She took off at a pace brisk enough to make Big Blue proud, but not before she noted the challenging tilt of the handsome cowboy’s head or the gleam in his eye.
Chapter Three
Trey hefted a western saddle over the top of a stable gate covered with blankets and tried not to wince with the effort. Though his back had mostly healed, some days were better than others.
He secured the saddle to the slats for Daisy’s second lesson and checked again to make sure it would hold. The horses were grazing in the fields, and the ranch hands were working on a property line fence, so he and his student had the stable to themselves. He would show Daisy how to mount a horse, pretending the gate was Big Blue.
He patted the worn leather seat. “Climb up. See how it feels. Stallions are broader, of course, but this will give you an idea of what to expect.”
It took Daisy a couple of tries, but she finally hitched her left sneaker into the stirrup and swung her right leg around and over. Trey tried not to smile as he watched her wiggle her small round butt in the seat, thighs spread, to find her comfort zone. When her eyes widened, he knew she’d found it.
She glanced over at him, cheeks aflame. She didn’t seem to know what to say, so he said it for her.
“Feels good, huh?” Lots of friction, especially in the stretchy bike shorts she wore with her crop-top, no doubt. He really needed to talk to her about her choices in riding gear.
She didn’t seem to want to move, so he did that for her too. “Let’s pretend you’re on horseback. I’m going to swing the gate back and forth, just to prepare you for motion. A horse moves up and down, though you’ll feel rotation from his flanks and haunches. Imagine you’re riding.”
He showed her how to hold the reins in one hand to guide the horse’s route. “I’ll swing the gate right or left, depending on your lead.”
He watched her practice, her expression filled with determination. Slowly, as he shifted the gate in the direction of her reins, she began to visibly relax.
“You’re doing fine. See? Not so bad.”
She looked over at him and huffed. “This isn’t a real horse.”
“Ah, getting anxious to try the real thing?” He swung the gate a little faster.
“Don’t push it.”
Trey had to laugh. “You’re the boss.” He needed to keep that in mind. She was a cop and he was her riding instructor. No matter how sexy she looked in those ridiculous bike shorts, he had to keep things professional.
Daisy shifted in the saddle. “Riding certainly does, uh…stretch your muscles.” She wrinkled her nose when she talked, which Trey found endlessly fascinating. And adorable. “My hips and thighs are getting a workout.”
“Stick to wearing loose-fitting jeans. Bike shorts and tight clothes have no place on a ranch. Buy some boots too. Once you get on horseback, you’ll have to learn how to post. You need sturdy clothes and footwear for that.”
“I see what you mean.” Daisy winced. “Even if I wanted to ride Big Blue—and I don’t yet—I wouldn’t last ten minutes in these shorts. I don’t know what I was thinking when I read the word ‘comfortable’ on your website’s list of instructions.”
His website specifically stated comfortable jeans, but Trey suspected her clothing choices reflected her fear. By the time Daisy started her equestrian training, she’d be ready. She just didn’t know that yet. “Every sport has its own rules and equipment. We’ll get you sorted out.”
He moved to her right side and laid a hand to the back of her leg just above the knee. The heat from her skin penetrated the thin fabric of her shorts to warm his palm.
“To post,” he said, “press your knees against the blankets and lift up from the stirrups. Make the muscles in your legs do the work. When your horse moves, you move with him. After a while, you’ll develop synchronicity. You’ll also build flexibility and strength. Those are great assets for a police officer. Horseback riding is incredible exercise.”
Daisy practiced the motions, and Trey watched her calves and thighs flex and release. The urge to run his palm over the length of her slender leg forced him to take a step back, and when she looked down at him and smiled, the first glimmers of triumph shining in her beautiful green eyes, his belly tightened with pleasure.
She let out a sigh. “I think I understand what you mean. But a gate is not a horse.”
Trey chuckled and agreed. “Not by a long shot.” He reached out to spot her while she dismounted, then suggested, “How about we say ‘hey’ to Big Blue?”
She held on, and then swung her leg up and around in a near perfect arc. “All right.”
