small laugh. “At this rate, we’ll be here every day for a year working off our bill.”
Against his better judgment, Jake was liking their arrangement more and more. He seized the chance to study her while her attention was on Doc Mosby and the mule.
At the time of their breakup, Jake had been completely positive that continuing their relationship was a mistake. He liked Lilly and hadn’t wanted to string her along when there was no hope whatsoever for a future together.
That hadn’t been his initial feeling, though. In the beginning, their dating arrangement had been exactly the enjoyable distraction he’d needed to take his mind off his ex-wife’s engagement and help him move on. But things had quickly become complicated, in large part because of his daughters, although they weren’t the only obstacle.
Once he and Lilly became intimate, the complications increased. Not because there was anything wrong with the sex. Quite the opposite, in fact. But Lilly didn’t give herself to just anyone. Sex came with a commitment from her and him.
Jake had held her in his arms after they made love that last time, stared into those gorgeous brown eyes that brimmed with hope and expectation and realized, with a sinking heart, that he couldn’t offer her what she wanted, what she needed. Not anytime soon. To continue as they were would have been unfair to Lilly. So, instead of postponing the inevitable, he had broken up with her the following day, telling himself he’d done it for her sake.
But after their meeting in his office last week, it had occurred to him that his actions weren’t entirely noble and were calculated to spare him grief, not her.
“Good boy.” Doc Mosby dropped Big Ben’s hoof and patted his round rump, then came over to chat with Jake and Lilly.
“Lilly, this is our vet, Dr. Greg Mosby,” Jake said. “Lilly Russo is the administrator of the adult day care center that owns the mule.”
“Nice to meet you.” Doc Mosby pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his hands before shaking Lilly’s.
“What do you think?” Jake asked.
“Well, I’d say he’s in pretty good shape overall. A little fat—” Doc Mosby patted his protruding stomach “—but aren’t we all? I suspect he’s been standing in a pen too long. Exercise should shave off a few of those extra pounds.”
“How lame is he?”
“Some. Corrective shoeing will help. He was born with a slight deformity to his right front hoof, and it’s gotten worse with age. It causes his foot to turn in.” Doc Mosby demonstrated with his hand.
“A birth defect?” Lilly’s interest was visibly piqued, which, in turn, piqued Jake’s.
Doc Mosby grinned. “I reckon you could call it that.”
“If you want to return him to the Malcovitches—”
“No, no!” Lilly cut Jake short. “He’s perfect for us. A mule with a birth defect helping people who are themselves physically challenged.”
“Have your farrier insert a leather wedge between the shoe and the hoof,” Doc Mosby explained. “It should straighten the hoof and reduce the pain.”
“Can he be ridden before then?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Lilly’s smile dimmed.
Jake touched her arm. “I’ll call the farrier, have him come out here Friday morning. That way, the people in your program can watch Big Ben being shoed firsthand.”
She instantly brightened. “Oh, that would be wonderful!”
Clapping the vet on the shoulder, Jake gestured at Gary with his other hand. “You ready to look at that mare?”
“Sure.”
Gary, who’d been standing nearby, took charge of the vet, leaving Jake alone with Lilly.
“Is it all right for me to pet Big Ben?” she asked.
“Would you like to walk him to his stall?”
“Yes!”
Jake went over and untied the mule’s lead rope. Big Ben ambled obediently alongside Jake, his large feet clip-clopping in the dirt.
“Here.”
She took the rope. Bunching it in her fingers, she gazed up at Jake. “What now?”
“You walk, he follows.”
“Just like that?”
“With him. Not so with all horses or mules. But this guy’s a teddy bear.”
“I walk.” She took a tentative step.
“That’s it.”
“He’s not following.”
“Keep going.”
She did. The heels of her completely inappropriate shoes wobbled and dust coated her expensive slacks. Big Ben finally extended one foot and lifted his huge head to snuffle her hair.
“Hey! That tickles.” Lilly raised her hand, not to push the animal away but to stroke his nose.
Big Ben snorted and nuzzled her cheek, clearly enamored.
He wasn’t the only one.
Jake found himself attracted to Lilly all over again.
He would have to watch himself closely in the coming weeks and months. Lilly deserved more than he could give her. She deserved a man ready, willing and able to commit.
Chapter Three
“Put your seat belt back on, Jimmy Bob.”
“But we’re here.”
Lilly turned around and gave the young man a hard stare. She sat in the front passenger seat of the center’s specially modified van. Beside her, driving the van, was Georgina. The student volunteer accompanying them sat in the rear.
“Not yet,” Lilly told Jimmy Bob. “We just pulled in to the ranch entrance. The stable is another mile from here.”
Jimmy Bob rarely rebelled but he did so today, his normally cherubic face set in stone, his arms folded. Lilly attributed his stubbornness to excitement. Since he’d learned yesterday morning that he’d be one of the six people accompanying Lilly on the center’s first trip to see Big Ben, he’d been bouncing off the walls. His high-strung behavior earned him frequent reprimands from the staff members and his family. This morning, he’d reached emotional overload, becoming surly and rebellious. Not uncommon behavior for individuals with Down’s syndrome.
Lilly couldn’t allow Jimmy Bob to ignore the rules, today or any other day. Anyone riding in the van obeyed them or wasn’t permitted to go on the next outing.
“Pull
