Who wears jewelry to ride horses?
Of course, Debbie wasn’t here to ride, was she?
Despite feeling plain and poor next to Debbie, Amy held her smile. The widow was a fake. From the top of her brassy-red hair and long fake fingernails down to the red toenails, peeking from her gold, high-heeled sandals.
Debbie stepped close to Jake’s other side. Putting her hand on his arm, she turned him to face her and asked in a seductive voice, “How’s my baby doing, Jake?”
Amy, not to be outdone, hooked her hand through Jake’s other arm and leaned against him. “Jake has been telling me about your horse. We were about to go check on it, weren’t we?” She smiled up at Jake.
It was a lie, but he played along.
“Yes, I was telling Amy what a fine horse you have.” He put his hand over Amy’s hooked in his elbow, subtly disengaging his other arm from Debbie’s grasp. He led the way toward a stall at the other end of the stable.
When they approached, a beautiful black horse put its head over the half-door and snorted.
“Hello, Lady.” Debbie reached a trembling hand out to pet her horse.
Was Debbie afraid of her own horse? The woman was so desperate to get Jake’s attention she’d bought a horse she was afraid of—and cost who knows how much—to have an excuse to see Jake.
Amy didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for Debbie. Surprised by the latter emotion, she brushed it off and gasped. “Oh, she’s beautiful!”
Despite her own fear, Amy stroked the other side of the Lady’s neck, hoping she appeared more confident than she felt.
“I don’t know the slightest thing about horses. But you must be quite the horsewoman to have chosen yourself such a fine animal.”
Debbie raised her chin. “Well I... I guess I know a thing or two.”
Jake coughed to hide his laughter. He shot her a ‘What are you doing?’ look.
What am I doing?Amy was so far out of her element, she hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself. And Jake.
Just keep his attention. Maybe Debbie will get tired of the competition and leave.
“I’ve never ridden a horse, but if I had a horse as beautiful as Lady, I’d want to ride her all the time.”
“I do enjoy riding, but it’s no fun riding alone.” She batted her long eyelashes at Jake, her lips pouting.
Amy bit her tongue to keep from laughing. She leaned into Jake’s side. “It’s too bad Jake is so busy. With the size of this ranch, I doubt he gets much time for pleasure riding.”
“No, I don’t.” Jake did a good job keeping his expression serious.
Amy gasped as though she’d had the best idea ever. “I’d love to ride with you sometime, Debbie. Of course, you’d have to teach me how. I’ll bet you’re good with horses. I’m sure Jake would let me borrow a horse, wouldn’t you?” She poked him playfully in the stomach. Her eyes widened when her fingers met firm muscle behind the fabric of his shirt.
Jake made a small sound that sounded somewhere between a cough and a snort before clearing his throat. “Of course.” He put his arm around Amy’s shoulders and pulled her closer.
The other woman’s lips tightened into a thin line, her gaze narrowing on Amy. Debbie definitely wouldn’t become a friend anytime soon.
Wanting to keep Debbie off balance, literally, Amy smiled up at Jake. “Weren’t you going to show me the other horses outside?”
Let’s see how gracefully she traverses the uneven ground in her heels.
Jake kept his arm around Amy’s shoulders while they walked outside, so she wrapped hers around his waist. He did it for Debbie’s benefit, but Amy couldn’t help thinking about how handsome and strong the man at her side was. And wow, did he smell good. Walking this close to him, his fresh, zesty scent almost blocked out the less-pleasant odors of horses and leather.
Good grief.Not only did she find Ben and Robert attractive in their own ways, she was attracted to Jake too?I am one messed up woman!
Good thing she’d sworn off men, because Ben and his cousins could easily tempt her to jump into another relationship.
She couldn’t do that.
