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  She turned to him, knife poised in midair. “Ride him already? Sarah told me he’s never been ridden.”

  “Well, today’s the day.”

  His quiet confidence registered on her lust-o-meter. So would his competence if he pulled this off. She continued slicing up the apples and carrots. “You should probably sell tickets.”

  “I doubt anybody would buy them.”

  “I would.”

  “Then I hereby offer you a complimentary ticket to the official riding demonstration featuring Houdini and yours truly.”

  “How will I know when it is?”

  “You might want to come out around four. I’m shooting for that.”

  She scooped the pieces of carrot and apple into a plastic bag, zipped it closed and walked over so she could hand it to him. “It’s only the first day. I’m sure nobody expects you to ride him on the first day.”

  “But I do.”

  She admired his attitude even more than she admired his body, and that was saying a lot. “Understood.”

  “Thanks for the horse treats.” His hand brushed hers as he took the bag.

  “Anytime.” And she meant that sincerely. If Matthew would consider walking in here once or twice a day in a tight T-shirt, he’d contribute substantially to her job satisfaction.

  His gaze lingered on her face, touching her hair, her eyes, her mouth. For one brief moment it dropped to her cleavage before moving back to her eyes. “See you at lunch.”

  She could barely breathe. “Right.”

  “I need to go.” But he didn’t move.

  “Yes.” Heat sluiced through her, and if he didn’t leave soon, she was liable to forget her vow not to be the aggressor in this relationship.

  “What time tonight?”

  A slight roughness in his voice told her that he was anticipating it as much as she was. “How about eight?”

  “I’ll be here.”

  “Me, too.” And she’d take a second shower and put on her sexiest underwear before then.

  His expression softened, almost as if he might kiss her, but then he shook his head and turned. “Gotta go.” Putting on his hat, he walked away with a determined stride. But at the kitchen doorway, he stopped abruptly.

  When he turned, she held her breath, certain he was about to close the distance and take her in his arms, after all. Heart beating wildly, she moistened her lips. “Did you forget something?”

  “Yes.” But instead of coming back and scooping her into a scorching embrace, he stayed by the door. “What do you think of baking some corn bread to go with the ratatouille?”

  She almost laughed. She’d been thinking passion and he’d been thinking corn bread. There was no predicting what was going through a man’s mind. “I could do that.”

  “Great. See you later.” And he was gone.

  Turning back to the counter, she took a deep breath. The guy was seriously potent, and she’d have to stay focused on her cooking this morning or no telling what she’d end up serving for lunch. She opened the spice drawer looking for the jar of bay leaves.

  She’d just located it when she was startled by the sound of booted feet and a strong hand gripping her arm. Matthew spun her around, pulled her against his chest and kissed her. She barely had time to register the heat of his body and the firm pressure of his sculpted mouth before he let her go.

  His breathing was ragged as he stepped back and crammed his hat on his head again. “Some things can’t be put off,” he said. “And that was one of them.” He turned and left the kitchen.

  She tingled from head to toe and blood rushed in her ears. For several seconds she stood clutching the jar of bay leaves, her gaze unfocused as she relived the thrill of being accosted by the likes of Matthew Tredway. A delicious shiver went up her spine as she recalled the imprint of his body on hers and the hunger in that one fierce embrace.

  He’d been in total command of the moment, sure of himself and what he intended to do. If he could pack that much into one quick kiss, she had a lot to look forward to tonight.

  * * *

  AS MATTHEW RETURNED to the corral and Houdini, the taste of Aurelia’s mouth was on his lips and her scent clung to his clothes. He’d briefly satisfied the craving growing within him, and like a light snack before a meal, it would have to do.

  When he’d first walked into the kitchen, his mind had been occupied with the challenge of training Houdini. He’d thought his concentration would hold long enough to get some carrots, ask about the corn bread and leave before succumbing to Aurelia’s appeal. He’d miscalculated. Within a very short time, lust had claimed every brain cell and body part.

