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Authors: Stella Bagwell
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could. And would, if she so much as faltered a step.
Well, she wouldnât stumble or stagger, she silently averred. And Mr. Miguel Chavez was going to have to eat every hateful word heâd ever said to her before she left the Bar M.
Chapter Four
A nna replaced the phone on its cradle, then fell back against the cushions of the couch in a dazed thump. Adam was going to be fine. His broken ankle had already been set and put in a plaster cast. Tomorrow he would be released from the hospital. The news was exactly what sheâd been desperately wanting to hear all morning. It was the rest of her motherâs message that had knocked Annaâs feet out from under her.
What had been her parentsâ thinking? Or more rightly her mother? Of course Anna could see it was a perfect time for the two of them to travel on down to the coast of Brazil and enjoy a second honeymoon. But Anna had been away from the ranch for more than a year! And even longer still since sheâd done any real work around the place. Did her parents actually think she was capable of seeing after the horses for three weeks or a month?
It wasnât that Anna was afraid of manual labor. In fact, she welcomed the release it gave her after hours of sitting at the piano day after day. But the responsibility of seeing after two barns full of highbred racehorses was something else altogether. What if one became injured or ill? What if she exercised them too much or too little? Theyâd all be so stiff and sore theyâd never be able to run to a feed bucket, much less down a race track.
And then there was Miguel. The man was insufferable. Heâd be watching her every move. No doubt heâd take great pleasure in seeing her fall on her face.
Rising from the couch, she wandered restlessly over to the piano. The lid was down and had been that way since sheâd arrived home four days ago. So far sheâd had no desire to make any sort of music.
Her fingers trailed absently over the wood as thoughts of this morning burned once again in her mind. Miguel believed she wasnât capable of doing anything except play the piano. And no doubt heâd roar a loud complaint when he heard Chloe had left her in charge for the next month. But Anna wasnât one dimensional. There was more to her than making music and pleasing an audience. Moreover, her parents had put their faith and trust in her. If need be sheâd work twenty-four hours a day to make sure things ran smoothly. And in the process sheâd show Miguel Chavez that she was not just a coddled performer who knew nothing of the real world!
Â
When Miguel rode in from roundup later that evening, darkness had overtaken the ranch yard. All of the cowhands had chosen to stay with the chuck wagon and bed down in sleeping bags rather than ride back to the ranch. But Miguel had felt the need to come back to the Bar M. With her parents gone, he didnât want Anna to be entirely alone.
She might think she was perfectly capable of handling things around here. But Miguel knew better. Three days from now sheâd be crying for him to take over.
A glance at his watch told him it was nearly nine. A late hour for him to be out on a horse, but he seriously doubted Anna would be in bed. As soon as he unsaddled and tended to his mount, heâd walk down to the house and speak with her. Hopefully she had news of Adam.
The many working horses on the Bar M were stalled in a separate barn, several yards away from Chloeâs high-strung racing stock. As he led the tired animal past the stables of Thoroughbreds, he noticed a shaft of light beneath the closed doors. Figuring Anna had forgotten to turn it off, he made a mental note to stop and check it before he left the ranch yard.
Twenty minutes later, on his way back by the stables, he noticed the light was still burning. He opened the doors to extinguish it and was instantly shocked to see Anna at the opposite end of the building.
Well, she wouldnât stumble or stagger, she silently averred. And Mr. Miguel Chavez was going to have to eat every hateful word heâd ever said to her before she left the Bar M.
Chapter Four
A nna replaced the phone on its cradle, then fell back against the cushions of the couch in a dazed thump. Adam was going to be fine. His broken ankle had already been set and put in a plaster cast. Tomorrow he would be released from the hospital. The news was exactly what sheâd been desperately wanting to hear all morning. It was the rest of her motherâs message that had knocked Annaâs feet out from under her.
What had been her parentsâ thinking? Or more rightly her mother? Of course Anna could see it was a perfect time for the two of them to travel on down to the coast of Brazil and enjoy a second honeymoon. But Anna had been away from the ranch for more than a year! And even longer still since sheâd done any real work around the place. Did her parents actually think she was capable of seeing after the horses for three weeks or a month?
It wasnât that Anna was afraid of manual labor. In fact, she welcomed the release it gave her after hours of sitting at the piano day after day. But the responsibility of seeing after two barns full of highbred racehorses was something else altogether. What if one became injured or ill? What if she exercised them too much or too little? Theyâd all be so stiff and sore theyâd never be able to run to a feed bucket, much less down a race track.
And then there was Miguel. The man was insufferable. Heâd be watching her every move. No doubt heâd take great pleasure in seeing her fall on her face.
Rising from the couch, she wandered restlessly over to the piano. The lid was down and had been that way since sheâd arrived home four days ago. So far sheâd had no desire to make any sort of music.
Her fingers trailed absently over the wood as thoughts of this morning burned once again in her mind. Miguel believed she wasnât capable of doing anything except play the piano. And no doubt heâd roar a loud complaint when he heard Chloe had left her in charge for the next month. But Anna wasnât one dimensional. There was more to her than making music and pleasing an audience. Moreover, her parents had put their faith and trust in her. If need be sheâd work twenty-four hours a day to make sure things ran smoothly. And in the process sheâd show Miguel Chavez that she was not just a coddled performer who knew nothing of the real world!
Â
When Miguel rode in from roundup later that evening, darkness had overtaken the ranch yard. All of the cowhands had chosen to stay with the chuck wagon and bed down in sleeping bags rather than ride back to the ranch. But Miguel had felt the need to come back to the Bar M. With her parents gone, he didnât want Anna to be entirely alone.
She might think she was perfectly capable of handling things around here. But Miguel knew better. Three days from now sheâd be crying for him to take over.
A glance at his watch told him it was nearly nine. A late hour for him to be out on a horse, but he seriously doubted Anna would be in bed. As soon as he unsaddled and tended to his mount, heâd walk down to the house and speak with her. Hopefully she had news of Adam.
The many working horses on the Bar M were stalled in a separate barn, several yards away from Chloeâs high-strung racing stock. As he led the tired animal past the stables of Thoroughbreds, he noticed a shaft of light beneath the closed doors. Figuring Anna had forgotten to turn it off, he made a mental note to stop and check it before he left the ranch yard.
Twenty minutes later, on his way back by the stables, he noticed the light was still burning. He opened the doors to extinguish it and was instantly shocked to see Anna at the opposite end of the building.
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