Heat Wave (Riders Up) (12 page)

She saw Ed dash
from the barn doorway to grab the lead rope. He moved gracefully, seeming to
know what to do and say to steady the horse while lifting Johnny’s legs in his
arm so her son’s weight no longer pulled on the mare’s head.

She saw Johnny pull
away from the horse and place one arm around Ed’s neck, his other arm dangling
helplessly by his side. As she neared, hardly able to breathe, Maggie counted
five fingers on his hand. “Thank God,” she murmured.

“Here, take the
boy,” Ed commanded when he saw Maggie. “Head for the truck. I’ll be right
behind you. We got to get him to a hospital. Keep talking to him. Don’t let him
fall asleep.”

She nodded dumbly;
Johnny cried silently on her shoulder.

Ed led the skittish
horse toward the barn and called to Carolyn, who stepped out of the doorway
with a quizzical look on her face. “We’ve got to get Johnny to the hospital. He’ll
be okay,” Ed added quickly. He saw Carolyn fight back a rush of tears.

“See that the
horses are fed. We’ll call you.”

“I’ll do it.”
Carolyn’s knuckles on the pitchfork turned white. “You take care of Johnny and
Mom.”

“Right.”

Ed ran toward the
truck and sprang in behind the steering wheel. The boy sat in the middle
propped up against his mom. Truck tires spun gravel every which way as Ed made
his way toward the road. He didn’t want to think about what might be wrong with
the kid or of what might have happened if they hadn’t gotten to him right away.

He gave Maggie a
quick glance. Her face was almost as pallid as Johnny’s.

“You got to keep
talking to him, Maggie. Otherwise he might go into shock. That’ll only
complicate things. As it is, the doc will have to pop his shoulder back in
place.”

“Tell me what
happened, Johnny,” she asked, taking her eyes off the speedometer.

“Dunno,” was the
plaintive response.

“Did the horse
spook?”

“Yeah. Some paper
flew in the wind,” Johnny sobbed. “She got scared.”

“Why didn’t you let
go of the halter?”

Johnny shook his
head. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “Ed will be mad at me,” he mumbled.

“What?”

Concentrating on
his driving, Ed never looked at the boy. He knew what Johnny meant. The kid had
screwed up, and he hadn’t seen Johnny quickly enough to prevent an accident. Now
the kid was paying the price. And his mom.

Johnny exhaled. “I
had two fingers through the halter ring.”

Maggie rocked back.
“My goodness,” she gasped. “You could have lost both fingers.”

“I know. Maybe. If
Ed hadn’t been there, maybe I would’ve.”

“Oh, my.” Maggie
brushed the locks of hair from the boy’s forehead and kissed him over and over.
Johnny didn’t complain.

It was early
evening before Dr. James entered the waiting room to talk to Maggie and Ed.

“He’s going to be
okay. No lost fingers. No permanent damage. It’ll take a few weeks for him to
heal fully. A dislocated shoulder, two broken fingers, and pulled ligaments are
nothing to sneeze about.”

Breathing freely
for the first time in hours, Ed felt like a huge anvil had been lifted from his
chest.

Tears crept down
Maggie’s cheeks. “Thank you, Doctor,” she mumbled through a shaky smile.

“From what the boy
tells me, you two took some quick decisive action that probably kept him from
going into shock and suffering any permanent damage.” The young, dark-haired
physician smiled. “I imagine you know it, but you’ve got a lad who thinks you
both walk on water. We don’t see kids relating to their parents that well very
often.”

Glancing at his
clipboard and then at his watch, the doctor continued, “Well, I’ve other
patients to see. I want him to stay overnight. Just a precaution. We have him
on pain medication. He should sleep pretty much through the night. He’ll be able
to go home in the morning.”

Maggie started to
speak.

“Yes, you can spend
the night in his room.”

An hour later,
Maggie stared at her son sleeping soundly in his hospital bed. The room was quiet
and semi-dark. She tried not to think of what might have happened. He could
have been maimed, or crushed under the horse’s hooves. They all knew there
would be accidents, but she hadn’t counted on this.

“Thank you,” she
whispered to Ed, who sat next to her on the small couch. She placed her hand in
his.

He didn’t pull
away. She was relieved at that. She needed his comforting, and she also needed
to give comfort. She squeezed his fingers; he squeezed hers in return.

