Free Dream 3 - Finding the Dream by Nora Roberts Page B

couple of cats."
    "You're going to get your kid a dog from the pound?"
    "And why not?"
    "No reason." He led Max toward the fence. "Figured you for the purebred type, that's all. That's the way some people are about horses. They want Arabians, Thoroughbreds. I've got me one of the prettiest fillies you could want in that stable. She's smart as a whip and quick as a snake. She's what you'd call a mongrel, though. Always liked mongrels myself."
    "I prefer character above lineage."
    "Good for you." In an absentminded movement, he bent down, plucked a struggling buttercup out of its patch of grass, and handed it to her. "I'd say you've got both in those girls of yours. They're beauties. Heartbreakers. The little one's already wrapped her fist around mine. And she knows it."
    "You surprise me." She stared down at the sunny yellow flower in her hand, baffled. Despite fatigue and aching feet, she followed him into the stables. "You don't strike me as a man who'd take to children. Little girls."
    "Mongrels are full of surprises."
    "I didn't mean—"
    "I know you didn't." He settled Max in his stall, latched the door. "The little one's got your eyes, smoke and storms. Ali's got your mouth, soft and wanting to be stubborn." He grinned then. "You breed good, Laura."
    "I suppose I should thank you, though no one's ever put it quite that way before. And I appreciate your entertaining them, but I don't want you to feel obligated."
    "I don't. I said I like them. I meant it. Besides, they owe me for the show. Me and Max don't work for free. I could use some help around here."
    "Help?"
    "Mucking out, hauling hay. Unless you've got a problem with your progeny shoveling manure."
    She'd shoved plenty herself in her day. "No. It'll be good for them." Automatically, she lifted a hand to stroke Max's nose. "You've worked a minor miracle here," she noted, glancing down the spotless building.
    "I've got a strong back and plenty of ambition."
    "For?"
    "Making something out of this. Saddle horses, trick ponies, jumpers. I've got a way with them."
    "If Max is any example, I'd say you've got a major way with them. Were you really a mercenary?''
    "Among other things, including the troublemaking hoodlum Mrs. Sullivan claims I am."
    "Oh." She rolled her eyes at Max, cleared her throat. "I expect Annie's remembering the boy who gave Josh his first cigarette."
    "One of my lesser crimes. I quit six months ago myself. Easier than worrying about setting fire to the hay."
    "Or dying of lung cancer."
    "You gotta die of something."
    She turned just as he reached up to slip the bridle off Max. Their bodies bumped. As much out of curiosity as to steady her, he took her arms.
    Soft. Fragile as he'd imagined. And as he shifted, just a little, the gentle swell of her breasts pressed against him. Her eyes had whipped to his at first contact. They stayed there as her heart hammered.
    "I always wondered what kind of handful you'd be." He smiled, let his hands run up and down those pretty arms. "Never had the opportunity to find out before. Of course, you were too young for me back then. You've caught up close enough now."
    "Excuse me." That was her voice, calm and cool. She was able to manage that, though everything inside her was hot and unsteady.
    "You're not in my way." Easily, he lifted a hand to toy with a curl that flirted with her cheek.
    "Then you're in mine." She didn't know how to handle men. Had never had to, really. But she was smart enough to know that now she needed a crash course. "I'm not interested in flirtations."
    "Me either."
    She borrowed a page from Margo's book, made her eyes bored. "Michael, I'm sure scores of women would be flattered. If I had the time, I might be flattered myself. But I don't have the time. My children are waiting to have their dinner."
    "You've got that down," he acknowledged. "Lady of the manor. You were born for it." He stepped back. "If you find yourself with time on your hands, you know where to find me."
    "Give my best to Josh