Wilde Horses. Jannine Gallant

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ me?”

      “It doesn’t matter. I’ll ride the horse. Fighting a battle I at least stand a chance of winning will be a refreshing change.”

      She gave him another look but didn’t respond until he lifted the latch on the gate and entered the corral. “I’ll hold Apollo until you get in the saddle. After you land on the ground, Cookie and Cracker will herd him away to make sure he doesn’t kick you in the head.”

      Blake rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

      When the side door to the barn opened, he glanced over as one of the younger hands he’d seen around the ranch strolled out then stopped a short distance away. A grin spread across his face as he studied Blake.

      “Need any help, Eden?”

      Her eyes sparkled. “Hey, Roman. Blake plans to ride Apollo. You can time him for me, if you don’t mind. Once he hits the dirt, I’ll be too busy to check my watch.”

      “Will do.”

      Blake gritted his teeth as a couple of the set grips along with one of the bit part actors hurried over from the food truck. On the other side of the corral, Eden’s grandpa limped down the slope from his cabin.

      Great, now he had an audience. “Let’s get this over with.”

      “Whenever you’re ready.” She held tight to the bit as the horse shifted. “I’ve been on him a few times, but he’s nowhere near saddle-broken yet.”

      Without responding, he slipped one foot into the stirrup and swung his leg over the Appaloosa’s broad back. The horse snorted as he gripped the reins. The second Eden released her hold and jumped away, the big horse reared. Clamping his legs around the stallion’s heaving sides, Blake held on just as tightly as he’d cradled Josie the night she’d slipped away from him. Blood had matted her hair and soaked into his shirt, but he hadn’t been able to get her to open her eyes…

      Apollo spun and ran, kicking out as he galloped across the corral. Blake clung like a T-shirt shrunk in the wash, moving with the big animal as he tried to bring him under control. The Appaloosa was having none of it. He reared again and aimed toward the fence to brush him off. When Blake hit the wooden rail, his grip loosened, and a mighty kick sent him flying through the air. He hit the ground with enough force to knock the breath out of him.

      The dogs’ excited barking rang in his ears as he fought to drag air into his lungs. When he opened his eyes, Eden bent over him.

      She reached out to touch the side of his face. “You okay?”

      “Yep. Give me a moment.” He took a couple more jagged breaths then struggled to sit up. “Still alive and kicking, though maybe not as hard as that damn horse.”

      She smiled. “Nothing’s broken, I hope?”

      “I don’t think so. Wow, I haven’t taken a fall that hard since I tumbled out of a tree when I was ten, and I’ve gotten some serious bruises doing my own stunts.”

      “I warned you. Do you need help getting to your feet?”

      “Maybe. Talk about role reversal. Didn’t we just do this, but you were the one lying in the dirt?”

      She put an arm around him to help him up off the rock-hard ground. “You should have been smart enough to learn from my experience.”

      “You’d think.” Not that he minded his current position with one of her soft breasts tucked against his side. When she stepped away, almost every inch of his body began to throb…and not in a good way. He groaned. “God, I really am an idiot.”

      Blue eyes flashed with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

      He nodded. “Bruised but not broken. How long did I last on Apollo?”

      “I’m not sure.” She turned with him to head back toward the barn. “Hey, Roman, what was his time?”

      The young hand pushed longish blond hair out of his eyes and smiled. “Sixteen seconds. Not bad at all.”

      Blake straightened. “Seriously? Hey, I won the bet.”

      “I guess you did.”

      Jasper Wilde strolled over to meet them at the gate. “I told you he was playing you, Eden. Nice job up on that horse, young man.”

      “Thanks. I’m amazed I lasted as long as I did. I felt like a rag doll being tossed around in that saddle.”

      “Keeping loose helps you move with your mount. The last thing you want is to stiffen up.” She gave him a quick smile. “You let me know when you want that ranch tour, but right now I have to catch Apollo and get the saddle off him.”

      “I’ll help you.” The young hand, Roman, rested his fists on his hips. “I owe you one.”

      Eden’s brows shot up. “You do?”

      “Yep, you turned Zane down yesterday, so he’s letting me have his spare ticket to the Kent McCord concert tomorrow night.” Roman’s blue eyes narrowed. “I was pretty surprised when he told me. I thought you were a huge country music fan.”

      She grimaced. “I am. I’d kill to see Kent McCord, but going to Billings with Zane…” She let out a sigh. “Well, it wouldn’t have worked out.”

      “Your loss is my gain.” Roman stepped back. “I’ll go round up Apollo for you.”

      “Thanks.”

      When Eden turned, Blake laid a hand on her arm. “Kent is a friend of mine. If you want to see him perform, I could probably set something up. He has a lot of stops on this tour.”

      Her eyes widened. “Really?”

      “Sure. I’ll give him a call.”

      “Wow, thanks. Billings is probably the nearest city he’ll play, but I have to double for Kara in a scene tomorrow afternoon, and Zane…” She broke off. “Maybe if I didn’t have to travel too far I could manage to get away.”

      “I’ll see where he’s scheduled to go next.”

      “That’s really nice of you.”

      Blake glanced at his watch. “Thanks to your horse, I’m filthy. I’d better go shower again and change or I’ll be late for my call. See you later, Eden.” With a nod to her grandpa, he headed back toward the encampment of buses and motorhomes.

      Blake had cleaned up and dressed in his costume before it occurred to him he’d sloughed off the morning’s depression along with the dirt. Though he’d always miss Josie and regret her senseless loss, he couldn’t let himself sink back into melancholy and guilt. He’d put those emotions behind him long ago, and Josie wouldn’t want him to wallow in despair a second time.

      Armed with more positive thoughts, he headed toward Jasper’s small cabin, which would be the backdrop for the scene they were filming. While he waited for his first big, on-screen kiss with Kara, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts to call Kent. He’d met the country star years ago at a charity СКАЧАТЬ