Spring Blossom Read Online Free Page B

habit, hoping Hunter would select a mare and
want to take her for jaunt. If he wanted to ride, of course, he
would need an escort; someone who knew every inch of the
plantation; herself, of course.
    Coming up beside him, Maggie placed both
feet on the lower fence rail and boosted herself up before turning
her head to smile at him on a much more even level. “Hello,” she
said. “Have you decided?”
    Hunter smiled before returning his attention
to the center paddock. “The roan, I think. She appears to be
healthy and strong and she has fine lines and intelligent
eyes.”
    “She is not the one,” Maggie whispered.
    Her father was standing to Hunter’s right.
“Good choice,” Alastair advised. “One of my finest mares and she
has already given me an excellent colt. Tired and true, she
is.”
    Maggie had heard her father repeat the same
words a hundred times. “Would you like to take her out?” she asked.
“You can better judge her temperament once you have ridden
her.”
    Hunter knew her game for what is was but he
played along. Besides, he enjoyed her company. “Will you join me?”
he asked and drew an immediate response; Maggie raced for the
stables.
    Alastair watched her run through the open
doors and frowned. “That girl is something beyond me,” he said.
“Last night she was a perfect lady. Today she is racing around like
a hoyden. I’ve never seen her like this.”
    Hunter smiled and turned his back to lean
against the wooden rails. “You have four daughters, my friend. You
had best prepare yourself, for they seem to be growing up.”
    Alastair straightened away from his post and
stared at the young man as if he had gone mad. “They’re babies,” he
said, “each and every one of them.”
    “Not Maggie.”
    Alastair was instantly alarmed.
    “Relax, man,” Hunter continued. “I recognize
puppy love when I see it.” But in his own mind, he wondered if the
man’s alarm stemmed not so much from the shock of realizing his
daughter was maturing, as from the knowledge that she appeared to
be attracted to a man who was beneath her station and of mixed
blood at that. He hadn’t seen Alastair since he was a child
himself. With so little background between them, it was difficult
to know the bent of the other man’s mind. Still, remembering that
his father and Alastair had once been friends, Hunter wanted to
give the man the benefit of doubt.
    *
    In the stable, Maggie was rushing about,
finding the best and most suitable saddle for Hunter to use, even
as she urged the stable boys to set a faster pace.
    When the two mounts were finally ready and
led outside, Maggie followed, her heart beating joyfully until she
saw the concerned expression on her father’s face. Surely he would
not demand an escort for them? She stopped before the two men,
looking into her father’s eyes, awaiting some word from him.
    It was Hunter who spoke first. “I’ll take
care, Alastair.” He smiled when the older man looked his way. Give
the girl her moment, Hunter attempted to express silently. After
expressing a drawn-out breath, Alastair nodded his head in
agreement.
    Maggie knew she had missed something that
had passed between the two men but she also understood that an
agreement had been reached. Taking that as confirmation that her
father was permitting her to ride out with Hunter, Maggie turned
and prepared to mount. Taking up the reins in one hand, she awaited
a boost up from one of the boys and was pleasantly surprised when
Hunter bent to the task. Taking her small booted foot in one hand,
he put the other hand on her waist and boosted her high with ease.
Once she was settled, he stepped toward his own mount.
    One of the proudest moments of Maggie’s
young life occurred when Hunter turned slightly in the saddle,
keeping his mount steady until she could draw up beside him. It was
the first time she had actually been allowed to ride out alone with
a man – although she had secretly ridden all over the county with
one