Page 27 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
“I’m fine with the traveling,” he said, not wanting to even entertain the idea of staying at her place. He’d lain awake the night before thinking about her, trying to figure his shit out but drawing a blank. “But thanks for the offer.” He whistled for Blue, checking to make sure he was following them. “Your father said the same thing.”
She didn’t look too worried, but then he didn’t think she’d offered for any reason other than to be polite. Although he wasn’t entirely sure what she was up to, because he’d caught her glancing at him a few times since he’d arrived. Or maybe she’d been admiring his horse. He had no idea.
What he did know was that at some point he had to explain to her that their kiss hadn’t meant anything. Well, it had meant something, but it couldn’tleadto anything. He didn’t like leading women on, and he sure as hell didn’t want her getting the wrong idea.
“Do you have any ranch hands at your place?” she asked.
“Yeah, I have a full time guy, Bill, he’s there every day and he keeps the place running for me when I’m not there. His son comes and helps out if there’s extra work, but usually between me and him, we keep on top of everything.”
“I wondered,” she said, her eyes meeting his, “because you obviously travel a lot. It’s hard when you have animals.”
He nodded. “Yup, sure is. Even with Bill there I worry about them all. Especially Blue. I hate leaving my dog behind, so if I’m going anywhere within driving distance I’ll just take him with me.”
They rode along in silence for a bit and Sam admired the ranch from his elevated spot in the saddle.
“I’m pretty fond of Black Angus cattle,” Sam told her, gesturing toward a herd. “There’s something about those big, muscled shoulders and sleek black coats that makes them so damn good to look at, don’t you think?”
She laughed and when he looked at her she was smiling still. “I suppose. I’m more into horse flesh though.”
They had a lot of feed on the ranch and Sam knew from glancing that the place cost a lot to keep. Every fence rail was pristine, the facilities new or well maintained. The ranch was stunning and he felt privileged to be taking a look around.
“How did you find your horse?” Mia asked, pulling him from his thoughts. “Is he your favorite?”
“Hell yes,” Sam replied. “He’s great to ride, with a big-ass, rocking horse canter going on. I found him like I find most of my crew, horses people give up on or bring to me, and I take them on as projects and never get around to selling them.”
“So you’re good at collecting field ornaments, then?” she asked with a grin.
“Ha, good one.” He chuckled. “Haven’t heard them called that before, but yeah, I guess you could say that. I’ve got some old horses that gather dust and do little else, but animals come to my place for a good life, not a hard life. They’ve usually already had a rough time before they end up with me, but I try to make sure that every day after that is a good one.”
“You’ve kind of got this whole screw-the-world thing going on, except for your animals,” she mused, looking more relaxed in his company today than she’d been before. Her shoulders were relaxed, her smile easy, and there was a twinkle in her eyes when she spoke that he really liked. “Like when I first met you. I was so looking forward to meeting you, then you arrive and all I could think was what an arrogant son-of-a-bitch you were.”
He laughed so hard that his horse startled. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m the least arrogant guy I know!”
“You must know a lot of assholes then,” she said, making him crack up again.
“You’re serious?”
“Hell yes! Have you not looked in the mirror lately?” she said, sounding exasperated, which made the whole thing way less funny when he realized she was being deadly serious. “You walked in here allking of the world, your way or the highway, and it kind of surprised me. I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
Sam thought about what she’d said. “And now? Do you still think that?”
“You want me to be honest?” she asked, glancing at him as they rode.
“Yeah, I do.”
He listened to her sigh. “Look, I’ve been around wealthy and successful guys my entire life. I’ve seen how arrogant they get, how the whole sense of importance gets to their heads. I don’t think you’re necessarily like them, but parts of the way you act are, I suppose.”
All this time he’d thought he’d been different, that he was still just the ordinary guy he’d always been. But his sister had called him out on something a while back, telling him he was being a jerk, and he wasn’t about to pretend that two women like his sister and Mia were wrong.
“Well, I’m sorry that I made that first impression on you,” he said. “You know, I haven’t always lived this life. Hell, three years ago I was just a guy training horses out the back of the King ranch, and then my sister posted some videos of me on You Tube, created a channel for me and made me keep updating it every few days, and then I got an offer to do a tour. It kind of exploded within a couple of months, and I was suddenly touring the country showing my methods for training horses, being offered book deals and doing a crap load of merchandizing.” He shrugged. “I really want to keep my feet on the ground, and I didn’t think I’d ever let all the hype change me, but maybe I’m wrong.”
“Want my advice?”
He glanced at her, feeling like he was seeing her for the first time. She’d grown up with so much, but she was so grounded, so impossibly unpretentious, and it was nice to be around. He had a feeling her mom might have been to thank for that, the way she’d been so emotional when they’d spoken about her and her upbringing. “I don’t know if I do.”
“Well, I’m going to give it to you anyway,” she said with a smile. “You don’t have to be a loner to stay true to yourself. I’ve been on my own for so long, professionally andpersonally, but I don’t think it’s healthy to always be fighting for yourself with no one in your corner with you.”
Sam didn’t respond. He got what she was saying, but he kind of liked being a loner. Or at least he always had done in the past—he sure wasn’t minding her company right now.
