Riding High

“It is serious. These are big animals, very strong animals. They’re used to having a leader of the herd, and if you don’t accept that role, one of them will take it. Rex may think he already has. Strawberry might decide to fight him for it. Losing control is dangerous to them and dangerous to you.”

Her pulse rate picked up, and this time it had nothing to do with how beautiful his eyes were and how much she wanted to do him. “Regan, you’re scaring me.”

“Good. I mean to. You’ve been lucky so far. Most of the horses haven’t been here very long, and at least six of them are too old to harm anyone. But you need to let them all know you’re the boss, and very soon.”

A shiver ran down her spine. “I don’t have the skills to do that, yet. I’ll need training as much as they do. And practice. I’ll call somebody first thing in the morning about fencing in a couple of acres. Oh, wait, what’s tomorrow?”

“Saturday.”

She groaned. “Some fencing companies will be closed, and even if I find one that isn’t, they probably won’t be able to finish it up until the first part of next week.”

“I could ask Nick if he could pull in a favor. The Chance name might help.”

“Sure, okay.” She combed her fingers through her hair while she thought through her options. “I’m not too proud to accept that. If you’ll call him now, I’ll let the horses out.”

“Look, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m worried about you.”

“I know.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I just never imagined that my good deed could turn into a life-threatening situation—for me or for the other horses. Call Nick. I’ll be right back. Then we should feed the pigs and the chickens.”

Turning, she walked toward the barn. Her rose-colored glasses were smashed to smithereens, and as she entered the overcrowded space, she could swear ominous music played in the background. The horses looked the same, though, and gazing into their liquid-brown eyes as she opened each stall door calmed her. She gave an extra pat to Sandy, who seemed to have recovered from his fright.

They all walked out of the barn in the same leisurely fashion they normally did. But she couldn’t quite erase her mental image of Rex and Strawberry battling to the death for control of the herd. That wasn’t going to happen, though. She had Regan on her side, and he knew his way around these animals, thank God.

At last she opened the stall where Sally stood with a chestnut gelding named Brown Sugar. The gelding meandered out, but Sally lingered as if hoping for a treat. That was Lily’s fault. She’d often slipped the little mare pieces of carrot and apple.

“Sorry, girl. No treats on me, tonight.” She stroked the horse’s silky neck. “You aren’t really trying to control me, are you? You just want to be good friends.”

Sally butted her head against Lily’s chest.

“See, that’s what I thought. Come on. Everybody else has left the barn, so you might as well, too.” She turned and started down the wooden aisle.

Sally followed, but she didn’t stay slightly back the way Rex had when Regan had led him toward the corral. She came right up to Lily, her nose often bumping Lily’s arm. Lily moved over, and Sally moved with her.

As an experiment, Lily kept moving to the right each time Sally crowded her. Pretty soon she was out of room. She turned to face the mare. “Are you herding me?”

Sally’s big brown eyes gave nothing away.

But Lily had her answer. Sally was in charge, and Lily wasn’t. She had no rope or quirt, so she untied the tails of the shirt knotted at her waist and flapped those in front of the mare’s face. “Back off, sweetheart!”

Sally’s head jerked up and she took a couple of steps backward.

“Yep, that’s what I’m talking about! Give me some room!” Lily flapped her shirt a few more times, and Sally retreated again. “Huh. Amazing.”

She’d managed to intimidate Sally a little bit, but she had no illusions that she’d get the same respect from Rex or Strawberry. For that matter, most of the new arrivals might not pay any attention to her efforts. She had a lot to learn, and not much time to learn it. Knotting her shirt at her waist once again, she walked out of the barn into the soft twilight, followed at a respectful distance by Sally.

Regan, looking better with every minute that passed, came to meet her.

She was excited to share her small triumph with him. “Hey, you may not believe it, but I backed Sally off by undoing my shirt and flapping the ends in her face.”

