Summer Nights (Fool's Gold #8)

Another race she’d heard of.


She was starting to see that Shane wasn’t exactly who and what she’d thought. She’d assumed he was a regular kind of guy who worked with horses. A man who kept a few around for, um, for… Well, she wasn’t sure why people kept horses exactly. Charlie liked to ride Mason, but the world of racing and breeding was different.

Her gaze shifted to Khatar. “He’s different from the others.”

“Arabian.”

She thought back to the conversations they’d had and her stomach lurched. “He was expensive?”

“Depends on your definition. He wasn’t seven figures.”

Seven? As in a million dollars?

“Well, sure. Why would you pay that much?” Her voice was faint. “But close, right?” Not that she wanted to know.

“Pretty damned close.”

She was going to faint. Right there on the ground, she would collapse and possibly hit her head and then have to live with the resulting amnesia. The good news was she might then be able to forget this conversation.

“That’s why you had me riding Mason,” she said. “Because he’s a regular horse and I couldn’t hurt him.”

“You can’t hurt one of the other horses, either. It’s that they’re not riding stock. Certainly not for a beginner or a bunch of kids.” He raised his hands, then let them drop to his side. “I’m not being a jerk about the kids, Annabelle. The truth is I don’t have anything for them to ride.”

“I see that now. I’ll explain to the mothers. There has to be someone else nearby with appropriate horses. Because the girls were very excited by the opportunity. Maybe I could rent a horse for them or something.”

He groaned. “Is that in your budget?”

“No. I work at a library. But I could figure something out.”

“The walls are closing in,” Shane muttered. “Have you talked to my mother about this?”

“No. Why?”

“Do me a favor. Don’t. Tell you what. I’ll get some pleasure horses out here. Rent them for the summer or something.”

“You don’t have to. It’s not your responsibility.”

“You’re right about that, but currently, it’s my problem. If I don’t rent them and my mother finds out, she’ll buy some. Probably old horses. And I’ll have to take care of them. This will be easier. I’ll offer a few lessons and we’ll take it from there.”

While she appreciated the gesture, she still felt guilty and a little foolish. How could she have missed the truth about Shane?

Before she could figure out what to say, Khatar came strolling around the barn. She laughed as he headed directly toward her.

Shane turned. “What the hell? How did he get out?”

She reached for the horse as he approached and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hey, big guy. How are you? Who’s a handsome horse? Did you know you’re expensive? You need to take care of yourself.”

“He’s insured,” Shane said drily.

She leaned into the horse because it was easier than looking at Shane. “I can still help with your house. If you want me to. You know, to make up for all of this.”

She expected him to say no, but he surprised her by agreeing.

“We never did decide on the kitchen,” he said. “Maybe we can do that in the next day or so. Jocelyn is on me about wanting to pour the foundation.”

“We can do it after our lesson, if you’d like.”

“Sure. You have time?”

When it came to him, she was starting to think she had all the time in the world. She liked that even when he’d been annoyed, Shane’s anger had been low-key. He’d never once yelled and he didn’t say anything disparaging. Lewis, her ex, would have said she was stupid, would have gone on and on, blaming her. He would have done his best to make her feel small.

“I can stay,” she told him.

Their gazes locked. She was aware of something hot pulsing between them. Something that would be very, very messy. Maybe he would want to…

A flicker of movement caught her attention. She saw one of the mares in the corral next to Priscilla’s enclosure.

“Are you trying to see if Priscilla wants to be friends with one of the horses?”

Shane turned and nodded. “I found a cat with Priscilla yesterday. A mother cat with kittens. I went online and read about Asian elephants. The females need a group to belong to. I don’t think a cat is going to be enough, so I’m trying the mares, one at a time, until we get a match.”

“That’s very sweet.”

“Priscilla belongs to my mother. However, she has left the care of her menagerie to me, so I’ll do what I can.”

“Maybe she’ll fall in love. Or at least start dating.”

Shane swung his attention back to her. “Speaking of dating,” he began.

Her heart fluttered. Was he going to ask her out? Did he feel the chemistry between them? Was he thinking that they should at least take their attraction for a test drive?

“I had an interesting talk with Charlie yesterday,” he told her.

She winced. “Oh.”