Spellbound Falls (21 page)

“Miss Olivia,” Henry whispered, bending down to peer into her eyes—which thankfully blocked her view of Mac. “Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”

“No, I’m fine, Henry.” She rolled onto her hands and
knees, realized she was giving Mac a bird’s-eye view of her butt, and quickly grabbed the rail and pulled herself to her feet. She started to crane her neck to look up again, but realizing her mistake about the time she reached his waist, Olivia spun around to put her back to the fence to look at Henry instead. “Ask him,” she whispered, nudging the kid’s shoulder when he frowned up at her. “Go on. Ask him if you can come with me to meet Sophie’s bus.”

“Can I ride with Miss Olivia and Mr. Sam to meet Sophie at the turnoff?”

“No.”

Henry dropped his gaze to her, his expression saying he’d told her so.

“Whine,” she whispered. “Pout. Say
pleeease
.”

After an uncertain glance at her, the boy hesitantly stuck out his bottom lip and looked back up at the loft. “Pleeease, can I go with Miss Olivia?”

“If you leave, who’s going to bring us water?”

Oh yeah, that was definitely amusement in Mac’s voice.

“There’s water in the barn,” Henry said. “You and the men can drink straight from the hose.”

“Is this whining and pleading going to become a habit?”

“Oh no, I assure you it’s just this once.” Henry caught her frowning at him, and looked back up at his father, one side of his mouth lifting. “Well, maybe more than just this once, but definitely not
every
time.”

She heard Mac sigh. “Do you give me your word you will at least not question
Sam’s
authority concerning the horses?”

“You have my word,” Henry said, his eyes brightening at the realization that Mac was going to let him go. “I will follow Mr. Sam’s instructions to the letter.”

“Then you may go ask if he would saddle a horse for you, also.”

Henry snapped his gaze to Olivia and beamed her a smile that put the one she was giving him to shame. “Go on,” she said, nodding toward the barn. “Tell Sam I said to give you the
third
gentlest horse, and that way he’ll know your request came directly from me.”

Henry shot through the fence and disappeared into the barn.

“Olivia,” Mac said, stopping her before she could also disappear. “Look at me.”

“I’d rather not,” she said, knowing it was safer to look anywhere
but
at him—afraid that if she did, she’d never find the courage to return his jacket.

“Then at least tell me what just happened here.”

Olivia started walking, lifting her hands with her palms facing up. “Why, I do believe you just had one of my wonderful pearls of wisdom on parenting sprinkle down on you like a soft gentle rain.”

Only the moment she rounded the side of the barn, Olivia immediately slumped against it. Holy hell, if Maximilian Oceanus were any more perfect he’d be one of those bed-hopping gods Henry was learning about!

Olivia plodded back toward Inglenook on the slower-than-molasses Molly, following her silent new employee and positively ecstatic Henry and Sophie as she wrestled with her decision to return Mac’s jacket instead of following up on her plan to get to know Sam. But honest to God, she couldn’t stop seeing Mac’s strong, beautiful, sweat-glistening chest, or stop imagining how really nice it would feel to have all that wonderful male strength moving over her, and under her, and so deeply inside her.

Because if she had any hope of ending what she was beginning to realize was more than just her sexual drought, then it had to be now—before it became
never
—and she couldn’t come up with one single reason why it shouldn’t be Mac who finally helped her get back into the game of life.

Except maybe that instead of
easing
her back in, there was a good chance he might shock her out of her self-induced stasis like one of those heart defibrillators they used to bring people back to life. And she’d always wondered if that wasn’t a painful experience.

He had promised to be gentle and careful with her, though, hadn’t he?

Oh, and also unrushed.

Just the idea of getting naked with a man—especially one as perfect as Mac—who intended to take his time making love to her left Olivia a little breathless. Which was why she was still afraid she’d flat-out faint, and could only hope he’d catch her before she hit the ground—something he already had experience at, she decided with a smile.

But then she frowned, thinking about the actual logistics of having an affair. They each had children, so it wasn’t like they could just hop into bed whenever the mood struck them. Olivia suddenly went back to smiling, realizing that a single parent must have invented sleepovers to get rid of their kids in order to have a sleepover of their own.

But even if she did let Sophie stay the night at a friend’s house—a close friend, preferably only a few miles away—that still left Henry. And although Inglenook had the occasional pajama party for the kids in the dining hall so the parents could have some time alone to reconnect with each other, Olivia didn’t think
occasionally
connecting with Mac constituted an actual affair.

No, that felt more like plain old sex for the sake of scratching an itch. And even if she was powerfully itchy, what she really wanted was to feel passion and excitement and desire, and experience all the emotional trappings that came with a full-blown affair.

Basically,
she
wanted to move a couple of mountains with someone.

So, if she was going to do this, then she had to find a way to do it right. And that meant more than just hooking up occasionally, or feeling sneaky and frantic when they did, because she wanted to be gentle and careful with Mac, too, and unrushed.

Maybe, since the man seemed fairly knowledgeable about this sort of thing, Mac might have some idea how they could make it work. And come to think of it, wouldn’t she be advancing his skills as a single parent by helping him
figure out how to court the future Mrs. Oceanus with Henry always being around?

Wow, the man certainly couldn’t complain that Inglenook hadn’t delivered on its promise to give him the one-on-one help he was paying a small fortune for, could he?

Oh God, that sounded just flat-out wrong. “Mom. Mom. Mommm,” Sophie said, repeatedly tapping her leg. “Are you going to sit up there all day? Mr. Sam’s waiting to take Molly back to the barn.”

