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That’s what you think, honey.
“You’re done when I say you’re done. Joel may sign the paycheck, but he made me your boss.” Her small fists balled at her sides, but Colton continued before she could argue. “You got a problem with that, take it up with him later. For now, I want you to get Paelo out of his stall; he needs to be brushed.”
He kept a straight face with effort as she walked to the barn. This was going to be good. He’d bet money she’d be on her way back to New York before dinner.
When she located Paelo, her eyes went wide, and he saw her swallow hard.
Yeah, that’s right, sweetheart, Paelo’s a brute.
What she didn’t know is he’d chosen Paelo because, though he was big enough to scare the daylights out of someone who didn’t know horses, he was harmless as a lamb.
Colton went back by Sally and waited for Kendra to make the first move. Finally, she turned with an expression of dismay and fear. He squashed an unexpected flicker of guilt and concentrated on the fact that he’d won. After a day of her one-upping him, he couldn’t hold back a smile for this triumph.
In the blink of an eye, determination flared in her eyes, and she spun back to the stall. Colton’s smile faded. Hmmm, she had guts. Admirable. Just for a second, he’d give her that.
“Where’s his collar?”
Colton snorted in disbelief. “His what?”
“His coll—or h-halt—” She grimaced, squared her shoulders, lifted her chin again. “Where’s his halter?”
Grinning again, Colton pointed to a hook around the corner. She grabbed it and slid the stall door open. “Don’t I need a leash?” she asked.
There was no containing his laughter. “He’s a horse, not a dog.”
She whirled around to snap, “Laugh all you want, I can do this.”
“Go ahead then, let’s see you walk the puppy around the block.”
Her jaw clenched, and she spun back toward the stall. Paelo stretched his nose forward to bump against her cheek, a ‘kissing’ trick Britt had taught him years ago. Kendra’s panicked shriek echoed in the barn. Paelo’s head jerked up; Kendra scrambled back. Her boot heel hooked the edge of the cement at the base of the stall.
She went down, but caught herself before her head slammed the concrete. Paelo moved forward again, and Kendra began to scream and kick her feet.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Colton rolled his eyes as Paelo looked at him as if waiting for his help. Colton hurried over and knelt down on one knee next to Kendra, laying a hand on her shoulder. She shrieked all the louder, caught in her hysteria.
“Stop it.” She didn’t hear him, but who could hear anything above her yelping? Guessing Paelo’s ears were as strained as his, he gave her a sharp shake and commanded, “Shut-up already!”
Her gaze snapped to his, focused, and just like that, she quieted. Until she saw Paelo hadn’t moved, then she turned into Colton’s body. “Get it away.”
Her plea was downright pitiful. Half on his lap and tucked tight against his side, her body shook as much as her voice. He realized she was genuinely terrified. Forgetting his plan had been to do exactly that, he forced her to look at Paelo and spoke in a low, soothing voice. “He won’t hurt you.”
Paelo stretched his nose toward her, and she pressed closer to Colton. He took her hand and extended it toward the stallion’s soft muzzle. Halfway there, the uneven surface of her palm made him pause to turn her hand upward. Guilt stabbed hard at the sight of her raw, blistered skin. Stupid fool, he thought. Only he wasn’t sure if he was referring to her or himself.
He shook off the unwelcome attack of conscience, and laid her hand on Paelo’s nose. The stallion nuzzled her palm. She pulled back the moment Colton let go to fish a sugar cube from his shirt pocket. With his hand under hers, he held her steady as the horse gently lipped up the sweet.
“Paelo is Britt’s horse,” he explained softly. “She raised him from a foal. Both Cody and Dustin ride him.”
She touched the horse of her own free will now, so Colton lowered his hand to rest on her thigh, his arm curved around her. Her trembling stopped, and her breathing steadied.
“They ride him?”
He nodded. “I’ve seen them crawl under him as babies—he didn’t twitch his tail until they were safely out of the way.”
He watched her hand drift lightly over Paelo’s nose and was distracted by a thought of what that touch would feel like on his own skin. His hand flexed against her thigh.
All of a sudden, her whole body stiffened. She placed her hand on his leg to leverage quickly off his lap. Through the material of his jeans, the warmth of her hand sent a kick of desire straight to his midsection.
Damn that knee-jerk reaction.
