“That’s what I thought. Grab your rope and your gloves,meet me in the round pen over there,” I said, pointing toward the area we used to break horses. Lincoln and I had gone to auction before he left and came home with four we thought had real potential. There was one of them that was really giving us a hard time, though. She was stubborn as hell and reminded me of Lennox.
As Nick followed me, his dog started barking. It was a real high-pitched noise that had him turning around and shouting for her to shut up. I picked up my pace, trying my damndest not to hit him right here.
Unfortunately, so did Nick. He came jogging up behind me. “Sorry ‘bout her,” he said, chuckling. “Damn, bitch won’t shut the fuck up.”
I didn’t say anything; I just clenched my jaw tighter. Little prick. If this was how he treated his own animal, there was no way in fuck he could be trusted to take care of anything he didn’t have a vested interest in.
Three other guys were working the pens, excluding someone in the center, and gently loping one of the more docile fillies of the group. I didn’t recognize who it was until I caught a glimpse of blonde hair beneath a baseball cap. “Hey, boss man’s coming!” they called out, raising their hand. “And is that fresh meat I smell?”
The dust settled, and Lennox turned, narrowing her eyes as Nick and I came closer. At least she was wearing a pair of fucking gloves today. She gave me a tentative smile as the horse stopped in front of her.
I stopped along the railing, resting my elbows on the dusty posts. “She giving you any trouble?” I asked.
“Are you talking about me or the horse? Because we’ve both been perfect angels, haven’t we, girl?” Lennox reached out, letting the filly step forward and nuzzle her palm.
“We had to talk her out of starting with that one,” Keith said, pointing toward the pissed-off looking stallion two pensover. His chest heaved, and his nostrils flared as he stared at the railing like it was a cage. I supposed it was, in a way. “He’s one mean son-of-a-bitch. Bit Reggie while we were unloading him.”
“Probably best,” Nick said. “Pretty little things like her should be watching from the sidelines, not putting themselves in danger.”
Reggie and Keith looked at one another and chuckled. “Fresh meat’s about to be dead meat.”
I watched Lennox transform from the hard-working rancher’s daughter to the stone-cold vixen who chewed up and spit out weak little shits like Nick. She glanced up through long lashes as she stepped forward. Her lips curved, morphing into a seductive smile with each sway of her hips.
“Is that right?” she asked, bracing one hand on the railing and the other on her waist.
“Sure is,” he said, stepping up beside me. “Especially with that big brute over there. We wouldn’t want you getting hurt now.”
Usually, I’d step in and say something, but that wicked little spark in Lennox’s eye said she could handle it herself. I believed her too. Hell, I wanted her to show this fucker what she was made of and prove him wrong.
“Do you think you could handle him?” she asked, dropping her voice.
“I know I could.”
I’d give it to the kid. He had confidence in fucking spades. It was hugely misplaced, but maybe he’d find somewhere to fake it until he made it.
Or maybe he was about to get his ass handed to him by a five-foot-seven blonde who terrified most men around here.
Only time would tell.
“Well, I’d love to see what you’ve got,” she said, gesturing toward the gate panel. “Maybe one of us will learn a thing or two.”
“Oh, you will, for sure,” he said. And then the motherfucker slid his glasses to the tip of his nose and winked before going through the gate. “Now, climb up, and let me show you how to do it, sweetheart.”
Part of me wanted to stop it, to tell the kid to pack it up and head home. But the other part wanted to see Lennox’s plan come to light and watch her come up on top. He said he’d broken over thirty horses on his resume, so what could it hurt?
Lennox perched up on the top panel, giving me an eye-level view of her perfect ass. I tried hard not to stare, to keep my focus on the kid who was probably about to be run over by the tank of a horse on the other side of the fence, but goddamn, she made it difficult. She kept wiggling her hips, either trying her best to get comfortable or to kill me.
They both looked the same to me.
She looked down with a little smirk, as if she could sense my gaze on her. “Eyes on the prize, old man,” she said, nodding toward the idiot in the ring.
“They’re already there,” I muttered, letting my gaze linger far longer than necessary. Not that she’d noticed. She was damn near vibrating with glee as Keith asked Nick if he was ready. There was something about it that tugged at my damn heartstrings.
Seeing her so happy, I realized, made me happy.
“Alright, sweetheart, you ready?” Nick asked, running his rope through his hands.
Lennox giggled. “Oh, I am so ready.”
