Mustang Annie by Rachelle Morgan

Author:Rachelle Morgan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

The men gathered around the paddock at the crack of dawn the next morning, their anticipation as tangible as the dew clinging to the wild rye. Under Annie’s direction they’d erected more fencing, creating a circular arena some distance from the main pen.

Resting his forearms on the fence, Brett stared across the paddock at the patchwork collection milling in the distance.

He was the first to admit that he was a greedy bastard. He wanted what he wanted, and he did whatever he had to do get it—including take advantage of any situation that presented itself.

For the first time, though, he felt almost ashamed.

What could he have been thinking, making that wager with Annie? How had he let her provoke him into sinking so low? Was he so desperate to keep her a little while longer that he’d let her risk her life?

He’d seen for himself what she could do with a bucker. Hell, the image of the first time he’d seen her haunted his every waking and sleeping moment. But they weren’t talking any old buckers here; they were talking twenty-five bred-in-the-badlands mavericks.

Then again, wasn’t that Annie’s style? And wasn’t her grit one of the things he found so appealing about her?

Even now, just looking at her made him throb clear down to the pit of his stomach. She entered the paddock, worn chaps snug around her jean-wrapped legs, a loose cream-colored shirt billowing in the breeze.

Judging from the wonder on the men’s faces, he wasn’t the only one affected by Annie. What was it about her that enthralled them all so? What was it that set her apart, and made all other women pale in comparison? Her mystique? Her untouchable aura? That rare hint of vulnerability that reminded them all that beneath the tough exterior beat the heart of a woman?

Her hips swayed in a blood sizzling manner as she approached the center of the paddock, while a late yearling hugged the outer circle, eyeing her. She’d said she needed to single out the older bachelors and mares before working with the colts and fillies. Brett knew from experience that the younger the horse, the easier the training. The older ones had already begun to form habits that they would pass down to their brothers and sisters. Adjusting those habits, Annie claimed, would make the rest of the herd follow the precedent set by the leaders.

“She’ll hire herself onto some outfit, tame the wildest mavericks, and collect her fee. A couple weeks later the horses would turn up missing.”

The sudden recollection of Jesse’s report caused Brett’s stomach to tighten with apprehension. Was she even now planning on taming the mounts, then coming back and stealing them?

“You fellers are in for the treat of your life,” Dogie declared, interrupting Brett’s thoughts. “Nobody can bust a bronc like Annie.”

“How would you know?” Flap Jack asked.

“I saw her once.”

Brett’s attention went to the kid’s face. “When would you have seen her?”

“Few years ago down at the Tongue River, when she was with—” Dogie’s face suddenly paled.

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