To Tempt a Cowgirl by Jeannie Watt Page A

kitchen that could be shut down during inclement weather—which, from what he gathered, could happen at any time. He liked the idea of saving the house. Using it. Of course, Stewart may not be in agreement, since it would take a sizable investment to get the place renovated, but Gabe would present it to him and outline how long it would take to earn back the money.
    Gabe stifled a yawn as he headed for the back door. He’d been unable to sleep and had gotten out of bed at 2:00 a.m. to finish the plans and now it was catching up with him. Or maybe he was just bored, since lack of sleep had never bothered him prior to moving to Montana. His mind hadn’t wandered so much, either. Not since high school anyway.
    His new mare was pastured next to the house. He’d been concerned about lack of shelter, but Paul had assured him that the horse would be fine—even in the winter—as long as it had a windbreak. Gabe was fairly certain that his mare would have a new home by the time the snow flew.
    She came to meet him as he let himself in the gate, positioning herself so that he could easily rub her neck and ears. He smiled to himself. It’d been so damned long since he touched a horse—at least twenty years. Make that twenty-three. He’d been almost nine when he’d moved in with the Carothers family. He’d spent eighteen months with them before his mother decided she wanted to try being a family again. Oh, yeah. That had worked out well...
    He crossed to the shed next to the pasture and took out a new brush. The youngest Carothers girl, Jenny, was seventeen when he’d moved in and she’d been horse obsessed. From her he’d learned what little he did know about horses—how to feed them, groom them, clean their feet. He’d been a veritable stable boy to Jenny and had actually grown to appreciate horses. She’d put him on her horse, Dozer, when she wasn’t using him herself, which was rare, but he could still recall the exhilaration he’d felt the first time he’d viewed the world from the back of her gelding.
    Funny how he hadn’t thought about that most excellent feeling in a long, long time. He moved the brush over the horse’s coat, the scent stirring memories long forgotten. Horses smelled good in an odd sort of way. He smiled reminiscently as he moved around the back of the horse and started brushing the other side. That probably wasn’t information he’d share with Neal or Serena.
    * * *
    A T ALMOST EXACTLY five-thirty Dani pulled up her old truck next to his car and parked. Gabe had been watching for her and came out of the house, sliding his arms into a jacket. The day had started out almost too warm, then the wind had come up, blowing in dark clouds that now hung low over the mountains behind Dani’s house.
    She stopped halfway across the drive and waited for him to approach.
    “Hey,” she said with a touch of self-consciousness. She gestured toward the pasture. “I know that filly.”
    “Do you?”
    “One of Paul’s, right?”
    “Right.”
    “He has nice horses. Good temperaments.”
    “He said she’d been saddled but is still green.”
    “Just the way I like them,” Dani said. “That way I don’t have to waste time undoing stuff other people have done.” She cocked her head. “Marti must have started her if you got her from Paul.”
    “As I understand it, yes.”
    She nodded as if things were falling into place. “Shall we?” she asked.
    Gabe led the way to the pasture gate, opening it for her. The mare met Dani halfway, just as he had a few minutes earlier. “Oh, she’s nice,” Dani said as she rubbed the mare’s ears, then walked around her, examining the horse with a critical eye. Gabe couldn’t help but wonder what she saw that he didn’t, but he didn’t ask. He’d let Dani take the lead here; after all, she was the expert.
    “You shouldn’t leave a halter on her.”
    “I shouldn’t?”
    She shook her head. “It’s dangerous for the horse.”
    “I didn’t