Free Riding Hard by Vicki Lewis Thompson

protective of her extended family, which included Regan. She might approve of Drake’s manners, but she certainly wouldn’t approve of him.
    “No, she was a Yankee originally. She’s almost like the queen of this area.”
    “So I’ve heard.” He understood why Regan hadn’t taken him out to the ranch to meet Sarah. He kept hearing about the woman, though, and he couldn’t shake the idea that if he had Sarah on his side, everyone else would ease up. He’d had a nice talk with Josie today. Maybe that was a start.
    “I’ve known Sarah forever, so she doesn’t intimidate me, but I can understand how she would affect others. She has a regal bearing about her, which makes sense if you know that her mother was a model and probably trained Sarah to have great posture, too.”
    “Guess so.” He spread his napkin over his lap. “Thanks for feeding me.”
    “You’re welcome, but Lily deserves the credit. I don’t like to cook, so she made a special effort to leave food for me. Even though it’s vegetarian, which I don’t normally eat, Lily makes it really taste good. But you know that already because you’ve had dinner here before.” She grabbed her spoon. “And I’m babbling. Sorry.”
    He had to agree that she was babbling, and her breathing was quick and shallow, too. When she looked at him, she never quite met his gaze, and her color was high. Interesting. Was she nervous about serving him a meal? He didn’t think so. She’d served him a ton of meals at Spirits and Spurs. Then he thought of another potential reason for her behavior, and his pulse rate climbed.
    She scooped up a spoonful of soup and immediately spit it back out. “Hot, hot!” She gulped some water. “Don’t try it yet. Let it cool.”
    “Tracy? Are you okay?”
    “Sure.” She drank more water. “Just burned my tongue. Should’ve waited. Silly of me. I’m the one who heated it up, so I should have realized that it was—”
    “You’re babbling again.”
    “I am.” She kept her gaze on her soup. Her cheeks turned even pinker.
    “Why?”
    “You...um...affect me when you’re this close, especially if I don’t have something else to think about, like pregnant mares and such.” Her attention remained on her soup. “I tried to convince myself I could handle it fine, but...apparently not. I’m sorry. I mean, we should be able to enjoy a nice meal, but then you helped me into my chair, and I... This is ridiculous.”
    His heart beat faster and heat surged through his body to settle in his groin. Finally she was ready to admit she craved him as much as he craved her. Hallelujah. “What do you want me to do?” He knew what he wanted to do, but she had to make the call.
    “Nothing. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. No guy has ever affected me this way. Just give me a minute.”
    That threw a bucket of ice water on his libido. In spite of their recent conversation, she still seemed to think wanting him was wrong. He pushed back from the table. “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I’ll take a walk down to the barn. I have my phone. When you’re finished eating, text me and I’ll come back and have some dinner.”
    “Wait!”
    He heard her chair scrape the floor, knew she’d left the table, but he kept walking. She felt desire for him but wanted nothing from him. He could take a hint. A two-by-four upside the head would be more subtle.
    “Drake, I’m sorry!” Her footsteps sounded behind him. “It’s just that—”
    “You’re not ready to trust me?” He turned when he reached the door. She was standing about five feet away, breathing hard. “Is that what you’re trying to say, Tracy? Because that’s what I’m hearing, and if that’s the way you feel, then I’ll make sure to keep my distance.”
    “That’s not it!”
    “I think it is. Text me when you’ve finished eating. I promise to stick around until Dottie has her foal, so don’t worry about that. This is a big place. We can avoid each