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JT glanced up at her greeting and offered her a lopsided grin that made her heart jerk almost painfully. He wore camel-colored jodhpurs and knee-high boots. A navy polo shirt showed off the strong column of his throat and his powerful biceps.
“I’ll be just a couple minutes more, then I can give you a tour of the place.”
“Take your time.”
She was enjoying the view. After not seeing JT for five days, she’d almost been able to convince herself that the way she’d melted beneath his kisses had been a symptom of her shock at learning what Tiberius had left her and reaction to her impulsive and speedy wedding. Then he’d returned and she’d proposed that they move in together. She could deny her feelings to Harper and Scarlett, but it was a lot harder to lie to herself.
She was hoping the chemistry between her and JT would combust and land them in bed together. Admitting it made her giddy. She’d disavowed the truth long enough. She wanted JT Stone in a big way and her subconscious had positioned her perfectly to act on those feelings.
“You ready?”
While she’d been coming to grips with her desires, JT had finished with the horse and a groom was leading it away.
“Sure.”
JT guided her down the row of stalls, telling her a little bit about all the different horses.
“Until I stepped into the barn, I didn’t realize this was a training facility,” she exclaimed as he opened one of the stall doors and stepped inside. “How many horses do you have here?”
“We have fifty in training. They’re all housed on this side. Across the arena is a whole other line of stalls where we keep horses for sale and the mares who are either in foal or who have babies. There’s another forty over there.”
“So, this is much more than a hobby for you.”
“Not really. Vic manages the facility and deals with all the clients. Ralph is in charge of the training. Sid handles the sales. Bonnie keeps everyone healthy and watches over the mares. The place doesn’t need me to run.”
But from the way everyone they met asked his opinion or updated him on the barn’s occupants, she gathered he was the heart and soul of the operation.
“This is Milo.” JT laughed as they approached a stall and he had to push the horse’s nose away from his pocket. “You get treats after you work, not before.”
“Is he yours?”
“No. He belongs to a very talented ten-year-old girl. I’ve been his trainer for two years.”
Keeping her gaze off her husband’s handsome face—relaxed and unguarded for the first time she’d noticed—was necessary to avoid embarrassing herself with renewed pleas for his kisses. Instead, Violet stared at the horse. His back was well over five and a half feet off the ground. “A little girl rides this horse? That’s a long way to fall.”
“She’s been riding since she was three. She has an amazing seat. The sort my grandmother had. And a real feel for the horse. She and Milo are quite a team. She’ll be by for a lesson tomorrow. You can see for yourself.”
“I’d like that.”
JT slipped a halter over the horse’s head and led him out of the stall. He held the lead rope out to her. “Can you hold him for me while I get my saddle and bridle?”
“Me?” She squeaked out the word after sizing up the enormous animal. “I’ve never handled a horse before.”
“He’s a big pussycat.” JT put the rope in her hands. The horse took a step toward her, his ears forward. “Blow lightly into his nostril. He likes it and it will help you two get acquainted.”
If it had been anyone but JT she might have assumed she was being pranked. Still, she felt silly following his instructions until the big horse pricked his ears and breathed back at her. On some sort of horse level they were communicating. By the time JT returned with a saddle and bridle, she had grown brave enough to pet the horse’s soft nose and scratch his cheek.
“Looks like you two have hit it off,” JT observed, setting the saddle carefully on the floor. He held out a brush. “Feel like giving me a hand?”
“Sure.” She sounded more confident than she felt, but as she applied the brush to the animal’s rich brown coat, she was overcome by a sense of peace. No wonder JT enjoyed his horses. Being with them grounded him firmly in the moment. Nothing mattered but the stroke of a brush against Milo’s warm flank. It was the perfect counterpoint to the Las Vegas strip. “It’s very Zen,” she remarked.
“This is where I spend my days. I can handle just about any crisis after a few hours with the horses.”
JT tossed the saddle
onto Milo’s back and fastened the cinch. While he worked, he spoke softly to the horse. Mostly nonsense, but it was his melodious tone that the horse listened and responded to. And he wasn’t the only one. Violet found herself lulled as well.
“Can you hand me his bridle?”
