by Lori Wilde
Matt Dillon didn’t resist as Raleigh lifted his foreleg and rested it on her tripod. Bracing her back, she locked her knees around the animal’s hoof, then dug in her toolbox with one hand. She located her rasp and started removing the clenches from the old shoe.
Dan watched Raleigh work. He was struck once more by her girl-next-door good looks. It didn’t fit. Her delicate feminine features and her tough persona. A contrast that, frankly, he found sexy as heck.
“Does this take you long?” he asked.
“About forty-five minutes. Why? You givin’ me a speed test?”
There was that bit of gristle again. He shook his head and suppressed another grin.
“If you knew anything about shoeing horses, you’d know that’s a dang good time. And just because I’m fast doesn’t mean I don’t do a good job.” She narrowed her eyes and hardened her little chin.
Somewhere along the line someone had made her doubt her capabilities; he knew it as surely as he knew his own name. “I was only making conversation. Stop getting your nose out of joint over nothing.”
She twisted her mouth up into a half-smile but didn’t meet his eyes.
Dan held the bridle with one hand, using the other to push his cowboy hat back on his forehead.
“I apologize,” she mumbled. “I can get defensive about my work. After you get ridiculed enough, you cop an attitude. Pa warned me about my temper.”
“You’ve got to admit you don’t live up to most people’s idea of a farrier. A blacksmith is supposed to be a big, burly fellow, not a pretty young girl.”
“I know.” She sighed like she’d been trudging up Mount Everest without oxygen. “Trying to buck convention in this one-horse town is like spitting into a tornado. It gets you nothing but a wet face.”
“Are you from Rascal?” he asked, watching her from the corner of his eye.
“Born and raised. Sometimes it’s a real pain, you know?” Her voice took on a heated quality, thick and warm. “Everybody thinks they have a right to tell you how to run your business because they watched you grow up.”
“You love horses,” he said.
“More than just about anything.”
The shiny joy on her face made him edgy in a raw, primal way, and he was eternally grateful that she’d driven onto his ranch. Dan had the strangest longing to be the thing that put that rapturous look on her face.
After removing Matt Dillon’s old shoe and plunking it in the dirt, she rummaged in her box for a pair of nippers. Diligently, she groomed the gelding’s hoof, cutting away at the excess growth like a podiatrist trimming toenails. As she worked an odd odor of burning beans filled the air.
Dan wrinkled his nose.
Chester got up, loped over, and began chewing on the discarded hoof clippings.
“Why is he eating that stuff?”
Raleigh shrugged, a jerky movement. “Dogs love hoof clippings. Don’t ask me why.”
“Ugh.”
Chester licked his chops and sniffed the ground, eagerly searching for more.
Dan aimed his dog a look of distaste. Chester wagged his tail and rubbed against Dan’s leg. “You dirty hound,” Dan cooed and scratched the dog behind his ears. “How long you been doing this sort of work?”
“Ten years,” Raleigh replied.
“Ten years? But you couldn’t be more than nineteen or twenty years old.”
“I’ll be twenty-four next month.” Her hammer made a muted ping-ping sound as she tapped out a new aluminum shoe against the wooden frame.
“You’ve been shoeing horses since you were thirteen?”
“That’s how the arithmetic adds up.” She chuckled.
“Where’d you learn?”
“My pa taught me.”
“How come?”
“What do you mean?” She raised her head, and her braid flipped over her shoulder. For the first time, he noticed her braid was tied with a soft-pink ribbon the exact same color as her mouth. That looked much softer than the expression she was shooting at him.
“Why does a man teach his petite, teenage daughter to shoe horses? It’s dangerous work. You could get kicked, even killed.” The thought of Raleigh getting injured disturbed him more than he cared to admit. One misplaced hoof and she’d crumple like tissue paper.
She snorted.
“What?”
“You’re no different from the rest.”
“Why are you mad? What did I say?”
“You don’t think I can handle myself?”
“Yes, I do. I just can’t figure out why you’d want to do this work. It’s hard, dirty. Look, you’re covered in horsehair.”
