Baby I'm In (Honky Tonk Angels #3) (5 page)

Liz slid off Traveler’s back. It was not yet seven in the morning but the ranch hands had been at it since six.  Kyle didn’t normally arrive until after nine which left her with free time in the mornings.  She didn’t mind. She spent so much of her day with Landing that she was grateful to have time to devote to Traveler.

She laughed to herself.  Some women worked to balance their lives between two men.  With her, it was two horses and no men.  Not that she wouldn’t mind having a man around.  If that man was Kyle Stadler.  Damn if he didn’t rev her engine like liquid nitrogen.

Too bad he was off limits. She got the impression that he shared a common attitude with her.  Don’t get involved with people you work with.  If it goes south not only is the relationship shot but the job as well.

Still she couldn’t help but let herself indulge in daydreams now and then.  God knows she had nothing else to do in her downtime.  The men who shared her bunkhouse either spent their time drinking and playing cards, or high-tailing it into town to some bar where they ogled women.

She did neither.  Three weeks she’d been here and so far she’d spent the evenings visiting Landing and Traveler or maybe reading a book she’d downloaded on her phone.  And lusting over Kyle Stadler.  God, she was pathetic.

Today she’d ridden Traveler bareback. When she first bought him she tried and realized he’d never been ridden that way. It had taken a bit of time for him to become accustomed to it.  Today’s ride had been one of their best.

She didn’t need to bridle him or have use for a lead rope. He would walk with her wherever she wanted him to go and right now it was back to the barn for a bath.  She’d shower after she had him cleaned and fed.

One of the hands she’d made friends with, Earl, was just leaving the barn when she approached.  “Morning, Miss Liz.”

“Morning Earl.”

“That’s a fine animal.  Were you riding him bareback?”

“Yes.”

“Impressive.”

“Yes, he is.”

“You and Kyle working with Landing again today?”

“I imagine so.”

“Kyle’s really good.”

She’d come to realize that over the last few weeks.  Not only did he seem to understand Landing, but she’d watched him work with a couple of new horses that Wes wanted broken.  Kyle definitely had something extra.  All the hands and the grooms claimed he was a horse whisperer.  She was starting to think they were right.

“Yeah, he is.”

“Well, I’ll let you get to it.”

“Have a good one, Earl. Oh, and thanks again for picking stuff up for me from the store.”

“You’re welcome and you know you can ride along next time if you want.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.  Well, I better get to it.  Have a good day.”

“You too.”

Liz set about bathing Traveler.  He tended to get playful during bath time and as was normal, she ended up drenched.  She was just finishing when Traveler looked toward the door and snorted.  Liz looked around to see Kyle walking toward her.  Damn if that wasn’t a pleasure.  All kinds of delicious fantasies flitted through her mind before he stopped in front of her.

His eyes moved from hers and tracked down her body.  She looked down as well. 
Crap.
  Her wet t-shirt was glued to her body, making it pretty damn obvious she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it.

“Morning.”  She greeted him as his eyes moved back up and focused on her face.  “Didn’t expect to see you so early.”

“Landing’s due for a check-up and the vet needed to do it early.”

“Oh. Okay, well I was finishing up.”

“You ride today?”

“Yep.”  She ushered Traveler into his stall and dispensed his feed.  As his attention turned to eating, she left the stall.

“Bareback?”

“How’d you know?”

“Saw Earl.  Seems you’re attracting some attention on your rides.”

“Wasn’t meaning to.”

“Unavoidable.”

“Oh?  Why?”

“You see any other women around here?”

Liz chuckled.  “Yeah, it is a little like being the only guppy at a shark convention.”

Kyle’s expression turned dark.  “Someone giving you trouble?”

“Oh no.  No, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.  Everyone’s been real nice.  But Earl kinda took me under his wing and I get the feeling that no one wants to mess with him.”

“Don’t know as I blame them.  That’s one big fella.”

