The Courting of Thomasyna Tollefson

An Unexpected Proposal-2-2

“Whoa!” uttered Thomi, impressed. Her gaze followed Kourtnay’s progress till she rounded the corner of the boarding barn. “You mean St. Nick had a reason for ignoring all those girls trailing after him these past three years? Thought he just felt he was too good for any of ‘em!”

Imagine that! Nicky forsaking all others for the love of one he’d met only briefly! Just for the moment of the sale of the two mentioned animals, as far as anyone knew. Heh . . . maybe the man (her very own brother!) was a saint after all! Be kind of fun to go check out his face when he slid out from under that truck and saw her there! Be a whole lot of fun to tease him about it, too! Which she fully intended to do, anyway!

“Nothing wrong with a good strong romance,” opined Mrs. Green. “What’s better is when they last! If they’ve lived apart all this time and still have deep feelings for each other, then they’ll do fine! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go meet my own sweetheart! Married sixty-two years come September!”

Informing Stephan, then, in her most gracious manner, that if he’d leave a bill with Nicholas, she’d settle her account with him the instant she returned with her husband. Getting Stephan’s promise for it, she departed.

“Know what I told Stephan, Thomi?” piped up Jacqi, tugging her shirttail. “Told him we think Charley’s a jerk, and we don’t like him! And you’re kinda dumb for staying with him and—”

“Jacqi, I’m not with him, anymore! Quit dragging him up!”

“So you gonna be with him?” She pointed happily at Stephan. “He said you and him were gonna have dinner, and I said—”

“Yeah, I’m probably going to be sorry for what you said!”

“She loves to talk about you,” observed Stephan, amused.

Thomi pinched Jacqi’s cheeks, making her lips pooch. “Yes, and she’ll blab her lips to anyone! Enough now!”

Jacqi danced free of her hold and hopped in front of her father. “I like him better than Charley, Daddy, don’t you? I think she can go eat dinner with him, and you don’t gotta worry! Really!”

“He doesn’t have to worry about anything, anyway!” returned Thomi, irked.

At the same time, her father said, “Jacqi, I’m going to re—”

“I know, I know,” broke in his little daughter, “You’re gonna ‘serve judgment, ‘cause Thomi never picks the good guys! I heard y’ before!”

Thomi choked on an outraged laugh. Was bad enough to hear it once, but twice in the same day was beyond tolerance!

A muscle twitched beside Nicholas’ mouth, but he gravely replied, “Then you don’t need to ask what I think, do you? Be quick now, and go find Lyndsay for me. Tell her I need her right now!”

Feeling important, Jacqi scampered off on her mission.

Ignoring Thomi’s resentful stare, Nicholas spoke then to Stephan. “I appreciate your quick acting here with this i***t mule! Obviously, you’ve prevented a worse disaster—for this time, anyway! I warn you, though—you accept her as a client, and you’ll have her so much in your life you’ll think you’re married to her! The only one worse would be Marianne McNicoll!”

Having said that, he extended his hand to Stormi, saying, “Karla, I’m sorry circumstances didn’t permit us to meet at the time Nicky and I met Kourtnay. Had Ascott Meadows not been destroyed, you might have become our stiffest competition!”

She smiled, accepted the friendship of his handshake, but declined his compliment. “I’m only relieved that my horses could go to someone who’d appreciate them. I wish more of them had survived . . .” Sad regret darkened the smoke gray eyes, but she seemed disinclined to talk of the tragic fire that destroyed her stable and its valuable stock.

With a look difficult to define precisely, she gazed off in the direction her sister had gone and changed the subject. “Forgive me! I hadn’t a clue she knew any man well enough to have feelings for him! I would never have let her waste her time running with me if I had! All she said at the time of the sale was she liked both of you and trusted you’d take care of the horses the way we would ourselves. She’s never once given her secret away. Although . . . as you just said, a few things suddenly seem to make sense now!”

