“It’s inhumane,” Beau says from where he’s leaning against the stall door.
“I’m just happy Candice wasn’t there to see the state of things. She would have tried to kill the owner.” Nathan’s face is somber.
The first time I met Nathan Booth, I thought he was a jealous, cocky asshole. He was pissed at me because he thought I had a thing for Candice, and he was clearly a bit too rich and polished for Star Mountain. But having a successful rodeo rider around has its perks, and I know that Nathan has been using hismoney and connections to help the rescue. Plus, it’s becoming pretty clear that he genuinely cares about what we do here.
“We should name him,” I say, giving the horse a treat from my pocket.
“We just need to wait for the right one to come to us. It’ll happen once he comes out of his shell and shows us his personality a bit.” Beau gives the horse a scratch.
“You’ll get there, won’t you?” I ask the horse.
A huff sounds from nearby, and I turn to find Winnie leaning against a stall door, looking at me with her arms crossed.
“What?” I ask.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she says, smiling that damn sunny smile at me.
“You scoffed.” I raise a brow at her.
“I’m just surprised is all.” She takes a few steps towards me, and I catch sight of those bright pink boots. Somehow, despite the fact that she’s in a barn surrounded by horse poop and mud, there isn’t a speck of dirt on them. She must have learned that trick in pageant school.
“By what?” I ask, trying not to grind my teeth in annoyance.
“By the fact that there’s a heart in there,” she says, waving her hand at my chest. “At least for the horses, that is.”
“I have a heart for people as well.”
“Try not to scowl so much when you say that,” Winnie replies sweetly. “In fact, you should try smiling more in general.”
“I’m a farrier, not a pageant queen. Smiling isn’t part of my job.”
“And it’s not part of mine anymore, either.”
I raise a brow at her.
“I’m not a pageant queen anymore. I quit.” For some reason, she sounds positively giddy saying this.
“Got tired of being a bimbo?” I say before I can think better of it.
“Jonah, don’t be an ass,” Nathan cuts in.
“Oh don’t worry, sugar, no need to defend me,” Winnie says, hitting Nathan with a smile. “I’ve been called a ditz and a bimbo more times than I can count—always by men who would fall at my feet if I gave them the time of day. It’s just a defense mechanism.”
Behind Nathan, I see Beau try and fail to smother a laugh. It comes sputtering out of him.
I turn and stare at Winnie, assessing her. I shouldn’t resort to cheap, sexist jokes. I’m better than that. I just never know what to do with people like her—people who smile that much, who walk through life with seeming ease and uncanny smoothness. You know, politicians. Cheerleaders. Pageant queens. She’s the polar opposite of me.
She was spitting mad the first time I called her a ditz, though. Her sunny facade darkened when we were trading insults, and something tells me that Winnie has layers, as much as she might try to hide them.
“I’m sorry for the insult, Winnie,” I say, meeting her sparkling blue gaze.
She doesn’t say anything for a moment, and I can see that there’s something at work behind her placid expression. Almost like she’s mulling over whether to accept the apology or not.
“Thank you,” she says.
“Glad you two are playing nice again,” Beau remarks.
“Beau, I, uh,” Winnie starts to say and then trails off. She glances between Nathan and I and then sighs, like she wishes we weren’t going to be here for what she’s about to say. “Um, I couldn’t find Candice and I need to get the car back to the rental company today. Could you take me?”
