“Please,” Catie said, “you don’t have to call me ma’am.”
Rafe’s black eyes burned into her. His skin was a light bronze color, and when he took off his Stetson, she saw that his pitch-black hair was pulled back into an untidy low ponytail behind his neck. Strands of ebony silk flitted about his chiseled face in the summer breeze, gleaming with sapphire highlights in the afternoon sun.
“Then it would help if I knew your name, honey.”
He smiled, and she could almost see him wearing a Native American headdress, and…not much else. He was a beautiful man.
Catie swallowed, but didn’t answer.
“If we’re boarding your horse here, you and I’ll get to know each other quite a bit better.” Rafe said. “I’ll be the one making sure she gets what she needs. What’s her name?”
“Ladybird.”
“Well, she’s sure a beaut.”
“Yeah.” Catie nodded. “That she is.”
“So, sweetheart…”
Despite her love for Chad, Catie’s heart lurched at the endearment. Nice to know there might be a man around here who wanted her. One who wasn’t stuck with her out of some misguided obligation.
“Yeah?”
He chuckled. “You still haven’t told me your name.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. It’s Catie.”
Rafe moved closer and pushed a strand of dark hair out of Catie’s eye. His touch was warm and pleasant. Not hot and passionate, like Chad’s.
“It’s this wind,” she said. “My hair won’t stay in one place. It’s a real pain.”
“Not so much a pain,” Rafe said. “You look real pretty, Catie. All rosy-cheeked and windblown. I bet you want to take your horse on a ride, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.” A ride with Ladybird would be the perfect salve for her ailing heart, to take her mind off of Chad and Rhine, L. and this farce of a marriage she had agreed to.
“Well, then, Miss Catie,” Rafe said, holding out his hand to her, “I’ll be right glad to take you into the stables and get her saddled up, for a small price.”
Price?
“Uh, what do you want?”
“Your name, honey.”
“I told you my name. It’s Catie.”
“The last name, pretty lady. Catie what?”
The husky voice that came out of nowhere surprised her.
“Catie McCray.”
“Hey, Chad,” Rafe said. “Where’d you come from?”
“I get around, Grayhawk.” He draped his arm possessively around Catie’s shoulders and pulled her close, jostling her so hard that she winced. “From now on, keep your paws off my wife.”
“Your wife? Hell, I didn’t know, Chad. Since when do you have a wife?”
“Since yesterday. If I see you sniffing around her again, you can find yourself another job.”