Evie stepped off the patio, her feet sinking into the thick grass, and headed toward Jake. He just stood in the barnyard, hands on his hips, his gaze not on her, but on the horizon. After a moment, he tilted his hat back then turned in her direction, as if he’d felt her watching him, and he smiled.
Evie stopped in her tracks. Oh, what that smile did to her! Her stomach quivered and her mouth went dry, as excitement, and something else she couldn’t—wouldn’t—define rippled through her. Even her knees were a little weak, like butter on a sweltering day.
A moment later, she heard the sound of horses, their hooves pounding the earth, and hervaqueroscame in from the summer pasture.
So much for a moment alone with him.
The riders dismounted, laughing, and carrying on as they were wont to do, and started handing the reins to him. Evie threw up her hands in disappointment and disgust.
There are too many people here!
She turned on her heel and headed back into the house, closing the door a little more forcefully than she should have.Hilde looked up from the now half-empty bowl of flour, full measuring cup in hand. “I thought you were going to talk to Jake.”
Evie glared at her, just a little beyond frustrated. “I don’t always listen to what you tell me, Hilde. I’m a grown woman!”
She stalked through the kitchen and pushed through the swinging door, a flush heating her face as she heard both Hilde and Felicity burst into startled laughter. She continued up to her room, looking for a little peace and quiet, hoping she wouldn’t run into anyone on the way.
Who would have thought he’d love this?
Or ever be given the opportunity to train a horse, especially coming from Teodoro Silva. Honestly, he thought Teddy just didn’t like him. Obviously, he’d been wrong. He’d thought, after catching him kissing his aunt, the man wouldn’t have been so…gracious, but here they were, for the fifth day in a row—he in the corral, and Teddy giving orders and encouragement from the fence where he sat.
“You’re a natural, Jake. I’ve seen you with the other horses and how they respond to you.” He laughed, as Jake led the filly past him. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”
“Never.” He was pleased with the compliment, even more so that it came from Teddy.
For the first few days, he’d gotten the sorrel filly used to being touched, bathed, and groomed. Today, he was walking Cinnamon, as she’d been named, around the corral with a lead rope. According to Teddy, all this was required to earn the horse’s trust, and while he was enjoying this, he found his thoughts wandering.
Because of Evie. She’d come outside with a basket, and now hung clean sheets on the clothesline to dry, while Savannah and Miguel played around her feet, their school lessons, taught by Jenny, finished for the day. He couldn’t help watching her or smiling when he heard her laughter in response to something one of the children had said.
“Jake?”
Startled, he brought his attention back to Teddy. “What?”
“Something on your mind?”
There was humor in Teddy’s voice, which he didn’t quite expect, and his face warmed. Did he know he’d been watching Evie instead of paying attention to what he was doing? He shook his head as he led the horse once more around the corral.
“You need to keep your mind on what you’re doing. Building trust is important to training…much more so than other things.”
“Yes, sir.”
Despite his best intentions, Jake couldn’t help himself. He glanced in Evie’s direction on the next circuit he and Cinnamon took around the ring. She pulled a pillowcase out of the basket and shook it then pinned it to the clothesline. On his next trip around, his interest was piqued as he saw Antonio step into view and stop to talk to her. The big man had his hands on his hips and kept nodding toward the corral. Evie turned in his direction then returned her attention back to Antonio. She nodded to whatever it was he said, then glanced in his direction again.
After a moment, Antonio walked over to the corral and rested his forearms on the fence. “How’s he doing?” he asked, loud enough to be heard, probably all the way to San Francisco. The man did have a booming voice.
“Excellent,” Teddy said, and gave Jake a confident nod as he passed by, leading Cinnamon by the lead rope. “Did you know he was this good?”
“It’s a complete surprise to me. Thought he didn’t know anything about horses. He admitted that when he first arrived.”
Jake continued around the corral, no longer able to hear what was said; however, what he’d heard was enough. Pride made him stand a bit taller. No one had ever complimented him on a job well done before. He didn’t quite know how to react, although that didn’t stop his grin from widening on his face and making his cheeks hurt. After a few more moments of conversation he couldn’t hear, Antonio walked away in his bow-legged strut, leaving Teddy alone at the fence.
“I think that’s enough for today, Jake.” Teddy said, as he passed by him. “Tomorrow,TiaEvie will be in the ring with you. I need to head back out to the summer pasture, soTiaEvie will continue with the training.”
Anxiety and excitement rushed through him with those simple words. He watched Evie pick up the empty basket and head into the house. She was more than a distraction, but he had to admit, seeing Evie at the fence would be a much better sight than seeing Teddy, and his heart beat a little faster.
CHAPTER 12
“You have a visitor, Miss Evie,” Ana, who’d come back to the ranch after staying with her folks for more than a week, stated as she stopped at the riding ring’s fence. “A Mr. Ambrose. He’s waiting in the parlor. He says he’s here in regard to the letter he received.”
