To Tempt a Cowgirl. Jeannie Watt
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Название: To Tempt a Cowgirl
Автор: Jeannie Watt
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Вестерны
isbn: 9781474031684
isbn:
When was the last time he’d been lonely? Or ever considered the possibility of being lonely?
After an hour of staring at his project and listening to music on his phone, Gabe finally walked out of the house and headed for his car. If nothing else, he’d go eat somewhere, soak up some local atmosphere.
An hour later he had to concede defeat. Atmosphere soaking had not gone well. He’d hit a small tavern that served food, ate a steak dinner by himself, then wandered into the bar for a drink. Obviously McElroy’s was a very local establishment, since no one tried to make conversation with him, with the exception of the bartender, and that was duty talk.
Gabe didn’t mind. He conversed with the bartender until he finished his lone beer, then tipped the guy decently and hit the road back home again. He’d learned nothing of value, but he’d made the guy laugh a few times and considered that a decent inroad.
On the drive home, he was debating about the best way to make contact with Danica Brody without getting shot down again, when he rounded a corner and something white and large—no, huge—appeared in the road in front of him. He jerked the steering wheel to the right and mud flew as the tires spun, then caught, yanking the car sideways and slamming it into the ditch. Gabe’s forehead smacked the steering wheel and then he slumped back into his seat, checking his forehead for blood. His hand came away clean and he dropped it into his lap.
Well, shit.
Gabe let out a long breath, shoved the door open and got out to assess damage. In the distance, he could hear the hollow thud of hooves on the hard-packed road.
A horse.
A black-and-white horse.
And Gabe was pretty darned certain he knew where to find the owner.
GABE WALKED ACROSS the field toward the lights of the Lighting Creek Ranch, hunching his shoulders against the wind. The distance was deceptive and what he’d thought was at the most a ten-minute walk through the tall grass took well over twenty, but finally he climbed through the fence onto the driveway and made his way to the house.
Deep booming barks followed his knock on the front door and a few seconds later Dani glanced through the window, frowning as she realized who was on the porch. Instead of pulling the door open, she cracked it a few inches, hushing the giant dog behind her as she did so. She did not look happy at seeing him on her porch.
“I almost hit a horse with my car. I think it was the one you just bought.”
The color drained from her face. “Are you sure?”
“It happened fast, but yeah.”
Without another word, Dani grabbed a coat and stepped outside, shutting the door before the dog got out. She brushed past Gabe, taking the porch steps two at a time, her golden-brown braid bouncing on her back.
Gabe followed her across the driveway to the corrals attached to one side of the barn. Once there she pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and snapped it on, sweeping the light through the enclosure not once, but twice, as if she could possibly miss something as large as a horse. The corral was most definitely empty.
“How did she get out?” Gabe asked.
Dani shook her head as she reached out to rattle the closed gate. The latch held firm. “I don’t know, but I have to find her before someone hits her.” She hurried back across the drive, head down against the wind.
“Where’s your car?” she asked.
“It’s in the ditch.”
Dani stopped. “Is it damaged?” she asked on a startled note.
“I don’t know.”
“We can use the tractor to pull it out just as soon as I find the mare.”
“I’ll get a tow truck.”
“I can’t afford a tow truck. I’m on a tight budget,” she said as she once again made a beeline to the house. Gabe had to trot to keep up with her.
“I’ll pay for it.”
“Why would you do that when I can just pull you out?”
Gabe shook his head, then followed. Where he came from, women didn’t pull cars out of ditches with tractors. Nor did guys. They called tow trucks, as he was going to do.
“Which way did she run?”
“I was kind of busy hitting the ditch after she charged me, so I’m not certain.”
“Think, please.” She stopped again, tilting her chin to look up at him impatiently.
Gabe reminded himself that he was here for diplomatic reasons and couldn’t afford to lose his temper any more than he already had. “I think...she went toward my place.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Gabe didn’t question the “let’s.” He simply fell into step and then when she jerked her head to the passenger side of the ugliest truck he’d ever seen, he wrenched open the door and got inside. A cloud of dust rose from the seat cover as he sat, then he shifted on the seat to move the deadly-looking piece of curved metal digging into his thigh.
“Hay hook. Just toss it on the floor.”
Dani put the truck in gear and it jerked forward, groaning as she shifted it into a higher gear. She swung the wheel hard, turning the truck in a tight U and Gabe bounced sideways in his seat, dust rising once again. “Damn, I hope she went your way.”
So did he. He wanted Danica to recapture her horse and he wanted his freaking car out of the ditch. If he hadn’t left his phone in the car, he’d be seeing about it right now.
* * *
THIS WAS A NIGHTMARE, plain and simple. She’d just gotten Lacy back and now she was gone again. More than that, if the mare hadn’t gone to Gabe’s place, she was a menace to traffic. She could easily lose her horse and get sued in one fell swoop.
“We’ll find her,” Gabe said from beside her, keying in on her thoughts. It’d be pretty hard not to know what she was thinking, hunched over the steering wheel like a crazed woman.
She turned down the drive to the castle, slowing as they passed his car, which was a good five feet off the road. It looked very expensive—the kind that needed parts special-ordered—but she wasn’t going to worry about that now.
“I see tracks,” Gabe said, pointing at the road.
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