Page 51 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“Something to look forward to, then,” I muttered.
By the time we got to the fence gate, Tag already had it opened and was waiting for us.
“Sunshine,” he said, with the tip of his hat.
I listened closely for some innuendo in his tone, but there was nothing. No smugness, no arrogance. No sign at all that we’d had the hottest sexual encounter of my life yesterday, and he was still holding onto my panties.
Good thing Harmony and I were mostly the same size, so I was able to steal a pair of hers.
“Tag,” I said, as crisply and firmly as I would to one of the partners in my firm. All business.
He winked at me and all my crispness wilted in the heat. The bastard.
“Okay, this is Shirley,” Carter brought a brown horse with a white star on her nose over to me. Shirley had the most amazing fuzzy ears and beautiful eyelashes.
“Hi Shirley. Pleasure to meet you,” I greeted her.
“She’s a horse, not a business acquaintance,” Carter said.
“Animals have souls and I’m connecting with hers,” I said. “Isn’t that right, Shirley? You’re very pretty, aren’t you? Yes. And smart. I can see that right away.”
“Oh my God, you’re more like your sister than I realized,” Carter groaned.
I could hear Ethan laughing behind me.
“I don’t know about her soul, but she’s old, slow, and she doesn’t spook easily. Still. Don’t spook her,” Carter said with a stern tone.
“How do you not spook a horse?” I asked the men.
“Loud noises and sudden movements,” Ethan said.
“And Shirley does not like singing,” Carter said, like it was life or death.
“Got it,” I said, in all seriousness. “No singing.” I was not a spontaneous singer, but now I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to help myself.
“I’m fucking with you,” Carter smiled. “You can sing if you want to.”
“I don’t want to sing,” I said. Did I?
We led our horses out of the stables and into the sunlight. I blinked and lifted a hand to shield my eyes. Barn swallows swooped and crickets buzzed in the high grassbeside the barn. Beside me, Shirley twitched and flicked her tail.
“Here we go, Sunshine,” Carter bent down and clasped his hands together next to the horse. “You’re going to step with your right foot into my hands. Then you put your left hand on the horn, your left foot in the stirrup, then I’ll give you a push and just use your momentum to swing your right leg over the saddle. Got it?”
I looked down at my right and left hands and feet. Tried to visualize what he was saying and shook my head. “Is there a stool or something I could use?” Or maybe a presentation deck I could watch?
“Let’s make this easy, Sunshine,” Tag said, coming up behind me. He put his hands around my waist and lifted me nearly over his head. So I didn’t spook Shirley, I swallowed my squeal of alarm, and…okay, I could admit it, delight. What full grown woman didn’t have dreams of being lifted by big, strong men occasionally? At this height, I could just swing a leg over and grab onto the horn of the saddle with both hands.
“That’s cheating,” Carter said, with a frown at Tag.
“She’s on the horse,” Tag said. “You taking her down the west pasture toward the creek?”
He nodded.
“There was some hard rainfall early this morning. Don’t get too close. The ground will be saturated,” he told Carter.
“This isn’t early morning to you?” It was like…dawn.
Tag laughed. “Sunrise was almost an hour ago, Sunshine. Keep up.”
