by Amelia Shea
“Sold to the pretty little blonde in the blue top. Congrats, sweetheart, and good luck.” His boisterous laughed filled the arena. “You’re gonna need it.”
Good luck? He didn’t say that to any other bidders. What the hell does he mean by good luck? A few people wished her congratulations. One woman even came up excitedly and shook her hand. “Never did see Tripp Fords lose out on a bid, it was great.”
Britt laughed and walked down the dirt path, following a silent Lucas. She hadn’t felt this good in a long while. She showed them. She won the horse, she had outbid Tripp. Her face felt numb from smiling. They were almost to the truck and trailer when Lucas turned around.
“You feel good about what you’ve done?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Great. Remember that feeling when we get her home.”
“What are you talking about? You said I could afford her. I know it’s a lot of money but she’s really pretty and she must be a good horse seeing how everybody wanted her. And well, can’t help but feel victorious seeing the look on Tripp’s smug prick face.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. What was her problem?
“What, Sarah? Are you mad ’cause he’s your cousin?”
“No. I’m mad because you bought a horse who will probably wind up killing my boyfriend.” Her voice rose in anger on the last word.
Britt’s confused eyes darted to Lucas and back to Sarah. “Wait, what are you talking about?”
“You bought a wild horse, Britt.”
“What does that mean?”
Sarah released an angry breath. “Oh my Lord, Britt. The fact that you even have to ask should tell you something. She’s wild, meaning she’ll have to be brought to heel. Broken?”
“Okay, so?”
“So…men are trained to break in a horse, it’s dangerous, not everyone can do it. Lucas and none of your hands are trained for it.” She sneered, taking on a condescending tone.
“Oh.” Now she realized the predicament she was in and the one she’d just put Lucas in.
“Well, then we’ll hire someone to do it. There’s got to be someone around here who does it.”
“There is.” Lucas finally spoke, his tone angry, glaring over her shoulder.
“Who?”
“Congratulations, darlin’.” Grey spoke from behind her. At that moment, she knew exactly who the only person around these parts was who would be able to train her wild girl. Oh, fuck me.
∙•∙
He knew it was cruel to take this much joy in her dilemma, but he couldn’t help himself. Britt was about to learn a hard lesson in ranching. Painful and expensive.
After calming Tripp down and sending him to cool off, he went in search of the new owner of Black Beauty, which she had been dubbed by the auctioneer. He almost choked on his own tongue when he heard the pretty voice shout, “Twenty-five hundred.”
Why in the hell would Lucas allow her to bid on a wild horse? Grey shook his head in disgust. In his mind, he knew there would be no stopping Britt anyway. She seemed to be the type of woman who, once she got an idea in her head, would be hard pressed to let it go. Even with that said, Lucas knew better. He hadn’t tamed any horses, certainly not as wild as this one. The thought had Grey fuming. Letting her waste her money on a horse who she’d have to sell anyway. Most likely to him and not close to the tune of five thousand.
Parting ways from Jasper and the ranch hands, he kept Britt in sight with her trailing behind Lucas and Sarah. Watching her face, long gone was the triumphant grin. The threesome was stopped in what seemed like a heated discussion. Grey could tell his cousin was angry by her red face, tight lips, and clenched fists. Of course, she was upset, Britt had just set her boyfriend up for destruction.
Grey smirked as he stalked forward and heard the last bit of their conversation.
“Well, then we’ll hire someone to do it. There’s got to be someone around here who does it.” Britt’s hopeful tone had Grey smirking, making direct contact with Lucas’ glare.
“There is.”
“Who?” Britt asked optimistically.
Grey’s smirk contorted into a full grin as he stepped behind her. “Congratulations, darlin’.”
Her body went rigid and her back straightened. He couldn’t see her face but he could imagine what it must look like. Shock and dread. Maybe even aggravation. At this moment, he’d pay to see her face.
