Cowboy Fever by Joanne Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page A

front hooves and spun away from the fence, then trotted the length of the enclosure with his neck arched and his tail held high, kicking up his heels to prove his manhood.
    â€œLooks pretty proud to me,” Jodi said.
    â€œYeah, he’s got an ego,” Teague said. “But when it comes to food, he’s shameless.”
    â€œAny of the cowboys figured that out yet?” Jodi asked.
    â€œNo. He doesn’t work anymore. Unless you call covering mares working. He does seem to take that duty pretty serious.” He cocked his head and eyed the stallion, who stood blowing in the center of his pen. “Rocket’s got a great work ethic when it comes to that stuff.”
    Jodi smacked him teasingly and he felt an electric rush shimmer up his arm. She smiled up at him, and for a minute he wondered if she’d let him kiss her. For a minute more, he was pretty sure she would—but then she turned her head aside as if nothing had happened.
    â€œWho’s that?” She pointed at an animal standing in a corral off to the side of the barn. Actually, it was more than an animal. Bruiser was a presence.
    â€œThat’s Bruiser.” Teague grinned. “Meanest bucking bull in three counties.”
    â€œI thought you just had broncs.”
    â€œNope. Starting up with bulls, and that over there is step one.”
    â€œYikes,” she said. “Be careful.”
    â€œOh, I am,” he said. “He’s a handful.” He turned and gestured toward the pasture. “I’m going to run the mares in, since Troy didn’t get it done. You said he was helping you?”
    â€œYeah,” she said. “My house needed cleaning.”
    â€œHe help much?”
    â€œOh, yeah,” Jodi said. “He did a great job.”
    â€œGood.” Teague kicked at the ground. “With me, he can’t seem to stay focused for long. But he always wanted to please you.”
    It was true. Troy would do anything for Jodi. It had always been like that. With Teague, he was stubborn and resistant. With Jodi, he was an angel.
    â€œI love him,” Jodi said sincerely. “And I believe in him.”
    â€œSo do I—most of the time. I guess it’s the other times that are the problem.” He hefted a bale of alfalfa from a stack by the side of the barn and lugged it to the pasture gate, where a half-dozen mares milled impatiently. “You girls hungry?” He fished his Leatherman out of his pocket and clipped the wire around the bale, then shook out all but two flakes on the ground by the fence. The other two he carried over to Rocket, who was bucking and crow-hopping along the fence like a teenager practicing for a hip-hop dance crew.
    â€œFood, Rocky,” Teague said. He shook out the flakes and the horse trotted over and grabbed a mouthful of hay, chomping greedily.
    â€œYou eat like a brontosaurus,” Teague said fondly. “Try to have some manners.”
    They stood by the gate, watching the horse, avoiding each other’s eyes.
    â€œYou want to see Vegas before you go?” Teague asked.
    â€œYou still have him?” Jodi squealed. She hopped up and down a couple times and clapped her hands, giving Teague a flashback to fifth grade. “Oh, I’m so glad! I was afraid to ask!”
    â€œI shouldn’t still have him,” Teague grumbled. “I’m trying to run a business here, and all that horse does is eat and crap. But he’s—well, you know. He’s Vegas.”
    â€œYou love him,” Jodi said.
    Teague grunted, then nodded reluctantly, looking away.
    â€œWhere is he?”
    â€œOn the other side. He doesn’t like Rocket much.”
    â€œJealous?” Jodi asked.
    â€œNo, just irritable, I think. He’s gotten old.”
    â€œI guess. He’d be, what, twenty-five now?”
    â€œTwenty-seven.”
    â€œHe doing okay?”
    â€œYeah. Brace yourself, though. He’s… changed. But