  Although seducing her this morning was out of the question, his libido had demanded some sort of satisfaction. He’d tried to deny that urge and had nearly made it out of the house. Apparently his willpower was no match for the temptation of Aurelia’s mouth, though, and he’d turned around.

  If he’d ever felt this kind of desperate need for a particular woman, he couldn’t recall it. During the night, as he’d lain in his narrow bunk listening to the cowhands snore, he’d searched for an explanation as to why Aurelia affected him this way.

  Sometime in the early-morning hours he’d come up with the answer. After years of dating women who were rolling stones like he was, he’d developed an itch for a hearth-and-home kind of woman. Aurelia, with her cooking skills and voluptuous body, could give him that.

  With luck, once he’d scratched this particular itch, he’d be fine again. He certainly hoped so, because he had no intention of giving up his career, and travel was a built-in requirement. Plus he liked to travel and had no real desire to stay in one spot and become domesticated.

  Tonight he’d say all that to Aurelia, because he didn’t want her going into this with any illusions about permanence. He doubted she had those thoughts. She’d already stated that travel wasn’t her thing.

  He figured that when the right guy came along, she’d get married and have kids. Any woman taking a good look at Matthew’s life would see that he wasn’t the type to settle down and raise a family. But it wouldn’t hurt to make sure Aurelia understood that.

  Houdini watched him walk toward the corral. Matthew took out a slice of apple and began eating it. With animals as with people, sharing food could be a bonding thing. Matthew was working on building trust.

  Fortunately the horse accepted a bridle, or the task would be even harder. Matthew had started out the day by leaning all over Houdini, getting him used to having an arm draped over his back. Finally he’d eased a saddle blanket on and Houdini hadn’t pitched a fit.

  Normally a saddle would be the next step, but Houdini had a real fear of them, according to Emmett Sterling, the foreman. Apparently the former owners had mentioned an incident where they’d managed to put a saddle on him but hadn’t cinched it tight before Houdini started bucking. The saddle rotated around to his belly and Houdini had panicked.

  A saddle wasn’t necessary in order for Matthew to ride him today. Just the blanket would work, especially if Matthew had created the bond he wanted. To that end he’d also spent time playing with the horse and grooming him.

  Although Matthew was hot and sweaty from the morning’s work, Houdini looked spectacular. His black and white coat gleamed and his long white tail was completely free of tangles and burrs. For Matthew, the training process wasn’t a battle of wills. Instead it was an exercise in mutual respect and cooperation between human and horse.

  His method took enormous amounts of patience, and often ranch owners like the Chance men didn’t have the time to be that patient with a horse that had been spoiled as a colt the way Houdini had. The people who had originally bought him had intended to train him, but they’d botched what little they’d done and had eventually left Houdini to train himself.

  He’d done it, too, Matthew thought with a smile as he opened the gate and walked into the corral. He’d trained himself to be so independent that he had no intention of carrying a human on his b
ack. When he was bored, he unfastened the latch on his stall and took a stroll around the barn, sometimes letting the other horses out, too, if he felt like it.

  Houdini walked toward Matthew, who held an apple slice in his outstretched hand as he whistled softly.

  “You’re not a bad guy,” Matthew said as the horse took the piece of apple and stood munching it, his tail swishing flies. Matthew stroked Houdini’s silky neck and scratched beneath his mane. “You’ve just been allowed to get away with murder.”

  Houdini nuzzled Matthew’s pocket for more treats.

  “Later. We have work to do first.”

  A young male voice still finding its range called over from the fence. “You going to ride him today, Mr. Tredway?”

  Matthew glanced over at the short, wiry boy leaning on the rail. “That’s the plan, Lester.” Matthew had met all eight of the teenagers earlier while they’d been busy mucking out the stalls. He remembered Lester because he was smaller than the rest and didn’t seem to be totally accepted by the other boys. Yet Emmett had told Matthew privately that Lester could clean two stalls in the time it took any of the others to clean one. He seemed to love the work, but the other boys had accused him of trying to suck up by working so hard.

  “Will it be like a rodeo?”

