Romancing the Rancher. Stacy Connelly

me a minute. I’m expecting someone.” He quickly stabled Silverbelle and was striding toward the sliding doors before Theresa had a chance to catch her breath.

      Reaching out, she placed a hand against Duke’s neck, taking comfort in his solid warmth. She didn’t think it was imagination that the horse rolled his eyes at her. “I know, right?” she murmured. “It’s crazy, and I should totally know better. But don’t think I’ve forgotten that this was your fault.”

      Despite her words, she carefully bent toward the ground, scooped up the baggie Jarrett had dropped and offered the horse the last slice. Apples might be on Duke’s menu, but forbidden fruit? That was definitely off Theresa’s.

      * * *

      She waited for a few minutes inside the stable, but when it became clear that Jarrett wasn’t coming back anytime soon, Theresa gave Duke and Silverbelle a few farewell pats and headed for the door. She stepped outside in time to see Jarrett lead a pretty palomino out of a trailer.

      Standing beside a dual-cab truck, a silver-haired man wrapped an arm around a blonde teenager. The girl rested her head against the man’s denim-clad shoulder, wiping tears from her cheeks. The man Theresa assumed to be her father looked almost as heartbroken.

      “Promise you’ll find her a good home,” the girl said to Jarrett, her words made no less strong by the dampness in her eyes or the tremor in her voice.

      “We’d really like to keep her,” the man added. “But I’ve been out of work for a while now, and the boarding stable in Redfield keeps raising its prices—”

      “I told you I’d get a job. I could pay for feed and boarding, Dad,” the teen argued.

      “And if you’re going to class during the day and working nights and weekends, when will you have any time for riding?” Heaving a sigh, the father gentled his voice as he added, “We talked about this, Chloe. Lightning deserves better than that. She deserves someone who has the time and the money to spend on her.”

      With his focus on the horse—running his hands down her back, over her flank, down her legs to her hooves—Jarrett didn’t appear to have paid any attention to the father-daughter exchange. He’d moved to the horse’s head before he asked, “You said you’ve been boarding her?”

      “Yes,” the daughter answered. “At a stable the next town over.”

      “So you just ride her for fun, then? And let the stable hands care for her the rest of the time?”

      The girl straightened away from her father, drawing up to her full height. A sudden breeze whipped her hair across her face, and her pale eyes were flashing as she said, “I take care of her. I ride her every day after school. I spend hours at the stables on the weekends.”

      Theresa knew it was none of her business, but she took a few steps forward anyway. She couldn’t blame Jarrett for centering on the horse, but if he’d take a look at the girl, he’d see how devastated she was to be giving up the animal she loved. Theresa had never owned a horse, though she’d begged for one almost constantly as a child. Her parents had wisely refused for the reasons Chloe’s father mentioned.

      She’d taken lessons when she could, and there had been times when she’d had to stop because of a lack of time and money. She’d been heartbroken, too, and could only imagine how much more painful it would have been if she’d not only had to give up riding but also give up her own horse.

      Would it really be so hard for Jarrett to reassure the poor girl? To promise to find the horse a good home? To show a little understanding instead of asking questions that were only making her feel worse?

      Theresa opened her mouth, ready to demand a moment of his time, when Jarrett gave the horse a final pat and finally turned his attention to Chloe. “You ever ride her bareback?”

      “Of course.”

      He waved toward the corral behind them. “Mount up.”

      “What? Why?”

      “I want to see how she responds to a rider she’s familiar with.”

      Chloe met his unyielding gaze with as much confusion as Theresa was feeling. Was this his way of giving Chloe a chance to say goodbye? A last ride before she and her father turned their truck around and hauled an empty trailer back home? The teen seemed to come to that same conclusion.

      Walking up to the horse, the girl ran a hand down its neck and murmured something for only the animal to hear. Then she pulled herself up with remarkable ease and agility. The wide gate squeaked as Jarrett swung it open and Chloe guided the horse through. Inside, the two raced around the ring—Chloe’s long blond hair almost the same color as the horse’s trailing mane.

      They rode well together—beautifully and bittersweet—as a final farewell. And while Theresa was touched watching the two of them, the pulse-pounding connection she’d felt earlier wasn’t there. Shooting a quick glance at Jarrett standing impassively a few feet away—his arms crossed and booted feet plated wide apart—she wasn’t surprised. The experience hadn’t simply been about watching a horse and rider. It had been watching Jarrett ride.

      A few moments later, Chloe pulled Lightning to a stop and swung from the horse’s back. She guided the animal over to Jarrett and seemed resigned, if not ready, to hand the reins over to him. “She’s a great horse,” the girl said a little defiantly as if challenging Jarrett to disagree.

      But he merely nodded. “If you’re still interested in looking for a job, I could use a hand around here. As the weather warms up, more people are going to be looking for trail rides and lessons. What you make should cover boarding and leave you with a little extra.”

      As his words sank in, pure joy lit her eyes. “You mean, I could work here and I could board Lightning and I—”

      A half laugh, half sob cut off the rest of her words. And if the look on Chloe’s face wasn’t priceless enough, Theresa was gifted with the sight of Jarrett’s pained expression when the girl threw her arms around him in a grateful hug.

       Chapter Five

      “That was nice of you.”

      Jarrett gritted his teeth as Theresa fell into step beside him as he led Lightning into the stable that would be the palomino’s new home. A few of the other horses craned their necks out of the stalls, eyeing the newest arrival with curiosity and a whinny or two of greeting. Though he may have pretended to, he hadn’t forgotten for a moment that she’d been there the whole time he’d talked with Chloe and her father. Not that her presence had affected his decision.

      When the O’Malleys had called the day before, he’d known giving up the horse would be tough on the girl and maybe not the best thing for either one of them. He hadn’t brought up the idea of hiring Chloe at the time because, well, he hadn’t thought of it yet.

      Even if he had, he would have needed to take a look at Lightning as well as see if Chloe could actually handle herself around horses. In the end, the situation made sense and had nothing to do with the weight of Theresa’s stare or how knowing she was watching made him feel like a heartless jerk, robbing some poor girl of her horse. But still, he hadn’t made the offer because of Theresa.

      Especially not if it made her think he was nice.

      “Look, it was a business decision. I’m trying to finish up work on the cabins and get that side of the operation up and running. That means I have less time for trail rides and lessons—even though that’s what’s bringing in the money right now. I’ve needed more help around here for a while, and it just makes sense to hire Chloe.”

      The majority of the students who came for lessons were young girls who, sometimes, loved the idea of horses better than the reality of sitting on a large animal several feet above the ground. He knew from his phone call with her father that Chloe had younger siblings. She’d be someone