Chapter 64

Garrett disconnected his call with Gage, telling him they’d discuss Derby horses and all things Triple Crown-related later.

He shoved his phone into his back pocket and then confronted Rachel Baxter. Staring intently at her, not the least fucking bit certain what she was doing here in Midnight, Texas.

She, on the other hand, gaped at him. For several suspended seconds.

Then she said, “What the hell, Garrett? And…Oh, yeah…What the everlasting hell?” Her eyes grew wide. “You’re turning down clients and saying crazy-ass shit like you’re in love? Garrett-fucking-Slater…In love? What is the matter with you, boy?”

He glared at her. Not really glared, as in all angsty like. But glared as in a really hard grimace with the hint of an edgy smirk.

He told her, “I’m currently in the onset of a business contract, Rach, and you of all people know I don’t renege on my work obligations. I’ve got a client here in Wildfire, and so Wildfire is where I’m staying while I complete this job. ‘Nuff said there?”

“Wow,” she whistled under her breath. Shook her head. And seemingly tried to collect her thoughts before asking him, point blank, “Even if it means passing up on Derby horses? ‘Cuz, let’s face facts, Garrett…You get one shot at the three-year-old thoroughbreds. And you’re going to walk away from two of them? Prime ones, I’m betting, considering you were just on the line with Gage Halston. Gage Halston!”

Garrett swallowed down a lump of don’t I fucking know it?—on every level.

He told her, “While I am enticed by Gage’s newly acquired horses and his entire enterprise, I can’t just abandon the horses I’m currently training. Chase Maverick has his own incredible enterprise established—and it’s still growing. You, of all people, know I can’t resist that sort of temptation.”

“Apparently, you can’t resist the temptation of the girl, either.”

Rachel eyed him curiously.

Garrett fought the glower.

She asked, “Are we not allowed to speak of this monumental and wholly unexpected revelation?” Her sculpted blonde brow raised. “I mean…Holy fuck. You did just proclaim you were in love. That unto itself is…Is…Mind-boggling, to say the least. Am I right?”

He groaned.

Garrett pinched the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. Fighting off the tension pressing in on him.

He said, “I’m not really inclined to chitchat about that, Rach. Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what you’re doing here in Texas?”

“Oh, right…About that.” She did a curious shuffle on the concrete with her dark-chocolate suede knee-high boots, with fringe along the backside. Her tight-fitting jeans were tucked in and she wore a bronze-colored, lightly puffed ski jacket with a beige scarf wrapped around her slender neck.

Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders in strategically tangled waves, and the long bangs were flipped over to one side.

She was perfectly made up, as though she’d just stepped out of a beauty salon.

He sort of wondered if that actually was the case.

Especially as she eyed him with a hint of “don’t you remember?” in her eyes.

As in…Don’t you remember all the times we got naked together?

Don’t you remember the way we used to drive each other wild?

Don’t you remember how hot we were with each other?

Garrett scowled.

Yeah, he remembered.

He seriously fucking remembered.

But they were ancient history of the highest order.

Because, if she really wanted to play the “Don’t You Remember?” game, his first offering would be: Don’t you remember that night I walked in on you and one of your ranch hands getting…handy…with each other?

Garrett had never been a possessive man before he’d met Meredith Jane Carlisle, but when he was with a woman and they danced around the exclusivity term, he expected it to be a mutual concept. Not a one-sided, easily dismissed theory.

Still. He held enough respect for Rachel’s talent and commitment as a large animal veterinarian to give her two minutes of his time at present.

Water under the bridge and all that.

He said, “I’m suspecting you’re not here to make any sort of apology”—because that wasn’t really her style—“but to seek my expert advice on a case?”

Tears instantly sprang to her eyes.

Taking Garrett by surprise.

Wholly taking him aback, truth be told.

Tears were not Rachel Baxter’s style.

Garrett instantly softened. “What the hell?” he quietly asked as he lightly cupped her elbow and guided her from the middle of the sidewalk to the sheltered, awning-topped storefront of the deli. “Tell me what’s going on,” he urged.

Rachel swiped at her tears and said, “These are not manufactured tears, Garrett. Jesus Christ, I honestly don’t know how to stop them once they start.”

“What’s the problem?” he asked as he helped her to whisk away some of the fat drops from her cheeks. “Rach…”

“I know, I know. This totally isn’t like me. And I swear to God, Garrett, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t…so dire. So fucking dire. So…life-threatening—”

“Son of a bitch, Rach!” His hands clasped her damp cheeks. “What the everlasting fuck? Are you okay?”

“Oh, my God, Garrett! I am so, so sorry! No, it’s not me. It’s absolutely not me. What a fucking asshole I am to make you think that. I’m fine, I swear to you. From head to toe, inside and out. I’m totally fine.”

“Then what?” he demanded as he attempted to get his racing pulse under control. “What the hell—” He gazed intently at her. “What. The. Hell?”

“It’s Grey,” she suddenly whispered. And choked on a fractured breath. More tears flooded her eyes and crested the rims.

Garrett swept one hand through her hair, pushing back the thick curls.

“Rach,” he said, deeply confused. “Grey is gone, honey. Long gone. And—”

“He’s not,” she murmured. “He’s…Just…He’s not gone, Garrett. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t euthanize him. Not my horse. Not my heart.”

“But, Rach…”

Garrett’s other hand slipped under her chin and he raised it, so they stared each other in the eyes.

“What the fuck are you talking about, then? You didn’t put that horse down when I—”

“Advised it? Wisely so? No, Garrett…I didn’t,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “I couldn’t. I know he foundered, but…There was a woman who helped me to help him. We were at our wit’s end, the infection was bad…So very bad. The coffin bone…The pain…We literally were at the end. But she had a remedy…And goddamn it, Garrett, it worked. It worked! And now…I have horse owners calling me day and night, showing up at my ranch, all wanting the cure.”

His gaze narrowed on her. “Is it really a cure, Rach? Or just…Luck of the draw? Your skill and someone else’s combined? A massive attentiveness no one can achieve unless they’re in your position to help, heal and monitor a horse around the clock? Because, darlin’, there just aren’t everyday people who can set aside their lives and their livelihood to attend to a horse who is literally on his last leg.”

“I know. I absolutely know this, Garrett. And that is the other reason I’m here. I want to save horses, Garrett. I want to save as many of them as I fucking can! And who better to appeal to for help than another person who loves horses so goddamn much, he’ll do everything he can to save them, too?”

Garrett glared at her once more. “What does this have to do with me, really, Rach?”

“I need your help,” she told him again. “I need your name, your reputation, some of your money and for-sure your knowledge. I think we can do this, Garrett. I believe we can save horses, together. They don’t all need to be put down. But…I can’t do this alone. I need you, Garrett. These horses need you. Their owners need you.”

He continued to stare at her, now not having a clue under the sun as to what to say.

She filled the silence. Grabbing his hands, she imploringly urged, “Help me save these horses, Garrett. I know you believe it’s a worthy cause, deep in your heart. And having spared Grey from his darkest fate…Giving him a few more years…Oh, my God. I can’t not try to prolong other lives. But, again…I can’t do this alone. I need help. Your help. In Wyoming. Now, Garrett. Now.”

She threw her arms around him.

And what the fuck was he supposed to do when there was a weeping, quaking woman in his arms who had just presented him with a valiant plight—other than to hug her back?

Except…As he did…

Meredith Jane rounded the corner.

And oh, fuck his life…The look on her face told him in a heartbeat that she was not going to understand this complex scenario…