He looked forward again and crossed over the driveway, spotting the problem instantly. Beckett was running for his life out of the sand ring with the black gelding chasing him, ears pinned back to his head.
Chase, Hayes, and Shep stood at the fence, laughing their assess off.
“Fuuuuuuck,” Beckett roared, throwing himself under the fence and rolling away until he hit Nash’s boot.
Nash looked down and arched an eyebrow. “All right?”
“That is a devil horse,” Beckett said.
Nash chuckled. Everyone played a role at the training facility. Beckett had a talent with breaking young horses. They trusted him in ways Nash had never seen. Hayes did incredible things for horses with bad attitudes—probably because Hayes had a bad attitude himself. But Nash, his gifts were with the horses who had lost their way.
“Emma once called Bentley a devil horse,” Shep said. “Now look at him.”
“Yeah, well, then, Nash, that horse is all yours,” Beckett said, jumping to his feet and handing Nash the rope. “You pay me well, buddy, but not nearly enough to deal with that crazy shit.”
Nash took the rope. He glanced over his shoulder at Megan. Today was his day off.
“We’re fine,” she called, giving him a wave. “Do what you need to do.”
When Nash looked at the horse again, he found him in the corner, drenched with sweat. Nash couldn’t leave him like this. If he did, they’d get nowhere. Beckett had only started working with him today. The first day was the most important day of all.
To relax his energy, Nash blew out a long breath, then slid under the fence. His brothers started whistling “Amazing Grace.” The song they’d heard at every funeral growing up. Nash flipped them the bird, garnering laughter, but stayed focused on the horse. Dark frightened eyes held his as he strode into the center of the ring and waited. And waited. And waited.
Then he took a step forward. And another. And another.
Nash kept his head down, his cowboy hat shielding his eyes from the horse. It took twenty minutes for Nash to finally get close. But those were twenty minutes the horse needed, and Nash would not rush him.
The horse snorted, again and again, but Nash stayed perfectly still until the snorting softened. Nash slowly lifted his hand, only a little, and waited. His muscles burned as he stayed statue-still, but then he smiled as the horse reached his nose forward and sniffed Nash’s hand.
Needing nothing more from the horse today, Nash turned away and slowly walked toward the fence. He got four steps forward when he heard the thunder of hooves charging toward him. He turned and held out his hands, holding his ground.
The horse snorted and backed up.
Only when he stopped snorting did Nash continue walking back toward the others. This time, the horse stayed put.
“Told ya,” Chase said when Nash reached them.
All of them, minus Chase, cursed and opened their wallets, handing Chase twenty bucks each.
“You all bet against me?” Nash frowned.
“That horse is batshit crazy,” Beckett muttered, unapologetic.
Hayes nodded.
Shep shook his head, amazement shining on his face. “I don’t know how you do what you do.” He spun on his heels, heading back toward Emma.
Chase followed. And Beckett and Hayes went back toward the barn to continue with their workday.
Nash took one more look at the horse, who watched him carefully, before he moved to Megan, who was watching Ricky in the kiddie pool. He slid his arms around her, bringing her in close. “They bet against me.”
“Did you win?” she asked.
He snorted a laugh. “Do you have any doubt?”
“Well . . .”
He pinched her butt, sending her laughing. “I won you,” he reminded her.
She gave him that sassy grin he loved so much. “Oh, but I think you’re forgetting one very important fact there.”
He dropped his mouth to hers. “What’s that?”
“I let you win.”
“Always so tough.” He brushed his mouth across hers. “I love you, Freckles.”
“Love you back, cowboy.”
Acknowledgments
To my husband, my children, family, friends, and bestie, it’s easy to write about love when there is so much love around me. Big thanks to my readers for your friendship and your support; my editors, Eileen and Tiffany, for believing in me and my cowboys; my agent, Jessica, for always having my back; my copy editor, Christa, for making my work pretty; the kickass authors in my sprint group for their endless advice and support; and the entire Swerve team for all their hard work through the Kinky Spurs series. Thank you.
About the Author
Author photograph © Hilary Gauld-Camilleri
Stacey Kennedy is an outdoorsy, wine-drinking, nap-loving, animal-cuddling, USA Today bestselling romance author with a chocolate problem. She writes sexy contemporary romance full of heat and heart, including titles in her wildly hot Kinky Spurs, Club Sin, and Dirty Little Secrets series. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her family and does most of her writing surrounded by lazy dogs. To keep in touch with Stacey, get updates right to your inbox at staceykennedy.com/newsletter/.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HARD-RIDING COWBOY. Copyright © 2019 by Stacey Kennedy. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Mimi Bark
Cover photograph: man © 4x6/iStock.com
ISBN 978-1-250-16844-3 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-250-30767-5 (trade paperback)
First Edition: February 2019
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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