“What kind of job?”
He hopped over the fence in one swift motion, the way they do in movies, and if I’d been the swooning type, I would have audibly gasped. Instead, I held my smile and ground my teeth while my heart beat double time. I might be mostly all business, but I was still a woman. And Hunter Owens was all man. I needed to get him in a more relaxed situation. I gave a sweet smile. “Can we sit down and go over the particulars?”
As he stepped closer, I began to sweat, which was insane. Remain calm and in control.
“Give me the highlights.”
Think. Think. Think.
“That would ruin the surprise. Why don’t we sit on your front porch and we can talk about it? I won’t take much of your time, Mr. Owens.”
“Just Hunter.” The left side of his mouth quirked up as his eyes roamed down my body yet again. Maybe my form-fitting pencil skirt hadn’t been the best idea. “Just a sec. Let me get something, and we’ll talk.”
“Perfect.”
He disappeared up onto the back porch and came down with some muck boots. “Put these on. I’ll listen while I do my chores. But I can tell you, if it’s another coaching job, I’m not interested.”
Oh hell, this was going to require a different approach. He raised an eyebrow at me, challenging me to put on the boots. Without hesitation, I put them on and placed my heels on the porch step. As I turned back to him, the horse came up to the fence. “That mare is beautiful. Is she an Akhal-Teke?”
He stared at me, clearly surprised I knew horses. I’d grown up with them. My mother had taught me to ride. As a child, I’d learned to ride on Gingersnap, the horse my father gave my mom on the night he proposed. The horse had originally been a gift from her parents before they died, but Mom had sold her when she had to move. I loved how Dad was, and had always been, Mom’s knight in shining armor. Theirs was one of those love stories that made you swoon.
I stuck my hand out for the horse to sniff me.
Hunter patted the side of her neck. “She is. I’ve never owned a Golden Horse, or as you so accurately stated, an Akhal-Teke, before. I bought her last month for a small fortune, and she’s stubborn as shit. But she’ll break at some point. Just have to keep getting back on her. Can’t ever be bucked off and not climb back on.”
Hunter gazed at the horse with an almost loving appreciation. “I do enjoy a challenge every now and then. We’ll build trust over time.”
The coloring of the horse was breathtaking. Her cream coat had a metallic shimmer to it, which made the pale blond hair nearly glisten in the sun. The horse took off in a victory lap, knowing she’d won this round against Hunter. He definitely had his work cut out for him.
I asked, “What do you need my help with since now my boots are on?”
I got a sexy smirk. “You know my answer is going to be no, right?”
So he knew. Well, hell, it was obvious why I was here. I put on a businesslike smile to cover up my attraction to this man. If he took the job, I would find a way to control it. Once we entered into a business arrangement, any attraction I felt would likely be gone. It always had been that way. There was not time for a personal life. It was business. All business.
“If I’m not slowing you down, what does it hurt to hear me out? And you’ll have a free hand. Win-win.”
He shrugged. “Just as long as you know what my answer is going to be.”
“How do you know I’m going to offer you a coaching job?”
He leaned against the fence and looked me over. “Because I know how to read people. It’s what made me successful as a coach—being able to predict what the other coach was going to do.”
Damn it. He was reading me too easily. “Lead the way to where the chores are.”
“Suit yourself.” By the tone of his voice, it was clear that he doubted I would actually do anything. What he didn’t know was that I could muck out stalls with the best of them even in a pencil skirt.
We entered the barn, which was rather impressive with its tongue-and-groove walls and ceiling. The main aisle down the barn had a stained-concrete floor and reminded me of my parents’ place in Atlanta.