Stopping, she brushed hair from her clothing and glared at him. “I happen to be very good at my work, and I enjoy it. Satisfied?”
“Okay, okay, forget I asked.”
“Fine. May I finish this?”
“By all means.”
Moving her equipment to the other side of the horse, Raleigh started working on the gelding’s left foreleg. A few minutes passed. Dan tried not to be obvious, but he couldn’t keep from studying her rounded bottom and admiring how fine she looked in a tight pair of jeans.
“You’re staring at my rear end when I bend over, aren’t you?” she accused.
“Yes,” he confessed.
Her head bounced up. “Well, stop it. Just because I’m in a compromising position doesn’t give you a license to ogle me.”
“But the view is so appealing,” he teased.
She glowered at him, her face shiny with anger. What would it take to make this girl smile? Was she always so serious? Did she ever laugh or have a good time? Momentarily, Dan diverted his eyes, but the minute Raleigh returned to her work, he allowed his gaze to stray back to her hot little body.
Observing her was enjoyable. She moved gracefully, efficiently as if reluctant to waste any energy. Not an ounce of fat clung to her hard, lean muscles.
“Such a good boy,” Raleigh cooed to the Thoroughbred, and for one startled second, Dan thought she’d spoken to him.
“You talking to me or the horse?” he drawled.
“I seriously doubt you have ever been a good boy,” she replied tartly.
At a loss for a snappy comeback, Dan stroked Matt Dillon between the ears and relaxed his hold on the bridle. The gelding took a step backward and flicked his tail, almost swatting Raleigh’s cheek.
“Hey, you’re supposed to be holding him still.”
“Sorry,” Dan mumbled and tightened his grip. He felt like a chastised schoolboy. Why was he letting her get to him?
“Two down, two to go,” she announced after completing the second shoe.
Good. He didn’t think he could stand much more of this.
“Do you need to take a break?” she asked.
“Nope.”
He blew out his breath through clenched teeth. What was this bizarre tug of sexual desire seeping throughout him? He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had stirred him this way without even trying.
It had to be pure animal attraction. Chemistry and nothing more. The last thing he needed was in-depth involvement with some small-town tomboy.
“Come here,” she said, stretching catlike.
Dan jumped and feared he might swallow his tongue. “What is it?”
“Before I finish, I want you to see my handiwork.”
He almost slid out of his skin and hustled to her side. She leaned over and lifted the gelding’s foreleg.
His arm brushed lightly against hers. A fast, hot heat quickened his pulse rate. She smelled wonderfully of lemons, sunshine, and horses. Blinking, Dan stared down at the neat row of nails embedded in Matt Dillon’s hoof.
“Well?”
“Looks good.” Dan nodded. He didn’t know much about the art of shoeing horses, and he hated to look dumb.
The sound of an approaching vehicle drew their attention. A battle-scarred work truck chugged to a stop, and a bowlegged, middle-aged man got out.
“Pete
?” Raleigh asked.
“Raleigh? Little Raleigh Travers?” Pete Grissom, Dan’s only ranch hand, dropped the feed sack he carried and opened his arms wide.
Raleigh tossed her tool aside and launched herself into the older man’s embrace.
Dan found himself curiously jealous. He wanted to wrap his arms around the irrepressible redhead. He shooed away the thought. He couldn’t afford the distraction.
“I take it you two know each other?” Dan asked.
“You bet we do.” Pete winked. “Raleigh is my goddaughter and the best farrier in Presidio County.”
“It’s wonderful to see you, Pete.” She beamed, and the sight took Dan’s breath away. He wanted to make her smile like that.
“You too, sugar babe.” Pete affectionately patted her back.
“How long you been working here?” she asked.
“Close to three weeks.”
“Well, this is fantastic. I’m going to be working here, too.”
That was saucy, and he admired her hutzpah. Dan pulled a palm down his face. He would like to hire her, but he just couldn’t afford her. At least, not right now.
