Promise Canyon by Robyn Carr Page A

found herself looking forward to that delivery. If Blue was in the pasture, she ran out there just to see her. And she found herself feeling disappointed if she didn’t run into Clay. If Streak was not in the round pen, she would make it a point to spend a little time leaning into his stall, talking to him quietly, even though she knew Clay wouldn’t approve. Clay wanted the colt to focus on him and seemed almost jealous when Streak didn’t shy from Lilly.
    She preferred to see all of them—the horses…and the man.
    She had an easy rapport with Clay now; he had helped save Blue and they shared Native roots. He always respectfully asked after her grandfather though he’d never met the man. He asked her about the store, about how she spent her free time, how she liked living in this part of the country. She asked about the horses, about the progress on the new barn addition, whether he was settling in all right.
    He did not ask her about her boyfriend and she never asked him if there was a woman in his life—but those unasked questions hung heavy in the air between them. Not only was it obvious he was attracted to her, she was having trouble denying that she also felt a pull. There was sexual tension between them and she knew it.
    Even though Lilly occasionally dated, it had beena very long time since she had felt that buzz of awareness; it ran like a river through her veins and made her heart beat faster. She wasn’t sure if the shivers she was experiencing were from excitement or fear.
    She drove up to the stable and turned around to back up close to the doors. By the time she had her gloves on and was pulling a bale toward the hatch, Clay was pushing open and securing the double doors for her. She lifted the bale out of the truck bed while he put on gloves. By the time she deposited her load in the feed room, he was right behind her, a bale in each hand.
    “You don’t bother telling me not to help anymore,” he said, dropping first one then the second bale.
    “Why should I waste my breath?” she said, smiling before heading back to the truck.
    “Can you hang around a little while?” he asked.
    “For?”
    “I’m going to mount Streak. See how he does.”
    She turned as if startled. “He’s ready?”
    “We’ll find out,” Clay said, reaching into the pickup for a bag of feed.
    “I don’t know about putting a saddle on him. I get the feeling…”
    “I’m not going to use a saddle. Not yet, anyway,” he said.
    “Have you tried this before? On him?” she asked.
    “No, I was waiting for you. It’s obvious he matters to you, Lilly. And I think you matter to him. He’s quieted a great deal since he’s been our guest. Now he even goes along with the bridle, the bit, minds his manners. He even takes more kindly to the brush, if it’s not for too long.” He lifted the feed bags, stacked them together and hoisted them on a shoulder. “Stay a little while.”
    She felt an instant rush of emotion, suspense, though she wasn’t precisely sure what caused it. The prospect of watching him mount that surly two-year-old? Watching Streak throw him? Or was it the deep timbre of his voice when he said, Stay a little while…
    “Just for a couple of minutes,” she said. “I hope he’s in the mood. I don’t have much time today and I want to check on Blue.”
    “It won’t take long. I’ll know right away if he’s going to cooperate. Any interest in Blue from your notice on the bulletin board?”
    “Not yet, but it hasn’t been up that long…”
    “Longer than you asked for,” Clay reminded her. “Lots more than a few days. We’ll have to do something with her soon. This isn’t Club Med.”
    “I’m bringing her feed free,” Lilly said. “Have you noticed that?”
    “I have,” he said with a smile. “It’s appreciated. Thank you.”
    And then he took off with the feed bags, depositing them and heading for the tack room to get ready for his horse.
    Stay a little while … Oh, boy. Lilly