Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (4 page)

“How’s
it going?” Gabe asked as he t
ook his hat off. Olivia
talked with him and Emma tuned them out, until she heard her name.

“What
did you just say about me?”

“I just
told Gabe you were going over to Jake’s on Saturday to do some kind of barrel
thing with a horse.” Olivia smiled.

“Barrel
Race,” Emma and Gabe said together.

“
Pffft
…whatever.”
Olivia waved her hand.

Gabe
looked at Emma. “Are you going over to work with Misty?”

Emma
nodded. “Yes. Jake came by earlier and asked me. I do miss riding her.”

“Are you
going to compete in September?”
Gabe asked.

“Compete
in what?” Olivia butted in again.

Emma
grinned. “There’s a rodeo competition in September. I won last year.” She
nodded without looking at Gabe. “I think I will compete this year,” she said as
she glanced up at Gabe. “You’re going to,
aren’t
you?”

“Do you
compete in the same thing as Emma?” Olivia asked.

Gabe
chuckled. “This is all new to you, isn’t it, Liv?” At her nod, he continued. “I
compete in tie-down, or calf roping as some call it. Jake competes in reining,
and Wyatt competes
in cutting.” He paused then
grinned. “Look it up. It would take too long to explain it all.”

Emma
laughed at Olivia’s wide-eyed expression of confusion. “I’ll tell you all about
it when we have some spare time.”

Gabe put
his hat on and after giving a terse
nod. He left
without saying why he stopped by. Emma exhaled as he walked out the door. Two
young girls coming in stopped to stare up at him. Emma saw him smile and put
his fingers to his hat as he passed them. They giggled and walked into the
foyer, glanc
ing back over their shoulders at his
backside. Emma wanted to skin them alive. She glanced at Olivia when she heard
her snicker. Olivia raised her hands in surrender. Emma went to the kitchen to
check on her cake. As she was taking it out of the oven, Oliv
ia walked in and sat down at the table. She tapped her
fingernails on the table. Emma hissed out a breath.

“Say
whatever it is you’re thinking, Liv.”

“Why do
you suddenly go so shy around Gabe? The man can’t take his eyes off you and you
barely look at him
, even when you’re talking to him.
Don’t you know that’s your opportunity to let him know you’re interested?”

Emma
felt tears stinging her eyes and blinked them back. “I can’t allow myself to be
hurt by him. All Gabe cares about is sex. He doesn’t want a c
ommitment, and I do. I want to get married and have
children. Didn’t you see him look at those young girls who came in?”

Olivia
placed her hand on Emma’s arm. “People change. Take a chance. You could be the
woman for him. Those young girls were just that…y
oung.
Gabe wasn’t interested in them. He was just being polite.”

“I have
no idea how to act around him. I’ve known him almost my entire life, but the
only thing I know to talk about with him is horses.” Emma sniffled.

“That’s
a start. Then just be you.” Ol
ivia smiled at her.
“You’re gorgeous. I know Gabe sees you that way. You don’t see the way he looks
at you like I do.”

Emma
frowned at her. “Just how does he look at me?”

“Like a
starving man looking at a delicious smorgasbord.”

The
comparison made Emma bu
rst out laughing. Olivia
joined in. “Now, if only I could get Wyatt to look at me like that, we’d all be
happy.” Though she knew Olivia was teasing, Emma could see the sadness in her
eyes. One Stone brother down, two to go.

Chapter Two

Emma
left the
B and B a little after nine on Saturday
morning and the temperature was already in the mid-nineties. The sun beat down
on the countryside, baking the ground. The hydrangea bushes flourished in the
shade of the front porch boasting fat clusters of purple fl
owers. The large oak tree centered in the front yard
provided the only shade. Horses grazed in the field next to the barn, their
tails twitching to chase away flies. Jake’s ranch was only five miles down the
road so it didn’t take her long to arrive there.
She
pulled up to the large metal building which Jake used for training. When she
opened the car door, the heat felt like a blast furnace. She jogged for the
door and stepped inside. The air conditioning was a godsend. Letting her eyes
adjust, she looked t
oward the arena and saw where
Jake already had three barrels set up for her. Wood shavings covered the floor
of the large enclosure, filling the air with a fresh scent.

Emma
walked down the pathway alongside the wood railing looking for Misty. She found
he
r in the first stall. Jake’s horse, Midnight, stood
waiting for some attention in the stall next to her. He was a magnificent
horse. Black with four white socks, and he was one of the smartest horses Emma
had ever seen. Jake had won several competitions wi
th
him already. She rubbed Midnight’s velvety nose then moved along to
Misty’s
stall. After feeding her a small
piece of apple she put the riding blanket on the filly’s back,
then
threw the saddle on. When she
put the bridle on, Misty butted her head again
st
Emma’s shoulder, making her laugh.

“I know,
girl.” She rubbed the horse’s nose. “I love you too.” She led her out to the
ring and mounted the filly, settling into the saddle. Misty pranced around,
excited. She knew what was about to happen. A competitio
n horse lived for the thrill of it. Emma nudged her and ran her around
the arena a few times to warm her up. When she figured Misty was ready, she
galloped her to the far end of the room, and then let her go. The horse ran
like a shot, heading for the barr
el at the far end.
She circled it perfectly. Close, but not too close. The idea was to get as
close as possible without knocking the barrel over. After clearing the first
one, she headed for the middle barrel, Misty did just as well, and then to the
third,
the filly clearing it a little wide. Misty
circled the barrels so fast and low, it almost seemed as if she was on her side
when she went around them. Emma ran her back to the starting position.

