THE COWBOY WHISPERER
Deep down, Jillian has always known she couldn’t be a wife and mother. After the pain she’s experienced in past relationships, she can’t risk the heartbreak. But she has her animals and her special gift, which has brought her to Via Del Caballo, California. The tiniest sign tells her everything an animal is feeling. To observers, it’s uncanny.
To Wes Landon, the stories of the gorgeous “horse whisperer” are so much mumbo jumbo. Then he sees Jillian in action, charming horses, dogs...even him. When his brand-new baby daughter is left in his care, Wes has hopes that Jillian would want to be part of his family. But the closer he tries to get to her, the more she pulls away. Can he convince her to take a leap of faith?
A new song came on over the speakers. Wes grabbed her hand. “Dance with me.”
“Oh, but I—”
“No buts.” He winked at Jim. “Nice meeting you.” He tugged Jillian toward the dance floor.
“That was rude.”
“No,” he said, spinning her around to face him. “What was rude was the way you told me to get lost last week.”
“I did not.”
He held her too closely, and as it always did when he touched her the electricity that stretched between them danced along his arms and his belly. It’d been weeks since they’d been together, and yet he still craved her just as badly as that first time.
“You did, and you’ve been avoiding me this week.” He felt her tense in his arms. “My mom says she’s asked you to come over at least a half a dozen times.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he repeated.
Just as quickly as it’d come, the tension left her body. “All right, I have.”
Dear Reader,
Two years ago I bought a horse out of someone’s backyard. It was love at first sight. It was almost a disaster.
The horse had serious mental issues. I feared for my life every day I went out to ride. If he wasn’t trying to take my head off in his stall, he tried to kick me or run me down. Scary.
The breeder of the horse heard about my problems. She took pity on me and arranged for a session with a world-renowned animal communicator. Desperate, I agreed to talk to the communicator even though I didn’t believe anyone could actually communicate with animals, especially over a phone. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
The communicator told me things about my horse that blew my mind, things that only I would know. She knew he had a problem with his right front hoof (he’d recently suffered an abscess). That he hated anyone invading his space. That he thought of himself as king. Most surprising of all, she claimed that he loved me. Loved? The skeptic in me had a hard time believing that. Still, I was desperate enough to listen to her advice.
Two months later it was like I owned a different horse. I became a believer.
There are things in life that we can’t understand. I wanted to write about those things. I wanted to tell the story of a heroine with a heart as big as the animals she loved, but who was afraid. And I wanted to give her the man of her dreams—her perfect match. She just has to take her own advice—to trust in something you can’t see—in this instance, love.
I hope you enjoy Kissed by a Cowboy.
Pamela
PS: To view pictures of my reformed rake of a horse visit my Facebook page at facebook.com/pamelabrittonauthor.
KISSED BY A
COWBOY
Pamela Britton
With over a million books in print, Pamela Britton likes to call herself the best-known author nobody’s ever heard of. Of course, that changed thanks to a certain licensing agreement with that little racing organization known as NASCAR.
But before the glitz and glamour of NASCAR, Pamela wrote books that were frequently voted the best of the best by the Detroit Free Press, Barnes & Noble (two years in a row) and RT Book Reviews. She’s won numerous awards, including a National Readers’ Choice Award and a nomination for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award.
When not writing books, Pamela is a reporter for a local newspaper. She’s also a columnist for the American Quarter Horse Journal.
Books by Pamela Britton
Harlequin American Romance
Cowboy Lessons
Cowboy Trouble
Cowboy M.D.
Cowboy Vet
Cowgirl’s CEO
The Wrangler
Mark: Secret Cowboy
Rancher and Protector
The Rancher’s Bride
A Cowboy’s Pride
A Cowboy’s Christmas Wedding
A Cowboy’s Angel
The Texan’s Twins
Harlequin HQN
Dangerous Curves
In the Groove
On the Edge
To the Limit
Total Control
On the Move
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
In Memory
Colonels Smoking Gun
(Gunner)
1993–2013
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Not that one.”
Wesley Landon glanced at the woman who’d spoken. Who was she talking to? With her friendly smile and bright blue eyes, she had to be the prettiest thing he’d seen all day. Then again, there were half a dozen people lining the rail at the 51st Annual Red Bluff Bull and Gelding Sale. Clearly, though, she’d been speaking to someone inside the arena.
“Can you lope him out a bit?” he called to the kid who owned the gelding he was considering purchasing.
“Sure thing,” the young man answered as he urged the big bay into a slow run.
The horse sure had the looks, Wes thought, his heart pumping in tempo with his mounting excitement. “What do you think, Cowboy? You think he’s the one?”
The border collie glanced up at him and wagged his tail, his bright brown gaze declaring he was far more thrilled to look into his owner’s eyes than at the horse in question.
