Shrugging, she gave Amy an honest answer. “Not much. One of the members, a nice guy, showed me around. It was embarrassing at first, but you can’t help getting turned on.” Fanning herself, she grinned at the woman she’d always felt comfortable talking to. “Hot with a capital H.”
“I’ll take your word for it since I have no interest in that lifestyle. Thinking about getting involved with someone else has been difficult enough. I still miss your dad. I take it Connor showed up.” Amy indulged in a large scoop as she kept her gaze on Tamara.
“I still miss him too, and yes, Con was there.” Tamara sighed, envying Amy a relationship she despaired of ever having. Shoving aside her melancholy, she told her about Connor’s continued obstinance. “I want to go back, but honestly, Amy, I only want to explore further with him.” Dropping her head into her hands, she groaned, “What am I going to do?”
“I can’t tell you that, but my advice is to stop letting him dictate your life, as hard as that might be.”
Tamara set her spoon down and looked up again. “You know, you’re right. No matter how many trips back here I made when I was living in Boise, it wasn’t the same. I missed seeing you and Dad every day, and Galahad, all because of him.” She didn’t mention her failed relationship with Jeremy, or the guilt she still harbored from leading him on for far too long. All she’d told anyone was that it hadn’t worked out and she intended that to be all she revealed. Some mistakes were best kept private. “I’m going back to the club and damn it, I will have fun without him.” She gave a decisive nod, as if sealing her decision.
“Good for you, sweetheart. Now, let’s polish this off and get to bed. I’m tired.”
“First, tell me about you and Jason,” she insisted, wanting Amy’s happiness.
Amy shifted her eyes away and then returned her gaze to Tamara. “I like him. How much, I haven’t decided yet.”
“Good. You deserve to find someone else. And,” her grin turned wicked, “he’s hawt.”
They both giggled like teenagers as Amy stuttered, “Yeah… he is that.”
The first thing Tamara did the next morning was place a call to Nan, asking her how much it cost to join the club and what she had to do before she could change her mind or think the decision to death. After expressing her approval, Nan passed on the website where she filled out the application. Given the high cost of a year’s membership and her uncertainty over how far she was inclined to go, she opted for the more affordable one month’s entry fee to start with.
With a light step over making that decision, she skipped out to the barn and saddled Galahad. “Good morning, big guy,” she crooned to the fourteen-year-old stallion. She could still recall the exaltation that had swept through her when her dad and stepmother presented the Arabian colt to her on her sixteenth birthday. She’d been competing in jumping competitions for three years and had been considered a top teen contender. Her excitement over the chance to raise and train a horse all on her own had known no bounds. But Galahad was also a prime herding equine and this morning they needed to check the herd before they could play.
Leading him out into the sun, she swung up into the saddle but paused before riding out as Jason rode up with Mark, his right-hand man, both wearing grim expressions. “What’s up?”
Frustration tightened his lined face. “We lost two head out of the west pasture last night to the rustlers. I haven’t heard if they hit anyone else.”
“Was anyone on watch?” With as few employees as they had, it was hard to have someone watching each pasture twenty-four-seven.
Mark scowled. “Neil was supposed to but apparently left early, not feeling well.”
Tamara wondered if her lecture on smoking the night before prompted Neil to cut out early. It was getting more difficult each day to cut the new guy some slack. “I guess that can’t be helped. At this rate, we’ll go broke before the end of summer. I’ll do a head count on the herd in the north end. Will you contact the sheriff?” she asked, ready to relieve some of her tension over this news with a long, fast ride. Galahad shifted under her, as if he too found the thieves continued pilfering upsetting.
“Will do,” her foreman replied, tipping his hat. Jason swung around with ease, proving he could sit a saddle as well as any of the younger employees. She’d seen him eying Amy from afar since she’d been back, more than a hint of interest in his blue gaze. Amy tried to hide her interest, but Tamara had caught her returning that look and wondered how long the two of them would continue to dance around each other. If anyone deserved a second chance at happiness, it was her stepmother.
Tamara waved to Mark and prodded Galahad into a gallop, the cool morning breeze stimulating her as much as the feel of her steed’s powerful muscles bunching under her. She didn’t slow until
they reached the rest of her small stock. A quick count tallied correctly, offering a touch of relief. At an estimated eight to ten-thousand-dollars a head, she couldn’t afford to lose any more.
Pulling the reins, she veered Galahad toward the fence, both of them now eager for playtime. “Come on, boy. This one’s a piece of cake.” With a nudge to his side, he took off and her whoop of success as he took her over the wood rails with flying ease resonated in the air. Just as they landed on solid ground on the other side, she caught wind of another galloping horse and looked behind her to see Connor trotting up on his Palomino, a wide grin splitting his rugged, tanned face. Her heart leaped before she could control her response to seeing him. Nothing she’d tried managed to put a dent in her desire for the man.
His teeth shone bright white against his swarthy skin and the sexy bristles covering the lower half of his face. With his sun-streaked brown hair pulled back in a leather tie, his wicked blue eyes mere slits under the brim of his Stetson and his arm and leg muscles rippling as he pulled up on his horse, was it any wonder he could have any woman he wanted, in or out of his club?
“You’ve still got it, little one,” he praised her as he drew alongside and they set out at an easy trot with the comfort and ease of old times.
“Of course,” she boasted with a laugh and toss of her head, refusing to let him see how pathetic she was over him. “My guy and I are a match made in heaven.” Thank goodness he seemed to be in his usual, affable mood. After last night, she wasn’t sure what his attitude would be when they saw each other again. He hadn’t been happy with her, that had been clear.
“I agree.” Connor’s eyes turned serious as he said, “I just heard you got hit. I’m sorry. Everyone’s stayed vigilant about going after these bastards, but so far, they’ve proven damn elusive. Grayson is wondering if they have an inside man at one of the ranches.”
“That would explain how they can elude the sentries everyone is posting. Unfortunately, our guy was sick last night. I hope they get caught soon. My resources aren’t anywhere near yours.”
“I know, Tam.” He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry, the Dunbar ranch, as well as several others will help in any way we can. Your dad was well liked and highly respected. He’d want us to look out for you.”
Tamara swallowed her disappointment. She didn’t want him ‘looking out for her’, as always, no matter the reason. Apparently, she craved the impossible; for him to regard her as more than a neighbor, a friend or the kid he’d befriended. “Thanks, but my few employees are loyal and diligent. We can pull our own weight, one way or another.” To take her mind off what she couldn’t have, she flipped him a taunting grin and said, “Race you,” before taking off.
She heard his laughing shout and the thunder of his horse’s hooves as he caught up with her. Side by side, they traversed the wide-open meadow at a ground-eating pace. Her pleasure in the run and the company lightened her mood by the time they neared the line separating their ranches. Panting, she reined in Galahad and beamed at Connor.
“I won!”