thinking on it.” She wasn’t thinking about anything else. Well, except him.
Here, among the horses, the mountains, the blue sky, he looked like the real deal, a cowboy all the way. Of course, that was probably because he was the real deal—and his authenticity wasn’t compromised by the exasperated expression on his face. She liked how he habitually tipped back his hat and then drew it forward.
“As I told you, I’ll ponder it,” she couldn’t resist saying.
“Ponder? Really? Is that how you think we talk out here?”
“It’s a perfectly good word.” She stood her ground. “People from California say it all the time.”
“Yeah, maybe a hundred years ago.” He gestured at the horses. “Smoke—if that’s what we’re going to call him—would be fine after the trank. But the point is, he has to go. He’s wreaking havoc with the ranch’s working horses. Get it? Put that in your thesis.”
“What if I could coax him into coming close enough so you could just catch him?”
“What?” He looked incredulous. “You can’t. He’s a wild stallion.”
“I think I could.”
He let out a long, slow breath. “You can’t even saddle a horse.”
“That’s a skill I intend to learn. Can I give it a try? By the way, I’m well aware that we aren’t talking about a domesticated animal. If we were, I wouldn’t be here.”
Drake threw up his hands. “This is the most ridiculous conversation I’ve ever had. He isn’t going to do it.”
“Let me try before you shoot him.”
That riled him. “I’m not going to shoot that horse or any other horse, for heaven’s sake! I’ll sedate him and have him moved to federal land set aside for wild horses. Not the same thing.”
It wasn’t as if she didn’t know that, but still...it was fun to tease him. She couldn’t believe she was about to ask this, but she’d been pretty brazen already. “Can you wait two more weeks? I need that much time for my study, and you’ve had this herd around for a while, anyway. Then I promise I’ll get out of your hair. I was planning on staying a month.”
A bribe of sorts, and a shameless one.
His cooperation in exchange for getting rid of her. She figured he might go for it.
“A month!” He seemed properly horrified.
“You’d have one less week with me—if you’ll just hold off a bit.”
He took the deal. He smiled grimly and jerked off his glove, then thrust out his hand. “Let’s shake on it.”
Solid grip. He didn’t try to break her fingers or anything, which she appreciated, since she could tell he’d reached the end of his patience.
He had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.
Was there any chance he’d actually pose for a formal photograph? Maybe next to that giant horse of his... Uh-uh, she thought wisely. This would not be the right moment to ask more of Mr. Drake Carson.
Instead, she said simply, “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” he muttered as he stalked away. “All I ask is that you be a man of your word.”
“I’m not a man,” she called out to his retreating back.
“I’ve noticed that,” he said.
He didn’t turn around.
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