HorsingAround (2 page)

Chapter Two

Paige changed into a pair of shorts, a tank top and sandals. Way too hot here to wear any more clothes than absolutely necessary. She left the guest room and started toward the staircase, but stopped. Curiosity drew her toward the open door halfway down the hall. Poking her head inside, she pulled in a breath infused with a leathery scent. The bed was covered in a simple brown spread and the walls painted a pale sage.

My father’s room.

He’d always loved green. Taking a step inside, she noticed a small framed photo of her, taken in high school. Her eyes watered, but she clenched her teeth and forced the emotion away.

Where had that come from? She hadn’t shed a single tear when she received the news of his death. Not like he’d been a part of her life. Even when he’d lived with her and her mother, he’d hardly ever been around.
Never seemed to have anything to say to her.
Still, it would have been nice if she’d had the chance to ask him why he ran away to Florida, why he left her mother and her. Had he found whatever he’d been searching for?

She crossed the floor to the small closet.
A few T-shirts, one dress shirt, two pairs of well-worn cowboy boots and half a dozen pairs of jeans.
A cardboard shoebox sat on the high shelf. She pulled it down and carried it to the bed. Inside she found a stack of letters and a bunch of old photographs. She sat on the mattress and bit back the lump in her throat, then shuffled through images of herself, taken at various points in her life. One by one, she opened the letters.
All from her.

Maybe he had cared.
A little.
Didn’t change the fact that he’d mostly ignored her.
She stacked everything neatly inside then carried it back to her room. Maybe she’d take them home with her.
Maybe not.

She descended the stairs, but didn’t see Jake anywhere. Poking her head into the living room, she caught sight of a display of baseball memorabilia on one of the walls. Her chest tightened. She had a few happy memories of her father, and most involved outings to Yankee Stadium.
Just the two of them.
She’d never paid much attention to the game, but her dad always bought her a hot dog and cotton candy, so she’d loved going.

He’d explained each and every play in minute detail, spouted the players’ statistics and even allowed her to shout at the opposing team. She sank into a big wingback chair and breathed in the scent of the room.
Pipe tobacco and leather.
Yeah. She could feel her father’s presence lingering here more than she had in his bedroom. He must have spent most of his time here.

“You a fan too?”
Jake’s voice ripped her out of her momentary haze. He stood in the doorway gesturing toward the Yankees pennant tacked to the wall.

That empty place inside her chest ached. “Not for many years.”

“My uncle used to take me to spring training games down near Orlando when I was a kid. All the big teams had training camps in the area. Lots of ’
em
still do.”

She’d sworn off baseball after her father left. Forcing the memories from her mind, she pushed out of the chair and stood. “Do you still go see the games?”

“Haven’t in years.
No one to go with.”
He pinned her with a stare and her breath caught.

“I find that hard to believe.” Women had to be falling at his feet. He was gorgeous, for heaven’s sake.

“Why’s that?”

She rounded her father’s desk to put something solid between them. She didn’t trust herself to be so close to him. “I’m sure you have lots of friends.”

He let out a chuckle. “I’ve got a few friends. But it’s Daisy and Goliath and the rest of the horses that I spend most of my time with.” He stepped behind the desk and stopped a couple feet from her. “Shorts aren’t the best choice for horseback riding.” His gaze traveled slowly down her legs.
“Although you do them justice.”
An appreciative grin lifted one corner of his mouth.

Her temperature spiked. She’d have sworn she heard the air conditioner running. Regardless, she fanned her face. “I’m not used to this heat.”

He glanced toward the window. “Sun’s sinking low now. Jeans would be better. Trust me.”

Trust me?
She’d only met him minutes ago. It had taken her years to trust her husband, for heaven’s sake. And that hadn’t served her well. Men didn’t merit trust. Not about anything. “I’ll be fine.”

