The next morning, only one week before her birthday, Noah entered the barn as Kendra finished feeding the horses. She realized he’d hung around the barns all afternoon yesterday, and her in particular. Even last night, he’d never been out of sight.
“You’re up early, where’s Cody?” she asked, sliding the last stall door closed. One without the other these days was almost as rare as seeing a mountain lion.
“He went into town with Britt.”
“You should’ve said something, I wouldn’t have minded if you went.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to.”
“Great, then you can help me clean stalls,” she joked.
“Sure.”
Her brow rose as he fell into step beside her. Wow, no argument, not even a sour face. She resisted teasing him with a hand to his forehead; she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“I’ll lead them out while you start,” she said on their way back to the first barn she’d fed. “You know where the wheelbarrow and pitchfork are?”
He nodded and headed in the direction of the tools. Kendra put the halter and lead rope on Lucky to take him out to a paddock. He’d become her favorite horse. Not only because he was the first one she’d ridden, but he had fire. He was so full of spunk and energy that he pranced in his eagerness to be free.
Her first day on the ranch seemed forever ago instead of just about a month. She remembered watching Colton lead the large bay. She’d been terrified of ever being on the opposite end of a lead rope, convinced the animal would toss her like a wet noodle. Lucky’s power still made her a little nervous, but Colton had taught her with a firm yet gentle hand, the horses did just about anything asked of them. It still amazed her.
Before opening the gate, she paused to give the stallion a sugar cube and stroke his soft muzzle as she glanced toward the barn. Her pulse leapt at the sight of Colton leaning against the hitching rail, arms crossed, watching her. The impact of their brief connection hit her in the gut clear across the barnyard. She quickly turned to reach for the latch on the gate.
Two steps in, an odd popping sound registered a split second before Lucky exploded. The horse reared high, hauling Kendra off her feet. Her hold on the halter slipped. She stumbled in front of the panicked horse and fell underneath his deadly hooves. Instinct curled her into a tight ball as she protected her head with her arms.
Then Colton was kneeling beside her. “Stay still,” he commanded. “Are you okay? Did he hit you at all? Kendra, answer me!”
She blinked and tried to sit. He held her down.
“I’m okay.” She fought him to get up. “What happened? Is Lucky okay?”
He ignored her questions and asked, “Are you hurt?”
She tested her limbs and shook her head. “I’m fine.”
At last, he turned that intense gaze from her and stared toward one of the mountain riding trails. She didn’t see Lucky anywhere and realized he must’ve taken off down the trail. So what was Colton still doing here? She pushed him away. “Go—make sure he didn’t hurt himself.”
With a final visual sweep of her body, he took off running for the trail. Kendra followed, but she soon fell behind. By the time she caught up, he’d just snagged Lucky’s dangling lead rope.
“He looks okay,” Kendra said hopefully and not a little out of breath.
Colton swung around, clearly surprised to see her. Concern followed as he thrust the lead into her hands. “I need to check his legs.”
She anxiously watched him run his hands up and down the s
tallion’s legs, holding her breath as he explained he was searching for heat or swelling, anything that would indicate an injury.
Finally, he heaved a sigh of relief and straightened to face Kendra. “Everything seems fine. He’s okay.”
“Thank God,” she breathed.
Before she could guess his intentions, Colton stepped forward and pulled her tight against his chest. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked, his chin on her head.
“I won’t be in a minute—I can’t breathe,” she advised in a muffled voice.
He abruptly set her away. “Sorry. It’s just that…it scared the hell out of me when I saw you fall under him.”
A hint of anger roughened his voice and she frowned in confusion. “If I’d had the time, I would’ve been scared, too.”