“Not you, that’s for sure,” he answered with a lift of his chin.
Jade stood up tall in her new Rogue boots and settled her hands on her hips. “Sure looks like you’re staring at me.”
Rex cracked a crooked smile as he nodded toward the water. “Redecorating the ravine?”
“No!” She walked over to Flame and ran her hand down his flank. Why him? Of all the men who could ride up, why does it have to be the one guy who makes my heart flutter like a schoolgirl’s?
“Taking a break, that’s all.” She couldn’t take her eyes off of his bulging biceps. Even as a teenager, he’d had the nervous habit of clenching his jaw and arms at the same time—and, Jade realized, the effect it had on her had not diminished one iota.
“Lame stallion?” he asked in a raspy, deep voice.
Everything he said sounded sensual. “No.” What happened to my vocabulary? She’d been three years behind Rex in school, and in all the years she’d known him, he probably hadn’t said more than a handful of words to her. She narrowed her eyes, remembering how she’d pined over each one of his grumbling syllables, even though they were usually preceded by a dismissive grunt of some sort, which she had always attributed to the feud that preceded her birth.
“All righty then.” He turned his horse and walked her back the way he’d come.
Jade stared at his wide back as it moved farther and farther away. Damn it. What if no one else comes along? She looked up at the sun making its slow crawl toward the sky, guessing it was only six thirty or seven. No one else was going to come by the ravine. She cursed herself for not carrying her cell phone. She wasn’t one of those women who needed to be accessible twenty-four-seven. She carried it during the day, but this morning, she’d just wanted to ride without distraction. Now she was stuck, and he was her only hope. Getting Flame home was more important than any family feud or her own conflicting hateful and lustful thoughts for the conceited man who was about to disappear around the corner.
She shook her head and kicked the dirt, wishing she’d worn her riding boots. The toes of her new Rogues were getting scuffed and dirty. Could today get any worse?
“Hey!” she called after him. When he didn’t stop, she thought he hadn’t heard her. “I said, Hey!”
He came to a slow stop, but didn’t turn around. “You talking to me? I thought you were talking to that lame horse of yours.” He cast a glance over his shoulder.
Jerk. “His name is Flame, and he’s the best damned horse around, so watch yourself.”
His horse began its lazy stroll once again.
“Wait!” Goddamn it! She gritted her teeth against the desire to call him an ass and shot a look at Flame. He was still favoring his leg, which softened her resolve.
“Wait, please.”
His horse came to another stop.
“I need to get him home, and I can’t very well do it myself.” She kicked the dirt again as he turned his horse and walked her back. He stared down at Jade with piercing dark eyes, his jaw still clenched.
“Can you help me get him out of here?” Up close, his muscles were even larger, more defined, than she’d thought. His neck was thicker too. Everything about him exuded masculinity. She crossed her arms to settle her nerves as he waited a beat too long to answer. “Listen, if you can’t—”
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he said, calm and even.
“You don’t have to be rude.”
“I don’t have to help at all,” he said, mimicking her by crossing his arms.
“Fine. You’re right. Sorry. Can you please help me get him out of here? He can’t make it up that hill.”
“Just how do you suppose I do that?” He glanced at the steep drop of the land just twenty feet ahead of them, then back up the ravine at the rocky shoreline. “You shouldn’t have brought him down here. Why are you riding a stallion, anyway? They’re temperamental as hell. What were you thinking? A girl like you can’t handle that horse on this type of terrain.”
“A girl like me? I’ll have you know that I’m a vet, and I’ve worked around horses my whole life.” She felt her cheeks redden and crossed her arms, jutting her hip out in the defiant stance she’d taken throughout her teenage years.
“So I hear.” He lowered his chin and lifted his gaze, looking at her from beneath the shadow of his Stetson. “From the looks of it, all that vet schooling didn’t do you much good, now, did it?”
Ugh! He was maddening. Jade pursed her lips and stalked away in a huff. “Forget it. I can do this by myself.”
“Sure you can,” he mused.
She felt his eyes on her back as she took Flame’s reins and tried to lead him up the steep incline. The enormous horse took only three steps before stopping cold. She grunted and groaned, pleading with the horse to move, but Flame was hurt, and he’d gone stubborn on her. Her face heated to a flush.
