Read Online The Bridal Path: Sara by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online Page A

seem to be in some sort of hurry this morning,” Annie observed.
    “I’ve got miles of fence to check. It’s going to be a long day.”
    The corners of the woman’s mouth twitched with some private amusement. “Must be quite a project. You’re the second person to tell me that this morning.”
    Jake paused, a spoonful of oatmeal halfway to his mouth. “And the other one was…?” he asked unnecessarily. Trent Wilde hadn’t mended a fence line himself in years.
    “Sara,” Annie said, confirming his worst fears. “She was up with the chickens. Bolted her food down, too.”
    Jake carefully set the spoon back down and eyed the housekeeper warily. “Sara said something about checking fences?”
    “Sure did. She said you wanted to get an early start. She’s already out in the barn saddling up. I sent the packs of food along with her.”
    “What the devil…?” Jake pushed away from the table, grabbed his Stetson and headed for the door.
    “Jake Dawson, you can’t work all morning on half a bowl of cereal,” Annie called after him.
    “I’ll eat Sara’s share of the food you packed for a midmorning snack,” he retorted. There was no way in hell she was going to need it.
    Sure enough, though, Sara was in the barn. She greeted him with a cheerful smile that almost melted his grim determination to set her straight about going along on this two-day trip with him.
    “What are you up to?” he inquired.
    “What does it look like?” she asked as she cinched the saddle securely. “We have a fence line to check. I saw the note on your calendar. You must have forgotten to mention it last night.”
    “
I
have a fence line to check,” he corrected.
    “We’ve been through this before. It’s my ranch. I should see firsthand what repairs are needed.”
    “It is not your ranch,” Jake retorted grimly. “Besides, I thought you had a lesson with Zeke today.”
    “I called and postponed it until tomorrow evening.”
    “I’ll bet he loved that.”
    Sara shrugged. “He understood that chores come first on a ranch. If I neglect the fences, we could lose cattle.”
    Jake clung to his patience by a thread. “The fence won’t be neglected. I’ll be checking it.”
    “We’ll get done that much faster if we both do it,” she said cheerfully. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
    Jake muttered a curse under his breath and stalked to the stall where his own horse was waiting impatiently. He couldn’t order Sara not to come. In truth, it wouldn’t be the first time they had shared a chore like this.
    But it would be the first time since he’d discovered that she was capable of tormenting his senses. He suspected that she was well aware of the impact she had on him and had deliberately forced the issue just to make him crazy. He doubted she had any idea, though, just how dangerous a game she was playing. Last time he’d checked, he’d been a long way off from sainthood. The kisses they’d shared should have told her that, too.
    “Suit yourself,” he said finally.
    “I always do.”
    “I’m just surprised that you’re taking time off from training already,” he said slyly. “Was the first day too much for you, after all?”
    Sara scowled at him. “I explained that chores come first.”
    “I know that’s what you said,” he agreed.
    “Meaning?”
    “That it looks an awful lot to me as if you’re chickening out on our bet. Looks to me like you latched on to the first excuse that came along to avoid getting back on that bronco. Which one did Zeke put you on? Lightning or Jezebel?”
    “Diablo,” she said.
    “A misnomer, if ever there was one. That horse can barely kick up its hind legs anymore.”
    “Tell that to my butt,” she retorted. “Now back off. The training can wait another day.”
    “I’m not letting you drag this out forever,” he warned her.
    “Don’t worry about it.” She drew a deep breath, then blurted, “If not knowing when we’re competing bothers you, I’ll set a date.