Max (7 Brides for 7 Brothers Book 5) Read online

  “So I guess we understand each other now,” she said. “Neither one of us is as immune as we’d like to pretend, are we?”

  “Nope.”

  She nodded firmly. “So no more of this crap about who deserves what, right?”

  The urge to sweep her into his arms and carry her upstairs was strong. What a woman. She went toe to toe with him and didn’t back down. He loved that about her.

  “That’s right.”

  “I’ll do my own thinking and you do yours. No deciding what’s best”—she air-quoted the word—“for anyone but yourself. Got it?”

  “Believe me, I got it, Ellie.”

  “Good.”

  He didn’t know what to expect from her, but when she stepped up and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek—well, that wasn’t it at all.

  “Good night,” she whispered.

  The next few days were so busy that Ellie didn’t see much of Max. Okay, strike that—she saw him, but they didn’t spend any time alone together. Which was probably a good thing for her heart. She hadn’t stopped thinking about that kiss since it happened. She’d been so furious with him, but the way she’d melted into him when his mouth touched hers had eradicated all her anger and replaced it with sizzling desire. She’d wanted to keep kissing him. She’d wanted more than that, as well.

  But she’d gone to bed instead. The next morning she’d gone with Lacey to the police department. Max had promised that he’d take care of making sure a restraining order stuck, so Ellie pushed until Lacey agreed to go. Ellie didn’t know what he’d done, but the judge signed the order, and Brice was served later that day. He hadn’t come within sighting distance of Lacey since then, though the official hearing was still a few days away.

  Brice was an asshole, but when push came to shove, he was more worried about his own skin than he was about controlling Lacey. Ellie fretted about it, but Lacey insisted on going back home and back to work at the salon. She was sunny and bubbly again, and Ellie was happy for that even if she didn’t trust that snake in the grass Brice.

  She’d thought she’d see Max the day Lacey went home. She’d worried all day over how to behave that night when they were alone, but Max wasn’t there. He’d left his cell number in case she needed him, but he went into town and didn’t return until she was lying in bed reading. She thought about getting up and going to see if everything was okay, but then she decided that he was a grown man, she wasn’t his mother, and it wasn’t her business.

  No matter that she’d lain awake for hours after he’d come in, wondering where he’d been. She’d been no good on Champ the next day. Miguel had frowned at her from the side of the ring.

  “Ellie, what’s the matter with you? You ride that horse like a sack of potatoes today! That show is next week, girl! Get it together!”

  She had ridden pretty badly. Champ had sensed her distraction and tested her to the limit, as horses always did when you gave them any provocation. Give a horse an inch and he’d take a mile if you didn’t stop him.

  She’d fallen into bed that night far earlier than usual, and the next day she’d only seen Max long enough to wave from a distance. He’d worked in the house and then left later that afternoon for a few hours. But she was busy with lessons and training, so she mostly didn’t notice him coming and going. All she knew was that the house was empty when she got up to it each night and he wasn’t there.

  It was the fourth night after their kiss when she went trudging up to the house from the barn. Her mind was on the broodmare she and Miguel had brought into the foaling area of the barn a couple of days ago. She was a young mare and this was her first foal, so Ellie worried more than she typically did about the veterans. She was planning to spend the night down at the barn in case the mare foaled that night, which Miguel thought likely, but first she wanted to grab something to eat and have a shower.

  Miguel had offered to stay with her, but she’d told him to go home and promised to call if she needed him. He was only five miles away, so he could get there quickly. But he had a family, and she couldn’t pay him for extra time anyway.

  When she stepped into the house, she smelled food. Her stomach growled as she followed the scents back to the kitchen. Max was there, and he looked up when she entered, his gray eyes meeting hers for a long moment before he turned back to what he was doing.

  “I stopped at Mary Lou’s and picked up dinner,” he said as he took food from containers and fixed two plates.

  She could kiss him. Literally, right now, she could kiss him. But that would probably confuse the situation more than it already was, so she settled for a big smile. “You are a fantastic man,” she said. “I might even love you right now.”

  He laughed as he carried over the plates and set them on the table. “Are you telling me that the way to your heart is through your stomach?”

  She sat down and sniffed Mary Lou’s meat loaf. Her mouth watered. “Right now, yes I am.”

  “What do you want to drink? Beer? Tea? Water?”

  “A beer sounds good.”

  He retrieved two beers and joined her. He opened them up, handed one to her, and then clinked bottlenecks with her before taking a sip of his. She did the same. The beer went down cold and good. The meat loaf was going to go down even better.

  She dived in and practically moaned at the first bite. She’d been planning on heating a frozen dinner in the microwave and heading back to the barn, so this was heaven. Sheer heaven.

  “Hungry?” Max asked with a laugh.

  “You have no idea.” She forked up some mashed potatoes and gravy.

  “How’d it go today? Busy?”

  “Yes. Got a new student. A ten-year-old who’s never ridden before—but she took to it pretty well. I’ll have her posting in a week. Wait—do you even know what that is?”

