The moment she’d entered Flame’s stall, the horse had tried to kick her. She’d flown outside the stall and closed the gate as the mare roared angrily. Flame continued to buck, kicking the sides of the stall. Adrenaline rushed through her as the sound reverberated through the barn, agitating the other horses.
“Come on, girl. It’s me.”
An angry kick was her answer, along with another pissed-off trumpet sound from the wild-eyed cinnamon roan. She knitted her hands together and tried to look calm as she stood in front of the stall, the smell of clean straw and sweet alfalfa hay all around her.
What prompted this tantrum? She’d envisioned Flame welcoming her home with a good nuzzle. The mare used to hug Hannah with her neck and follow her around without a lead rope.
“You’d best give her some space.”
Hannah froze at Ben’s deep voice. Turning, she spotted him in the soft dawn light coming toward her. Her mouth went dry. She’d forgotten how good he looked in a simple pair of well-worn jeans. He hadn’t bothered to shave, and even seven years later, she trembled at the memory of how that rough scrape felt against her bare skin.
Dammit, he was still hot. That pissed her off. And she was already angry about last night—the last way she’d wanted to start her time here.
He hadn’t come up to Will’s cabin to welcome her. Nope. He’d sent his son. With a gift. His family’s bag of potato chips—ones he also craved. Then Will had done his best to lay out the sleeping arrangements Luke had already told her Ben had arranged. Like she’d have Neil sleep in the bunkhouse when she was staying in a three-bedroom cabin.
How she’d wanted to march down and hurl that bag of chips at him. She didn’t need his chips or his opinions on their sleeping arrangements. She certainly didn’t need to stare at that bag on the counter this morning as she’d drunk strong coffee and remembered all the times they’d fed them to each other—in bed or out of it.
Flame kicked the stall again, and that was all it took. She lost her cool.
“What the hell’s wrong with my horse?”
He winced as Flame gave another violent kick to the stall, causing her neighboring horse in the next stall to neigh loudly. “She seems to be mighty pissed.”
“I can see that.” She pointed at Flame.“Whyis she acting like this?”
“You know horses. They’re like cats. You’ve been gone a long while.”
Picking up a bucket of feed, he watched the mare carefully as he approached the stall. Flame came over to Ben immediately when he reached the gate and rested her head against his chest.
Traitor. Crossing her arms, Hannah glared at them.
“Didn’t Will tell you I was planning on swinging by this morning?” he asked, patting Flame’s head and making soothing sounds. “We’re going to have to reacquaint you is all.”
“Reacquaint us?”She scrunched up her nose as she felt a sneeze coming on from the dust in the barn. “She wants to take a piece out of me.”
His low chuckle had her hackles rising. “Yeah, she sure does, doesn’t she?”
Flame looked over Ben’s broad back, showing who she appreciated all right. The sight finally punched past the anger straight to the hurt. That cinnamon red roan mare had been a special gift from Ben after they’d nursed the colt to full health. She’d ridden other horses, but she and Flame had shared a special bond she hadn’t thought anything could break. Much like she’d thought about Ben and her.
“My horse hates me. I—we—bottle-fed her when her mother died. I slept in the stall with her until we knew she was going to make it. I?—”
Loved her with every part of me.
Like she had the man who was comforting Flame.
Even though it was irrational, she felt like they’d both united against her. She felt shut out. Like she wasn’t one of them anymore.
Then again, she wasn’t. God, she must be overtired and jet-lagged because all she wanted to do was weep.
What was she doing here?
The lights in the stables flickered then, and she shivered. Her sister’s old trick was back.Good of you to remind me, Sarah.
Ben continued stroking the mare, keeping his back to her. He looked every inch the tall, handsome cowboy she’d fallen for, but now he was broader and more powerful in build. All man and way too devastating to her peace of mind.
“I’ve always thought people who talked about having thememory of an elephant had never met a horse,” Ben commented. “Flame was pretty upset when you left.”
“Upset?” She edged closer and had to jump back when Flame bared her teeth. “She wants to kill me.”
