The Alpha's Choice: A Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Roadside Angels Motorcycle Club Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

a typical cowboy, except he was clean.  His wore high shaft black boots and black jeans.  His black-and-white checkered shirt was tucked neatly into the waistband of his jeans, and his broad black belt had a wolf’s head for a buckle.  He carried a blanket and saddlebags.
     
    “A picnic?” she asked with a wide grin.
     
    “Something like that,” he answered.  “Come on, let’s go.  I want you back home before dark.”
     
    They walked hand in hand down to the big barn.  Once inside, she noted it housed a number of horses.  Lex walked to the last stall, and Tammie’s eyes opened wide at the size of the creature whose soulful eyes stared back at them unblinkingly.  The animal nickered, as Lex stroked him.  Tammie thought he looked at Lex with abject love.  “Is this a shifter, too?” she asked Lex.
     
    “No, Snickers here isn’t a shifter, but he’s aware of what we are.”  He rubbed the horse’s head again, then opened the stall, and walked in.  It was extra-large, and Snickers stood still while Lex brushed his hands down its flanks.  “Ready for a ride, boy?” he asked, and the huge animal moved its head up and down, as though it understood.  “We’ll have an extra passenger today.  A beauty, isn’t she?”
     
    Lex turned his head to look at Tammie, who watched in shock as the animal’s soulful eyes seemed to take her in.  One of them winked at her—before it nodded again—and whinnied.  Lex laughed at the stupefied expression on her face and led the horse out of the stall, before he set about preparing it for two riders. 
     
    “Here,” he said, closing the stall door and handing her a sandwich bag with pieces of cored apples in it.  “Feed him a few treats. He likes apples—and beautiful women.”
     
    She watched him for a few minutes, casting him an amused glance, and said, “I hope he doesn’t think my hand is a treat!”  Then, she removed a piece of apple from the bag.  Stepping close to the big horse’s head, she held it up to him, and he opened his mouth, baring his teeth slightly to take it from her fingers.
     
    “It’s easier if you feed him from your palm, love,” Lex said, turning to watch her.  When she did as he suggested, he turned back to tighten the saddle.
     
    “He’s very gentle, isn’t he?” she asked, venturing to stroke him down his long face.  She wasn’t as surprised when he winked again and bared his teeth in what she imagined was a horsey smile.  “Are you sure he can handle two people on his back with all that other stuff you’ve put on him?”
     
    “Snickers is a shire horse, honey,” Lex told her, and when she stared at him in confusion, he added, “Think Clydesdale—not exactly the same, but related.  He’s used to carrying and pulling loads.  It’s what he was bred to do.”
     
    “Do you breed horses, then, Lex?” 
     
    He shook his head.  “Yes, but I also rescue some, and then find them good homes.”
     
    “Is Snickers a rescued horse?” she asked.  When Lex nodded, she asked, “People buy huge horses like this one as a rule?”  She was surprised.
     
    “Not only individuals do.  Organizations do as well, such as the ones who sponsor therapeutic animals.  So, I sell some to farms where people who need therapy go to get their treatments.”
     
    “You mean like those dogs they sometimes feature in TV ads?”  Tammie’s curiosity was sparked.  She couldn’t imagine how a huge horse—how any horse for that matter—could be used in therapy.
     
    “Something like that, yes.”  Lex smiled at her.  “Come on.  Let’s get going.”
     
    He took the bag of apples away from her and picked her up.  “Throw your leg over his back, Tamara,” he instructed her, and when she did, he mounted behind her before returning the apples to her trembling fingers.
     
    “Relax,” he whispered.  “Look ahead, not down, and trust me.  I won’t let you fall.”
     
    Snickers turned his head at that moment