Lucas turned fast and trailed back to their truck, with Sarah throwing him a dirty look and then following after her man. Grey didn’t care, all he wanted was to see her face. He leaned closer to her ear.
“I believe the proper and polite response to someone who congratulates you would be, ‘thank you’.”
She jerked her head in his direction. Her nostrils flared, eyes squinted, and her full lips etched downward in a frown. Grey was pretty sure the words “thank you” would not be rolling off her tongue anytime soon.
She spun around angrily to face him, folding her arms over her chest and inadvertently pushing up her cleavage for full display. Grey glanced down and enjoyed the view. She had an incredible body, full breasted and creamy skinned, enticing him along with her round hips and flat stomach. She had a perfect body which made his own pants tighten from his growing erection.
“You enjoying this?” she snapped.
Raising his eyes to meet hers, he grinned before dropping his gaze to her breasts again.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She grunted. “You’re disgusting.” She turned heel and marched after Lucas and Sarah. Grey couldn’t help himself. Seeing her mad and in a flustered state amused him. He burst out laughing. She froze but didn’t turn around. After two breaths, she continued down the path.
“Better watch yourself, Grey. She has dangerous hothead written all over her.”
Grey tore his eyes away from the most perfectly rounded ass to see his brother standing next to him, also watching Britt stomp down the road.
“I think I can handle her.”
Jasper snorted. “I don’t know Grey, the way she glared at you, might wanna keep Little Miss City Girl far away from anything you count valuable, and I ain’t talking about Mama’s jewels.”
Grey watched her saunter away until he lost sight of her as she rounded the corner. She might want to run and hide, but he knew it would be only a matter of time before she’d come and find him. She might not like it, but he was the only one who could handle her new purchase. Sooner or later, she’d come calling.
Chapter Thirteen
A week had passed and Britt was now desperate.
Her black beauty had proved to be the biggest mistake she’d ever made. After finally getting the horse home and housed by herself in one of the barns, she made a few calls. Lucas offered her a list of ranchers experienced with training horses. No one would touch her wild horse.
Now left in full desperation mode, she found herself passing the sign for the Triple R while biting her lip to the brink of drawing blood. She had no other choice. Lucas had tried, but there was no other choice, she was too wild. She needed the firm hand of an experienced handler. Now she was dragging her tail between her legs and was about to put her pride aside and ask the enemy for help.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered as she drove up the long driveway to the farmhouse.
The Triple R ranch was huge compared to her two thousand acres. She remembered Lucas telling her they had over twelve thousand working acres of property. As she pulled in front of the house, she noticed a flurry of activity. There were several hands tending at the barn and a few in the pasture.
Getting out of her car, she was greeted by a man on a horse tilting his hat in her direction. He grinned. “Mornin’.”
She smiled back. “Good morning. Can you tell me where I can find Grey?”
His smile formed a comical grin and he nodded toward the barn on the far left side of the house. “He’s in the barn.”
“Great, th
anks.” She took two steps before the man cackled. “You held out longer than I bet. Thought for sure you’d be here begging three days ago.”
Britt felt the heat rise in her face and her lips curled. Jerk! She forced herself to continue to the barn without looking back. This was a great feat, considering she wanted to turn around and slap the smartass in the mouth. Keep walking, Britt.
Finding her way to the barn, she slipped in past the half-cocked doors. Their barn was much newer than hers, and by the looks of it, filled to capacity. She inched in and called out, “Hello?”
Seconds passed and Britt was about to walk out when she heard a soft laugh. Turning to the second floor of the barn, she peered up to see a shirtless gorgeous man, chest glistening with sweat, and muscles defined by the lines in his chest. A small dusting of dark hair covered his upper body. She had never been a fan of chest hair but on Grey? It worked.
Her eyes lifted from his chest to his face and peered up at his eyes penetrating hers, making her shift from one side to another on her feet. Her hands found the edge of her shirt and she began to fidget. Under his stare, her heart raced. She may not like Grey Fords, but her body must have been unaware, from the way it reacted to him.