“He’s real nice.”  He was, from what she’d seen of him. Even tempered for the most part and affable.  He was tall and heavyset, with a mop of strawberry blond hair and blue eyes she could only describe as kind.  And strong as an ox.  Seriously strong.  Two days ago she saw him pick up a good sized calf like it was a puppy.

“So back to the riding.  How’d you train Traveler to bareback?”

“It took a little while.  He got used to me sitting on him quick, but it took a bit to work out controlling him.”

“What technique do you use?”

“My legs. I still can’t do sharp turns, but then I don’t know that I’d try that anyway.  He’s big and I do well just to keep a grip on him with my legs.”

“I can see that would be a challenge for someone your size.  I’d like to watch sometime.”

What the hell was wrong with her?  Her entire body flushed with heat at his last sentence.  For crying out loud it wasn’t like he’d asked to watch her shower, so why did it give her such a damn rush of lust?  Working with Kyle sure had its challenges.  Keeping her libido in check being the biggest of all.

“Uh, sure.  Well, I better go get changed.  You want to stick to the ten a.m. workout with Landing or up it since you’re here.”

“Earlier would be good if that suits you.”

“It does.  Give me fifteen minutes to change and grab some coffee.”

“Take your time. It’s likely to take a good half hour with the vet.”

“Okay.  Meet you at the track?”

“Yep.”

“Okay.  See you shortly.”  Liz hurried out of the barn and almost ran smack into Herbert Pursell.

“Oh, Mr. Pursell. Sorry.”

“Where’s the fire, Missy?”

“My apology.  I was bathing Tr – a horse and I need to get changed since Mr. Stadler is here.”

“How’s Landing coming along?”

“Mr. Stadler would be better equipped to tell you that sir.  If you’ll excuse me.”

Liz didn’t wait for a response.  She hurried to the bunk house.  Herbert Pursell made her nervous. Surely he couldn’t know who she was?   No, that was highly unlikely, and yet every time he looked at her she seemed to see a sly expression on his face.

She dismissed those thoughts.  Wes was her boss and the one she had to please.  So far he hadn’t hired anyone to replace her, and she intended to keep it that way.  She’d keep her head down around Herbert, her hands off Kyle and focus on the riding.

Because the riding was going to take her to the winner’s circle and once she was there her father would have no choice but to admit he was wrong about her.

*****

Kyle was walking Landing out of the barn when the car pulled up.  He didn’t have to wonder who it was.  Herbert Pursell was the only man he knew who owned a Bentley and never drove himself.  His driver got out and opened the door.

Kyle stopped as Herbert got out of the car.  Another man exited behind him, one who disappeared when he stood behind Herbert. 

“Ah, there you are.  And with our horse.  Good.”  He looked around and stepped to one side to reveal the man behind him.

One look told Kyle this was not good.  He recognized the man with Herbert.  Paulo Sousa, an Argentinian jockey with half a dozen wins under his belt.

“Paulo, this is Kyle Stadler, one of the trainers.  Kyle, Paulo Sousa.”

“It’s an honor.” Kyle offered his hand.

“A pleasure.”  Sousa shook hands and then looked at Landing.  “And this is King’s Landing, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Magnificent.”

Herbert took control of the conversation.  “Kyle, get Landing out to the track and have that girl warm him up. Paulo’s going to get changed and we’ll meet you at the track.”

“You’re going to ride Landing?”  Kyle looked at Sousa.

“Yes, that is why I am here.”

Kyle nodded and looked at Herbert.  “I’ll have him ready.”

“See that you do.”

It rankled Kyle a bit that Herbert was behaving as if Landing belonged to him.  Wes owned the horse, and it was Kyle’s understanding that Wes would be the one making the decision on who to hire to ride Landing.

He wondered if Wes was even aware that Herbert had brought in Paulo Sousa. He considered calling Wes to ask but decided against it.  If there was a power struggle between Wes and Herbert, he’d be smart to stay out of it.  There was someone, however, he did need to call.

