Beau (Remington Ranch Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

without proper exercise for too long. It sure felt like criticism though.
    Mason pushed his shoulder. “Don’t look like that. I’m glad you’re here to take him. He rides better for you than anyone else. You’re his very own human.”
    Beau’s smile returned at that. Mason sure knew how to handle him. He usually managed to push all the right buttons to keep him smiling.
    “Can I come?” Ruby asked again.
    Mason gave her the same stern look.
    “But I want to go with Beau!” This time she didn’t back down.
    Mason shook his head. “How about you wait here with Beau a minute while I just run inside?” He looked at Beau. “I’ll be right back.”
    Beau could hardly refuse, much as he’d like to. He climbed over the fence and took hold of the lead rein.
    “This is Gypsy,” said Ruby.
    Beau nodded. He’d rather not engage in conversation if he could avoid it. He started walking, leading Gypsy and her mini rider around the arena. It beat standing around and hopefully would keep Ruby quiet.
    “My mommy…”
    Beau turned to look at her with what he hoped was the same stern look Mason had used. “Do we talk while we’re having a riding lesson?”
    Ruby’s eyebrows knit together and her bottom lip started to slide out. Oh, shit! All the warning signs of a storm about to hit.
    “That’s right. We don’t. Good girl.” He turned back and urged Gypsy into a trot, hoping that would avert disaster. It did.
    Mason came back out from the barn and smiled as he let himself into the arena. “Good job, Ruby. You’re doing great!”
    That brought a smile back to her face. Beau led her back to Mason and handed over the lead rein. “There. I’m out of here.”
    Mason laughed. “Coward.”
    Beau tipped his hat with a grin. “That’d be me! See ya!”
    He let himself out of the arena and started walking back to the barn. Then he stopped in his tracks. Could it be? There was a woman walking down the path from the lodge toward him. A very beautiful woman. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or it really was Beautiful Woman.
    He held his breath as he watched her approach. Her stride faltered as she recognized him, too. Then she continued toward him, her beautiful smile causing that dimple to deepen. Man! She was gorgeous.
    “Hello again,” she said when she reached him, her voice slid over him, wrapped him in its warmth and, if he wasn’t mistaken, slipped its fingers inside his pants for a moment.
    “Hello.” That was all he had? Hello? He really had to up his game here.
    “Thank you for the wine. You really shouldn’t have, though.”
    He shrugged.
    “Look at meeee!” For God’s sake. All he needed was Ruby ruining this for him. He was making enough of a mess of it by himself. Then a thought struck him. He didn’t want Beautiful Woman thinking that the kid was his! He didn’t want her to think he was an asshole either. He turned to look. “Good job, Ruby. You’re doing great.” So what if he had to borrow Mason’s words? The only ones he could come up with himself weren’t the kind he could say out loud to a five year old!
    He turned back to Beautiful Woman, she was smiling. Apparently impressed by his ability to appease the monster. He smiled back. “She’s not mine.”
    He couldn’t figure out the look on Beautiful’s face, she was still smiling, but there was something strange in her eyes. “No?”
    He shook his head. “Hell, no. I don’t have kids.”
    “You don’t like kids?”
    Oh, shit. Was he walking himself into an ambush here? He shrugged. “I don’t really know many.” Hopefully that was an acceptable out.
    “Except Ruby?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, and she’s a monster. She gives kids a bad name.”
    “I see.”
    The look on that beautiful face said he had well and truly blown it. That was hardly fair though, was it? They’d known each other for a grand total of five minutes. Surely she couldn’t be judging him on his parental potential already? Time to change the