Mending Fences by Lucy Francis Read Free Book Online Page A

to lie when he answered but was intentionally vague. “I’m more or less retired, but I consult on occasion.”
    “There’s a lot of freedom in that.” She let it drop, turning to lead the bay out of the barn.
    Curran hurried to hold open the door for her, breathing a sigh of relief. He liked the idea of seeing where things might go before she found out all the benefits he had to offer.
    Outside, she gathered the reins and grasped the saddle horn, settling the toe of her boot in the stirrup. He put a hand on her hip, boosting her into the saddle. The contact set off a wave of heat inside him. He trailed his hand down her thigh to her knee, remembering how her legs felt around his, her pale flesh wrapped in silky stockings. His groin tightened. “I want to see you.”
    Her expression darkened, but she made no effort to remove his hand. Her gaze seared him the way it had that night at the club. “I told you, my life is plenty complicated. I don’t need to add anything else to it.”
    “If whatever this is between us gets too complex for you, end it. Let me see you.”
    She directed a hard look at his hand, and he released her leg. “I have things to do. Goodbye, Curran.” She laid the reins against her horse’s neck and the bay wheeled, kicking up plumes of snow as she encouraged him into a canter out of the yard and toward the trail.
    He willed his libido to unwind. She hadn’t said yes, but she hadn’t really said no, either. At least he knew where to find her now. He had her name; she was no longer a phantom. She was real, the first non-socialite/model/actress he’d dated in a dozen years, and he could pursue her.
    He’d never wanted a woman so much in his life.
    Curran sighed and turned back to the barn, his craving for nicotine striking harder than it had in weeks. Screw it. He’d try quitting again tomorrow. Tonight, he’d indulge his addiction. Right now, though, he needed to grab a coil of fence wire. It didn’t take the winter sun long to slip behind the mountains, and he still had a fence to mend.
    * * * *
    It took every ounce of strength Victoria had to ride away from Curran, and once she got going, she didn’t dare stop. Curran Shaw was absolutely perfect. And he scared the hell out of her.
    She rode Old Joe back to the Campbells’ barn. No sooner did she open the barn door than the other horse, a gray mare named Aretha, began a high-pitched whinnying. The racket continued as Victoria unsaddled Joe and walked him into his stall. She finally called out to the mare. “I know, Aretha. I’m sorry I left you here alone this afternoon, but I can’t ride both of you at the same time.”
    Talking to Aretha quieted the mare some, as if she were content that she’d been heard. Victoria went to work brushing the old gelding down. Unfortunately, while the action kept her hands busy, her brain was able to skip back to Curran.
    He was open, truthful—okay, he pretty deftly skirted around his career, but she would do the same, in his shoes. The big question was, why had he walked away? From the outside, it was obvious that his breakup with Hollywood ‘It’ girl Amanda Dannen had something to do with his drop out of the spotlight. The breakup and the retirement happened within a couple of weeks of each other. It had to be more than that, though. Why would a man who had everything banish himself to a small ranch property in a high mountain canyon?
    The question nagged at her as she finished brushing Joe and buckled his blanket. When she walked past Aretha’s stall, on her way to get grain and hay, the mare stretched her neck over the stall half-door, ears laid flat back, and nipped at Victoria’s shoulder. She swatted the mare on the nose and glared at the wide-eyed animal. “If you want to be fed, Miss Snotty, I’d suggest you keep your teeth to yourself.”
    Aretha snorted and grumbled, but pulled her head back into the stall.
    Victoria fed the horses, taking time to rub Aretha’s neck, since the