Not because of his surly attitude or the fact he’d called me a dog doctor. Not even because he’d locked the pup in the truck with no air, which in my world was a mortal sin.
No, all because of how handsome he was and the fact I’d just invited him over to my house.
My messy house I’d need to clean.
Even worse, I had no clue what to wear.
* * *
“No. No. No!” I almost tossed my wineglass against the wall after taking a quick glance outside. “Shit.” With Ellie May at my heels, I bolted toward the door, throwing it open and running outside. Even though I was wearing a damn dress, which I never did, I had on my Skechers, my running shoes.
And that’s exactly what I did, running toward the corral where the three horses who were usually calm, cool, and collected in their demeanor decided this afternoon of all days would be the perfect opportunity to go frolicking around the yard.
Even worse, they were running away from me.
Full speed.
Not one of them bothering to turn his or her head toward the crazy lunatic lady who was screaming her head off.
Or the dog who was barking as if six intruders had stolen her dog biscuits.
Nope.
They were happy they’d made the jailbreak.
I continued running, out of breath soon enough. It was way past time I returned to my regular routine of jogging a couple of miles a day. Just when a cramp in my leg was about to double me over and I had to stop, I heard a sound that was mysteriously like an engine.
This was crazy. Ellie May wasn’t deterred in the least, finding the entire situation enjoyable. With her ears flapping as she ran, her barking doing nothing more than terrifying them, she was determined to win the game.
Out of the blue and with a swirl of dust trailing behind the tires, a truck flew by. What the hell? I was so shocked, I stopped where I was, straining to see who’d either come to my rescue or was planning on using the corral break to his advantage.
Even with the cramp now flaring into pain, I took off running again. No one was going to steal my horses. The truck skidded to stop. Too close to my horses. Too fucking close.
“No! No!” My screams were sharper than before. I was certain the asshole had gotten too close, the horses unable to stop.
Dogs were barking. Horses were whinnying.
A man’s voice.
“Whoa. You’re safe. I got you. That’s it. Whoa.”
What? Deep and husky, the sound was soothing, enough so I was immediately caught up in the lull of his dark, demanding, yet sensual tone.
With my heart in my mouth and tears in my eyes, I refused to stop.
Seconds later, the dust settled and I finally made it to where the entire crowd was enjoying themselves.
Three horses.
Two dogs.
One gorgeous, rugged man.
And me.
“Viper.”
He had his hand around the reins of my fastest horse, stroking the muzzle of the other two, one after the other.
