Texas Heroes: Volume 1 (16 page)

Boone finished fastening something on the saddle and patted the horse’s rump. “It’s okay, Fancy. Maddie’s a friend.”

The tone soothed, just as Boone had soothed the colt the other day. Maddie marveled that he could be so calm. It was as if last night had never happened.

Until he looked at her. For just one second, Maddie thought Boone might not be as calm as he seemed.

His voice gave nothing away, however. “Reach out your hand, palm upward, and let her smell you. Like this.” He demonstrated, strong fingers outstretched, wide palm open.

The mare snuffled at his palm, then shook her head.

Maddie couldn’t help jumping.

“She won’t hurt you. She’s very gentle, and quite the lady, aren’t you, Fancy girl?” Boone’s voice wooed her.

“That’s her name, Fancy?”

“Fancy Free.”

Maddie smiled and cast him a quick glance. “I like it. My kind of name.”

A quick grin skipped across Boone’s face.

Maddie drew a deep breath and stretched her hand open, holding it beneath the horse’s muzzle.

The mare blew puffs of air across her palm. Little hairs brushed her skin. Maddie giggled. “It tickles.”

A quick glance showed Boone grinning. “Yeah.” He dropped a sugar cube in her palm. “Now hold it out again. She’ll be your friend for life. Fancy’s got a real sweet tooth.” Love of the horse suffused his voice.

Maddie put her palm back in front of Fancy’s muzzle. When the mare lipped at her palm, it was all Maddie could do to keep still.

Boone chuckled. “I’ve done it for so many years, I don’t notice the sensation.”

Now Fancy’s head butted her arm.

Maddie tensed but stood her ground, reaching out on instinct to pet the front of her head, just below the eyes.

“That’s right. Stroke her there and talk to her. Stroke her neck, too, if you want.”

“Do I need to feed her something else?”

“She’s a pig. She’d be twice her size if I let her eat everything she wanted.”

Maddie placed one hand on the horse’s head, then reached around and stroked her neck. “It’s so smooth, not soft, exactly, but sort of…satiny. You can really feel the muscles beneath the skin.” She turned to Boone. “Is it okay if I scratch behind her ears?”

“Yeah. Fancy likes it. Slow Dance hates it.”

“Will you ride him today?”

“No. I’ll stay on the ground. Anyway, it’s a bad idea to ride a stallion around a mare.”

“Is she—” Abruptly, Maddie stopped, embarrassed.

Boone grinned broadly. “In season? No. But stallions always want to show who’s boss. They like to round up their herds, and you don’t need the distraction. He’d be ordering Fancy around, and we need her to pay attention to you.”

Just then, the mare swung her head toward Maddie’s. Reflexively, Maddie jumped back.

“It’s okay. She’s paying attention to you. Just move slowly around her. It’s always a good idea to move slowly and to stay where a horse can see you. If you’re going into the blind spot behind her, make sure the horse knows where you are by keeping a constant touch on her.” He walked toward the horse’s tail. “I’m going to walk behind her, but I’m going to let her know where I am by touching her hindquarters. See?”

Maddie watched him move to the other side of the horse and face her across the saddle. Fancy shifted, and Maddie stepped back, then frowned at herself.

“It’s all right. It’s good to have a healthy respect for a horse. They’re big animals, and they can really hurt you. But they also feel your fear and it will upset them. Horses are flight animals—their instinct is to run from a threat. Try to take a deep breath and reach for calm.”

“Like I do with my yoga?”

One side of his mouth curved upward. “Yeah, I guess so. Reach into yourself and find a calm place. Horses are very intuitive and sensitive to your moods. Fancy here is even-tempered most of the time, but if you’re upset, she’ll know it.”

Maddie closed her eyes and breathed deeply, searching for that quiet, blue mountaintop pool she visualized while she meditated.

Not easy to reach a state of peace while Boone was around, but finally Maddie found it. One more deep breath and she opened her eyes.

Boone watched her. His gaze held layers. Warmth. Questions. Distrust.