The air in the barn was thick and hot, but her nipples paid no mind to the temperature as they beaded. Jesus, why couldn’t he be ugly or fat or better yet…both?
“Looking for me, darlin’?” His gravelly tone sent a shiver down her body, straight to the spot she didn’t want it to go. Damn her body, and damn Grey Fords.
Her breath hitched, watching him make his way down the wood steps, following his every move. All thoughts of why she was there were lost.
Taking his final step down, he slowly stalked over to her, resting his hand on the beam beyond her head. She gulped the breath she’d been holding and watched a small smile play on his lips, his brows quirking up.
She bit the bottom of her lip, his eyes darting to her mouth, and immediately she looked at the barn floor. Pull it together, Britt.
“Need something?” His voice lowered. “Or you want something?”
Her head jerked up and she could see the amusement on his face. He was definitely enjoying the effect he had on her. Seeing the humor in his eyes had her snapping out of whatever “Grey trance” she’d been locked in. She righted herself, taking a deep breath, and straightened to full height.
“Yes, I want to hire you.” She was proud her voice didn’t crack, which was nothing short of a miracle, the way she was feeling with him so close.
His eyes widened. “Hire me?” Looking around the barn, his stare met hers again and he smirked. “As you can see, I already have a job. Hire me for what exactly?”
Britt gathered herself, still a bit off from his presence. “Well, I’ve done my homework and it seems you’re the only one around here to break Black Beauty. Which by the way, I hate that phrase, ‘break her,’ it sounds, I don’t know, cruel.” She dared another look up to his face, his smile still in place. “Yeah, so anyway, I want to hire you. So, how much?”
“How much?”
“Yeah, how much to break her?”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t break horses. I train them.”
He pushed his body off the beam he’d been leaning on and folded his arms across his chest. Britt watched him intently. He looked like he was considering it. Oh thank God. She needed this horse to be useful, or at the very least, rideable. The berating she took in the truck back from the show had made her realize what a huge mistake she had made.
It didn’t come from Lucas. He remained silent during the two-hour ride. Sarah, on the other hand, had decided she was going to school Britt on her mistake, and she did it relentlessly. After thirty minutes of being berated, Britt snapped, “Ya know, Sarah, while I get I fucked up, maybe you should get it’s my money and I can do whatever I please with it.”
She almost immediately regretted her outburst, even though Sarah had it coming. For Christ’s sake, back off, girl. The remainder of the ride was a tense, silent ninety minutes.
Grey cleared his throat, pulling her back to the moment. He was staring down at her and finally nodded his head. “Okay, four.”
Britt flinched back in surprise. “Four? As in four dollars an hour?” A sense of relief washed through her body. This had gone better than she expected. Not only would he do it, which she didn’t think he would. But four dollars an hour? It wasn’t even minimum wage. She smiled expectantly at him.
His head tilted to the side, gracing her with his beautiful smile.
“Four thousand.”
She could feel her smile fall. “What?”
“Four thousand.”
“You want me to pay you four thousand dollars to train her?” she asked incredulously.
His soft laugh echoed through the barn. “No darling, that would be crazy. I’ll give you four thousand dollars for her.”
She stared back at his impassive face. He seemed calm and confident. Finally, what he was saying was sinking in. He wouldn’t train her, but he’d buy her, for the same price Tripp bid.
Feeling her anger rise, she bit back her urge to snap. Through gritted teeth she said, “She’s not for sale.”
He nodded, still a calm façade. “Neither are my services.”
“Why won’t you help me?” She was so frustrated.
“Britt.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “This is me trying to help you. You’re in over your head with this horse. Lucas shouldn’t have let you bid on her in the first place. I’m willing to pay exactly what Tripp bid on her.”
Britt felt the anger rush through her. He wasn’t going to help her. She was stupid for even thinking he would. It became very clear. He was the enemy. Her leg twitched, a nervous tick she’d had since she was a kid. Her dad constantly joked, he always knew when she was mad by the wiggle of her leg, almost like a bull about to charge.