“I do have the job, don’t I, Mr. McClintock?” Untangling herself from Pete’s embrace, Raleigh turned to face Dan.
Dan hesitated.
“I’m tough. I can shoe as many as eight horses a day. Want me to shoe some more when I get done with Matt Dillon?” A note of desperation crept into her voice.
“Well...” Dan stalled, trying to think of a gentle way to refuse her, and put a palm to the nape of his neck.
“You’re not going to give me the job, are you?” Her hands landed on her hips.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t say yes.”
“Raleigh...”
“It’s because I flipped you to the ground, isn’t it?” Her shoulders slumped.
“No, no.”
She pressed her palms together in front of her heart. “I need the work, Mr. McClintock. I need it real bad. I’ve got a little brother to support, and I don’t want to be a waitress or a secretary. I’m outdoorsy. I love shoeing horses. Please. I know I’ve got a sharp tongue, but I promise to curb it if you give me a chance. Please…” She whispered the last word.
Oh, Lord, she’d cast him in the role of villain. But how could he possibly hire her? He was on a tight budget with every cent earmarked for something else, and he hadn’t planned on employing a farrier until just before the dude ranch opened.
Shaking his head, Dan took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Miss Travers, much as I’d like to, I simply can’t hire you.”
2
Not again!
An abrupt burst of adrenaline brought a tremble to her hands and a quiver to her voice. A bitter taste coated her throat. Rejected again.
She clenched her fists and hitched in a jagged breath. She was a good farrier. She knew it! So why couldn’t she get a job?
“Why are you grinning?” she asked.
“You look adorable.”
Narrowing her eyes, she glowered. Even in this day and age, her sex and height were stacked against her.
“Don’t you dare patronize me. It’s because I’m a woman, isn’t it? Admit the truth, McClintock.”
“No.” His lips twitched, and his eyes lightened.
“Raleigh...” Pete Grissom interjected and put a kind hand on her shoulder.
“It’s all right, Pete. I’m used to being discriminated against.”
“It has nothing to do with you being a woman.” Dan drawled the last word, his dark eyes glistening with desire.
She felt a corresponding tug of desire low in her solar plexus. Oh no. What was this? “Liar.”
“You’re being overly sensitive,”
“Okay, then, what is the reason? You claimed I did good work.” Raleigh knew she should rein in her maverick temper, but she’d finally had all she could take. For six months, she’d been banging her head against closed doors, desperately searching for employment in her chosen field.
“You do.”
“Well,” she said, “what is it, then? What is your excuse? Why won’t you give me a chance?”
“I can’t afford you. Honest truth.” Dan raised his hand in a Scout’s honor. “Every penny I own is invested in the ranch. I won’t be able to have the horses shod until I have some capital rolling in from the ranch. Pete’s not even getting paid until I turn a profit.”
“He’s right, Raleigh.” Pete nodded. “I agreed to work for room and board. Not having any pocket change keeps me out of trouble, plus Danny runs my legs off, so I don’t have time to spend money, anyway.”
“See. I’m not the heartless chauvinist you mistook me for.”
Ah crap. She’d gone off half-cocked. Again.
“I owe you an apology,” Raleigh stared down at her dusty boots, unnerved by his winning smile. “I overreacted.”
“Forget it. I understand.”
He really was a nice guy. His dark eyes crinkled at the edges when he gazed at her. They were the eyes of a visionary, bright and shining with a determined light. She noticed his well-shaped mouth, sensual and tempting. She was of a practical nature herself and found the hint of dreamer in him appealing.
“I’m truly sorry I can’t hire you.”
“Me too,” she mumbled.
“Leave your cell number and I’ll call you when I can afford you. Or here…” He handed her his cell phone. “Just call yourself and you’ll be in my contact list.”
She took his phone, and their fingertips touched in the handoff.
Quickly, he dropped his hand.
Most of her life, Raleigh had been an unlucky person. Born poor, she’d already lost both parents, and there’d been Jack… But in that moment of dazzling contact, she had a sweeping sensation that her fate had suddenly shifted.