  He grinned. “I do, in fact. Mom explained it one summer when we’d gone on a family vacation. She’d been the only one to insist on an English saddle when we went trail riding. I think it was probably Luke who asked her why she was bouncing up and down—so she explained. I don’t know why it stuck in my head, but it did.”

  Ellie was still focused on the part he’d said about trail riding. “So you’ve ridden before, huh?”

  Max waved his fork. “Don’t get any ideas. Those horses were nags. Yours are not.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Definitely not. But we could go over to the Kentucky Horse Park sometime—they have trail horses. You can tour the park on a horse.”

  “No thanks. Horses are your deal, not mine. If I don’t need a key to fire up the horses under the hood, I’m not interested.”

  “Coward.” She was only teasing him, but it was kind of fun.

  “I don’t know how you make them do what you want. It’s not brute strength, that’s for sure.”

  “No. More or less, you trick them into thinking you’re the boss. If they ever get it in their heads that you aren’t, you’re in trouble.”

  “But you aren’t worried about that, are you?”

  She smiled. “I’m really not.”

  They continued to chat while they ate. It was nothing important, but it was nice. She was so accustomed to eating alone most of the time that having company was a welcome change. After they finished, she sat back, her stomach full and happy. Her body was so tired tonight, but she still had work to do. She pushed back from the table and Max looked at her questioningly.

  “This was great, Max, really. But I have to get back down to the barn,” she said, her blood humming from the little jolt of alcohol.

  “You’re going down to the barn? Do you need help with something?”

  “I’m spending the night there. I’ve got a cot in an empty stall and—”

  “Wait a minute—you’re sleeping in the barn? Why?”

  He looked confused and concerned. Warmth flowed through her at that look. It doesn’t mean anything, Ellie.

  No, it didn’t. But it was still nice.

  “Lily’s going to foal
soon. Might be tonight. I need to be there.”

  He sat back, surprise on his face. “You never stop, do you? There’s always work to be done.”

  She smiled. “That’s right.” She shrugged. “Horses. It’s what you do when you love them.”

  He shoved back from the table. “Let me help you, Ellie.”

  She had to blink for a second. He was talking about right now, not in general. Not forever.

  “You already have. You brought me dinner. And it was terrific, by the way.”

  For some reason, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Squeezed. He squeezed back.

  “Thanks, Max. I really appreciate it.”

  “You going straight back?”

  “Taking a quick shower to wash off the dirt of the day. But then I’m going down.”

  His expression was fierce. “I’ll take care of the dishes. Meet you on the porch in ten minutes?”

  She shook her head as happiness washed through her. “You don’t have to go. I appreciate it, but it’s going to be cool in the barn tonight—and there are probably rats scurrying around in the darkness. You don’t want to be there for that.”

  He laughed. “Rats? Is that all you’ve got? Honey, unless they’ve got AK-47s, I’m good. Meet you in ten.”

  The mare looked uncomfortable as hell. Max stood outside the stall with Ellie, who was frowning as she watched the horse pace and swish her tail. The stall she was in was far bigger than the other stalls. Ellie had explained it was a special stall just for having babies.

  “She’s sweating now, poor sweetheart. It could be anytime.” Then she snorted. “Or not. You can never tell with one hundred percent accuracy.”

  “What do you have to do when it starts?” Max had never been present for a horse’s birth before.

  “Nothing much unless she gets into trouble. We’re just here to make sure everything happens as it should. If the baby breeches, I’ll have to help her. Otherwise, we’re going to let Mother Nature do her thing. But I want to be close because this is her first. If she rejects the foal for some reason… Well, I’ll need to get in there and make sure she doesn’t hurt him or her. Then I’ll have to get one of the nurse mares and hope we can bond the baby to her.”

  He’d had no idea it was so complicated. Beside him, Ellie yawned. He turned his head to look at her. Her face was in profile, small chin, upturned nose, long eyelashes, full lips. Lips he’d kissed a few nights ago. Lips he wanted to kiss again.

  “Why don’t you try to get some sleep? I can watch and wake you if something happens.”

  That’s why he’d insisted on joining her. She’d looked so tired, and he’d known she was going to sleep down here with an alarm going off every so often so she could check on the horse. If he was here, he could watch and she could sleep longer.

  Her gaze flicked over him and then back to the mare. “It could be a long time yet.”

  “That’s why we can take turns. You sleep first.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Ellie.” He waited until she met his gaze. Green eyes rimmed with long, lush lashes stared back at him. It took everything he had to make himself concentrate on what he’d been planning to say. “I’ve spent countless nights on watch during missions. You can trust me. There, the penalty for fucking up was certain death. You can be sure that I take the mission seriously and that I’ll guard that horse’s life as if it were my own.”

  A small smile played on her lips then. He wanted to press his mouth to hers and taste it. “I think that’s a little overboard, but I appreciate the sentiment.” Her jaw cracked in another yawn. “Okay, I’ll go first. Wake me in an hour or if her water breaks—or, if you don’t see that happen, wake me if she lies down and doesn’t get up again in a few minutes.”

  He put a hand over his heart. “ Aye, aye, skipper.”

  Her frown was cute. “Skipper?”

  “It’s what sailors call the boss.”

  “Ah, got it. Sorry, kinda slow on the uptake right now.”

