“Hell no. They thought she was a relative, until Katherine came home early one day because her business flight was cancelled. She walked into the bedroom and found her husband and this bimbo screwing. All hell broke loose and the neighbors almost called the cops. Nice guy, huh?"

Jared felt like someone gut-punched him. He fisted the pillow. “Yeah. A real charmer,” he snarled. “Keep digging,” he said and hung up the phone.


* * * *

“Trust me.” Jared extended his hand to Katherine as he sat on the black gelding. “I'll pull you up and you can ride behind me or in front of me, whichever you prefer."

Katherine stared at the dust rising around the pawing, snorting, four-legged giant of a beast and hesitated. She shook her head. “I don't think it likes me."

“Flying Leap likes everyone-especially beautiful ladies.” Jared held the reins in one hand and placed his other hand on the gelding's rump.

“Look at me, Mom.” Matt sat on a spotted pony that looked only three and a half feet tall. “I was scared of Sweet Pea to start with, but I like it up here.” He pulled his cowboy hat lower and hugged his coat around him. He shoved his boots further into the stirrups. “Me and Sweet Pea are doing fine."

The smell of fresh hay filled the air. She glanced around the stable at the boxed stalls and rubbed the pony's nose. It whinnied. “Two Sweet Peas can fit underneath one Flying Leap,” she said dryly. “Remember what Mr. Randall said. Pull back on the reins to stop and give her a gentle nudge in the sides to make her go."

Matt rolled his eyes. “I got all that. Let's go, Mom. Sweet Pea wants to go, too."

Pulling her jacket tighter around her waist, she moved to the side of Flying Leap and looked up. All the way up. Once she mounted, she'd be sitting in Jared's lap. She swallowed hard.

Jared's eyes lingered on her. “It isn't as far up as the top of the roof or Matt's Christmas tree. Trust me,” he repeated softly. He extended his hand to her again and removed his foot from the stirrup. “You want front or back?"

She closed her eyes tight, took a deep breath and thrust her hand up to him. “I do trust you. Front,” she said shakily, biting her bottom lip.

He grabbed her firmly around the wrist and lifted her off the ground. Her booted foot missed the stirrup twice, finally it slipped into it. Jared reached one hand around her waist, pulled her the rest of the way up, and hoisted her right leg over the saddle horn. Heat flamed her face when his hands touched her thighs and then her jean covered backside. He drew her bottom toward him and settled her in the saddle.

“Well that wasn't so bad,” she bragged.

He chuckled. “Sweetheart, you almost kicked me in the head. Mounting a horse works a lot better if you keep your eyes open."

She stared at the strips of leather wound through the thick, firm fingers positioned within a hair of her breasts. She moved backward in the saddle, flush against him and heard his sudden intake of air.

Jared cleared his throat. “Let's head out,” he said, flicking the reins and nudging Flying Leap with his legs. “Matt, you stay ahead of us a little so your mom can see you all the time.” Jared pointed to the pasture area. “We're going straight out the barn and along the grass covered fence line."

Katherine fought the tingling sensations from Jared's warm breath hitting her ear and neck when he spoke. She tried to focus on Matt, who grinned and rode beside them for awhile, and then moved ahead. That focus became more difficult when every move Jared made brought his hands closer to her breasts.

The cool breeze washed across her face as they left the barn. Jared moved the reins and bundled her to him. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe. She leaned back against him. And despite all this, while still fighting her inner demons, who cried ‘Fool!', she closed her eyes and relaxed against his broad chest. She could feel his heart thud in a slow, steady beat against her back.

She jumped when they suddenly drew to a halt. Jared rubbed his hands over her arms. She lifted her head and saw Matt had stopped, too.

Jared pointed again to the horizon. “We're heading for that worn trail over there. We'll follow it through the woods. The trail doubles back to the barn, so you can't get lost. Matt,” Jared went on, lifting his voice, “watch for squirrels, birds and rabbits. You might spot a deer or two off to the sides hiding in the bushes, too."

Matt squealed with excitement. Katherine smiled and felt so warm snuggled against Jared.

He kept his arms around her and bent close. “We'll be riding for an hour on this trail. It takes another half-hour to come back to the barn.” He leaned forward, his cheek resting against hers. “You can take a nap if you'd like, or watch the scenery. There's always something blooming in Texas-even in late December. You may see some Scarlet Sage, Verbena, or Lantana."

