Stallion Tamer by Lindsay McKenna

Author:Lindsay McKenna
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-06-09T00:00:00+00:00

“Come on,” Dan urged tightly, getting Tommy out of the truck in front of the mission. He didn’t dare look at Jessica. Now she knew about his sordid past. Damn! Gently moving the old Navajo up the sidewalk to the two-story wooden house that served as a center for the homeless in Sedona, he avoided Jessica’s gaze. But he could feel her eyes on him, his skin scorching hotly at her appraisal. She hadn’t said a word as he drove the three blocks to the mission.

The ache in his heart widened. Well, he was stupid to hope that Jessica wouldn’t find out about his past—his bout with the bottle after the war. He brought Tommy into the cooler depths of the front lobby, sitting him into a chair near the reception desk.

Jessica moved to the desk and talked to the young woman with glasses behind it, while Dan stood back, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. His knuckles hurt, but it was nothing like the pain he felt in his heart or the shame that burned through him. When Jessica turned, he saw her avoid his gaze and stare down at the floor instead. Humiliation avalanched through him. Grimly, Dan opened the door for her. Tommy was in good hands now and the folks who ran this mission would get him a bath, clean clothes, shoes, some hot, nutritious food and a place for him to sober up.

The heat of the sunlight laced across them as they walked to the pickup parked beneath two huge cottonwoods. He opened the door for Jessica.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She got in, pressed her hands into her lap and hung her head. She felt Dan get back in and heard the door slam. Closing her eyes, she took a long, shaky breath.

“Jessica,” he began awkwardly, “I’m sorry...”

She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her chin. Dan sat tensely beside her, both his bloodied hands gripping the steering wheel. As she met and held his sad, dark gray eyes, tears stung hers. The incredible sadness around him enveloped her and she just stared at him, at a loss for words. Finally, she saw him scowl and push the cowboy hat off his wrinkled, glistening brow.

“Something came over me,” he muttered. “I saw Chet trap your hand against that door and something just snapped inside me. That little rattler is no good. He knew what he was doing.”

“Y-yes, I think he did,” she managed to answer haltingly. Her gaze shifted to his white-knuckled hands. “At least let me clean up your hands, Dan. They’re bleeding pretty badly.”

He hadn’t even noticed, Dan realized as he watched Jessica lean down and pick up the plastic quart bottle of water she’d brought along for them to drink. From the glove box, she took a clean cloth. Turning in the seat, she eased his right hand off the steering wheel after dampening the cloth. Her touch was incredibly gentle and warm. He felt his heart breaking. It would be the last time she ever touched him this way.

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