Free His Texas Wildflower by Stella Bagwell Page A

enclosure, the gray dappled mare that Rebecca had named Starr ambled over to them. Beau flopped down in a nearby shade, content to simply watch.
    While Jake sized up the animal’s overall appearance, Rebecca decided it best to keep her questions to herself until he had a chance to voice his opinion.
    Finally, he said, “From this side of the fence, she looks like she’s in reasonably good shape.”
    â€œDo you have any idea how old she is? Or what sort of horse she is?”
    â€œWith a closer look I might be able to give you a good guess about her age. Do you have a halter or bridle that I could put on her?” he asked.
    â€œYes. Just a moment and I’ll get it,” she told him.
    When she returned with a rope halter, she found Jake already inside the corral and his hands on the horse. Rebecca scrambled over the fence to join him and he took the simple piece of tack from her and slipped it on the mare’s head.
    Dismayed at how easy he’d done the task, she groaned with frustration. “I tried putting that thing on her several different times yesterday. But each time she kept lifting her head higher and higher.”
    Chuckling, Jake glanced at her. “Don’t let her beat you at that game. Before you try to slip it on her nose, put your arm behind the back of her head. That tells the mare to keep her head down to your level.”
    â€œOh. Well, I did warn you that I know very little about horses.”
    He cast her an appreciative glance. “You knew enough to see that this one was a mare.”
    The color on her cheeks deepened. “Thank you for giving me that much credit.”
    His hand stroked down the mare’s neck and then his fingers began to comb through Starr’s long, black mane. For a man with big hands, Rebecca couldn’t help but notice how gently he touched the mare.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” he said. “But I can’t figure why you named her Starr. She doesn’t have a star in her forehead.”
    She shot him a hopeless look. “Does everything have to be so literal with a cowboy? I wanted to name her Starr because she is one—to me. Isn’t that a good enough reason?”
    â€œBest reason of all,” he answered, then with a soft laugh, motioned for her to come closer.
    Since she was already standing only a couple of steps away, she could hardly get much closer without touching him, she thought. Confused by his gesture, she took a cautious step toward him and Starr, then paused.
    â€œCome on over here,” he coaxed, while pointing to the spot directly in front of him. “Neither one of us is going to bite you. I want to give you a lesson.”
    Rebecca wasn’t sure she was ready for the kind of lesson he could give her, but she stepped forward anyway.
    Immediately, he slipped the rope halter off the mare’s head and pushed the dangling straps into her hands.
    Gasping, she stared at him. “Jake, I can’t do this! I’ve already told you—”
    Before she could finish, he positioned her next to the horse, then situated himself close behind her. Rebecca drew in a sharp breath as the front of his hard body pressed against the back of hers. Heat flooded her senses, raced over her skin to leave every pore puckered with awareness.
    She was trying to catch her breath and assure herself that she wasn’t going to melt, when he suddenly aligned his arms with hers and slipped her hands into his.
    â€œI’m going to guide you,” he explained in a low voice. “Let’s open the halter like this.” With his hands movinghers, the strands of rope fell into the right position. “Now we’re going to put this arm around Starr’s neck and this one is going to loop the rope over her nose.”
    The subtle movement of his body against hers was sending currents of excitement shivering through her, making it difficult to breathe, much less think. Thank goodness he