“Excellent!” He smiled. “Creative solution. Maybe you don’t need a rope after all.”

“Yeah, I do. I don’t think my shirttails will make much of an impression on Rex.”

“Maybe not. Anyway, I talked to Nick, and he’ll do what he can, but summer is the worst time to get a crew ASAP. Busiest time of the year for fence companies because it’s when they repair winter storm damage.”

“Not surprising.” But it wasn’t the news she’d hoped to hear.

“He said he’d offer to send out some of the ranch hands, but there’s a special riding event in Cheyenne this weekend, so he’s short a few guys as it is. He can get right on it Monday morning, though.”

“So I’m on my own with twenty-one horses who could decide to revolt at any moment.”

“No, they won’t.” Concern shadowed his eyes. “I didn’t mean to scare you that much. I just wanted to make a point.”

“You made it, and I’m not sure how well I’m going to sleep tonight.”

“You’ll be fine. You can call me if there’s a problem. I don’t have any appointments tomorrow, so I can come out and check on you. I can do the same thing on Sunday.”

“I have a better idea.” It wasn’t a wise idea, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but would you be willing to spend the weekend with me?”

4

REGAN GULPED. “Excuse me?” His heart galloped out of control. Surely she hadn’t suggested what he thought she had. He suddenly had trouble breathing.

Lily, she of the sunset-red hair and sky-blue eyes, seemed completely calm, though. “To be clear, that wasn’t a proposition.”

“Of course it wasn’t. We barely know each other. I didn’t think that at all.” The hell he hadn’t. Stupid of him, but he’d immediately created a cozy scenario for the two of them. Apparently his subconscious had been building a whole fantasy on her I can’t help saying yes comment.

“The ranch house has a guest room. My mom insisted I should have one in case any of my friends from Berkeley show up. I realize this is a terrible imposition, but after Rex’s little stunt, I’m worried about being alone here.”

That was mostly his fault. “It’s highly unlikely you’ll have a problem.” But what if she did? What if he drove away from here and something happened? What if she tried to break up a fight and got hurt in the process? He’d never forgive himself.

“I may be overreacting, but I’ve been jerked out of my blissful ignorance and there’s no going back to it. I now understand the potential danger here. You know horses, and you’re a vet who could deal with an injury if we were unlucky enough to have one. I’d consider it a huge favor if you’d do this.”

He struggled to get his bearings. “Well, I—”

“This is spur of the moment, so if you’re willing to stay, you might want to go home and get some things. Where are you living, by the way? I never thought to ask.”

“At the Last Chance. Sarah gave me a room there in January, and I haven’t decided whether to buy property, so I’m still at the ranch.” He worked hard to seem as cool as she was about this discussion. She needed him to be there in case she had a problem with the horses. After the picture he’d painted, he couldn’t blame her. Because he’d contributed to her nervousness, he should agree to her plan. It was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Unfortunately, the thought of spending the night in her house continued to suggest ungentlemanly ideas. That didn’t mean he would act on them, though. He might have considered a relationship down the road, but getting sexually involved with her when they’d met only this morning would be insane. He’d never operated that way, and he wouldn’t start now.

That didn’t take into account how she operated, however. He considered the psychedelic colors of the buildings and her belief in letting all creatures run free. That could add up to a woman who didn’t have rigid rules of behavior when it came to sex. But apparently he did. Could he change those rules given the right circumstances? Yes.

“I can feed the pigs and the chickens if you want to head back to the ranch and pick up a few things. That’s if you’re even willing to consider doing this.”

“So it would ease your mind if I did?” Dumb question. He knew it would because she’d already said so. And he knew his answer was yes.

He was stalling because he hadn’t decided whether to drive back to the ranch for a change of clothes and a shaving kit. That could be problematic if he ran into someone who asked questions. No one kept close track of him there, so if he didn’t show up, they might assume he was out on a call that lasted into the night. That would be sort of true. He’d like to keep their arrangement on the down-low for now.