And something else she was afraid to name.

“Now move closer to her and touch her again, Maddie.” His voice was a low, husky rumble.

Maddie had to close her eyes again and breathe deeply to shut out his impact. Then, without looking at him again, she stepped forward and laid one hand on Fancy’s neck and the other just behind the saddle.

Boone moved around and stood behind her. Maddie could feel him all across her back.

Fancy stirred.

“Damn,” Boone muttered under his breath. “Maddie, shut me out. Focus on her and forget me.”

Like that was possible. But Maddie tried, using every bit of control she’d gained, remembering her yoga teacher’s admonitions to pull her thoughts back in focus every time they strayed.

“Okay. Now let’s get you into the saddle. Grip the saddle horn with your left hand and the cantle—that’s the high part at the back—with your right. Don’t worry about the reins this time—I’ve got them.”

Maddie complied.

“Now put your left foot in the stirrup and swing yourself upward.”

Maddie tried, but Fancy shifted and she fell backward.

“Easy, Fancy.” Boone soothed. “Okay, try it again.” This time, he put both hands on her hips.

Maddie tried to block out the feel of his hands. Gritting her teeth, she forgot about calm and went for speed. Up she swung and landed in the saddle. The leather creaked, and Fancy shifted, dancing under her weight.

Too many sensations assaulted Maddie at once—worry about falling off, the sense of her legs spread wide across the horse’s broad back, her concern that Boone might be hurt. She gripped the saddle horn as though it meant salvation, tightening her legs around Fancy.

“Whoa, Fancy. Easy, girl. Grip her with your legs, but don’t jab your heels into her sides, Maddie. Settle down in the saddle.” One of his hands rested on her thigh while he held the bridle and spoke to the horse.

Maddie’s gaze shifted to his, the connection instant and electric.

After a long moment, Boone squeezed her leg once and removed his hand. “You’ll be fine. A horse will seldom stand still while being mounted, but it will get less scary. Just hold on, and I’m going to walk her around, so you can get used to the sensation.”

Maddie wasn’t sure which emotion held sway: relief that he’d quit touching her—or sorrow at that same thing. Boone’s touch both calmed and disturbed her. “Thanks,” she got out. Then she straightened and grabbed hold. “I’m ready.”

Boone grinned. “You won’t fall off, I promise. We’re just going around the pen and we’ll take it slow at first.”

“I know I can trust you.” And she did.

He held her gaze. “I don’t know about that, Maddie Rose,” he said softly. “But I won’t let you fall.”

The night before rose between them. Maddie wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure what. Boone’s face held a strange vulnerability she wanted to ease, but she didn’t know how.

So instead, she smiled. “Okay. I’ve got some work to do to become the new Annie Oakley. We’d better get started.”

Boone laughed out loud, and Maddie’s heart swelled. He needed more reasons to laugh.

Then he settled his hat on his head and walked slightly ahead of Fancy.

And Maddie the Cowgirl began a new adventure.

The next evening, Boone walked in and saw Maddie hobbling across the kitchen floor. He’d forbidden her to ride today, warning her last night that the soreness would last a couple of days and not to push it. She hadn’t liked it, but he hoped now she understood why.

It was painful to watch her.

“Here,” he said, taking her place at the stove. “Let me do that.”

He should have known better. Her chin jutted and her eyes shot sparks. “I may be crippled but I’m not helpless.”

“Maddie, go take a long hot bath and let it soothe your muscles. I can eat a sandwich.”

“I already took two today.” Mutinous eyes dared him to poke fun.

“Wait right here.” He went into Vondell’s treasure trove of medicines and emerged with a yellow plastic container. He handed it to Maddie.

“What’s this?”

“It’s Vondell’s magic potion for sore muscles. I suspect it’s got horse liniment in it, but she figured out some way to not make it sting so bad or smell so rank.” Then he had second thoughts. “Your skin may be too tender to use it, though. Just try a little and see what happens.”

“Thank you.”