Trey watched her sweet little bottom rotate around to face him, and his eyes homed in on the bands of her thong that showed through the fabric above the perfect swells of her buttocks. He was beginning to love this job.
“Good dismount.”
She jumped down and turned. “Think so?”
“For a first try, I’m impressed. I think you have untapped abilities waiting to be explored.”
It was true, he imagined, about her as a woman, an officer, and an equestrian. All three were about connection, an area in which Daisy seemed to be having trouble. Why else would she be here?
“You’re saying I have potential?” Daisy closed the distance between them, lips parted, eyes bright. The color in her cheeks remained high, and the quickening of her breath sounded like…arousal.
Riding often had that effect on women. But when her tongue touched the center of her bottom lip and she maintained eye contact, he saw she wanted him. Considering the branding-iron smoking his pants, he damn sure wanted her too. He’d known that since the first moment he saw her. He might have fractured his back, but he was still capable of kissing—and he hoped a lot more. Maybe Daisy would help him learn how far his body would take them.
If and when the time comes, he reminded himself. He needed to stay focused. Daisy was paying him to teach her to ride, not to treat her like some rodeo buckle bunny.
“Have you ever petted a horse?” he asked.
Daisy shook her head.
Trey clicked his tongue, and Big Blue walked to the opening of his stall. The stallion flicked his tail and waited.
Daisy moved a few steps forward. “He can stay there,” she said after a moment. “I’ll stand out here and get to know him.”
“That’ll do,” Trey agreed. “But will you trust me?”
He reached out with one hand and turned to meet Daisy’s gorgeous green eyes. Every time he looked at her, they drew him in. She stood still in return, sizing him up like a law enforcement officer assessing risk, and he liked seeing that. Daisy might be skittish around horses, but she had strength at her core.
She nodded and held out a hand. “After you.”
When they reached the stall, Trey placed his palm over the back of Daisy’s hand and guided it to the stallion’s sleek neck.
“Pet him in long strokes. Like this.” Trey’s hand glided over Big Blue’s coat with Daisy’s hand beneath. Her skin felt soft and supple under his roughened flesh. “What do you think?”
“He feels smooth, like velvet. Better than I imagined.” She smiled up at Trey, and a sudden radiance filled her expression. “He seems…nice.”
“Pat him, talk to him. Let Big Blue get used to the sound of your voice.”
Daisy nodded. She stood closer and whispered near the stallion’s ear while stroking his neck, and Big Blue seemed to revel in the attention. When Daisy advanced to petting the horse’s forehead, Trey took it as a good sign. Her fingers touched the soft flesh beneath the forelock and she grinned.
“He definitely likes you,” Trey said. Trey liked her too. Daisy might be vulnerable in his world, but that wasn’t all there was to her. Underneath she had a steely reserve he wanted to understand.
“If you’re not in a hurry after your lesson,” he blurted, “I’ll show you around the ranch. There’s a lot to see and do. We can take my Jeep.”
She considered his offer
then gave him a warm smile and nodded. “I’d like that.” She gestured to her bike shorts and sneakers. “Will my clothes cause a problem anywhere else on the property?”
Trey shook his head. “Not today. But come back for your next lesson ready to ride.”
***
Trey’s Jeep Wrangler trundled along the dirt track surrounding the Breezy Meadows Ranch, and Daisy took in the countryside. Rain had dampened the earth that morning, keeping the dust and grit to a minimum and the temperature cooler than usual.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said. Gently rolling hills of green grass and shrubs surrounded them for miles. The vehicle moved forward past fields dotted with wildflowers that scented the air with lavender. Daisy leaned her head against the passenger seat, closed her eyes, and breathed deep. “Greener than other places I’ve seen in Texas. This spot reminds me of Pennsylvania.”
When she opened her eyes, she found Trey glancing her way. He slowed to a stop beside an enormous garden protected by chicken wire. Bunches of romaine lettuce and heads of broccoli and cauliflower looked ready for the kitchen; carrots, celery, onion, tomatoes and more sprouted from freshly tended earth. Sunflowers and gladiolus stood like sentries in the background. Birds pecked seeds from feeders placed beside a nearby pond.
