Wrangling the Redhead - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,22
succumb one by one—first Cassie, then Karen, Gina and Emma. Karen had dragged her heels the longest, because she’d only been widowed a few months when Grady had come into her life, but even so, Lauren had sat by and watched her friend slowly but surely come alive again under Grady’s tender attention.
Sitting on the sidelines with all that going on was enough to make a less self-confident woman feel utterly unattractive and undesirable. Lauren knew better—in her head, anyway. She was deliberately putting out “stay away” vibes. Wade had been the first man in a long time to flat-out ignore them, maybe even to consider them a challenge.
And he’d just been playing games with her. She knew that, too. He’d wanted to get to her to make a point. Trying to figure out exactly what that point was had kept her up half the night. She had a funny feeling it had been a warning, not just a balm to his own inflated ego.
“You going to lounge around out here all day, or do you intend to grace us with your presence down at the corral?” Wade inquired, coming up on her from behind yet again.
Lauren frowned at him. “I wish you’d stop sneaking up on me.”
“Hey,” he said, looking wounded. “I knocked on the kitchen door. When nobody answered, I came inside and shouted. Then I spotted you out here and came on out. I don’t think that qualifies as sneaking.”
“Whatever,” she said, refusing to get drawn into an argument as ridiculous as this one was turning out to be.
“So how about it? You working today?”
“As soon as I finish my coffee,” she said, stubbornly staying right where she was. “I can only spend an hour or so with Midnight, anyway.”
Wade nodded. “True, but I have another horse you might want to take a look at. If you’re interested.”
Feeling more eager than she wanted to be, Lauren forced a casual note into her voice. “What’s the problem?”
“I wish to heck I knew,” Wade admitted with evident frustration. “I bought her at a sale in Cheyenne a couple of months back. She seemed to be doing fine, but ever since we got here, she’s been off her feed. The vet can’t find anything wrong.”
“Then she’s your horse, not Grady’s?”
“Yes. Is that a problem? I’ll pay whatever fee you set if you think you can help her.”
Lauren frowned at that. “It’s not about the money. I just like to know who I’m answering to.” She stood up. “Let’s go take a look at her. But first I’ve got to stop in the kitchen and pick up some treats for Midnight.”
“If you bring a carrot for Miss Molly, you’ll make her day. That’s the only thing she shows any interest in at all.”
She regarded him with amusement. “Miss Molly?”
“My mom was a big fan of the golden oldies.”
She stared at him blankly.
“‘Good Golly, Miss Molly.’ Little Richard.”
To her amazement, he sang a few bars in a low voice that seemed to linger over the part about how good she looked to him. His gaze never left her face.
“I remember,” she said, her voice a little choked. He was doing it again—charming her, tying her up in knots.
In the kitchen, she hurriedly sliced a couple of carrots into chunks, then followed Wade out the door.
“Should I count this as a sign of respect that you’re letting me near your horse?” she asked as they reached the barn.
“You wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near Midnight a second time if I hadn’t seen for myself that you know your way around horses,” he claimed.
“I thought Grady ordered you to give me a chance.”
“He did, but I would have fought him tooth and nail if I’d thought there was any risk involved to the horses. As it was, I was more worried about the risk to you. There’s a point when being intrepid and confident turns dangerous.”
His words made her heart flutter. She’d had directors blithely ask her to dangle from the side of a mountain with little concern for her safety. Here was a man she barely knew who’d been truly worried about her getting hurt even when he hadn’t much liked her.
“Thank you…I think.”
“No problem,” he said, shrugging off the thanks. “Miss Molly’s still in her stall. She won’t leave it unless I force her.”
Lauren took the hint and fell into step beside him as he approached the pretty little bay filly. She was a beauty, all right. Perfectly proportioned for her size, she