Page 10 of The Cowboy's Redemption
No one liked being manipulated and trapped. Not Dana, for sure. Whenever people sang Tanner’s praises to her, as if she needed the comfort, all the old anger resurfaced and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do other than redirect it.
Taking it out on Levi because he’d been friends with Tanner was wrong. Her eyes slid from his broad shoulders to the denim secured by his belt, then lingered a long moment on the hard muscles his jeans couldn’t hide. She frowned. Continuing to wonder what he’d be like in bed was likely wrong, too.
She dropped her gaze to the ground and watched where she stepped. She’d have to get her gratification somewhere else. Someplace where nobody knew her. Definitely somewhere that was nowhere near Grand, Montana, the birthplace of Tanner Shannahan, champion bull-riding hopeful, and home to the Shannahan clan. If not for the lure of Tanoa, Dana would never have come here.
Levi stopped. “Hey, darlin’,” he said.
For a startled second, she thought he was talking to her. Then she saw they were surrounded by horses. So much beauty and power in one place stole her breath, reminding her of why Otto Hart was so famous and how lucky she was.
Tanoa had nuzzled up to a gorgeous blood bay mare. Her bright buckskin coat gleamed deep gold against her partner’s dark red. Twin black tails flicked in tandem as they picked at the grass with a blithe lack of concern for the human invaders.
Dana longed to approach Tanoa herself, but the horses clearly knew Levi and were at ease around him, so she hung back and let him take the lead. He kept the halter in Tanoa’s line of sight while he approached her. She responded by turning her head toward him and emitting a soft whinny of greeting. He stretched out his free palm and rubbed her nose, and she nudged him, bumping his chest, then blew air in his face. The blood bay jostled Tanoa aside, seeking out her share of his attention. Dana’s heart squeezed tight with delight. How could anyone not appreciate a man horses adored?
He slipped the halter on Tanoa and gestured for Dana to join them. The other mare dropped her jaw on his shoulder, refusing to allow him to ignore her. He handed Tanoa’s lead line to Dana.
“This is Nova,” he said, stroking the blood bay’s neck in a way that made Dana shudder by proxy with joy. “She can be a little jealous of my affection.”
No wonder. If Levi ever smiled at a woman the way he smiled at Nova, he’d have them both eating out of his hand.
But right now, Dana only had eyes for Tanoa. She had no idea if the buckskin remembered her, but either way, she was exceedingly friendly. It was one of the reasons Dana had fallen in love with her. She snuffled Dana’s hair and looted her shirt pocket, which held four peppermints she’d intended to use as a bribe.
“If you want to grab your saddle, you should have enough light left for a ride around the pasture,” Levi suggested.
“Is that okay with Mr. Hart?” The breeder watched them from the front stoop of the cabin. It was too far for Dana to be able to judge what his thoughts might be on the matter.
“It’s fine.”
If Levi was on good terms with Nova, then he was on equally good terms with Otto Hart, but Dana wasn’t about to take any chances. “I’d rather check with him first.”
She led Tanoa to the log cabin, where she got her permission, then had Levi hold the horse while she got her gear from the back of her truck. He helped get the pad and saddle in place because Tanoa handled better for him on such short acquaintance.
Once the tie strap was tightened, Dana set one boot in the stirrup and swung her weight into the saddle. She ran a hand over Tanoa’s glorious golden coat, felt the twitching of muscles beneath it, and felt a pang of guilt over her disloyalty to Lady. As much as she loved her, in speed and agility terms, the two animals were as much alike as a Porsche and a Beetle.
After a round of the pasture, and with daylight fast giving out on her, Dana’s mind was made up. She had twenty thousand dollars in savings. She’d find a way to come up with the remaining fifteen, even if she had to sell both Lady and Crackerjack.
Neither one of us is going to Las Vegas.
She’d see about that.
Chapter Four
Dana
Abattery-charged floodlightlit the stoop where Otto rocked in his chair. Moths fluttered around it, casting chaotic shadows on the grass. Lady shifted restlessly in the trailer nearby. Dana had turned Tanoa loose in the pasture, although it had killed her to do so.
Now she was ready to talk business, but Otto was having none of it.
“Come back in the morning,” he said.
“Mr. Hart,” she began, only to have him interrupt her.
“Otto.”
She tried again, hoping to make him see reason. “Otto. I’ll be in Billings in the morning.” Her dad would be worried by now and there was no cell phone reception for her to call him and let him know everything was okay.
“Dana…” Levi murmured, adding a light touch to her arm to signal a warning. What was that for? Was she hurting her chances by arguing?
She looked more closely at Otto, trying to read him to see how she could turn this conversation around. Then Otto coughed. It shook his slight frame and bent him forward in his rocker. His hands trembled on the arms of his chair. He was sick. Alarmingly so. Pushing a business discussion on him when he was in this condition was out of the question.
