Hard as Iron (Hard for Her Book 5) by Alice May Ball

Author:Alice May Ball [May Ball, Alice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TzR Publishing
Published: 2020-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

I find her awake at about four a.m., standing at the window in her tee shirt, watching the rain and the moon. She hears me move and her head turns. Just a little. I want to go to her, but I sense that she doesn’t want to be crowded. I stay on the cot.

“So. No bikers?” I keep my voice gentle. “Did you get hurt?”

“I don’t want a guy. A man. Not any kind of a man, Iron.” She looks in my eyes, her lovely face picked out in the moonlight. She comes near. Reaches out to hold my face and frowns as she takes a kiss. “I don’t want the attachment. I’m not answerable to anyone. I don’t have to tell anybody where I’m going, what I’m doing. Nothing.” She licks her lip and her brow tenses as she looks at my mouth. She takes another kiss. More slowly. “I’ve got no reason to give up my independence.” She turns away. Looks back over her shoulder. “I’ve always felt that way. I still do.”

“Don’t worry.” I tell her, “I’ll protect you. I’m going to take care of you. You’re mine now. Completely.”

“Don’t you get it?” There’s pleading in her voice. “I don’t want to be under anybody’s protection, Iron. Nobody’s going to stamp ‘Property Of’ on me.”

I know she means what she says. But from the tension in her voice, I know there’s also more to it.

I tell her, “When I was a kid, my dad worked for a while on a ranch. One of the few places I ever really felt at home. Even though we were probably there about three months or less. He used to break horses. Steers sometimes, too.”

“You’re going to tell me I’m like one of those steers?”

“A Palomino. Fantastic foal. Beautiful. But willful. Definitely knew her own mind. Did not want to be ridden by anyone.”

“So. What happened? I mean, I think I can guess the end, but how did it happen?”

“Dad told me he had to show the horse that he can handle what she would dish out. It wasn’t about him dominating her. He sat on her back until she accepted him. It was about them both accepting each other.”

“Nice story. And then he handed the horse back to the farmer or the rancher or whoever, and, don’t tell me, she got sold to some rich guy to give to his daughter as a birthday present, right? And they all lived happily ever after.”

“No, Tyler. It wasn’t like that. Dad broke the horse, but nobody else could ride her. She wouldn’t have anybody but him.”

“So what happened?”

“The boss told dad, you can buy the horse… Or she’s out of here.”

“What did he do?”

“Dad? He had no choice. He couldn’t afford a horse. He didn’t have stables or anywhere to keep her. There was just no way.” Telling the story affects me more than I expected. I take a breath. “Broke his heart.”

Her voice softens. “Sounds like it might have broke yours, too.

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