Read Online Sacrifice of Passion (Deadly Legends) by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez - Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t have done it without Vic. The foal or mare would have died. Maybe both. She swallowed her pride and faced him. At least she could offer him her gratitude. “I’m glad you came,” she said, giving him a hesitant smile. “Thanks.”
    His palm played across the thin, inch-long spray of white hair along the foal’s neck. The gangly-looking animal was all ribs and legs. “No problem. She’ll grow into a beaut of a filly. Jasper will be happy.”
    She came around to the foal and guided its head close to the mare’s. “We should let them be,” she said.
    He nodded and stood, heading for the sink at the far end of the stable. She followed him and a moment later they stood side by side, wordlessly scrubbing their hands and forearms. The silence between them felt like a defective grenade. She didn’t dare speak, afraid if their conversation took a turn from the generic, her old anger might accidentally pull a long-hidden emotional pin, and God knew what words might unexpectedly explode from her. And yet…
    Vic turned off the water and reached for a clean towel from the stack Jasper kept on a shelf above the basin. He propped a hip against the sink. The iciness that had been part of him during their encounter at the vet, and again at the bar after her rejection, had completely melted.
    “Laney, we can be friends, right?”
    She stilled. No, they couldn’t. “We have too much history to be friends, Vic. And your deal…?” She shook her head, remembering the feel of his fingers on her cheek, his scent, the— No . “It won’t work.”
    His mouth curved into a semblance of a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It could.”
    She was sure he could hear her heart pounding. Avoidance seemed like a good option right about now. Pastor Locke had said Zach was in Vic’s truck. She threw her towel over the rim of the sink and started back toward the barn door. “I think I’ll say hi to Zach.”
    Vic followed, and in her mind’s eye she could imagine the small smile playing on his lips. He honestly thought she’d give in.
    Outside, she breathed easier. The pastor and Zach were leaning against Vic’s truck, both silent and sullen. They looked up as she came out of the stable.
    “Well?” Pastor Locke asked.
    Delaney’s smile was shaky, but she mustered up a solid voice. “You’re the proud uncle of a beautiful tawny foal. She’s perfect.”
    Zach’s eyes grew wide. “And you,” she said to Zach, “are an honorary cousin, I think.” Vic came up beside her. “Without your dad,” she added, “I don’t know if either of them would have made it.”
    “Oh, no,” Vic said. “Delaney was the quick thinker. She had it all figured out. I just followed directions.”
    She heard the sincerity in his words and had to look away, her pulse revving up again. She couldn’t let him make her feel this way. Way too dangerous.
    Zach’s gaze darted to Vic for a split second, but quickly came back to Delaney. “Can I see, uh, him? Or her?”
    She smiled. “It’s a filly. And of course.” She dared a glance at Vic and he nodded once, his gaze intent on her.
    He obviously had no intention of giving up his pursuit. No desire to be just friends as he’d tried to convince her. She swallowed. Hard.
    The boy bounded ahead into the stable and Delaney followed, the weight of Vic’s knowing gaze on her eliciting a combustible reaction in her body. One that she had no idea what to do with.
    Vic was a complication she couldn’t afford. She couldn’t go back in time, didn’t dare get involved with him.
    Her heart wouldn’t survive being broken again.

Chapter Seven
    Vic’s gaze stayed glued to Delaney until she once again disappeared into Jasper’s stable, an eager Zach in tow. That wavy auburn hair. Those spectacular brown eyes, with a hint of amber. Those lips. He shook his head, ran his hand over his face. His reaction to her centered low in his belly, blood shooting to his erection until he couldn’t think