That scared her. She knew how to be down on her luck; she had no idea what do with this sudden feeling that Daniel McClintock could change her life forever.
Her audacious imagination conjured up a kiss. Him planting one on her. Hard, hot, insistent. She shivered despite the broiling heat.
Disoriented, Raleigh called herself and gave him his phone back, ducked her head, and toyed with her braid. Probably the arid, West Texas sun had permanently baked her brains.
“I better finish shoeing the gelding.” She cleared her throat. “After all, I did promise you one on the house.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He kept looking at her as if she were a delectable confection.
“I’m a woman of my word, and if I say I’ll do something, then I do it. Besides, poor old Matt Dillon can’t go around half-shod, now can he?”
“All right,” Dan agreed. “I respect your work ethic.”
“Speaking of work,” Pete said. “I got a heap of it waiting for me, too. Good to see you, Raleigh.”
Raleigh went back to the gelding while Dan settled in to hold the bridle once more.
Silence descended.
Not even a cicada buzzed.
Only the soft sound of her own breath in her ears. It seemed eons passed before she finished shoeing the Thoroughbred.
“All done,” she announced. Untying the bandanna from around her head, she mopped her heat-dampened face.
“Thank you,” he said.
Neither spoke again.
Dust motes danced between them on a shaft of afternoon sunlight, bathing the corral in a hazy halo. Heat waves shimmered like living things. The silver buckle on Dan’s belt glinted brightly. Matt Dillon nickered. Suddenly the aging horse ranch was transformed into a mystical, magical place.
Mesmerized, Raleigh couldn’t turn away from his penetrating gaze. She felt like a firefly in a jelly jar—captured.
“Raleigh.” He breathed her name on a sigh.
She met his stare. Jolted, she realized sex with this man would be like riding a bucking bronco—wild, unpredictable, with no hope of getting off unscathed.
His visionary mindset served onl
y to make him more dangerous by tricking her with an illusion of safety. She knew about dreamers, failure, and lost love.
“That’s it, then.” She dusted her palms in an attempt to break the spell he’d woven over her.
“I promise, when the dude ranch opens, I will give you a call,” Dan said.
She lifted a shoulder. “If you do, you do. If you don’t…” She raised both shoulders this time.
“I mean to hire you as soon as I can.”
Yeah, big deal. She needed a job today. The only thing she and Caleb had to left to eat in the house was half a loaf of day old bread and an almost empty jar of peanut butter.
“You’re a great farrier; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” His smile was sincere, encouraging.
Dang it.
“Thanks,” she mumbled. She didn’t need him to validate her skills. She knew she was accomplished at her job. Fat lot of good it did her.
Anxious to be on another planet from this bewitching guy, she pushed Dan aside and grabbed for her equipment. “Got to get a move on, you know,” she chattered. “Places to be, people to see.”
“Let me help you.”
This time she didn’t balk when he picked up the wooden frame and shoebox. Her head swam, and she couldn’t think clearly. More than anything, she wanted out of there.
They loaded her gear into the pickup, and Raleigh hopped inside. “Bye.”
“It was really nice meeting you.” He lifted a hand goodbye.
She gunned the engine and threw the old truck into a head-jerking reverse. She didn’t feel like herself again until she’d traveled several miles down the road, and her raging pulse slowed to normal.
It was a good thing she hadn’t gotten the job. She was too attracted to Daniel McClintock. Too attracted by far.
“You shouldn’t have let her get away.”
“Huh?” Dan snapped out of his daydream about a certain redheaded farrier.
“Raleigh.” Pete cocked his head in the direction of her departing pickup.
“I couldn’t pay her. What was I supposed to do? Stand behind her truck? Did you see the way she lit out of here? She’d have mowed me down like a field of Johnson grass.”
Pete stroked his grizzled jaw. “Could’ve offered her the same setup you’re giving me. Free room and board, all expenses paid for six months, then a regular salary and a percentage of the yearly profits.”
