Page 11 of The Cowboy's Justice

“Are you sure she won’t take my finger by mistake?”

“Positive,” he replied with a chuckle.

Watching her offer Marge a large chunk of carrot, Devlin was surprised to see how quickly Portia relaxed.

“What a sweetheart. Can I stroke her neck?”

“Sure. She might nudge you for another treat though.”

“Wow, they’re amazing,” she murmured, running her hand down Marge’s neck. “Can I give Belle a piece of carrot too? She’s looking at me so hopefully.”

“Of course, here are a few pieces. You can feed them both.”

“This is so cool,” she muttered as she gave the treat to one, then the other. “I didn’t realize horses could be so gentle.”

“Portia, these are the two horses that were in my trailer when you charged past it and hit me,” he said solemnly. “Fortunately they don’t spook easily, but if I’d been haulin’—”

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she exclaimed, cutting him off and staring up at him.

“As I was about to say, if I’d been haulin’ colts or fillies it might have become a bad situation. Perhaps now you can get some perspective on how disturbin’ that entire incident was. Endangerin’ the life of any animal for no good reason is totally unacceptable.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she mumbled, her face blushing red. “It didn’t even occur to me.”

“Obviously. Why were you in such a hurry?”

“Uh, I was supposed to be at a dinner party. The traffic was terrible, which you obviously know, and I’d run out of time. I couldn’t even get home to change. That’s why I was putting my make up on in the car.”

“And you didn’t want to get stuck behind a truck and trailer.”

“Something like that.”

“I suspect you’re not the most patient person even at the best of times.”

“Pretty much,” she admitted, then letting out a breath, she added, “and that afternoon was especially bad.”

“It doesn’t matter what’s goin’ on, when you’re dealin’ with horses, you have to remember things take as long as they take. If you get anxious or keyed up it doesn’t help, it only makes matters worse. Bein’ here you’ll soon learn to take a deep breath and take your time. Come on, I’ll show you the cabin. I stayed there while I was renovatin’ the house. It won’t be what you’re used to, but it’s comfortable and you’ll have your privacy.”

“Before we do that, can you explain exactly what I’ll be doing?”

“Helpin’ Jimmy and Mike clean the stalls, feedin’, cleanin’ tack, stuff like that.”

“Did you say cleaning the stalls?”

“Yep.”

“You mean, like, pushing wheelbarrows around?”

“Yep.”

“Uh, but—aren’t they heavy?”

“They can be.”

“I’m not sure I want to do stuff like that.”

“Hey, Portia, this isn’t a vacation.”

“Yeah, I know, but—”

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