by Kaliana Cole
She had a brief look at the colt that was still reacting as violently as the first time he stood on the rope, fighting the pressure with wild head swings before being forced to stagger backward by his own action. Jade mentally shrugged. If he wanted to fight himself, that was fine with her. Her arms ached just looking at the pressure the bay was putting on the rope.
Leaving the horse to learn the lesson the hard way, Jade walked over to where Matt was finishing up with his second filly. He had the seal-point brown wrapped around his little finger as his deep quiet voice crooned to her, “Tell me now baby is he good to you…”
He was presently leaning over her back, using his superior height to put his weight on her back without giving up a safe and secure purchase on the ground. If Jade had attempted that, her legs would have been sticking out two feet off the ground. The mare accepted his weight with nothing but a small lift of her head, before turning around to rest soulful eyes trustingly on upper part of the man that had appeared on the opposite side of where he stood.
There was just something about Matt that evoked trust. An innate goodness that permeated his very being. She had thought he may have lost that special quality as he had grown into adulthood, but she saw it had developed even more.
Animals invariably relied on instincts, and they all came to trust Matt, going out of their way to please him. It truly was a delight to watch him work, and Jade had forgotten the look of contentment and pleasure that graced his open countenance when an animal gave him their trust.
Jade swallowed back the pure emotion that threatened to choke her. She waited until he lifted his weight from the filly before speaking softly over the litany of “hey, little girl…” that was beginning once more. “She is going beautifully. Are you ready for lunch?”
Matt smiled as the mare closed her eyes and lowered her head in pleasure as he rubbed his knuckles back and forth on the soft velvet below her eye. “She’s a real darling, this one. Just a big softy.” He gave her a final rub before getting one of the drag ropes from the rail. “I’ll just put her away, and then I would love some lunch. I’m starving.”
Jade held back a smile as she headed toward the house, glad she had rang through a grocery order yesterday for Harry to pick up. The amount of food males could put away never ceased to amaze her, and with the size of the big lug about to descend on her kitchen, he would probably eat her out of house and home in a week.
She had put an oxtail casserole in a slow oven first thing that morning, and the smell of braised meat and rich sauce greeted her when she opened the door. She hadn’t had the country dish in years but had dug the recipe out of an old scrapbook that had lived in the kitchen since she was a little girl, the yellowing paper clippings and magazine cutouts still legible despite the passage of time. It had belonged to the mother she had never known.
After washing up in the laundry, she pulled the dish from the oven. Rich with haricot beans, tomatoes, and vegetables, the meat was falling off the bone. Matty walked in just as she placed the pot on the trivet that stood in the middle of the old table.
“I think I just died and went to heaven. That smells unbelievable.” Matt breathed deep as he stepped inside.
Jade couldn’t help but smile as he quickly stepped into the laundry to clean up. She found cooking a pleasure with an appreciative audience. She placed the pitcher of ice water on the table next to the glasses and grabbed a loaf of fresh bread along with the butter dish before sitting down. Matt helped himself to a bowl and sat down opposite, filling the bowl to capacity at the same time as his ass hit the chair.
Jade watched in amazement as he wolfed down three bowls and half a loaf of bread before she had finished her first. He was not in any way a messy eater, but he all but inhaled his food. He had the good grace to look embarrassed as he noticed Jade had not finished her first bowl.
She raised an eyebrow. “Hungry?”
“Sorry about that. I can’t get out of the habit of eating fast. Meals could be few and far apart when we were out on patrol, so we learned to bolt it down when we had a chance.” He smiled sheepishly. “I guess I should make myself slow down now.”
“Either that or I will have to start treating you like that dog of yours and limit what you eat at one time.” Jade stood and scraped what was left of her lunch into the bowl for Gypsy.
She saw Matt frown at the amount she had eaten before he helped himself to another glass of water and went to sit in the sunny warmth of the veranda.
Jade wondered if she could avoid him altogether but decided it would be the height of rudeness when he had been nothing but professional so far. She quickly cleared the table and grabbed a drink of her own before following him out.
“So what are your plans for the young stock?” he questioned her before she sat down on the settee, grateful he had sprawled out on the wooden steps, soaking up the warmth.
“I was hoping to hold a sale in a few months. That should give me a chance to get them all prepped and sorted. There are about thirty-five. Of those a few are culls. There’s a few nice fillies I will keep to replace some of the old brood mares, and I’m keeping Kenny. So I will have about twenty-five to offer for auction. I am going to contact the bloodstock agent over in Cheyenne that we always used to arrange the sale and publicity.”
“Twenty-five? That’s pretty ambitious. More than you and me can handle that’s for sure.” Matt appeared taken aback by the workload Jade was embracing.
“I have got two fillies at the breakers now. Richard assures me he will have them sold before he has even backed them, so there will be a bit more cash around to hopefully put a few local kids on to prep for the sale.”
“I am sure Elly or Nate can help you there. They know who can do the job and who needs the work,” he added. In a small rural community like Miller’s Creek, there were always people who could really do with some extra income. He took another drink. “Who’s Kenny?”
Jade smiled. “Come and meet him if you have finished. I was going to gear him up anyway.”
