Pamela Britton - His Rodeo Sweetheart

“Beautiful animals.”

“Imports,” Claire explained. “Most of them, at least. Although there’s a few off-the-track Thoroughbreds and even a quarter horse or two. The majority were bred in Europe.”

“I used to see horses when I was in veterinary school, although nothing like this.”

He walked next to her along the barn aisle, light shining on his face despite the cowboy hat, thanks to the opening at the other end of the barn. He’d tucked his hands in his jeans. She wondered if his hands shook again and had to fight the urge to turn her head and study him intently. Whether he suffered from anxiety or not, it was none of her business. She appreciated his help, but no more than that.

“You worked on horses in the military?” She glanced at him.

“Cavalry units. Believe it or not, they’re still in existence, although they’re mostly for parade purposes.”

“These horses are strictly for jumping and some of them cost as much as a new house.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

Her sister-in-law received a commission on sales. Between that and her purse earnings she’d been able to build everything around them. It drove Colt nuts. Her brother was very much a man, and the fact that his wife made more money than he did took some adjusting, but they made it work. Her brother had found love and she couldn’t be happier for him.

“Mom, Uncle Colt says Major McCall can stay in the apartment above the barn if he wants.”

Her brother sat on a horse on the other side of a solid-wood rail, a wide smile on his face, Adam having already accosted him. Not for the first time she noticed how much he’d changed. His gold eyes always seemed lit from within. His black hair was tucked beneath a black cowboy hat—as it always was—but he didn’t keep it as closely shaved as he used to. More relaxed, that’s what he seemed. And happy. Very, very happy. She doubted their brother, Chance, would recognize him when he came home in a few months.

“I take it you’re Major McCall,” Colt called out to her guest.

“Ethan,” the handsome doctor said—yes, handsome, damn it. It wasn’t a crime to notice. “Nice to meet you.”

The two shook hands, although her brother had to lean over the rail to do so, not that the horse he rode seemed to mind. Playboy—her sister-in-law’s horse—she recognized, the horse’s successful reining career having resulted in Colt hitting fewer rodeos and staying closer to home. He still loved his rodeo act, but he loved his new wife more. That was why he’d turned the act over to someone new—Carolina Cruthers—although Claire wasn’t quite sure what to make of the standoffish woman.

“My nephew told me you just got out of the military.”

“Been out two weeks,” Ethan clarified.

“So this is him?” Her sister-in-law rode up next to her husband, a wide smile on her face, blond hair tucked beneath a black-and-gray helmet.

“This is him,” Claire echoed, for some reason incredibly self-conscious. Maybe it was because she knew Natalie had noted the doctor’s good looks. There was a twinkle in her blue eyes as their gazes connected, and a nonverbal, “No wonder you want him to stick around.”

It’s not like that, she silently telegraphed.

Okay, so maybe it was. She was human and it’d been a long, long time since she’d been with a man. So long, in fact, that she couldn’t even remember that far back. Scratch that. She remembered. About a year after her husband had died. A quick hookup the weekend of the town rodeo, and a night she’d rather forget, but it served to remind her of yet one more reason why she’d never let her attraction to the man get out of hand. Awkward couplings in the middle of the night weren’t her thing.

Not even when the man was as handsome as Ethan.

At least, that was what she told herself.

Chapter Five

“I’m Natalie Reynolds,” said a woman on a massive sorrel horse. She held out a hand wearing an odd-looking glove. Half leather, half crochet. “And this is my husband, Colt, since Claire seems too distracted to perform the introductions.”

Ethan glanced at Claire in time to see her eyes flick away, seemingly in humiliation, but what did she have to be embarrassed about?

“Nice to meet you.” Ethan shook Natalie’s hand, her horse snorting in protest at the sudden thrust of his arm. Might be big, but the horse still had the nerves of a Thoroughbred. Couldn’t deny it was a beauty, though. The animal looked almost wet its coat glistened so noticeably. When Claire had said her sister-in-law’s horses were worth a small fortune, she hadn’t been kidding.

“You’re the dog doctor, Adam tells me,” the woman said.

“MWDs—military working dogs.”

She nodded, her eyes the same color as a military ribbon. They projected friendliness, those eyes. “Ever work on horses?”

“Actually, yes.” Most people were like Claire. They had no clue that military veterinarians worked on all sorts of different animals. It all depended on the base where they were stationed. He could look at a cat one day, a bird the next, sometimes even cows. All that had changed, however. “I was attached to a cavalry unit once, nonactive, strictly for parade purposes, but it was fun traveling around with them.”

That was before. Pre-orders. Off to the Middle East. Life had never been the same since.

“Interesting,” Natalie said.

“But I’m not really tied to my veterinary career. My hope is to work for one of the big canine training facilities. I’d like to keep serving my country in a small way and that seems like the best way to do it.”

Claire looked impressed, then thoughtful. “That explains why you’re so willing to work with Thor.”

He forced himself to focus on Claire’s words, because that was who’d spoken. He stared into her eyes, observed the different specks of green in them. A distraction technique, one that he hoped would keep his hands from shaking yet again.

“That’s part of my master plan, anyway,” he admitted.

Focus.

He’d been hoping—damn, how he’d been hoping—a trip to the country might be just what his frazzled nerves needed. He realized too late he’d been kidding himself. Trev’s death was still too fresh. The things he’d witnessed still in the forefront of his mind. The helplessness he’d felt was something he would never forget.

Damn it.

“I think it might actually work out to have him stay here,” he heard Natalie say.

“No,” he interjected. Natalie drew back a bit and he realized he’d sounded a little terse. “Look, you’re really kind to even consider offering me a place to stay.” He caught the boy’s gaze, forcing a smile. “But I can’t accept.”

“Actually, you’d be doing us a favor.”

It was Claire’s brother who’d spoken, the man leaning forward and resting an arm on his saddle’s horn, saddle creaking in protest. “One of the owners Natalie rides for has decided to put her horse up for stud. We were just talking about how to handle that.” He pointed with his chin at his wife. “We both know a lot about horses, but we’re not breeding experts, and the stallion in question is worth a lot of money. We have a friend who’s a vet, but she’s pregnant and busy, and we have no business risking its health in the breeding shed, and so we need a professional to help us do it right. At least until we can find someone to do it permanently.”

Natalie was nodding as she fiddled with her reins. “I was explaining to my husband just yesterday that a lot of big show barns offer stallion service.” A strand of blond hair had escaped from beneath the black cap she wore. “It was kind of a long-range plan of ours to do the same, and then my owner called last week and she really doesn’t want to have to move her horse...”