Til Debt Do Us Part (Married At Midnight #4)

Chapter 16

Sixteen

Talia

“H ey.” I lean against the doorway to Dare’s office, pulling on thick wool socks to match my dark jeans and heavy gray wool sweater.

Dare turns his chair around, his expression aggravated. His tone is snippy. “What?”

Stretching my back, I arch a brow. “I was just checking in on you. You’ve been locked in here all morning.”

“I’m fine. The state of Maine, however, is not going to be fine after I am done raking them over the coals. When my lawyers are done with them, they will be so poor that they’ll beg me for my fucking business.”

I give a surprised laugh. “What did the state of Maine ever do to you?”

Dare gives me a long look, balling up a piece of paper in his fist.

“They are very against giving Morgan Oil a license for offshore drilling. I hired a lobbying firm to persuade the state. But apparently the office of mineral rights is rigidly opposed to the plan.” He hurls the piece of paper toward the wastebasket, but misses. It drifts to the ground and he groans loudly.

“That must be frustrating.” I smooth my hand down the wool that covers my belly.

“It really fucking is.” Dare stands up, shaking out his hands. “I’m tense all over.”

I tilt my head, scanning him from head to feet. He seems really out of sorts. I would feel bad for him if I didn’t secretly think that offshore drilling is a terrible, dangerous idea that threatens the entire planet. Pursing my lips, I make a decision.

“Do you have more work to do?”

He snorts. “Always. It never stops.”

“Can it wait a while?”

Dare narrows his eyes. “Maybe.”

I push off the doorsill, gently taking his arm. “You should come with me.”

He slides his arm around my waist, mischief dancing in his eyes.

“Even though I already fucked you this morning, I could definitely go for another round. That’s a good way to work off some of this tension.”

I roll my eyes. “Easy, cowboy. I want you to come to the horse stables with me. I’m taking the kids from Hope House there.”

Surprise ripples across his face.

“What for?”

“I’ve worked out a deal with the owner to allow them to groom the horses and eventually, to learn to ride. And before you say anything, you should know that I had something similar worked out with them when I was a kid. I really, really loved it.”

He narrows his gaze. “I take it that some of my money is paying for this experience?”

I smile at him. “Not this time. But I was thinking that the children at Hope House could benefit from taking regular lessons at the stables. We would need your name and your money for that.”

“You always think of others. You’re never greedy. Charity is not what I ever expected my wife would care about.”

I arch a brow, pulling out of his arms. But he holds me tighter, not letting me go.

“I guess I could see where my money is going.” Dare drops a kiss to my lips and I try to repress a grin.

“You’ll be charmed. I promise.”

* * *

When the chauffeur pulls up outside the stables, a frisson runs through me. I can feel the goofy smile on my face. This place just radiates good vibes. It’s impossible for me to be in a bad mood when I’m here.

I slide out of the car, walking over to the empty riding ring. Running my hands along the fence, I suck in deep lungfuls of rich leather and sweet horse feed. This place just feels like home.

Glancing over at Dare, I grin. “Isn’t this place great?”

He casts a skeptical eye around the empty riding ring, the corrugated steel stable buildings, and the cliffs that drop into the vast, dark sea. I can tell that he’s struggling not to make a face.

“Uh huh,” he lies. “It’s… nice.”

Rolling my eyes, I grab him by the arm and pull him toward the stables. I made him change into a pair of jeans and a chunky-knit blue sweater under his usual dark wool coat. He looks like a fish out of water, but I find a dressed down Dare unusual and appealing.

I take his hand and interlace our fingers.

The short school bus that Hope House maintains is already here, unloaded and desolate. As I step into the warmth of the stable building, I can hear Gina’s voice.

“My name is Gina. And this gorgeous lady is River.”

I hurry my steps, coming into a large semi-circle of hay bales. About ten of the Hope House kids are seated there, with two of the grown-up volunteers standing nearby. Gina wears her usual uniform of a white silk button up shirt and black jodhpurs with knee-high black riding boots. Her brown hair is pulled back in a low ponytail and she holds the yellow bridle of a white-and-brown dappled horse.

She sees me coming and bursts into a smile. But then she sees Dare just behind me and her smile turns puzzled.

“Hi there,” she calls.

Before she can continue, an adult volunteer named Linda turns around and spots us. She’s wearing a faded pink dress and purple leggings under what looks like a men’s trench coat. She beams from ear to ear.

“Hey, look! It’s Miss Talia,” she calls.

