“Laney, pull up on the right rein,” Tyler shouted. “Turn her head to make her slow down.”
Charlie was a fast horse, but he was no match for the spirited younger filly. He couldn’t hope to overtake her with such a lead.
“Come on, Tyler. I’ll race you up that hill,” Laney called over her shoulder.
What the hell! He caught a glimpse of her nudging the mare in the sides, urging her to greater speed. Damn, that woman could ride, and a flood of pride and admiration quickly overshadowed his fear for her safety.
Tyler clucked to his own horse, asking Charlie to dig deep and race after the mare. At the top of the rise, Laney sat up straighter in the saddle. The filly shook her head in protest, but slowed her pace. Her neck turned to the right, and Tyler realized Laney was doing exactly what he’d yelled at her to do earlier to slow the animal down. Several strides later, Charlie caught up to them.
Laney glanced over at Tyler, a radiant smile on her flushed face. The ribbon that held her hair tied back had come loose, and her windswept locks framed her pretty face. She eased the filly into a slow canter, and then finally brought her to a walk. The horse breathed heavily through her flaring nostrils, her muscles bunched beneath the saddle, ready to spring forward at the slightest provocation. Laney’s legs hung in a relaxed manner down around the girth, her hands lightly on the reins, the shorter right rein keeping the mare’s head turned slightly to the side. There was no question his wife was in complete control of the horse.
“That was fun.” Laney beamed at him. “Which way did you want to go, Tyler? I think she’s calmed down enough now for a more leisurely ride.”
Tyler stared, at a loss for words.
She looked beautiful. Her eyes . . . hell, her entire face glowed with sheer joy. He ought to be angry at her, but instead, appreciation and something deeper swept through him. He guided Charlie closer to the mare, his eyes fixed on Laney’s features.
“I oughta pull you out of that saddle right now and lay you over my knee for what you did,” he grumbled. His heart still hammered in his chest in the aftermath of fearing for Laney’s life a few moments ago.
Laney’s eyebrows raised, and annoyance replaced the smile on her face. “What I did?”
“Getting on that unbroke horse.” He pointed at the filly.
Laney raised her chin in a defiant gesture. “Like you said, she just needs a few miles under saddle. She’s full of energy, and needed a good run. Sometimes you just have to listen to the horse. They will always tell you what they need. Force a young horse into submission, and you’ll either have a fight on your hands, or they’ll run away from you.”
Tyler noted a touch of bitterness in her voice. Her smile vanished, and she turned her head to glare straight ahead. A faraway look passed through her eyes. Was she referring to the horse, or to herself?
“What are you running from, Laney?” Tyler asked quietly, and reached for the filly’s reins. He halted Charlie, and pulled the protesting filly’s head toward him. Laney’s heated gaze shot up at him, her wide eyes filled with a hint of unease. The same unease he’d seen earlier, when Gabe had her cornered along the porch rail. She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Tyler released the rein. Someone had hurt her, and he had no desire to put that kind of mistrust in her eyes. In fact, he’d do whatever he could to make sure her eyes continued to sparkle the way they had moments ago.
“I’m running from a lot of things, Tyler,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then she raised her head, and inhaled a deep breath. Her lips curved in a false smile. “Looks like my luck has finally turned.”
What the hell did she mean by that? Tyler itched to demand that she elaborate, but something told him she wouldn’t answer truthfully.
“Where did you learn to ride like that?” He tried a different approach.
Laney’s features relaxed. “I told you, I used to live on a horse farm.” She leaned forward and patted the sweaty filly’s neck. “I miss riding.” She stared over at him. “Thank you for the pants. It makes it easier than in that bulky dress. I told you you’d see a different side of me in pants.” Her smile turned genuine, a teasing twinkle in her eyes.
That wasn’t exactly what she’d said before. Tyler tried to clear the images her earlier comment conjured in his mind. Dozens of questions raced through him. He tried to focus his attention on her face and not let his eyes wander to those shapely legs of hers that were no longer hidden beneath a dress. Damn! Those legs had been bared to his view before, but the way his old pants wrapped around her thighs sent his head to spinning.
