Read Online Cowboy Tough by Joanne Kennedy - Free Book Online

might not be a top hand, but she did her best with the animals.
    And that kiss—she’d kissed him like she meant it. The effect she had on him was something new, something instantaneous and irresistible. It wasn’t just a sexual attraction; it was something more.
    The problem was, he didn’t know how to follow up on something like that. What was the proper etiquette after you’d kissed a stranger with the kind of passion that was usually reserved for lifelong lovers?
    He had no idea. Saying he was sorry would make it seem like he regretted the kiss, and he didn’t. Pretending it hadn’t happened seemed equally rude. Maybe he should just do it again, but she hadn’t exactly asked for an instant replay.
    â€œWe’ll make the best of it—right, Tippy?” He bent and ruffled the thick fur on her shoulders. “We’ll get along with Miss Crandall somehow.”
    â€œGood luck with that,” said a voice from the shadows. “I’ve been trying to get along with her since I was born.”
    Shoot. Another ambush in the barn. He was going to have to quit talking to the animals, or at least check for humans first.
    He turned to see a slim figure hovering by one of the stalls. It was a young girl, slight as a fairy, with pale skin and a halo of frizzy blonde hair. She had one hand on Bucky’s muzzle and was using the other to scratch the horse under his whiskered chin.
    â€œWho the heck are you?” Mack squinted into the dimness. The kid wasn’t more than about fifteen years old, and she might weigh ninety pounds if you handed her a ten-pound brick. Judging from the relaxed way Bucky was letting his eyes drift shut, she was a horse lover—but the frown on her fine-boned face told him she wasn’t too keen on the rest of the world.
    She glanced at Mack, then returned her attention to the horse. “Aren’t you supposed to say ‘Howdy, pardner’ or something like that? I thought you’d talk in cowboy lingo.”
    â€œYeah, I’ll have to work on that.”
    She was about a year younger than his daughter Viv, and apparently she carried the same teenaged chip on her shoulder Viv had at that age.
    A family counselor had told Mack that adolescent rudeness was a protective shield. Viv hadn’t wanted to express her feelings about the divorce so she’d tried to push her parents away. In Mack’s case, she’d succeeded—mostly because her mother was pulling her away from him just as hard. He and Viv got along pretty well now, but cutting through her resentment had taken time and patience.
    â€œJust don’t go yelling ‘yee-haw,’ okay?” The little blonde gave the horse a final pat and followed Mack into the tack room. “I don’t think I can handle any of that John Wayne stuff. I’m more into Clint.”
    She narrowed her eyes and set her narrow jaw, taking on a Dirty Harry squint. “ Go ahead, punk. Make my day .”
    â€œPretty good.” He grinned as he hung the bridle up, then grabbed a plastic bucket of grooming supplies with an S scrawled on the side in black Sharpie marker. Handing it to the girl, he grabbed another one marked with an R .
    â€œYou know how to groom a horse?”
    â€œYes.” She turned sulky. “I know a lot about horses. I do dressage.”
    â€œWell, my horses don’t need to dress up. I just keep ’em clean.”
    â€œThat’s not what dressage is.” She tossed her golden frizz and scowled. “It’s…”
    â€œA joke. Just a joke, hon.”
    â€œI knew that.”
    He tried to hide his grin. This kid might be disagreeable, but she definitely had spunk. He strode out to the corral gate, where Rembrandt and Spanky were blinking in the sunshine.
    â€œYou can take care of Spanky, here. I’ll do the mule. Saddle goes in there.” He cocked a thumb toward the barn.
    â€œWhat am I, the