Olivia realized her new employee was standing in front of Molly, holding the reins of the other horses while silently waiting for her to dismount. And damn if his eyes weren’t crinkled in amusement.

“You probably should start wearing a hat outside, Miss Olivia,” Henry said. “Your cheeks are really pink.”

Sophie held up her backpack. “Can you take this, Mom? I want to go see all the new horses and learn their names.”

Olivia finally dismounted—only to grab the saddle horn with a groan when her knees buckled. “No, you go change your clothes first,” she said, shifting her weight from leg to leg to stretch her aching thigh muscles.

“I told you old Molly is a good camp horse,” Sam said as he slid the reins out of her hand. “She doesn’t even need anyone in the driver’s seat to do her job.”

His grin as contagious as a yawn, Olivia shot him a sheepish smile. “I guess I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Yeah, I suppose running a facility this size isn’t easy.” His grin widened. “You have a beautiful daughter, Olivia.” But then it disappeared altogether. “Caleb told me your husband died in Iraq a few years back. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, letting go of the saddle to test her legs. Only just when she thought they were going to hold, Caleb and Mac appeared—making her knees nearly buckle again at the sight of Mac’s big broad glistening chest peeking out of his unbuttoned shirt.

“Henry’s right, Olivia,” Sam said. “You might want to start wearing a hat before that sunburn gets any worse.”

Worse? If it got any worse she was going to spontaneously combust!

And Mac—the sweat-glistening, smug-smiling, eyebrow-raising jerk—knew
exactly
why her cheeks were pink.

“You’re still planning to put me and my crew up for the night, aren’t you, Livy?” Caleb asked, his gaze darting between her and Mac. “We brought sleeping bags to bed down in your bunkhouse.” He gestured toward the grounds of Inglenook. “And seeing how it’s your off-season, I’ll even provide the steaks and beer for a barbecue tonight.”

“Only if you also spring for s’mores for the kids,” she said, letting go of the saddle again and giving a silent sigh of relief when her knees held. “And you also agree to let Mac cook the steaks,” she added, hoping to wipe that grin off Mac’s face.

Only it widened as he ran a lazy hand over his naked chest. “I’ve found the best way to bring the flame to full heat is by being… unrushed.”

Caleb clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “I knew there was a reason I was looking forward to coming up here this year,” he said, his eyes dancing with amusement, “when Eileen told me she was going to be away this week. No offense,” he said, his voice lowering to a conspirator’s whisper, “but your mother-in-law has a way of putting a damper on a party, if you know what I mean.” His eyes took on a distinctive twinkle. “You ever consider taking Eileen on a hike and losing
her
instead of your guests?”

“I’ve come close a time or two,” Olivia said as she headed toward her cottage. “But I—” She stopped at the sound of a car cresting the final knoll and turned to see Peg Thompson’s minivan pull to a stop at the end of the lodge driveway. The woman shut off the engine, turned to speak to her children in the back, and then got out.

“You got something against poor people, Livy Baldwin?” Peg growled before Olivia even reached her. “Or you just got something against
me
?”

“Good Lord, what are you talking about?” Olivia whispered,
trying to lead the angry woman farther away from the men.

Peg pulled free, glaring through her welling tears. “I was able to overlook you not letting Sophie come spend the night with Charlotte, figuring you thought I already had a house full, but just where do you come off painting me as a
charity case
? I got my p-pride, you know,” she cried, her voice breaking when she slapped her chest, causing her tears to finally spill free. “I don’t need those busybody Grange women making me their new pet project!”

“Oh, Peg, I’m sorry,” Olivia said in a horrified whisper, grabbing her friend’s arm. “I didn’t mean… I had no idea… I’m
sorry
.”

Peg pulled free again and angrily wiped her cheeks. “They want to have a bunch of fund-raisers. And Janice Crupp said they’re putting up signs with my kids’ pictures on them at the Drunken Moose and Ezra’s, and in
all the stores in Turtleback
.”

“I swear, Peg, I never thought they’d do anything like that. I was only trying to make them realize that Billy is just as much a hero to you and your children as they make Keith out to be.” Olivia pulled Peg into a hug, holding on despite her protests. “I’m sorry. I never meant to imply you needed their charity. I was just pointing out that instead of sending Sophie and me to Disneyland, that maybe they should… that they…” She sighed. “Oh hell, Peg, those women are just a bunch of busybody old twits with more time on their hands than brains.”

Peg rested her forehead on Olivia’s shoulder with a shuddering sob. “I know,” she rasped. “It’s just that I thought… hell, things might be tough right now, but I am
not
a charity case.” She leaned away. “Then why do you let Charlotte come here for sleepovers, but you never let Sophie come to our house?”

“It has nothing to do with you, Peg. It’s
me
. I get a little crazy at just the thought of Sophie not being in her bed at night. She’s been bugging me to let her go on sleepovers, but I just can’t. Not to
anyone’s
house.” She shrugged. “And
you’re right; I did think I was doing you a favor by not adding another kid to your chaos. I don’t know how you manage four when I have all I can do not to let
one
drive me insane.”

Peg blinked at her. “But you have dozens of kids here at any given time.”

“And an entire staff to manage them,” Olivia reminded her.

Peg scrubbed her face with her hands, then ran her fingers through her curly blond hair in an attempt to smooth it down. “I’m the one who’s sorry,” she said thickly. “I’ve just been so frustrated looking for decent daycare for the twins so I can at least
try
to find a job, that when Janice and Christine cornered me at Ezra’s just now, I just snapped.” One side of her mouth lifted. “And you were the only target I felt safe enough to aim my anger at.”