“Great, we’ll hit the fields for a run, before it gets real hot.I don’t want them to get too exhausted.They’ve got a showing this weekend.”
“And you’re doing this all by yourself?Not a single ranch hand?”
Miranda stopped in the barn doorway and put one hand on her hip, while she held her coffee still with the other.
“I didn’t mean you can’t, just it’s a lot to wrangle: managing the ranch, planning the shows, the trailer, the showings, the competition, and wooing the horse trainers.”
“I manage just fine.”
He shrugged.“I guess I should be more worried about the competition.Because if looks could kill.”
“I just get really tired of men second-guessing me.”
“Oh, I was raised by a strong, single, southern woman.I wouldn’t dare.”
“But…”
“But those are some long lonely hours.And my mom ended up working so much, she neglected her own health.Maybe if she’d accepted more help, she’d have had more time for herself.”
“I’m sorry about your mom.And I don’t plan on this being a one-woman show forever, I just need to build up some capital.”
He nodded and headed to the tack wall.
“Well, I’ll be in town for a bit if you want a second set of hands.Really, you’d be helping me because the Harts don’t have any horses.”
“I’ll think about it.Let’s see how well you ride with a saddle this time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Renn said with that sideways smile and lifted his ball cap off his thick dark locks.He was exactly what they meant bytall, dark, and way too handsome.
Once they had Beast and Thor saddled up, Miranda led them to the pasture where they could run them.It was strange having someone other than her little brother to help her.Even though they weren’t talking while they rode, Renn’s presence was a comfort she hadn’t realized she’d been missing.After an hour of riding, they ended up on the edge of her land at a small natural spring where the horses could stand in the shade and drink fresh water.
“This looks like the perfect swimming hole,” Renn said.
“I used to come out here as a kid.Whenever I got mad, I’d tear off and ride out here.”
“You ever wonder if we spend too much time wanting the wrong things?”Renn said, standing in the tall grass on the edge of the water under a large willow tree.
“So, we’re skipping the small talk then?”she said.
A rumble of laughter from his chest had her smiling as he leaned up against the tree.
“I think we went past all that small stuff when you figured out the Hart brothers are my half-siblings.”
She nodded.“You do have a resemblance.”
“You think so?”
“Oh ya, although…”
His right eyebrow rose with interest, and he crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
“You have a little bit of an edgier look about you and I like the fact that we didn’t grow up together.”She took a step closer but walked past him to an old well pump that still worked.
“Allow me,” he said, his hand covering hers.
She cupped her hands as he pumped, and cool water filled her hands, which she used to wash some of the sweat off her hands and cool her neck.Then he did the same.
“You’ve got the same easy southern charm as the Hart boys, but only one eye matches theirs,” she said looking up into his questioning gaze.