  He took the chance of pulling her into his arms. (A) because he wanted to. And (b) because she looked like she needed someone to hold her for a moment. She didn’t push away, and he took that as a good sign. “Get in that stall with your cot and go to sleep. I’ll sit right here.”

  There were folding chairs and a small table where he could set a drink and his phone.

  She sighed, her fingers curling into his shirt. “You’re a good man, Max Brannigan. You might even be a good horse-farm owner by the time we’re through.”

  Through? He didn’t like to think of them being through when they hadn’t even begun. And then he wondered where the hell that notion had come from. She was a sweet, sassy, gorgeous woman he wanted to know intimately. But it was only sexual attraction. That’s all it could be. He hadn’t known her long enough to want anything else from her.

  To put an end to his thoughts, he kissed her. Warm lips, wet tongue, hot breath. His cock grew hard, and he worked to remind himself that now wasn’t the time. He broke the kiss and she sighed, her eyelashes fluttering open.

  “That was nice,” she said.

  “I’ve got more where that came from. But I’m afraid the supply of nice is limited. Most of what I have left is hot and dirty and insanely pleasurable.”

  He watched her pupils dilate. Then she closed her eyes and muttered something to herself. He didn’t have to ask what it was when her voice grew stronger.

  “Five… Six… Seven…”

  “What are you doing?”

  Her eyes popped open again as she finished the count. “Counting to ten for patience. What does it look like?”

  He shook his head. “No idea… What’s the patience for, anyway?”

  “It’s so I don’t ask you to show me all those things right here, right now.”

  11

  Ellie didn’t want to wake up, but someone was gently shaking her and calling her name. A masculine voice. That was unusual, wasn’t it? She didn’t have a man in her life…

  She jerked awake, her heart pounding. “Max?”

  “I’m right here. I think something’s happening.”

  Ellie pushed herself upright, her mind fuzzy, her body protesting the rude jump into wakefulness. Max’s hand was there above her, and she grabbed on, let him pull her to her feet. She only swayed a second before she headed for Lily’s stall.

  “When did this start?”

  “One thirty-three and ten seconds.”

  She stumbled to a stop. “One thirty-three and—you didn’t wake me after an hour!”

  “No, I didn’t. You needed the sleep, and I don’t, so there was no point. And I did exactly what you said and came to get you when something changed. She lay down and didn’t get up again. She’s breathing heavily too.”

  Ellie rushed to the stall and looked in. Lily was on her side, legs extended, sides heaving. Ellie went to the bucket of antiseptic solution she’d prepared and washed her arm in it. Then she grabbed the towel she’d set there and dried off before putting on a sterile glove.

  “What do you need me to do?” Max asked.

  “Just stay here. I’m going to check that the baby is in the right position, then we’ll need to leave her alone and watch.”

  Lily snorted softly as Ellie went inside the stall, but she didn’t try to stand. Ellie went over and patted her side, then worked her hand down to the mare’s perineal area. Her water had broken and her legs were wet with it. Ellie worked her hand inside the mare, feeling gently forward into the birth canal. She felt a hoof, and her pulse skipped a little higher.

  “Easy, sweetheart,” she said as she felt for the other hoof. And there it was, along with a nose. Thank God.

  She eased her arm back before another contraction ripped through the mare.

  “That’s a girl,” she said as she stood. “You’re almost there.”

  She left the stall and closed the door behind her.

  Max was standing there with a concerned look on his face. “Is she okay?�
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  For some silly reason, her heart squeezed so tight that it hurt. He genuinely seemed like he cared about what happened to the mare lying on her side in so much pain. And that meant that she couldn’t help but adore him in that moment.

  “Yes. It’s her first time, so I’m more cautious than I would be with one of the other mares, but the baby is in the right position. And Lily’s in a good position too. Not too close to a wall or door. I’ll have to watch her from now until the baby is born, but if you want to go, you can.”

  He looked at her like she was crazy. “Why would I want to go? Is she having a baby or what?”

  “She definitely is. Not long now.” Ellie felt the joy of the moment bubbling up inside her. Why was she so happy? She’d been through this many times before, but this moment was different. Because Max was here.

  A sudden wave of sadness washed over her at the thought of her mother. How many mares had she witnessed foal with Momma at her side? How many dreams and plans had they hatched in the middle of the night while waiting for a new life to arrive? Something of what she felt must have shown on her face because Max reached out and skimmed his fingers over her cheek.

  “You okay?”

  She smiled brightly. “Yes. Fine.” Her eyes teared up though and she turned away, pulling at the glove. “I need to get rid of this.”

  She disposed of the glove and returned to the stall. Max was watching Lily’s sides heave, his attention rapt on her.

  “Thanks for letting me sleep,” she said. She felt him look at her, but she kept her attention on Lily.

  “I thought you’d be mad.”

  “I’m not. You did the most important thing, which was tell me when something changed. I’m only sorry you had to spend the past few hours alone with so little to do.”

  He chuckled softly. “I keep telling you, babe, this is nothing. I know how to spend hours doing next to nothing while keeping watch. This is actually far more pleasant than any of those nights were.”