Wanted: Sharpshooter by Florence Witkop

Author:Florence Witkop
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, horses, contemporary romance, alpha hero, small town romance, horseback riding romance, sharpshooting, wilderness romance

CHAPTER 14

I returned to Green Forest long after the sun was up. It was a clear, bright day, the kind people associate with long horseback rides along shade-dappled trails with a picnic under a spreading oak before the return ride. I'd enjoyed many such days as a child and since joining Green Forest Stables. Distance rides, picnics and beautiful days were among the perks of the job. As I pulled into the parking area, I wondered when I'd be able to enjoy any of those things again.

With Carlos out of the picture, it was up to me to keep the horses safe and secure the future of Green Forest Stables. With Max's help. More honestly, Max would protect the horses and I'd do whatever I could to help him, not the other way around. For the first time ever I wished I'd taken my dad up on his offer of shooting lessons when we learned I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I felt more helpless than ever in my life.

With Carlos gone, with two people instead of three, everything changed. The place had to be protected from the cougar but the horses couldn't be neglected and we had to figure out how to do that.

I was the one who normally took the horses for trail rides while Carlos did the actual training. Thank goodness, Max had already started the process of learning how to train horses. Even in the couple days he'd been around, he'd learned a few things and the horses had come to know him. More importantly, though, he and Carlos had developed a kind of rhythm that put the horses at ease while taking them through their paces efficiently.

I didn’t' want to interfere with whatever relationship Max had developed with the horses so mostly I watched. I soon learned that, though Carlos had taught him, he had his own style. The Max with a horse was different from the Max on a hay bale with moonlight gilding his silhouette as that Max was different from the one hunting a rogue cougar. In the rink in the daylight, he moved with a different rhythm that was fascinating to watch.

Rhythm is important when working with horses. When Max said he wanted to learn about horses, I'd had my doubts because not everyone can connect with animals larger than themselves. But in the bright light of day, watching him work as only one of Carlos' students can, it was clear that, given enough time, Max could.

He worked the horses one at a time. When he brought Walkabout out for his turn, he informed me that I was an unnecessary third. "Walkabout doesn't sneak close to the fence to look for an opening when I'm with him. I don't think he even wants to take a walk."

"And when I'm around, he does?"

"Ummm…. yeah." Max raked his fingers through the horse's dark mane that needed burrs removed after each of his unauthorized trips. "I suspect Walkabout's been misunderstood."

"By me?" My mouth hung open.

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