Summer Nights (Fool's Gold #8)(24)

The drivers got out of the cars. They were both women he might or might not have recognized from his visits to town. Nothing about the situation should have been dangerous, but he couldn’t help the feeling that his life had just taken a turn for the difficult.

“Ladies,” he said, touching the brim of his hat. “How can I help you?”

“We’re here for the horseback riding lessons.”

* * *

SHANE WAS WAITING WHEN Annabelle arrived at the ranch. He looked stern and rugged, in a sexy kind of way. Not that she was going to allow his killer smile to distract her. The man obviously needed his priorities set straight.

She got out of her car, but before she could start to complain, he said, “We have to talk.”

“Good. I was thinking the same thing. I’ve been getting calls. Calls from mothers with daughters who are crushed that you won’t teach them to ride. What’s the big deal? You have horses, a ranch. I know you can do it. I saw you with that rodeo guy. He was learning and you were helping. These women are paying customers and this is your business. Why are you being so difficult?”

Shane pulled off his hat, set it on the roof of her car, then rubbed his face with his hands. “I need a drink.”

“It’s only three in the afternoon.”

“It’s been a hell of a day.”

He moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders, then turned her so that she could see each of the corrals.

“Those are my horses,” he said.

“I know that.”

“What is it you think I do?”

She didn’t understand the question. “Horse stuff,” she said, stating the obvious. “You, um, raise horses and train them. And people. You’re building a ranch where I guess you’ll have more horses. Oh!” She turned to smile at him. “You have pregnant mares, so you breed horses, too.”

“Two drinks,” he muttered and released her shoulders.

She wanted to protest. The feel of his hands on her body was nice. Better than nice. His grip was warm, his fingers strong. He was a patient man and wasn’t that the best quality in a potential lover?

“I started out in the rodeo. I took off when I was eighteen and got work where I could. Learned as I went. I did okay but I figured out early I would never be a champion. So I turned my attention to the horses. It turns out I have a knack for breeding. Thoroughbreds.”

She blinked at him.

“Horses that race. You know, like the Kentucky Derby.”

She looked back at the horses grazing. At their powerful chests and long legs. “Racehorses?” She swallowed. “Aren’t they expensive?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve had horses in these races?”

“Came in second at the Belmont Stakes.”

Another race she’d heard of.

She was starting to see that Shane wasn’t exactly who and what she’d thought. She’d assumed he was a regular kind of guy who worked with horses. A man who kept a few around for, um, for… Well, she wasn’t sure why people kept horses exactly. Charlie liked to ride Mason, but the world of racing and breeding was different.

Her gaze shifted to Khatar. “He’s different from the others.”

“Arabian.”

She thought back to the conversations they’d had and her stomach lurched. “He was expensive?”

“Depends on your definition. He wasn’t seven figures.”

Seven? As in a million dollars?

“Well, sure. Why would you pay that much?” Her voice was faint. “But close, right?” Not that she wanted to know.

“Pretty damned close.”

She was going to faint. Right there on the ground, she would collapse and possibly hit her head and then have to live with the resulting amnesia. The good news was she might then be able to forget this conversation.

“That’s why you had me riding Mason,” she said. “Because he’s a regular horse and I couldn’t hurt him.”

“You can’t hurt one of the other horses, either. It’s that they’re not riding stock. Certainly not for a beginner or a bunch of kids.” He raised his hands, then let them drop to his side. “I’m not being a jerk about the kids, Annabelle. The truth is I don’t have anything for them to ride.”

“I see that now. I’ll explain to the mothers. There has to be someone else nearby with appropriate horses. Because the girls were very excited by the opportunity. Maybe I could rent a horse for them or something.”

He groaned. “Is that in your budget?”

“No. I work at a library. But I could figure something out.”

“The walls are closing in,” Shane muttered. “Have you talked to my mother about this?”

“No. Why?”

“Do me a favor. Don’t. Tell you what. I’ll get some pleasure horses out here. Rent them for the summer or something.”

“You don’t have to. It’s not your responsibility.”

“You’re right about that, but currently, it’s my problem. If I don’t rent them and my mother finds out, she’ll buy some. Probably old horses. And I’ll have to take care of them. This will be easier. I’ll offer a few lessons and we’ll take it from there.”