Chapter One #2
Ethan opened the stall, hooked the lead to the halter, and led the mare out.
She already knew the pattern, but she balked at the second barrel every time.
He wanted to see how Ms. Austin handled it.
He didn’t have time to keep interviewing barrel racers, and he needed her to be as good as her references said.
Once he had the mare saddled and bridled, he led her out to the corral. Naomi was already watching them, a smile on her face. No nerves that he could see. He handed over the reins without comment.
Maybe this would work out.
She took the reins and ran a hand down the mare’s neck before putting her foot in the stirrup. Smooth, unhurried. Good sign.
She walked the mare around the corral once, getting a feel for her, and Ethan crossed his arms and watched. He’d seen riders who went straight for the pattern without taking a moment to read the horse. They were usually the ones who ended up in the dirt.
When she nudged the mare into a lope, he saw it immediately, she had a good seat, relaxed, and balanced, moving with the horse instead of against her. He uncrossed his arms.
She set up for the first barrel and took it clean. The second was coming up and he watched her hands, watched the mare’s ears flatten as they always did just before she—
The mare balked.
Naomi didn’t panic. She held her, circled once, calm, and deliberate, then set her up again. This time the mare went around clean.
Third barrel, clean. She brought the horse back to a walk and rode toward him, breathing easy.
Ethan said nothing for a moment.
“She does that every time,” he finally said. “The second barrel.”
Naomi looked down at him. “I know. I could feel her thinking about it on the first pass.”
“Again,” he said.
She nodded and turned the mare back to the start.
This time she pushed her a little faster.
The first barrel, clean. The second, the mare hesitated, one stuttering stride, but Naomi had already shifted her weight, and the mare came around without breaking.
Third barrel, clean. She loped back to the start without being told.
Ethan watched and nodded for her to go again.
Third run she pushed her faster still. The pattern was tightening up, each barrel cleaner than the last, the mare starting to trust her. By the fourth run the hesitation at the second barrel was barely there at all.
He hadn’t expected that. Not this fast.
She pulled the mare up and walked her toward him, the horse’s sides heaving gently. Naomi’s cheeks were flushed but she was sitting easy, one hand resting on the saddle horn.
She didn’t say anything. She just looked at him and waited.
He straightened and walked to her.
“Monday,” he said. “Seven a.m. Don’t be late.”
Something moved across her face, quick and controlled, before she got it back under wraps. “I won’t.”
He handed her the reins while he opened the gate. “You have a horse of your own?”
“Yes, but I don’t have a trailer. I wasn’t sure how I’d get her here.” She dismounted.
He took the reins back and latched the gate behind them. “I have several trailers. We can get your mare. Kalispell is only two hours from here.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.” He led the mare back toward the barn. “Apartment’s yours. I’ll have a key made tomorrow. But in the meantime, you can move in. You can use my key for now.”
“Thank you. You won’t regret it.”
Ethan turned to look at her. “I’d better not.”
****
Naomi couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
She’d done it. She got the job. She'd been nervous riding in front of Ethan, which was strange; she'd competed in front of thousands of people and never felt it like that. But he was different. One wrong move, one bad read on that mare, and she’d have been back in her truck with nothing.
He seemed like a fair man though. He’d given her a shot and she’d taken it, and now she had an apartment and work she was good at and actually wanted to do.
The drive to Kalispell with him was a little daunting. She barely knew him. But she needed her horse, and she only had thirty days before the new owners took over the property. She didn’t have the luxury of waiting.
As she headed to her truck, she glanced around the ranch.
It was a beautiful place. She’d love to know more about Ethan, but he seemed to be all business, and that was probably for the best. She wasn’t looking for anything more than a job but working around him every day might prove harder than she’d expected if she couldn’t stop noticing him.
She climbed into her truck, put the windows down, and headed back to Clifton to get the rest of her things from the motel.
Driving down Main Street, she slowed without meaning to, eyeing the shops she passed. She wanted to stop, but that could wait. First she had to get settled.
Back at the apartment, she pulled up to the exterior staircase, shut off the truck, and started hauling boxes up. When she unlocked the apartment door and stepped inside, the same feeling hit her as before, warm, quiet, and full of possibility.
