The moment stretched and curled around them. She gulped. “Listen, I?—”
He broke eye contact and his chest heaved. Clearing his throat, he focused on a point over her shoulder. “Sorry. My fault.”
His emotion-roughened voice set her body on fire. “Mine, too.”
He swallowed. “We’ll talk.”
“Right.”
“Later.”
“Right.” Light-headed from lack of oxygen, she fumbled with the latch and finally managed to slide the stall door open. As he followed her in, his nearness made her quiver with longing.
“I won’t start the tail wrap until I’m sure she’s accepted me.”
His matter-of-fact words came out in a husky delivery that conjured up an image of cool sheets and warm bodies. “Okay.”
“Once she seems fine with me being there, if you’ll keep loving on her from the front I’ll take care of things in the back.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Lord help her. She was a sucker for a tender-hearted cowboy. Clearly Monty was a card-carrying member of that brotherhood.
Speckles had been lying down, but she lumbered to her feet and came over, a clear plea for assistance in her eyes. True to her breed, her eyes had a white ring surrounding the brown iris, giving her a human-like gaze. That was one of many reasons Zinnia had fallen in love with her.
“Hey, Specks.” She rubbed the mare’s nose and cheeks. “This is Monty. He’s a friend and he’s going to help you bring your baby into the world.”
“Hi, Speckles.” Setting down the jug, he held out his hand palm down so she could sniff it. She took her time before lifting her head to study him. He ran his knuckles lightly along her cheek. “This is your show, ma’am, but I’ll assist wherever I can.” Sliding his hand up to her sweaty neck, he scratched lightly under her mane. “I need to wrap your tail so it won’t get in the way. I’ll also do a little bit of cleanup to get ready for?—"
“Mommy! We?—”
A soft murmur from Uncle Graham ended whatever Tex had been about to say.
As the steady thud of hooves on the barn floor grew closer, her son switched to a stage whisper. “We hafta tell her what we thinked up.”
“We will, buddy.” Her uncle kept his voice low. “But quietly. After we feed these two.”
When Fred, a handsome bay, and Ginger, a good-looking roan, passed by the stall, Speckles nickered. Her stablemates responded.
Monty smiled. “She’s glad to see them.”
“She is. It didn’t occur to me she might be comforted by having them in the barn. Looks like we have us a herd, after all.”
“Sure does. Feeling more relaxed, Speckles?”
The mare let out a loud sigh that sounded more like a groan.
“I’ll take that as a qualified yes. I’ll get to work on your tail.” Picking up the jug, he moved around to the mare’s rump. Speckles swung her head around, watching him until he started wrapping her tail. After another sigh of resignation, she nudged Zinnia, clearly asking for more nose rubs.
She snapped out of her Monty-created daze. The guy even smelled good. That fact hadn’t registered until he’d walked away and she suddenly missed that tantalizing combo of soap, leather and a faint hint of spicy aftershave.
“The horses must have bonded pretty fast,” Monty said. “How long have you been here?”
“Only two weeks. We crossed our fingers and hoped that Speckles would fit in. You never know. But she did.” Her mare was much calmer now. Whether it was a result of her renewed caresses, the presence of the other horses, or Monty’s ability to inspire trust, Speckles wasn’t frightened anymore.
Zinnia leaned to her left to check Monty’s progress on the tail wrap. “You’re fast.”
He chuckled. “Patient got his tail wrapped a lot.”
“No wonder he was so easy to shoe. There’s not a problem horse in that barn, but Patient is by far the most cooperative. I told him so, too.”
