CHAPTER 7 #2
‘Good,’ I replied, slowing Jasper back down to a walk and wandering over to Jesse. ‘Just like I remember.’
Voices sounded from our right, and Jesse turned to the three people approaching, two adults and a boy.
‘Howdy! Y’all ready for a ride out? Beautiful morning!’
They fell into easy conversation as I dismounted, bringing Jasper around to the yard and handing him over to Jesse.
‘Sure you won’t come with us?’ he asked as the family all approached the horses. ‘We’re meeting up with Bailey on the way, heading up to the ridge by the pools.’
I shook my head.
‘Not this time, but I’ll be there for the cattle drive, I promise.’
He nodded, guiding the guests out of the yard and mounting everyone up. Footsteps sounded from the barn just as Jesse swung up into his saddle.
Cole.
Instinctively I turned, my stomach tightening as he headed straight for me.
‘You going out for a ride?’ he called, forcing me to look back at him.
‘Not this time, no,’ I replied, with less force than I wanted in my voice, which was somehow weakened by the sight of him, already towering over me at six feet away.
Jesse walked his horse over.
‘Want to do something useful then?’ Cole asked, the same edge to the question as there’d been in his statement at breakfast. ‘Lil says you’re hot shit on a horse, so reckon it’s time you proved it.
’ Incredulous, I stared back at him, my reserve beginning to evaporate.
The contrast with Jesse’s easy, flirty manner gave me whiplash. What the hell was with this guy?
Jesse interrupted, a half-smile on his face as he glanced at his friend.
‘Don’t rise to it, Princess,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Cole loves to get his kicks this way—’
‘Fine, I’ll prove it,’ I replied, ignoring Jesse, unable to bury my growing irritation. ‘What do you want?’ I said to Cole.
Eyebrows raised and suppressing a smile, Jesse turned his horse and began to move off.
‘See y’all later – try not to rip too many chunks outta each other.’
‘Princess?’ Cole repeated, clearly fighting back amusement.
I took a deep breath, hating the way he got under my skin like this after years of successfully curbing my reactions, keeping things neutral and professional.
Just treat him like a lawyer. A really fucking hot lawyer.
At my lack of response he shrugged, walking over to the stalls.
‘We’ve got a young horse, broken last year but she’s as green as they come. Reckon you can handle her? Need to get some supplies and run them down to Bailey, take over for a while.’
‘Fine.’
My voice was as clipped and British as it was possible to be as I marched behind him, trying to catch up.
He opened the stall door and led out the horse. She was a beautiful pinto, with large chestnut brown patches on a snowy white coat, skittering to the side on the hard surface, her hooves clattering.
‘Hey, hey,’ I said, moving slowly towards her, watching as her small ears bent forwards and her neck arched. ‘It’s okay, sweetie, you just ignore him and come hang out with me.’
Cole’s mouth twitched and he watched with interest as the horse and I slowly met in the middle.
‘What’s your name, good girl?’
‘This is Bambi,’ Cole murmured and without even glancing at him, I took the lead rope from his grip.
‘Who came up with that then?’ I said, still using the same soft, quiet tone, gently stroking her neck, shushing her nervous breaths on my shirt.
‘It’s one of Bailey’s,’ he answered, a new gentle tone to his voice as Bambi rubbed her head on my arm.
I couldn’t help a low laugh, but my eyes stayed fixed on Bambi’s face, not daring to look at his.
‘Well, I guess it’s better than Dunkin,’ I said to her. ‘At least you didn’t become Dairy Queen.’
Leading her out, still talking nonsense in a low voice, I brought us to the corral.
‘Can I get used to her for a few minutes in here?’ I asked, half turning back to Cole, noting the way he considered me, his stance casual but his face hard.
‘If you need it, I guess so. I’m gonna get Domino.’
I rolled my eyes to myself.
‘What’s his beef, huh?’ I asked Bambi, tucking the rope around the pommel and tightening her cinch. ‘I think your cowboy has a stick up his ass about something.’
She grunted in a way that almost sounded like agreement, and as I swung on, she immediately started moving off.
‘Hey there,’ I said, guiding her into the corral, a thread of fear winding through me. Could I actually handle this? ‘Let’s take it easy, okay?’
We circled the corral, her gait much bouncier than Jasper’s, youth and energy flowing through each step. After a few minutes I felt her relax and as I began to ask her to slow down, speed up, change leg, she was really listening.
‘Good girl,’ I said, leaning down to pat her neck, unable to keep from smiling.
‘It’s all well and good in there,’ Cole’s voice floated across from the yard, ‘but this isn’t a dressage competition. You want to do some real riding?’
I paused, deciding to rise above.
‘By all means,’ I replied, guiding Bambi back to the gate. ‘I’d love to see your definition of real—’
A gust of wind caught the gate, still ajar from when I’d entered, and slammed it shut with an almighty CLANG .
I grabbed the pommel with my free hand, but I was too slow. Ears back and terrified, Bambi leapt backwards, and despite sitting down low, heels pushed down hard, with one almighty buck, I found myself on the ground. Ass first.
‘Lottie? Shit! Cole, get in there, goddamn it!’
I watched as Lil ran down the path from the house, hat almost lifting clean off her head.
With my dignity in tatters for the second time in one day, I didn’t dare look up, just concentrated on moving slowly and bringing my legs round so I could stand.
