Kissing Her Cowboy by Boroughs Publishing Group

 
    Chapter One
    “Oh, Lord.”
    Treymont Woods kicked up dust on his boots
as he sauntered from the stables toward the woman who just had to be his new riding student. Her flaming red hair
swooshed from one side of her shoulders to the other as she watched
his stallion, Big Blue, canter inside the corral. Her hands
clutched the fence, knuckles white, and every muscle in her tall,
slim figure looked tense.
    Before he could get to her, she pivoted
toward the parking area, feet moving like she was fixin’ to
run.
    “Hey there!” he called out as a
distraction.
    By the time he reached the woman’s side,
Trey could hear her breathing like she’d raced a Texas mile. Before
he could introduce himself, she turned with wide green eyes and
shouted, “He’s huge!” Pink splotches bloomed under the
freckles on her pale skin. She licked her bottom lip and shook her
head. “No, no, no, no….” She started backing away. “I can’t do
this. Keep my deposit. I’ll figure something else out.”
    Trey lifted his hands in mock surrender.
“Okay. No problem. You don’t have to ride if you don’t want to.”
Her jeans looked too tight for riding, anyway, and that white
blouse would be smudged inside of five minutes. Hadn’t the woman
ever been to a ranch before?
    She stopped moving and frowned at him,
causing twin lines to form above her nose—her adorable nose,
now that he’d gotten a decent look. In fact, everything about the
woman seemed downright appealing, despite her reaction to Big Blue.
Who in their right mind wouldn’t love on sight the greatest horse
that ever lived?
    “You’re not mad that I’ve screwed up your
schedule? I’m sure you have students on a waiting list who won’t
waste your time.”
    “I’ve got nothing but time.” A broken back
did that to a man. “I’m Trey Woods.”
    He held out his hand and the woman’s posture
relaxed. She forced a smile onto her pretty face and accepted the
handshake.
    “I recognized you from your website photos.
I’m Daisy Phillips.”
    Trey noted her assertive grip despite her
earlier panic. “You’re the cop from Pennsylvania?”
    Daisy released his hand and nodded. “I put
in for a transfer to Houston figuring I could hack the mounted
police.” She glanced at Big Blue. “At least, that was my
theory.”
    Trey forced himself not to smirk. “They have
horses at least as tall in that unit.” But the worry on the
woman’s face and her wary eyes told him her fear was no laughing
matter, so he added, “Mind if I ask why you want to transfer
halfway across the country to ride animals you don’t like?”
    Daisy chewed her bottom lip and stared at
Big Blue. “I didn’t know I’d be this scared. After all, kids ride horses, right? The Houston Mounted Patrol had an opening.” She
turned back to Trey. “Do you know how hard it is to find a job in
law enforcement in another county, let alone another state? I
needed a…change of scenery. And my sister lives here, so it seemed
like the perfect solution.”
    “I appreciate horses,” Daisy continued.
“They’re beautiful and interesting. It’s just…they’re so darned
big. And intimidating. The problem is, I can’t learn to ride until
I get past my fear of their size.”
    Trey rubbed the back of his neck beneath his
long hair. “I’d say you have a conundrum.”
    “Yeah.” Daisy watched him from beneath long
lashes that didn’t hide her wariness. “No kidding. I guess that
sounds pretty dumb to you.”
    Trey inclined his head in Big Blue’s
direction then shrugged. “A lot of people are afraid of horses.
They’re powerful creatures who can kick like hell, bite, stomp, or
take off running with an inexperienced rider on their back.”
    He figured that was the last thing she’d
thought he’d say, because the woman’s jaw dropped. If he was going
to be her teacher he might as well be upfront from the get-go.
    “I won’t try to sweet-talk you into
something you don’t want to do. But I will tell