The Cowboy's Girl Next Door: A BWWM Cowboy Romance by Monica Castle Read Free Book Online

what you’ve said, you’ve just bred your prize mare with his prize stallion, at no cost to either of you. This could turn out very well.”
     
    Claire was sullen as she stared at her half-eaten lasagna. How could she explain this to her mother, a woman who’d never really understood horses or her love for them? Yes, this wasn’t the end of the world; frankly, it would have hardly registered in the grand scheme of things for most of the horse folk she’d come across in her life.
     
    To them, this would be an unfortunate happenstance with the best possible outcome: two healthy, fine horses, neither the worse for wear, and the possibility of a successful breeding and all that entailed. Still, it rankled.
     
    “You don’t get it, Mom. He had no right. He was irresponsible with his stallion and now I’ve got to pay the price.”
     
    “Now honey, you know he didn’t do it on purpose. From what you said, that horse has a mind of his own, and he was going to get exactly what he wanted, no matter what y’all did. Am I lying?”
     
    Claire shook her head, and when she spoke, her voice was small. “No, you’re not.” She thought about the way Horatio had responded to Calliope, and how Calliope had responded in turn. Claire had been around enough mares in heat to know that they could still be picky, that biological need was only part of the equation when it came to allowing themselves to be mated.
     
    Calliope was certainly receptive to Horatio’s advances. Claire had come from the stable where she’d been checking in on Thalia to find the horses already engaged in the dance, Horatio nudging and pleading, Calliope responding and yielding to him as he mounted her and pressed inside. She watched, horrified and yet transfixed, helpless to do anything to stop them; she knew better than that.
     
    They were beautiful. She had to admit that, there was little in the world more beautiful than two horses, free to be themselves, no fetters, no restrictions. She could appreciate what was happening between them outside the normal control and coaxing of the breeding process. This was natural, and on that point, Jess had been utterly correct. It was the rest of his commentary, though, that had pushed her to the promise to call a lawyer.
     
    “He had no right,” she grumbled, taking a sip of her wine. “He had no right to say that.”
     
    Carmen was puzzled. “To say what?”
     
    Claire wished she could take back her words, or that her mother hadn’t heard. “Nothing. It’s nothing.” She willed Carmen to drop it.
     
    Like a dog on a bone, Carmen wouldn’t let it go. “No, you tell me what he said, and I’ll let you know if he had the right or not.” She refilled her wine glass. “Sometimes you need a little help interpreting the language of men.”
     
    Claire closed her eyes. There was no point trying to keep this from her mother. “He said that stallions appreciated a good mare just like men do.” She let out a deep sigh and emptied her wine glass before pouring another. “That was rude and uncalled for.”
     
    “Sounds like that horse and his owner aren’t fooling around, baby girl. Man baked you a pie? And now you’re dragging him to court? Tsk tsk,” she clucked. “Don’t you see what’s happening here? Don’t slam the door in the man’s face over something neither one of you can control.”
     
    At this point, Claire wasn’t entirely certain what her mother was talking about: the situation between the horses, or the situation she was dreaming up between Claire and Jess.
     
    Either way, Claire was done talking for the night. She excused herself from the table, put the leftovers away and her dish in the dishwasher before kissing her mother goodnight and retiring to her bedroom.
     
    She took a shower first, letting the hot water and the fragrant soap ease her tensions and clear her mind. As she put on her lotion afterward, her thoughts started drifting to her last encounter with the handsome