“Now tell me what I can do to help you with supper so you can go work on those muscles.”

“It’s almost finished. You can set the table if you want.”

When the meal was ready, Boone watched her lower herself gingerly into her chair. “You still think you want to ride again tomorrow?”

Maddie’s head lifted, grin rueful. “Yes and no.”

He couldn’t help grinning back. “You did fine for a beginner.”

“Really?”

Delight came so easily to her. She had no idea how seductive it was. He nodded. “You’ll be a good rider. You’re naturally graceful and you’ve got a good seat already.”

“It must be the yoga. I’m very limber.”

He had noticed. And tried not to think of all the ways those long legs could wrap around him. Before his thoughts could escape to his face, he concentrated on his plate.

Everything fell quiet, so it was easy to hear Maddie’s tiny whimper when she shifted in her chair.

Boone looked up to see her toying with her food. “Go on upstairs and take another hot bath and use the liniment. I’ll take care of the kitchen.”

“All right. Thank you.”

He watched her go, walking as if something might break any second, and he admired her pluck. Maddie was not a complainer. She would be a good rider, but she had work to do first. Only time would tell if she would stick with it. A day like this might have changed her mind.

Half an hour later, Boone ascended the stairs, telling himself he was only going to take her a bottle of aspirin. The bathroom door stood ajar, the scent of Maddie’s soaps and lotions drifting through the moist air. He almost turned back at the thought of Maddie lying naked in the heated water.

“Maddie?” He’d just tell her where the aspirin was and then head for the front porch.

“I’m in here.” Her room, not the bathroom, thank God. “I—I think this liniment might work, but—”

He approached her room gingerly, not sure what to do. “Are you doing all right?”

“Kind of.” Her voice was tight and thready.

“Are you decent?”

“Yes.”

Boone peered through the opening and had to muffle a laugh. Maddie stood in her room in a bathrobe like none he’d ever seen, a mass of purple fabric that swallowed her up. Her back was to him, and it was covered with an explosion of color forming a peacock that extended from her shoulders down to her legs. It was the loudest damn robe he’d ever seen, but somehow it fit Maddie’s colorful personality to a tee.

But his laughter was quickly stifled by the urge to groan when he watched one long, silky leg emerge from beneath the fabric.

“Oh—” She turned and saw him, and the twisted agony on her face stopped him cold. “I—I can reach everything, but—”

“What’s wrong?”

“A cramp. I bent to rub some into the back of this leg and-” Her voice showed the strain. He’d had leg cramps before. There were few things more painful.

“Here—show me where it is.”

“You don’t have to—” But her voice was small and uncertain, her face white with pain.

“I’ll leave if you want, but it’s hard to rub out a cramp in your hamstring on your own.” After the other night, he didn’t want to put his hands on her—yet he wanted nothing more. But Maddie was in pain, and he could control his response to her. There was no one else to help.

He knelt beside her, and he could see the muscle bunched and knotting. With a hand that was more unsteady than he wanted to admit, he touched the skin that he thought of too often.

It was indeed satin. But Maddie was in pain and he couldn’t think about that now. “Lie down on your stomach.”

Her hands were clenched, her teeth digging into her lower lip. With a small, shaky breath, she nodded and complied.

Boone stood up and slid the robe up out of the way—until he saw the sweet curve of her bottom revealed. His gut knotted. She was naked beneath the robe.

But Maddie’s thoughts were on anything but lust right now, and he had to do the same. He dipped his fingers into the liniment and rubbed it between his hands. Drawing a deep breath, he steeled himself to touch her again.

It helped to stare across the room and knead her muscles by touch. Maddie sucked in a breath, and he responded as he would to any being in pain. “Sh-h-h, breathe slowly and try to relax,” he soothed, using the tone he took with the horses, the one that calmed and reassured. “Relief is coming…it’ll just take a minute. Breathe through the pain. Slow and steady now. That’s my girl.”

His back ached from bending over so far, so he settled on the bed beside her, concentrating everything he had on slow, careful motions, working the knot out, little by little.