Page 63 of Tame Me

Billy squeezed my hand. “I thought you’d like to meet Gypsy.”

He led me past several stalls, and I peered into each one to admire the beautiful horses housed inside. Stopping at the fourth stall, Billy opened the gate, and we stepped into the straw-covered bay. The horse neighed at our arrival and walked over to nudge Billy with her pink nose.

Other than her nose, the horse was pure white. Her mane was long and thick and obviously well-maintained. Her tail, too, was just as well-groomed, and the long, flowing hairs nearly touched the ground. Billy lovingly ran his hand down the horse’s nose, and Gypsy nodded her head.

“This is my girl.” He rubbed her behind the ears, and she pushed against him.

“She’s beautiful.” I stepped forward and held my hand out. Gypsy wriggled her lips over my palm as if I had something to offer.

“Gypsy, this is Jane, the girl I told you about.”

Gypsy nodded as if she understood every word he’d said. Then she turned away from us and swished her tail as she plodded to the back of the stall. She reached up with her nose, and when she turned back to us, she had a rose in her mouth. I gasped as Gypsy walked up to me and stopped. Her black, inch-long eyelashes blinked as she placed the rose in my hand.

I giggled. “Oh my god. How did you get her to do that?”

Billy smiled. “She’s a clever girl.”

“I’d say her master is just as clever.” I’d thought Billy couldn’t get any more handsome. But I was wrong. He’d just become the poster model for cowboys everywhere.

I sniffed the rose as Billy and Gypsy nuzzled into each other. “Can she do other tricks?”

The dazzle in Billy’s eyes convinced me I’d asked the right question. “She can, but sometimes Gypsy is lazy.” Gypsy threw her head up as if in protest, then she swished her tail, moved her hind legs forward, and sat her rump on the ground.

I laughed and clapped my hands. “That’s so clever.”

“She can dance, too.” He over-exaggerated a bow, and Gypsy stood up again. Billy placed his arm up the side of Gypsy’s face and put his right hand on her flank, and as he stepped back and forward and side to side, the horse followed each of his moves. They spun around and side-stepped across the stall, then finished with Billy wrapping his arms around her neck as he pulled her in for a hug. Their bond was incredible.

Billy wove his fingers into mine and led me from the stall.

“That was amazing.”

“Thanks. She really is a clever horse.” Billy downplayed his skill, and I imagined he always did that. My mind snapped to Henry and his lessons about accepting compliments, and I was two seconds off saying something when I stopped. I wanted to slap myself for comparing these two incredible men.

“Are you okay here for a minute?” Billy dragged me from my tumbling thoughts. “I’ll just grab her a treat.”

“Of course.” I nodded.

“Back in a sec.” He squeezed my hand and then walked in the opposite direction to which we’d come. I leaned on the railing, and Gypsy walked up to me. She raised her nose and nudged my hand, so I had no choice but to pat her. I’d been around horses before but had never felt as safe as I did with Gypsy.

“Who’re you?”

I jumped at the sharp voice and turned to a woman in jeans and a tight-fitting T-shirt, walking toward me with a bucket in each of her hands.

“I’m Jane. Billy’s friend.”

She huffed. “So, you’re his girlfriend.”

The snide remark caught me off-guard. “Well, we’re just friends.”

“Is that right?” She squinted as she made a show of looking me up and down.

I stepped back, uncomfortable under her leer. After a couple of awkward seconds, I wondered if she was jealous of me with Billy and wished I hadn’t corrected her statement.

She put the buckets down, and I stepped back farther as she put her hands on the gate. “Hey, girl.” Gypsy nuzzled her as she’d done with Billy, and I had a feeling this young lady had done this many times before.

“Oh, hi, Sam.” Billy’s voice was a welcome relief.

The woman turned to him, and the scowl that she’d shown me converted to a smile, morphing her into a beautiful young woman.

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