A Measure Of Love. Lindsay McKenna

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СКАЧАТЬ Going out the door and stepping onto the screened porch, Jessie smiled to herself. The Colorado morning was crisp with brilliant sunlight. Between the snorts of the horses, the lowing of the cattle and the panoramic splash of colors that surrounded her, her senses were overwhelmed. The odors ranged from pungent to pine as Jessie walked down the stairs. She’d plaited her hair into one long braid, and the wind played with the wispy bangs across her brow. She inhaled deeply, staying on the sidewalk of red brick that led her safely past the lawn and muddy areas to the barns.

      The huge doors were open on one end of the broodmare complex, and Jessie stepped into the well lit, immaculate area. Rows of large, roomy boxstalls stood on either side of the aisle, a horse in each one. A few stablehands were cleaning some of the stalls, putting water in others, or simply passing through on their way to other duties. The smell of sweet alfalfa and oat straw was like a perfume. No wonder Westerners loved their ranches so much!

      How long she stood at the first stall watching a wobbly-legged bay foal walk stiffly around her mother, Jessie didn’t know. The beauty of the Arabians was breathtaking. She’d seen photos of them, but had never seen one in person. They were beautiful. And it was Rafe who had an eye for such art in a living animal. That made her feel good about him. Beneath that dark, brooding mask he wore, there was a human being who not only saw beauty, but reveled in it.

      Jessie wasn’t sure when Rafe walked up behind her, she only knew that in a moment she was aware of his powerful presence. She had been torn between watching the foal cavort awkwardly around in the straw, and turning toward the feeling of warmth radiating from behind her.

      “The foals are my favorite part of the day,” he confided, looking down at her.

      Jessie nodded, and her voice was hushed, even though her heartbeat had quickened appreciably. “She’s so cute.”

      “It’s a he.” Rafe walked up to the stall, leaving only inches separating them.

      “Of course,” she said, blushing.

      Rafe rested his arms on the edge of the stall. “Kind of hard to tell, though, at this age. He was born last night.”

      Jessie was grateful that Rafe allowed her error to pass. As she looked up at him, she saw that his features had softened. “I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here,” she admitted. “I love babies. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a little foal…”

      “Oh?”

      She wasn’t going to lie to him. There was too much to lose by doing so. “When I joined the BLM five years ago, Mr. Kincaid, I was stuck away in a cubicle. My job was to stay in touch with the ranchers who were capturing and penning up the mustangs. I coordinated finding owners for these mustangs all over the U.S.” She walked to the stall and rested her hands on the cool bars. “I did a lot of study on the mustangs, even though I’ve never been near them. In fact, the closest I’ve ever come to a horse is watching one go down the parade route of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.” She twisted her head to see what kind of a reaction her confession would have on him.

      He held her steady gaze, noticing how clear her eyes were this morning, and how the strain around her mouth had disappeared. “Why?”

      “Because I’m afraid of them. They’re big.”

      “If I were a banty rooster, I’d be respectful of them, too,” he said with a slight smile.

      “You aren’t upset that I haven’t had a lot of experience with horses?”

      Rafe shrugged. “You’re out here this morning, aren’t you? If you were really afraid, you wouldn’t be here. I think you’re ignorant, not scared of them.”

      “Is that supposed to be an oblique compliment?”

      “Yes, ma’am, it is. Come on.” He slipped his hand beneath her elbow, drawing her to him.

      Jessie trusted Rafe, for whatever that was worth. As he slid the bolt back and opened the door to the stall, she figured he was either going to help her overcome her fear, or he was about to embarrass her. She didn’t know which, and she stood uncertainly in the ankle-deep straw, waiting as he shut the door.

      “Now, stay at my side and do as I tell you,” he told her in a low voice.

      With a nod, she walked forward with him, her throat tight with fear. The mare looked awesome to her. Crooning to the mother, Rafe crouched down in front of the animals. Jessie followed suit. As soon as they knelt, both horses walked over to them.

      “There’s a trick in getting a horse to come over to you,” Rafe told her quietly, his eyes never leaving the mare. “The eyes of a horse are constructed so that we appear almost twice our normal height to them. We look like giants. So if we crouch down, we become much smaller and less of a threat. Since they’re real curious animals, eventually they’ll come up to investigate.”

      The mare’s velvet muzzle found Jessie’s cheek. Prickles of pleasure went through her as the mare sniffed her, fanning her moist breath across her cheek. “This is wonderful!” she whispered. “Her nose is so soft. Like a baby’s bottom.”

      Rafe smiled at Jessie, enjoying her first experience with a horse almost as much as she. He rested one hand on the mare’s front leg to make sure she wouldn’t accidentally bowl Jessie over as she continued her investigation.

      Laughter gurgled up through Jessie. “She’s so friendly! I can’t believe this. I never knew…”

      Her bubbling enthusiasm was contagious. Rafe glanced at her again. She was beautiful. Her eyes danced with a golden flame, her cheeks were flushed scarlet, and her lips were curved into a delightful smile. He wanted to reach out, draw her into his arms and kiss her and to drink in the absolute happiness that radiated from her. It was only in that moment that he began to understand how depressed he had been. Jessie’s laughter had lifted him out of the abyss of grief, and for a split second he felt like living again.

      The bay foal came bounding around the rear of his mother and with a little grunt, crashed headlong into Jessie. With a gasp of surprise, she fell back into the straw, the foal sprawled across her.

      Luckily the broodmare was a relatively calm mother who didn’t consider humans harmful to her baby, and she just stood there, watching. Jessie’s arms closed around the winded foal. His fur was soft and fuzzy, and she reveled in it. She saw Rafe get slowly to his feet and with a broad smile, she allowed him to pick the foal off her. His hand was firm on her arm as he guided her to her knees.

      “He’s so silky,” she whispered, petting the foal lying across her thighs. “Look, Rafe, he loves this! He loves me petting him.”

      Kneeling beside her, Rafe felt an ache sweep through him. His name had rolled off her lips like a husky prayer. “The colt’s got sense,” he murmured, picking bits of straw out of her hair. “I’d lie in your lap, too, if I got the chance.”

      Jessie lifted her face and stared up into his dark blue eyes, lost in their sudden intensity. Longing rippled through her as he continued to pull out straw that had collected on her braid when she had tipped over backward. When his callused fingers grazed the nape of her neck, her lips parted. A bolt of fiery pleasure nearly unstrung her. He was so close, so male and so virile. Her breath caught in her chest as she felt herself responding to an unspoken, primitive message.

      The colt whinnied plaintively, breaking the tenuous silence that stretched between СКАЧАТЬ