Country Roads(28)

“Oh no, I wasn’t planning to stay that long.”

“You look mighty sad about that. Let me show you around to cheer you up. You can draw anything you want to.” Once again Sharon straightened to her full, impressive height.

Paul stood too. “Can I join the tour?”

Julia cast an uncertain glance at his business attire. She’d assumed he would introduce her to Sharon and leave. “Don’t you need to get back to work?”

“It’s my lunch hour,” he said.

The mention of lunch made Julia’s stomach rumble and reminded her she hadn’t eaten anything since grabbing a homemade corn muffin at the inn’s breakfast buffet. Carlos believed a regular meal schedule reduced the chance of seizures, so at home she ate like clockwork to avoid his fussing. In the headiness of her newfound freedom, she’d cast that off. She crossed her arms over her waist, but the stable was noisy enough that no one noticed the gurgling.

Sharon kept up a running commentary as she led them through one barn, out to the paddocks, and back into another barn. The stable hands all greeted Paul by name.

“No wonder you got elected mayor. You know everyone!” Julia said.

“I kissed a lot of babies too.” He gave her hair a teasing little tug that sent shivers of pleasure waltzing down her spine.

She was so caught up in the deliciousness of the sensation that she paid no attention to the black horse with its head thrust over the stall door. A blur of motion made her turn her head, just as the horse bared its teeth and lunged for her arm. Paul’s hand went from her hair to her shoulder in a split second as he clamped her hard against his side and yanked her out of range of the snapping jaws.

“Now who the hell forgot to shut Darkside’s cage?” Sharon exclaimed, dodging the vicious teeth as she shoved the horse’s head back inside the stall and swung a barred half door closed over the opening. “I’m sorry he nearly tore a strip off your hide. He is the orneriest SOB I have ever met.”

Julia stared at the horse through the bars. This was the dark, menacing creature she had been painting over and over again. Excitement shivered through her. “He’s my Night Mare,” she whispered, trying to make out the black shape in the shadows of his stall.

“He’s everybody’s nightmare,” Sharon said. “Except he’s not a mare. He’s a stud.”

Paul turned her around and took her wrist, pushing up her sleeve so he could check her arm.

The brush of his long fingers over her racing pulse distracted her from the horse. “I’m fine,” she said. “He missed me, thanks to you.”

“You’re wrong about that.” His expression was rueful as he pulled out the fabric by her elbow and showed her a sharp-edged hole.

“Wow, I didn’t even feel a pull on it.”

“He’s young, and his teeth are still sharp,” Sharon said. “The cage shouldn’t have been left open, so I owe you a new shirt.”

“No, no, of course you don’t. It’s my own fault. I’ve been around horses enough to know I should always be alert.”

She had a hard time focusing on anything other than Paul, as he held on to her wrist, absently stroking his fingers across the fragile skin on its underside. She looked up to see him frowning in the direction of Darkside’s stall. “You rescued me again,” she said. “I’m downright pathetic.”

His attention came back to her. “I’d call you dangerous.”

“Really?” She felt oddly gratified.

He shook his head. “It wasn’t meant as a compliment.”

Paul released her wrist and swung into step beside her, putting himself between her and the stall doors. She gave him a look that said she knew what he was doing but she wasn’t going to object for the time being.

“Well, that’s everything except the foaling shed, and it’s empty right now,” Sharon said as they reached the opposite end of the barn.

Paul glanced at his watch and turned to Julia. “I have to head back to work. You’ve got the town taxi’s number?”

“I’ll drop her off,” Sharon volunteered. “There are some errands I need to do in town.”

“Do you think you can keep her out of trouble?” he asked.

“Probably not, but, if need be, we can get Dr. Tim to fix her up. I’m pretty sure he’d agree to work on a horse painter, even though she’s human.”

“All right, but as her lawyer, I should warn you she’s very litigious.”

“She can sue me for every penny I have because that amounts to about a nickel,” Sharon said. “You don’t get rich in the horse business.”