She sighed. “Fine. Then we’re done. I’ll be getting back to my ranch. Bye, Grey, thanks for your time.” She turned heel to walk out when his voice stopped her.
“Take the four, Britt. Not gonna find anyone willing to take on your horse, and you’ll go poor trying. Stop being stubborn.”
She didn’t bother turning around and started out the barn with her head held high.
“We’ll see.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Ow!” Britt shrieked, coming out of her sleep-induced fog. Prying her eyes open, she flinched back, waking up to a face full of hay and Lucas sleeping next to her.
“What the hell?” She quickly sat up and looked around the barn. The light was streaming in from the cocked barn doors. She ran her hand through her hair and yanked a hunk of hay out the ends. Gross. God only knows what was crawling on top of her.
Pulling off the blanket and stretching her arms, she focused on the stall in front of her. Mystic had her foal last night. A small smile played on her lips. She crawled up from the hay bed and walked over to the stall, peeking through the opening. There he was, so tiny and small, only a few hours old.
She had woken to severe whining in the middle of the night. She knew Mystic would have her baby any day now. But she sounded different from when Glory gave birth. She frantically called Lucas, who came over. Her instincts were right. Mystic was in distress. She watched in awe as Lucas helped deliver the new foal. Britt had never been one for animals, but as she was the first time, she was enthralled with the birth. New life.
Lucas stayed, concerned about both horses and deciding to sleep in the barn. As the owner, Britt felt it was on her to stay with him and keep watch. She rolled her eyes. So much for keeping watch, she must have passed out.
“How’s he doing?” Lucas was standing behind her, peering over into the stall.
“Good, I guess. Right? He’s good?”
“Yeah, he’s good.” Lucas smiled over at the newest addition to the barn family. “Gonna have to name him.”
Britt smiled. “Let’s get some coffee and I’ll come up with s
omething amazing.”
They walked to the barn doors, Lucas pulling them open. A dust ball was forming down the driveway. She couldn’t make out the driver, but it was a black truck and whoever it was, was leaving the ranch.
“Who’s that?”
“Not sure, looks like Tripp’s truck.” Lucas glanced over at Britt. “You expecting him?”
Britt shook her hand and released a heavy breath. “No but I’m sure I’ve done something to aggravate him or his brother. Again.”
Lucas laughed, following her up to the house. “You kind of have a gift for pissing off the Fords, don’t you?”
She snorted. “I think my existence alone pisses off the Fords.”
After coffee and a shower, she headed back down to the barn to check on the newest barn member. She had decided on a name and wanted to run it by Lucas. It was her ranch, as Lucas said, so she got to name them.
Lucas was pacing near his truck when she came out the front door. She stopped and watched him. His face was red and he looked upset, really upset. His hand waved in the air and he came to a halt. She could hear him shout into the phone, “Sarah!” He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it with shock on his face.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Sarah okay?”
Lucas eyes shifted to her, and Britt could see they were laced in anger. He dragged his hand through his hair before he shouted, “No, she’s not okay, she’s mad as hell.”
“Why?”
“’Cause apparently, you and I have been taking a tumble in the hay. She told me she never wants to see me again.”
“What?”
“Yeah.” He released a disgusted breath. “I’ll give you one guess whose truck we saw leaving earlier. Fucking Tripp, lying son of a bitch.”
“Tripp told her we were having sex?”
“Yeah, bastard told her we were curled up in the barn. Motherfucker.”
“And she believed him?”
“Yeah, she believed him,” he shouted, storming passed Britt.
“Wait, Lucas, slow down.”
“Leave me alone, Britt.”
She watched him throw his phone across the grass in front of her house and stalk to the barn. How could Tripp be such a lying asshole? How could Sarah believe him? Anger and fury rose in Britt. He was going to get what was coming to him.
