him and made a fool of herself. And now sheâd done it again.
It wasnât supposed to be like this. She was supposed to have married the man she loved and settled down to raising the family sheâd wanted. But Mikeâs suicide, just a year ago, had sent her into a downward spiral from which she was still crashing.
Thatâs why sheâd come to Texas, a place she barely remembered, with a father she hadnât seen in years. Sheâd hoped the change would help her heal. But she should have known better. The bouts of reckless behavior had followed her here.
Until sheâd regained control of her life, the last thing she needed was another manâespecially a blue-eyed heartbreaker with a knack for pushing her libido over the edge and then walking away.
Clicking the mouse to refresh the computer screen, she forced herself to focus on her work. Sky Fletcher may have shot her over the moon, but sheâd fallen back to earth now. The sexy horse whisperer had made a fool of her for the last time.
CHAPTER 3
I t was late afternoon by the time the black Corvette pulled away from the house and sped down the dusty lane toward the highway.
Sky was in the smaller of the two round pens, working a year-old bay gelding on a lead. He heard the growl of the engine and the crunch of tires spitting gravel, but he didnât turn around and look. After the way heâd walked out on her, telling her sheâd know where to find him, Miss Lauren Prescott wouldnât be throwing him any good-bye kisses.
Not that he was proud of the way heâd treated her. For the most part, he liked to think of himself as a gentleman. But today he hadnât been in a gentlemanly frame of mind. Heâd needed a rush to fill the aching void inside him. And Lauren, so sexy and vulnerableâand so damned willingâhad been there.
Was there any excuse for having treated the congressmanâs daughter like a common tramp? Had he wanted to make somebodyâanybodyâhurt like he was hurting? Had he wanted to prove that he could have sex with a snooty, rich white girl and walk away without feeling a thingâthe way Bull Tyler had walked away from his mother?
A powerful yank on the lead rope reminded him that he needed to stay focused. Skyâs method of starting young horses demanded concentration. This promising colt deserved the best he had to give.
âEasy boy . . .â he murmured, using touch and voice to create a sense of safety. âThatâs it. Youâre doing fine. . . .â
He ended the training session by rubbing the horse down with his bare hands and turning it into the paddock. By now the afternoon was getting on, and he still hadnât heard how Jasper was doing. Sky had worried about the old cowboy all day. Heâd asked Will to call if there was any news. But if Jasper had taken a turn for the worse, Will would have more urgent concerns on his mind.
Deciding to make the call himself, Sky reached for his cell phone. But no sooner had he fished it out of his pocket than it rang. The caller was Will. Bracing himself for bad news, Sky pushed the answer button.
âWill? Whatâs happening? Howâs Jasper?â
âHeâs one tough old buzzard.â Willâs voice sounded tired but upbeat. âThe doctor says his vitals have stabilized and his lungs are starting to clear. Heâs grumpy as hell, but I guess thatâs a good sign.â
âThank God.â Sky felt himself breathe again.
âBernice wants to stay the night at the hospital, and Erinâs going with her mother. But Beau and I will be coming home before long to get some rest.â
âAnything I can do?â Sky asked.
âYouâve done plenty, staying to take care of things. Since Bernice wonât be there to cook, weâre picking up a couple of pizzas on the way home. Weâll make a bachelor night of it, maybe unwind by watching some baseball for as long as we
David Sherman & Dan Cragg