Twin Pleasures (8 page)

She could hear the horses nickering as the smell of breakfast drifted on the air. The cowboys worked at a steady pace to see to all their needs. She jumped out of the Jeep and followed the boys into the barn's interior. The pungent smells of barn hung in the air.

She went directly to Majesty’s stall and unlatched the door before stepping inside. A relieved, hungry horse greeted her. This was a new home, and strangers had been poking their heads inside to look at him. He wasn’t happy. The soothing sound of her voice had a calming effect on the fidgety stallion. He demonstrated his displeasure with the changes by some small rears and a couple of anxious snorts that she laughed off.

“You, sir, are a piece of work. At your age, acting all scared. You have to show all these young stallions what you are made of. Hold your head up high, and strut your beautiful body.” Her monotone voice calmed and assured the horse. She clipped the lead and walked him out. She couldn’t see the boys, so she took it upon herself to take him back to the paddock he was in the night before. She felt the stares of the workers but ignored them and went about her business. She found the feed room and calmly stood at the doorway. The cowboy in charge looked her way and smiled. The smile held a hint of derision that she paid no heed. She didn’t care what they thought about her or her relationship with the boys. She hadn’t come to terms with it herself, and she wasn’t going to let their opinion affect her.

“May I have six cups of grain, one cup of sweet feed and two measures of alfalfa?” Liana inquired of the cowboy. She held her arms out as the bucket and hay were placed unceremoniously into her outstretched arms. She didn’t show any complaint to the man at his obvious attempt to unbalance her. She was stronger than they knew.

She carried her burden to the paddock, greeted there by a demanding horse. He scarcely let her through the gate before pouncing on the offerings. She nudged him away and set the bucket on the feed hook. He was happily munching the food with his head buried deep inside, letting her prepare the hay to put it in the rack affixed to the pen. She leaned back against the railing and watched the hustle of cowboys going about their work.

The size of the place amazed her. She’d had a little taste of it last night, but in the light of day, the sheer vastness made her mind spin. The rolling Texas hills stretched as far as the eye could see and had horses sprinkled everywhere. She could just make out another barn and wondered if that was the induction barn mentioned last night. It was too far away to see if anybody was working there. The sounds of happy horses had a calming effect on her. She could see the planning and dedication that went into the operation and the care and well-being that went into the stock.

She closed her eyes, thinking about all that had happened in such a short time. The enormity of her situation made her cringe. Her life, her friends, her job were all crowding to come forward and demand she come to her senses. She’d thought she had a good life back home until meeting the boys and finding out what had been missing. Just the thought of leaving here, leaving them, made her unhappy, but again the thought of how this relationship could ever survive confused her. Her life had a focus before meeting the boys. She had plans and goals, all of which now seemed unimportant.

She placed her hand on her belly and tried to imagine a child, their child, growing inside her. The joy that filled her was her answer. She shook her head slightly at this turn in her life. She could remember a time that the thought of children scared her witless. Her sister was eight months pregnant and the many months being around Gabby all she thought of was, she was glad she wasn’t the one pregnant. Now look at her, contemplating just that, she thought to herself.

She had to get those thoughts out of her head. She headed back to the barn to see what needed to be done next. She hadn’t seen the boys since she arrived, and like a lovesick fool she wanted to seek them out. That thought led to others until finally she stopped walking and mentally told herself to get a grip on her emotions. She needed to have a clear head and try not to get hurt. She stepped through the entrance on steadier legs.

She saw that Majesty’s stall was already cleaned, along with the entire row. A couple of cowboys coming out of a distant stall had a shovel and a wheelbarrow, so she headed toward them.

”Excuse me. Could you point me in the direction of where Chase and Donavan are?” she asked one of the men.

“I’ll help her, Hank.” She turned to see Mac walking toward her.

“Hi, Mac. I was just going to hunt the boys down to see what needed to be done next,” Liana said as she followed him out the other side of the barn.

“Well, since I’m the foreman, I guess I would be the one to assign you a job. First, I’m going to have to see what you can do. So, what do you think about the farm?” he asked as they continued to walk beside the barn.

His hat slouched low over his eyes, hiding his feelings. He came to just her height but was well-muscled from all the hard work that went into this kind of life.

“So far, my impressions are that everything is huge and the horses are well cared for. The place is great. All the animals appear in excellent health and in good spirits.”

“We are about to start training some of the youngsters, and I need to separate the calves into groups of ten. How about you help with that, okay? The horse right there is ready. He’s mine. His name is Jack, and he’s a cutter. You know how to ride a cutter, don’t you?” he asked as they came to Jack.

Liana understood from that question that this was his way of establishing his superiority over her in his world. He was the boss, and she would respect him, no matter who she was fucking. Well, the man made a huge mistake if this was his idea to show her up, she thought to herself as she shot him a glance out of the corner of her eye.

“Yes, I can ride,” she said as she adjusted the stirrups and tightened the cinch. She smoothly mounted and sat deep into the saddle as the unfamiliar weight registered to the animal. She checked his mouth gently when she felt him bunch up, letting him know that the rider knew her business.

Mac opened the cattle pen, where a group of cowboys milled the calves around in a circle to get them used to the horses. She saw the surprised expressions on their faces when she joined them. She joined them in the center and moved Jack around, getting used to his quirks.

