Read Online Amanda by Kay Hooper - Free Book Online

a step backward before she could stop herself, then went still as she realized he wasn’t going to grab her and throw her up on the nearest horse willy-nilly. “No, I—I don’t like them, Jesse. Really. In fact, I think I’ll go back to the house.”
    “Wait a minute, and We’ll walk up together.” Jesse was clearly disappointed by her feelings, but showed none of the scorn he had demonstrated when Reece had indicated his lack of passion for horses. He watched the horse in the ring a minute or so longer, his gaze intent, then nodded and called out, “Okay, Ben, that’s enough.”
    “I think he might be up to Sully’s weight,” the blond man called back as he stopped the horse and gathered up the long longe line.
    Jesse grunted. “Maybe.” He waited until the man led the chestnut up to the fence, then said, “Honey, this is Ben Prescott, one of our trainers. Ben—my granddaughter, Amanda.” His voice was filled with pride on the last three words, and his smile was exultant.
    Made uncomfortable by the repeated endearment and peculiarly conscious of Kate’s silent attention, Amanda forced herself to smile at the blond man. “Hi, Ben.”
    “Nice to meet you, Amanda,” he returned politely. He was about her own age, maybe a year or two older, she thought, and she liked the steady way he met her gaze. She also liked the fact that he didn’t show a sign of scorn or even awareness when she eased back away from the fence—and the horse.
    “Put him in with Sully’s string for the time being,” Jesse told Ben. “The bay needs to go to Kathy; she has the lightest touch.”
    “Right. I’ll see to it.” Ben led the chestnut toward the gate on the far side of the ring. He nodded at Kate as he passed her, saying, “I’ll take the bay over to barn four as soon as this one’s stabled.”
    “Don’t bother,” she replied. “I’ll take him.”
    Amanda looked at Jesse, then at Kate. “You aren’t coming to the house?”
    “Not just yet.” Kate smiled suddenly. “I have something to take care of first.”
    Amanda hesitated a moment longer, then turned away from the older woman and joined Jesse on the path that would take them back to Glory. Them—and the guard dogs he had named Bundy and Gacy after two of the most vicious killers ever known.
    Each of the four barns had a small apartment taking up about a quarter of the loft space. The apartments could be reached either by an exterior stair or a second stair inside each barn; each apartment had water and power and all the other modern conveniences—except air conditioning. Jesse claimed it would bother the horses.
    The apartments were occupied according to seniority and choice; most of the trainers and riders preferred to live nearer to town, but several found it more comfortable or convenient to remain here even during most of their off hours.
    It was to the apartment above barn number four that Kate went after she’d taken the bay horse to his stall in the building. She didn’t sneak, but she did take care that no one observed her climb the outer stairs and let herself into the quiet, neat little apartment. There were a few sounds from the barn below, the snorts and nickers of the horses, an occasional laugh or shout from one of the trainers or young riders, the clank of a chain and the thud of something heavy falling to the ground.
    She didn’t have long to wait. It was midafternoon, hardly the best time to expect privacy, but Kate didn’t care. As soon as he came into the apartment, she pushed the door shut and went into his arms. He smelled of leather and horses and sunlight, strong,earthy scents that made her blood run hot and her heart thud wildly against her ribs.
    His mouth ground into hers and she moaned, her fingers lifting quickly to her blouse and coping with the buttons in feverish haste. She could feel him struggling with his own clothing, but the heat between them built quickly to such a frenzied pitch that neither of them managed to