She covered her mouth and yawned. “I think I might rest my eyes a little,” she murmured, closing them again. She hadn't been able to sleep much last night. Paul had been angry about her and Matt going horseback riding with Jared and had stormed out of the house after their nasty fight. She had listened thinking he might return to apologize-but hearing nothing, she had eventually dropped into a restless sleep.

Come to think of it, she hadn't had a good night's sleep since Paul dropped into her life.

She yawned again and laid her head back against Jared's shoulder as they moved back and forth in the saddle. It reminded her of the rocking motion of a hammock tied between two large trees. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

“Mom! Mom! Look, it's Bambi!” Matt hollered.

Katherine's body shot forward. Her eyes flew open to find her breasts pressed against the backs of Jared's hands. She heard his sharp intake of breath, but only barely, as her own breath came hard and heavy from the brief touch. She scrambled around to see what Matt had been yelling about.

A wide-eyed fawn stopped nibbling on leaves and froze, staring at them through the thick forest. A large white-tailed doe joined the frightened fawn and they fled back into the woods.

Jared nudged the gelding forward and bent his head beside her ear. Warm breath floated by her neck, under her hair. “Sorry Matt woke you. He was real quiet when he saw the other animals. Did you have a nice nap?” Jared brushed errant tendrils back from her face. His hand lingered on her cheek. Her heart sputtered as his hand moved, placing the strands behind her ear.

She almost sighed at his touch, but fought the surrendering sound back down. He was nothing but trouble, and the fact that she was forgetting it was the proof. And why was she lying docilely in his arms? She straightened, shifting on his lap. Jared loosed his arms. She ignored him and stared at the woods, furious with herself.

The green and white wooden barn returned to view as they rounded the bend. She heard the babbling of a small waterfall and running water from a nearby river. “How long was I asleep?” She looked down and realized he'd opened his coat and had it wrapped around her so they shared its warmth.

He pulled her against him. She resisted, craned her neck around to glare at him. He smiled that dangerous smile. Against her will, she leaned back into the warmth of down and man, curbing the next sigh that threatened to arise. “Almost an hour. I thought I'd make some hot cocoa with marshmallows when we get back to the ranch. Later, I'll fix us a picnic lunch and we can eat on the patio. I'm curious to learn what else Matt likes to eat besides roast beef, cookies, spaghetti and lobster."

She smiled. “Anything that doesn't bite or isn't nailed down. His legs are hollow. That's where the food goes."

Jared chuckled.

Ten minutes later, they reentered Jared's barn. A horse in a nearby stall nickered at the sound of their hoofs on the floor. Jared turned toward the sound.

“Midnight Star's hungry. Matt, I stowed a little lettuce, a few carrots and apples in a bucket hanging on a nail over on the far wall. I thought you might like to feed the animals after we get the saddles off the horses and cool them down.” Jared pointed to a wire cage that held two bushy tailed white rabbits with ruby eyes.

Matt giggled, bent forward and hugged the pony around the neck. “Hear that, Sweet Pea? You get treats, too."

Katherine smiled. “I think the horseback ride was a huge success.” She glanced at Matt. He yawned and had difficulty keeping his eyes open. “I'm going to put Matt down for a nap at noon. He's worn out. Can we talk afterwards?” she whispered.

Jared reined Flying Leap to a halt inside the barn. “Sure,” he said with a quizzical glance.

Matt stopped behind them and climbed off Sweet Pea. He reached in his saddlebag and took out a bouquet of wilted wildflowers. “Mr. Randall asked me to pick ‘em for you since you didn't get to see the colors.” He laid them on a bale of hay.

She felt a lump in her throat as she glanced down at the rainbow of squashed flowers. “I'll dry them and save them in our favorite books. Thanks,” she said with a shaky voice.

Dismounting from the gelding, Jared held his hands up to help Katherine down. Her foot caught on the saddle horn and she tumbled forward, landing in his arms. As he held her close, her body shuddered. It felt wonderful to be in his arms.

He set her on her feet, leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You've got one hell of a dismount."

“What can I say, it's just natural talent, good sir."


* * * *

As the clock in Jared's den chimed twelve, Katherine sipped her coffee, sinking into chocolate mocha heaven. Alan Jackson's “Don't Close Your Eyes” drifted from the stereo as she put the empty cup on the table. Matt had been so exhausted he'd gone down for his nap without a fuss. Her fingers traced the buttery leather seams as she lounged on the couch with Jared. They stared at the flames curling upward from the wood burning in the large fireplace.