Patting
Misty on the neck, she praised her. “Let’s do it agai
n,
girl. That last barrel was a little wide.
My fault, not yours.”
The second time was better, but
Emma wanted Misty closer. As they came from the starting position again, the
entrance door opened, and Gabe stepped in. What was he doing here? She shook
her
head but her concentration was suddenly gone. As
she rounded the first barrel, they cut it too close, Misty hit it knocking it
over, and Emma tumbled from the saddle.

“Damn
it!” Emma punched her fists into the shavings. Gabe was at her side in no time.

“E
mma, are you alright?” He squatted down beside her.

She
glared up at him. “Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “I have fallen off a
horse before, Gabe.” He stood and put his hand out to her, which she ignored.
She moved to her knees then stood up dusting
herself
off.

Misty
came back to her and nudged her shoulder. Emma rubbed the filly’s nose. “It’s
not your fault, girl. I got distracted and we know to never get distracted.”
She looked to Gabe, hoisted herself back into the saddle, and stared down at
him.
“Did you need something?”

Gabe
shook his head. “Not really. I was looking for Jake.”

“He went
to town with
Becca
. Now if you don’t mind, I have
to get back to work here.”

Gabe
nodded but didn’t move. Emma sighed. “I can’t ride her with you in the way.” He
saluted her, moved to the other side of the fence, and
stood behind it, resting his arms on the top rail. Her lips tightened into a
thin line. She trotted Misty over to him.

“What
are you doing?” she asked him, not masking the annoyance in her voice.

Gabe
smiled and her heart did a little flip. “I thought I’d
watch for a while, if you don’t mind.”

Emma
could not believe this. “Yes, I do mind. Go home, Gabe.”

He gazed
up at her with a grin brightening his handsome face. “Why, Emma? Do I distract
you?”

She
couldn’t answer him. She sat there staring down at him, her
mind drawing a blank. God, he’s gorgeous.

“And if
I distract you, why is that? I’ve seen you ride. Hell, I’ve watched you
compete. Why would I distract you all of a sudden?” He grinned, showing of
f perfect white teeth.

All she
knew was she couldn’t practice with him watching. She dismounted and walked
Misty to the barn. She knew Gabe was following her but she didn’t speak to him
as she wiped Misty down, fed, and watered her. Gabe watched her the en
tire time. He stood against the doorjamb of the stall with
his arms folded across his broad chest and one hip cocked, looking entirely too
comfortable. Emma refused to let him know he was bothering her. When she was
finished with Misty, she left the arena
and walked
toward her car. Gabe followed behind her. She’d had enough and spun around to
face him.

“What do
you want, Gabe?” She glowered up at him. He closed the distance between them,
cupped her face in his hands, leaned his face down, and kissed her. Wh
en he raised his head, he wore a surprised expression on
his face. “Why did you do that?” she whispered.

He
shrugged. “I have no idea. Other than you’re a beautiful woman, and what man
doesn’t want to kiss a beautiful woman?”

Emma
turned away from him and
wiped away a tear which had
managed to escape an eye and had slid down her cheek. “If that’s all it was
then don’t ever do it again. I will never be a one night stand for you, Gabriel
Stone.” She ran to her car, got inside, slamming the door before startin
g the engine, and drove home, all the while praying no one
was there to see her fall apart.

When she
entered the back door of the B and B she was thankful no one was around. She
could hear Olivia at the front desk talking with one of the guests. Emma just
wanted to curl into a ball and cry for a few minutes…or a
few years. Why had Gabe kissed her? She flopped down onto her bed and stared at
the ceiling. For years, she’d wanted him to kiss her but when he finally did,
it was because he thought she was beauti
ful and
figured any man would want to kiss her. Was that supposed to make her feel
better?

She
groaned as she rolled to her side and placed her fingers against her lips. They
still tingled from his kiss. His mustache had tickled her, but she loved it.
She’
d wanted more then, and wanted more now. She
wanted deep long kisses from Gabe Stone.

Emma
jumped when someone knocked at her door. It was probably Olivia. She was
tempted to ignore her but knowing Olivia, she’d just walk in. Emma gave it up,
and told her
to come in. She felt the bed dip when
Olivia sat down on it.

“What’s
wrong Emma?” Olivia asked, but Emma simply shook her head. A tear rolled down
her temple into her hair. Olivia gently rubbed her arm. “Didn’t the barrel
thingy go well?”

For some
reason,
Emma found that extremely funny and started
laughing. When she could catch her breath, she looked at Olivia to see her
frowning, which only set Emma off again. She heard Olivia huff as she stood up.
Emma reached for her.

“I’m
sorry, Liv. The barrel thingy
went fine, until Gabe
showed up.” Emma sobered up. “I don’t know why he was even there. He said he
was looking for Jake but when I told him Jake wasn’t there, he stuck around.
He…” She shook her head. “He kissed me.”

“Then
why are you crying? Isn’t that wh
at you wanted?”
Olivia frowned with obvious confusion.

Emma
snorted. “When I asked him why he did it, he told me ‘what man doesn’t want to
kiss a beautiful woman’.” She blinked back tears. “I want him to kiss me, Liv,
not just some beautiful woman that’s a
vailable to
him.”