Lone Star Bride

“You’re a woman, Alexis,” her father reminded her. “You can’t be expected to do a man’s work.”

“And who says that only men can train horses? I think I’ve done all right so far. I’d like to have a chance at the three-yearolds. If Jamie thinks I can handle it, that’s good enough for me.”

“Have you been coaxing him into asking about this?” her father asked roughly.

“I’m not underhanded,” she told him, her anger coming to the forefront. “If I want something, I can approach you without Jamie’s permission. So to answer your question, no, I’ve not been coaxing him into anything.”

She looked at the man across the table, whose handsome features were partially buried in his hand, as if he hid a smile from her view.

Hank blustered a bit. “The first time you get tossed off a horse, you’re done, Alex,” he said. “I won’t have you killed just to prove a point.”

She aimed a questioning look at him. “And what point is that?”

“You know what I’m saying. Jamie and I agree that you have a natural ability, you’re a born trainer. You have a gift not given to many people in this world, a natural affinity for horses. But you can’t win them all. There’s bound to be a horse that won’t respond to you, and that one could kill you. You don’t have the physical strength to handle a determined stud.”

“At least give me a chance, Dad. I won’t do anything Jamie thinks isn’t safe. Will that make you feel better?”

“So long as you don’t try to persuade him otherwise,” Hank told her firmly.

“She won’t get around me,” James said, and Alexis ducked her head, hiding the look of triumph she felt washing over her countenance.

Assuming an affable smile, she faced her father again. “He’s tough, Dad. If he makes a statement, you can bet he’ll do as he says.”

Hank shot her a level look, his brow furrowed in a frown. “I know you too well, Alexis. You can be mighty persuasive when you want to.”

James looked her way, an imperceptible twist of his head warning her to desist before she said too much, and then spoke forthrightly in Hank’s direction. “She won’t put me in a bind, sir. I know her tricks.”

Alex fought the rush of heat that appeared at his words. “I haven’t any bag of tricks, Jamie. I play fair. I’d think you’d know that by now.”

“You’re a woman,” he said, as if that were the final word on the subject. And to add emphasis to his statement, he rose from the table and picked up his cup, swallowing the last of his coffee. “I’ll go by whatever you decide, Hank. Let me know.”

“Don’t go yet,” Hank said quickly. “I’m willing to give it a chance. Just keep an eye out.”

“I won’t expect too much from her,” James told him, and then motioned at Alex. “Let’s go, ma’am. We’ve got work to do.”

With mixed emotions, Alexis followed him out the door, waving at her father as she crossed the threshold, forming her lips into a quick “thank you” in his direction. Stepping double-time, she caught up with James and strode beside him. This man was very good at irritating her, his lifted eyebrow speaking volumes. And then his single word verified her thoughts.

“Satisfied?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Not quite, but almost,” she said, lifting her chin in a gesture of defiance. “Once I get on top of one of those beauties, I’ll be happy.”

“Don’t push it,” James said gruffly.

“I won’t. Just know that you’re going to have the best trained bunch of horses in the county. I’ll ride them all before I’m done.”

“Pride goeth—”

“I know the rest of it,” she said sharply. “And it isn’t pride that drives me. I know what I can do, and so do you, or you wouldn’t have pushed my father for this.”

James grinned at her, a sudden switch of mood that threw her off balance. “All right, sweetheart. Strut your stuff. We’ll start with the pinto mare. She’s not as big as some of the others.”

It was a long day. They broke for dinner at noon and then went back to the corral, where several of the hands happened to meander past, their eyes watchful as Alexis grew familiar with each horse she handled.

“Who’s been in charge of these?” James asked. “Who worked with them before I got here?”

“Slim, mostly,” Alexis told him. “He’s about the best on the place.”

James shook his head, a silent rebuttal of her words. “No, sweetheart. That’s where you’re wrong. You’re the best on the place.”