“Nothing to forgive. I’ll be willing to bet some of those times you may be recalling coincide with those that I have a keen memory for! He seemed to have an urgent eagerness to volunteer for trips to specific areas more often than before his meeting her. Never could get him to want to go further than Connecticut or Massachusetts! New York on occasion . . . if I insisted.

“Suddenly, he’s willing to go there and points south on an instant’s notice! Generally left within the hour of my asking him to go . . . even if there wasn’t the least need for him to start off until the next day or within the week. Eventually, he began requesting certain jobs each month.

“I never questioned him. Whatever his personal business was, I knew he’d attend to mine as it needed to be. Plus, his willingness to go let me stay here and take care of things. I’ve appreciated that more than I’ve probably told him!”

Nicholas tugged Thomi’s hair playfully. “Then, too, he probably didn’t want to be interrogated, harassed or teased. So why give anyone the ammunition for that?”

“Well, hey! Who’d’ve thought? I mean, he used to check out the menu every day!”

“Ah, and you don’t?”

“Dad! I don’t check out the menu—I’m one of the selections on it. And I’m always trying to prove I’m not the Special of the Day!”

Murmured Stormi dryly, “Yes, I know that feeling well . . .”

Nick acknowledged her remark with a quick understanding glance, but then leaned a hand against a fence post and regarded his daughter skeptically. Abandoned Nicky’s issues for hers. “So what’s the story now? Or is Jacqi making one up?” He looked from Thomi to Stephan and back again.

“There’s no story!” retorted Thomi, her hot defiance steaming to the surface. “It’s Jacqi’s fantasy!”

“Oh, not just Jacqi’s! Be truthful, Thomi,” Stephan cut in with smiling reproach. “Our story began yesterday when I hauled you up over that cliff!”

She shot Stephan a black look, informing him she wouldn’t be bullied into anything—only his tolerant smile, his sunny amusement, the very sweetness of his regard ripped the reins out of her hands, and Heart was ready to run that story ahead a few chapters—oh, maybe, someplace in the middle!

Nicholas watched them with no lessening of his skepticism. “And how’s it going to end?”

“If I don’t think it has a beginning yet, how should I know how it’s going to end? How’s Nicky’s going to end?” Thomi flung back. Wasn’t he concerned about him? Man, he’d had a secret passion for someone—figures it’d be Stephan’s cousin—for years. Probably now, there’d be nothing holding it back!

“Happily—as ours will,” promised Stephan. “I’ve participated in my last unhappy one!”

Nick pushed away from the post. “Well, I hope she has too, but I’m not putting faith in words. So, how’d it happen you were nearby to haul her up over a cliff? Although, it shouldn’t surprise me you had to do it! She’s bound and determined to dance along the edge of ‘em whatever anyone says!”

Stephan’s gaze rested upon Thomi’s face, his smile holding both sweetness and a hint of teasing. “I needed to see her about—some mutual business. Found her out on the cliffs there, tossing rocks into the water. The last one, though, she threw with such force, it carried her right over. Imagining someone on the receiving end of it, I’ll bet!”

She gave him up a look that told him precisely how right he was!

Amused and unoffended that he apparently had been that someone, he went on, “For a few minutes I really expected to be coming here with the worst news for you. His Highness there let me near enough, finally, so I could grab her before her scrawny bush got completely ripped out of the cliff side. She has courage,” he finished. “She never really panicked!”

“And let me guess,” said Nick, his gaze on his daughter. “It’s partly what attracted you to her! Still neither of you needs to build a relationship on this! She ought to learn what makes one work first!”

Countered Stephan, “Sure, but how do you learn if you don’t begin one?”

“She’s begun many more than I have time to enumerate,” returned Nicholas unmoved. “In any event—”

“He don’t wanna worry ‘bout her all his life!”

Jacqi ducked through the rails in time to hear this exchange. She was immediately followed by a taller version of Thomasyna. “You got other things to worry ‘bout too, huh, Dad?”

Oh, good. Pretty soon, she’d know her father’s whole conversation on this subject, one small child at a time!

