Chapter Three
PUCK
or
A Disgruntled Paddock Pony
I FOLLOWED ADAMover the grass to the paddock, where a diminutive, brown-haired woman in jeans and a green-flecked blouse led a tall ponyboy by his leather harness.The man’s sweat-slicked skin gleamed like oil-soaked leather, and his features seemed modelled after ancient Egyptian gods.
The unexpected let-down I’d felt after getting a close look at Andrew faded, now I was presented withthisponyboy in his gear.
That’s more like it.
I heard the jingle of metal and turned toward the other ponyboy in the paddock.In a moment, all thoughts of Andrew and the majestic, brown-skinned man left me.
Tied to the fence of the paddock by a rough rope looped into the ring of his wide leather collar,thisponyboy regarded me with a disdain.His vivid green eyes pinned me with animosity, as if he owned the ranch and I was an annoying interloper.
“Looks like Puck needs another attitude adjustment,” Adam said.“Oh look, here comes Kamal.”
Puck seemed to start at this information, his demeanor changing.He tore his aggressive gaze off me and stared at the ground, where his scuffed boots were planted a shoulder length apart in the dirt.I took a moment to scan Puck’s restrained form and found my mouth pooling with saliva.He was delicious and exactly to my tastes.
“Adam.Who’s this?”The baritone voice came from behind me.
As Adam replied with my name and the reason I was here, I examined the swarthy older man.Ruggedly attractive, with salt-and-pepper hair and olive skin, what struck me most was the man’s absolute authority in this paddock.
He assessed me, then held out his hand.“Oliver.Glad to have you at the ranch.I see Adam’s already got you decked out in official BCR merchandise.”
“Oliver forgot to bring a hat,” Adam said.
“You’renot wearing a hat,” Kamal pointed out.“And neither am I.”
Adam raised his brows.“You’re just as oppositional as Puck.Maybe Oliver doesn’t want to end up with a sunburn on his first day.”
Kamal smiled, his face the picture of affability.“I dabble in photography myself.”
“Do you?”I said politely, although the number of times I’d had people say this to me and then shown me some very amateurish photos was considerable.I felt I should give this charismatic man the benefit of the doubt.
“Well, it’s a hobby.I might want to bend your ear once or twice.”
“Sure.”
“How has Puck been this morning?”Adam asked.“He seemed a bit peeved when we arrived.”
“He’s annoyed because I decided to pay attention to Justin instead of him,” Lorraine said.The other trainer had come close with the majestic dark ponyboy.She was stunning at this range, with a diamond stud in her pert nostril and a composure almost as authoritative as Kamal’s.
“Lorraine, this is Oliver Lambert.Our resident photographer for the summer.”
Lorraine offered her delicate hand.“Oliver, welcome.”
She turned to Kamal.“That hotblood is begging for a punishment of some kind.He’s been nothing but saucy all morning.I thought tying him to the fence might help, but he can’t seem to settle.”
Kamal gazed at where the black-haired ponyboy stood stiffly by the fence.
“He looks all right now.”
Adam chuckled.“Only because you’re here.You should have seen the look he threw poor Oliver!”
Puck’s shoulders stiffened, and his hands became fists as he stared at the ground like he wanted to murder it.
