Between Her Cowboys: (Taken by Cowboys: Part 4) A Billionaire Western Romance Read Free Page A

lack in fussy cocktail bars, we make up for in saloons.”
    Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you proposing to take me out on a date?” she asked. “Both of you?”
    “That’s exactly what we’re proposing,” Spencer said. “What do you say?”
    It was one thing to spend time with Nate and Spencer when there was no one around—out here in nature or behind closed barn doors. The idea of being escorted by two men out on a date in public was another consideration entirely.
    “But…what if people see us?” she asked.
    Nate laughed. “Well, of course people are going to see us. Unless you have invisibility super powers you haven’t told us about.”
    “I mean people you know,” she said. “Couldn’t that be…I don’t know…dangerous?”
    Spencer waved his hand dismissively. “This town is full of gossips. Let them say what they like. Why should we pay them any mind?”
    She carefully turned her head to look from Spencer to Nate. They were both looking back at her with wide-eyed expectance. Could they really be fine with the idea of people they knew—maybe even guests—catching wind of their three-way relationship? And more importantly—was she fine with it?
    “That sounds like fun,” she said, managing a smile. “Let’s do it.”
    “Great!” Nate said, beaming. “We’ll swing by your cabin at seven.”
    A three-way date? It sounded like fun, but what if it went horribly wrong? What if people stared at them and made comments? Of course, they didn’t have to be totally obvious about their romance. They could just be three friends out together. Right?
    Her mind flipped through a half dozen disastrous scenarios. What if she accidentally showed one man more attention than the other, and the other got jealous? She remembered how close to blows they’d gotten when Spencer had discovered Nate making love to her.
    They finished their loop and the men helped her dismount Oreo. She touched the ground with slightly shaky legs. “That was better, wasn’t it?” she asked Nate, her first riding instructor.
    “You managed to stay on her back this time, so I’d say so,” Nate said with a grin.
    Spencer excused himself to go lead some guests on a nature walk. Jess stayed to watch Nate as he led Oreo into the stable to remove her saddle and bride. He showed such care for the creature, murmuring soft words to her and stroking her muzzle.
    “Want to help me groom her?” Nate asked.
    “I’d love to!” she exclaimed.
    He grabbed a pail full of brushes from the shelf at one end of the stable and brought it over. “This one’s called the curry comb,” he said, taking out a hand-sized rubber brush with stiff bristles. “You attach it to your hand like this, and then you use it to loosen the dirt in her coat.” He demonstrated, swiping Oreo’s side with short, swift strokes.
    “Can I try?” she asked.
    “All yours,” he said, unstrapping the curry comb and handing it to her.
    She strapped it to her hand and began brushing Oreo’s other side. Soon her arm muscles were aching. “Wow! This is harder than it looks.”
    “This is the tough part,” he said. “But you’re doing a great job.” He looked Oreo’s coat over approvingly. She glowed with pride.
    “Next is soft brushing,” he said, taking a wooden brush with soft-looking bristles from the pail. “Same idea. This is what removes all the dust and dirt we just loosened.”
    They took turns using the brush on Oreo, who seemed to be enjoying the treatment. Then Nate showed her how to use a smaller brush to groom Oreo’s face, mane, and tail. She found it satisfying to brush out the horse’s black tail until all the bits of grass and twigs were gone and the hair was lustrous.
    “The last part is picking the hooves,” Nate said, when she had finished. “But you can leave that one to me. It can be dangerous if you aren’t experienced.”
    She watched Nate take a sharp-looking pick and, after draping a rope over his arm, coaxed the horse’s