Page 78 of Kissing the Sheriff
Sure enough, when they went through, the corral was only a hundred feet away. There was a small fenced pasture beyond that, but none of the horses were grazing in it.
They caught Ted, and Conrad’s black gelding, which he never named. He should remedy that. Besides, it would distract him from thoughts of pulling Cassie into his arms and kissing her senseless. “Did I tell you we bought our horses in Bozeman?”
“No.” She led Ted into the livery stable.
He followed with his horse. “I never asked what my horse’s name was.”
She turned to him. “That was silly. Your horse has to have a name.”
“I was preoccupied at the time.” As in, a pretty blonde caught his eye until Irving elbowed him hard in the ribs. He had a bruise for days afterwards.
“Well, name him now.” She proceeded to the tack room.
He followed. “Blackie would be too obvious. So would Midnight.”
“Is he smart?”
“Not particularly. But he’s sound.” He stopped and turned. His horse looked at him as if it knew they were talking about him. “What about Samson, or Edward, or … Lincoln?”
“Those are horrible names,” she called from the tack room. She carried out two bridles and handed him one. “How about … Chuck?”
His face screwed up. “What? That’s so undignified.”
“It’s cute.” She returned to the tack room.
He followed, grabbed her saddle as she took the saddle blanket off a sawhorse, and carried it to Ted. “How about … Mr. Clark?”
Cassie slung the blanket over a half-wall separating them from some grain sacks. “I don’t know …”
“I had a schoolmaster by that name. Don’t you think it sounds smart?”And wouldn’t you like to have me kiss you?He licked his lips then turned away. “Matthew? Mark? Luke or John?”
“Now you’re just being silly.” She picked up a brush off a nearby bale of hay and started brushing Ted. “What about Arthur or Lancelot?”
“What was wrong with the Biblical names?” For heaven’s sake, he was doing anything to keep from kissing her at this point. The dimness of the stable, the smell of hay, horses, and … was that lilac? He took a step closer and as discreetly as possible, took a sniff. Oh bother, it was. She must have washed her hair with lilac water.
“Do your brothers’ horses have names?”
“Yes. Except Oliver’s. He didn’t catch the name of his horse either when we bought them. Probably because he wasn’t there. He was trying to secure directions.”
She laughed. “To where?”
“Virginia City. We thought it would be a fun place to stop. Small, out-of-the-way.”
“But you wound up here. Someplace even smaller and more out of the way.”
He watched her toss the saddle blanket onto Ted’s back. “Yes. And I’m glad we did.” He swallowed hard. She was so lovely, and she’d been smiling all day. It made his chest swell as if it would burst. “Are you glad we did?”
She glanced at her saddle before giving him her full attention. “I am. So is everyone else in town.” She swallowed hard.
Unable to help himself he stepped forward. There was little distance between them now. “Cassie,” he said, his voice soft and low. “Being here has been one of the best adventures of my life.”
She nodded but said nothing.
“I hope our presence hasn’t sidetracked you from your duties overly much.”
She shook her head.
Did she want to be kissed? Did he dare? His eyes roamed her face, settled on her lips. Before he knew it, his head began its descent as he took another step closer …
