Lily Mae pouted, but dressed nonetheless. Jace could tell she didn’t want to get back in the saddle, but he made her do it anyway. It was part of the lesson.
She kept her horse at a walk now, the mare moving easily as if she knew her rider couldn’t take much jostling. As they were heading over the hill, the ranch foreman, Lyle, met them coming up the other side.
“Hey, boss.” He tipped his hat toward Lily Mae. “Ma’am.” When she nodded in reply, Lyle turned to Jace. “That quarter horse mare is foaling, but something ain’t right. I’ve called Doc Harper, but I figured you might want to get to the barn.”
“Damn,” Jace said. “She’s early. I hope this isn’t going to end badly.”
“Can I come?” Lily Mae asked.
Jace turned to her. “No, baby. I want you back at the house. You know why, so go on.”
There were tears in Lily Mae’s eyes as she pulled her horse toward home without a word.
Lyle watched her go.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Jace sighed. “Nothing I can’t handle,” he said. “Lily Mae got set in her ways out in California. Now that she’s back in my life, she’s having to learn that she can’t always get her way. Sometimes it rubs her wrong.”
Lyle chuckled as he and Jace headed toward the large barn east of the house. “Well, no one’s going to judge you for it. You always were the only one who could handle that girl when we were growing up. It shocked us all when she up and ran off like she did. We all thought you two would find your way back together. I just hope…”
“Hope what?” Even though he was in a hurry, Jace pulled his horse up short. Beside him, his foreman did the same, resting an elbow on his saddle horn as he turned to look at Jace.
“She was gone a long time, Jace. Who knows what she got into in California. I know she and her mama weren’t close, but apparently Helen claimed to be worried about what her daughter was doing out there.” He paused. “You sure you know what you’re getting into? I’d hate to see something come up later to ruin things for you two. I’m thinking it would hurt worse to lose her the second time around.”
Jace looked down the hill. In the distance he could see Lily Mae riding up to his house—their house, now. He’d offered to share everything with her without so much as a second thought. But now Lyle’s cautionary words combined with the memory of Lily Mae’s outburst at the pond had him wondering if there wasn’t something going on with her that she was hiding.
He looked over at his friend. “You’re right,” he said. “It would hurt more the second time around. But I aim to do all I can to keep her. If it falls apart this time, it won’t be because I didn’t try.” He sighed heavily. “But enough of this. We’ve got a horse to see to.”
Chapter Eight
Lily Mae stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom she shared with Jace, looking at the thin welts his switching had left on her bottom. Tears slipped from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks, but those tears weren’t because he’d punished her. He was right; she’d earned it. What’s more, he’d cared enough to give her exactly the kind of limits they both knew she needed.
No, the tears were for fear of losing the man and the life she’d always dreamed of, and for doing exactly what she’d promised not to do—lying to Jace.
The truth was that she did want her belongings. The townhouse contained not just everything she’d worked for, but everything Jace had so graciously kept her from losing. But by now Tony Orzo had to know she’d left town, and he’d be waiting for her if she came back.
How could she explain her association with a man like that, or the tacit promise she’d made in a moment of desperation? And even if Jace forgave her, Tony wouldn’t. Lily had heard rumors about what happened to people who crossed him. A chill ran though her as she considered the safety of the man she loved.
Dropping the hem of the flowered dress over her thong, she headed into the kitchen. From the window, she could see the barn. The veterinarian’s truck had been parked outside for over two hours, and she’d wanted to go check on things but Jace had told her to stay in the house and she owed it to him to listen.
Lily Mae figured whatever happened in the barn, her man would appreciate a good dinner. One of the joys of her new life was the huge farmhouse kitchen with its sub-zero fridge and freezer, double ovens, and huge six-burner gas range.