“Do you miss home?”
Pangs of regret and shame chased Daisy’s momentary homesickness away. “Houston’s my home now. My sister needed me, and I had reasons for leaving my job. After her husband was killed in Afghanistan she asked me to stay with her. I moved here as soon as I could.”
Trey got out of the Jeep. Daisy followed, and they strolled toward the water.
“Sorry about your brother-in-law,” Trey said. He gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, and Daisy breathed easier when he didn’t press for more explanation. She’d never admitted to anyone that she’d run away.
She nodded. “Thanks.”
When they reached the edge of the pond, Trey spoke again. “What about your boyfriend? Is he joining you here? A woman like you must have left a man behind.”
She’d left an entire squad behind. “No one special.” His frank stare told her he liked being direct.
A smile lifted Trey’s lips, and his blue eyes brightened. “Works for me.”
He leaned down, picked a few buttercups and laid them inside her palm. His fingers caressed hers when he released the flowers, making her heart race, and Daisy took a buttercup and placed it under his chin, looking for the yellow reflection. According to the sunlight and childhood tales, he liked butter.
“What about you?” she asked. “You must have women chasing you all the time. Anyone special in your life?” She twirled the buttercup and dragged it over his jaw line. The delicate bloom caught on the stubble shadowing his gorgeous face.
Trey took her free hand and pulled it tight to his chest. Daisy could feel his heart beating fast, and when he met her eyes he stood so close that his shirt brushed the skin on her arms and raised goose bumps.
His expression turned solemn. “If I had a girlfriend, it wouldn’t be right to be here with you.”
Daisy’s mouth went dry, both at their close proximity and the significance of his statement. She ran her tongue over her lips to moisten them and took a shallow breath. Her abdomen fluttered and tightened, and a gentle throb built between her legs.
“Oh.” That simple word was all she could manage. Trey stared at her with open admiration, something she hadn’t seen in a man’s eyes for so long that she thought she might burst into tears. Her emotions tumbled like jigsaw pieces from a box, needing to be sorted.
He released her wrist and drew back a step. His fingers trailed the outside edge of her shoulder, slipped down over her elbow and then across the sensitive skin inside the bend of her arm. At the exquisite feel of his thumb skimming her flesh, Daisy sucked in a breath.
“I had a girlfriend before…uh, before I met you.” His voice deepened and acquired an edge. “She dumped me when my prospects for the future… no longer met her expectations.” He looked away, and Daisy realized they’d touched a subject he’d rather avoid. That was okay, though; it could wait. She had secrets of her own.
“Her loss.” She said the words and meant them. Somehow she knew Trey would become an intimate part of her exciting, frightening, challenging new life. The realization filled her with optimism.
She looked up just as Trey looked down, and the unmistakable glint in his eye told her he intended to kiss her. He closed the remaining distance, wrapped his arms around her waist, and brought his mouth to hers.
She leaned into him, savoring the first sweet taste of his lips and tongue and the feel of his strong hard body as she draped her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss and left Daisy breathless. Her heart hammered like it would burst from her chest. Her legs trembled. Her hands roamed Trey’s neck and scalp beneath his long, sun-bleached hair like they had a mind of their own.
When they broke the kiss for the simple reason they needed air, Daisy lowered her arms. Trey did too. He looked down at her with his bright blue eyes and that easy smile she found so devastating, and he summed up their kiss in one succinct word.
“Wow.”
The world around Daisy slowly swam back into focus. “Yeah.” Sometimes directness was best.
She and Trey walked side by side to the Jeep, brushing hands, each letting the other know their kiss meant something yet allowing enough space to avoid assuming too much. When they reached his Wrangler, Daisy glanced sideways at Trey and smiled inside at the satisfied expression on his face. Things had definitely changed between them.
She could hardly wait to see what happened next.
Chapter Four
It was past time for a shove.
