Free Gentling the Cowboy by Ruth Cardello Page B

hand in her hair and lay her head on his chest, not caring that she could likely hear the wild beating of his heart.
    She said yes.
    Over her head he saw David leaning against the side of the barn watching them. With a circular motion of one hand, his manager directed Tony’s attention to the area around him. In every doorway and every open space, there seemed to be a slack-jawed ranch hand doing just what David was: watching them.
    I’ll fucking kill them.
    As if his thought had boomed through the ranch, there was an instant flurry of action as all but David rushed back to their work. David shrugged and with a flip of his thumb suggested Tony move the action somewhere more private.
    He’s right.
    This is not the place for what I want to do. But he knew of a nice, secluded area nearby. “Would you like to saddle up and go for a ride?”
    Eyes wide, Sarah asked, “What do you mean?”
    What else could he mean? “Get your horse and let’s go somewhere private.”
    “Now?”
    He smiled. “Do you have better plans?” It was hard to look down into those trusting eyes of hers and not feel a bit guilty. By his standards, she was still an innocent. Whatever life Sarah had lived up in Rhode Island, it hadn’t taught her to protect herself. A better man would walk away and let her learn about her sexuality with someone who intended to marry her.
    He leaned down and kissed her lips hungrily.
    Luckily, I gave up on being a good man a long time ago.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Sitting deep in his saddle, Tony adjusted his hat to shade his eyes and began to question the wisdom of his idea. The palomino beneath him had been chosen at random. All the gentled horses were pretty much the same to him. They went through the same program, and he had high expectations for their behavior and responsiveness.
    Sarah was not sitting as calmly. Her horse was excited and refusing to stand still for her. She circled him. He tossed his head and danced sideways in the other direction. Snort. Stomp. She circled him again.
    “You sure you want to ride him without a bit?” Tony inquired calmly.
    “I don’t like bits,” she replied and circled him again. “Once we get going, he’ll be fine. He’s just excited to be somewhere new.”
    Tony held his tongue. He wasn’t interested in giving her riding lessons, at least not this kind. He asked his horse to move off and Sarah came up to ride at his side, then passed him. She pulled back on the reins a bit and her horse tossed his head in protest. Those little hooves flew beneath him even though his forward speed did not increase.
    She leaned forward and whispered something to the horse, who instantly dropped down to a walk so the horses were side by side. She looked up, caught Tony watching her, and the most beautiful blush spread across her cheeks. “I told him that if he doesn’t settle down, I am going to get his bit out of my trailer. Sometimes all I have to do is say it.”
    “You think he understands that?”
    “It worked, didn’t it?” She patted the Paso Fino’s neck. “We understand each other. He likes to stomp around and pretend he’s a tough guy, but underneath all that he’s a marshmallow and he loves me. We don’t need a bit.” A hint of his opinion must have shown in his expression because she pursed her lips angrily and said, “You don’t agree?”
    He explained rather than defended his opinion. “You’re attributing human emotions to an animal.”
    “You don’t think a horse can love someone?” she challenged with a toss of her head.
    Her question knocked on a door he’d slammed shut and wasn’t about to reopen now. Instead, he fell back on his father’s wisdom. “They’ll bond with anyone who cares for them, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you couldn’t be easily replaced by anyone else with hay and a brush.”
    Those large brown eyes studied him for a few quiet moments. When she spoke, her tone was surprisingly kind. “You’re wrong, and I feel