Sophie Pembroke – Marriage On The Cards: Marry Me, Mackenzie! / A Proposal Worth Millions / Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband? (страница 12)
Aggie stomped over to him in her crusty, knee-high black rubber boots and pumped his hand a couple of times. “Come on over here and take a load off. I’ve got your papers all ready to be filled out. Nothing fancy—but the long and short of it is, you’re agreein’ that if one of our horses kicks you in the privates or eats your pinkie for a snack, you’re on your own. We volunteer at our own risk around here...so if you can live with that, I’ll be more than happy to put you to work.”
“I can live with it.” Dylan sat down at the cluttered picnic table in the middle of the room and resisted the urge to start straightening it up. Instead, he forced himself to focus on reviewing the papers.
“I’ll make you a badge so you’ll feel official. We don’t have riders today—just barn work. But anyone who wants to ride after the chores are done can saddle up.”
Aggie handed Dylan a badge and Dylan handed her the filled-out forms. Dylan stood up and Aggie looked down at his pristine boots.
“If you’re gonna hang with us, you’re gonna have’ta get you some good old-fashioned muckers. Those fancy boots aren’t gonna survive a fresh steamin’ pile of manure, I guarantee
Dylan walked out of the office, around the corner, and bumped right into Mackenzie.
Their bodies hit together so hard that Mackenzie had the breath temporarily knocked out of her.
Concerned, Dylan held on to her arms to steady her. “Are you okay?”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone to come around that corner,” Mackenzie said, slightly annoyed. “But I’m okay now. You can let go.”
Dylan released her arms quickly, as if he was pulling his hands away from hot coals. “Sorry. I did it again.”
Dylan stared hard at Mackenzie. Something had just happened between them. When their bodies came together, they were a perfect fit. She was curvy and voluptuous and petite; not what he would normally gravitate toward. But he liked the way her body had felt against his. He had enjoyed the feeling of having Mackenzie in his arms. She felt like...home.
Mackenzie tugged on the front of her oversize, long-sleeve T-shirt. “I’m glad you came.”
“I said I would,” Dylan said defensively.
“I know.” Mackenzie had worry etched into her forehead. “I know you did...but I was...”
“Worried that I wouldn’t show?”
“Yes...I’m sorry. But, yes. Hope could hardly sleep last night. She’s so excited to meet you.” Mackenzie was speaking in a low, private voice. “But I think she’s more scared than anything.”
“Scared? Why is she scared of me?”
“She’s not scared
“Well, then, that makes two of us, because I’ve been really worried that she won’t like me, too.” Dylan looked down at his outfit. “I changed my clothes three times before I finally put this together.”
Mackenzie’s eyebrows rose. Dylan was wearing a pressed Ralph Lauren button-down dress shirt, new dark-wash jeans and his spotless boots.
“I did mention that you were going to be doing barn work...didn’t I?” Mackenzie asked.
“You mentioned it. I just wanted to look nice for Hope.” Dylan frowned down at his outfit. “I look ridiculous, don’t I?”
“No. You don’t look ridiculous, Dylan. You just look...kind of dressy for the barn. That’s all,” Mackenzie tried to reassure him. “But stop worrying. Trust me. Hope doesn’t care what you’re wearing. So...are you ready?”
“Nope.” Dylan’s stomach started to feel a little queasy.
“What happened to the fearless Dylan Axel I used to know?” Mackenzie tried to tease his nerves away.
“He was too young to know better.”
“Come on, Dylan.” Mackenzie offered him her hand. “The best way to get something done is to start...”
Dylan took her hand, soft and warm, and let her gently tug him in the right direction. Their hands naturally slipped apart as they walked side by side through the barn’s dusty center aisle. As they walked along, Mackenzie greeted the ragtag bunch of secondhand horses and the handful of volunteers working that day. With thirty geriatric horses to care for, Dylan understood why Aggie was so eager to sign him up. Organizations that relied entirely on donations, grants and volunteers were in a constant state of borderline panic and flux. Pegasus was no different.
“This way.” Mackenzie tucked her fingers into the front pocket of her jeans. “Hope’s out back washing feed buckets.”
