The Truth About Plain Jane

Sliding her a strange look, Trey shrugged. “Sure you can lift that saddle?”

She flashed him what she hoped was a confident smile. “I’m much stronger than I look. Go ahead and help Carrie. I’ll let you know if I need help.”

With a nod, he pointed to a nearby stall. “See that palomino? He’s yours.”

Her breath caught at the sight of the beautiful horse, and she hoped that she wouldn’t be afraid of such a gorgeous animal. “Does he have a name?”

“Moonlight. And he’s gentle, so don’t let him spook you if he starts moving around.”

With her knees feeling like rubber, she took the few steps and reached the stall. Easing into it, where the palomino stood waiting, she kept her voice low and much calmer than she felt. “Hey, Moonlight, I’m Meg. And aren’t you a beauty?” Her hand trembled as she tentatively reached up to comb her fingers through his mane. Taking a deep breath, she stepped back. “I’m going to saddle you now,” she warned.

She lifted the saddle from the top of the half-wall between stalls, and the weight of it nearly buckled her knees, forcing her to lean against the stall to stay upright. But she was determined to do this herself.

The horse, as beautiful as he was, wouldn’t cooperate. Each time Meg hefted the saddle higher, he sidestepped. She cursed him under her breath, determined that one way or another she was going to get it done. Gripping the leather and taking a fortifying breath, she tried once more. The horse backed away, his ears pressed flat to his head, and he snorted. Meg jumped back at the unusual sound, lost her balance, and the weight of the saddle brought her to the ground with an oomph of air. Tears of frustration burned her eyes.

“Problems?”

She jerked her head around at the sound of Trey’s voice and looked up to find him watching her. She sniffed at the tears and shrugged. “Maybe I’m not as strong as I thought I was.”

He opened the gate and walked in, his attention on the saddle holding her to the straw-covered floor. “You okay?” he asked as he lifted the saddle off her.

She scrambled to her feet, dusting off her backside and picking off bits of clinging straw. “I’m fine,” she answered, stepping back to give him plenty of room in the stall. Except for my dignity.

His gaze raked her from head to foot, then he shook his head. “You forgot the saddle blanket.” Picking up the brightly colored woven cloth, he proceeded to saddle the horse. “Pay close attention. Next time you’ll get it right.”

“It seems to me it makes more sense to use a blanket when he goes to bed.”

His hands stilled on the buckle he was tightening and he made a choking sound. “Horses don’t sleep under blankets, as a rule.” When he finished, he spun around and left her standing alone in the stall. “Let’s all get out to the corral,” he called to the others.

Leading her own saddled horse, Carrie patted Meg’s arm. “Don’t feel bad. I couldn’t do it either.”

“Right,” Meg answered, forcing a grin. She did a quick once-over of Carrie and her horse, finally realizing that she needed to loop the long strip of leather connected to the things in the horse’s mouth over the horse’s neck before she could lead him. She definitely had a lot to learn.

Outside, in the corral, Trey held a stunning black horse and demonstrated the proper method of mounting. “From the left side,” he was explaining, “grip the saddle horn with your left hand and the back of the cantle with your right. Put your left foot in the stirrup, and then swing your right leg over, like this.” With a grace that belied his size, Trey swung into the saddle. “Keep your heels down, knees hugging the horse, hand firmly gripping the reins. But don’t pull. These are like the steering wheel and brakes on your car, only more so. You think power steering and brakes are touchy? It’s nothin’ compared to these animals.”

Meg helped Carrie, doing her best to hold the horse steady beneath the child. But her attention was on Trey and the fine figure he cut atop the horse. The way they moved as one around the fenced area was pure artistry, and she suddenly understood the saying about someone looking like he’d been born in the saddle.

And now it was her turn to climb on Moonlight. The thought scared her to death.

Once Carrie was settled in the saddle, Meg started behind the little black and white horse and felt herself being jerked away, the grip on her forearm causing her to wince.

“Are you crazy, woman? Not behind the horse,” Trey growled. “You want to get your teeth kicked out?”

“Why would he do that?”

Trey stared at her, then shook his head. “She can’t see you back there.” He kept his grip on Meg and led her to the palomino. “Let me see you mount.”

As they approached the horse, Meg swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. With more than a little trepidation, she lifted a foot into the stirrup.

Grabbing her calf, Trey eased her leg down to the ground. “Left side, left foot.”

