His Girl From Nowhere

“I’ll give you a call on Wednesday, then. How’s that?”

“Perfect.”

“Oh, and, Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“You might not want to get too involved with her, just in case.”

He could have set his old buddy’s mind at ease about that possibility. Because he didn’t plan to get involved with the woman at all.

* * *

What was he doing here?

Trisha’s heart lurched as she glanced back and saw a familiar figure standing at the rail of her outdoor arena. Did he enjoy sneaking up on her?

It wasn’t his fault that she was still jumpy this far after the trial. Or that being out of contact with her mother and brother had been weighing on her mind recently. She knew it was for their own protection, and she’d die if anything happened to either of them, but it didn’t make it any easier. Watching her ex-husband gun down the man he’d accused her of sleeping with had driven home the dangers of getting too close to anyone. Roger might be in jail, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have friends on the outside.

Her eyes went back to the fence. She hadn’t expected Mike to come to the barn until Thursday. But Monday morning found him with his forearms resting on the top rung, watching her as she coached her student over the first of the low jumps. Sweat trickled down her back—not just from the ninety-degree temperatures but in reaction to his unexpected presence. She tipped her wide-brimmed straw hat further back on her head, trying to slow her racing heart.

She’d had to supplement her hippotherapy income by giving riding lessons two days a week. This was one of those days. Mike hadn’t called before coming, so she wasn’t sure if he just wanted to talk to her or if he’d hoped to catch her with a patient. A kind of surprise inspection. Well, he’d surprised her all right.

She pulled her mind back to her student, calling out to her, “Don’t forget to keep the reins loose as he goes over the cross rails. You need to support him but not restrict his head.” She swiped at moisture on her temple with the back of her hand. “Go ahead and continue through the course.”

The girl nodded her understanding and loped around the outside as she made her way toward the next jump.

Trisha glanced back at Mike, who now had a foot propped on the lowest rail of the arena. Still the same shiny uptight shoes he’d worn on his other visit. Very impractical for doing anything at her place. But maybe he’d come straight from work. If so, he was going to have to wait. She owed it to her student not to let her attention wander.

The next jump went without a hitch. Sarah sailed over the two-foot bar, letting her reins out and leaning low over the horse’s neck as she went.

“Perfect! Good job. Head for the next one.”

Keeping her eyes on her student, she edged toward the fence where Mike stood. At least Groucho, her gray lesson horse, was behaving perfectly. That had to be a mark in her favor.

She didn’t turn her head, but once she reached him she murmured in a low voice, “Can I help you?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute as if he was struggling with something. “Do you have those references I asked for?”

She blinked. He couldn’t have called for that information?

“Sarah’s—my student’s—mom should be here in another ten minutes or so. Feel free to talk to her, if you’d like, although she’s not one of my patients. The list of other references is in the house.”

“You give lessons as well?” There was a harder edge to his voice that made her glance at him for a second.

There was that pulsing muscle again.

She focused back on Sarah’s progress as she made it over another jump in the course and turned Groucho to head back to the starting position. “I’m fairly sure I mentioned that already. Until I have enough patients I’ll need to keep the horses in shape and exercised.” She shrugged. “Besides, I enjoy it. I’ll probably continue even once my caseload expands.”