The Untamed Argentinian by Susan Stephens

Author:Susan Stephens
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

The night before the ponies were due to arrive from England Bella slept fitfully. When she did manage to doze off, the young woman in the portrait seemed to come alive. With a fist planted on her hip and her strong jaw jutting at a determined angle, it felt as if she was sizing Bella up.

At one point Bella shot up with a start and switched the lights on. The room was empty. Of course it was empty, but when the cockerel crowed she realised it was time to get up. Leaping out of bed, she pushed back the heavy curtain. Excitement flashed inside her at the sight of a dust cloud that could only herald the horseboxes arriving from England.

Nero was already out in the yard.

If there was one thing guaranteed to bring Nero out, it was horses.

Heedless of how she looked or what she was wearing, Bella tugged her old dungarees over her pyjamas, adding a baggy sweater for extra warmth. There was no time to scrape her hair back, though she did pause in the bathroom to run a toothbrush over her teeth before racing out of the room and pelting downstairs. Tearing through the kitchen, startling María and Concepcion along the way, she burst through the door just in time to jog alongside the lead vehicle until it slowed to a stop in the stable yard.

‘Leave this to the drivers, Bella,’ Nero said sharply as she began to reach for the locks.

She was elated at the sight of Nero and feeling purposeful at the thought of the horses so close at hand. And determined to have her own way.

‘I said leave it,’ Nero snapped.

Moving in front of her, he said, ‘This is men’s work.’

‘Men’s work?’ Bella demanded. ‘Would your grandmother have said that?’

Nero’s face froze and in that split second Bella said firmly, ‘Excuse me, please,’ and moved past him.

Bella was certain his expression could put a layer of ice on the lake, but Misty was in the back of this transporter and no one was getting in her way.

‘Why don’t you go back to the house and let us handle this?’ Nero suggested in a more persuasive tone. She looked at his hand covering hers. ‘I’ll let you know when Misty’s settled.’

‘I’d like to do that myself. I want to welcome my own horse and check her over. I won’t be going back to the house until I’ve checked all the ponies over,’ she assured him. Planting her fists on her hips, she stared at him and he stared at her, neither of them moving.

‘Shall we get on with this?’ Nero suggested dryly as the back of the trailer was unhitched.

‘Together,’ she insisted.

Nero’s lips tugged a little as he stretched the ironic stare. ‘Together,’ he agreed finally.

Good. This might be Nero’s estancia, but the ponies were her responsibility too. They’d had a long drive, and a transatlantic flight and—

And standing up to Nero excited her. Her heart was pounding. And, much as she loved her work, she couldn’t put all this excitement down to the arrival of her favourite horse.

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