To Tempt a Cowgirl by Jeannie Watt

at the number of horses they had, it seemed like, well, sour grapes. They couldn’t handle all he horses in the area, but Marti didn’t want anyone else to train.
    Thankfully, it was Marti who glanced over as Dani parked. She did a double take, then stopped her horse and patted it, letting it wander off across the pen as she headed for the gate.
    “Hey,” she said as she approached. “Are you here looking for some tips?”
    “No,” Dani said, making an effort not to match Marti’s teasing tone. “I’m here to give one.”
    “You are?” Marti wrinkled her brow.
    “Yes. Do not trash-talk me in the community.”
    “I—” Marti abruptly cut off the sentence as she pressed a hand to her chest in an I’m-innocent gesture, then a look of understanding crossed her face. “I think I might have been misquoted.”
    “No. I think you made it clear that you don’t think I know what I’m doing.”
    “That isn’t what I said.”
    “Licensing board?”
    Pink stained Marti’s cheeks. “How long have you been training?” she said, going on the offensive. “Did you grow up in the business like I did?”
    “I interned under some pretty decent trainers when I was at U of M.”
    “Interned.” Marti gave her a look of a disparagement. “I was training horses for clients in high school under the tutelage of my father, who, as you know , is one of the best trainers in the country.”
    “So what?” Dani pointed her finger at her. “That doesn’t mean I’m not an excellent trainer.”
    It was clear from Marti’s expression that she didn’t think so. It was also clear that Dani wasn’t going to win this battle, but that hadn’t been her intention.
    “No more trash talk,” Dani said. “It comes off as unprofessional.” She gave a small smirk as she spoke. “ That’s my tip to you.”
    “Telling the truth isn’t trash talk. If people ask my opinion, I’ll tell them.”
    “Did Mitzi Thorensen ask your opinion, or did you just offer it?”
    Marti narrowed her eyes, but didn’t answer.
    “Yeah. I thought so.” Dani gave her head a disgusted shake, then turned and headed back to her truck.

CHAPTER SIX
    T HE PHONE RANG just as Gabe shoved a pencil behind his ear and stood back to view his newest drawing. He crossed the room to pick up the landline, straightening his posture slightly when his hello was answered by “Hi. This is Dani.”
    “Is everything okay?”
    “It is.” She hesitated for a fraction of a second before diving in. “Have you found a trainer?”
    “Still working on it.”
    “I’m calling because I’ve reconsidered...if you’re still in the market. I have a slot open.”
    “You do?”
    “A cancellation. So I can work your horse into the schedule.” She cleared her throat. “Are you still interested?”
    “Yeah. I am.”
    “Well, if you want to stop by later and take a look at the contract, I’m free after five.”
    His first impulse was to ask if she wanted to discuss it over dinner, but he already knew the answer to that. “I could stop by at five-thirty.”
    “Why don’t I come over there? I can meet your horse. Assess.”
    “I’ll see you then.”
    She hung up without a goodbye, leaving Gabe holding the phone and wondering just what had prompted her change of heart. Not that it mattered. He now had a legitimate reason to get to know Dani better. He set the phone aside and went to the plans he’d been drafting when she called. If Stewart was amendable, he’d come up with an excellent site to resituate the house and then use it as their most private corporate getaway. It was intimate, yet large enough to allow people to have their own space. He wasn’t certain of the exact floor plan, but he had an idea of what was possible from the small amount of the interior he’d seen the night he’d been with Dani when she’d called the sheriff’s office.
    He’d planned a landscape with an enclosed backyard, a pond surrounded by flagstones, a fire pit and a modified outdoor