  “I hope not.” Gazing at Lester, Matthew hatched a plan. “Are you busy right now?”

  “Nope. Finished what I had to do so I could watch you with Houdini.”

  “Want to help me?”

  “You bet!” He started to clamor over the fence.

  “Wait a sec. Go get your riding helmet first.”

  Lester’s dark eyes widened. “You’re gonna put me up on him?”

  “I’m thinking about it. You’re lighter than I am, so you could ease him into the idea.” Matthew would keep a firm hold on the horse and Lester could jump off if things got dicey. “That’s if you want to.”

  “Are you kidding? Of course I want to. Be right back.” He took off at a run.

  “Okay, Houdini.” Matthew rubbed the stallion’s nose. “I’m taking a chance on you, so don’t let me down.”

  Lester came back in a flash, buckling his riding helmet as he sprinted toward the corral.

  “Slow down,” Matthew called as softly as he could and still be heard. “No rapid movements and no loud noises.”

  “Oh.” Lester downgraded to a walk. “Sorry.”

  It had occurred to Matthew this morning that the teenagers spending their first summer on a ranch weren’t much different in temperament from Houdini. Most of them had gotten into trouble due to lack of structure, just like the horse.

  So after Lester climbed into the corral, Matthew explained Houdini’s issues while Lester fed the horse a few pieces of carrot. Lester nodded as if he completely understood. Matthew supposed he did.

  “Now just start loving on him,” Matthew said. “Get him used to how you smell. Talk to him, too. In other words, treat him like a friend.”

  Stepping back, Matthew allowed Lester to move in. The boy began by stroking the horse and telling him how awesome he was. Then Lester proceeded to lay all his sins at Houdini’s feet. He confessed how much trouble he’d caused himself and others by doing things he shouldn’t, and he urged the horse to go straight or face the consequences.

  Matthew bit his lip to keep from laughing. But as Lester continued his earnest conversation by giving examples of friends who’d also nearly ruined their lives, Matthew looked on in amazement.

  The horse couldn’t understand the words, but something was going on between those two, some level of communication that even Matthew, with all his years of experience, hadn’t achieved. Houdini lowered his head so that Lester could scratch it better, and bumped his nose playfully against the boy’s knee during the long monologue.

  With a huge smile on his face, Lester glanced over at Matthew. “He likes me.”

  “He sure does.” Matthew wondered if Houdini’s former owners had had a teenager who’d spent time with the horse. That would partially explain Houdini’s reaction, but Matthew thought it went deeper than that. Lester and Houdini just seemed to get each other. It reminded him of a scene out of The Black Stallion.

  As the boy and horse continued their love fest, Matthew decided the time had come to try his experiment. “Why don’t you ask him if he’ll let you up on his back?”

  “Okay.” Lester rubbed Houdini’s nose. “Houdini, how about giving me a ride, buddy? I’m just a kid, and I only weigh ninety-one and a half pounds, so you’ll barely feel me. Plus I’ll get street cred like you wouldn’t believe. So can I?”

  Houdini snorted.

  Lester glanced over his shoulder at Matthew. “I think that means yes.”

  “All right. Here’s the plan. I’ll help you on but we’ll go slow, and I’m going to hang on to Houdini in case you have to get off in a hurry.”

  “I won’t have to.” Lester’s smile was filled with confidence. “Houdini likes me. He won’t buck me off, will you, boy?”

  Houdini butted Lester’s chest.

  Lester laughed. “But I think we should give him one more piece of carrot to chew on, so he’ll have something else to think about while I climb up there.”

  “You have the instincts of a horse trainer, Lester.”

  “That’s because I’m gonna be one, like you.”

  Matthew was impressed with the conviction in Lester’s voice. “When did you decide that?”

  “About ten minutes ago.”

  Now that was humbling. So far as he knew, Matthew had never changed the course of a person’s life, but he had a hunch that he’d just changed Lester’s. “It’s a great life,” he said, and was surprised at the emotion clogging his throat. He hadn’t realized that being idolized by a young boy could affect him so much. “So, ready to mount up?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay, I want you to climb up on the fence and I’ll bring him over to you. That way you can ease onto him gradually.”

