Page 38 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
By stealing he wondered if kissing someone who wastaken, at least for the evening, counted. “Nothing happened. I’m working this morning, up bright and early. You?”
“I’ve been up since the crack of dawn. My lovely ladies were so pleased to see me they decided to wake at four thirty a.m.,” he said. “See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Sam said.
“Oh and Sam? I don’t believe your bullshit for a second. Something went down last night, you’re just too chicken-shit to tell me.”
“Yeah, something like that.” Sam said goodbye and put his phone back in his pocket.
In the past he’d always told Nate everything, but times had changed. Hell, he’d changed. He’d gone from bachelor to loved-up without even realizing how quickly he’d made the transition, and it had been him not Nate who’d been ready to settle down. He’d believed he’d found the one, that he wasn’t going to repeat the mistakes his parents had made, and yet here he was, single and not knowing what the hell his future held. While Nate was at home being the dutiful husband with two kids to boot. It was more than ironic; it was flat out impossible for Sam to wrap his head around sometimes.
He noticed that Mia hadn’t been down to feed her horses yet, so he filled their hay bags and checked their water. He wasn’t one for compliments, but he did admire the fact that she didn’t have a groom. Sam was almost positive that her father would have happily written the check for another worker, but she was gritty and determined, and clearly liked proving people’s perceptions of her wrong.
By the time he’d finished up in the stables, he could feel a glow on his skin, the day heating up and his own temperature rising from doing the work. When he’d risen earlyto feed out his own ranch, the day had still been new, dewy and cool, but now it was getting hot.
“Come on,” he said to Blue, waving a hand and stopping to collect some more hay. He’d made huge progress with the stallion, and he was actually looking forward to working him again today. He’d thought about getting Mia to film him working with the magnificent but troubled horse, rather than getting a crew to come along, but he’d decided against it. This was just he being who he was. He’d become too used to all the work he did, particularly the trickier stuff, being filmed and uploaded for his followers to see.
“How’s he doing?”
Sam turned to see Mia standing not far away, arms crossed over her chest. He drank in the sight of her; hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, tight faded jeans with boots, and a smile as big as Texas. She was a knockout, even without all the makeup and sexy-as-hell clothes going on from the night before. Suddenly, he couldn’t get enough of her.
“He’s good,” Sam replied, turning his attention back to Tex as he crossed into his paddock. He might be making a little headway, but he wasn’t about to take his eyes off him and give him the chance to lash out. “I think you’ll be quietly surprised.”
Mia must have moved closer because her voice traveled easily to him. “I honestly didn’t think anyone could ever get through to that horse.”
He stood patiently, hay on the ground for Tex to walk over to. He did. Slowly, but it was progress, and instead of having his ears pinned back hard or lunging at him with his teeth bared, his ears flickered, more cautious than anything else.
“With this guy,” Sam said softly, all his attention focused on the animal in front of him, “it’s about reprogramming his brain. We need to show him through our actions that he has nothing to fear, and reward the right type of behavior that we want to see more of.”
“The fact he’s trusting you enough to eat in front of you like that is incredible,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it,” he said, reaching out to touch Tex, firmly but slowly touching his neck. “The next step is you taking my place, because if he can’t trust you, then everything I do is essentially worthless.”
He moved to stand beside Mia, closer than he would have as little as a day ago. He leaned deep into the railings, elbows on the fence. Sam stared at the stallion a moment before turning to look at the woman beside him.
“This isn’t a fairy tale, Mia,” he said, his voice gruff even to his own ears. “There is no way this has a guaranteed happy ending.”
She stared back at him, her gaze unwavering. “Are we talking about the horse here or us?” she asked.
He looked at her mouth, something he was starting to develop a habit of doing. Sam forced his eyes up, locking on the blue aqua that was just as mesmerizing to him.
“We’re talking about the horse,” he replied.
Her smile was sweet, but she still turned away from him, gazing back toward Tex. “I never thought it was a fairy tale,” she said simply. “I know what you think, that I’m no match for a horse like him, but the truth is, I’m all he has. Once you’re gone, anyway.”
Sam nudged her with his elbow, forcing her to look back at him. “That’s not true. I didn’t know you when I first came here, but now? I know that you’re kind, honest andfull of passion and grit about what you do. Not to mention you’re actually a hell of a horsewoman.”
“Wow,” she said, grinning. “I can’t believe how good that feels, having you compliment me like that instead of putting me down.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit,” he said, leaning back so he was facing her better. “You must get compliments all the time.”
“I do,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. “But most of the time they’re loaded compliments because of who I am or what someone wants from me. At least with you I know you’re being real. There’s no bullshit about the way you are with horses. You take it seriously and I appreciate that.”
“Well, good. Because I damn well mean what I say, and I don’t go giving out compliments unless they’re warranted.”
“So about that fairy tale,” she said, eyebrows arched.
“I need to know if you can do it, or if you feel like you have too much history with him?” Sam asked, knowing the question was loaded for her. “If you’re too raw from what happened, if you deep down know that you’re not his forever owner, then we’d be better transitioning from me to someone else.” He paused. “I’m sorry.”