* * * *
Matt put his glass on the table next to the front door and followed her around to the stable block. He was amused to see the fat palomino deliberately hide behind the tree in his pen as they passed. “Not so full of himself now, is he?”
Jade laughed. “No he’s not. He thinks he is going back on the walker, but he still has a couple of hours before I inflict that on him. Toby is not at all impressed with his new fitness regime.”
A big whinny sounded ahead, and a massive warmblood stallion came cantering up to the gate, his mahogany hide glistening under the spring sunshine. “This is Kenny,” Jade announced, getting his headstall from the peg near the gate.
Matt watched as the big horse all but haltered himself, shoving his nose straight in and lowering his head for Jade to do up the buckle. Matt noticed how small and fragile Jade looked next to the big stallion.
“He’s a big bastard. Have you measured him yet?” He saw that his wither cleared Jade’s head by a good few inches.
“I haven’t put the stick on him, but I think he is just over seventeen hands, he might just scrape seventeen-two.” She caressed the animal’s glossy neck before leading him through the gate.
Kenny gave Matt a quick glance and then turned his attention back to the woman who had become the center of his world. Matt felt like he had been summarily dismissed as unimportant. He could see where the horses focus lay and couldn’t blame him. He, too, was a helpless slave where Jade was concerned.
This whole “being professional” thing was going to be the death of him. He had been dying to hold her since the moment he saw her this morning, and as much as he had enjoyed gentling those fillies to his touch, it was Jade he ached to lay his hands on. The only thing was that he no longer seemed to have the same effect on Jade that he had previously enjoyed.
Even yesterday, when he had taken pains to show up looking like every woman’s idea of a wet dream, she hadn’t reacted. Oh, she had appreciated the
view, but the heat hadn’t been in her eyes. There was a distance there now between them. He would gladly give up what had happened between them to resurrect the instant attraction he had inspired in her only a week ago.
Well, not gladly, but he would consider it.
He followed Jade to the big barn that housed the all-weather training complex, jealousy nudging at him as he noticed the big horse butting against her for the attention she freely gave it.
She had an old stock saddle readied on the round yard fence, along with the rawhide bridle fitted with the sweet iron snaffle she used for mouthing. Matt leaned against the fence and watched her brush Kenny down before saddling. He leaned into every stroke of the stiff brush, arching his muscular neck into her touch.
Matt could easily identify with the animal. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d had her hands kneading into his muscles. The horse was experiencing heaven, and he knew it. He coughed to clear his throat. “How long ago did you start on this one?”
Jade slipped the bridle on Kenny to give him the bit to play with while she was saddling him. “About ten days ago.” She picked up the saddle cloth and casually flipped it onto his broad back, not sneaking it on at all. Kenny didn’t budge. “He is going to be one special horse. I would love to keep him all to myself, but this horse is going places I can’t take him. After I finish his preliminary training I’ll see if Veronica wants to take him on.”
Matt raised his eyebrows in surprise. Veronica Teal was a world-class eventer and two-time Olympian and one of Jade’s oldest friends. If she thought this horse was going to be up to that standard, Matt believed her. She was seldom wrong in judging horseflesh. The only problem he could see was the big horse’s devotion to her. He had the makings of a one-rider horse already. Once again, Matt couldn’t blame the animal.
Kenny barely reacted to the saddle being lowered to his back for the first time, merely turning his head to look as it touched his off side.
“Where are you up to with him?” Matt kept his voice nice and mellow, not wanting to distract Jade or the horse.
“He has been lunged and driven. This is his first time with the saddle. All going well I should be on him tomorrow.” She stepped around to straighten the girth on the other side, keeping her hands in contact with the animal the whole time. “If I can resist getting on him today,” she added with a smile. Matt could tell she was eager to feel the stallion beneath her.
She girthed Kenny up gently but firmly, walking him around a lap before tightening it further. She put the reins over his head and looped them behind the kneepads, placing the stirrup irons over them to hold them secure. Kenny immediately lowered his head and arched his neck at the minimal pressure. The action brought a pleased smile and words of praise from his mistress.
Jade sent him around the yard a few times at a walk before pushing him into a trot. He moved freely. His easy movement and lack of tail-jamming indicated he was accepting of this new development. Matt watched closely as Jade asked him for a canter. This was the usual time horses would sneak in a buck, the loping gait being the easiest to kick out in. But Kenny broke into the canter with straightforward ease and elegance.
The cadence of his well-suspended hooves striking the sand of the round yard had Jade all but dancing in anticipation. In the end it proved too much for her. “Matt, can you come and hold him while I grab my hat and vest from the tack room? Kenny and I are going to go for a bit of a ride.”
Matt shook his head as he complied with her request. He had seen her look of excitement and knew nothing would keep her off that horse. The only thing he could do was hope for the best and pick her up if it all went wrong.
Kenny did his best to ignore the big man holding him, but Matt was having none of it as he explained a few home truths about his love for the woman about to climb up in that saddle. He was detailing possible repercussions of harming her when Jade returned.
“What was that about a new floor rug?” she asked quizzically.
