Jake, responding to her frown with an irritating grin, lifted the saddle flap to check the girth.
“It’s tight enough,” Mel snapped.
“Force of habit.” Jake backed off and held out his hand.
Her palms stinging from sweat under their awkward bandages, Mel put the reins into Jake’s gloved hand. Like yesterday, his touch sliced sensual sensations along her spine. In one quick instant, she glanced into his eyes, and then dropped her gaze.
“Thank you.” His voice was like crushed velvet.
“No problem.” She moved out of the way.
Jake drew the reins over Dreamcatcher’s head, and gathered them in his left hand.
“Hold him for me, will you, Pop?”
Making soothing noises in his throat, Pop stepped in front of the eager stallion.
“Want me to hold your stirrup?” Mel asked to be courteous.
Catching the veiled look of amusement in his eyes, she stiffened. He must have known how much it cost her to ask. But instead of refusing her offer, Jake nodded his head in assent. Mel grabbed the right stirrup iron and held it with all her strength to keep the saddle steady. Jake mounted, his strong, right leg swinging over the back of the horse. Mel jumped away as he settled into the saddle and the stallion sprung forward.
“Hold up there, Dreamcatcher,” Pop ordered and halted the horse with an assertive jerk on the bridle. He looked up at Jake. “Horse’s got a mind of his own. Takes the bit well. Canter’s a little rough, though.”
Mel watched Jake acknowledge Pop’s remarks with another tip of his head as he collected his reins and stretched his legs down in the stirrups. The old trainer stepped back, and Jake pressed his calves slightly into Dreamcatcher’s side, moving away. Pop followed.
“A mind of his own,” Mel reflected out loud. “Just like his rider.”
“What’d ya say?” Dave asked from Royal Tiara’s stall.
“Nothing.” Her brows drew together into a frown.
“Gotta watch this talking to yourself, Mel.” Dave scraped sweat off the hot horse. “Might get to be a bad habit.”
He was kidding her. Good ol’ Dave. She could always count on him. But was her grumpiness that obvious? She shook herself mentally and stepped into Tiara’s stall.
“Need any help?”
“I know how to put a horse away,” he replied, in mocking echo of her own words.
“Okay. Point taken.” Mel rubbed sweat off her brow. “Are we done yet?”
It was hot. The horses didn’t need to be worked long, but Jake had insisted on trying out each one before they left tomorrow for Lexington. As if there wasn’t enough work to do to get ready. True to his word, Pop had procured the extra saddles and bridles and bits from some friends. Just because the equipment had to be packed in ugly wooden boxes instead of the purple and gold Royalty Farm tack trunks, well, at least they were going to the show—only three days after the worst stable fire the Saddlebred community had seen.
“Only one more to go,” Dave said. “Get Royalty’s Dreamer ready, and take her on up to the arena. Pop said to come along as quick as you can.”
“Right.”
Mel groomed the black mare. Brushing the calm and obedient horse soothed Mel’s nerves and settled her temper. If Jake wasn’t going to get to her, she had to stop feeling defensive. She had to mask her vulnerability. A best defense was always a good offence. Mel’s resolve strengthened as she slipped the bit into Royalty’s mouth and adjusted the straps on the bridle. The problem was, seeing Jake again destroyed her intense work. For ten years, even through her difficult marriage, she’d struggled to become the woman she’d become. Now Jake’s presence had thrown her into the past, back to the silly eighteen-year-old who’d been so in love. She felt out of control, not herself, and she didn’t like that feeling.
Mumbling to avoid Dave overhearing, Mel vowed to do better. She would not slip again.
Leading Royalty out of the barn, she walked the horse the short distance to the training arena. It wasn’t far, but having to leave the lower barn where the remaining show horses were now stabled to go outside, was annoying. She dreaded what it would be like in the cold Kentucky winter. Be positive, she told herself. Be thankful the firemen were able to save the arena.