“Well, I think he is,” Wes said. If the gelding didn’t turn into a total nutcase during the competition portion of the sale, he might have found a diamond in the rough.
“Seriously.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman edge closer. “That horse is plumb crazy.”
Wes glanced left again, surprised to see the cute little brunette staring at him. So she was talking to him.
“Excuse me?”
“The horse you’re looking at.”
She wasn’t flirting, he realized in disappointment—she was trying to psych him out. It wasn’t uncommon for the competition to do that. Sometimes they would tell out-and-out lies in the hopes of souring a sale.
“Who told you that?” he said, playing along.
She smiled. She had a nose that was tipped up at the end and when she grinned, the smile lit up her face and her bright green eyes like the dawn of sunrise. In a light blue ribbed shirt—one the same color as the California sky above—and jeans tucked into fancy cowboy boots, she didn’t look like someone who’d tell a lie
. She looked innocent and sweet and, yes, beautiful.
“The horse did.”
“Excuse me?” he said again.
“What’s your dog’s name?” She came forward, smiling down now.
“Cowboy.”
“Hey, Cowboy.” She knelt, scratching the dog under his white chin before she rested her forehead on his black mask. “How are you, gorgeous?”
Okay, there was something about a woman loving on his dog that never failed to soften Wes’s mood, even if she was trying to pull the wool over his eyes. Unless maybe he’d misunderstood her.
“Did you see him buck someone off?”
She stood. “Nope. I can just tell by looking at him.”
Okay, this was ridiculous. He held back his laughter, although just barely. “You can just tell,” he asked, wanting to be absolutely clear. “By looking at him.”
A nod, one that set her angular bob—her hair more black than brown—into motion. It brushed her jawline, that hair, coming to a point by her chin. Wes was struck by the notion that the cut perfectly accentuated her pixielike face. A face filled with utter seriousness.
His smile faltered. “I think you might be wrong about this one.” He glanced back at the animal in question. The gelding loped around like a pleasure pony, completely calm and relaxed.
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She shifted her smile down to his dog. “Nice talking to you, Cowboy.”
He watched her leave, admitting he’d never seen such light green eyes; her gaze seemed otherworldly, and it tried to convince him she told the truth. He didn’t believe her, of course. There might be some people who could take one look at a horse and know if it was a good animal, but he’d never met any. His friend Zach knew someone like that. A friend of his fiancée’s. He claimed she was a real-life horse whisperer, a woman with short black hair and bright—
He jerked around. “Jillian?”
She immediately turned and frowned. “Yes?”
Oh, good Lord. This was one of Zach’s fiancée’s best friends, the horse trainer.
“You’re Jillian Thacker?”
She smiled a bit, and he could tell the grin was tinged with relief. “Oh, good, maybe now he’ll believe me ” relief. She tipped her head.
“Do I know you?”
“No. Yes. Sort of. I’m Wes Landon.”
Any doubt that she didn’t recognize the name faded the moment he saw her green eyes widen almost imperceptibly. Her gaze swept over him as if matching up her last image of him—probably out at Golden Downs racetrack—with the man in the cowboy hat, long-sleeved white button-down, jeans and boots who stood before her. He’d seen her before, too; he just hadn’t recognized her.
“Well, well, well,” she said, her eyes narrowing before she slowly crossed her arms. “The evil racehorse owner in the flesh.”
He smiled, well aware of her derision but completely unfazed. He knew that she and her fellow members of CEASE—Concerned Equestrians Aiding in Saving Equines—hated him. Okay, not really hated, more like...wanted to put him out of a job. They couldn’t stand people who raced horses, because they all thought it was cruel. It still struck him as a small miracle that Zach had somehow managed to charm the founder of the group, Mariah Stewart, into marrying him.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Dr. Dolittle in the flesh.”
Zach had taken to calling her that. When Wes had first heard about the woman who claimed to have a special touch with horses, he’d pretended to believe it was possible. He didn’t, of course. In his line of work as an equine-farm manager he’d heard it all. The miracle worker who could pop a horse’s bones into place and make them instantly sound. The massage therapist for sore equines. The herbal concoction that would give a horse extra zip. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe some of that stuff might help—he just wasn’t sold they were the miracles some people purported them to be.
“What are you doing here?” She lifted a brow. “Slumming it?”
“I could ask the same of you.”
He’d only ever seen her from a distance, usually as he was driving through the entrance of Golden Downs racetrack, and she was holding a protest sign. Cute, he admitted, even if she was bat-shit crazy.
“I’m here with a client. She had me look at that one yesterday.”
They both turned to stare at the horse in question. “Given your low opinion of me, I’m surprised you didn’t encourage me to buy him.”
She released a huff of agreement. “Even if I had recognized you, and I might not like what you do for a living, that doesn’t mean I want to see you get killed, either.”
