Read Online Heartstealer (Women of Character3 by Grace Brannigan - Free Book Online

pretty
well." Her voice floated over to him. They were only about ten feet apart,
but because of the rock over their heads, her voice sounded slightly
disembodied.
    He twisted in the saddle.
"James and I explored these hills as teenagers, but we don't ride here
that often anymore, the trail has pretty well disappeared."
    "Some of it looks pretty
hairy," she said, leaning over in her saddle to look at a vertical drop of
about two hundred feet.
    To Sloan's way of thinking Jacie
looked natural in the saddle, her hair tossed by the wind with pieces of twig
caught here and there, her cheeks pink.
    "How did you feel about those
narrow ledges we crossed?" he asked curiously. "Did they frighten
you? I wouldn't have taken you down here unless I knew it was safe."
    She gave him a broad smile as they
reached a level area. Dropping her horse's reins, she spread her arms wide and
lifted her face to the dappling of sun through the trees. "Heck, no, it
was exciting. I’ve taken rides on ledges more frightening than these down
in South America. We used donkeys then. Of course," she added dryly,
"I was more worried about the snakes and crawly things in the
jungle."
    "Come over here and let me
show you something." He dismounted and waited for her to join him on a
narrow outcropping of rock. He turned to the open expanse stretched out in
front of them. "This area is loaded with maple, oak, ash and an occasional
beech tree." Treetops with their deeply changing hues of green lay just
below them.
    He took a deep breath into his
lungs as he looked at the valley below. "The view never ceases to amaze
me. There’s no air like up here." He reached out and gently turned
her toward the distant horizon. "Do you see that ribbon of water down
there? That’s the Hudson River. The theory is that some of the ledge
we’re standing on matches ledge found way down there in the valley."
    "That’s amazing. I guess
it must have sheared off a long time ago."
    "Probably."
    "It’s beautiful up here,
so real and simple, the view uncluttered. I can’t thank you enough for
showing this to me. It’s so different from what I’m used to.
Sometimes you forget about the wonders that can be seen just by looking around
you."
    "By the end of the month, you
won’t even notice it," he said with cynicism.
    She turned to him indignantly.
"I resent that. I’ve always appreciated beauty such as this. It
should never be taken for granted."
    He lifted a brow.
    "Is this your overall opinion
of women, or is it just me?" she demanded.
    He swore he saw sparks shoot from
her eyes. "Hang on, hang on. I guess I’m just cynical when I hear
how beautiful it is, then someone throws away their food wrappers."
    She held her hands up in front of
his face and moved her fingers back and forth. "Look, no wrappers, nothing
hidden."
    Up close, he was reminded of just
how tempting Jacie could be.
    With one hand on her hip, she
challenged him, "I promise you I’m like no woman you’ve ever
known before."
    "That’s a given,"
he said immediately, allowing himself a chuckle. She was a ball of fire with a
ready answer and a quick wit.
    "We’re even then,"
she fired back. "I know I’ve never met anyone like you." She
spun away from him. "I do love the view," she said defiantly. "I
would love to just keep riding. I’ve always enjoyed camping out. It would
be magnificent to wake in the morning with a canopy of trees over your
head."
    "Well, your lesson starts in
twenty minutes so we’d better get moving." Reluctantly, he walked
back toward the horses and grabbed the reins. He made himself mount and then
waited for her to do the same. She was right on one score, he’d never met
anyone like her. He wondered fleetingly what depths might be revealed once you
got to know Jacie.
    "I appreciate you taking the
time to show me some of this area. Riding along the edge of the mountain and
seeing first-hand the valley below is exhilarating. I didn't even see a
trail."
    He pointed ahead. "We’re
coming up