All the kids whip around and a few of them jump up, running to me. I grin, greeting the ones I know by name.

“Hi, hi. Denise, Craig, Sam. Hey there, Solana…” Most of the kids hug my legs. I spread my arms wide and try to make sure everyone gets their own hug.

To my surprise, Solana ducks out of my arms and heads straight for Dare. He lets out a whoof of breath when she collides with him, wrapping her arms around his legs and pressing her face against his denim-clad thigh.

“Dare!” Solana shouts. Her voice sounds like she’s choking back tears. “You came back for me.”

He pats her head, his expression saying that he’s clearly out of his depth.

“Uhhh… yeah.”

“Hey, everyone. Let’s head back to our seats. Miss Gina is going to let you all pet an actual horse.”

“Yes!” one of the kids that I don’t recognize shouts. Linda shushes him, but he just kicks his legs excitedly. His brown curly hair and bright green t-shirt make his hyperactive squirming and loud outbursts seem normal.

All the kids find their seats again, including a very reluctant Solana.

“All right. As I was saying, this is River. Who can guess what kind of horse he is?”

Several hands shoot up and a couple of the kids start shouting out answers.

“Big!”

“German shepherd!”

“Okay. Remember what I said earlier. Horses don’t like loud noises, so we are going to use our inside voices when we are here. Okay?”

“Yes, Miss Gina,” the kid says in a stage whisper. “Sorry, River.”

Gina laughs and starts talking about the horse. She gives some basic information like how old he is, what breed he is, and what he likes to eat.

“Yes?” she asks the girl with her hand raised.

“Can we pet him now?”

Gina smiles. “Let me tell you about how we are going to pet the horse. He likes to be touched here…” She pets his muzzle and all along his nose. “Here…” She pets his head and mane. “And here.” She pets his shoulder and chest. “You will want to pet him with all five fingers together, like this. I like to call this my canoe. And like a canoe in a river, it only goes down. Never go against the current, in this direction. Horses don’t really like that.”

She flashes everyone her upright palm with no spaces between her fingers. Then she pets River again using the same technique.

“Now, if you’re ready, I will have Miss Talia come up here and stand beside you while you pet River. Does that sound good? Does everyone have their canoes?”

She makes that same gesture, reminding everyone to pet with an upright and rigid palm.

A chorus of yeses is the gleeful reply. All the kids stand up. I turn to Dare, giving him a soft hug. His lips twitch. To his credit, he doesn’t seem to be sulking over this morning’s news anymore. He smiles at me and says nothing, but there is some unnamed emotion flickering in his eyes.

Leaving him, I head up to the front of the circle. For the next hour, I stand beside River, watching the kids respectfully pet him with stiff hands. River seems mellow about the experience, but the kids absolutely light up inside. It’s so fun to watch them look up at River with wide eyes and a grin.

I gently correct a few of them when they forget to keep their hands like a canoe or when they pet against the grain of River’s fur. But for the most part, the children behave themselves.

Gina cups her hands around her mouth. “I’m going to put our friend River away in his stall. Then how about you all help me feed the horses? Would you like that?”

“Yeah!” the curly-haired little boy shouts, still excited beyond measure. “Let’s go!”

As I walk back to Dare, Solana comes barreling over to me. The kid throws her entire body weight at my legs and almost bowls me over. Only quick thinking on Dare’s part to grab my arm and hold me up saves the day.

“Whoa, Solana!” I say, laughing. “What’s going on?”

Solana shakes her long raven hair, tears threatening to pour from her velvety brown eyes. “My shoe is broke.”

She sticks out her foot to show us both a dingy white sneaker with several Velcro straps. The Velcro is all bunched up on a couple and sticking to itself. I kneel down so I’m eye level with her. Then I spend a minute adjusting the straps, evening them out, and smoothing my touch over the top of her foot.

“All fixed.” I smile at the girl. “I have a surprise for you. Are you ready?”

She glances at Dare, looking for his approval. He puts his hand on my shoulder, smiling at the girl. Apparently that’s enough, because Solana whips her hand out and looks at me expectantly.

I reach in my coat pocket and produce a carrot. “Do you want to help me give this to River?”

Solana’s eyes widen and she snatches the carrot from my open palm. She looks at me with a deep doubt. The kind of look that tells me that this kid has probably known a lot of hardship and disappointment in her short life.

“You hold onto it. We’ll feed it to the horse together.”

I hold out my hand, palm facing up. Solana stares at me for a second, trying to decide if I’m trustworthy. Then she takes my hand.