“I wish it hadn’t
happened,” he stammered. He had hardly spoken a word since they arrived at the
hospital. “I should’ve been a better teacher. One of the first rules of being
with horses is never wrap a rope around any part of your body or put your
fingers through halter rings or in places where they might be caught. I didn’t
see what he was doing until it was too late.” Ed dropped his head into his
hands and sobbed.

Maggie stroked his
neck and looked at the haggard man as if for the first time that day. He’d been
through hell. He thought he was responsible for Johnny’s mistake. And he cared.
A lot. A new kind of warmth claimed her body. She didn’t want to name it—not
now.

“Don’t whip
yourself, Ed. You told all of us rule number one over and over again: never
place your fingers in halter rings or rope loops. Maybe we really don’t learn
until something like this happens. We got off easy.”

“This time.”

“We got off easy
this time because you were there and knew what to do,” she asserted. She smiled
weakly. “You surprise me, Ed. In some matters you have more courage than any
five men combined, and then in others you seem so timid.”

She’d give anything
to know what the man was thinking. But he so seldom shared any inner thoughts
or feelings. At least he wasn’t running from her touch. But he looked so
drained by the ordeal. “You know,” she said, “you’ve been through a lot. More
than me. Why don’t you go home and get some rest. I can…”

Maggie stopped
mid-sentence under his withering glare. It was clear Ed Harrington was not
about to go home until he saw for himself that Johnny was okay.

Curling up on her
end of the couch, Maggie laid her head on his thigh. Did he realize he was
stroking her hair?

- o -

As Maggie and the
boy slept, Ed tried to sort things out. He seemed to be a danger to Maggie and
her family if he stayed or if he left. With the crops dying, the horses were
the only realistic hope she had for saving the farm. But he couldn’t protect
them from every conceivable danger. Risks came with the horse business. But
would they learn to do everything they could to prevent accidents? Johnny had
done a very stupid thing. Ed knew it. Maggie knew it. And so did Johnny. Ed
shuddered at what might have been.

If he stayed, he’d
have to deal with Maggie more directly. She wanted more than his body. It was
hard to believe she even wanted that. But eventually she’d want commitment. She
needed, deserved someone a lot more reliable than him. What did they say—a
recovering alcoholic was only one crisis and one drink away from the bottom of
the bottle.

He had to build a
stronger shield around his heart, that was for sure. Johnny’s accident had
proven that. He never cried, and here he was blubbering over people he hadn’t
even known a year ago. Sometimes he missed the drink—at least it was good at
blurring emotions. You didn’t feel as deeply. Not pain, not…he shook his head.

He had no business
thinking about such things. That was another thing about a good drunk, you didn’t
think so much. His skin crawled at the thought of it. Booze had kept him from
being who he really was and what he wanted to be. It had provided a fragile
shell of a reality. He wasn’t going back there, no matter what.

Ed slowly opened
his eyes to see sunshine pouring through the hospital window. The storm squall,
long gone, had delivered no rain. Still asleep, Maggie was slumped beside him
on the small couch, his arm resting on her shoulders. When he stirred, she
yawned and pulled herself up to a sitting position.

“Mommy.”

Maggie turned her
head toward the hoarse, sleepy voice. “Yes, Johnny. Yes, baby. How are you?” She
moved to the bedside and rubbed his uninjured hand.

“Mom, you said you’d
never ever call me baby again.”

Ed chuckled.

“I’m sorry,” she
murmured with a catch in her throat. “I forgot. Forgive me this once. Okay?”

“Okay. Only this
once.”

The towheaded boy’s
smile reminded Ed of a ray of moonshine on a clear, cold wintry night. In fact,
he hadn’t noticed until now that Johnny had his mom’s smile.

“So, how are you,
young man?” asked Ed, a bit more gruffly than he had wished.

“Fine,” was the
whispered response. “You’re not going to keep me away from the horses are you?”
Johnny’s voice became stronger, his eyes widening in fright.

Grimacing, Ed took
the boy’s good hand and squeezed it. “No, of course not. Don’t think you’re
going to get out of doing chores that easily. Reckon you won’t make the same
mistake twice. But we will have to spend some time going back over the basics
of safe horse care. Okay?”