Part of him wanted to throttle her for scaring the hell out of him a moment ago, while the crazy idea to lean over, gather Laney in his arms and pull her onto Charlie’s back consumed him. The urge to kiss her became more powerful than anything he’d experienced in a long time. He clutched the reins tightly in his hands to keep from acting on his thoughts. He’d told himself last night, as he watched her sleep on the couch, that he wanted to get to know her better. Although it was perfectly within his rights as her husband to come to her bed, he wasn’t going to treat her like some cheap saloon whore.
“Tyler?” Laney raised expectant eyebrows toward him. “Which direction are we going?” She lifted her hand to point at the fork in the trail.
Tyler blinked, and mentally shook his head. His thoughts had never been further away from his horses than they were right now. He cleared his throat. “We’re heading to the south pasture. I need to check on my broodmare band and do a head count.” He pointed toward the right.
Laney’s eyes widened with interest. She nudged the mare forward, and Charlie fell in step beside her. “Do you run your breeding stallion with the mares?”
Tyler stared at her. What an odd question to ask. What was he supposed to do? Keep Rap locked up in a corral and only put him to the mares when they were in season?
“I do,” he answered slowly, trying to read her face.
“Is he the horse in the painting in your living room? That’s a beautiful animal.”
“He’s the best horse my pa ever bred.” Tyler nodded, a note of pride in his voice. “Also the last horse he bred.” He clamped his mouth together until his lips hurt. Why did he have to say that? Why did it feel as if he could talk to Laney about everything, bare his soul to her? He hardly knew her.
“Your father is no longer alive?” Laney’s soft voice wrapped around his heart, just as the painful memory of his father dangling from a rope in the barn engulfed him. Because of her. Faded images of his mother entered his mind. He cursed silently.
“No,” he said, the word clipped and harsh.
Laney eyed him wordlessly. She looked as if she was trying to read his thoughts. Tyler stared straight ahead. Apparently there were things in both their pasts that neither wanted to speak about.
Silently, he led the way through a meadow, skirting around stands of lodgepoles and spruce trees. The horses splashed through a shallow creek and climbed a steep hill before Tyler reined Charlie to a stop. A wide expanse of rolling grassland met his view, and a herd of horses grazed in the distance.
“Wow,” Laney exclaimed, coming up alongside him. “Is this all part of your ranch?” She squinted into the sun, her hand over her forehead.
“The Double M is over four thousand acres,” Tyler said. He pulled his hat from his head, reached over, and dropped it onto her blonde hair. She shot a surprised look up at him.
“I forgot to find you a hat.” He grinned. “The sun can be unforgiving out here.”
Tyler swallowed. The look of disbelief and gratitude in her eyes was puzzling, as if a considerate gesture was something she wasn’t accustomed to.
“Thanks, cowboy,” she said softly, and adjusted the hat that was much too big for her. She blinked rapidly, then looked toward the horses ahead in an obvious attempt to avoid his gaze.
“So, why are we doing a head count? Are you missing some horses?” she asked.
“I might ha
ve a problem,” Tyler answered reluctantly. He nudged Charlie forward. He wasn’t sure yet what he would find. How much of his business should he share with Laney? She took a genuine interest in the animals, and she understood horses. That much was clearer to him now than before, as he watched the filly walk calmly next to Charlie.
“What sort of problem?”
Tyler stared off into the distance at his herd of broodmares and yearlings. He ran a hand over his face before glancing to his side. Laney’s eyebrows were raised expectantly.
“Yesterday I found out that a yearling that might have come from my herd died on a neighbor’s property from some strange illness. A few days ago, my stallion refused to breed mares that were in heat.”
Laney shot him a highly inappropriate glance from underneath the brim of his hat. Perspiration beaded on Tyler’s forehead, and he shifted uncomfortably in the saddle. Hell, maybe he shouldn’t have been so blunt. This wasn’t the sort of thing a man talked about in front of a woman, but she’d asked the question.
