Page 3 of The Maverick’s Legacy

Carly nodded, and after a short visit, her parents headed back to Bronco. Deciding to take her mother’s advice, Carly headed toward the stables.

As she walked, she couldn’t help but think about what her father said. She had plenty of room to build a riding school that could help kids in the system. It would take a lot of work. She needed to rebuild several of the stables in the barn and repair the paddock. She’d need to build an office to conduct business and have a public bathroom for her students and their foster parents. There was room for outdoor classes, but she’d want to make sure they had a working indoor arena for bad weather. She could already picture it in her head.

Stop that! You’re supposed to be relaxing. Not planning more work.

Well…she’d never been one to relax and sit still anyway. Her endless energy was what used to get her in trouble in foster homes before Suzie and Arthur took her in. But she didn’t like to think about back then.

It wouldn’t hurt for Carly to get some numbers together and make some calls. Maybe she could even look into ways to rescue horses bound for the slaughterhouse.

Nieve greeted her with a rambunctious whinny when she entered the barn. He was as anxious as Carly to get out and go for a ride. Riding always cleared both of their heads.

“Yeah,” she said, rubbing between his eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”

A short time later, they were slowly sauntering through the trails behind her house. She breathed in the fresh pine scent of the woods, watching with amusement as a squirrel chattered at her from the tree above before scurrying into its nest.

“I know,” she murmured. “I’m on your turf.”

Her earlier concerns about the direction of her life seemed to vanish as they continued down the trail, passing through a shallow creek. As much she loved Australia, there was nothing quite like the forest greenery of the States. She’d been all over the world now. Nothing quite compared.

As she stared at the canopy of leaves above her, she felt Nieve tense underneath her legs. Carly glanced down at the horse, noticing the snowy beauty’s ears had shot straight.

Carly reached down slowly for the bag attached to her saddle where she always kept bear spray for any predators that might try to creep up on her.

A twig snapped to her left, and she swirled in that direction.

Only to come face to face with the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

Chapter Two

Jesse Abernathy stared at the woman in front of him, completely dumbstruck. He hadn’t expected to meet anyone on the trails in this part of Tenacity, considering they were a part of his brother Grayson’s property. It was why he’d told his son that it was a great spot to get some peace and quiet.

They’d both needed it after the craziness of his brother’s home, where they were temporarily staying. Jesse thought the world of Grayson’s girlfriend and her daughters. But between the three girls; Grayson’s son, Adam; and their four dogs it was a lot to get used to, especially after it had been just Oscar and him for so long.

He figured he and his son could both use some time out in nature. It was a beautiful day for September. The weather wasn’t too hot or cold. The sky above was bright blue and clear of clouds. The woods smelled like wet dirt and fresh pine needles. The birds were singing loud from the branches above, their songs not muffled by the sound of cars and buses going down the street like they were in Houston. Everywhere he looked there was greenery instead of cement, and it relaxed him in ways he hadn’t experienced in years. It was one of the reasons he moved them to Tenacity—to get his son out in the fresh air.

He’d always made sure Oscar knew how to ride a horse, even though they’d spent of majority of their lives living in the city. Being on a horse was a part of an Abernathy’s DNA. Riding was as natural to Oscar as breathing. As an autistic kid, there were many things he struggled with in life, but being around horses wasn’t one of them. It was a relief to Jesse and something that the two could bond over. He and Oscar would go riding a couple of times a month while they’d lived in Houston. It was a refreshing change that they could now ride whenever they wanted.

The problem was that his plan hadn’t worked out so well—yet. Between Jesse working almost nonstop on building their new home and Oscar recently starting at a new school, they really hadn’t had time to go riding. But after JenniLynn’s youngest had the mother of all tantrums that morning, he figured he and Oscar could both use a change of scene for the day.

Jesse never expected to run into Eva Mendes’s lookalike or prettier twin. The woman wore a pink Western-style top and tight jeans with the ankles covered by expensive-looking cowgirl boots. Her long brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail half hidden under a Stetson hat. Even from a distance, he could tell she had the features of an angel with sharp cheekbones and rich coffee-brown eyes.

“Ma’am,” he finally said, tipping his own hat at her as the cream-colored mare under him shifted her feet.

“You’re on my property,” she said in a tight voice. Her hand hovered over her saddle bag in a way that made him nervous. What was she hiding in there? Pepper spray? Something worse? Even her horse looked at him like he was a criminal.

Jesse frowned, his calm replaced with sudden tension. Had they gone too far and wandered onto someone else’s land? He could hear the sound of water rumbling to his right, which meant that they hadn’t passed Crystal Creek yet.

Oscar came up behind him on his borrowed Paint, and the woman’s eyes flitted from him to the teenager next to him. She relaxed at the sight of his son, her grip loosening its hold on the bag attached to the saddle.

Jesse realized what must have been going through her head, running into a stranger—a man, no less—in the middle of the woods when she least expected it. His hands flew up, trying to assure her he meant her no harm. He nodded toward Oscar.

“This is my son,” Jesse said, trying to give her further reassurance. Not that it wasn’t obvious. With the exception of his green eyes, which Oscar had gotten from his mother, he was Jesse’s miniature.

“Oh! Hello,” she said, her face lighting. A gentle smile formed on her lips. The shift in her features startled him. Had he called her pretty earlier? It was such a weak word to describe the woman in front of him. She was stunning.

She was… God, he found her attractive. Jesse couldn’t remember the last time he’d been attracted to someone. He didn’t count sex. Sex was easy. This woman made him ache to get her comfortable, to trust him. He bit back the urge to ask her on a date. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d dated someone. It had been years.

Hell, he didn’t know the woman’s name and he was already thinking about asking her out. What kind of magic was she weaving over him? Not that she’d automatically accept. There was an extremely good chance she already had a man in her life. There was no way she was single. On the off chance she was available, given the fact that she’d just been about to pepper spray him—he’d bet his new cabin on it—he very much doubted she’d accept a date with him.