“Your choice.
But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His smile widened and a surge of heat bloomed inside her. Okay, so maybe Jake had inspired the hormonal heat wave spiraling through her. But hopping into bed with someone she’d probably do business with wasn’t smart. Clamping down on her rising libido, she took a step away. “Shall we go?” She practically ran past him. A whiff of his scent made its way to her nose.
Fresh cut grass and pure man.

Tense as a spring, she hurried out the front door. She’d wait on the porch. No sense in tempting herself.

Jake took his time coming outside. He parked that cowboy hat on his head and grinned at her. “I don’t understand you city girls.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “What does that mean?”

His sultry stare swept slowly over her body sending a rush of desire to her core. “I guess it’s more important to look hot than to dress practically for a ride, huh?”

“I’ll be fine.” She’d had enough of a man telling her what to wear. Her ex had played that card to death. But Jake thought she looked hot. That shouldn’t matter to her, only it did.

“Let’s go reintroduce you to Daisy.” He offered his hand, but she refused it.

With a shrug, he started around the side of the house. She followed.

They stopped right next to the horse. How would she get up that high? The stirrups had to be at least four feet off the ground.
“Big horse.”

He nodded and she caught another waft of his enticing scent.
“Got to be.
She’s built to haul around heavy loads.”

She gulped. “Don’t you have one that’s a little smaller I can start on?”

A quiet chuckle broke from his lips. “There’s Mr. Giggles. He’s a pony we hire out for kids’ parties.”

Kids’ parties?
What the hell was he implying?
“Never mind.
Daisy is fine.”

Jake adjusted the stirrups. He stepped around her and set his hands on her waist. Renewed desire rushed through her.

“Put your left foot in.” He gestured toward the stirrup. “I’ll help you into the saddle. Just say when.”

She looked up at the horse. Swallowing hard, she slipped her foot into the stirrup. She gave her head a firm nod. “Ready.” Her pulse raced.

He hoisted her up. She swung her right leg over the horse and landed smack in the center of the saddle. The animal twitched. She grabbed onto a protrusion resembling a shoehorn in front of her, but the instant she looked down, her stomach lurched.

Don’t be a baby.

Daisy took a step forward, then back as she whinnied. Paige’s heart pounded like it might explode any second.

Screw appearances
. She hovered low, wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck and squeezed her eyes tight. Why did she agree to do this?

If I fall, no one will catch me. No one ever has.

“Look at me, Paige.” Jake’s voice.

She peeled open her eyelids and tried to stop her body from trembling.

“Afraid of heights?” he asked.

“I guess so.” Or afraid of traveling on anything with its own heartbeat or that didn’t have brakes. She clung to the animal’s mane.

“You have to sit up tall.” He smiled and gave her a reassuring wink.
“How about we take this real slow.”

“By slow do you mean we’ll begin on foot or in a car, maybe?”

He shook his head and untied the reins. Tugging gently on the horse, he guided it away from the post.
“Nice and easy.”

Paige marveled at the sheer power of the animal’s muscles as Daisy’s back moved the saddle up and down. “Can we stop, please?”

“Whoa, Daisy,” Jake said.

Heart still hammering, Paige pulled her right foot out of the stirrup. “I don’t want to ride. Maybe later I will.”

“Sure?”

She nodded, anxious to get the hell off the beast. Jake lifted his arms to her. She threw herself off the horse and into his embrace. Jake stumbled backward and she fell on top of him on the grass. His hat went tumbling away. A great whoosh escaped his throat.

Straddling his hips, she stared down at him, hoping she hadn’t just killed the poor guy. “Are you all right?”

He opened his eyes looking a bit dazed. That handsome face lit up with a sexy grin. “You
kidding?
I’ve got a beautiful lady sitting on top of me.
Doesn’t get any better than that.”

Despite herself, Paige laughed. Jake’s hands caught her shoulders, pulled her down until their faces were inches apart. She started to protest, but he stilled her with a gentle brush of his lips over hers. She shut her eyes, distilling the implications. But for once in her life, she didn’t care. All she knew was it had been a long time, way too long, since a man had made her feel this way, all woozy and full of butterflies.

