She pinned me in place with those turquoise-blue eyes. Her breath seemed to catch, and she swallowed hard. “I was thinking, if it’s not too much trouble…”
I waited for her to say something. Whatever she wanted, I was all in, especially if it meant spending any amount of time with her.
Her gaze shifted to the floor and color bloomed on her cheeks again. “Would you be willing to teach my cousin to ride? She used to, but it’s been a long time.”
The pressure in my chest intensified. She had to be joking. In addition to a full-fledged cattle operation, the Swisher family was known for breeding some of the best horses around. Anyone having anything to do with that family had probably learned how to ride before they could walk. Something about her request didn’t add up. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”
Her brows knit together like she couldn’t understand why a guy like me wouldn’t be willing to do her bidding. “We’d pay you for the lessons, of course.”
“Pay me?” Now she was talking my language. For a guy who’d never had more than a few bucks left after paying bills, my ears perked up at the offer to pay me for something that came as naturally to me as breathing.
“Yes. I’d make it worth your while.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. The rich scent of her perfume hung in the air between us. She even smelled like money.
“Why would you pay me to teach your cousin to ride when you have a whole stable of horses up at your ranch?”
“I’ve got my reasons.” Her chin tipped up slightly, just enough to suggest she wasn’t as easygoing as she first appeared. As much as I wouldn’t mind teaching a woman like Roxy to ride—putting my hands on her waist to help her up into the saddle or pressing my front up against her back while we rode double—I had no idea who her cousin was. The prickle in my gut warned me not to get involved. There had to be a reason she didn’t want to ride at her ranch. I’d do best to mind my own business and keep to myself.
I shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think I’ll have the time.”
Lloyd cleared his throat. “Hey, Jake. I’m about to close up. Do you want to make another payment on that rocking chair today?”
Roxy tilted her head, her eyes narrowing like she was trying to figure out how much it would take to get me to cave. “I’ll pay you well. How does a thousand dollars a lesson sound?”
With that kind of cash, I could pay off the repairs on the rocking chair and have enough to pad my savings account. There had to be some kind of catch. “Is your cousin in some sort of trouble?”
“Trouble that requires her to get back up on a horse?” Her eyes sparkled. “I can’t imagine what kind of trouble that would be. How much do you owe on the rocking chair you’re buying?”
I shot a quick look at Lloyd—a silent warning not to say a word. “That’s not really any of your concern, Miss Swisher.”
“Roxy,” she corrected. “Whatever it is, I’ll pay it off and still give you a thousand dollars a lesson.”
Lloyd arched his brows and nodded, encouraging me to take the deal. He knew how important it was for me to get that rocking chair by Christmas. He also knew I’d been strapped for cash and had knocked a hefty percentage off his usual price for custom repair work.
Every cell in my body urged me to say no. I didn’t like to get involved in other people’s business.
Then she fluttered those damn lashes against her cheek and shot me a glance with a hint of vulnerability in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Please?”
It was the “please” that did it. That and the way her voice went all soft, and she looked at me like I was the only person in the whole goddamn world who could help her. Made me feel like I could be a hero. Not just any hero—her hero.
With regret already swilling around in my gut, I held out my hand. “A thousand bucks per lesson, and you pay the balance left on my account.”
She didn’t hesitate. Within a second, her hand wrapped around mine. In the space of five minutes, I’d already touched her twice, and it had scrambled my brain. There was no way I’d be able to survive a whole hour in her presence.
“Thank you, Jake.” Her lips curved up in a wide smile. Knowing I was responsible for putting that look on her face made me feel like a million bucks. Also made me apprehensive about what I’d just agreed to do.
“I can come out to your place in the next day or two to get started,” I offered.
“No. We’ll come to you.” She slipped her hand away from mine to pull her phone out of her bag. “If you’ll add your number, I’ll text you, so you have mine. Is there a day and time that works best for you?”
“I work sunup to sundown six days a week. The only day off I have is Sunday.”
“Great.” She shot me another winning smile. “Sunday works for us.”
I could already imagine the shit the guys would give me about Roxy Swisher and her cousin parading around the ranch. But the promise of that much money made me bite my tongue.
“Oh, one more thing. No one can know. We’ll need to find a meeting place that’s private. Do you have somewhere you can recommend?” She pulled out her card again and handed it over to Lloyd Junior.
The machine whirled and spat out a receipt. It was too late to turn back. I was committed to a woman who obviously had a secret to hide. With luck, I’d be done fulfilling my part of our deal before I regretted it.
