Page 29 of The Cowboy's Justice

“Thank the Lord,” he murmured as they reached the paddock.

“Do you think we should tell Sheriff Cooper about it now?” she asked. “Though I suppose, with William gone…”

“Let’s ask Marge and Belle what they think,” he replied with a grin. “They have horse sense.”

As they entered the paddock the mares ambled over to them,

“They’re so lovely,” Portia murmured, stroking Marge’s neck. “Can you really ride them naked?”

“Sure, though horses should have a quality bareback pad to protect their spine. But I can show you for a few minutes.“

Portia watched, amazed, as he took hold of Belle’s mane and swung himself onto her back. The next minute he was walking her in a large circle, then he broke into a trot, and moments later, began to canter.

“That’s incredible,” she exclaimed as he stopped beside her and climbed off. “But everything is. The horses, the ranch, everything, but especially the horses.”

“Oh, dear,” he said, sliding off Belle’s back. “You’ve been bitten by the bug. There’s no hope for you.”

“Bug? What bug? Where?” she asked frantically, wiping her arms and shaking her hands.

“No, no, relax, not that kind of bug.” he said with a chuckle. “The horse bug. It’s something you’re born with. Like Annie Baker loves to sing. You can have a love of horses but not realize just how much until you’re actually around them. That’s happenin’ to you.”

“You’re right. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to move to the country, so I could be near them. It just never occurred to me that I could actually ride or own one.”

“Well, darlin’, now you can do both.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

As Devlin introduced Portia to the rest of the horses and explained their habits and idiosyncrasies, she found it fascinating and asked him endless questions. By the time they left the paddocks he realized how much time had passed and he had to hurry into the barn to speak with Sammy.

“I can’t believe how long we’ve been out here,” Portia remarked, checking her watch. “And now I’m suddenly hungry. Why don’t I make us an early dinner?”

“You don’t strike me as a woman who’s spent much time in the kitchen.”

“We didn’t always have money. I used to help mom with our meals all the time. I still do when I visit.

“Great, so what can I expect?”

“I’ll have to see what’s in your refrigerator—assuming it’s okay for me to nose around in there,” she added with a sassy grin. “God forbid I lift the lid off something I’m not supposed to.”

“Be careful, young lady, or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and—”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” she exclaimed, cutting him off then bolted across the driveway to the house. But when she reached the porch and looked back, she saw him staring at her with his arms crossed.

Her heart skipped.

The moment seemed frozen in time.

But he abruptly turned and walked into the barn leaving her both exhilarated and titillated.

It was a seductive combination.

Loving the feeling she headed into the kitchen determined to cook up something sexy and scrumptious. Finding a surprising number of vegetables and a packet of hamburger meat, a few ideas came to mind. She was trying to decide when her phone rang. Lifting it from her pocket she was surprised to see it was her stock broker. Most of her investments were longterm and they rarely talked.

“Hey, Sharon,” she said, accepting the call. “This is a surprise. What’s up?”

“It’s this Power of Attorney you sent over. It’s been notarized, but the witness signature is illegible and it’s not clearly stated beneath the line.”

“Uh…but I didn’t send you anything, certainly not a Power of Attorney. Where did it come from?”

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