A delicate plume of smoke drifted out of the ashes that had been the training barn. The mare snorted and shied when they neared the ruin. Yellow police tape blocked it off. Arson investigators were still there, poking around the wreckage and trying to discover the cause of the fire. As Mel firmed her hold on the lead, she scowled, another wave of anger washing over her. Who had done this? She wanted to hurt the person and make him pay for the carnage he had created.
Royalty’s Dreamer danced sideways. Knowing the horse was afraid of the smoldering rubble, Mel hustled the Royalty out of the pounding sunlight and into the dim arena.
Inside Dreamcatcher was making a pass at the rack, a fast four-beat gait that left only one of the horse’s hooves on the ground at a time. It was not a gait natural to most horses, and took patience and hours of training to accomplish. This big Saddlebred performed the difficult man-made gait to perfection. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, Mel was able to take in more of the action. Her father stood in the center of the arena and barked out orders. Jake sat motionless on the back of the laboring horse, his shoulders erect, head high. She had forgotten the absolute magnetism of the man in the saddle, the strength it took to remain quiet. A slow knot tightened in her stomach.
When he came to stop right in front of her, Mel reminded herself of her new resolution. She clutched Royalty’s reins. Stretching the stallion out, Jake shifted in the saddle and stared down at her with a hooded gaze. Dreamcatcher was hardly winded, but Mel was. She forced the air into her chest, unable to catch her breath or to speak.
“Well, what did you think?” Jake took the reins in one hand and stretched his other hand back to the horse’s rump for an affectionate pat.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Sure.” Leaning back and relaxed in the saddle, Jake presented a quiet and confident image. Only his blue eyes moved, watching her, assessing her, and giving her an unwelcome jolt.
She reined in her galloping pulse and returned his look with what she hoped was a defiant one. “Why?”
Jake raised a reflective eyebrow. “Maybe because I care about your opinion.”
Flustered, Mel didn’t know what to say.
Pop was not at loss for words. “Damn good job, boy.” He came up from behind, nodding his head and chuckling. “Do we have a surprise for those folks who are countin’ us out. Won’t it be grand?”
Jake dismounted and began to unbuckle his saddle. “Think he stands a chance this week, Pop?”
“Damn right. He’ll blow ’em away.”
Always one to do the unexpected, Pop took Dreamcatcher’s reins.
“Don’t you want me to lead him back?” Mel asked, puzzled.
“No. He’s a handful. I’ll take ’im back. You stay with Jake.”
It was a setup. Jake settled his saddle onto Royalty’s back. “But Pop, I can handle Dreamcatcher. He’s not a problem.”
“You just do what I told you to, darlin’.” Pop led the big horse away without a backward glance.
Jake flashed another look her way, a speculative frown on his brow. He tightened the girth, and gathering up the reins, swung into the saddle.
Mel’s thoughts paced like a nervous mare. She watched Jake put the mare through her gaits. Jake and Pop were up to something. Was it that stupid idea about showing in the ladies’ classes? Or was it something more? Was Pop really playing matchmaker? Whatever it was, Mel didn’t like it. She didn’t like being plotted against behind her back.
And she didn’t like the way Jake was riding Royalty. He was too rough, demanding, forcing her into the gaits. From riding the mare last winter, she knew enough to know this horse wasn’t like Dreamcatcher. She needed to be asked gently, and she’d do it willingly. Jake�
��s method was sure to sour her.
“I’ll tell you what I think now, Mr. Hendricks.” Mel stepped into the center of the arena, forcing him to notice her.
Jake pulled to a stop in front of her. “Please? I didn’t hear you.”
“You said you cared about my opinion. I’m ready to give it to you now.”
“Oh? Did I do something wrong?” Jake waited, gazing back at her mildly.
“You’ll ruin Royalty riding her like that.” Her own look challenged his.
A muscle clenched in his jaw. “And how’s that?”
Firming her jaw, Mel stared back at him. Her bandaged hands curled at her side. “You’ve got to ask it of her. You can’t push Royalty into the gaits. She’s agreeable if you ask her right.”
“So she’s temperamental, like most females.” Jake said with a faint, irritating smile.