“Okay. I know I
screwed up, Ed. Thanks for helping me.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, you guys—it’s
nice to see this male bonding thing. But what about the mother? Don’t I get to
say if he continues with the horses?” Maggie arched her eyebrows high.

“No.” Both males
responded in unison.

Maggie beamed
broadly. “My men. You guys are going to gang up on me.”

Ignoring her
possessive reference, Ed kidded, “It’ll take a lot more than a couple guys to
gang up on you.”

Johnny giggled and
then sobered quickly. “Mom?”

“Yes.”

“Will I still be
able to go to camp? It’s two weeks away.”

Ed studied the boy
and his mom. They were now communicating on a level he didn’t know. He
suspected the boy was pulling on his mother’s heart strings. And she was weighing
the merits of clinging to her son or allowing him to grow up.

After a very long
pause, Maggie responded, “If the doctor says it’s okay, then you’ll be able to
go to camp.”

“Hurrah!” cheered
the boy, pounding the air with his uninjured arm. “I asked him last night
before they gave me the shot. He said he’d bet I’d be able to go.”

“No swimming,”
Maggie demanded. “Crafts may be difficult, but I’m sure you’ll manage. Guess we’ll
have to see what you can do in two weeks time.”

“Time can heal most
anything,” growled Ed. “At least that’s what folks say.”

Maggie stared at
him quizzically. “Does it heal broken hearts and shattered egos?”

Ed gave the blond
sphinx the blankest look he could muster.

CHAPTER NINE

Drip…drip…drip. The
kitchen faucet droned on.

“Dammit. Ed, would
you fix my dripping faucet sometime today?” Maggie sighed heavily. “It never
stops. Between it and this stifling August heat, I think I’m gonna go batty.”

Ed drew his
attention from the pedigree books spread out across the kitchen table to look
over at Maggie. He didn’t know if she was more likely to faint from the heat or
jump out of her skin. It had been like that since the kids had left for camp. Ed
wiped moisture from the end of his nose. He hoped the kids were cool by the
lake.

“I’ll get a pipe
wrench after we’re done here. Hip Number sixty-six looks promising,” he
commented, running his finger down a page in a fall auction catalogue.

He glanced back at
Maggie. Her eyes had glazed over as if she didn’t give a damn about Hip Number
sixty-six. The heat wave was causing humans to wilt as well as plants.

He didn’t have to
be a mind reader to know she also worried about her family’s future. And she
had every reason to worry. The crops were essentially a bust, though he knew she
did have crop insurance. The horses were holding their own in Chicago, but that
could change in a flash. She had to develop a credible, quality breeding
program in a short amount of time.

They had to select
some broodmares at the major fall sales to go along with Midnight Dancer, who
he still hoped she’d buy.
That
was one fine piece of horseflesh.

“I don’t know, Ed. Maybe
we’re just fooling ourselves.” Maggie wiped her brow with the back of her hand.
“I can’t use up all my reserves buying horses. I have to keep some aside for
making it through the winter and next spring’s planting.”

“That’s
understandable, but broodmares are the best way to go for the long haul. If you
can’t afford them this fall, so be it, but what you’re learning now about
breeding and pedigrees is important whenever you buy.”

“Suppose you’re
right. But if something good doesn’t happen fairly soon, I’m not even going to
be able to afford Midnight Dancer.”

Ed saw the
disappointment on her face and winced. He’d been wondering about Dancer and
whether Maggie would be able to swing that deal. Ignoring a warning gong
clamoring in his head, he closed the pedigree book. “Tell you what, Maggie, if
you can come up with half of the price for Dancer, I’ll come up with the other
half. We’d split all costs and profits right down the middle. What do you say?”
He couldn’t believe how rapidly his heart pounded.

Maggie cocked her
head sideways. Slowly she started to grin. “Harrington, you’ve been holding out
on me. I thought you were down and out when I found you.”

Ed’s lips thinned. He
had no plans of sharing his life story with this woman. “Let’s just say I have
a fair amount of reserves that I never drank up. Or maybe you got to me before
I sank that low.”

She shook her head.

He didn’t like the
fire he saw building behind those blue ovals. “Well, do you want to buy the
Dancer or not?”

“Of course, I do. And
I like the idea of being your partner.” Her teeth looked especially white and
gleaming. “I like that a lot.”

