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After a restless night, Dev had risen earlier than usual. He’d wanted to get work out of the way so he had plenty of time for Hannah’s riding lesson. Except why he should go to so much trouble was what had kept him awake in the first place. Here on the ranch, there were always a million and one things to do. Not to mention the godawful paperwork he avoided as long as he possibly could. Given a choice between four walls and a computer spreadsheet program or outdoors and the horses, there was no contest.
All night long he hadn’t been able to stop factoring Hannah Morgan into the outdoors and horses part. Because he’d thought her presence would be awkward and it wasn’t. Because he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Because he’d watched his son take a fancy to her. Because she’d implied that he’d been Destiny High’s all-around playboy.
That’s not the way he remembered it. She must have him confused with another cowboy she’d tutored.
But for those reasons and probably some he hadn’t thought of yet, it was a fact that he now stood in the corral, horse saddled and waiting for her, at the time they’d agreed on. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was waiting with more anticipation than he wanted to feel. He hadn’t seen Hannah yet today. He’d been out of the house and working before sunup, same as every other morning. Which was why he was so grateful to have Polly to look after Ben.
Was it gratitude that had goaded him into this offer to teach Hannah to ride? Her mother had bailed him out big time by taking care of the house and his son. Hannah had doctored Newy’s bum shoulder yesterday. And Dev had to admit she’d impressed him with her skill. So he was beholden to both of the Morgan women. Was that enough to explain why the prospect of seeing Hannah had him lit up inside like the grand opening of a Las Vegas casino?
His memories of her in high school were hazy at best. He remembered the tutoring. How could he forget? It had been damned humiliating. His grades had been pretty good—in everything but physics. To maintain sports eligibility, he’d been forced to get help in that subject. His teacher had insisted it be Hannah, who was tops in her honors class. But not only was she several years younger, she was a girl and a brainer. At a time when he was struggling to be a man, she’d made him feel like a greenhorn kid.
She’d been skinny as a boy with glasses bigger than her face. Who knew in ten years she’d grow breasts and curves that would turn her into a package cute as could be? He’d never guessed that behind those Coke bottle lenses she’d had eyes bigger and bluer than a field of Texas bluebonnets.
And so what?
She was here for six weeks, to rest up and see her mother. The visit was nothing more than temporary because her life was on the west coast. He’d been burned once by a woman who’d believed greener pastures were anywhere but Destiny. Hannah had left for college earlier than most and carved out a life for herself fifteen hundred miles away. He would be a fool to let luscious curves and beautiful blue eyes make him forget that. His mission was to get her over her fear of horses. Then leave her be.
He glanced up the hill and saw her approaching. In her jeans, lime-green T-shirt and denim baseball hat, she looked awful darn tempting. She was covered from head to toe, but what she wore highlighted those mouthwatering curves he’d so recently thought about. His pulse kicked up a notch even though he could see very little of her flesh. That thought generated a subtle challenge inside him to see more.
She stopped at the fence separating them and looked up at the horse for a long moment before meeting his gaze. “Good morning.”
He touched the brim of his hat. “Mornin’.” He looked past her, expecting his son. The boy had taken quite a shine to her the day before. When he’d tucked Ben in last night, it was Hannah this, and Hannah that. He hadn’t thought she would be able to leave the house without the little guy tagging along. Especially after he’d pleaded with her to go for it in the first place.
“Where’s Ben?” he asked.
“He was listless when he got up this morning, and felt a little warm, so I took his temperature. It’s a hundred and one.”
“Do you think it’s anything serious? Should I take him to—”
“Doc Holloway?” she asked, raising one eyebrow. “I actually graduated very near the top of my medical school class. Then I did a double residency in pediatrics and internal medicine. I could get a complex about you guys running to Doc Holloway when an honest-to-goodness doctor is within spitting distance.”
“Sorry. I forgot.” It probably had something to do with the fact that every time he laid eyes on her, he felt like he’d been kicked in the head by his favorite horse. That didn’t exactly help a cowboy put his best boot forward. “Did you check him over?”
She nodded. “I always have my medical bag with me. Ears and throat looked okay. His chest sounded clear. At this point, there’s nothing to treat. Some kids just run a temp when they get run down. Mom knows what to do for the symptoms—rest, meds to control the fever, and lots of fluids. He was keeping a low profile when I left the house.”
“The Texas tornado? That’s a miracle.”
She laughed, showing straight white teeth and a world-class smile. Before he could stop himself, he thought that she should do it more often. His next thought—why should he care if she did?
She stepped up on the first rung of the fence. “Since your son didn’t argue with the diagnosis and treatment, I figure it’s probably what he needs.”
“You’re the doc.”
“You finally remembered.”