Bambi stood on the other side of the corral, fidgeting and snorting, thoroughly wary of the gate.
‘I warned you – she’s just as green as the damn horse,’ Cole said in a low voice as Lil approached. Then, as he climbed the fence into the corral, heading towards me, he added, ‘Guess this is what dude ranching is all about, huh? Picking city folk out of the dirt.’
Pure, unbridled temper stirred in my gut.
I rushed to stand up by myself, brushing dirt off my new jeans and taking a step back as he offered a hand.
‘Are you okay, Lottie?’ Lil asked, reaching the fence and vaulting over, heading for Bambi.
I looked up into his face, ignoring his hand, my cousin and the damn butterflies that immediately took flight.
‘First of all,’ I hissed, braving a step forward, ‘I’m not city folk . And second of all, you don’t know the first fucking thing about me. Anyone could’ve come off at that. I wouldn’t make assumptions – you come across like an asshole.’
Lil slowed and I felt her hesitation at catching Bambi or getting in the middle of whatever this was.
But Cole’s eyes burnt into mine as he crossed his arms, the huge bulk of his body casting a shadow between us.
‘I know one thing,’ he said, taking a half-step into my space, his eyes slowly shifting to my lips. ‘You’re definitely no princess with that filthy mouth.’
My breathing almost stopped, the tension between our bodies shimmering in the air. Neither one of us moved, as though we were locked in place. Grasping at any shred of self-control, my back and ass now throbbing, I leant into the pain and narrowed my eyes.
‘It’s okay, Lil, I’ll get Bambi. I know you must be busy.’
Keeping my head high, I turned from Cole and waved Lil away, despite her concern.
‘You sure, honey? You landed pretty hard there,’ she said, then as I levelled my side-eye at her, she backed off, hands up. ‘Okay, okay. Nice to see the Dean stubbornness is still alive and kicking.’
Ignoring Cole’s soft chuckle, as Lil leapt back over the fence, I approached Bambi slowly. Her eyes and nostrils were still wide, and I muttered soothing nothings to her until she lowered her head a little, allowing me to gently scoop up her reins.
‘There you go, sweetie. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?’ I said, keeping my focus on her as I led her back over to the gate, determined not to look at Cole. ‘It was just the noise of the gate, nothing to worry about.’
As we neared it, I heard Cole approaching.
‘Hey . . . Listen, I’m sorry,’ he said, reaching for the gate and opening it wide enough for us both. Bambi skittered sideways, throwing her head up.
I shushed her gently, stroking her neck, letting her calm herself for a moment. I braced myself, expecting Cole to intervene, and when he didn’t, I risked a quick glance to where he stood.
He was watching carefully, his eyes alight, but any sense of hostility had seemingly abated.
‘Come on,’ I murmured to Bambi, feeling her resistance but keeping firm. ‘Let’s brush you down instead, okay?’
I heard the gate close behind us, just a gentle click as the latch was secured this time.
As I tied Bambi up and loosened her cinch, working my way round and taking off her saddle, Cole suddenly appeared in front of me.
I stopped, and in silence, as I dared to look up at him, he stepped closer, the saddle the only thing keeping his body apart from mine.
The anger I’d felt before still simmered, but as he reached out and gently took it from me, our hands brushed each other. Sparks shot up my arms, my heart responding instantly, even as I shoved the thought away.
‘I can handle that, you know,’ I blurted, gesturing at the saddle.
‘Oh, I get the feeling you can handle a whole lot more than that,’ he replied, barely breaking his stride as he carried it away towards the barn.
Closing my eyes for a moment, resting my hand on Bambi’s shoulder, I willed away the feeling it left me with, one that sat right next to the anger, that threatened to boil right over.
‘Who the hell is this man, eh, girl?’ I whispered to Bambi, reaching down to the tray full of brushes I’d spotted by the barn wall.
I started gently on her back, throwing my focus into her response, any sensitive points where the brush might feel too much. But in seconds she had relaxed, her head lowering as I applied more pressure, taking out some of the frustration of the last half an hour.
‘You understand them, don’t you?’
Cole’s voice was low as he leant against the barn, watching.
I bit back the sharper response that formed in my mind. He had apologized. He was making an effort. The version of him I’d met in the bar flashed in my mind, the feel of his lips on mine.
‘Yeah, as much as a city girl can,’ I said, not pausing to look at him.
There was a silence, broken only by the sound of the brush working through Bambi’s beautiful coat, and the other horses moving around in the barn.
‘Right,’ he replied. ‘Lottie, I—’
‘I’m not interested,’ I lied, working my way around Bambi to her other side, letting her body shield me from him. ‘I’ve got other things to do today once this is done. So I just need to concentrate on finishing this up and go.’
‘Other things?’ he asked, after another pause.
‘Applying for jobs at home. In the city – you know, the real world.’
The words came out harder than I’d intended and, unable to resist, I looked up, catching his expression. That same hint of amusement was there, the infuriating gleam in his eyes that meant he knew just how far under my skin he was.
‘Okay, I won’t hold you up. And I’m guessing you don’t need help taking her back to her stall after? I’m going out on Domino for a while.’
I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak again. And as Cole walked away, I made a resolution.
It was time to reassess and deal with the mess at home, I decided, before a whole new one emerged here.