Romance Rides the River by Reece Colleen L

Author:Reece, Colleen L.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-12-03T05:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Zing.

Dori’s lasso sang through the air from her position atop her pinto mare. It captured the target stump for the fifth time in a row.

“Good job.” Seth called from Copper’s back. Ever since he’d read the riot act to her about racing Splotches, Dori had settled down and worked hard to master the tasks he gave her. Seth frowned. Working hard didn’t hide the biding-my-time expression she sometimes still wore. Sure as the sun came up in the east, sooner or later Dori would rebel again.

Seth shook his head and watched Dori coil her lasso for another throw. He’d known taking charge of her would be tougher than chasing rustlers. What he hadn’t counted on, but was forced to admit, was his growing admiration for the plucky girl.

You also didn’t count on falling in love with her.

Seth set his jaw. Ha! That’s just what he was not going to do. So what if his heart beat faster when she came running out to go riding? Or the softness in her manner at times indicated she might not be indifferent to him? No way would he consider anyone with her attitude as a possible life companion.

“You’re my Trailmate, God,” Seth mumbled for the dozenth time. “The woman I marry has to put You first in her life. Dori’s aim in life seems to be having good times and her own way. Once she sets her mind, she’s as immovable as El Capitan.” Seth grinned. Miss Dolores Sterling would not appreciate being likened to the thirty-six-hundred-foot granite mass reaching for the sky in the Yosemite Valley, but the comparison was accurate.

Her voice interrupted Seth’s soliloquy. “I’m tired of roping, Seth. Can we do something else? Practice jumping, maybe?”

“Only if you ride Copper. Splotches isn’t trained enough yet to be safe jumping.”

“Pooh.” Dori patted her pinto’s neck and looked rebellious. “Just because she balked and tossed me off doesn’t mean she isn’t ready. I simply wasn’t prepared for her to stop.” She grinned. “You didn’t mean it, did you Splotches?”

The mare whinnied as if in agreement but it didn’t change Seth’s mind. “Either ride Copper, or no jumping,” he ordered.

Dori’s deep sigh sounded like it came from her boots. “Well, all right. Copper is a good horse, too.”

Fighting words. “A good horse? Are you blind? Copper’s the best and most dependable horse on the Diamond S except for Matt’s buckskin, Chase.”

Dori bristled. Red flags waved in her cheeks. “He is not. I’ll show you.” She kicked Splotches with her boot heels and galloped away, straight for the narrow draw where she’d been thrown the day before.

“Stop.” Seth leaped into Copper’s saddle and took off after her.

“Never!” the flying figure called. “Faster, Splotches.”

The mare responded with a burst of speed that sent chills through Seth. Had Dori regained enough of her riding skills to handle the mare? Seth shook out his coiled lariat. “Run, Copper.” The sorrel sprang forward. Heart in his throat, Seth swung his lariat in a wide circle over his head.

Splotches reached the narrow gap in the earth and faltered just enough to break her stride.

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