AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“About five minutes. He has a nice spread, and some—”
‘’Ooh, look, a field with a bunch of horses. Are they his?”
“No. They belong to one of the other properties here.”
“Can you pull over?”
“Sure, but why?”
“I just want to look at them. You don’t have to get out, you can even leave the engine running. I’ll only be a minute.”
Though he found it odd, he moved onto the grass verge and stopped.
“I’ll be right back,” she promised, quickly climbing from the truck.
He watched her stride forward, stop and stare across the field. Her back was to him, but he saw her move her left arm in front of her, though he couldn’t see what she was doing. Glancing across at the herd, he noticed a few of them raise their heads and prick their ears, then return to their grazing. A moment later, she spun around and walked quickly back.
“Thanks,” she said, sounding almost out of breath.
“No problem. But what were—?”
“I have a thing about looking at horses in paddocks,” she exclaimed, cutting him off. “Sorry, people always ask me why I do that and it’s no big deal.”
Not sure what to make of the incident, he just smiled and headed back down the road, arriving at Lucky Charm Stables a few minutes later. Leaning out the window, he pressed the intercom on the key pad and announced his name.
“Wow, this place is really something,” she remarked as he drove down the tree-lined driveway to an impressive home.
“Ben’s done well, but he’s a smart guy.”
“Apparently, and I suspect his horses are probably pricey.”
“Some are. How much is he askin’ for the one you’re comin’ to look at?”
“Curly? Around fifteen thousand, that’s what Claire said, the woman I spoke with on the phone, and I’m guessing that’s him,” she said, pointing to a black and white paint being trotted around by a young woman.
“He’s relaxed,” Rick said, pulling to a stop, “and he looks easy goin’.”
“Assuming he wasn’t lunged into the ground for an hour or tranquilized,” she grunted.
“Bailey, just how many times have you been screwed over?” Rick asked tersely, and though the words had come out before he could stop them he wasn’t sorry. She had an attitude the size of Mount Rushmore, and he was suddenly determined to find out why.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Rattled by Rick’s strident question, Bailey quickly stepped from the truck and walked towards the arena. It wasn’t the first time a cowboy had commented about her attitude, but it was the first time she cared.
Rick was different.
She didn’t even know why.
But she didn’t want to be at odds with him.
“Hey, Bailey!”
Taking a breath, she turned and watched him stride towards her.
“I didn’t mean to bark at you, but what happened? What has made you so angry and skeptical?”
“Experience.”
