Page 23 of Untamed Heart
Picking up a brush, I began working over Jasper’s coat, muscle memory taking over, slowly warming up to the point that I had to stop to roll up my sleeves. I’d barely noticed the three other horses now brought out, Jesse working round them. He glanced at me from under his hat.
‘Why did you stop riding?’ he asked as he brought out two saddles at once.
I hesitated, waiting to guess the motive for his question, brace myself for the judgement.
‘My family – well, my dad – thought that riding would take up too much time, interfere with school. I used to spend all my free time doing it back then, so, you know, it made sense. I guess.’
‘Hmph,’ he replied, still fixed on the job in hand. ‘So, you got the grades? Was it worth it?’
Still, the question was open. No malice. I realized how conditioned I was to it, how guarded I’d become.
‘Yeah, I got them,’ I replied, but couldn’t quite bring myself to answer the second half of his question.
He seemed to notice, thoughtful eyes watching me. I pretended to focus on Jasper, finishing the brushing and pacing into the tack room to grab his saddle, Jesse following.
‘Here, let me,’ he said, waiting politely for me to move to the side in the small space before leaning right over to take the saddle off the high peg. His arm brushed mine, his shirt tightening around his bicep as he reached up. ‘I forgot how high up Jasper’s was and you’re only an itty-bitty thing . . .’
‘Itty-bitty?’ I said, imitating his accent, unable to help myself. I was rewarded by a megawatt smile, and a blush threatened to break out again.
‘All right, Princess pint-sized.’
He swept out of the room, chuckling to himself.
I paused. I liked him – he was friendly, easy to be around. But I had to be careful. After everything with Kyle, it was almost as though I was waiting for a delayed reaction to hit. And Cole . . . well, I had no idea about him either.
Back outside, Jesse was pulling the cinch tight, muttering something at Jasper, who looked like he might take a chunk out of his arm if he pulled any tighter.
‘When did you start working here?’ I asked, determined to keep things neutral.
‘Me? Or all of us?’
‘Well, you . . . but yeah, all of you. I don’t think I remember you from when Aunt Carrie and Uncle John ran things, but it was all cattle then.’
He nodded, face suddenly serious.
‘I got here just last year, used to be a bull rider. Ever been to a rodeo?’
My mouth fell open.
‘Seriously? You did that? Riding those crazy fucking bulls? Yeah, I went to a few. Saw someone get stomped on one year, blood everywhere.’
Jesse tipped his head to one side, pursing his lips.
‘You do it long enough and it’ll happen, that’s for sure. I just got one injury too many – broke my back twice, my collarbone, ribs, you name it. Figured I’d stop before my head was next. I stick to roping now. Plus, being on the circuit is hard on your relationships; living in hotels is only fun for so long.’
‘But you did have fun, I imagine?’ I asked, unable to help myself, instantly rewarded with a quick grin.
‘Oh sugar, it was six, seven years of a good time.’ He shook his head, clearly running through some of it in his mind. ‘I mean, outside of the hospital visits. More parties and buckle bunnies than I could possibly handle.’
‘Buckle bunnies?’ I asked, thoroughly regretting the question when his smile became positively rakish.
‘You fit in real well here, I forget you might not know some of the basics.’ He chuckled. ‘Buckle bunnies are . . . how do I say this without sounding like an asshole . . . Well, I guess they’re mostly ladies that hang around the rodeo circuit, hoping to hook up with some of the guys competing. Especially the bull riders that usually win.’
He gave me a suggestive sideways glance, moving over to one of the other horses and preparing it, fixing the saddle. I stroked Jasper’s face, smiling as his eyelids began to droop with relaxation.
‘And what now?’ I asked, wanting to steer back to neutral ground, despite knowing just how easy it would be to take this conversation further. ‘You all settled down now? No more bunnies?’
He laughed, half hidden as he dipped down to grab the cinch.