“I’ll call Travers
later today and let him know. I’d like to get the mare purchased before he gets
too antsy. We won’t move her down here until later in the fall. I just don’t
want you to lose the Dancer.”

“Thanks, partner.” Maggie
reached over to shake his hand.

Ed dropped her hand
like it was diseased. The biggest problem he had working with Maggie Anderson
was keeping his hands off of her. And now he had just muddied the waters
further because of a damn good broodmare. Well, it was one way to get back into
the business.

Yet, she was the
boss. He didn’t really mind that, but she was a landmine waiting to explode in
his face. She wanted him to be more than her hired hand. But if he succumbed to
her wishes and his sexual urges, what would they have then? It wouldn’t work. You
just couldn’t screw around with the boss. He knew that. Sometimes his body
wanted to forget.

And now they were
partners.

He reached for
another sales catalogue and began thumbing through it. Usually he could ignore
Maggie when necessary—it was painful walking around half aroused much of the
time. He doubted she had any clue how easily she turned him inside out.

Try as hard as he
might, Ed couldn’t shake the memory of her in his arms, of her taste, of her
scent, of her scorching heat burning his fingers. Avoiding her overtures was
harder now that Carolyn and Johnny were away. There was little to stop a tryst
from happening, except his certainty that it wouldn’t work. Maggie wasn’t the
type of woman who would be satisfied with a fling. Nor was she the kind of
woman with whom he’d want a fling. She was too innocent. Too serious. Too
fragile. Too strong.

Ed peeked at Maggie.
Was she unaware, even now, of the provocative, impish picture she presented
sitting across the table from him in a faded print sun dress with the top three
buttons undone in surrender to the intense summer heat? Curves of soft ample
breasts made the plain dress the most seductive he’d ever seen. Perspiration
outlined shadowy nipples.

Large blue baleful
eyes caught him staring. They looked soft, filled with innocence and surprise.

Ed slouched more,
unable to look away.

- o -

Her brain had
nearly turned to mush listening to Ed’s lecture on pedigrees. It was too damn
hot for much of anything to penetrate her brain. Yet his startled stare just had.
What had set him on edge—something he’d said, or something she’d done? She liked
the idea of sharing Midnight Dancer with Ed. For one thing, it meant they could
afford to buy the mare. And for another, partners had a harder time avoiding
one another.

Even with the kids
gone, he’d made no move to take her to his bed. Maybe he didn’t find her
attractive or interesting after all. But no, she remembered vividly his stiff
arousal the evening she’d visited him in the loft apartment. He wanted her. So
why the hell didn’t he do something about it?

Unsettled by her
own yearnings, Maggie colored slightly, glancing away under his inquisitive
stare. Had they come to this? Paralyzed by the sexual tension hanging between
them?

“Damn this heat. Damn
that faucet.” she said, standing up and pushing her chair away. She went to the
refrigerator and opened the door wide, closed her eyes and turned around in
front of it, lifting her short cropped hair off her nape so the coolness could
reach her skin as quickly as possible.

Opening her eyes
gradually, she saw Ed turning red, gawking at her. Oops. She’d given up wearing
a bra on these hottest of days. If it bothered him, so be it.

Ed’s gray eyes
turned to slate but failed to mask smoldering emotions. She had his attention. Maggie
marveled at his self-control.

This sexual impasse
could not continue without resolution. Breathing shallowly, Maggie decided to
find out where she and Ed were headed. Enough waffling. One way or the other,
she had to know. Now!

Returning Ed’s gaze
boldly, she stuck her tongue out playfully and cupped a breast in each palm. In
a low hushed voice, she muttered, “Well, well, Mr. Harrington. Cool Mr.
Harrington. Have you finally noticed something you like?”

He choked. She
thought his eyes were going to pop.

“I don’t know what you’re
talking about. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Don’t you, now?” Pretending
to pout, she bent at the waist and rotated her upper body suggestively. Silence
enveloped the kitchen with the exception of the steady drip of the faucet.

His ragged breath
sounded like that of a drowning man. She watched his eyes narrow and focus on
her nearly bare breasts.

Maggie straightened
and tousled her hair, glancing at the
God Bless Our Home
plaque on the
opposite wall. “I know one thing,” she said, “I’m hot as hell, and I need to
cool off.”

Reaching into the
freezer compartment, she retrieved several ice cubes. Swiftly, two cubes
disappeared down the inside of her dress. She shivered as her breasts soaked up
the frosty moisture.