“Ah, but see, I don’t make my living racing horses.”
“Yeah, right. I’ve seen you at Golden Downs. You’re the owner of Landon Farms.”
He took pleasure in contradicting her. “My mom owns Landon Farms. I just manage her operation, so technically, my mom’s the enemy.” He gave her a teasing smile. “So if you like, I can give you her cell phone number so you can call her and tell her how much you despise what she does for a living.”
She appeared genuinely perplexed. He wasn’t surprised. It was a common misconception that he was part owner. “But you’re always at the track.”
“Not always.” He met the gaze of the cowboy riding the gelding and signaled him to stop. “I drop horses off and sometimes pop in to see my mom, but that’s about it. Racing is my mom’s thing.”
“But...Mariah told me you’re on the board of directors at Golden Downs.”
“Because of my mom.” The seat had actually been foisted on him by both his mom and his fellow board members, sort of a consolation prize back when his dad had died. As if a board seat could make up for his loss. “She insists I keep my finger on the pulse of the industry, for her sake.”
A look of curiosity had taken the place of her frown. She glanced at the horse in the arena, then back at him. “So what are you doing here, Mr. Farm Manager?”
“Looking for my next cutting horse.” But as he thought about the reason he was looking, his stomach soured.
Ah, ah, ah. Don’t go there.
“I ride and train cutting horses out of my mom’s farm.”
He waited for yet another look of derision, but she apparently didn’t mind that type of horse competition, because she nodded.
“We’re looking for a reining prospect. My friend Natalie decided she’d like to give it a try—goodness knows why. As if jumping horses doesn’t keep her busy enough.”
Natalie Goodman—he’d heard of her thanks to Mariah. It seemed as though everyone knew everybody in the small town of Via Del Caballo, especially if you were into horses.
“So what makes you think there’s something wrong with this horse?” He might not believe in her “special touch,” but he was curious.
“I can just tell by looking at him.”
“Uh-huh.”
Clearly she’d picked up on his skepticism. “If you look closely enough, you can see it in his eyes.”
They both eyed the horse. “All I see is an animal doing its job.”
“Right now, yes, but look at the way its tail is twitching, a sure sign it’s bothered by something.” She pointed, her expression one of complete conviction. “Every time that cowboy asks him to do something, he twitches. He doesn’t do anything about it now, because he’s too tired, but I can tell that horse would ordinarily blow, its rider tossed to the ground in the process.”
He scratched his chin absently, although maybe not so absently, because he noticed he needed to shave. “Let me get this straight. You think because that horse’s tail is twitching that it wants to buck that cowboy off?”
“Yup. And look at its ears. And the way its nose is wrinkled. Classic signs of a horse that’s not happy doing its job.”
He had to admit, she had a point. “And so based on that you think he’s a nut.”
She shook her head. “No. That’s just what tipped me off he might be a nut. I spotted him yesterday, thought he looked nice, so
I peeked in on him last night, and he damn near took my head off the moment I opened his stall door. I actually heard his teeth clack together when he tried to bite me.” She shivered. “Scary.”
He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know if he should make a pithy comment of his own or if he should pretend as if he believed her.
“I slammed the door just in time. He kicked it just in case I didn’t get the message. Bam!” She reenacted the moment by pretending to jump, her bob swinging. “Scared me half to death.”
He glanced back at the horse, although he did so to get control of his facial expressions. Was she trying to sour him on a sale? She didn’t look like the deceptive type. The docile-looking gelding didn’t look like a nut, either. It walked with its head down, ears pricked forward now, eyes bright—completely contradicting her claims.
“Bring him outside, if you don’t mind,” he called to the man riding him, though why he did so he had no idea.
The horse obeyed the rider instantly. Wes shot Jillian an expression of doubt. As good-looking horses went, the gelding took the cake. A little taller than he would like for a potential cutting horse, perhaps, but he’d seen some bigger geldings get down in the dirt. He’d watched a video of him working cows yesterday and been impressed. If he’d owned the horse, he wouldn’t have offered him for sale for any amount of money.
He eyed the man on horseback, a younger cowboy with scruffy blond hair who hadn’t outgrown acne just yet. “You the owner?”
The kid’s eyes darted right before he answered, “Yes,” but the way he said the one word caught Wes’s attention. A little too quick. Wes might have missed it if he hadn’t been listening closely.
“How long have you had him?”
Again the cagey look. “Long enough to know he’s a good one.”
Honestly, he didn’t believe Jillian was some kind of horse whisperer, but he didn’t like the way the kid was responding to his questions, either. “Ever been bucked off him?”
If he’d looked uncomfortable before, he was positively sitting on tacks now. “No, sir.”
“Never?”
“Wellll, he can get a little high sometimes, but nothing someone with a good seat can’t handle.”
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