She set the box down and looked around. She couldn’t wait to make it her own.
****
Ethan removed his hat, hung it on the peg, and headed to his office. Settling into the chair behind his desk, he picked up the phone. He had calls to make before the day got away from him.
A while later, he pushed back from the desk, stood and stretched, then headed to the kitchen. It was well into the afternoon and he was hungry.
Nothing in the fridge appealed to him. He grabbed his hat, stepped out onto the porch, and decided on the diner. His stomach growled at the thought of a burger. As he walked toward his truck, he spotted Naomi at her pickup lifting boxes from the bed.
He changed direction and reached her just as she was wrestling a heavy box from the bed.
“I’ve got it,” he said, moving in and taking it from her.
She looked up at him and his stomach dropped. Those blue eyes could slay a man. Yep. He did not need this.
When she smiled, he clenched his jaw.
“Thank you. My neighbor’s husband loaded it for me. I should have used smaller boxes. More trips, but at least I could manage them myself.”
“I have a feeling you like to do everything yourself.”
“You got that right, Mr. Harrison.”
“Ethan.” He nodded toward the steps. “I’ll get the heavy ones. After you.”
She grabbed a smaller box and headed up the stairs ahead of him. He looked everywhere except at her in those tight Wranglers. Damn it. He followed her inside.
“You can set that on the sofa. I think it’s kitchen stuff.”
“Alright.” He put the box down. “Any more that are too heavy?”
She bit her lip and he nearly groaned. Then she shook her head and smiled.
“I think that’s it. I appreciate the help.”
“You’re welcome.” He pulled his keys from his pocket. “I’m heading into town for lunch. Want me to bring you something back?”
“What do they have?”
“The best burger you’ve ever eaten.” He grinned.
“Is that right? I’ve had some pretty great burgers in Kalispell.”
“None like Connie’s.” Her stomach growled right on cue and he grinned wider. “Trust me.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d love one.”
“Tell me what you want on it.”
She did. He nodded, then stood there looking at her a beat too long before he turned and walked out before he did something stupid.
He climbed into his truck and drove to town.
****
Naomi stared at the door as he disappeared down the steps.
Ethan Harrison was something she hadn’t counted on.
Dark hair, moss green eyes, broad shoulders that filled out a shirt the way they were meant to.
She put him in his late thirties, early forties, given the hint of gray in his sideburns and scruff.
She needed this job, which meant she couldn't get involved with him, no matter how attractive he was. He was probably with someone anyway, a man that good looking had no trouble finding a woman. But even if he wasn’t, it couldn’t be her.
She sighed, opened the box he’d set on the sofa, and got to work.
Her stomach growled as she carried more boxes up the stairs. She hoped he wouldn’t be too long, or she’d start chewing on the furniture.
Twenty minutes later she heard a truck pull up beside the barn. She stuck her head out the door and saw Ethan climbing out, a white bag in his hand. She smiled as he reached the top of the steps.
“I can smell it from here.”
“One bite and you’ll be hooked.” He held out the bag.
“We’ll see. Would you like to come in? I made room on the sofa.”
He hesitated, then nodded, removed his hat, wiped his boots on the mat, and stepped inside. Naomi closed the door, settled onto the sofa, and opened the bag. She inhaled and closed her eyes for a second.
“If it tastes as good as it smells, I’m already in trouble.” She looked up at him. “Did you get one too?”
“It’s in the truck.”
“Go get it and eat with me. We can get to know each other.”
“Alright. I’ll be right back.”
She watched him walk out, then dropped her head back against the sofa.
“What are you thinking? You can’t be attracted to your boss.” She sighed. “Idiot.”
She smiled when he came back through the door, hat in hand. The man had manners.
“Come sit down,” she said, and watched him walk around the sofa. She had trouble keeping her eyes off him in those jeans. They fit him just right, hugging him in all the right places.
He settled beside her and she caught a trace of his aftershave, something warm and faint that made it hard to think straight. She cleared her throat.
He tilted his head. “You had excellent references.”