sucked in a deep breath and for the first time wondered if Corey had lost his mind. This was the man’s daughter—the same one who could end up breaking her damn neck if that horse threw her. But before he could open his mouth and say anything else, Corey reached out and touched his shoulder. “Calm down. She’ll be fine.”
McKinnon frowned, wondering who Corey was trying to convince—especially after seeing the expression of worry that quickly crossed the older man’s face. “I hope you’re right,” McKinnon said, pulling off his Stetson and wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. Already he was perspiring from worrying. Dammit, what was the woman trying to prove?
Without saying anything else, he placed the Stetson back on his head and walked with Corey over to where the other men were standing. Casey glanced at him, glared and looked way. Corey shook his head and somberly whispered to McKinnon, “Seems she’s still pissed at you.”
“Yep, seems that way, doesn’t it,” McKinnon replied. But at that moment, how Casey felt about him was the least of his worries. Like the other men standing around, he watched, almost holding his breath, as she entered the shoot to get on a blindfolded Vicious Glance’s back. She swung her petite body into the saddle and grabbed hold of the reins one of the ranch hands handed to her.
McKinnon’s pulse leaped when she gave the man a nod and the action began when the blindfold was removed from the horse’s eyes. Vicious Glance seemed to have gone stark raving mad, bucking around the corral, trying to get rid of the unwanted occupant on his back. A few times McKinnon’s breath got caught in his throat when it seemed Casey was a goner for sure, but she hung on and pretty soon he found himself hollering out words of encouragement to her like the other men.
She was given time to prove her point before several of the men raced over and quickly whisked her off the horse’s back. Loud cheers went up and McKinnon couldn’t help but smile. “Who in the hell taught her how to handle a horse like that?” he asked, both incredulously and relieved as he glanced over at Corey.
The older man grinned. “Ever heard of Sid Roberts?”
“What wannabe cowboy hasn’t,” McKinnon replied, thinking of the man who had grown up to be a legend, first as an African-American rodeo star and then as a horse trainer. “Why?”
“He was Casey’s mother’s brother; the man Carolyn went to live with in Texas, and who eventually helped her raise my kids. It’s my understanding that when it came to horses, he basically passed everything he knew down to Casey. Clint and Cole had already dreamed about one day becoming Texas Rangers, but I’m told that Casey wanted to follow in her uncle’s footsteps and become a horse trainer.”
McKinnon was listening to everything Corey was saying, though his gaze was glued to Casey. They had calmed Vicious Glance down and she was standing beside the animal whispering something in his ear, and as crazy as it seemed, it appeared the horse understood whatever it was she was saying. “So what happened?” he asked Corey. “Owning a dress store is a long way from being a horse trainer.”
“Her mother talked her out of it, saying she needed to go to college and get a degree doing something safe and productive.”
McKinnon nodded. “So she gave up her dream.”
“Yeah, for a little while, but she’s determined to get it back.” Corey glanced up at McKinnon. “Just so you know, Cal Hooper dropped by last night and offered her a job over at his place working with his horses.”
McKinnon frowned and looked at Corey. “Did she take it?”
“No, she told him she would think about it.” Corey chuckled. “I think he kind of gave her the creeps.”
And with good reason, McKinnon thought. Everybody around those parts knew that even in his late forties, Cal Hooper, a local rancher, still considered himself a ladies’ man and had a reputation for playing fast and loose with women. If the rumors one heard were true, he was also the father of a number of illegitimate children around Bozeman. McKinnon’s gaze shifted to Casey once again. She was walking toward them and he could tell from the pout on her lush mouth that she wasn’t glad he was there. In fact, she looked downright annoyed.
“McKinnon,” she acknowledged when she reached them.
“Casey. That was a good show of horsemanship,” he said.
“Thank you.” Although she’d said the words he could tell from her expression that she couldn’t care less what he thought.
“I agree with McKinnon. You did a fantastic job out there, Casey.”
The smile she gave her father was genuine. “Thanks, Corey. Vicious Glance will be fine now. He just needed to know that someone else, namely whoever is riding him, is always in control.”
“Well, I need to talk to Jack about how we’ll be handling him from now on. Excuse me for a moment,” Corey said before walking off, leaving them alone.
A few brief moments after Corey left, McKinnon tilted his hat back and looked down at Casey. His eyes narrowed. Before offering her the job there was something he needed to get straight with her, here and now. “Don’t you ever set foot on Quinn land and pull a stunt like you did yesterday. You had no way of knowing what that blasted horse was going to do. You could have been killed.”
“But I’m very much alive, aren’t I?” she said snippily, deciding the last thing she needed was for this man to dictate what she could or could not do.” “You’re not my father, McKinnon.”
“Thank God for that.”
Casey drew in a deep, irritated breath. “I think we’ve said enough to each other, don’t you think?” She moved to walk away.
“Aren’t you curious as to why I’m here?” he asked.
She frowned up at him. “Not really. I assumed you came to see Corey.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I came to see you.”
She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “And why would you come to see me?”
“To offer you that job you were interested in yesterday.”
She glared at him. “That was yesterday. I have no desire to work for a male chauvinist tyrant.”
McKinnon frowned. “A male chauvinist tyrant?”
“Yes, that about describes you to a tee. Now if you will excuse me, I—”
“The pay is good and you’ll need to stay at the ranch, in the guesthouse.”
Casey threw her head back and squared her shoulders. “Don’t let me tell you where you can take the pay and guesthouse and shove it, McKinnon. Like I said, I’m no longer interested. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”
He watched as she walked off, swaying her hips with each and every step she took. He couldn’t help but admire her spunk, but he refused to let her have the upper hand. “Casey?” he said, calling after her.
She stopped walking and slowly turned around. “What?”
“Think about my offer and let me know within a week.”
Her
