Page 71 of Texas Destiny
“Why Black Thunder?” she asked.
“Because he runs so fast and so hard that he sounds like thunder rolling over the plains.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Ain’t that right, Houston?”
Reluctantly, Houston had followed them over, cursing himself for wanting to see Amelia’s face when she caught sight of the stallion. He’d never given much thought to raising horses until he’d seen this black stallion on a rise. He’d pursued him for two years, wondered at times if he was a phantom, a horse of legend … until he’d captured him with Austin’s help. He hadn’t had a mare worthy of the black stallion until now.
Until Amelia had convinced him to pursue the palomino’s herd. He’d carefully made his selections, choosing the mares that would service his black stallion.
“Yep, he’s fast, but he’s not saddle broke,” Houston said.
“I love ridin’ him bareback,” Austin said, rubbing a hand up and down his thigh. “I can feel his power, his strength … Please? Amelia can wait here. I won’t be long. Just a short fast ride.”
Houston felt as though he was trapped between a stampeding herd and a huge abyss. What he wanted and what he knew was right were warring. Amelia looked at him, her green, green eyes filled with hope, and he couldn’t say no, couldn’t send her on her way, even though he knew it was best.
“Just don’t be gone too long,” Houston said, gruffly, offering himself a compromise.
“I won’t,” Austin assured him. He handed the reins of his horse and Amelia’s horse over to Houston, grabbed the hackamore bridle off a post, and slipped through the railings.
The horse snorted and pranced. Amelia sidled up against Houston. “He’s black. Isn’t he dangerous?”
“All horses are dangerous if you don’t handle them right, but he’s not mean spirited.”
She smiled as Austin slipped the bridle over the horse’s snout, wrapped his fingers in the long black mane, and threw himself over the horse. The horse bucked once, and Austin hollered, his smile brighter than the noonday sun.
Houston pulled back the gate, and the horse with rider sprang forth, churning up the dirt as they headed out. Houston slapped Austin and Amelia’s mounts, urging them into the empty corral. He closed the gate.
“I was thinking about working with the mare today. Need to get over to the other corral so she can start getting used to my scent again.”
“Can I come with you?”
Houston nodded. He walked to the corral, Amelia at his side. Sweet Lord, it felt right to have her there with him, to smell her scent, to see her shadow touching his. He crossed his arms over the top railing, and the horses scattered to the far side of the corral.
“They don’t trust us yet,” she said quietly.
He thought now might be a good time to make sure the woman understood there was no “us,” would never be an “us.” But the morning was peaceful, the breeze slight, and she looked so pretty standing beside him watching the horses that she’d helped him capture.
He should have explained to Austin why a man would want a woman in his life. It had little to do with the physical release his body craved. It had everything to do with every memory he had of her from the moment she’d first stepped off the train in Fort Worth until he’d watched Dallas kiss her last night. It had to do with the softness of her voice, the way she believed in him when no one else ever had.
“They’ll get used to us again in time,” he said.
She turned her attention away from the horses, her delicate brows drawn together in a furrow. “Why didn’t you tell Dallas that you were breeding mustangs?”
He averted his gaze, deciding it was easier to watch the horses than her. “I might not have any success at it. Dallas has seen enough of my failures.”
“Such as?”
“You don’t want to know.” “I don’t want to know or you don’t want to tell me?” He forced himself to meet her gaze. “I don’t want to tell you.”
“You don’t trust me,” she said simply. “You’re like the mustangs. You don’t trust easily.”
“Look what happened when they finally decided to trust us. We betrayed them.”
“And you think I’ll betray you?”
“No,” he said, unable to stop the ragged edge in his voice. “I think you’ll hate me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Austin returned late in the morning, while the breeze was still cool. Amelia wouldn’t have minded spending the entire day with Houston, watching him work with the palomino mare, but she sensed that Austin was ready to move on.
