Texas Heroes_ Volume 1(18)

“I’ve got work to do. Find some other place to do that stuff. Some place where you don’t distract the men.” He turned to walk away.

“Yoga does wonders to clear the mind and calm the soul. I could teach you.”

He turned back around. “I’m not the one on vacation. I don’t have time to play games.”

“It’s not a game.” Suddenly she looked very serious. “I couldn’t have made it through the last year without it.”

“Cooking little appetizers is such hard work?”

She smiled. “As a matter of fact, it is, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Yoga is as much a mental discipline as it is physical. But it’s something more. It’s a way to refresh the soul, to touch a part of life we forget to experience.”

Boone sensed that there was more to the story. For one second, he thought about asking what she had needed to make it through. Then he reminded himself that she was only temporary. The last thing he needed was to get involved in her problems. He had enough of his own.

“You could use a break, Boone.” Her gray eyes went soft, the pale centers seeing too much. “You work too hard.”

Sometimes he felt like he’d been tired for years. At that moment, he felt the call of her gentleness, a brief instant of longing for the spark of whatever it was that made Maddie more vivacious than any woman he’d ever met.

And because he did, he shoved it away with harsh words. “That’s something I’d expect from a city girl. Work on a ranch is never done. Seven days a week the animals need tending. We don’t get vacation or sick leave.”

“Everyone needs some downtime.”

“Sam let this place go too much when he was sick. I’ve got a lot to do to bring it back.” He couldn’t afford to buy her out if he didn’t get things back running smoothly.

And he would buy her out. He’d never let the Caswells have this place, not while there was breath left in his body.

“Finish your contortions, Maddie Rose, and quit distracting my men.” Boone’s voice went harsh, and he saw it reflected in her eyes.

She leaned down and picked up the purple mat she’d been using. “What time do the men get to work?” Her voice was so quiet he could barely hear.

“They’re here by seven.”

Maddie shot him a look that covered hurt with challenge. “My room is too small. I like the view and the clean air. I’ll be finished before they arrive.” Back straight as an arrow, slender limbs moving with a grace he couldn’t help but admire, Maddie walked across the porch and went inside.

That would take care of the men and their roving eyes.

Now if only Boone could take care of his own.



Maddie couldn’t get enough of mornings. Always a night owl before, she found that mornings tugged at her, called out a song she didn’t want to miss.

And the garden. Was there ever such a luxury as getting dirt under your fingernails? Would she ever have believed she’d say that?

And wouldn’t Robert shudder? The very thought made Maddie smile. Opening the gate to Vondell’s garden, Maddie stepped inside, bucket in hand. As eager as though she’d opened Aladdin’s cave.

Tomatoes. She’d start there. No, Maddie. Save them for last. They bruise—they have to go on top.

But she snatched a cherry tomato off the vine as she passed and popped it straight into her mouth, the flavor exploding inside, drenching her taste buds with rich, luscious tang.

She laughed, imagining Robert reeling in horror that she hadn’t even washed it first. You’re so impulsive, Maddie.

Yes, she was. And she loved it.

Soon she squatted between rows of bush beans, carefully judging readiness, snapping off only those exactly ripe, already wondering if she could convince Vondell to let her cook tonight. She’d been too long away from her kitchen. Radish roses just weren’t enough. Maybe Vondell would like a vacation.

Then she heard Boone’s voice, soft and gentle like she’d never heard it. It had to be a woman he wooed with that voice; it would certainly woo her. This was another Boone she’d never met.

She peered up over the bushes to see who the lucky woman was. And then she bit down on her lip to stifle a laugh.

Or maybe a sigh. God, he looked good.

Over his jeans, Boone wore leather chaps. They showcased parts of his anatomy in a way that should have been outlawed.

But it wasn’t just Boone’s very impressive body that caught her attention. It was his manner with the colt.

Maddie knew nothing about horses, but she guessed that this one would grow into an impressive specimen. Right now, though, he was still shorter than Boone. Inside the round pen, the colt stood very still while Boone ran his hands over the horse’s entire body, talking to him all the time.