Page 20 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
Chapter 7
WHYthe hell had he said that? He didn’t react, the only change in him was the tick in his jaw that he knew was flickering like crazy. Mia wasn’t a girl in a bar, she was his boss and he was here to do a job. So what if she looked like a goddamn supermodel?
She was flushed. It was unmistakable, just the pinkest of tinges coloring her cheeks, and she knew that he’d noticed. He listened to her clear her throat, smiling when she gave him a confused kind of look. He shouldn’t have said it, but he hadn’t exactly been lying, which meant he wasn’t about to try to extract himself out of it. If he did, he knew he’d only dig the hole deeper for himself anyway.
“Ah, shall we go saddle up?” Mia asked, her voice husky.
He shouldn’t have flirted with her. “Sure thing.”
Sam bent to collect the wrapper from the sandwich he’d eaten, balling it up, the water bottle swinging from his other hand. Mia glanced at him, and he gave her a quick smile back, not wanting to encourage her but not wanting to be a dick, either.
“Thanks,” Mia said, turning back to him and taking him by surprise.
“For what?” he asked.
“For saying I’m pretty,” she said. “It’s been a long time since I received a compliment, so thanks.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome.” He should have told her more, should have said she was damn beautiful, because she was, but he left it there. She hadn’t been fishing for compliments, and he wasn’t used to dishing them out.
He followed her past the stables, the horses all poking their noses out of their expensive houses. He’d been in some beautiful establishments, but the Ford ranch with all its luxury equine facilities was truly something else. He wondered if Mia had designed the place or whether it had already been here, but something told him that her daddy had built it especially for her. The entire ranch was immaculate and he couldn’t wait to take a proper look around the grounds and find out more about their operations. He gathered the ranch was successful, but clearly it was her father’s other business interests that had elevated his wealth.
“Have you always ridden?” he called out to Mia, standing beside a sweet-looking bay horse and letting him nuzzle his shirt.
“Yeah. Well, since I could convince my mom to let me ride.”
“Your mom?” he asked, curious since she hadn’t spoken about her before. He’d gotten the impression it was just her dad at the main house.
“Yeah, my mom. She loved horses, but she was cautious about letting us ride too young.”
“Hey, at least yours gave a damn. My mom up and left.”
Mia frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“So your mom, does she…” Sam wondered why he’dnever heard about a Mrs. Ford before. He didn’t exactly move in the elite circles of folk like the Fords, but still…
“My mom passed away,” Mia said quickly. “I was only a teenager, so it was pretty rough, but she was a wealthy woman before she met my dad, and when she knew she didn’t have long to live, she built me this.” Mia held out her hands to gesture around. “I lost my mom, but I ended up with the best stables money could buy.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, seeing the pain on her face, the glint in her eyes the moment she’d spoken about her mother.
“Hey, she was a great mom. It’s just that I’d give all this up, every single thing, if it meant I could have her back, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “Believe me, I get it.” And he did. His mom hadn’t died, she’d left. His dad had stuck around, but he’d been an asshole, and when he’d died after a short illness a year ago, he hadn’t even shed a tear. He’d have traded both of his parents a hundred times over to get just one parent who gave a damn about him.
“Enough about me, sorry. I don’t usually tell anyone that, I just…” She threw her hands up. “Why do I keep telling you so much? I’m used to keeping to myself and training without hardly seeing another soul during the day, and now that you’re here I’m pouring my soul out to you.”
“That’s the problem when you’re a loner,” Sam told her, chuckling and stroking the horse beside him.
“Maybe I am a loner,” she mused, making him laugh. “Hell, maybe that’s why you kept rubbing me the wrong way so quickly.”
Sam shrugged. “Takes a loner to know one. Now go saddle up. I need to leave at a decent hour so I don’t have to feed my own horses in the dark again.”
Mia disappeared and he talked to the horses, wandering down the line to look at all of them. He’d only seen her ride the one, her favorite mare, but he had a feeling she was full of surprises, and her horses all looked impressive.
When she didn’t reappear, Sam went looking for her, wondering what the hell was taking so long.
“Hey, do you need a hand back there?” he called out.
He squinted in the half-light, dark compared to the full-sun glare outside when he ducked through the doorway and into the tack room.