He looked down as he shuffled his boots in the dirt. “You make it hard for a man to forget.”
“Sorry. It’s gotten to be a habit I guess, because of my medical training. Speaking of which, Ben was pretty vocal about not wanting to drink so much. I suggested that soda was a good fluid to push. That put a sparkle in his eyes.”
“Pretty smart,” he said. “But you always were.”
“Yeah.”
Her smile dimmed a shade at his remark and he wondered why. “Since Ben’s in good hands with your mom, what do you say you put yourself in mine? In a manner of speaking.”
The porcelain-smooth skin on her cheeks flushed pink. He hadn’t intended that as a double entendre. But now that he thought about it, touching her wouldn’t be too hard to take—if the parts of her that saw daylight were half as soft as the parts of her he’d been imagining that didn’t.
“Have you ever heard the expression ‘like father, like son’?”
He nodded. “Why?”
“Because you’ve got the same gleam in your eyes that I saw in Ben’s. Somehow I don’t think yours has anything to do with soda. So I have to assume it’s role reversal.”
“You lost me,” he said, shaking his head.
“Now you’re the teacher and I’m the student.”
“Ah.” He couldn’t suppress a grin.
She raised one eyebrow. “You wouldn’t hold that against me, would you?”
“You mean that whole dictator thing you had going on in high school?” He shook his head. “It never entered my mind.”
“Then why are you smiling like that?”
“Me?” he said, pointing to his chest. “I’m not grinnin’ like the price of beef went sky-high. I never smile.”
She looked warily at the animal waiting patiently beside him. “I don’t have to get on that horse, you know.”
Dev glanced at the gelding. “You mean Trouble? Why he’s as gentle as they come.”
“Then why is he named Trouble?” she shot back.
He shrugged. “Seemed to fit. He was sickly from the day he was born. Took a lot of nursemaiding. But he grew up big and strong. Didn’t you, boy?” he said, patting the horse’s neck.
“I have a bad feeling about this—”
Something deep down inside Dev said don’t let her back out. Don’t let her walk away now. “Look, Hannah, I could shame you into this. The words yellow, coward and chicken come to mind. But I won’t stoop to name-calling.”
“Thank goodness,” she said wryly.
“Unless you force me to.”
“Okay. Challenge noted and desired response achieved,” she said, climbing over the fence.
He noticed that she kept him between herself and the horse. Then her eyes grew bigger and bluer as she stared up at the big, gentle gelding.
“We can ride double until you feel comfortable,” he offered.
“What makes you think riding with you would make me more comfortable?” she asked, looking at him.
He hadn’t thought her eyes could get any bigger or more beautiful, but they did. And he had a feeling when she was talking uncomfortable, it had more to do with him than the horse. Why that should make him feel like grinning, he couldn’t say. The fact was—he wanted to, but of course he didn’t.
“I’ll ride behind you till you get the feel of it up there. Till you’re not as jumpy as spit on a hot skillet,” he added.
“I haven’t heard that one since I left Texas.”
“You ready to give it a go?” he asked.
She caught the corner of her full bottom lip between her teeth as she looked from him to the horse then over her shoulder to the house as if she wanted to take off at a dead run. Finally, she met his gaze and straightened her spine. “Okay. Never let it be said that Hannah Morgan, M.D., is not full of gumption and grit.”
There was the girl from Destiny that he remembered. For just an instant he’d heard the Texas drawl back in her voice. The snappy, husky, seductive tone turned his thoughts to things he couldn’t do on a horse. Well, he could, but it would be damned stupid, and pretty uncomfortable.
Whoa. Down boy, he thought. Rein in that idea pronto. This was a friendly lesson. He only wanted to teach her to ride, as a favor to her mom. The least he could do was pay some attention to Polly’s daughter during her visit, to show her a good time.
Is that why it seemed so important to get up close and personal? Just a good time? For her or him? Not to mention that there were lots of ways to make her feel easy on a horse without riding double.
Ignoring that sensible thought, he said, “Lesson number one—you need to make nice with Trouble.”
“I think I’ve already done that. Just by showing up,” she said. Hesitantly, she sidled up beside him.
He looked at her and wondered who she thought she’d made nice with—the horse or him. “Not even close,” he answered. It was safer not to make it about him. “You’ve got to touch Trouble. Like this,” he said taking her right hand and placing it on the animal’s neck.
Her wrist was delicate, fragile. She was small, barely came up to his shoulder. Something stretched inside him. If he didn’t know better, he would think it was his protective streak stirring to life. But he did know better. Corie had stomped it right out of him. She’d told him over and over: in this day and age, women wanted a lot out of life. Being a wife and mother wasn’t everything. She didn’t need a man to define who she was or protect her. His ex-wife’s putting her money where her mouth was and leaving had hit him like a truck and Dev had gotten the message loud, clear and painful. He could stand back and let Hannah do her thing just fine, thank you very much.
