Wrangling the Redhead - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,52

reins, she kept up a nonstop barrage of soft coaxing. The wild-eyed horse was having none of it.

Wade thought for a split second that his heart was going to pound so hard it would knock right through the wall of his chest. Never in his entire life had he been so terrified. If Lauren got out of there in one piece, he was going to be sorely tempted to kill her himself.

“She’s absolutely fearless,” Grady murmured, awe in his voice.

“She’s a freaking lunatic,” Wade retorted.

“I thought so, too, at first, but watch. Midnight’s starting to listen to her. He’s settling down.”

Wade didn’t see it. He could barely even make himself look at the scene. “Five seconds,” he muttered. “Then I’m going to go in there and bodily drag her out.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” Grady ordered. “Not if you expect to keep working for me.”

“Then I’ll quit,” Wade said, hoisting himself onto the railing.

He was about to swing over and drop to the ground, when he felt Grady’s hand on his arm.

“Look,” his boss said quietly.

Midnight was perfectly still. He’d allowed Lauren close enough to drape an arm over his neck. When she held out a cube of sugar, he took it from her as calmly as if he hadn’t been close to killing her not even seconds before.

Even so, Wade didn’t breathe again until Lauren had removed the saddle, patted the horse on his rump and sent him off to the pasture.

“Nice work,” Grady called out to her.

The praise was met with a tense smile. “It was a little dicey there for a minute,” she said, her gaze cutting to Wade.

“Dicey?” he retorted as his heartbeat finally began to slow to something approaching normal. He saw her tense and softened his expression. “You scared the daylights out of me.”

“To tell you the truth, I scared the daylights out of me, too,” she admitted.

Suddenly her knees wobbled. Wade hit the ground and caught her just before she collapsed in a heap. She gave him an uneasy look.

“I guess the adrenaline’s worn off,” she murmured.

“Guess so,” he agreed, fighting the desire to kiss her senseless.

A spark flared in her eyes, and without warning she shoved against his chest with all her might. “Put me down,” she demanded. “I’m furious with you.”

Grady grinned. “I don’t think I’m needed for this part. I think I’ll be going now.”

“Smart man,” Wade said as he struggled to keep Lauren in place. He gazed into her flashing eyes. “Okay, darlin’, let’s compare notes. You’re furious with me—rightfully so, I might add—and I am sorely aggravated with you—also entirely justified. Let’s call it even, okay?”

“Not on your life, you pigheaded coward.”

“Coward?” Wade repeated softly. If a man had made that accusation, he’d be lying in the dust with a swollen jaw by now.

“When we have a disagreement, you don’t get to run off. Mature adults who care about each other talk things out.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, clearly taking the wind out of her sails.

“You recognize that?” she asked skeptically.

“Now I do,” he said, regarding her solemnly.

“Good.”

“Since we’re agreed on that,” he said. “Let’s calmly discuss what just happened here.”

She slid her fingers into his hair and lowered her mouth until it was almost against his. “Let’s not,” she murmured.

The kiss pretty much settled things for the time being, but Wade didn’t doubt for a second that it was not a precursor to smooth sailing from here on out. That image of Lauren within a hairsbreadth of getting herself trampled was going to stay with him for a long time to come. He didn’t intend to give the horse a second chance to complete the job.

Chapter Eleven

“I want to sell Midnight,” Wade announced as he and Grady sat at the kitchen table late that night. Lauren and Karen were having their weekly dinner with the Calamity Janes, this time at Tony’s. Gina was cooking some new pasta recipe she’d dreamed up so she could try it out on her friends before springing it on the customers.

“Because of what happened earlier,” Grady said, his expression every bit as grim as Wade’s tone.

“Of course because of that. Midnight could have trampled Lauren to death, and she’s too stubborn to admit that her life was in any danger. If it’s up to her, she’ll be right back in there tomorrow.”

“Because it’s what she does,” Grady reminded him. “She’s good at it. She won’t appreciate you taking this chance away from her. Her work with Midnight could go a long way toward