Overprotective Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,9
over here last night,” Ted said. He grabbed the other peach cup as he went back toward the hall that led to his bedroom. “Thanks, Spencer.”
“Anytime.”
Ted showered, wishing he could stand in the hot spray for a lot longer. In prison, he got ten minutes, tops, and the water was never hot. Half the time, it wasn’t even warm. He had to wear shoes in the shower at all times, and Ted stared down at his bare feet as the water ran between his toes.
Twenty minutes later, he left the house and crossed the back deck. The sky held shades of orange and gold, and Ted took a deep breath, getting a nose full of pollen and the scent of freshly mown grass. He sneezed, but he didn’t care.
He was outside. Free. Alone.
He walked toward the stable in the distance but quickly pivoted to go back and get his hat. Ginger had said he’d be working outside in the hot sun almost all the time, and he really shouldn’t try to do that without a cowboy hat.
Properly attired, he retraced his steps toward the stable, but it looked like no one else had arrived yet. All the doors were closed, and Ted honestly had no idea what to do. A ranch wasn’t anything like a dry cleaning shop, a law firm, or a low-security prison facility. Since those made up the bulk of his experiences, he had no idea what to expect from a ranch that housed almost ninety horses on a daily basis, planned riding lessons for every day of the week, and provided physical care for that many animals.
Jess had said he’d be needed and he’d have to work hard, and he’d said he could do it. He hadn’t felt anything looking at the tall, dark-haired woman. He could admit she was pretty in an exotic kind of way, but one look across the room to Emma Clemson, and Ted’s heart had crashed against his ribcage like a pair of cymbals.
Emma was stunning, and while Ted felt sure he’d seen her face somewhere before, he wasn’t going to ask again. He’d figure it out eventually.
One door on the end of the building stood open, and Ted heard a radio playing from inside. He figured he had nothing to lose, so he went through the door and into the stables. The scent of straw and horse flesh met his nose, and while he’d never smelled anything like it before, and it wasn’t exactly pleasant, he took another deep breath. Anything was better than the scent of fifteen other men who’d all been living and sleeping in the same room as him.
A dog joined him, already panting, and Ted bent down to pat it. “Hello,” he murmured, somehow comforted by the cattle dog. As far as he knew, they didn’t have cattle at Hope Eternal, but this was definitely a blue heeler.
Someone sat on a low stool halfway down the row, and the light from the doorway entered behind him, casting the person in shadows. It was definitely a woman, because her hair tumbled down her back, and she said something in a sweet voice to the foal in the pen where she sat.
Ted drew closer to her, expecting her to turn and look up at the sound of his footsteps. She didn’t, and Ted realized it was Emma in front of him. He pulled in a tight breath and stopped.
“Oh, you’re so hungry this morning,” she said, her voice full of adoration for the baby horse. She turned toward the dog as he lay down in the straw at her feet. “Where did you come from?”
She looked up and Ted had the luxury of seeing her face in some of the sunlight spilling through the doorway behind him. Fear filled her eyes, and she sprang to her feet, the baby horse’s empty bottle in her hand. She opened her mouth and screamed, launching the bottle at him in the next moment.
“Whoa,” he said, ducking out of the way. The plastic bottle clattered on the floor, and Ted held up both hands, shocked at Emma’s reaction. “It’s me. Ted Burrows. It’s okay.”
Emma looked like she might pick up her stool and fling it at him next, and Ted fell back a step and then another. “Sorry,” he said. “Sorry, I thought you heard me.”
“I didn’t hear you,” she said, her voice still full of panicked air.
“What’s going on?” someone else asked, appearing in the aisle on the other side of