Pursued by the Rich Rancher by CATHERINE MANN

Author:CATHERINE MANN
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-05-10T17:00:00+00:00

Seven

Nina’s heart leaped to her throat.

She felt the horse coil beneath her, almost mimicking the motion of the rattlesnake. Zircon’s muscles exploded forward and he reared back. Ears pinned flat against his head, the paint pawed the air. Alex banded one arm around her to hold her secure and the other held the reins. He said something, some kind of command to Zircon, but she could only hear the roaring in her ears and the hammering of her heart as the world tilted backward.

She was going to die. Fall off the horse. Break her neck. Make her son an orphan. She’d stepped outside her comfort zone and would pay the price. A scream welled in her throat. She squeezed her eyes closed to fight vertigo, every muscle in her body tensing. She grabbed a fistful of mane, holding so tightly that her knuckles were bone white.

Zircon’s hooves slammed down again, jarring her teeth, pushing her forward and off balance. She tried to stabilize her body weight on Zircon’s neck but barely caught her breath before the horse bolted forward. She slammed back against the hard wall of Alex’s chest, knocking the air from her lungs.

“Alex!” she choked out.

“Stay calm,” his voice rumbled against her ear. “Hold tight and remember to breathe.”

Faster and faster, the horse galloped along the path, then off. Zircon’s gait was hurried, erratic. The horse was hardly running in a straight line and his ears were still pinned in fright. Earth and dirt flew past her vision. They raced through an open field, toward a creek. The wind whipped through her hair, but she hadn’t been tossed off. She wasn’t dead from a broken neck.

Yet.

Alex had her locked firmly against his chest, and her heartbeat raced as fast as the horse. “It’s okay, Nina. I’ve got this. You’re all right. Zircon will run himself out. We just need to stay seated.”

She heard him and slowly began to believe him. Her nerves battled with a long-buried urge to enjoy the ride and ignore the risks. Just live on the edge. Which was exactly what they were about to do as Zircon readied to cross the creek. The horse pushed off the thin creek’s bank. Instinctively Nina shifted her hands up the horse’s neck, grabbing its mane and leaning forward into the jump.

Zircon went flying over the creek and landed smoothly on the other side. Had she squealed or screamed again? She didn’t know, but the world was sparkling. This felt like flying.

The drumming of the hooves reverberated through her as Zircon nimbly galloped around fat oak trees. They approached another clearing. Alex gathered the reins and pulled the horse’s head to the right. Zircon’s head turned sharply and his legs followed. Nina watched the horse’s nervous eyes soften. Alex kept the horse turning to the right. The circle became smaller and smaller. Bit by bit, the horse slowed. Then stopped, snorting and pawing at the ground.

Alex slid from the saddle and lifted her off, setting her quickly on the grass before kneeling beside his horse.

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