Something to Talk About

“But I told you I was coming here to watch the horses after I got off the bus. Remember?” Kiefer gestured toward the fence rail.

Or…toward Robbie?

“Ah.” The woman seemed to notice him then, her sharp brown gaze taking him in with the careful perusal of a protective mother and not even an ounce of feminine interest.

His ego definitely would have smarted if not for his knowledge that she’d lost a husband. He had no idea how long ago that might have happened, but he couldn’t imagine the pain of losing someone that close to you.

“Robbie Preston, ma’am.” He held out a hand to her, strangely eager for her to take it.

He’d noticed her yesterday and remembered her after only a quick sighting. That was unusual for him. Not that he didn’t attract his fair share of female attention. But he’d been so focused on work the last few years—so hell bent on winning family approval and the chance to head up Quest’s training program—that he hadn’t spent much time dating. His relationships had been low-key and often pursued by the ladies who wanted them.

For a woman to turn his head without even trying was a new experience. Especially a widow with a son. Hell, his hangover must have scrambled his brains.

“Amanda Emory.” She took his hand as briefly as possible, her short pink nails barely registering before her hand was back at her side. “I’m the new office manager and I’m so sorry if my son has been pestering you.”

She looped an arm around the boy as if to whisk him away from a big, bad dragon.

The thought gave him pause. Had she been listening to family gossip about his supposed hothead nature? The idea rankled.

“He’s been no trouble at all. In fact, I was just—”

“It won’t happen again, I promise.” She backed away, her short, sharp heels sinking into the soft earth while her skirt billowed gently around her legs.

Damn it.

“Mrs. Emory—” The name didn’t sit right on his tongue and it didn’t stop her anyway. He raised his voice slightly. “Amanda.”

That one stopped her. She looked up at him again as if seeing him for the first time. And whoa. His ego was a hell of a lot more pleased with this encounter.

But before he could ask her a damn thing, she shuttered those pretty dark eyes and seemed to shake her head no.

“Sorry,” she said. “I need to return to the office since I hate to make a bad impression my first week on the job.” She offered him a half smile, but he noticed she never relinquished her firm—protective—hold on her son.

“I just want you to know I’d like to show Kiefer the stables sometime. If he’s interested in horses it’s something he won’t want to miss.” He grinned at the kid, recognizing he carried more clout with the boy than the mom.

Kiefer perked up as though he’d gotten a present.

“Can I, Mom?”

“Not today, but thank you very much, Mr. Preston.” Her feet kept moving, out of range, out of the influence of the legendary Robbie Preston temper.

Damn it, she had to have heard rumors to have lit out of there so fast. He watched her walk away, the gentle sway of her hips beneath her fluttery skirt drawing his eye despite his foul mood. He needed to get back to his work and not let the encounter bother him though.

Because, no matter what Marcus said about always being on the lookout for the next big champion, Robbie wasn’t leaving matters to chance. He’d ride every horse in the stables to see what kind of new talent was on the rise.

After all, horses were a damn sight easier to understand than women, and Robbie planned to stick to what he knew best.

Amanda remembered her meeting with the youngest Preston with a mixture of regret and embarrassment during her lunch hour the next day as she observed three of the stable’s trainers work with their horses in the practice yard. From the safety of the office window, she could view one particular man without him knowing.

And heaven help her, she wanted to watch.

She didn’t feel embarrassed about that because she wasn’t ready to date. Or at least she hadn’t thought she was. It had thrown her for a big-time loop the day before when her heart had started palpitating over a man so much younger than her.

How could forty-year-old hormones not have better judgment when they had finally decided to kick in after a two-year nap? She closed her eyes and remembered her husband’s face—a face still so beloved, but, dear heaven, it had been achingly long since she’d touched him. Heard his voice beside her in bed at night.

She knew Dan would never have wanted her to be alone for the rest of her life, so it wasn’t guilt she felt. Maybe it was more a matter of not wanting to give any spare time to a relationship when her kids deserved all that she—as a single parent—could possibly offer them. Besides, she couldn’t believe she’d experienced such a sharp twinge of awareness for a younger man who also happened to be her employer’s son.

