The Cowboy's Secret (Cowboys After Dark: Book 3) Read Online Free

Amelia had discovered a trilling sound that calmed most of the horses that heard it, and as she neared she put it to practice. To her relief and joy, the horse dropped its head and sighed loudly.
    “Hey there, I don’t know if you’re a beautiful girl or a handsome fella, but you’re sure gorgeous.”
    Fishing in her pocket she prayed she’d find some peppermints. She’d never met a horse who didn’t love them, and every time she left a restaurant she’d grab a few. Continuing to talk quietly as her fingers continued their hunt, she smiled when she felt it. She was drawing closer, and as she began to unwrap the plastic from the pink and white candy the horse’s curiosity grew.
    “You’ve had treats out of pockets before, haven’t you? Yes, you have, and I have one for you too.”
    Her voice was soft, and she added the trilling sound at the end of each sentence, keeping the animal’s attention.
    “You are huge,” she smiled looking up at him.
    Extending her flattened palm with the peppermint sitting innocently in the middle, she watched as the horse dropped its nose, sniffed, then gently lifted the candy with its lips.
    As it happily crunched the hard candy, Amelia slowly placed the lead rope around its neck, stood for a moment, then slid on the halter.
    “There you go,” she whispered, stroking its neck. “Now let’s see if we can find someone to take care of you.”
    “I’m right here,” Clint announced.
    He had moved silently down the driveway, and not wanting to interfere had stopped several yards away.
    “My goodness, I didn’t see you there,” she said, surprised by his appearance.
    “I know, you were so focused, it was impressive,” he smiled. “I’m Clint Hogan.”
    “Hi, I’m Amelia Anderson, and who is this I’m holding?”
    “Jiminy Cricket,” he grinned.
    “Jiminy Cricket?” she laughed. “What a brilliant name. It sure fits. He jumped that fence like it was a cross-rail,” she declared. “Did you see it?”
    “Sure did. My jaw dropped. I feel kinda embarrassed. He just came in and I knew he was a jumper. I should’ve found a better place to put him. Never occurred to me he’d jump clean out like that,” Clint confessed, taking the lead rope from her and walking the horse towards Mitch and Zane.
    “You don’t have paddocks with higher fences?”
    “There’s a large corral near the barn that has some equipment in it. I can put him in there, but he’d have to go in the barn ’til it’s cleaned out,” Clint remarked, “but hate to do it, he needs space.”
    “Don’t you have a round pen that would hold him?” she asked.
    “Damn, that’s exactly what I’ll do,” he frowned. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
    He handed the horse off to Zane with instructions to clean out the corral near the barn as quickly as possible, and to put Jiminy in the round pen until it was completed.
    “Mighty obliged to you,” he smiled, turning back to her. “He could have run out into the road, anything could’ve happened to him. Thank you.”
    “It was my pleasure,” she smiled. “He’s beautiful, it was an honor to meet him.”
    “Do you have a ranch around here?” he asked, thinking he would have remembered her if he’d seen her in town.
    “As of about two weeks ago,” she sighed. “I just bought a place, getting ready to make it livable for both me and my horses.”
    As Clint looked at her it occurred to him that she wasn’t just a skilled horse handler, she was a very attractive woman.
    Easy there, you know what you promised yourself.
    Hey, I haven’t shared so much as a cup of coffee with a woman in over two years. Give me a break. She’s a nice lady, a good horsewoman, what’s the harm?
    What’s the harm? Seriously?
    “Are you all right, Mr. Hogan?”
    “What? Yes, fine, sorry,” he apologized, suddenly realizing he’d been wordlessly staring at her. “Please, call me Clint. Would you like to come up to the house for a coffee?”
    “Thank you, I