“You keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll be back in an hour to get you and that lame horse of yours.”
An hour, great. She was aching to tell him to hurry, but she knew how long it took to hook up the horse trailer, and she had no idea how he’d get it all the way down by the ravine. She watched him ride away, feeling stupid, embarrassed, angry, and insanely attracted to the ornery jerk of a man.
To continue reading, please buy DESTINED FOR LOVE
New to the Love in Bloom big-family romance collection and the Bradens?
I hope you have enjoyed getting to know the Bradens as much as I loved writing about them. If this is your first Braden book, you have many more love stories featuring loyal, sassy, and sexy heroes and heroines waiting for you. Each of Treat’s siblings has their own book. Search for The Bradens at Weston at your favorite retailer.
The Bradens are just one of the series in the Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. Each Love in Bloom book is written to be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel or as part of the larger series. There are no cliffhangers and no unresolved issues. Characters from each series make appearances in future books, so you never miss an engagement, wedding, or birth. You might enjoy Melissa’s other series within the Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. You can start at the very beginning absolutely FREE with SISTERS IN LOVE or begin with another fun and deeply emotional series.
Below is a link where you can download several first-in-series novels absolutely FREE
Visit Melissa’s Reader Goodies page to download free reading orders, series lists, family trees and more.
www.MelissaFoster.com/RG
More Books By Melissa
LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES order
Love in Bloom books may be read as stand alones. For more enjoyment, read them in series order. Characters from each series carry forward to the next.
SNOW SISTERS
Sisters in Love
Sisters in Bloom
Sisters in White
THE BRADENS (Weston, CO)
Lovers at Heart, Reimagined
Destined for Love
Friendship on Fire
Sea of Love
Bursting with Love
Hearts at Play
THE BRADENS (Trusty, CO)
Taken by Love
Fated for Love
Romancing My Love
Flirting with Love
Dreaming of Love
Crashing into Love
THE BRADENS (Peaceful Harbor, MD)
Healed by Love
Surrender My Love
River of Love
Crushing on Love
Whisper of Love
Thrill of Love
THE BRADENS & MONTGOMERYS (Pleasant Hill – Oak Falls)
Embracing Her Heart
Anything for Love
Trails of Love
BRADEN WORLD NOVELLAS
Promise My Love
Our New Love
Story of Love
Love at Last
THE REMINGTONS
Game of Love
Stroke of Love
Flames of Love
Slope of Love
Read, Write, Love
Touched by Love
SEASIDE SUMMERS
Seaside Dreams
Seaside Hearts
Seaside Sunsets
Seaside Secrets
Seaside Nights
Seaside Embrace
Seaside Lovers
Seaside Whispers
BAYSIDE SUMMERS
Bayside Desires
Bayside Passions
Bayside Heat
Bayside Escape
THE RYDERS
Seized by Love
Claimed by Love
Chased by Love
Rescued by Love
Swept Into Love
SEXY STAND-ALONE ROMANCE NOVELS
Tru Blue (Set in Peaceful Harbor)
Truly, Madly, Whiskey
Driving Whiskey Wild
Wicked Whiskey Love
BILLIONAIRES AFTER DARK
WILD BOYS
Logan
Heath
Jackson
Cooper
BAD BOYS
Mick
Dylan
Carson
Brett
HARBORSIDE NIGHTS
Includes characters from the Love in Bloom series
Catching Cassidy
Discovering Delilah
Tempting Tristan
Standalone Books by Melissa
Chasing Amanda (mystery/suspense)
Come Back to Me (mystery/suspense)
Have No Shame (historical fiction/romance)
Love, Lies & Mystery (3-book bundle)
Megan’s Way (literary fiction)
Traces of Kara (psychological thriller)
Where Petals Fall (suspense)
~Meet Melissa~
www.MelissaFoster.com
Melissa Foster is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. Melissa has painted and donated several murals to the Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC.
Visit Melissa on her website or chat with her on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups and welcomes an invitation to your event.
Melissa also writes sweet romance under the pen name Addison Cole.