If Wishes Were Horses. Carolyn McSparren

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СКАЧАТЬ of the time horses telegraph that they don’t intend to jump. Trusty occasionally stops with his toenails in the fence. This is the first time he’s gotten me off, but I’ve held on to his ears a couple of times.” She grinned and patted the big horse’s neck. “Quitting dirty is a very bad habit.” She smacked Trusty lightly on his thick neck. “Remember that.”

      Albert came out of the barn and stood with his hands on his hips. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked. “You look like you’ve rolled in the dirt.”

      “I did.”

      Albert took the reins and glanced at Mike. “So does he. And he’s not dressed for it.”

      Liz swung off and leaned against Trusty’s shoulder for a moment.

      “You okay?” Albert asked.

      “My bruises are having bruises as we speak, but yeah, I’m fine. Just rang my chimes a little bit.”

      Albert shook his head and led the horse off. Liz put both hands in the small of her back and stretched, then took two steps toward the stable.

      “Ow!” she yelped, and grabbed the back of her left thigh. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!”

      Mike reached for her. She snaked her arm back around his neck and held on.

      “Charley horse.” Liz grimaced in pain. “Ow, ow, ow,” she repeated.

      She hobbled to the mounting block with Mike’s help. Pity she had to be in pain before she’d let him near her.

      Mike lowered her so that she sat on the block, and he knelt in front of her. “Stretch your heel down.”

      “No way!”

      He grabbed the heel of her boot and pulled down hard. She yelped again, but she kept it down when he took his hands away. He reached around her thigh and began to knead. He could feel the knotted muscle. After a moment it began to loosen. He heard her sigh.

      He, on the other hand, felt other portions of his body tighten and hoped nobody would notice. He was entirely too susceptible to this woman. His attraction to her had been powerful and immediate. That had only happened to him once before—the first time he laid eyes on Sandi. Sandi, at least, had liked him—loved him, in fact. Liz Matthews made no bones about her dislike.

      “You’re good at this,” Liz said and leaned back with a sigh.

      “Tennis and handball are notorious for tying up your muscles. You either learn to unkink them fast or walk with a cane.”

      “Thanks,” she said. “I’m sorry I snarled at you. I hate having anybody see me fall. Makes me feel like a fool.”

      “No problem.”

      She began to giggle. “You’re as dirty as I am.”

      He shrugged and stood in front of her. “Dry cleaners clean.”

      “Yeah.” She pulled herself up. At that moment, Pat came around the corner followed by Vic and Angie. “You fall?” Vic asked with studied casualness.

      “Trusty quit dirty on me. I’m okay.” She cocked her thumb at Pat. “I think your daddy’s ready to go. And Pat, better wear jeans tomorrow.” She limped toward the lounge.

      Mike watched her. She hurt considerably more than she was willing to let on. Maybe she’d cracked a rib. He ought to drag her to a doctor just to be sure. She’d never go. Hardheaded, opinionated damned female. He caught his breath. Great, he thought, now I’ve got two of them to worry about. Where in hell had that thought come from.

      

      “WHO WAS THAT masked man?” Angie asked as she flopped down in one of the shabby leather club chairs in the clients’ lounge. The sound of Mike’s Volvo on the gravel driveway was just fading.

      Liz lay stretched on the equally shabby leather couch.

      Angie continued, “There’s something realty—grrrr—sexy about him.”

      “I hadn’t noticed,” Liz lied. “You’re a married woman. You shouldn’t be growling at other men.”

      “Shoot, I growl at everybody.”

      “Unfortunately, so does he.” Liz sat up slowly. She was really beginning to stiffen up. “He’s Mike Whitten, the chairman of the board of trustees at Edenvale School. The guy we have to convince to give us their after-school riding program this fall.”

      “That’s Mike Whitten?” Angie began to laugh. “God help you. Kevin knows him from the racquet club. Says he’s rumored to drink a quart of antifreeze every morning just to keep his blood circulating.”

      “I can believe it.” Liz began to knead her shoulders. “He’s Mr. Iceberg to everyone except that kid of his.”

      “Well, I think he’s gorgeous in a craggy sort of way. Anyway, enough about the intimidating Mr. Whitten. Am I back in your good graces?”

      “Partially.”

      Vic came in, dug a diet soda out of the refrigerator and took the club chair across from Angie. She looked her niece over carefully. “You really okay?”

      “Sure. And feeling foolish.”

      Angie sighed, leaned forward and dropped her brown hands between her knees. “Liz isn’t the only one feeling foolish.”

      “Why did you leave us?” Vic asked.

      Angie hunched her shoulders and took a deep breath. “After Frank died, I stopped winning. I knew it wasn’t your fault, but I thought if I went over to Mark I could start winning again. And I did, too, for a little while.”

      “What went wrong?”

      “God, everything. He started badgering me to sell both my horses and let him find me some better ones—meaning more expensive. He was furious when I refused, and even more furious when I decided to breed Boop against his wishes.”

      “Why did you?” Liz asked.

      Angie blushed. “It’s being around Kevin and all those babies. I wanted a baby—something to love, even if it was a foal. And I’ll move Charlie here too if you’ve got room for another jumper.”

      “Absolutely,” Vic said.

      “Okay,” Angie said. “I’ll leave you a letter of authorization to pick up Charlie tomorrow and bring him here.”

      “And the problem of not winning that Mark was supposed to solve for you...?”

      Angie shrugged. “I can’t ride Boop until her baby is six months old and weaned. Then it’ll take another three months to get her in condition to jump again. That puts us into next spring, so I won’t be riding any hunters unless I can pick up a few rides for some of your clients, or maybe even for Liz, if she’s got too many horses to ride.”

      “We’ll be glad to have you,” Vic said.

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