An angry heat flushed Mel’s cheeks. “I don’t believe the horse’s sex has anything to do with it. It’s just her personality.”
“I see. How do you know?”
“From observation and experience. The same way you know how to train a horse, or, let’s say, should know if you were more flexible in your training methods.”
In the murky light, Jake’s eyes were mocking. He dismounted, and leading Royalty, came toward Mel. “Ah, there’s the rub. You disapprove of my training methods.”
Her throat constricted, but she took a deep breath before she retorted. “Where Royalty’s concerned. You don’t know how to handle her.”
“And you’re going to teach me?”
He was too alarmingly close. Mel backed a step. Words died in her throat. She’d forgotten how daunting the man could be with his blatantly sexy eyes, hard muscled body and infectious grin. The lopsided dimple under his eye gave his face a boyish quality, a quality she recalled so well from the past.
“You’ve piqued my curiosity,” he said, offering her the horse’s reins, his gloved hands strong and graceful.
“No thanks.”
“What’s the matter? Afraid?”
“I’m not afraid of anything.” He was goading her. Mel snatched the reins from his hands.
“Here, let me give you a leg up.”
“No thanks.” Mel turned her back on him, gathered the reins in her left hand, and grabbed the cantle with her right one.
“Oh, Mel, lighten up. I don’t bite.” With that, Jake grabbed the leg she was lifting to the stirrup and laid a possessive hand right smack on her jodhpur-clad derriere.
Chapter Four
Mel’s flesh tingled through her jodhpurs where Jake touched her. Her heart pounded like the beat of a trotting horse as she felt herself being lifted into the air and tossed aboard the saddle.
“Get your hands off of me.”
He gazed up at her, an innocent look in his eyes.
“What did you want me to do? Say thanks?”
“I was just trying to be helpful.” He gave a shrug.
“Helpful? You’re arrogant and rude.”
“And you’re going to show me what a lousy trainer I am.” Jake grinned.
“Oh!” He was so doggone sure of himself it made her sick. Mel turned her head away from Jake’s impudence, and urged Royalty toward the rail.
The horse settled into an easy trot that propelled Mel out of the saddle in a rhythmic, up-and-down post. Using the curb rein, she positioned the mare’s head into the familiar neck-bending curve of a Saddlebred with her nose tucked under and then raised Royalty’s head. This gave her a springier, higher trot that Mel knew made the mare look regal, like a classical Greek statue. Breath shot through Mel’s lungs. She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders and stared through the horse’s ears as they circled and circled the arena.
Riding Royalty’s Dreamer was exhilarating. Mel’s total attention focused on the mare. At the slow gait, Mel relaxed—her hands stretched apart, knees pressed into the saddle, heels down. The horse was game and eager to please. A happy smile spread across Mel’s face when she reversed and urged the mare again into a trot.
Damn! Jake watched the pair shoot down the straight-away, Royalty’s show trot finer and more animated than the one he had been able to achieve. Mel’s signals were subtle. A slight press of her calves against Royalty’s side, a negligible squeeze of the reins. Jake suddenly sensed a warm tightening below the belt. Once—just once—he’d felt those firm calves and thighs against his body. Jake switched his leg with his crop and turned in a circle to follow the horse and rider with his gaze.
He tried to concentrate. The old trainer was right about Royalty and Mel. The two were a great combination, a winning duo. Was Pop also right about Mel? Would she come around and help the farm? She had to. He now wanted more time with her, more time to make up for breaking her heart.
Mel cut the corner and angled into the center of the arena, stopping in front of him. She laughed down at him, her amber eyes wide, her face flushed.
“She’s wonderful, Jake. I just love her.”
Jake strolled forward, grinning. He took Royalty’s reins and forced the horse to stretch out. Then he came around the left side and glanced up at Mel’s charming face. Even though she wore her thick hair pulled back, she was dainty and feminine, very much a lady.
“You did a wonderful job. Better than I could do.” There was a thickness in his voice he couldn’t account for.
Her eyes glowed. “Thanks. It’s Royalty. She makes it easy.”
