A Cowboy to Come Home To by Donna Alward

Author:Donna Alward
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781460315545
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

SHE NEARLY BACKED OUT of the plans to go riding, but doing so would put her in an awkward position. Granted, she hadn’t had a lot to drink at dinner, but she’d had the latte and then a full glass of wine, and wasn’t quite sure she should drive yet. The dishes had been put in the dishwasher and the aunts had insisted on washing up the rest as Mel and Jean finished clearing the table. When Cooper said they planned to go riding, they’d practically been shooed out the door.

Now Melissa was astride Misty and finding it hard to be sorry. When they’d been kids, they’d gone riding a lot. Misty had been younger then and full of beans, as Bob used to say. But he’d trusted Mel with her, and while Melissa’s equestrian skills were rusty now, it all felt very familiar as she relaxed in the saddle and held the reins easily in her hands.

“Where to?” Coop asked. He was astride Sergeant, a ten-year-old sorrel stallion with strong hindquarters and a wide, muscled chest. The horse tossed his head a little, his mane shivering in the wind, and danced a bit to the side. Without breaking his gaze from Mel, Coop settled the animal with barely a movement of his body or hands.

“Up to you,” she replied. There were tons of places on the ranch. They could head east and wind their way along the creek to the butte, or north past the pastures and on to the slough, where there was shelter in the trees. Or they could follow the creek the other way, down into the gulley.

“Let’s go west,” he suggested. “Then we’ll have the wind at our back on the way home.”

He led the way and she couldn’t help but admire the figure he made in the saddle. He was all long legs and lean hips, with a perfectly straight back and relaxed, wide shoulders. He’d put on his jean jacket again and when he turned his head to follow the path of a flock of geese, the brim of his hat nearly touched the collar. Once they were out of the yard, Coop looked back and grinned, and then nudged Sergeant into a canter. The speed was nothing Mel couldn’t handle, and she settled into the rocking gait easily. He was letting the horses get some exercise, and it was fun, too. She caught up to him and moved alongside, then gave Misty a nudge and opened her up to a gallop. She heard Coop’s laugh behind her, but only for a short while. In no time he’d brought the stallion forward and they rode neck and neck, heading nowhere fast and loving every minute.

Before long they reached the narrow, snaking creek and slowed to a trot, then a walk. They rode beside it for a long time until a narrow path appeared, leading down into the secluded gulley.

The rock along the creek bed was multicolored, a unique striation of geological layers that had been formed over millions of years.

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