She looked at him and then at the horse. “Right,” she said, nodding, and forced a smile. A giggle bubbled in her throat. “I mean left, and you’re right. Um, correct.”

Starting around the back of the horse, she halted. “See? I remember,” she said, flashing him a grin before retracing her steps to go the other way. On the left side, she lifted her left foot to the stirrup, glancing over the horse’s back at the man watching her. Flashing him a shaky smile, she jumped but landed with her right foot still on the ground. Then jumped again. Then again, getting absolutely nowhere.

“Put your weight on the foot in the stirrup and swing your other leg over the horse,” Trey said, walking around the horse. Bending down, he grasped her calf. “Now try it.”

She nearly fell into her instructor when he pressed his hand to her bottom. As he boosted her up, she came close to sailing over the top of the horse, and had to grab the saddle horn to keep from toppling over onto the ground.

“Thanks,” she said, gritting her teeth and attempting a smile.

“You okay?” he asked, settling his hand on her thigh.

Meg gulped at the heat his touch sent spiraling through her. Looking down, she stared at his hand. “Um, yeah,” she answered, her voice barely a whisper.

As if he had just noticed he was touching her, he jerked back and spun around so fast, it nearly made her dizzy. Mounting his own horse, he called to the others. “Listen up, folks. Give the reins a little flick,” he said, demonstrating with a quick movement of his wrist, “then touch—and I do mean touch—your heels to the horse’s side. Once you get moving, just circle around.”

Forcing her racing heart to calm, Meg concentrated on the idea of actually riding the horse and did as he’d instructed, but the horse didn’t budge. She tried pulling the reins, but still no luck. When Moonlight didn’t respond, she tried the last thing she could think of. “Move horse,” she said, throwing her upper body forward in the saddle. To her surprise, the horse began to walk.

“Knees in, Miss Chastain,” Trey ordered from across the corral. “And get those heels down. Without boots, you could get your ankle busted real easy if you don’t.”

Meg quickly complied. The last thing she needed was to be laid up with a broken bone. An accident would take her out of the ranch activities, and she needed to be in the thick of things.

Trey approached her and brought his horse to a stop. “Maybe you oughta go into San Antonio and get yourself a pair of boots. If you’re plannin’ on doin’ anymore ridin’, that is.”

“I’ll do that.” she answered as he turned to ride away. She wasn’t at all convinced she would ever do this again.

With a sigh of relief when Trey called the group’s riding to a halt, Meg started to dismount, only to find a pair of strong hands grasping her hips. The sigh instantly became a gasp as she was lowered to the ground. Once her feet were firmly planted in the dirt, she turned to see Trey, his blue eyes wide, as if he were surprised.

He released her and shook his head, backing up a step. “Didn’t want you to fall, considerin’ the trouble you had gettin’ on.”

Meg bit down on her lip, refusing to acknowledge the sparks skipping through her body. Between the way his touch affected her and her insecurity on a horse, she wondered how she would last the week. She had been crazy to agree to come here, but there wasn’t much she could do about it except give it her best shot. And she would. She only hoped it would be good enough.

Chapter Three

Trey watched Meg lead Moonlight into the barn, hypnotized by the seductive movement of her body. Although she was well-covered from chin to toes, there was something so downright sensual in the sway of her hips that he had to hold himself back from following her.

She was hiding under those clothes. She had to be. When he had lifted her down from the horse, his fingers had pressed into a pair of rounded hips. No extra padding there, just sheer woman. He could only wonder at other parts of her—which led him to wonder even more about the kind of woman she really was. That scared him.

“How’d the lessons go?”

Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw his sister-in-law walking toward him. He liked Ellie. Chace couldn’t have found a better woman. But Trey wasn’t the settlin’ down type. There were too many little darlin’s to meet and get to know. Meg Chastain was new to him. That must be why he was so intrigued by her. It would wear off, in time. He was sure of it.

With a final quick look in the direction of the barn where Meg had disappeared, Trey forced the memory of the delightful feel of her to a corner of his mind before meeting his brother’s wife at the corral fence.

“Lessons weren’t too bad,” he answered Ellie. “There were only five of ’em. Maybe the rest heard I’d be teaching instead of you,” he added with a grin.

Ellie laughed and propped a foot on the bottom fence rail. “Maybe that’s it. Anything special I should know? Any problems?”