Frowning at her own
daring, Maggie spread her legs and pressed two more ice cubes against the dress
fabric covering her crotch. With half shut eyes but keeping her gaze glued to
Ed’s, she swirled the cubes around and around until only a large wet impression
highlighted her mound.

Shutting her eyes
completely, Maggie resolved to continue her brazen act of seduction. It wasn’t
an art she’d ever learned much about, but then she’d always considered herself
a natural learner. She’d mourned long enough. For too long she’d been alone and
unloved.

Slitting her eyes
open, she was pleased with Ed’s perplexed scrutiny. Giving him a lopsided grin,
smoothing her dress, she marveled breathlessly, “That may help some…You want
some?” She extended her palms, holding more cubes.

- o -

Ed’s brain buzzed
trying to log in Maggie’s words and actions. Had she finally gone over the
edge? Was it just the heat? Why would she pursue an old broken down horse like
him?

Doubts notwithstanding,
his arousal was immediate, hard and painful. He ducked, cringing at the too innocent-appearing
woman skipping toward him with devilment filling her eyes and three more ice
cubes in her hands.

Frigid fingers
grazed his bare arm, sending goosebumps chasing each other. Maggie placed
herself behind his chair and then let ice cold water drip through her cupped
fingers onto his neck. Ed opened his mouth to protest; words evaporated in the
heat.

Chuckling softly,
Maggie slipped one small cube down the back of his blue work shirt while
sliding her cool moist lips across the base of his nape. “Maybe this will help
you cool down some.”

Closing his eyes,
Ed tried to relax, certain her words were far from true. Even the relief of ice
against heated skin could do little to ease the conflagration consuming his
body.

Bobbing from foot
to foot, Maggie reached around and placed another cube down the front of his
shirt. Her hand followed, rubbing the slippery cold into his upper torso.

He tried not to
shudder.

“Don’t run from me
again.”

Ed shivered. There
was no way he could run—his legs had liquefied. The feel of her breasts
crushing against his back had his toes curling. His too-obvious erection spoke
louder words than he could manage.

Maggie moved in
front of him and knelt down to rub the last ice cube with great care along the
length of his rigid arousal that strained against the denim.

“Don’t reject me,
Ed. This is okay. We’ll work the implications through as we go. I’ve known for
some time this was inevitable. I think you have, too.”

Ed grabbed her by
the shoulders and pulled her roughly against his chest. That corner of his mind
which usually blew the bugle of retreat when Maggie pursued him was eerily
quiet. He spoke hoarsely into her hair. “I can’t deny I’ve fantasized about you
for a long time, ever since that day on the sidewalk. You looked like such an
angel then. You still do. But you shouldn’t have to settle for a guy like me.”

“Humph,” she
grumbled into his shirt, “shows you how much you know about women, particularly
this woman. And I’m no angel. Don’t try putting me on some pedestal with
off
limits
signs posted all around it. I’ll have none of that. I want to be
kissed. I want to be touched. I want to be loved.”

“You sure it’s not
just the heat or that cranky faucet that’s got you all riled up?”

Leaning back to
look him straight in the eye, Maggie smiled thinly, tracing a finger across his
lips. She whispered, “No temperature, no drip could make me feel what I’m
feeling right now. I have a thirst that only you can quench. No ice cube is
going to succeed at that.”

He nodded, lowering
his lips to meet hers. She tasted as tart and sweet as he remembered. Her
tongue sought his. He reciprocated. She put her arms around his back and held
him tight. He lifted her until she sat on his lap.

The kiss had gone
from testing to bruising. He wanted to climb into her delectable mouth. She
arched her back, pressing harder against him.

He broke away from
her lips gasping for air. Her lips were full. There was a bruise on her neck. Had
he been that rough? He gulped in air trying to slow down, not wanting to be a
Neanderthal. But she continued rubbing her bottom against him like they were
running out of time.

Unable to withstand
more of that, he abruptly stood her on her feet. Then he licked beads of
perspiration from her throat. He laved first one earlobe and then the other. He
bore into her ear suggestively.

Ed stopped. Maggie
froze.

“Where?” he asked,
gruffly.

She groaned,
clutching him tighter. “Why not right here? The tiles are clean and cool.”