“Seems like the stud and the owner have the same problem,” she mumbled, her lips twitching.
Damned if she wasn’t flirting with him. Tyler pulled Charlie to an abrupt stop, and dismounted. They were close enough to the herd to do a count without disturbing the horses. Any closer, and some of the younger animals might run off. It was a good enough excuse to get out of the saddle. Sitting had become unbearable all of a sudden. He fought the urge to pull Laney from her horse and prove to her right then and there how wrong her teasing assumption was. She wasn’t even aware how much her display of horsemanship, not to mention those britches she wore, made his pulse quicken. Her flirtatious comment was the final straw.
“You don’t want to put that to the test, Laney,” he said, his voice sultry. He shot her a hard stare.
“You want to court her proper, remember?” some nagging voice in his head whispered. Damn. How long was considered a proper courtship? Who the hell ever heard of a man courting his own wife?
Laney stared at him. He smiled inwardly when her cheeks turned rosy.
“Why are we stopping here?” she called from atop the filly.
Yeah, best to change the subject.
“I don’t want to disturb the herd. It’ll be easier to count the yearlings if they’re not on the move.” Tyler fumbled for some coherent words.
He walked around Charlie to the filly’s side, and reached for Laney’s waist before she had a chance to dismount on her own. With a firm tug, he pulled her from the saddle.
“I’m getting the sense that you’re an independent woman, but at least allow me to treat you like a lady,” he said huskily in response to the astonished look in her eyes. Her hands rested on his shoulders, and she stood much too close to him when her feet touched the ground. The front of his thighs brushed against hers. Tyler ground his teeth. If he expected his wife to act like a proper lady, then he had to control his own desires.
Before he could release his hold around her waist, Laney’s hand reached up, her palm stroking his cheek. A soft smile flittered across her face, and the sun caught the light reflecting in her shimmering eyes. She leaned up to him, and pressed a soft kiss against his lips, then quickly backed away.
She might as well have branded him with a hot iron. The satiny touch of her fingers, the velvety feel of her lips, ignited a fire within him that a raging waterfall wouldn’t be able to douse. The chasteness of her kiss left him staring at her, all doubt about her past erased from his mind. No soiled dove acted with such sweet innocence.
“Laney.” Tyler caught his breath, and reached for her hand. Her eyes widened, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She tensed, and for a split second he thought she’d try and pull away from him. Slowly, her tension faded, and she didn’t move when he took a step toward her. There was so much he wanted to ask her. Why was she crying? What had happened to her to make her appear both vulnerable and provocative at the same time?
“Laney, the way you and I married . . . Hell, I never expected to get hitched at all, least of all to a mail order bride.” He swiped a hand across his face.
“I know,” she replied softly. Tyler’s forehead wrinkled. “Your foreman made some silly bet that you had to uphold. Ian Frazier told me.”
Tyler laughed. “Hell, is that what you think?” He shook his head. “My wranglers, my neighbors, and everyone in town may want to think that Gabe can strong arm me into a marriage by making a bet. I was ready to send you back to where you came from. That’s the only reason I came to town to meet the stage.”
Laney tilted her head, and confusion marred her pretty face. “Then why did you marry me?”
He ran his hand over his face again, then chuckled and shook his head. “Damned if I know. I saw you standing there, in the middle of that street, and I couldn’t let some other man have you.” He gripped her hand tighter. “Laney, I ain’t gonna lie to you. You’re a beautiful woman. Men would have lined up from all over the territory if they caught wind that you were available. I wanted to protect you. I made a vow in that church to honor and protect you. Right now, I want to get to know you better, take this slow. Can we agree on that?”
She nodded slowly, studying him as if he wasn’t real. A look of uncertainty and disbelief passed through her eyes.
“I’m here to do whatever you want, Tyler.”
