Lincoln laughed.“I saw you together last night, when you got back from”—he waved his hand in the air—“whatever you were doing.”
I cleared my throat and pretended to fiddle with my camera.“We were at the beach.Swimming.”
“Okay.”
I narrowed my eyes.“Did Puck say anything?”
Lincoln laughed, shaking his head.“Nope.He just got ready for bed.Went to sleep.Easier than he has since he got here.”
“Oh?”
“Usually, he tosses and turns all night.But he was out like a light and slept through for once.At least, I think so.Usually, I wake up at least a few times because of his noises.”
“Oh.”
“I guess theswimmingdid him some good.”
I smiled.“Yeah, I guess so.Look, we’re trying to keep it quiet…”
He grinned.“So thereissomething going on.”
I blinked.I couldn’t believe he’d got me.This ranch was hell on my defenses.
“Oh, you’re good.”
Lincoln preened a bit.“Don’t worry.I won’t tell anyone.I’m glad for Puck.He may be a headcase with Kamal, but he’s very cool with all of us.He’s well liked.”
I was pleased to hear it, although a tiny stab of jealousy hit me in the chest.I wanted toclaimPuck.I wanted everyone to know he was mine.Which was such a caveman thing to want I could hardly process it and simply pushed the feeling down.
“Good.And thanks.”
“No problem.”He gestured to the paddock.“Looks like they’re getting started.”
Adam came into the ring, dressed in slacks and a white button-down with a bow tie, looking so sexy and put together he took my breath away.As my employer, he was hardly a suitable subject for a romantic attachment, but I would have been sorely tempted if Puck hadn’t trumped every other man for whom I’d ever had romantic thoughts.
“Good afternoon, everyone!Welcome to the first pony show of the summer session, here at the Braided Crop Ranch.We have three lovely ponyboys to perform today.In a moment, their trainers will bring them out and have them parade around the ring for you.”
Cheers and whistles sounded from the bleachers.
Adam announced the ponies with their show names, saving Puck for last.
“And now, for our final ponyboy, Tempest, with his handsome trainer, Kamal!”
Tempest.It suited Puck perfectly.Even though it referenced the wrong Shakespeare play, since Puck was a character fromA Midsummer Night’s Dream, it certainly fit his fiery nature.
When Tempest trotted out with Kamal, wearing the red rope halter and a fantastic, Elizabethan-type mask in burgundy with gold filigree trim, my mouth went dry.The crowd whooped louder than ever, and Puck carried himself with an effortless grace and a confidence that spoke to the training he’d received.
“He looks amazing,” Lincoln commented.“Seems more comfortable too.”
“Yeah.Jesus.”I lifted a trembling hand to my forehead.
Lincoln glanced at me, then laughed.“You can’t hide what you’re feeling for him, you know.”
I nodded, blushing.“I promised I’d try.”
“Fair enough,” he said.
The inaugural pony show consisted of the trainers having the ponyboys show off their figures and their gaits by prancing around the ring and eventually jumping over some low oxers.Afterward, they paraded around the ring a last time as Adam requested applause from the captivated audience.
