Here Comes Trouble (14 page)

The riding lessons were behind the guests now,
and his friends seemed to take to it well. Rocky assured him all
four were competent enough. Terri was struggling a little. Rocky
suggested that she work with her the rest of the afternoon, while
the others were learning roping from Matt. Joel had agreed, but he
also planned to give her some remedial lessons tonight, by taking
her on a moonlight trail ride to the creek. They'd skip the bonfire
and cookout, he needed a break.

Joel hadn't had time to give her a tour of the
property, and he knew she'd probably like it, so he had asked Penny
to fix them a picnic supper they could eat down by the creek. It
might also help her associate riding with something pleasant,
rather than saddle sores.

Walking down the hall to her bedroom door,
Joel knocked and waited. He'd seen her come in a few minutes ago,
and figured she'd had enough time for the soak he knew she was
taking in the bathtub. Penny had laughed and told him yesterday
that she'd asked her for a box of Epson salts, so he figured that's
what she was doing. Joel figured she'd be giving him an order for a
case of the stuff by the end of the week.

And muscle rub ointment. The thought of being
the one to give her a rubdown with it sent desire shooting through
him. So far, he'd done well managing his intense physical
attraction to her, so he could play by her rules. He had tried to
keep himself so busy, he didn't have time to dwell on it. It was
when he slowed down that he had the problems.

Being friends with the petite brunette was
easy, she was smart, funny and sassy as hell. The only problem was
the more he got to know and like her, the more physically attracted
he was to her. It was getting harder and harder to keep his
promise. Cold showers had become his salvation.

But he was determined to keep her around, and
he was afraid if he pushed her for sex again, she'd
leave.

It wasn't easy to keep his hands off of her,
but it was easier since she was giving Dylan a wide berth. Joel had
loaded Dylan up with chores to keep him busy too. He was going to
make damned sure his ranch hand didn't have time to mess around.
Idle hands and all that jazz...he didn't want the man's hands
anywhere near Terri Cassidy.

While Terri and his guests had been taking
riding lessons, Joel had been ordering equipment and hiring three
women to manage the new spa. Instead of a cabin to live in like
he'd planned for the building behind the main house, he was going
to use the space for the spa.

Income for the ranch was more important to him
than privacy at the moment, so to reduce building costs for the spa
he was using his cabin. The contractor had already finished the
cabin, so it was ready to go. All he had to do were a few
modifications and install the equipment.

There were licenses and stuff that needed to
be obtained, but the ladies he hired were taking care of that for
him, since he was clueless. Sadie, Tara and Lynn were all friends
from a salon in Amarillo, and seemed to be a good team. One did
facials, another massages and Sadie did hair. It was going to work
out well, he thought.

When Terri didn't answer the door, he knocked
again a little harder. Mid-knock the door opened and she stuck her
wet head around the door.

"Yeah?" she asked obviously agitated. "The
house on fire? If not, I'm getting back in the bath to soak these
damned blisters off my butt."

He could see the top half of her body around
the door and wondered if her bare shoulders meant she was naked, or
if she had a towel on. Droplets of water beaded on her skin, and
his tongue tingled to lick her dry.

Swallowing hard, Joel got a grip on himself
and asked, "You hungry?"

"Not particularly...one is not typically
concerned about food, when one has been tortured all day," she told
him shortly.

"I'm sorry, sugar...let me make it up to you.
I have a surprise," he said and forced a wide grin. She was
probably going to kill him when she found out it involved getting
on a horse again.

Her dark eyebrows lifted over her green eyes
and a spark of interest flickered there. "Oh, yeah? You owe me big
time, Mister, so it better be good," she informed with a twist of
her lips.

"It's one of those dates I mentioned...I think
you'll like it," he told her. Excitement built inside of him at the
prospect of spending some time alone with her.

"Do I need to dress up?"

"No ma'am, just a pair of your new jeans and
your boots," he replied. And those damned chaps you bought at the
store that make me want to curl up in a ball of frustrated desire
every time I see you in them. They highlighted the parts of her
curvy body that drove him crazy anyway.

"Okay, I'll be ready in fifteen minutes," she
said and shut the door in his face.

Joel knew he should probably be entertaining
his guests tonight, instead of spending time with Terri, but he
wanted to be with her. After the stress he'd gone through getting
the salon going and worrying about guests and problems with the
ranch the last three days, he needed a break. Jarvis and the hands
were going to entertain them anyway, they were building a bonfire
in the fire pit and having a weenie roast.

With a spring in his step, and a smile he
hadn't worn in a few days, Joel headed through the kitchen, then to
the barn to get the horses ready. He'd tie them to the porch, so
she didn't have to walk to the barn.

Fifteen minutes later, he was sitting astride
Ace his black gelding, near the front porch, holding Diamond a
small gentle grey mare for Terri. He'd chosen the smaller mare for
her to ride, because he noticed today that Rocky had her on Cason a
big roan gelding, and that could be why she was having problems.
The mare was more her size and had a smoother gait. Joel had also
found a smaller saddle than the one she'd been using tucked in the
back of the tack room, under some blankets.

When the front door opened, Joel held his
breath. Terri stepped out onto the porch and her beautiful face
pinched up then she shook her head. "If this is your way of 'making
it up to me', please stop apologizing. I am not getting on another
horse today," she told him firmly and crossed her arms under her
breasts.

Joel tied Diamond's reins to his saddle horn,
then let his own drop to the ground. Swinging his leg over the
saddle, he slid to the ground, then walked over to her. As he
neared, her neck bent back and she kept her angry eyes pinned to
his, and shook her head again.

"C'mon, sugar...it'll be fun," he told her and
put his hands on her shoulders then slid his hands down her
arms.

