Page 28 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
“Want to go for a canter?” she asked with a wicked smile.
“Hell yes.”
She didn’t wait around once she’d heard his answer, pushing her little mare into a canter so fast he missed a beat and was almost left behind. His horse fought to go faster, to get ahead, but Mia was glancing behind and he realized this wasn’t just a leisurely canter, this was a race, and one she was determined to win.
Sam rode hard, his competitive spirit making it impossible for him not to try to overtake her, but Mia was fast and even though her horse wasn’t as big as his, she was putting her all into it. He didn’t doubt how good they were when they were competing, or why they were such a great team. The mare was clearly as determined as she was.
They cantered across the field, then up a small incline, before heading down into another endless field. They raced past towering old trees and a herd of cattle, although the big black beasts simply lifted their heads and kept chewing, watching them blur past. Maybe they were used to their daredevil mistress flying past at high speeds.
When Mia eventually slowed they were neck and neck, but Sam pulled back too, seeing that their ride was soon to end with a fence looming in the near distance.
“That was great,” he panted, hot from the ride, his horse blowing hard beneath him. “Just what I needed.”
“Blows out the cobwebs, doesn’t it?” she asked, lookingexhilarated, her cheeks flushed a deep pink, her smile wide. “This girl has a lot of go.”
She patted her horse and they kept walking, letting their mounts cool down and catching their breaths themselves.
“That’s what I miss most when I’m away working. Being able to ride like that,” Sam confessed.
“Are you home for long now?” she asked, and he noticed she’d taken her feet out of the stirrups and was flexing her ankles. He did the same, feeling tight and stiff.
“I have a couple of clinics in Texas coming up actually,” he said. “It’ll be nice to be working within driving distance of home again. But other than the next couple months, I’ve decided to keep my schedule clear for the rest of the year.” He just hadn’t told his agent that yet. “I’ve been touring back to back for the last couple of years and I’m done.”
“I spent some time traveling for my riding, a couple of years on the road, touring to every show jumping competition I could,” she said. “It takes its toll, and it’s always good to get back to your roots, you know? That’s what I found hard in Europe. I mean, it was great competing over there and working with some great trainers, but there’s nothing like coming home. I like the landscape here, nothing beats it.”
“Agreed.”
“Want to take a rest over there? It’s my favorite tree on the property and you’ll get a beautiful view of the river.”
Sam followed her point and nodded. It looked like a pretty spot, and when they were closer he admired the big, wicked gnarled trunk of the oak, its limbs fanning out to provide an umbrella of shade from the sun. Behind it the river that was the ranch’s namesake curled around, and Sam admired how pretty the setting was, how peaceful River Ranch was.
They dismounted and tethered their horses, and Sam joined Mia beneath the tree, backs against the base of the trunk, legs out in front of them. He watched as she absently picked at some grass and twirled it between her fingers. Blue came and nudged up against him, leaning in, tongue lolling out the side. It had taken him a while to catch up to them.
“I’m sorry about what happened yesterday,” he said, knowing he needed to set the record straight and make his intentions clear. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
She gave him a quick look before going back to plucking grass again. “It wasn’t a big deal. You don’t need to mention it.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. “I’m here to work, and I behaved in a seriously unprofessional manner. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
She shook her head, leaning back and staring at him. “You know, the last thing you managed to do was make me feel uncomfortable. But thanks anyway for the apology.”
They sat in silence, the only noise the call of birdsong in the tree above them. He shut his eyes, wondered why he always managed to make such a ridiculous mess when it came to women these days. He’d meant to tell Mia something else entirely, but instead it had come out as one big embarrassing apology.
“It must have been nice growing up here,” Sam said, hoping that changing the subject would lighten things up between them again.
“It was,” Mia replied. “My sister and I were good friends growing up, even though she hated horses, and my brothers gave us a hard time but they would have beaten the crap out of anyone who hurt me or Ange.” She sighed.
“But?” Sam asked. “That sounded very much like there was abutcoming.”
She laughed. “It was fun and we got to spend lots of time outdoors and adventuring, but when mom died, the magic of the place kind of died too. For a while anyway. And then Angelina and Cody went off to college and Tanner started to ride rodeo more seriously and he was away a lot, and then it was just me and dad rattling around in that big old house. It was kind of lonely from then on.”
Sam was about to ask her more when she slapped her thigh and caught him off guard.
“Let’s go,” she announced, holding out her hand to him, already standing in front of him.
It was a nice gesture. Clearly she wasn’t able to haul him up, but he clasped his palm to hers anyway and pulled up to his feet. Once he was standing in front of her, he noticed she was forced to tilt her head back to look up at him.
He wondered if she was going to say something, her eyes seemingly so full of questions, but instead she held his hand for another beat before letting go and turning. He wanted to reach for her, to pull her back, to kiss her again and thinkto hell with it. But he didn’t. He didn’t do complicated, and that had complicated written all over it.