Mel dismounted, swinging her right leg over the saddle. Facing the horse, she held the saddle briefly while she kicked her left foot free of the stirrup, and then slipped to the ground right into Jake’s open arms.
“You should smile more, Mel. You have such a lovely smile.” A lovely and inviting smile. Jake couldn’t stop himself. He bent forward and touched his lips to hers.
She smelled of perspiration and lavender perfume. She tasted like salt, earthy and basic. Her lips were warm and yielding, tempting him to ask for more and deepen his kiss. Another wave of desire rolled through his body. He lowered his lashes, caught up in a primitive longing.
After a moment of apparent surrender, Mel sucked in her breath and drew back. Jake’s eyes opened in time to see Mel raise her hand.
“How dare you!”
The noise of the slap resounded through the cavernous arena. Mel shouldered past him, grabbed Royalty’s reins, and stalked toward the door of the arena with the horse in tow.
Surprised but fascinated, Jake touched his cheek. It barely stung. The bandages on her hands had blunted the blow. He ran to catch up, falling into step at Mel’s side.
“Now tell me you want to show this mare,” he said, hoping to defuse her anger.
Her face averted, Mel did not respond. The air between them reverberated with strained awareness.
He tried another tactic. “Pop was right, Mel. We do need a safety valve. We need two chances at the World’s Grand Championship.”
“Pop’s judgment is sometimes faulty,” she replied.
“Not when it comes to horseflesh,” Jake pointed out. “He wants you to show Royalty, and after seeing you ride, I have to agree with him. You two are naturals.”
“Flattery, Mr. Hendricks, will get you absolutely nowhere.”
The hot sunshine was as scalding as Mel’s ire. Her face bleak, jaw set, lips pursed, she walked quickly to the lower barn.
“Mel, Vanessa doesn’t have much money. If we don’t do well in August, she may be forced to sell some or part of Royalty Farm. Pop said you might not understand how desperate things really are. Those real estate agents are pretty persistent.”
“I know, Pop told me.”
“Someone may be threatening Royalty Farm. We can’t rebuild the farm into a powerhouse stable without you. She wants your help. I want your help.”
She hesitated and chewed her lower lip.
“Mel, will you show the horse for Vanessa?” He remembered now how stubborn she could be.
“No. I will not show Royalty.” They reached
the barn, and Mel took the horse to her stall.
“Why not? Give me a good reason.”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she snapped. “All you need to know is that I don’t like to be used.”
With quick efficiency, Mel began to strip the mare of her bridle. Draping it over her shoulder, she slipped the halter on Royalty and tied her to the sides of the stall. Jake went into the stall and removed the saddle.
“Used? Who’s using you?”
“You.”
“Oh, come on, Mel. I’m asking this for Vanessa and Pop.”
“And your fine career. That’s always come first with you.” Mel maneuvered out of the stall, and picked up the sweat scraper from the groom box. Back inside, she raked it over Royalty’s wet coat with strong and wrathful strokes.
“Sounds as if you’re confusing today with the past. That part of my life is over and done with.” Jake’s voice was firm.
“Yeah, really? Move, you’re in my way.” She elbowed around him.
Jake grinned and jumped aside. So, that’s the way it is? He leaned nonchalantly at the edge of the door. Mel work, her fury evident in every quick motion. Like a spirited filly, she was beautiful when she was angry.
“You’re upset because I kissed you,” he said placidly.
She tossed a sharp glance his way. “Of course I’m mad. What made you think I’d welcome your advances?”
Mel had always been so much fun to tease. She took things so seriously and looked so pretty when she was mad that he couldn’t help baiting her, just like he used to do when they were kids. However, the Mel he remembered would have never stood up for herself so directly. He liked the new woman she’d become.
“Oh, I didn’t expect my advances to be welcome.” He lifted an indifferent shoulder. “Your beauty just overwhelmed me and I got carried away.”
“Don’t mock me, Jake Hendricks,” she spat. “I don’t have to put up with your boorish, male behavior.”
“Whew!” He shook his hand as if he had been stung.
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