Free Kissing Her Cowboy by Boroughs Publishing Group Page A

you this: If you’re
a cop, I already know you’ve got guts and grit. You’ve carried a
gun, been in dangerous scuffles, and chased bad guys bigger than
you. Believe me, that takes more courage than learning to manage a
horse. Stallions like Big Blue might be intimidating, but they’re
also tolerant creatures, capable of great loyalty and gentleness.
You’re here, so I figure you know that already.”
    Daisy took a step closer. She stared up at
Trey with a mix of desperation and longing so intense that he felt
sorry for her right down to his fractured bones. He’d probably worn
that same hangdog look when he asked the ranch owner for this light
duty after his accident. Those who can, do. Those who can’t,
teach. Wasn’t that how the saying went? If he couldn’t work
alongside the other hands until his back finished healing, he might
as well put his days and his horse to good use. Of course, the
arrangement had turned out better than anyone expected.
    “I’d hoped to ease my anxiety with private
lessons before I start police equestrian training next month,”
Daisy admitted. “If I can learn to relax around horses, nobody but
us would know I was scared.”
    Trey offered a nod of reassurance. “No one
ever will.”
    He held out his hands in a gesture for her
to stay put. As an east coast cop, she’d already met certain rigid
standards. To be successful in the Mounted Patrol, she needed other
skill sets. All she had to do was let go of her anxiety and take
control. “Hang on a minute, okay?”
    Daisy took another look at Big Blue and then
stared at Trey. Her chin lifted, but her voice cracked as she said,
“You don’t expect me to ride him right away, do you?”
    Her? No. Though Trey would have given
anything in the world to ride that stallion himself right then.
“Let’s just sit and have a cold drink.” Maybe if she just watched
Big Blue awhile, she’d see what an amazing animal he was. Maybe
she’d be less scared. “You came all the way out here, and it’s
hotter than Hades. I’m thirsty. Aren’t you?”
    The tension faded around Daisy’s eyes, and
the muscles in her body relaxed. This time she smiled like she
meant it and tilted her head. “Got any sweet tea?”
    “Ah, you’ve assimilated already. Comin’
right up.”
    Trey went to the office by the stables and
took away two plastic folding chairs. He carried them back to the
corral and set them by the fence. “Put your feet up on the rails
and relax. Be right back with the tea.”
    He returned to the office and took a pitcher
from the refrigerator. After filling two disposable cups, he
brought them outside and handed one to Daisy. She took a sip and
licked her lips — her very kissable lips, if he was any judge.
He’d known his share of women these past thirty years, and he’d
rank her mouth in the top tier of all of them. How many men had
kissed her? He found himself wondering and knew a pang of regret
that he couldn’t be one of them.
    “Tastes good,” she said. “Thanks.”
    Trey sat in the chair beside Daisy and
suppressed a grunt. Being on his feet most of the day training
riders and grooming horses played hell with the fused vertebrae in
his spine, but considering he could still walk and work after being
thrashed by a rodeo bull he couldn’t complain.
    He took a drink of the sweet tea and propped
his feet next to Daisy’s on the fence. Her running shoes looked
small and neat next to his cracked and dusty leather boots. Trey
ventured a glance her way and grinned when he found Daisy staring
back at him. Was it possible a busted-up cowboy like him could
interest a pretty young woman like her?
    Whoa there, boy. You’re getting ahead of
yourself. You’re here to do a job, and so is she.
    Still, he couldn’t dismiss his attraction to
Daisy Phillips any more than he could ignore his determination to
get her to ride his stallion.

 
    Chapter Two
    “Why do you call him Big Blue?” Daisy asked,
watching the handsome cowboy beside