Chapter 10
Samantha easedthe soft bristle brush over Daisy’s golden coat. “Make sure you brush in the direction of their fur. Go gentle and keep in mind these horses are sensitive to your every thought. If you’re nervous, they’renervous.”
She had managed to coax six clients into the arena today, when normally she could only convince two or three. Each man had been assigned his own horse, the veterans carefully matched with the horses best suited to them. Those who were more experienced and confident handled horses like Stormy andStallion.
But she designated her most gentle babies to the ones who were still scared, or just unsure. She’d named the horses according to their temperament. Daisy was exactly how she sounded—sweet and loving and eager to please. Samantha was lucky enough to have two or three others just likeher.
“That’s it, don’t be nervous. They like to be brushed, especially since they know you’re going to give them a treat after.” Samantha cupped Daisy’s nose and dropped her forehead to the horse’s. “Isn’t that right,girl?”
Daisy gave a soft nay and tossed her head up and down. The response drew a laugh from Samantha and she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny cube of sugar, presenting it to the mare on her open palm so she could easily take her well-earnedtreat.
“Got room for onemore?”
Samantha glanced up, startled to hear Thad’s roughhewn voice. Instead of taking up his usual post at the fence, he silently entered the arena. Hope bursting so brightly inside Sam she could barely keep a straight face, she gestured for him to take her spot. “Actually, I do. Thad, meet Daisy. Daisy, meetThad.”
Sam and Daisy both watched Thad make his approach. There was a different air about him today, a new confidence to his step. Had their talk last night made such adifference?
Sam held out her brush. “We just gotstarted.”
Thad hesitated only a moment before taking the brush from her hand. Daisy was perfect for him. At only fourteen hands high, she was one of their smaller horses, which meant that he should be less intimidated by hersize.
Samantha took a few steps back, giving Thad his space but staying close in case he panicked. He wouldn’t be the first wounded warrior to lose his cool out here—it was a normal part of the process. “Remember, the horses reflect your emotions. If you are calm, they will be too. And if you’re upset about something, whether you’re ready to face it or not, they will know. These sweet animals will keep you honest, gentlemen. But if you are kind and gentle, they will return thefavor.”
Samantha slowly backed up to the fence, trying to give the men as much natural space as she could to allow them to develop relationships with their respective horses. Both horse and man needed to form a special bond of trust with each other. She’d hand selected each of these animals for her rehab facility. Every single one of them had been abused in some way, and all but Diablo were now tame. If there was any creature on this planet uniquely suited to connect with these wounded warriors, it was her horses. They could heal each other. She’d seen ithappen.
“How’d you manage that?” Jim, dressed in his hallmark overalls, which she swore he never changed, gestured to Thad with hispipe.
“I think we had a breakthrough last night. He really opened up.” Samantha hugged her arms around her waist, trying to spread her attention equally among all men here, but her gaze couldn’t help but stray back to her most recentacquisition.
“If anyone can get him to open up, it’s you.” Jim reached the fence and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the strong smell of his tobacco swirling aroundthem.
“Thanks. How’s your granddaughterdoing?”
“Started T-ball last week. Her mom sent me a picture in the mail. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never had the courage to get to know her.” Jim gave her shoulder a squeeze and then withdrew his hand and pulled his pipe out of hismouth.
Jim had come to her with the ranch—a relic from her grandfather’s time running the place. When Samantha had taken the reins, she’d talked them both through her plans. That was when Jim had opened up to her about his time in Vietnam, and how he’d fallen into the trap of drugs and alcohol as a coping method after returning home. Unfortunately, back then there hadn’t been many facilities to help the returning soldiers deal with their problems. He’d managed to pull himself out of the vicious cycle of drug abuse with hard work and pure grit and determination. But he’d never found the courage to reach out to his abandoned daughter untilrecently.
“You’ll have to show me that picture later,” she said with asmile.
“That’s a promise. Well, I’ll leave you to it. Looks like you got a couple more joining you.” Jim nodded in the direction of the barn and then headed that way. “Ryder, Cord.Morning.”
Sam’s gaze shot to Cord’s and her heart bounced up into herthroat.
“How’d you bribe so many of them out today?” Ryder propped his elbows on the edge of the fence, arching a thick black eyebrow ather.
“Told them you were making peanut butter cookies for everyone who attended,” she said, carefully avoiding looking directly at Cord. Eventually, she couldn’t help herself. The minute she laid eyes on him, her body flushed hot at the memory of their lovemaking last night. And even though they’d had sex two more times, she was ready to go again rightnow.
He’d trimmed his beard and showered, and now that she’d seen him stripped of his clothes, she longed to do it again and again and again. She couldn’t shake the image of his gloriously muscular body—or of the badge of courage where his leg had been. Hell, she wanted to jump over this fence and drag him back into the house. Instead, she gave him a shy smile and a totally pathetic greeting. “Hey.”
“Morning,beautiful.”
His deep masculine response made her toes curl in herboots.
“Did you get breakfast?” Oh my God, she so did not care if he’d had breakfast. She wanted to ask him what he thought about last night. Had he enjoyed it? Did he burn to hold her? Did he still wanther?
Or had he screwed her out of his system, satisfying the crush he’d had in highschool?
“Yeah, thanks.You?”
