Free Her Cowboy Knight by Johnna Maquire

“Well, things got off to a bit of a rough start, but I’m holding my own. It’s a nice place.”
    He nodded. “And this fellow… Cooper… you like him?”
    Gabby smiled. “Sometimes I think he’s the best guy ever, and then sometimes I want to bash him over the head. So yeah, I think I like him.”
    William took a deep breath. “Well, I know it’s a long way to travel, and I’ve been thinking. Eamon is getting too big to be running loose. It’s time I trained him properly into the shows. I think for this city, I’m going to use him as the third squire. He’s worked very hard this week, and I think he’s ready. Why don’t you just stay at the ranch for the next few weeks, and do the job there, and we’ll make do without you?”
    As the words came out of his mouth, and their meaning hit Gabby, she felt as if her entire existence shifted. The anchor of her family no longer wanted her around. He was discarding her to make room for another, and that realization hurt more than she had words or emotions to express.
    She stopped walking, her mind rejecting the idea that she could be replaced so quickly. “But I have the demo ride…”
    “Seamus has been learning it, and he’s gotten quite good.”
    “Seamus…”
    “Don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I mean, you could have been sick anytime. What would we have done then, eh?”
    Gabby didn’t mention that she had been sick many times and had gone on anyway, because that’s what you did when you worked the Faire; you went on no matter what. She had seen her father and uncle go on with broken hands and cracked ribs and never complain once, so what was a little fever or sore throat… or pneumonia.
    “Da, this isn’t necessary. I can come back for the weekends…”
    “Gabby, no, I’m bringing Eamon up next weekend. Now stay put and enjoy your time away. Think of it as a vacation.”
    “I’m not going to think of it as anything other than what it is, Father. This is a betrayal. If you wanted me out of the way, you should have just said so.” With that, she turned and ran down the path.
     
    * * *
     
    As Gabby ran, her hurt and shock receded, and her anger grew. By the time she got to the stable, she felt like exploding, or vomiting. She stomped into the changing room, slamming the door as she passed, not speaking to anyone. She looked up and saw that someone had prepped Thaddeus, and even that frustrated her, as she had hoped that the time spent with the horse would calm her. She blew out a frustrated breath through her teeth and spun on her heel, stalking back through the stable door into the dressing area.
    With jerky movements she pulled on her fine chainmail. When she snagged her shirt, she ripped it back over her head and slung it across the room. “Goddamnit!”
    She kicked a stool across the room, then tossed the small shield she sometimes carried for sword practice. As it clattered to a stop by the wall, she bent over the small table and tried to steady her breathing.
    When she had it under control, she jerked her chainmail back over her head, not even bothering to corral her riotous curls beyond a cursory attempt at a braid. She didn’t look in the mirror before she stepped out of the room, and looked right into a pair of very familiar blue eyes.
    “Hello, darlin’.” Her cowboy almost melted her heart, but then he opened his mouth and messed it all up. “Where are you headed, because I know you’re not getting on a horse and carrying sharp objects with a mad on like that.”
    Gabby felt every bit of her rage return full force, but she said coldly, “Mr. Harris, this is no affair of yours. Just step aside and let me do my real job.”
    Leo spoke up from off to her left. “I think he has a point, Gabby. I’ve never quite seen you this mad before.”
    Gabby felt the last of her control snap. Enough that this man who barely knew her questioned her skill, but Leo, who had ridden with her every day for the last twelve years?