She parted her lips, allowed his tongue entrance. His fingers moved to her head, and forced her closer. They shared a slow, tasting kiss. The world fell away. Nothing existed but Jake and his sensuous mouth, his fingers combing along her scalp, the swell of his cock pressing against her belly.

He drove his tongue deeper, inviting hers to dance and play. His taste was part mint, part coffee. She couldn’t get enough. Sweet desire spiraled inside her. She licked and tasted and explored, slid her tongue over his teeth. Long dormant need crashed over her and flooded her veins.

The horse neighed suddenly. Jake broke away. “Sorry,
darlin
’, but I don’t think either of us want to get stepped on by Daisy. She weighs nearly a ton.” He rolled over her, gave her mouth a quick swipe of his tongue. He stood and offered her a hand. She let him help her up. The instant he let her go, she missed his touch.

Jake brought the horse back to the post and tied her there while Paige dusted the grass and dirt from her knees. Heat rushed to her cheeks. What had she been thinking? She’d never been prone to such rash behavior. How had her libido overridden her brain in seconds flat?

No, Jake was the wrong person for a meaningless fling. It would never work to allow her carnal needs to interfere with settling her father’s estate. She brushed her hands together and sucked in a steadying breath. That’s that. She’d just pretend it had never happened. And hoped he’d do the same.

Jake cleared his throat and returned to Paige’s side.

Damn, the woman looked hot in those impractical shorts and that skimpy tank top.

At least her outfit finally allowed him a glimpse of that body. And he enjoyed the view. The feel of her straddling his lap a minute ago had made the fall well worth the backache he’d probably suffer later.
And her scent, God.
She smelled like the flower shop in town, so sweet you never wanted to leave. Like roses and carnations and honeysuckle all mixed together.

Only he didn’t much care for the way she stood now, with her arms wrapped tightly around her body and her eyes looking everywhere but at him. Like she didn’t want to continue what they’d started.

Her cheeks and neck flushed pink.
Could be from the heat—or the hot kiss that held the promise of so much more.
Or maybe she was embarrassed. “Horses take some getting used to. Nothing to be ashamed—”

“I’m not ashamed!” The color spread over her entire face. She shut her eyes a moment and
huffed
a breath. “That kiss was a mistake.
One that won’t happen again.”

If he were a betting man, he’d lay odds she was dead wrong about that. He tried to stifle his grin.

“Can we please do the tour of the ranch on foot?”

He stared down at her sandals. “Not in those shoes. This is a big place.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s fine. They’re quite comfortable.”

He contemplated telling her it had as much to do with the abundance of piles of horse dung scattered about, but why not let her find that out on her own?
“Fine.
Let’s start with the stable.”

They hadn’t gone fifty feet when she yelped and yanked off her shoe. “Do you let these damned horses go to the bathroom everywhere?”

He tamped down a chuckle. “Uh, they don’t have a whole lot of control.”

“Why didn’t you warn me?” Her chest heaved.
Showed off perfect, rounded tits.
Pebbled points strained the thin fabric of her shirt. His mouth watered to taste those erect nipples.

His cock hardened. Fighting the desire to kiss her again, he forced his eyes to meet hers. “You didn’t seem to want my wardrobe advice.”

Her face contorted in an angry scowl. She opened her mouth to say something. Instantly, she snapped it shut. Gripping her dung-covered shoe, she hobbled toward the house. “Give me a few minutes to clean up and change.” She picked up her pace.

A boom of thunder sounded nearby. Jake scrutinized the storm on the horizon.
Time to get Daisy home.
He adjusted the stirrups then climbed into the saddle. Giving Paige a backward glance, he rode toward the stables. As the sun sank low, he removed the saddle.
May as well muck out the stables now.
He ushered the horse into the corral.