But he stood behind her, close enough that he could smell the fragrance of her—something floral and sassy mixed with soap. Her blond hair was tucked through the opening in the back of her hat and trailed down, skimming her shoulder blades. He wanted to free the silken strands and run his hands through them. Warmth radiated through him and sweat popped out on his forehead. So much for giving her an early lesson before it got hot.
“What do I do now?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder and up at him.
He swallowed—hard. “Just what you’re doing. Let him get used to you.” And me too, he thought. Damn that rusty tone in his voice. With any luck, she was too preoccupied with Trouble to notice.
“I think it’s more like me getting used to him,” she said nervously. “After all, he’s bigger than me. By a lot.”
So was Dev. A fact that fueled his pesky, persistent, protective streak. “I won’t let him hurt you,” he promised.
It was on the tip of his tongue to add that he would never let anything hurt her. But he held back. A fact for which he was really grateful. He didn’t want another woman in his life. Especially a career woman like Hannah.
“I appreciate that. Although if he takes it into his head to pulverize me, I’m not exactly sure how you could stop him.”
“Even if something spooks him, usually there’s warning. Time to get out of the way. There are signs. Restlessness. Shifting. Snorting. Same things that happen to you and me when we get rattled,” he said.
“God knows I snort when I get riled up,” she said.
“And here I thought you were brighter than the average bear. How intelligent is it to smart-mouth your tutor?”
“You tell me. I learned from you.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Selective memory. It’s a condition that affects a lot of men,” she added.
“Male bashing is not the best way to win friends and favorably influence your riding teacher. But I’m going to take the moral high ground and not hold it against you. Right now Trouble is just standing there as peaceful as you please.”
“I’ll ignore the contradiction in terms of that last statement,” she said as she continued to stroke the horse’s neck.
For several minutes, he just let her do that while the slender, delicate, elegant, smooth curve of her neck tortured him with wondering what that spot would taste like.
Good God Almighty! What in the world had gotten into him? This—whatever it was—was just plain nuts. The sooner he got her on a horse and fulfilled his fool’s promise, the better. He’d just learned another lesson from Hannah. Don’t be too quick to offer a riding lesson to a pretty, big-city, lady doctor.
“Okay,” he said abruptly. “I think it’s time to climb up on Trouble and see how it feels.”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She hesitated for a moment, her hand resting on the horse’s neck. “What do I do?”
“One hand on the horn, left foot in the stirrup and haul yourself up, swinging the right over his rump. Easy as falling off a log.”
She slid him a look over her shoulder. “No form of the word ‘fall’ should be spoken in this conversation.”
“My mistake.” He held back his grin until she glanced away.
“Mistake is another word I don’t want to hear.”
“How about ‘just do it’?”
“Words to live by,” she said, but her voice was tight.
She followed his instructions and hauled herself up a little awkwardly. As badly as he wanted to put his hands on her waist and help, he kept his arms at his sides. In spite of the fact that she was stiff as last Sunday’s corn bread. Apprehension was written all over her, from the tense shoulders down to her shapely little fanny.
“Everything’s fine, Hannah,” he said, trying to reassure her.
“You’re not leaving me up here by myself, are you?” she asked from her perch in the saddle.
He wanted to. But he was the one who’d started this. His daddy hadn’t raised a quitter. Next time, he’d be more careful not to let his mouth write checks that his body would be foolish to cash.
“Nope.”
He took her small, sneakered foot out of the stirrup and stuck his boot in. Holding onto the horn, he swung up onto the horse’s rump, letting her have the saddle all to herself. He successfully fought the urge to put both arms around her. But with his chest to her back, he could feel her shaking. In spite of all his warnings, his hands went to her waist, just to steady her he told himself.
“Relax,” he said, close to her ear, stirring the wisps of golden hair that had slid out from her hat.
She shivered and he assumed it was from fear, since Texas wasn’t even close to cool this time of year. It surely didn’t have anything to do with him and the fact that they were as close as two peas in a pod.
“Relax,” she repeated, as if she were memorizing physics properties. “Focus.”
He picked up the looped reins he’d rested around the saddle horn, then held them out. “These are connected to the bit in his mouth. Pull on the right to make him go that way. Left turns him in that direction. Grip with your knees to keep from bouncing. Your backside will thank you later.”
“You make it sound easy enough,” she said. “I think I’ve got the hang of it. That’s probably enough for today. All that information is just buzzing around in my head. My mind is fairly spinning.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t want to overdo it.”
“Lucky for you I’m here.”
