Capturing the Cowboy's Heart by Lindsey Brookes Page A

The only thing that comes from feeling sorry for yourself is pain.  
    Straightening her shoulders, she moved further into the barn and looked around.  “So what am I supposed to be doing?”  She certainly wasn’t going to ask Cade and risk getting her head bit off again.  Or her lips kissed.  
    Burk unbuttoned the cuffs on his shirt and rolled up the sleeves.  “Did you ask Cade?”
    “No.  And I’m not even sure how I’m going to do this story seeing as how I have no intention of speaking to that man ever again!
    A knowing grin moved across the ranch hand’s face.  “So you’ve taken a shining to him, huh?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You like him.”
    Lacy snorted.  “About as much as I’d like getting a root canal done without Novocaine .”              
    He chuckled again.  “Something tells me Cade is in a lot of trouble.”
    She wasn’t sure what Burk meant by that, but decided she was better off not knowing.  She just needed to do her job, get the story and get the heck out of Cowboyville. 
    “Just give me something to do so he can’t say I’m not keeping up my end of our agreement.”
    Rubbing his chin, Burk looked around the barn.  “Well, let’s see.  Why don’t we have you start with watering the horses?” 
    “That sounds easy enough.”
    He moved over to the first stall in a long row of many.  “Let me introduce you to the horses first, seeing as how you’re gonna be helping take care of them while you’re here.  There are only four horses left, so it shouldn’t be too hard to remember their names.”
    “Left?  What happened to the others?”
    “Had to sell ‘em off.”  He reached out to run a hand down the horse’s back.  “This here’s Ace .  He’s a Dun.”
    “A Dun?”
    “That’s a breed of horse.  You can tell them apart from the others by their sandy color and dark mane and tail.  He’s Cade’s.  Belonged to him forever.”
    “He’s huge.”  Yet she had no problem seeing Cade astride this beautiful animal.
    “That’s just because you’re a wee thing.”
    She smiled and rolled her eyes.  “Don’t remind me.  What I wouldn’t give to have legs like Katie O’Brien.”
    “You know Katie?”  Burk’s eyes lit up at the mere mention of the woman’s name.
    Cade was right.  There was something there.  “We met yesterday.”
    His smile widened.  “Nice gal, that Katie.  A little too independent if you ask me, but nice.”
    “You don’t like a woman who’s independent?”  She wouldn’t have guessed Burk to be a chauvinist.
    “It’s not that.  I don’t mind a woman who can take care of herself, even one who speaks her mind like Katie does.  She’s Irish.  That part just comes natural.”
    Lacy smiled.  “So what’s the problem?”
    He shifted as if uncomfortable by the turn in their conversation.  “The problem is that sometimes a man wants to do some of the taking care of.  That’ll never happen with Katie O’Brien.”
    “Never say never,” Lacy teased.
    Purposely ignoring her last comment, he turned back to the horse.  “ Ace here’s the only horse Cade’s ridden since his injury.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Riding pains him sometimes.  Ace here’s a smooth ride and Cade is used to him.  Not to mention he loves this horse.”
    “Humph,” Lacy scoffed.  “I didn’t realize that man was capable of loving anything.”
    Burk perched a booted foot up on the bottom rung of the stall.  “That’s where you’re wrong.  Cade’s fully capable of loving, only he refuses to let himself do so.  He’s afraid to let go of the past.  Hell, I’ve seen more emotion from Cade since you arrived than I have in a very long time.”
    It seemed to her the only emotion she brought out in Cade was irritation.  She normally tried very hard not to rub people the wrong way.  But with Cade it just seemed to happen.  They were like two sticks of dynamite with very short fuses. 
    Burk moved on to the next