Kyle led Landing off, reaching in his pocket for his phone. He and Liz had exchanged phone numbers, but this was the first time he’d called her.  She answered on the second ring.  “I’m on my way.”

“We’ve got a situation.”

“What kind of situation?”

“Ever hear of Paulo Sousa?”

“Shit!”

The line went dead.  Kyle pocketed his phone and continued to the track.  He hadn’t reached the gate when Liz ran up.  Literally. 

“He’s here?”  She looked around.  

“He is.  He and Herbert will be here any minute.”

“He’s going to ride Landing?”

“He is.  Herbert said for you to warm him up.”

“He wants me to warm Landing up for that – for Paulo?”

“Yep.”

It was obvious from her stance that Liz was pissed to the gills.  Her arms were straight by her side, her fists clenched around her gear, her face flushed and her eyes appeared two shades lighter, as if the anger had sucked the color right out of them.

“Fine.”  She slammed her helmet on her head and put on her goggles.

Landing snorted and pranced and Kyle stepped back, pulling Landing with him as Liz took a step toward them.  “You’re upsetting him.”

That took the wind out of her sails.  “Oh, I’m sorry.”  She reached for Landing’s face.  “I’m sorry, buddy.  It’s okay.  It’s okay.”

Landing nuzzled her for a few seconds and Kyle could see the tension easing out of the horse’s body.  It was amazing the way Landing vibed in so intensely on Liz’s feelings.  There was a much closer connection between them than anyone realized.

She cut her eyes up at him.  “Sorry.”

“I get it.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

She stared at him for several seconds.  “You realize I could get the boot today, right?”

“Or not.  We won’t know until Paulo rides him.”

“I know.  Okay, whatever it will be it will be.  Give me a leg up and I’ll warm him up.”

Kyle complied and opened the gate for her.  He noticed the way she leaned over Landing’s neck, talking to him the entire time they were on the track.  Kyle couldn’t help but wonder what she was saying.

Herbert’s car pulled up.  He and Paulo got out.  Paulo put on his helmet as they approached.

“We ready?”  Herbert asked.

“Yes, sir.”  Kyle turned and whistled sharply.  Liz looked at him and he waved her in.

Liz trotted Landing the rest of the way around the track and stopped just shy of the gate.  Kyle entered and when she slid off the horse, she handed him the reins.  Herbert spoke to her as she left the track.

“Liz, let me introduce Paulo Sousa.  I asked him here to try Landing.”

“It’s an honor.”  Liz stuck out her hand to Paulo.

“A pleasure. How is he running today?”

“Good, a bit eager.”

“I do not mind eager.”

“Then you should love Landing.”

“We will see, will we not?”

With that, he entered the track.  Kyle gave him a leg up and moved back through the gate to stand with Liz and Herbert.

“Now, let’s see how a real pro does it.”  Herbert commented.

Kyle glanced at Liz and saw the way her eyes were narrowed.  He had no doubt that right now she’d like to give Herbert a swift kick.  To her credit, she did not respond. 

“Whoa!” 

At the sound of Liz’s voice, Kyle’s head jerked around toward Paulo on the track.  Landing was prancing sideways, shaking his head, snorting and fighting Paulo.  That went on for nearly ten seconds.  Kyle was starting to get annoyed at the way the jockey was jerking on the reins.  Landing didn’t take well to force, and it was easy to see by the horse’s eyes and flare of his nostrils that his agitation was increasing.

Paulo eased up and Landing took off.  It appeared as if Paulo was unprepared for the sudden burst of speed because it took him a bit of time to get into a stable position.  No sooner had he stood up in the stirrups, Landing slowed.

Paulo fought him halfway around the track, jerking on the reins and using his crop. Landing was getting more agitated by the moment.  Kyle looked at Herbert, but Herbert waved a hand in dismissal.  “He’s just getting a feel for the animal.  Give him time.”