Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)

“I didn’t say that.”


“You didn’t have to.” He reached into the car and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, then motioned to the barn. “After you.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE to do this,” Heidi protested as they walked into the barn.

“I know my way around a horse.”

“You’re a guy who probably wears a five-thousand-dollar suit.”

“You’re forgetting, I grew up here. Besides, I want to check out my mother’s land.”

He walked toward the corral where Mason and Kermit were lounging in the sun. Rafe gave a piercing whistle that had both horses turning toward him.

Heidi told herself not to be impressed. Except the horses moved toward him, as if drawn by a force she couldn’t see. Rafe stepped into the corral.

“Where do you want them?”

“In the barn.”

He guided the horses easily. She let him lead the way, her gaze lingering on the butt Charlie had mentioned. She had to admit it was nice. Athletic rather than flat. Okay, sure, Rafe was a good-looking guy, but a coral snake was beautiful and still deadly.

Once inside, they set to work. Rafe might have a job in San Francisco in a high-rise, yet he hadn’t forgotten how to saddle a horse. After using a brush to clean off Mason’s back, he set the pad in place with practiced ease. She worked on Kermit, the smaller of the two horses, huffing only a little as she gently set the saddle on Kermit’s back.

Bridles were next. Both Mason and Kermit were calm horses, taking the bit without trying to spit it out. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rafe making one last check to make sure everything was fastened securely, but not too tight, and that there weren’t any wrinkles or spots that would rub. They led the horses outside.

There was a mounting block on the far side of the barn. As both Mason and Kermit were good-size horses, she turned in that direction, but Rafe stopped her.

“I’ll give you a hand up.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’t.”

He draped Mason’s reins over a post, then walked toward her. He waited until she’d taken the reins in her left hand and grabbed the saddle. Then he laced his fingers together.

She stepped onto his hand. Despite the fact that they weren’t touching anywhere, the act felt oddly intimate. She told herself he was just being polite. That his mother had trained him well. Still, she felt flustered as he counted to three, then lifted her toward the saddle.

She swung her leg over Kermit and settled lightly into place.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He continued to look at her. “You’re a little touchy.”

“You’ve threatened me and my home more than once. I think being cautious shows wisdom.”

“I’m protecting what’s mine.”

“So am I.” Which meant what? That they had something in common? “This would be a lot easier if we could get along.”

His mouth curved into a slow, sexy smile. “I don’t do easy.”

“I’m not surprised.”

He chuckled, then walked over to Mason. Rafe settled in the saddle, and they moved away from the barn.

“You have a route you usually take?” he asked.

She adjusted her hat, trying not to notice that, for a guy who drove a Mercedes, Rafe looked pretty comfortable on his horse.

“Uh-huh. It’s a big circle that takes us over most of the land.”

“Good.”

Right. Because he wanted to claim what he considered his. “You’re not going to start peeing on trees to mark everything, are you?”

He laughed. “Maybe when we know each other better.”

He was joking. Unfortunately, his words made her remember her friends’ suggestion from the previous evening. That seducing Rafe was the answer to her problems.

She glanced at him, taking in the straight back and broad shoulders. Was he the kind of lover who took his time and made sure everyone enjoyed the event, or was he selfish in bed? She’d known both kinds of guys, more of the latter than the former.

Not that it mattered, she reminded herself. Sleeping with Rafe would be stupid.

“Is the fence line like this everywhere?” he asked, pointing to the broken or missing posts, the downed line.

“Some of it is in better shape, but only for small sections. What was it like when you lived here before?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“Things were in better shape. Old man Castle might have paid his employees shit, but he cared about the ranch.”

She heard a trace of bitterness in his voice, and knew he had cause to resent what his family had gone through. But she still had trouble reconciling the vision of a hungry little boy with the successful man riding next to her.

“He kept a lot of cattle,” she said, watching the dark, moving shapes in the distance. “They’re everywhere and very wild.”

Rafe glanced at her. “Wild?”

“You know. Feral.”

He laughed again. “Been attacked by a few feral cows, have you?”