from ear to ear. “I be bestest!” she vowed, leaning into Sage.
“What about you, JJ? Would you like to ride, too?” asked Mac. The boy looked at him warily, shrugged his shoulders and turned his eyes back to his plate.
“He’s not as venturesome,” spoke up Graham. “Not since—you know.”
“Okay, if we’re done here, I’ll take you to your cabins. Settle in. Relax. It will be a busy week,” said Mac. “Susan, may I see you in the office for a minute before I go?” She followed him out and down the hall. When they entered the office, he closed the door.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. His worried look bothered her.
“You going to be able to handle those two young’uns? GG’s a live wire. She’ll be a handful. And JJ? I just don’t know about him.”
“Don’t worry about them or me. We’ll get along fine,” she said, laying a hand on his chest. The sizzle she felt almost made her yank it away. She steeled herself to let it remain. “As for JJ, we’ll see. I had to take a couple psychology classes in college and you know the type of kids I’ve been working with. He’s out of his comfort zone. He’s scared.”
“Don’t take any chances with them. If necessary, keep them in the house.”
“We’ll be fine.” she stated. “You worry about the men you have out there. Don’t lose one of them. I think you might need to keep a closer eye on Hollywood.”
“Hollywood?”
“Buck. I named him that because he acts like he’s the star of the show. Reckless. More brass than brains. Thinks his good looks will get him anything he wants.”
“Will it?” asked Mac, his hands at her waist. “He’s been very attentive to you.”
“No!” she scoffed. Her now-who’s-being-stupid look had him pulling her to him for a brief, but reassuring, kiss. Under her hand, she felt his heartbeat increase in sync with her own. When he lifted his head, she was looking into eyes, the brown of aged whiskey, which contained questions she couldn’t answer.
He turned and left without a word. She stood there in the middle of the room, her fingertips to her lips, analyzing Mac’s actions. Did he want her to admit she loved him? She couldn’t.
* * * *
Once he had deposited the men at their cabins, Mac felt the necessity to work off the excess energy. He always developed hypersensitivity just prior to starting one of the camps. This time it seemed tenfold. Maybe it was having Sage there again, although she wasn’t taking part. She would be working behind the scenes. Was her knee healed well enough to be chasing after two small children?
He made for the stable and saddled the young leopard stallion that showed great promise. He had high hopes for the animal and the advancement of their breeding program. This was the one he had been striving for, the culmination of selective breeding, the one in a million that showed all the ideal characteristics of the Appaloosa breed. Mac was justly proud of the four year old and continued to bring him along slowly.
As he led him into the arena, the stallion moved calmly, yet with eyes alert, showing the white sclera, ears forward, head up, eager to begin. His muscles rippled under the white coat with the black spots, the mottled skin evident. The striped hooves moved steadily forward, making no attempts to kick or stomp. He was a gentle creature with an unexcitable nature.
Mac mounted and started to put him through the workout, warming up the muscles first like any good athlete. Then he worked the horse through the basic gaits, using elementary leg aids, on to several reining patterns.
He had started maneuvering through a series of figure eights at a moderate lope when something ran across in front of them. The horse stopped short, almost unseating Mac. He looked down and there stood GG grinning at him. He felt his eyes going wide with shock, his face paling and hands shaking at the thought of what could have happened.
Stretching down from the saddle, Mac
“What about you, JJ? Would you like to ride, too?” asked Mac. The boy looked at him warily, shrugged his shoulders and turned his eyes back to his plate.
“He’s not as venturesome,” spoke up Graham. “Not since—you know.”
“Okay, if we’re done here, I’ll take you to your cabins. Settle in. Relax. It will be a busy week,” said Mac. “Susan, may I see you in the office for a minute before I go?” She followed him out and down the hall. When they entered the office, he closed the door.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. His worried look bothered her.
“You going to be able to handle those two young’uns? GG’s a live wire. She’ll be a handful. And JJ? I just don’t know about him.”
“Don’t worry about them or me. We’ll get along fine,” she said, laying a hand on his chest. The sizzle she felt almost made her yank it away. She steeled herself to let it remain. “As for JJ, we’ll see. I had to take a couple psychology classes in college and you know the type of kids I’ve been working with. He’s out of his comfort zone. He’s scared.”
“Don’t take any chances with them. If necessary, keep them in the house.”
“We’ll be fine.” she stated. “You worry about the men you have out there. Don’t lose one of them. I think you might need to keep a closer eye on Hollywood.”
“Hollywood?”
“Buck. I named him that because he acts like he’s the star of the show. Reckless. More brass than brains. Thinks his good looks will get him anything he wants.”
“Will it?” asked Mac, his hands at her waist. “He’s been very attentive to you.”
“No!” she scoffed. Her now-who’s-being-stupid look had him pulling her to him for a brief, but reassuring, kiss. Under her hand, she felt his heartbeat increase in sync with her own. When he lifted his head, she was looking into eyes, the brown of aged whiskey, which contained questions she couldn’t answer.
He turned and left without a word. She stood there in the middle of the room, her fingertips to her lips, analyzing Mac’s actions. Did he want her to admit she loved him? She couldn’t.
* * * *
Once he had deposited the men at their cabins, Mac felt the necessity to work off the excess energy. He always developed hypersensitivity just prior to starting one of the camps. This time it seemed tenfold. Maybe it was having Sage there again, although she wasn’t taking part. She would be working behind the scenes. Was her knee healed well enough to be chasing after two small children?
He made for the stable and saddled the young leopard stallion that showed great promise. He had high hopes for the animal and the advancement of their breeding program. This was the one he had been striving for, the culmination of selective breeding, the one in a million that showed all the ideal characteristics of the Appaloosa breed. Mac was justly proud of the four year old and continued to bring him along slowly.
As he led him into the arena, the stallion moved calmly, yet with eyes alert, showing the white sclera, ears forward, head up, eager to begin. His muscles rippled under the white coat with the black spots, the mottled skin evident. The striped hooves moved steadily forward, making no attempts to kick or stomp. He was a gentle creature with an unexcitable nature.
Mac mounted and started to put him through the workout, warming up the muscles first like any good athlete. Then he worked the horse through the basic gaits, using elementary leg aids, on to several reining patterns.
He had started maneuvering through a series of figure eights at a moderate lope when something ran across in front of them. The horse stopped short, almost unseating Mac. He looked down and there stood GG grinning at him. He felt his eyes going wide with shock, his face paling and hands shaking at the thought of what could have happened.
Stretching down from the saddle, Mac
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