Best Kept Secrets(32)

downstairs. Angus wouldn't be disappointed in him this time.

The job he had been assigned suited nun to a tee.

His experience in handling women was legendary. The

challenges that Alex presented would just make the chase that much more exciting and fun. She was a damned attractive

woman. Even if Angus hadn't told him, he would have wooed

her anyway.

Doing it just right, however, would take some time and

thought. He would give himself a few days to come up with

a sure-fire strategy. In the meantime, there were lesser worlds

to conquer. He saluted his handsome image in the hallway

mirror on his way out the front door.



Nine





Like the house, the stable was built of stone. The interior

was like any other that Alex had seen, except that it was

spotlessly clean. Two rows of stalls were divided by a wide

center aisle. It smelled, not unpleasantly, of hay and leather

and horseflesh.



Low wattage night-lights placed between the stalls made

it easy for her to see where she was going--toward a brighter

light that was burning in a stall about midway down. Quietly

she made her way toward it, passing an open tack room and

a door that was labeled physical therapy. Through a wide

opening she also saw a round pen with a walker that would

exercise several horses at one time.



Before she saw him, she heard Reede, speaking in a low

murmur to the occupant of the stall. Drawing even with it,

she looked inside. He was hunkered down, sitting on the

heels of his boots, rubbing his large hands up and down the animal's back leg.



His head was bent to one side as he concentrated on his

task. His fingers pressed a spot which was obviously sensitive.

The horse snuffled and tried to withdraw.



"Easy, easy."



"What's the matter with him?"



He didn't turn around or show the slightest surprise at the

sound of her voice. Apparently, he had known all along that

she was standing there and was just being obtuse. He gently

lowered the injured leg and, standing, patted the animal's

rump. "It's a her." He shot her a suggestive smile. "Or

aren't you old enough to tell the difference?"

"Not from this angle."

"Her name is Fancy Pants."

"Cute."

"It fits her. She thinks she's smarter than me, smarter than

anybody. Fact is, she's too smart for her own good. She goes

too far, too fast, and as a result, she ends up getting hurt."

He scooped up a handful of grain and let the horse eat it from

his hand.

"Oh, I get it. That's a veiled reference to me." He admitted

it with a shrug. "Should I take it as a threat?"

"You can take it any way you want it."

Again, he was playing word games, implying double meanings.

Alex didn't rise to the bait this time. "What kind of

horse is she?"

"A pregnant one. This is the mares' barn."

"They're all kept here?"

"Away from the others, yeah." The mare nuzzled his

chest and he smiled as he scratched behind her ears. "Mamas

and babies cause a ruckus in a stable."

"Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders, indicating there was no clear-cut

explanation. "I guess it's like the nursery floor at the

hospital. Everybody goes a little nuts over a newborn."

He ran his hand over the mare's smooth belly. "This is

her first time, and she's nervous about being a mother. She

got a little skittish the other day when they were walking her

and injured her metatarsal."

"When will she foal?"

"In the spring. She's got a while yet. Give me your hand."

"What?"

"Your hand." Sensing her reservation, he impatiently

drew her into the stall with him until she was standing as

close to the mare as he. "Feel."

He covered her hand with his and flattened it against the



mare's sleek coat. The hair was coarse and short, and the

vitality and strength of muscle beneath it was evident to the

touch.

The animal snuffled and took a hesitant step forward, but

Reede shushed her. The stall seemed close and overheated.

The fecund smell of new life in the making permeated the

square enclosure. "She's warm," Alex commented breathlessly.

"She sure is."

Reede moved closer to Alex and maneuvered her hand,

together with his, down the contours of the mare's body to

her swollen underbelly. Alex gave a soft exclamation of surprise

when she felt movement.

"The foal." Reede was so close his breath disturbed

strands of her hair and she smelled the scent of his cologne,

mingled with that of the stable.

A swift kick against her palm made Alex laugh with spontaneous