Lucy Gordon - The Tuscan Tycoon’s Wife

‘We won’t know the truth until you’ve ridden a couple of races,’ Barton declared.

‘On what?’ With a faint attempt at comedy she added, ‘I don’t have the donkey yet.’

‘No, but you can do me a favour.’ Barton indicated the quarter horse. ‘His name’s Jeepers. I’ve got a buyer interested, and if he wins a barrel race or two I can up the price. So you ride him, show him off, and that’ll more than repay me.’

‘He’s beautiful,’ Selena breathed, running her hands lovingly over the animal. ‘Not as beautiful as Elliot of course,’ she added quickly.

‘Of course not,’ Leo said gently.

‘He’s well trained,’ Barton told her. He explained the story of the previous owner and Selena was scandalised.

‘She gave up the rodeo to stay in one place and have babies?’

‘Some women are funny like that,’ Leo observed, grinning.

Selena’s look showed him what she thought of such an idea. ‘Can I put my saddle on him now?’

‘Good idea.’

While Selena got to work Leo drew Barton aside.

‘So tell me about this mysterious buyer,’ he said.

Barton looked him full in the eye.

‘You know who’s gonna buy that horse, as well as I do,’ he said.

The whole family turned out to watch Selena try out Jeepers in Barton’s testing ring. The three barrels were set up in a triangle, with one side of ninety feet, and the other two sides one hundred and five feet each. Selena and Jeepers came flying across the starting line, into the triangle, turned sharply right around the first barrel, back into the triangle, around the second barrel, turned left and headed up the centre for the last barrel.

Each turn was a tight forty-five degrees, testing a horse’s balance and agility as well as speed. Jeepers was swift yet steady as a rock, and Selena controlled him with light, strong hands. Even Leo, no expert in barrel racing, could see that they were a match made in heaven.

After the final turn they headed back down the centre of the triangle, and out, to the cheers of the family and the hands.

‘Eighteen seconds,’ Barton called.

Selena’s eyes were shining. ‘We took it slow the first time. Wait till we get going. It’ll be fourteen in no time.’

She let out a joyous ‘Yahoooo!’ up to the sky and everyone joined her.

Leo, watching her face, thought he’d never seen any human being look so totally happy.

S ELENAhad said there was no excuse for being a wimp, and over the next few days she lived up to her belief. She brushed off her injury with the airiness of someone who’d had worse and ignored it, and she rode hell-for-leather on Jeepers until she’d gotten his time down to fourteen seconds, just as she’d vowed.

Barton insisted that she stay at the Four-Ten until after the rodeo. This made sense as Elliot’s recovery was slow, and she had no money to go anywhere else, but privately he gave Leo a wink, proving there was more to his offer than kindness.

‘It’s all in your head,’ Leo growled when they were alone. ‘Sure I like the girl, sure I want to help her. Dammit, nobody ever did until us! But that doesn’t mean-’

‘Of course not,’ Barton said, and went on his way whistling.

Leo had a horrible suspicion that the events of the first night had somehow become known throughout the house, which meant that Billie and Carrie’s giggling meant something after all. Paulie clearly thought so, because his manner towards Leo became cool.

Leo dropped in at the stables each evening, knowing he’d find Selena there, saying goodnight to Elliot. She always did this at length, and Leo was privately convinced that she was trying to make sure that he knew he still came first with her, despite Jeepers. Sometimes she stayed all night.

But tonight something was different. Instead of her softly murmuring voice he could hear the sounds of a scuffle as he pushed open the stable door. Somewhere deep in the shadows a fight was going on.

After a moment he saw the two combatants. There was Selena, fending off advances from Paulie, who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

‘C’mon, stop fooling. I’ve seen the looks you’ve been giving me. I know when a woman wants it.’

He made a lunge. Leo swore under his breath and gathered himself to spring on Paulie, a knight coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress.

But this damsel needed no such help. There was a yell from Paulie, who went reeling back, clutching his nose, while Selena blew on her knuckles.

‘Nice,’ Leo mused. ‘I’ll make a note not to get on your wrong side. Not that I planned to anyway, but now I’ve had my warning.’

‘He asked for it,’ Selena said, still blowing.

‘Not a doubt.’

Abruptly her manner changed. ‘But I shouldn’t have done it,’ she said. ‘Oh, lord, I wish I hadn’t.’

‘What for?’ Leo demanded. ‘Why stop when you’re having fun? And I should think socking him must have been great fun. I’m green with envy.’

‘But they’ll throw me out,’ she said frantically. ‘And Elliot’s not ready to go. Do you think if I apologised-?’

He stared at her. Talk of an apology was the last thing he’d expected from her.

‘Apologise? You?’

‘I can’t move Elliot yet. Let me talk to that creature.’

‘No, let me,’ he said, taking firm hold of her and keeping her where she was.

He strolled over to where Paulie had just staggered upright, glaring over a hand that was clutched to his nose.

‘How y’doing, Paulie?’ Leo asked affably.

Paulie carefully lowered his hand, revealing a red, enlarged nose and streaming eyes.

‘Did you see what she did?’ he snarled.

‘Yes, and I saw what you did. I’d say you’d gotten off lightly.’

‘That bitch-’

‘Well, you can always have your revenge,’ Leo observed, studying the injured proboscis with interest. ‘Just go back and tell Mommy that you got slugged in the kisser by a woman. I’ll be your witness. In fact I’ll make sure the story’s known all over Texas. It’ll probably get into the newspapers. Of course they’ll want a picture of you looking just as you do now.’

There was a deadly silence while Paulie digested the implications of this. His piggy eyes, full of spite, went from one to the other.

‘What do you take me for?’ he snapped at last.

‘If I told you what I took you for we’d be here all night,’ Leo said.

Paulie wisely decided to overlook this.

‘She’s a guest here. Naturally I shall-’ he almost choked over the last words ‘-say nothing.’

‘I felt sure you’d see it that way. A gentleman to the end. And if anyone asks how you got that shiner you can say you tripped on a pitchfork. Or tell them I did it, I don’t mind.’

‘But I do,’ Selena protested. ‘In a pig’s ear you’re getting the credit. If I can’t take it myself, he’ll have to say it was a pitchfork.’

Leo grinned, delighted with her. ‘Atta girl,’ he said softly.

‘You’re crazy, the pair of you,’ Paulie howled.

Giving them a wide berth he sidled his way out of the stable, breaking into a run as soon as he was out of the door.

‘Thank you,’ Selena said fervently. ‘That was terrific.’

‘Glad to be of some help. I should have knocked him down for you, but you didn’t seem to need me.’

‘Oh, I can do that bit for myself,’ she said blithely. ‘It’s the words that confuse me. You knew just what to say to keep him quiet. I never know what to say. The more I try, the more it comes out wrong.’

‘Better with your fists, huh?’

‘I’ve had plenty of practise.’

He appeared to consider the matter seriously. ‘I’d have guessed you to be more of a knee in the groin girl, myself.’