Free Moon Racer by Constance O'Banyon

disapproval, which only encouraged
her to straighten her spine.
    "I've been looking over the ranch," he said by
way of greeting.
    "I said we'd start at six; it's fifteen till."

    Abby stopped so close to Jonah that he could
smell her soft honey scent again. He struggled with
the smile that threatened to curve his lips. "I'm an
early riser-always have been."
    He looked far too happy, and it galled her. "Are
you ready to go?"
    He nodded. "Anytime you are."
    She walked past him to the stall where she kept
her working horse, Sassy. "How much of the ranch
do you want to see?" she asked, slipping the bit
between the brown-and-white pinto's teeth.
    He felt motivated to help her saddle her horse,
but instinct told him she would not appreciate the
gesture. "I'd like to see the mustangs Quince
mentioned. And he suggested you might show me a
couple of horses that could be trained to a
sidesaddle."
    She paused as she tightened the cinch beneath her
horse. "You want a horse for a lady?"
    "That's right. Quince said you could train one for
me. I don't doubt your ability after seeing you ride
yesterday."
    "I don't ride sidesaddle."
    He gave her an audacious look. "I believe I came
to that conclusion on my own."
    She led Sassy out of the stall and shoved their
lunch into the saddlebags. Why did he have to make
her so mad? she wondered, as she watched the way
his midnight-colored hair fell softly across his forehead. She wanted to touch it, to touch him. He was
so male, so overpowering, that she wanted to walk
right into those arms and feel them close around her.

    She tossed a rope over her saddle horn in disgust.
She could only imagine what his reaction would be
if she did such a thing.
    Against his will, Jonah's attention was drawn to
the sway of Abby's hips, in spite of the baggy
trousers she wore. The heat that coursed through
him was so powerful it left him shaken. He was
stunned that this little vixen, the one woman who
was forbidden to him, could stir his passion so
fiercely, and she wasn't even trying. He was glad
she kept her distance, because he was not sure he
could resist her if she had shown him the slightest
encouragement. Even now heat swelled his need
with such an intensity it left him reeling.
    He forced his attention away from her body and
watched her take a rifle off the hook, then shove it
into her saddle holster. "Are you expecting trouble,
Miss Hunter?"
    "You always expect trouble out here," she told
him, swinging into the saddle. "If there is none, you
count yourself lucky."
    He smiled. "I see. I hope, if the need arises, you
will protect me."
    Her lips clamped together tightly as she
attempted to suppress the angry words that begged
to be spoken. Instead she guided her horse out of
the barn and waited for him to join her. With the
familiar creak of leather, he rode up beside her.
    "Did you fill your canteen, Major?"
    Abby's face flushed with indignation when he
laughed aloud and replied, "Sometimes you just have
to laugh at the absurd." Then his eyes gleamed, re fleeting humor. "I am in the cavalry, Miss Hunter; I
don't go anywhere without water."

    She felt like such a fool, and his laughter only
made her feel worse. He was an officer who led
troops into battle, she reminded herself. Of course
he would know the fundamental survival skills that
were probably taught to first-year cadets at West
Point.
    As they rode away, Jonah was still amused, and
that further nettled Abby. So far she was not enjoying herself, and the morning had just started. Later
she would have some choice words to say to Quince
for volunteering her to spend the day with his friend.
    The two of them rode abreast and in silence until
the house was out of sight. When they came to a
fence, Abby bent to open a gate and, after they rode
through, fastened it behind them. They rode through
the tall grass at a steady pace, scattering a large herd
of deer as they went.
    Jonah felt the warmth of