”
Marcelle said, her tone teasing.

“
That
my abilities rank the equivalent of an ape?
”

“
Monkey, not an ape. Significantly different really,
”
Marcelle said. For some
reason
, the ability she had to recoup using humor felt
well
. It irritated her
slightly
that all this man needed to do
was
look at her to turn
her
into a pudding head
; s
o, if she could use her humor to unsettle him a bit, perhaps she could disrupt his calm as he
’
d done hers. Not very sporting she knew,
as his looks weren
’
t
his fault
, but her rationale
appeared to be nonfunctioning
.
“
But, no, I wasn
’
t calling you a monkey,
”
she continued.
“
I was merely pointing out that this gorgeous creature has extremely intelligent eyes, so he must have been easy to train.
”

“
The
n why didn
’
t you simply word it that way?
”

“
Not as much fun,
”
Marcelle said and smiled. She turned and looked at him then, finally finding her balance. Humor always managed to work for her. Yes, he was as gorgeous as ten of
the stallions in the surrounding
corrals were
; h
owever, he was still a man. She handled suitors weekly who were strictly interested in
her
flesh, she decided, so she should have no difficulty talking with a man, on an intelligent level, who appeared to be interested only in
horseflesh
.
At
least she hoped that
’
s all in which he was interested. Still, to his credit, he wasn
’
t gawking at her b
reasts
the way most men did.
That alone helped her
relax.

“
So
, you
’
re a little devil with a
pitch
-
forked
tongue, are you?
”
Matthew smiled.

“
No, not really,
”
Marcelle said.
“
It
’
s just a safeguard. I hope I didn
’
t offend you.
”

“
Not at all, but what
’
s the safeguard against?
”

“
Men.
”

“
A
h,
”
Matthew said, and both fell silent, turning their attention back to White Star.
Matthew fully understood the need to safeguard against the opposite sex, since he
’
d had nothing but trouble with them since he was old enough for them to realize his existence.
Still,
what had caused a woman so young to
buil
d
a self-defense mechanism
so
early in life
? He wondered. He
’
d met women with
reason
enough
–
women that men had abused or women forced to make a living using their bodies because of difficult circumstances. Those women were leery of men and it showed in the very
fiber
of their being. They were generally uncommunicative and slow to smile. Not so this woman. She laughed easily and joked readily
–
a
lthough she did seem nervous about being this close to him. Perhaps it was just the kind of men she
’
d been acquainted with that made her uneasy about the entire male race.

Her quick wit made him think of his wife, Melody. No! He quickly remedied.
Melody hadn
’
t been troubled emotionally, and with her he
’
d found a perfect balance between friend and
lover. He just missed that bond, that
’
s why his mind was playing at making a connection with this woman.

He didn
’
t know anything about this lady. She could be like all the others he encountered.
A
n empty-headed twit that used
every
means at her disposal to land a husband. His Melody hadn
’
t been like that. On the contrary, Melody wasn
’
t a spoiled rich girl looking for a husband. She was the spindly-legged, pony-tailed daughter of the stable-master where he obtained his first job at the age of eighteen.

It took two years for Matthew to realize that Melody was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, so he proposed.
She
’
d been shocked, not realizing that he felt anything more for her than friendship. It surprised him, too. What surprised them both even more was how easily they bonded on their wedding night.

Two years into the marriage, Melody gave birth to the light
s
of his life, Michael and David, his twin sons.

Fate took them all away eight months after that.

He
’
d been fighting off the opposite sex ever since. Battling against
air headed
rich brats who couldn
’
t care less about his standing in society. They wanted him
,
and they went after
him
with determination. It was just a matter of convincing daddy that he
’
d make a good spouse, without
discussing the issue with him first,
of course;
and then daddy would make the appeal, like with Miss Elizabeth Stanharbor.