Purebred by Patricia Rosemoor Read Free Book Online Page A

no man had replaced him. Yet. Every time she bred one of the mares, she wondered when it would be her turn to feel a man over her and inside her.
    Only, not Jack.
    She hadn’t been able to imagine with whom until now.
    Aidan’s chiseled features suddenly filled her mind. This would never do. She had to get the Irishman out of her thoughts. She couldn’t have fantasies of her business partner or she would never be able to work with him.
    Leaving her bedroom, dogs at her heels, Cat walked through the dark house to the back door.
    “Your run is that way.” She pointed and the dogs reluctantly headed for the doggie door.
    Her eyes adjusted quickly once outside, the dusk-to-dawn light on the exterior of the barn was her only illumination now. The moon remained hidden by storm clouds. A gust of wind tore at her nightshirt so that it billowed around her like a sail. The air that sneaked under the material was chilly and humid, heavy with unshed rain. She gladly escaped it as she ran into the barn.
    Leaving lights on all night would mess with the normal reproductive patterns of the mares, so the barn was dark.
    Since she was only checking on Fairy Tail and Mac, and not wanting to disturb the others who should be sleeping, she took one of the combination flashlight/lanterns from a hook near the door and used it to guide her to the aisle housing the Hill mares. Whenever she entered the barn at night after a mare was covered, Cat always tried to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible so as not to awaken more of the horses than she needed to.
    But tonight, a low nicker from one side of the barn and the sound of hooves clicking against the stall boards on the other made her stop short. She listened intently, but heard nothing that should disturb the horses.
    So why were they awake?
    She could hear sounds in every direction as horses moved around their stalls. At three o’clock in the morning. Daylight was still two hours away.
    What had happened to agitate them?
    For a moment, Cat had the distinct feeling she wasn’t alone, that someone else was in the barn with her.
    At three in the morning!
    Heart drumming in her ears, she listened past the thrum of her own pulse speeding up, searched for another presence.
    Was that a footstep she heard? A human breath?
    “Is someone in here?” she called out.
    No answer.
    “Raul?” Her mouth went dry. She held her breath and concentrated on picking up the slightest sound. “Bernie?”
    A little freaked, she told herself she was imagining things. No one else was anywhere around. No human anyway. The horses quieted down, a single nicker from across the barn the only sound of disturbance.
    With no other apparent reason, Cat put their restless behavior to the coming storm. Wind unsettled horses and made them more likely to spook at any little rustle, because pinpointing the source was nearly impossible. Horses were flight rather than fight animals. Any strange sound could mean a predator approaching, which would kick up their nerves.
    Just then the wind whistled into the barn and up the aisle and the restlessness around her increased once more.
    The coming storm. That had to be it.
    Relaxing, she took a deep breath and moved down the aisle, stopping only when she reached Fairy Tail’s stall. She switched her flashlight to lantern mode so that it would give the area a soft glow and not bother the horse’s eyes.
    Seeing that the mare stood away from the door, Cat wondered why she didn’t step forward as she usually did. Fairy Tail normally loved the attention Cat gave her.
    “Hey, girl, how are you doing?” Cat called softly.
    The mare backed up into the farthest corner, pulled her head high and snorted. Cat could see the mare’s dark eyes staring at her. That and the snort translated into the mare worrying about some hidden danger.
    “It’s me, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you.”
    Cat clipped the lantern to a jeans loop and freed her hands, and as she slowly moved forward, held