  “Okay.”

  Once Lester was on the fence, Matthew led Houdini over. “Keep your left hand on the fence as you slide your right leg over. And talk to him. Talking’s good.”

  Assuring the horse that everything would be just fine, Lester put one leg over his back and slowly began to transfer his weight. Houdini shivered but stayed where he was.

  “Now take hold of his mane with your right hand.”

  Houdini swung his head around to see what was going on, but other than that, he didn’t react. So far, so good.

  “Grab his mane with your other hand and shift all your weight onto him. That’s it. Sink your weight into your heels and lower your center of gravity. Good. Sit up straight and tall. Excellent.” Matthew gripped the reins in anticipation of an explosion.

  Amazingly, it never came. Houdini shifted his weight and looked back to see if Lester was still up there. Apparently the horse was fine with that. Matthew let out a breath and relaxed his hold on the reins.

  Lester made a little clicking noise with his tongue.

  “Hey, don’t—” But Matthew had no more time to protest because Houdini started off at a slow walk, and Matthew followed along, holding the reins.

  “See that?” Lester said. “He’s letting me ride him.”

  “Yes.” Matthew mentally crossed his fingers that this little stunt wouldn’t backfire. “So he is.”

  They made a circuit of the corral, which was about all Matthew’s nerves could take. “I’m going to guide him over toward the fence again,” he said. “When I pull back on the reins, you say whoa. Then I want you to climb off the same way you got on.”

  “Aw.” Lester frowned at Matthew. “Can’t we keep going?”

  “Better to make it short the first time and teach him to stop on command. Okay, tell him to whoa.”

  Lester did as he was told and Houdini came to a halt as if he’d suddenly become a perfectly trained horse. Matthew knew better, and he was immensely relieved when Lester was back on the fence.

>   “I rode him.” Lester’s frown gave way to a look of pride. “I was the first person to ride that horse.”

  “Yes, you were. If you want, I’ll talk to Emmett about giving you time this afternoon to try it again.”

  “That would be great!”

  “And if we can keep this on the down-low, you might be the one putting on a demonstration later instead of me.”

  “Wow.” Lester’s eyes shone. “That would be amazing. I won’t say anything to anybody, I promise!”

  “Good.” Matthew stroked Houdini’s silky neck. “Because it’s about time to go in for lunch, and it might be hard to keep that secret.”

  “Nope. I can do it. But I wouldn’t mind skipping lunch. I hate the lunches here.”

  “I have a feeling today’s might be better.”

  “Boy, I hope so. Yesterday’s was disgusting.”

  Poor Aurelia, Matthew thought as he and Lester walked Houdini back to the barn. She tried so hard, and her efforts were wasted because this wasn’t a sophisticated crowd.

  They really would need to do a little menu-planning tonight. But he hoped it wouldn’t take long, because he had some other activities in mind.

  5

  AURELIA HAD HER misgivings about the meal she served for lunch. Substituting potatoes for eggplant in ratatouille seemed like a sacrilege, but she’d made the adjustment and also allowances for the varying cooking times of potatoes and eggplant. She had no recipe for corn bread other than Mary Lou’s, which was uninteresting, but she didn’t have time to get creative with the ingredients.

  Matthew gave her a warm smile that jacked up her pulse rate as she put his plate in front of him. “Looks like a great vegetable stew,” he said.

  That reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to mention the French name, although in all good conscience she couldn’t call it ratatouille without the eggplant. “I hope you like it.”

  “Corn bread smells good,” said Bob Gilbert, one of the few cowboys she knew who wore glasses.

  “Thank you.” She gave him his plate. “It’s Mary Lou’s recipe.” Maybe she imagined it, but she could swear someone let out a heartfelt sigh. She was beginning to think Matthew was right, and cowboys were vocal when they liked the food, but not so much when they didn’t.