Opening her eyes, she took one last look at Robbie Preston from two stories up. His athletic form was all too apparent in well-worn Levi’s and a gray T-shirt with the stable name printed in black. From what she’d heard, his temperament had put him at odds with the family more than once. But as she watched his easy way with the gray horse he led into the practice yard now, Amanda saw a sensitivity that belied the rumors about him. Her grandmother had been raised on a farm in northern California, and Granny swore that horses and dogs could size up a person faster than anything on two legs.

“Aren’t the horses beautiful?”

Amanda started at the feminine voice behind her and turned to find Jenna Preston, Robbie’s mother and the woman who’d hired her. Amanda’s cheeks heated to be caught staring, but thankfully, it hadn’t occurred to her kind employer that her attention had been fixed on one particular man among the horses. And for heaven’s sake, she needed to get her mind back on her work.

“I am still in awe of how beautiful Kentucky is.” That much was true. “The meadows and wildflowers—and the grass is so lush and green here. Everything is so green. And the Quest property is incredible with the acres of four rail fences and all the buildings painted to match.”

Jenna smiled, her blue eyes warm with pleasure. “I’m passing that compliment straight to our head groundskeeper. He takes a lot of pride in the property and it certainly shows.” Moving closer to the window, she frowned. “Have you met my youngest son yet?”

Apparently Robbie had only just come into her view. He was eye-to-eye with the gray horse as if they were having a meeting of minds. Amanda couldn’t help a smile at the thought and she understood why Kiefer had been so intrigued by this man.

“Actually, we met yesterday. I’ve been taking a late lunch to check on my two boys at the after-school program here and found my older son quietly hero-worshipping Robbie while he worked with the horses. I had to shuttle Kiefer back to Claudia’s house.”

Jenna brushed a restless hand through her wavy auburn hair, her eyes fixed on Robbie.

“He’s upset about us hiring an outsider as head trainer.” She turned to cock a halfhearted grin at Amanda. “And I’m not telling you any family secrets with that one—all of Quest knows that his father skipped over the most likely candidate for the head trainer position. I just wanted to let you know in case he was…surly with you.”

“Not at all.” She couldn’t explain the sudden surge of defensiveness she felt on Robbie’s behalf, since she hardly knew him, but it bubbled up nevertheless. “He couldn’t have been kinder to my son, even offering to show him the stables. If anything, I’m afraid I’ll have a hard time keeping Kiefer out of Robbie’s hair.”

Jenna looked thoughtful.

“He’s good with kids. Katie and Rhea—my son Brent’s twin girls—both adore him. I’m sure Robbie would welcome the distraction of Kiefer’s company these days, so I hope you won’t think twice about taking him up on the offer for a guided stable tour from an expert.”

Jenna patted her arm with a maternal reassurance that Amanda had seen her dole out to several of the employees during her short time at Quest. Robbie’s mother had given Amanda a chance at this job when she had no experience, just some online computer courses and a fierce will to get out of L.A.

So why would she be so reluctant to take a chance on her own son as head trainer?

“Maybe I will.” Amanda tightened her grip on the papers in her arm. “I’d better be getting back to work if I’m going to finish up with the file reorganization this week.”

And she really needed to walk away from the window where Robbie Preston inspired such unexpected feelings.

“I appreciate you undertaking such a big project right away. I knew our last manager had let things slide in those months he was looking for other work, but I didn’t realize how much of a mess the files had become until after he left.”

“I think we’ll all be able to work more efficiently once I’m done.” Truly, Amanda could never have functioned with the disorganization the previous administrator had left, so she was grateful when Jenna gave her the green light to overhaul nearly every facet of office procedure. The staff was small—only eight other people under Amanda’s direct supervision—but the other employees had been around long enough that it would have been a headache to implement changes without Jenna’s blessing.

“And by the way, Amanda, we’re hosting a small dinner party at the main house on Friday for a handful of local Thoroughbred owners who are also friends. Why don’t you join us for drinks if you have time? I think it would be nice for you to put some faces to the names you must be seeing over and over again in your paperwork. We do strive to keep the business feeling like family despite our size.”

Warmed by the invitation, Amanda was reminded all over again how fortunate she’d been to land here, far away from her personal demons on the West Coast.

“I’d be delighted, Mrs. Preston. Thank you.”