“Day's a-wasting, boys and girls. Let’s get them moved,” Mac yelled from the railing.

From that moment on, her focus was on the 200 head of bawling calves that didn’t want to be separated from their herd. This was her life, what she loved to do, what she had been doing all her life.

Jack was a dream cutter. He flowed under her and anticipated all her signals as if they were one. She separated the second set and pushed them to the gate with such skill that the men’s jaws all dropped. She paid little attention to the men and focused on the job. The group started working together and not before long they were halfway through.

* * * *

”Mac, what in the hell is Liana doing out there in that mob?” Donavan demanded as Chase and Gus followed him to the railing. His throat seized as he watched her and the horse cut deep into the ground, stopping one of the calves from escaping. That the expertise of the move was amazing didn’t help the feeling of terror or the thought of her falling underneath twelve hundred pounds of horseflesh.

“Liana McCarty! Now I remember where I heard that name,” Gus exclaimed. “Liana McCarty is an overall cutting champion. She won last year’s NCHA world championship in Fort Worth. Remember, Chase? You couldn’t make the event and wished you could have met the winner and horse. Hell! That horse was Majesty, Chase. The owners were Petersen farms, but the rider was Liana McCarty. That, my friends, is a champion at work. Holy hell! Look at her move! I have never seen Jack so responsive, Mac."

“God, I remember that. When the list came up for Majesty’s wins, I never connected the two. The rider name was L. McCarty, and I didn’t realize that was her. It’s like watching an artist at work. She’s beautiful,” Chase said.

Donavan’s thoughts were along the same path but for an entirely different purpose. He didn’t know if he could handle her day-to-day participation in working with the cutters. The thought of her constant exposure to danger made his insides freeze. Watching her glide across the pen effortlessly, he knew it was going to be a battle he would lose if he tried to take this away from her, and he'd possibly lose her entirely if he pushed. What saved him from total despair was the realization that a pregnant woman couldn’t ride. We will just keep her pregnant then, he concluded happily.

Girl, horse, and calf danced in a classic move of control as the stubborn calf tried to get around the huge monster blocking him from his mates. Shift and sink, the three fought a battle of wills until at last the calf turned and scuttled up the ramp to the pen assigned him. The process was repeated over and over until the last calf was separated and the job was complete. Donavan couldn’t take his eyes off her.

She galloped to the entrance and followed the rest of the men out. She spotted them and waved, heading in that direction. She dismounted and wrapped a hand around the lead to pull Jack alongside of her. When she reached them, she surprised Donavan by throwing herself into his arms and planting a kiss on his lips.

He took full advantage and cupped her butt, pulling her into a ravishing kiss that had a hint of relief that she was safe. When he broke away, she grinned up at him happily. She did the same thing with Chase. Donavan stood glaring at the other cowboys when he noticed them gawking at Liana.

“Mac, Jack is a wonderful cutter. I can’t remember working with one so responsive. He is just as good as Majesty. Even with a new rider, he worked flawlessly. Thank you for the opportunity to work with him. You did a great job training him,” Liana gushed as she handed the reins to him.

* * * *

“Hey, Mac, did you know about her experience?” Gus asked, knowing his man. He saw the reddened cheeks and got his answer. He glared at the man in disbelief. The brothers didn’t notice as they were concentrating on the woman and walking away, each with an arm around her. “What the fuck were you thinking, asshole? She could have been hurt bad. Didn’t you realize that the bosses have fallen for her, you egotistical shit for brains? If I see you do something like this again, I will fire your ass.” With that parting shot, he stormed off in pursuit of the three who had just left.

When Gus caught up with the group, he found them in the barn. He had to clear his throat to get their attention because two of them were lip-locked again while Chase stood beside them petting the woman’s sweat-stained back. Chase looked up and grinned at him. Gus knew the brothers' lifestyle, and it didn’t faze him a bit.

“Liana McCarty, it’s a pleasure to meet you at last. I watched you ride last year, and you were great. Congratulations on winning the Nationals. I was there for the roping and had my hands full or I would have introduced myself back then.” Gus held out his hand to vigorously shake her hand.

“If you were in the roping then you might know my cousin Jackie Stuart. She won the amateur championship go-around that rodeo,” Liana said, a little out of breath.

“Holy shit! That’s your cousin? What a small world,” Gus said, shaking his head in disbelief. He would have carried on the conversation but a yell from the front called him back to the work at hand. He excused himself and got a promise of a future discussion.

* * * *

“Now back to what we were doing.” Donavan pulled her into the empty stall and plastered her against the wall. He anchored her hands high above her head and captured her lips again. Her laughter turned into a groan when his heavy erection nestled between her legs. He helped her wrap her legs around his waist, still staying connected to her delicious mouth.

Donavan heard Chase tell him that he would see them later and shut the stall door behind him. Donavan knew that Chase understood the fright he had gone through at the sight of their woman in danger. Jealousy had never been an issue between them. This was their woman, and whether together or alone, they would love her.

He released her hands to use both of his to pull her shirt out of her jeans, giving him access to her silk-covered breasts. He quickly unclasped the hidden treasures and plumped them both into his hands, strumming the nipples to rigid peaks. He felt each groan and sigh deep inside his mouth as her kiss intensified, becoming hungrier and more amorous as she tried to crawl inside him.