Leaping Hearts(80)

“That’s right. I don’t need any help with the ladies.”

She turned the truck around, trying not to smile too much.

“Ya think she liked me?” he asked.

A.J. and Devlin were on their way out to dinner when she took the slip of paper she’d gotten from the bank and handed it to him.

“What’s this?”

“The money I owe you.”

He frowned.

“When I started here,” she said, “you and I agreed I’d pay for training and board. That should cover it. At least according to what we charge at Sutherland’s.”

Without looking at the check, he tried to push it back at her. “I don’t want your money.”

“Devlin, I saw the bills.”

“What bills?”

“The ones upstairs on your desk.”

“So?”

“There’s a couple thousand dollars’ worth of debt up there. You need this money. You’re not competing anymore.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” he said darkly.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“So you think I’m going to go broke feeding your stallion?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“In any event, let me put your mind at ease. I may not be in your father’s league but I’m not strapped for cash, either.”

“Devlin—”

“Too bad you didn’t get into my investment files while you were nosing around up there. Then your mind would be at ease.”

“I wasn’t nosing around.”

“So the bills just fell into your hands while you were on the phone.”

“Look, I’m just trying to live up to my obligations.”

“And I’m telling you not to worry about it.”

A.J.’s eyes implored him. “I’ve spent too much time letting other people take care of me. You and I should be partners. Will you let me do this, please?”

She watched him cross his arms over his chest, the check getting buried in the crook of his elbow. While she waited for him to speak, she reached to her throat out of habit but there was nothing to rub between her fingers. She dropped her hand.

Devlin frowned, unsure exactly what was missing in the movement.

Finally, he said, “Is this money yours or your father’s?”

“Mine.”

If it were her father’s, it would have been easy to tear up the check. He had no intention of taking Garrett Sutherland’s cash. Ever. As for it being A.J.’s, he wondered whether it would change things if she knew he had several million dollars in various stocks, bank accounts and real-estate investments. Would she find it easier to let him bear some of the burden for her?

“Devlin, I may have brought this up because I’m worried what the stallion and I are costing you but there’s more to it. It’s about me being independent. For the first time in my life, I want to support myself.” She paused. “I need to be self-sufficient.”

“I don’t like this.”

“I can tell. But you know it’s the right thing for me to do, don’t you?”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t want you to think I can’t take care of you.”

A.J. went to him, putting her hands on the rigid muscles of his upper arms. “I know you can take care of me. I’ve never doubted that.”

He looked down at her for a long time.

“I didn’t know I was such a traditional guy,” he muttered, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Taking care of my woman and all that caveman, chest-thumping stuff.”

“You’re very sweet when you’re being protective and overbearing.”

Reluctantly, he slipped the check into his back pocket.

“Was this our second argument?” he asked as he opened the door for her.

“I think so,” A.J. said, slipping her arm through his. “And I think we did just fine.”

“Does this mean we get to make up later?”

“You better believe it.”

They were getting into the truck when she said, “By the way, I’ve asked Margaret Mead to look into Sabbath’s records. She might be calling for me sometime in the next few days.”

“You get anywhere with his last owner?”

A.J. shook her head. “Came up empty on his first one, too.”

Devlin drove them to the next town over and they ate at a restaurant that was known for its lasagna. After her failed attempt at cooking, A.J. seized the opportunity to pick up tips from the pros. The waiter humored her through her interrogation and eventually the chef himself came over to their table. She took notes on cocktail napkins and whenever she looked up at Devlin he was watching her with eyes full of amusement and warmth.

The movie they saw had more special effects than story line but it didn’t matter. As they pulled up in front of the barn again, they both agreed the evening had been perfect. After checking on Sabbath, they went to the farmhouse, hung up their jackets and headed upstairs, one after the other. Together, they took their clothes off, mingling their laundry in the hamper, and brushed their teeth, side by side. When they were lying together in bed, A.J. closed her eyes, feeling a profound peace.

Devlin, on the other hand, was wide-awake and staring at the ceiling. Before pitching his khakis in with the rest of the dirty clothes, he’d cleaned out the pockets and found the check. He’d been surprised at how large an amount she’d written it for.