To Tempt a Cowgirl

“Quarter horse?”

“Gender?”

“Female.”

“What do you know about horses, Gabe?”

“Not a lot.” He smiled disarmingly. “I want to learn.”

“Do you ride?”

“I don’t have a lot of experience, but I have ridden.”

She studied him askance for a moment. “Do you plan on learning to ride better?”

“That’s the next step.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “Do you have a checklist?”

“A mental one.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I can’t help the checklist. It’s the way I’m wired. And I like horses, but never got a chance to learn to ride well. It’s not easy for a guy my age to get back into it.” He smiled a little. “Since we have a small amount of history, I thought of you.”

Something about the way he said the last words made Dani very aware of, well, him. His effect on her, which wasn’t the effect she was looking for right now. “If I had one less horse...”

“Again, Dani. Not a problem.”

“Do you want me to get you those names?”

“I already have one. Marti? She offered to train the horse and give me lessons at the same time.”

“You’ve met?”

“At the place I bought the mare.”

Dani forced a smile, said nothing. Gabe smiled back and she realized he was truly disappointed. It was all she could do not to say, “Sure. Another horse. Why not?” But she couldn’t. She was too busy.

It wasn’t until he’d driven away and the rooster tail of dust had settled that she admitted the truth to herself. It wasn’t all about being too busy. When you started a new business, you made sacrifices. It was something about Gabe Matthews himself and the gut-level attraction she felt toward him. That and a sense that he was showing one side of himself in order to protect another. A sense that he had trust issues as deep as hers.