Which could lead to related but more dangerous topics. “Well, who says he has to?” She punched Lyndsay’s arm playfully and challenged her father. “Why can’t you worry about her?”

“She’s given me no cause to! Just now, you’re the one likely to drive me back to the bottle! Look, I am going to pray you can exercise better judgment this time—and bow out of it! In the meantime,” he said to Stephan, ignoring her protesting outcry, “I’ll thank you for saving her from a messy demise! And for acting so promptly in our crisis here—it occurs approximately twice a week!”

He favored both Stephan and Stormi with a long considering glance. “I’ve been searching for the right sort of person to hire on here. Someone who could be trusted with more than mucking a stall and grooming the trail horses. Those two were fine for that sort of thing but not—as you heard—for anything requiring real responsibility. Would you be interested in doing me the favor of exercising a couple of my horses today? If each of you four take one, it’ll free me to get started on a new project I took on today.”

Knowing which animals he likely needed help with, Thomasyna immediately spoke for her preference. “I’ll take Vespry!” It wasn’t often that he let anyone other than Anetra ride his favorite chestnut mare.

“No, I’m asking Karla to ride her.”

“Oh, that’s not fair!”

Nicholas shrugged. “It’s not about fairness, Thomi. It’s about giving the best man—or woman—the job! Sherwyn seems to respond best to you, and Lyndsay’s able to handle Thaena. Stephan, I’d be honored if you’d ride Valient for me.”

Stephan showed no hesitation in accepting that honor. Even as she gave him a skeptical stare, Thomi noticed that Stormi favored him with a similar look. Stephan smiled at them both and addressed his cousin, “You can’t be thinking of refusing his offer, Storm? I saw the dream in your eyes when you expressed the wish to be able to ride a certain chestnut mare in that field by the drive!”

“Well, yes, but—”

“So, your wish is granted,” Lyndsay told her. “That’s Vespry!”

Stormi seemed torn between two desires. “Ah, look—I know I’ve no right anymore, but—I had hoped to be able to take Rogue or Fairwind for a short ride . . . if it’s possible.”

“Fairwind’s due to foal anytime now,” replied Nick. “As for Rogue—I’ve made him my personal mount. Not even Anetra has my permission to ride him.” Not missing the disappointment in her face, he temporized, “Come work for me if you’re not engaged anyplace else, and we’ll see. He’s made considerable progress since you saw him last. Calmed down quite a bit! I think you’ll be pleased!”

Oh good! If his cousins were hired here, Stephan would have a wonderful reason for hanging around, wouldn’t he? Of course, when his magical way with Cedric came to be known and respected, everyone would likely drop Dr. Ayer and engage Stephan in his place. Dr. Ayer was one of those types who should have taken up mining or some other occupation that kept him deep underground and away from people. Still, to be bumping into Stephan every other time she came to DreamWynd, well, who needed that worry?

On the other hand, she instinctively liked Stormi—who obviously didn’t know what to say to Nicholas’ offer. In her eyes was a definite light and a yes. Yet, she hesitated. Nick prompted, “Are you available?”

She hesitated a moment more. Then, “Yes. We both are—Kourtnay and I.” With a decided emphasis on the word both.

Nick answered with a slight nod, “Naturally, I wouldn’t hire one without the other. Ride then, and we’ll talk afterwards.” With that, he left them in the charge of Thomi and Lyndsay, and went off to get started with the retraining of a new client’s problem horse.

Just then, Nicky, finished with the pick-up, came walking out of the garage, Kourtnay within the circle of his arm.

Ten months younger than his eldest brother, Geoffrey, he was. Both men were close images of their father, but Nicky’s disposition was far more impulsive and inclined to a hotter temper. The only time he evaluated the consequences of a venture was when it pertained to someone else’s ill-considered actions. Any of his siblings, for example.

Just now, all his attention centered upon Kourtnay Deverill. Didn’t care who was watching when he kissed her. Kisses of such joy and passion, it was rather amusing to witness. Nicholas, on his way to the new horse’s stall, stopped to exchange a few words with the couple, then continued on his way.