I’m concerned, you’re not the person for the job. Prince Charming is too much animal for you to handle.”
Anger flared in Casey’s eyes and she drew herself up to her full five-foot-three. “And you’re making that decision without giving me a chance to show you what I can do?”
“Yes, evidently I am,” he drawled.
“Then you’re nothing but a male chauvinistic—”
“Think whatever you like, but the bottom line is that I’m not hiring you. I’m sure there’re other jobs in Bozeman that might interest you. And since you’re familiar with running a clothing store, you might want to check in town to see if there’re any employment opportunities available in that area.”
Casey stared at him as she struggled to control the fury that threatened to suffocate her. He was right. She was wasting her time here. “In that case, there’s nothing left for me to say,” she said tightly, staring at his impassive features.
“No, there really isn’t.” And to prove his point he picked up the brush and began grooming the horse again, totally dismissing her once more.
Without saying anything else, an angry Casey strode toward the exit of the barn.
* * *
McKinnon watched Casey leave and released a deep sigh of frustration.
He knew she was pretty pissed with him but there was no way he would hire her to work on his ranch. Most Arabians by nature were mild-mannered and people-oriented, but the horse sent here for training lacked a friendly disposition by leaps and bounds. The only explanation McKinnon could come up with was that someone had treated the horse badly in the past, and it would take a skilled trainer to turn things around. He knew Casey had been born and raised in Texas, so chances were strong she was used to horses. But still, if things worked out and he expanded his business to train more horses, she would be dealing with studs that were known to be mean-spirited. He refused to be responsible if something were to happen to her.
Besides that, there was another reason he wouldn’t hire Casey. He had decided six years ago after Lynette Franklin had walked out on him that a woman had no place on his ranch.
Just thinking of Lynette sent resentment through all parts of his body. But then to be fair, he couldn’t rightly fault her for wanting something he couldn’t give her. And when she had left, she had made him realize that a serious relationship with any female was something he would not involve himself in again.
His thoughts grudgingly shifted back to Casey. His attraction to her was more lethal than what he’d had for Lynette. Casey was a woman who, without very much effort, could bring out strong desires in any man. And to make matters worse, she was Corey’s daughter and Durango’s cousin. That meant she was definitely off-limits.
“Regardless of what she thinks, I did the right thing,” he muttered, trying to place his concentration back on grooming Thunder, and not on how Casey’s curvy backside swayed when she walked out of the barn. All he wanted from a woman was a short, hot, satisfying affair with no ties. Casey Westmoreland had the words home, hearth and motherhood all but stamped on her forehead. And that was the type of woman he avoided at all cost.
He refused to let any female become an emotional threat to his well-being ever again.
* * *
The moment the sunshine hit Casey’s face she inhaled, trying to get her temper under control. She doubted there were any words to describe how she felt toward McKinnon Quinn at that moment. The man was impossible!
She glanced around and grudgingly admitted his sprawling ranch was simply beautiful. The house wasn’t as huge as her father’s but she thought it had a lot of class and exuded an appeal as strong as the man who owned it. He had adroitly erected the structure on a beautiful piece of land that had a picturesque view of the mountains in the background.
It was a sunny day in early May and the weather reminded her of a day in Texas. McKinnon’s men were busy at work and as she walked toward her car to leave, she noted several beautiful horses were being led into a corral. She turned suddenly when one of the men’s shouting caught her attention in time to see this huge monstrosity of a horse break free from the man’s hold and start charging after him.
When the horse reared up on hind legs with full intent to stomp the man to death, she held her breath and watched as the man made a smart move and fell to the ground, immediately rolling out of harm’s way. It seemed the animal was in rare form, and when several of the men ran forward to grab hold of his reins, he tried attacking them and sent them running for cover. One of them wasn’t quick enough and the horse took off, charging after him.
Without any thought of what she was doing or that she was putting her life in danger, Casey raced toward the charging animal trying to get his attention. She frantically waved her hands in the air and whistled. Pretty soon the animal turned huge, dark, flaming eyes in her direction and with a tilt of its head, a flare of its nostrils and a turn of its body, she then became his target. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, putting her on full alert, however, instead of running for cover, she stood still.
* * *
McKinnon rushed out of the barn at that very moment. He had heard all the commotion and when he saw Prince Charming turned toward Casey, and she just standing there as if frozen in place, his heart slammed in his chest.
“Casey, run, dammit!”
When he saw she didn’t move, he decided to run toward her, knowing that with Prince Charming’s speed there was no way he was going to reach her in time, but he would die trying. Suddenly a rifle was shoved into his hands by one of his men and he knew he had to destroy the animal before it took Casey’s life. At that moment it didn’t matter one iota that the animal he was about to take down had cost Sheikh Jamal Ari Yasir over a million dollars. McKinnon’s only concern was doing whatever it took to protect Casey Westmoreland.
He raised the gun to take aim and fire when one of his men shouted, “Wait! Take a look at that.”
McKinnon blinked, amazed at what he was seeing. Fear hadn’t frozen Casey in place—she had been talking to the blasted animal and somehow she had gotten through to it. Prince Charming had come to a screeching halt within ten feet of Casey and was now trotting over to her with his tail wagging like they were the best of friends. She was holding her hand out to him and the horse cautiously came up to her and began nuzzling her hand.
McKinnon lowered the rifle. He knew that, like him, everyone was holding their breaths watching, waiting and staring in pure astonishment. Then, once she felt confident that she had gained the animal’s trust, Casey grabbed hold of the reins and began walking him slowly back toward a hitching post.
“Well, I’ll be. If I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it,” McKinnon heard one of his men whisper behind him.
“Take a look at that,” another man said as if awe struck. “That woman has Prince Charming practically eating out of her hands instead of him eating her hands off. Who the hell is she?”
McKinnon handed the rifle back to his foreman, Norris Lane, and shook his head. He’d heard the men’s stunned comments. He would not have believed it without seeing it, either. “That’s Corey Westmoreland’s daughter,” he said gruffly.
“Corey’s daughter?”
“Yeah,” McKinnon said as he watched Casey tie the animal to the hitching post and then lean over to whisper something in his ear before turning to walk away.
Whatever conversation was taking place between his men was lost on McKinnon as he began walking toward Casey. His heart was still pounding wildly in his chest since he wasn’t even close to recovering from the impact of seeing the horse charge toward her. Damn! He felt as if he’d lost a good ten years off his life.
When they reached each other, instead of stopping, Casey glanced at him with unconcealed irritation glaring in her eyes and walked right past.
McKinnon