Her heart soared with the words of praise. So easily he could brush aside her barriers and set her heart beating double-time. Between his Irish blue eyes and the shock of black hair that begged for her touch, he was a man she was finding it hard to resist. In fact, she wondered some days and nights why she bothered. She was past the age of girlhood, she was a mature woman, and if she chose to know James Webster on a deeper level, it was no one’s business but her own. But not for the world would she let him know how readily he affected her.

He paused beside her and touched her elbow, his gaze seeming to look past the facade of nonchalance she offered. “I’m going to turn you into the top trainer in the county,” he told her. “And it won’t take much on my part to do it. You’re already well on your way, Alex.”

“Got a charley-horse?” James asked. Breakfast was a thing of the past, and he’d waited impatiently for Alexis to join him. Now he watched her walk toward him across the yard, and when she neared, he shot her a quick grin. “I’ll bet it kept you up last night, didn’t it?”

“Does it show?” Alexis walked as if she had a decided cramp in her calf, and he could almost envision himself scooping her up from the ground if it should give way beneath her.

“You betcha it shows,” he said with a chuckle. “I noticed when you came down for breakfast that you were favoring it. Kinda goes with the territory, sweetheart. Come on in the barn and I’ll massage it for you.”

She lifted a brow and hesitated. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, boss.”

“Strictly a professional gesture,” he told her, motioning to the door of the tack room. She entered, James behind her, and when she sat on a chair, he squatted in front of her. His hands worked her boot off and then slid up her calf, his fingers seeking out the muscle that had tightened even more when she sat down.

“While you keep walking on it, it’ll behave. But sit down and it tightens up and pulls from your heel. Nasty business.” His fingers were digging deeply into the clenched muscle, working out the knot, even as he kept an eye on her face.

She winced, jerked once as he touched on the core of the spasm and he muttered a quick word of apology. Unless he missed his guess, she was struggling against tears, and the thought of her pain made him angry.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked. “You don’t have to work so hard at this, you know.”

“I don’t work any harder than you do. I don’t expect to be pampered. I’m here to do a job. And if I can’t do it well, you’ll have Slim all over you like greased lightning. He’s got a short nose as it is, what with my doing the job he’s thought of as his for a long time.”

“I know all that,” he said, sighing in exasperation as he felt the muscle softening a bit. His hands fit around her calf and he applied pressure where he knew it hurt the worst. He’d had his share in the past years. Charley-horses were part of the job. Especially when beginning a new phase of training or when a man was new to the job. In this case, a woman was involved, and James felt responsible for her pain.

“Forget about Slim. If you can’t do the job well, he can fill in. But for now, you’re doing just fine and Slim has enough to keep him busy.” He looked down at her leg and his mouth flattened over his teeth.

“If you were a man, I’d have you out of those britches so I could handle this better,” he told her. And then, almost as an afterthought, he tossed her a quick grin. “But, to tell the truth, I’m awfully glad you’re not a man, sweetheart.”

She bit her lip and was silent, her eyes shiny, perhaps with tears she hoarded to herself, he thought. And then she bent toward him and her mouth touched his forehead. “I’m glad I’m not a man, Jamie. Men are nice people for the most part, but in this case, I’d rather be what I am.”

“Tempting? A green-eyed witch? A hip-twitching female?” He offered her choices, and she shot him a smug look, blinking back the moisture she had not allowed to fall. Her mouth formed a smile and he thought triumph dwelled there, the exultation of a woman who has gained her man’s attention.

“You noticed? Especially the hip-twitching part?”

“How could I help it? You’ve got the sweetest little fanny I’ve ever spent any time watching, ma’am.”

She ducked her head, as if suddenly unsure of herself. “I think I should be embarrassed, Jamie. At least a bit put out with you, talking to me this way.”

“I’m only stating facts, Alex. There isn’t a man breathing who wouldn’t watch you if he had a chance. You’re as easy on the eyes as any female I’ve ever known.”