Page 79 of High Density

“You cooked; I clean.”

She doesn’t fight me when I take the dishes from her and carry them to the sink.

“So how did that come about?” I prompt her.

“Sheriff Ewing was in contact with the girl’s father, he’s her closest remaining relative. The guy works on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and wants nothing to do with the horse,” she explains. “Apparently, the father wasn’t too supportive of his daughter’s life choices. He told Ewing to send the damn horse to a glue factory.”

I snort. “Aside from the fact those days are far behind us, he clearly doesn’t know how much a decent barrel horse can bring.” I turn on the faucet and run hot water in the sink. “Even a trained amateur horse can fetch an easy five grand to start,” I add. “One as pretty as that pinto—if she shows promise—could go for quite a bit more than that.”

Janey grins. “Obviously you know that, and I know that, and probably Ewing too.” Her expression turns serious. “But clearly that man doesn’t, and I don’t feel even a little bit guilty about it. I find it hard to imagine any father being so callous and vindictive after finding out his only daughter died a violent death. I don’t care how big the fight was when she chose her own path.”

Point taken.

Still, I feel sad for the girl, and I hope a bitter father and an abandoned barrel horse isn’t all she leaves behind in this world.

“You plan on keeping her?” I ask, throwing a glance over my shoulder.

“I thought she might make a good companion for Red.”

I put the last plate in the dish rack and drain the water from the sink. Then I grab the towel hanging on the stove door and dry my hands.

I can tell she’s excited about it and I don’t really want to play devil’s advocate and kill her joy, but I’m not so sure she’s thought this through.

“You sure you have time for any horse? Let alone two? You’re already pretty much burning the candle at both ends. Those horses are going to need?—”

She stops me with a raised hand, a warning for caution in her eyes, and a clear reminder not to overstep.

“A little credit, please?”

Janey

A leopard doesn’t changeits spots, at least not in one day.

I’m sure his concerns come from a place of caring, which is why I’m not jumping down his throat. His wince makes it clear he received the friendly message.

“First of all, I called Big Sky Lumber this afternoon and they’re dropping off a load of boards to fix the fence around the field in the back. They put me in touch with a local handyman, who has time this week to come in and do the repairs.”

“I could’ve done that for ya,” JD offers with a hint of petulance.

“I know you could’ve and I figured you’d offer, but you also offered to help me with the house, and I’d much prefer you in here with me.”

The scowl is quickly replaced with a wolfish grin.

“Is that a fact?” he drawls, pushing away from the counter as he stalks toward me.

“Hmm.”

I tilt back when he braces one hand on the back of the chair, and plants the other on the kitchen table as he leans over me. His lips are soft on mine, but his tongue is demanding. I lift a hand and run my fingers through his short, thick hair, holding him close as he turns my limbs to jelly with only the touch of his mouth.

“What kind ofhelpdid you have in mind tonight?” he mumbles, his breath brushing the flush on my cheeks.

“Depends on what you feel up to,” I whisper back, my body tingling in all the right places.

“Mmm, dangerous proposition, leaving that up to me, Angel. I’m afraid I’m up to more than you can handle in your current condition.”

A smile stretches across my face as I challenge him, “Try me.”

His nostrils flare as he curses under his breath. In the next moment, he grabs me under my arms and hauls me out of my seat. Next, he swiftly strips me out of my sweats and plants me with my bare ass on the edge of the kitchen table, before he sinks down in the chair I just vacated and gently lifts my legs over his shoulders.

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