“Okay,” Trey said to Daisy the next day in the corral, trying to hold his temper. Either she wanted to join the Mounted Patrol or she didn’t. He kicked the dirt at his feet and gritted his teeth against the pain the motion caused. “Stop stalling. Just do what you have to do.”
He’d thought she’d broken through her fear during their tour of the ranch after their awesome kiss. She’d seemed open and relaxed around the other hands and animals. She’d fed a mare an apple and watched a steer graze in the pasture. When he walked her to her car at the end of her visit she kissed him goodbye, and that second kiss lightened his step the rest of the day. But now…
He glared and thrust a finger in Big Blue’s direction. “Get on the damn horse.”
He’d never gotten personal with a student before, but Daisy was unlike anyone he’d ever met. She’d gotten to him like no woman had ever done. He’d spent a huge chunk of time prepping his stallion for her first ride. The horse had been cleaned, brushed, saddled, and fussed over with carrots and sugar cubes to keep him happy. Another half-hour had been spent coddling Daisy.
Trey’s arms ached from holding the stallion steady. He’d pampered, reassured, and instructed Daisy till she’d given him fits. Still, she wouldn’t get into the saddle.
“I need another minute!” The pink splotches under her freckles spread from her cheeks and trailed down her neck.
When she dug in her heels and tightened her jaw, he tried to reason with her one last time before he quit out of sheer frustration and pain. His back was killing him. “Do you want to stay in Houston or not? Didn’t you say this was the only way?”
She had gotten under his skin, and he didn’t want her to go back to Pennsylvania. If Daisy couldn’t ride, she couldn’t work in Texas. If she didn’t stay in Texas… Well, her success wasn’t just about her career anymore. For him it had already become personal.
He tried again. “You’re a cop! You arrest people and carry a gun. Chasing criminals takes guts. I promise you, riding a horse isn’t half as tough.”
Daisy refused to budge. Her eyes were full of an emotion he couldn’t identify. Was it really fear? Could she truly be terrified of an animal as beautiful and majestic as Big Blue?
Trey sighed. Softening his tone, he
tried another tack. “Judging by your reaction to riding a gate, I think you’re gonna love the real thing.”
Daisy’s nostrils flared, and her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Uh-oh.
She hitched a thumb at Big Blue. “You ride. Show me how it’s done.”
Heat rose along the back of Trey’s neck, and he cleared his throat. He shuffled from one foot to the other. He hadn’t ridden since the day the steer stomped his back. His doctor said he’d be able to ride again, in time, but he hadn’t figured out when that time would be. He hadn’t tested his limitations in weeks. Not after the last time, when it had hurt so bad. Maybe he was just as afraid of riding as Daisy.
“Can’t.” He walked Big Blue closer to the fence and tied the reins.
Daisy followed and folded her arms. “You mean won’t. You expect me to ride but won’t show me how?”
Trey shook his head. “Can’t.”
Broken-down rodeo riders were as common as cactus in Texas, but she wouldn’t know that. He let out a long breath and told Daisy his pathetic story. How it had taken only six seconds for him to get tossed and stomped by a bull in the final round of the biggest contest in Texas and had his back broken.
“It was touch and go for a while, but I made it through. Still…my rodeo days are done. My riding days, too, until my spine fully heals. I worry that my back won’t support my weight in the saddle. A wrong move might cause permanent damage.” He’d wanted to win prize money to finish the porch on the house he’d built. He’d hoped to fill that house with a wife and kids one day. Then Gail left him and his prospects for the future looked bleak. Sometimes fate bucked as much as a bull ride. And now for Daisy he’d probably lost his cowboy shine.
Instead of showing the disdain he expected, Daisy moved close and kissed him gently on the cheek. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Daisy’s pity was the last thing he wanted. His former girlfriend couldn’t stand to see him broken, either.
“I’ll be fine. Good as new.” That wasn’t quite true, but it was close enough. He’d return to full duty around the ranch as soon as he got the doctor’s okay. He’d keep offering riding lessons too. Sometimes it took something bad to happen to learn you had something else to give.
Kissing Her Cowboy Page 2