"It
might
be fun, if we take the golf
cart, because there's no way in hell I'm getting on a horse again
today. My ass feels like it's on fire."

"Jarvis mixed up some special stuff for you,
it'll take the soreness out. I'll give it to you when we get back,"
he promised. "You need to practice, sweetheart, I'll help you. I
haven't had time to work with you and I know Rocky's been rough,"
he said then took her hands in his and cajoled, "I want to make it
up to you..."

Absently his thumb traced the back of her hand
while he waited for her to decide. "I even found a better horse for
you, her name is Diamond."

Terri looked around his shoulder and assessed
Diamond then looked back at him. "Why the hell did Rocky have me up
on that huge horse for the lessons?" she asked
accusingly.

"I just noticed that today, I'll make sure you
ride Diamond from now on. She's more your size. I found a better
saddle for you too...it's smaller, softer than the other
one."

Terri huffed out a breath, a good sign she
might agree, so he pressed on. "I packed us dinner, we'll stop by
the creek and eat. You can stretch your legs and work out the
kinks. I'll go slow, I promise," he told her.

Terri didn't automatically agree, she pulled
her hand from his and balled up her small fist then punched him in
the shoulder.

"Ouch!" he said and rubbed it. "What the hell
is that for?"

"You let me be
tortured
for three days,
because you were
too busy
to notice I was being tortured!"
she huffed in a high pitched voice.

"I'm sorry, baby..." he told her then pulled
her to him in a hug. He put his chin on top of her head and nuzzled
it in her hair. "Let me show you how much fun it can be to ride. We
both need a break, and I don't want to go to the bonfire tonight,"
he begged.

She sighed into his chest and put her arms
around him and hugged him back. "If I wind up on my ass, you are a
dead man," she vowed.

"If you wind up on your ass, I'll shoot
myself," he told her. "I'm bringing my shotgun just in case," he
chuckled into her hair.

"Okay, introduce me to Diamond," she told him
and took a step back.

Joel grabbed her hand and led her off the
porch and around behind Ace to Diamond's side. "Stand right here
and scratch her, I'll get the reins," he said and walked in between
the horses to untie Diamond. He handed the reins to her over
Diamond's back and asked, "Do you need me to put you in the
saddle?"

"No, she's low enough to the ground," Terri
told him taking the reins. He watched her grab the horn, bounce a
few times, then she groaned as she threw her leg over the horse's
back and landed in the saddle. She scooted forward in the saddle
and whimpered.

"You okay, sugar?" Joel asked with concern.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, he thought. Maybe
he'd underestimated exactly how much pain she was in.

"I'll be fine, just get up on your damned
horse," she grumbled and sawed back on Diamond's reins. The horse
sidestepped and Terri gasped.

"Whoa, there cowgirl, easy. Her mouth is
sensitive," Joel instructed.

"Rocky told me I needed to show the horse who
was boss and keep a firm hand on the reins, keep them tight," Terri
replied.

Joel could almost see where her 'lessons' had
gone wrong, and a sneaking suspicion crept into his mind. If this
was some kind of initiation ritual Rocky was pulling, he was going
to take care of that first thing in the morning. He knew that ranch
hands had some strange ways of bringing someone new into the fold.
Joel was going to let his female cowhand know that wasn't going to
be tolerated first thing in the morning.

From her tense posture to her white knuckled
grip on the pommel, he could see she was going to have to 'unlearn'
everything that Rocky had 'taught' her.

Joel grunted then dropped Ace's reins and
walked over to her. "First thing you need to do is relax,
sugar...this is supposed to be fun. Loosen up your shoulders and
back some. Like a deflating balloon, Terri did as he said and he
noticed Diamond relax too.

"Diamond knows what to do, you just have to
guide her a little, let her know what
you
want. Loosen up
your grip with your legs on her sides. When you tighten your legs
that tells her you want to move faster, so does nudging her with
your heels or clicking to her."

He made the sound so she knew what he was
talking about.

"Try it," he told her.

She sounded like she had peanut butter on the
roof of her mouth, and he smiled. That would take some practice.
"If you want her to stop, sit straighter in the saddle and gently
pull back on the reins and say, Whoa!" Diamond looked at him and
her ears perked up. "You see she's listening to me," he pointed
out. "She wants to do what I want her to do. Horses are inherently
people pleasers. If she does something correctly, praise
her."

Terri snorted, but he noticed she was a lot
more relaxed on Diamond's back. He grabbed her boot and adjusted
the stirrup. "Only put the toe of your boot in the stirrup, not
your whole foot," Joel corrected.

All he needed was her to fall off and wind up
being dragged across the field. His hand moved up to hers on the
saddle horn, and he peeled her fingers off. "This is like an 'oh
shit' handle in a car. You don't use it unless you have
to...balance yourself on her back in the middle of the saddle, and
you won't need it."

Making all the adjustments he requested, Terri
reseated herself perfectly in the saddle and actually smiled at
him. "My butt feels better," she said. "And my thighs don't hurt as
much, because she's not nearly as wide as Trojan Man."

Joel chuckled at her description of Cason. He
was a huge horse. "Good, now for steering instructions....hold the
reins in one hand...yeah looser, that's it," he told her then
added, "Let your other hand rest on your thigh. If you want to turn
left, move your hand that way, so the reins lay against her neck on
the right side, and visa versa...try it."

Tentatively Terri moved her hand and Diamond's
butt swung toward him. He stepped back and she tried the opposite
direction.

Joel grinned, then praised her, "Great job,
baby...now let's go to supper the cowboy way."

"If it's this easy, now I really want to kill
you. It's a good thing I'm up here," she growled, but smiled
back.

"It is that easy, and
I'm
gonna kill
Rocky tomorrow, bet on it," Joel told her and swung up on Ace's
back.