Chapter 13
Laney gazed out at the herd of mares, yearlings, and foals. Tyler’s stallion, Rhapsody’s Prince, grazed some twenty yards away from the herd. His head popped up every now and then, and his ears twitched in all directions, ever alert to any danger. When he moved too close to some of the mares, they promptly pinned their ears at him, and in no uncertain terms told him to keep his distance. She smiled. As tall and proud as the stallion was, the mares were in charge of the herd. His only job was to fend off predators and reproduce.
While Tyler counted his yearlings, Laney’s thoughts drifted to the events from earlier in the day. She’d asked him for pants partly in joking. She never expected him to actually produce a pair for her. The worn denims were clearly made for a young teenage boy, and fit a bit snug around her rear and upper thighs, but they were infinitely more comfortable than the bulky, hot dresses the reverend had supplied for her.
She’d hastily stuffed the ends of the cotton shirt into the loose waistband, and gone outside to meet Tyler for their ride, expecting him to be waiting for her by the horses. To her surprise, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the young filly had pranced anxiously along the post she was tied to, pulling her head back in agitation. In a hasty decision, Laney uncoiled the leather reins from the post. She’d seen her share of horses panic and rear over backwards from being left tied in such a manner. Acting on impulse, she’d climbed onto the horse’s back. She’d always had an easier time controlling a nervous horse from atop its back than from the ground.
Tyler’s admiring looks after his initial anger, and finally his acceptance of her riding ability, had left her weak in the knees. That brief moment, when he pulled her from the saddle and held her close, had jolted something inside her, some emotion she had buried a long time ago. Her physical attraction to Tyler was one thing, but in that instant, when he held her and gazed into her eyes with such warmth and tenderness, her heart had exploded to a new level of awareness of him that was completely foreign to her. It had both scared her and made her feel infinitely happy at the same time. She’d reached up to touch his face, needing to feel him, and impulsively kissed him lightly on the mouth. For fear of taking her reaction too far, she’d quickly stepped away from him.
She couldn’t allow these feelings to cloud her thinking. She was sent here to do a job, not to become emotionally attached to someone with whom she had no hope for a future.
Laney scoffed. None of the other guys in her past had ever represented security or a future. How ironic what fate had dealt her this time. In this century, she was married to Tyler, a guy who wanted a relationship with her based on friendship first. What wa
s she supposed to do with that? She was here to do whatever made him happy, and if that meant a strictly platonic relationship, then that’s what she would give him. The trouble was she wanted so much more.
Don’t kid yourself, Laney. You can’t have a long-term relationship with him. You’re going to be gone again soon.
“Can we get closer after you’re done counting the yearlings?” Laney asked tentatively. This might be her best chance to evaluate the stallion. From this distance, she hadn’t noticed anything obvious in the animal’s movements that would indicate an injury.
“I’m done.” Tyler offered her a biscuit from his saddlebag. His eyes lingered on her face, and Laney’s pulse increased. He’d called her beautiful, and confessed that he married her to protect her. He didn’t have to say what he wanted to protect her from. His meaning had been clear as crystal. A warm shudder passed through her at his continued perusal. If he was attracted to her, why was he holding back? They were married, yet he’d rather get to know her better before sleeping with her. It all seemed too unreal.
“Would you like me to introduce you to Rap? He’s the backbone of this operation, after all.”
Tyler’s words didn’t register immediately. He raised his brows and leaned forward, apparently waiting for her response.
God, I want to kiss you again.
She stuffed the rest of the biscuit in her mouth to keep from carrying out her thoughts.
“I’d love to see him up close,” she mumbled, her words barely coherent. She swallowed the food, and repeated her words. “Is he tame?” she added.
Tyler grinned. “About as tame as a stallion gets. He has his ornery moments, but I’ve warned him many times that if he don’t behave, I’ll cut him quicker than he can blink.”
Laney stared at him. He was so damn good-looking when he was serious, but when Tyler showed his playful side, he was down-right irresistible. His eyes twinkled with mischief rather than in anger, and the easy smile on his face sent her heart aflutter.
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