I wiggle my eyebrows. “Let’s go look in the stalls and see which one River is in.”

Solana nods and we walk over to feed River for a few minutes. At length, I leave Solana watching Gail and another little girl feed Black Beauty a carrot. When I head back to the circle, I find Dare leaning against the last stall with a watchful smile on his face.

“You look happy,” he says.

I beam at him. “This is really filling me with joy. I’m so happy to be here. Being able to come to the stables and help the kids feed the horses just fills my cup to the point of overflowing.”

Dare nods. “You’re good at it. The kids love you, too.” He pauses, hesitating. “I think you’re going to be a really good mom.”

I blink at him. “Me?”

“Yeah. You seem to genuinely enjoy helping them do things. You kneel down, get on their level. You really look at them and listen to what they are saying.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, glancing away. “I didn’t get that as a kid. I wonder what kind of person I would have turned out to be if I had.”

I lean against the wall beside him, giving him a soft smile.

“Not as different as all that, I think.”

He nods again. “At least I know that you’re going to raise our child right.”

I catch his eye, feeling a surge of emotion.

“Thanks. You’ll be there too, though. You’ll be taking part as much as me after I give birth.”

Dare gives a haughty laugh. “What? No. I’m not good at that stuff like you are.”

“You will be.”

He cocks his head. “You’re serious.”

“I am.” I fold my arms across my chest.

“You’re crazy. You’re the only person who thinks that I should ever spend more than a minute with a kid.”

Taking his hand, I bring it to my belly. I lock eyes with him.

“You’ll love her. The second she comes out and you see her face, you’ll love her. I promise.”

Dare narrows his eyes. “We’ll see. And since when is the baby a ‘her’?”

Shrugging, I let go of his hand.

“Just a feeling. Maybe I’m wrong.” I hesitate. “Would that be a bad thing?”

He screws up his face, thoughtful. Then he shakes his head.

“Nah.” His face shifts and he looks perplexed. “You know, when I met you, I didn’t think you were much to look at.”

“Way to ruin a great moment,” I say, starting to pull away.

He tightens his hold, refusing to let me go. “Look at me. Look into my eyes.”

I gulp and meet Dare’s burning blue gaze. He cups my jaw and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I was wrong. You’re perfect.”

My pulse skyrockets. “What?”

“You’re beautiful. You’re sweet to me when I don’t deserve it. You are the perfect little fake wife for me, darling girl. If I had to be married under false pretenses… I guess I’m saying that I could be stuck with someone… well, someone like Daisy.”

My lips part. My heart pounds. I don’t know what to make of his confession. Some parts are very nice to hear. For instance, it’s nice to be put on a level above his cheating ex-girlfriend. I was low-key kind of worried that he still had feelings for her.

But other parts of his little confession make me want to push Dare down a flight of stairs.

The confusion shows on my face. “Thanks, I guess? I can’t say I’m crazy about you calling me your fake wife.”

He rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

I squint. “I guess so…”

Dare pulls me closer and kisses me. I don’t kiss him back but I don’t pull away either. “Don’t be a buzzkill during our wedding week.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I’ve spent the last few days dreading the wedding ceremony. But--”

Dare’s eyebrows arch. “You’re dreading the ceremony? Why?”

My cheeks heat. I flick my hand, gesturing that it doesn’t really matter.

“It’s not the biggest deal. I just don’t feel like performing in front of a bunch of strangers. Your family already looks at me like I’m an exotic animal in a zoo. And not a spider monkey… like I’m one of those really terrifying-looking caterpillars with spikes. You know, the ones that scare away predators by looking like a nightmare? Being looked at like that is exhausting.”

Just thinking about it leeches away a little of my joy. I screw up my face.

Dare shoves a hand through his short, dark hair.

“What if I made it up to you?”

I give him a side eye.

“What does that mean?”

“You suck it up for a few more days. Take part in this ceremony, pose in a bunch of photos, shake a million hands. And then I will make it up to you on our honeymoon.”

I scrunch up my face. “You know that I’m going to smile during the ceremony. That’s part of our deal. You don’t have to do anything extra.”

“I know. But maybe it will make grinning and bearing it a little bit better.”

I purse my lips. “Maybe.”

He pins me up against the stall and kisses me deeply. It’s on the verge of being inappropriate because we are in the open and the children could see if they came looking for us.

But damn if I’m going to stop Dare. He’s got me right where he wants me, his body pressed against mine, his hot tongue working its magic. He growls just a little as he kisses me and I absolutely melt.