“I was just explaining to your friend Kenny here that he will make a wonderful floor rug if he lets anything happen to you.” Kenny noisily blew air through his nose and looked away.
“I don’t think that had much impact.” Jade smiled at the big horse’s antics, giving Matty a grin as she adjusted the fit of the protective vest. “Can you hold him and give me a leg up at the same time, or will I have to get a mounting block?”
Matt could only smile. He could lift her and another two just like her, but all he said was “I think I can manage.”
Jade gathered her reins up short and bent her left leg at the knee. Matt held the near-side rein firmly against the heavy neck of the stallion, arm braced so he could hold him secure if he objected to being mounted. With the other hand he grasped Jade’s offered leg just above the ankle. He raised her slowly, effortlessly holding her in place as she got Kenny used to having her up above him before she gave him some of her weight.
Matt’s senses were all poised for action, every muscle ready to jerk Jade out of danger if something went wrong, but the stallion barely tightened a muscle as she leaned her whole weight across the saddle.
Slowly, she slid her leg to the other side, careful not to startle him by brushing his rump on the way. In what seemed like hours but in fact was less than a minute, Jade was securely ensconced in the saddle. Matt stood, still holding the rein at Kenny’s shoulder, the other hand resting on Jade’s tense knee.
He kept up a litany of praise to the big horse, both to reassure him and so that Kenny wasn’t surprised by the noise if Jade had to say something to him. She rubbed the heavy neck before her and shifted her weight in the saddle to gauge his reaction, but Kenny remained true to form.
He could see her apprehension as she asked Matt to lead him forward. He gave her knee a gentle squeeze before complying. The stallion moved hesitantly at first but soon adjusted to her negligible weight.
The big horse weighed the best part of thirteen hundred pounds and he carried only a tenth of that. He was soon comfortable enough that Jade got Matt to let him go. He released the rein but stayed beside as Jade began to use the reins to guide Kenny around the yard. With each lap he moved farther away until he was standing in the middle while Jade rode solo along the outer edge.
The slightly nervous glint didn’t disguise the pure pleasure she derived from riding the big stallion. Matt watched with pride and admiration as she stopped and turned her mount. Kenny obeyed her commands with an alacrity that gave testament to the working relationship Jade had developed with the bay.
He moved freely into a trot at her voice command. The whole basis of her training philosophy was consistency and continuity, one stage flowing seamlessly into the next. Matt waited until she had halted again before exiting the yard. His help was not needed anymore.
She circled a few more times before asking Matt to let her out into the full-size arena adjoining the round yard. He opened the gate slowly, watching for any hint that the horse would bolt at the offer of apparent freedom. Kenny ignored Matt’s scrutiny and walked confidently out the gate at his rider’s direction.
Matt could only watch with a sense of awe as Jade worked the big bay around the area, putting him through balanced figure-eights that he should not have been capable of for weeks. Finally, Jade brought him to a halt in front of Matt.
“I think you have made another conquest. He looks just as smitten as the rest of us now.” Matt rubbed Kenny’s broad forehead, smearing the sweat droplets that now decorated it.
Jade ignored his remark. “Can you hold him while I get off? I don’t think he will move, but I would hate for him to learn any bad habits.”
Matt once again took a rein, but it proved unnecessary. Kenny standing patiently as his rider lowered herself to the ground.
Knees a little weak, Jade took her helmet off and gave the sweaty horse a hug of genuine appreciation, and then gave Matt one, also. “Thank you, too, Matt.”
He resisted the urge to pull her closer, instead droppi
ng a chaste kiss on her forehead. “You’re welcome, Jadey. Anytime.”
* * * *
Jade released Matt and stepped back, noting the pain in the big man’s eyes before he hid it behind a shadow of his usual grin.
“I’ll leave you with your new man here. There are two ladies in the yards waiting for my company.” She watched as he walked back toward the corrals. Jade took a deep breath, her sorrow at Matt’s pain not enough to dampen the elation she felt at having finally ridden Kenny. She hadn’t felt as alive for years. The feeling was all consuming without being overwhelming.
A natural high she could easily become addicted to. She stifled a laugh as she led Kenny to the wash bay. My new replacement for sex!
Chapter 17
Over the next few weeks Jade spent every moment she could riding Kenny. Matt watched with increasing alarm as she rode farther and harder each day, introducing the horse to jumping as flat work lost its challenge. The horse proved as fearless as his rider, boldly taking every obstacle in his path. Matt worried every time she went out of sight.
Her weight loss concerned him, too. She continued to pick at her food at lunch, eating barely enough to keep her going. She appeared healthy enough, but her behavior increasingly concerned him. He ended up talking to Nate about it.
Nate had still not seen Jade as the gate had remained locked. He had listened as Matt listed her symptoms: risk-taking behavior, weight loss, and change in personality and behavior. If Matt hadn’t known of Jade’s no-tolerance attitude to drugs, he would have wondered if she was using. But he did think Nate had a good point when he told him to play detective and have a look around the house for clues, namely the bathroom and bedroom.
The next day Matt told Jade he was ducking up to the house for a drink and quickly snooped through his target areas, writing down the names of three lots of medication he found. That night he gave it to Nate.
