He leaned over the fence, propping his mystic forearms over the top metal bar. Her first instinct was to place her hand there, to touch his warm skin. Instead, she grabbed the bar two levels down and held on tight, acutely aware that half of her clients were gathered behindher.
Ryder rolled his midnight eyes. “You two are pathetic. I know exactly where he slept last night, and if no one else out here did, they do now from the way you two areacting.”
Her whole face heated and Cord, damn him, justgrinned.
“No one asked your opinion, Ryder. Don’t you have some work to do in thehouse?”
“Going to take your boyfriend out on the prairie, show him a couple of choice spots. Want to come with us? There isn’t any extra room on the side-by-side, but I bet he’d like it if you rode in his lap,” Ryder said with a completely blankface.
Cord burst out laughing and Sam glared at both of them. “No, thank you. Sounds like you two have a lot of work to do. Maybe you should get to it.” And give her some more time to prepare for being aroundhim.
“Actually, Cord was wanting to join in today,” Ryder said. “Thought it would give him a good chance to get to knoweveryone.”
“Really?” She got the impression he wasn’t ready to talk about his injury, she never forcedanything.
But Cord nodded his agreement, already walking around to the gate. Sam shot Ryder a questioning glance, trying to figure out exactly what the two had talked about in the kitchen, but she didn’t have time to probe. Cord was at her side in seconds. “What do you need me todo?”
“Are you sure?” she askedhesitantly.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he answered in a firmvoice.
“Well, I don’t really have another horse ready. Most of the herd is in the north pasture. Diablo is in his stall,but—”
“But he tried to kill both of us yesterday,” Cord finished forher.
“He was just spooked and injured.” She found herself defendingDiablo.
Cord crossed his arms over his chest. “And probably beyond hope. I’ve been around enough horses to know that he will never benormal.”
“You have a right to your opinion.” She bit her lip, turning her gaze to the small group gathered in the arena. “But I think everyone and every animal is salvageable with the righttreatment.”
Cord cleared his throat. “So, is this horse groomingday?”
She let out a small, nervous laugh, glad he’d change the subject. “This is group therapy day. We do organized sessions once aweek.”
“Grouptherapy?”
Sam shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight, watching as Thad laid a trembling hand on Daisy’s mane. “Yes, we do a lot of free range work, where the men approach the horses in their own time, and then there are one-on-one sessions twice a week. Once a week it’s good for them to get together, work as a team like they usedto.”
“What are you talking about?” His suntanned skinpaled.
She jerked back at the sound of this harsh tone. “I’m talking about myranch.”
Cord stumbled back a step. “What kind of ranch isthis?”
“An equine therapy ranch for veterans. Didn’t Clint tell youthat?”
