Enchantress' Secret (Hemstreet Witches Book 1) by Rain Trueax

Author:Rain Trueax [Trueax, Rain]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Seven Oaks
Published: 2016-06-02T04:00:00+00:00

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At the barnyard, Nick dismounted, praising the steady Jock. “He’s a great horse,” he said as he ran his hand along Jock’s withers. “Strong, not easily thrown off his game.”

“I imagine he enjoyed today as much as you did. Your using a hackamore says a lot. Many riders want a bit.”

“Horses hate them, and for a horse like this, don’t probably even need the hackamore. Like Luke said, he responds to body language.”

“Luke is a good trainer,” Denali said. “He learned from my father. Dad rode Shadow, our stallion. Shadow is getting old now but Mom still rides him. I guess it keeps her connected to him.” He saw the sadness on her face. He wondered if a loss of her father had led to her need to believe the supernatural world was there and could be managed. If he had believed it was there, he’d know it could not be managed. He preferred to think it was all nature, like the powerful dust devil. No voice except the one in a person’s head.

Luke and Pete came out of the lower barn. “Good ride?” Luke asked as he watched Denali and Nick rub down and then curry their mounts.

“It is beautiful country. Paradise for a ranch,” Nick said.

“It is.”

“He said no job,” Pete said, a dour expression on his face.

“There are other ranches who use horses less than we do.”

“Horses were a problem?” Nick asked as he put Jock in his stall and gave him a portion of oats before turning back.

“He’s rough with them. If I hired him, Maria would fire me.” Luke smiled.

“You didn’t learn that from Rance,” Nick said going over to the sink at the back of the barn and washing up.

“I wasn’t rough. Just the horse took a dislike to me.”

“Tried to nip him,” Luke agreed. “It’s how you handled it that went against the grain. No need to slap her. She doesn’t like men anyway.”

“You dared to slap Bliss?” Nick heard the anger in Denali’s voice.

“She bit at me.”

“If she had wanted to bite you, she would have,” Denali retorted. “Mom would have your hide for that. Bliss was abused before Mom got her. She is naturally afraid of someone new.”

“I didn’t know that.” Pete sounded defensive.

“You know it now, and if you want to work on ranches anywhere around here, treat the animals with the respect they deserve.” She clenched her teeth against what it looked to Nick she wanted to say next.

“I’m sorry.” His brother sounded anything but.

Denali looked back at Luke. “Thank you for giving him a chance.” She didn’t add what Nick was sure she felt—to thank him also for not hiring him.

“Sorry but just couldn’t have him on the place. You know your mama.”

Nick heard the tenderness in that last sentence. He looked up and met Luke’s level gaze. “I’d like to come back and ride again. How much do you charge an hour?”

“Good rider like you. I saw how you handled him when you rode out. I oughta pay you for working them.

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