Dylan could hear the water running from the hose and he stopped walking. “Wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
Dylan backed up a step. “Maybe this isn’t the best place for this to happen.”
“Oh, no, no, no, no,
Mackenzie pulled Dylan forward a couple of steps, into an open area with concrete slabs set up for washing the horses.
“Hey, kiddo!” Mackenzie slapped a bright smile on her face. “Look who I found...”
Under her breath, and only for Dylan’s ears, Mackenzie said, “You’re up.”
Hope looked up from her task of washing out a large group of blue feed buckets. She looked at him directly and what he saw in her eyes was something he hadn’t experienced with anyone other than his aunt Gerri: total acceptance. Hope’s pretty face lit up with excitement as she smiled nervously at him. She dropped the hose and wiped her hands off on her jeans while she headed over to where they were standing. Hope wrapped her arm around her mom’s waist for security. She looked up at Mackenzie, Mackenzie looked at Dylan, and Dylan looked at Hope.
“A
Dylan liked how Hope broke the ice. “You’re right. It is.”
Mackenzie ran her hand over the top of Hope’s head. “Sometimes this one doesn’t have a filter.”
“That’s okay.” Dylan was immediately hooked by Hope’s shy, brief smile. “I have that same problem sometimes.”
“Do you know who I am?” Hope asked him.
“Hope...” Mackenzie started to correct her.
“No. That’s okay,” Dylan said to Mackenzie before he looked down at Hope. “Yes. I do know who you are. You’re my Hope.”
“Here...” Hope slipped a blue-and-yellow rubber-band bracelet off her wrist and handed it to him. “I made this for you.”
“Hey...thanks.” Dylan slipped it over his hand onto his wrist. He held it out for Hope to see. “Does it look good on me?”
Hope nodded. “It’s a friendship bracelet.”
It took the child of the group to ease the tension, but it took the mom in the group to get things moving along.
“Come on...” Mackenzie squeezed Hope’s shoulder. “Let’s get back to work. Aggie would have a fit if she saw us all standing around getting nothing done.”
The three of them put their nervous energy into finishing Hope’s chore together. And it turned out that having a common goal to accomplish eased the tension between them. Of course, it wasn’t perfect and there were some odd lulls in conversation. And Dylan caught Hope in the act of studying him when she thought it was safe. Dylan understood her fascination, because he had to resist the urge to stare at his daughter. Mackenzie, on the other hand, made no bones about blatantly watching the two of them interact. But by the time all of the feed buckets were washed and drying in the sun, the tension between them had slowly given way to a more relaxed, fun vibe.
“What next?” Dylan unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. His shirt was soaked, his boots were already caked with mud, and it made him feel less out of place than when he had arrived.
“Now we have to put all the feed buckets back into the stalls.” Hope grabbed some buckets. “Carry as many as you can so we can get done quicker. Then, I get to ride Gypsy.”
“Her favorite horse,” Mackenzie explained.
Dylan grabbed as many buckets as his fingers could hold. “Lead the way, boss.”
His words made Hope laugh, spontaneously and loudly. She smiled at him again, this time without the nervousness. Hope’s smile, Dylan decided, was a million-dollar smile. It was addictive. He wanted to see it again and again.
“While you guys do this, I’m going to help Aggie in the office,” Mackenzie said. She looked at Hope specifically. “Is that okay?”
When Hope gave a small nod to her mom, Dylan felt as if he had managed to accomplish something pretty major: Hope felt comfortable enough with him to spend time alone. One by one, Hope introduced Dylan formally to the horses and it was obvious that Hope had a special connection with each and every one of them. The horses, some of whom pinned their ears back and gnashed their teeth at him, all came to Hope for some love and attention. It made him feel proud that, at such a young age, she had a special way with these horses. They weren’t pretty. They weren’t young. But she loved them just the same. In that, she took directly after kindhearted Mackenzie.
“This is Cinnamon.” Hope rubbed her hand lovingly over the mare’s face. “She’s a sweet girl. Aren’t you, Cinnamon? When you work with her, make sure you only approach her from her left side, because she’s missing her right eye. See?”