Page 22 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
He had everything he needed in his life. He had his ranch, his dog, his horses, good people working on his ranch and his own work. He didn’t need anything else, and he needed to remember it next time he got up close with the gorgeous Mia Ford.
***
Mia was wondering if she’d gone crazy. Had Sam almost kissed her? She lugged her saddle, bridle and brushes outto the stables and looked around for him. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but she knew he wouldn’t be far. Which meant she had about zero seconds to get her shit together.
She let herself in with Fred, the gelding she’d told Sam about. She needed to get her head back in the game and forget all about what had almost happened. Because ithadn’thappened, which meantnothinghad happened. Sam wasn’t interested in her, he never would be. Guys like him didn’t like girls like her, she had no expectations there. What she had was a crush on him, a little fantasy that wasn’t ever going to come true. It had been a moment, and that moment had well and truly passed. But Kat had been so right. She was craving being up close and personal with a man, and having a guy like Sam so close had brought it all back to her.
“Come on, we can do this,” she said to the horse in a low voice, brushing him down quickly before saddling him up. She used the soft body brush on his face before putting on his bridle, then double-checked his girth and went out to get her helmet, which she’d forgotten.
“Oh,” she said, almost walking smack-bang into Sam. He was standing outside the stable, hands shoved into his pockets.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.
She looked up at him, wanting to avoid his gaze but at the same time desperate to know if what had almost happened before had been a mistake or not. From the hungry way he was looking back at her, she was fairly certain it hadn’t been a mistake.
“How long have you been standing here?” she asked, suddenly wondering if he’d been listening to her talk away to the horse in a low voice as she’d prepared him.
“Not long. A few seconds,” he said, running his fingers loosely through his hair. “You know, I’d love to get back in the saddle. It’s been too long since I’ve had time to actually ride for pleasure.”
She wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. “You want to cancel our training session and go for a ride around the ranch instead?” she asked.
He grinned. “Hey, I’m not letting you off that easily. How about I bring one of my own horses tomorrow? You can show me around the place after I’ve worked Tex.”
She couldn’t help the smile that quickly spread like wildfire across her lips. “I’d love that. I always try to give my horses a fun riding day once a week, so that’d be perfect for Indi.”
He nodded. “It’s a date then.”
Mia opened her mouth, about to agree, but nothing came out. She knew he hadn’t meant it like that, but…
“Bad choice of words,” he muttered. “But I’m sure you get my drift.”
Mia nodded. “I’m going to grab my things and I’ll meet you in the arena.”
She didn’t wait for Sam to answer, just hurried into the tack shed again to grab her helmet, clasp it firmly under her chin, and wiggle her fingers into her leather riding gloves.
She paused, looking out the door at Sam as he walked away. She eyed his jeans, the way his Wrangler’s hugged his ass and tapered down over his long legs. His shoulders were wide, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, his shirt tucked in and making that abundantly clear. He was the perfect physical specimen of man, but something had stopped him from kissing her before, and she wanted to know what. Because now she’d almost tasted his lips, she’d bethinking about it long after he left this afternoon, she was sure of it.
She retrieved Fred, pulled her stirrups down and mounted, walking out to the arena with her head full of Sam. She didn’t know what it was about him, but her mom was usually an off-limits topic with anyone except her siblings or her best friend, Kat. But standing there before, when he’d asked her a simple question, it had all but poured out of her, and for some strange reason it had felt so right.
“We’re going to show him exactly what we’re made of today,” she muttered to the horse she was riding.
Her horse broke into a trot, and she laughed. Maybe her animals could understand her after all.
She flushed thinking about the way Sam had held her, his big arms and even bigger body engulfing her as he’d hugged her and comforted her. He might be a loner, but the way he’d behaved had shown her that deep down he was a big softie, and he hadn’t liked seeing her cry. There was a lot more to him than met the eye, and Mia was curious now. She wanted to know all about Sam and what made him tick, what had made him the man he was today, and she wanted to know now.
***
“He’s pretty excited,” Sam said, standing in the middle of the vast arena as Mia cantered around. He’d set up four jumps in a row, just as she’d instructed him to do, in a grid for Mia to canter down, and he was waiting for her to come back around.
“Maybe it’s because of you,” she shot back, her smile infectious when she rose slightly out of the saddle and let her horse go faster.
“Perhaps, or perhaps he just needs settling.” Samwatched her carefully, critiquing her when he could, even though her riding today was almost faultless.
“Shall I do it again?” Mia called out.
“Yes. But this time, try talking to him. You’re both doing well, but I think he would settle into his natural rhythm better if you were soothing him more with your voice. Hell, sing to him softly if you have to, but just calm him by letting him listen to you.”
“The horse whisperer telling the rider to actuallywhisperto the horse!” she called back.
