Wild Mustang Man by Carol Grace

a big hit with Max.
    They watched the video together through the viewfinder, their heads side by side, then she gave him the cassette and put a fresh one into her camcorder.
    “Now I have to get to work,” she said, slinging her camcorder over her shoulder. “I need to take pictures of some outdoor places, like the corral or the pasture.”
    “Can I come?”
    “Sure, you can show me the best spots.” He could also protect her from his father, she thought
    But there was no need. He was nowhere in sight. They climbed to the top of the rise behind the barn. They trudged through the stand of fir trees. They circled the outside of the corral, taking pictures of everything. But they never saw Josh. Not all morning. Not that she wanted to. She left before noon. In plenty of time. Max was back on his bike as she got into her car, doing jumps off a wooden platform he’d set up. She was glad to see him wearing a helmet a new addition since his run-in with her that first day.
    She gave a wistful glance in the rearview mirror. Nobody’d ever told her that five-year-old boys were so much fun. If she’d known that maybe she would have tried a little harder to find a husband. If she were Max’s mother, she’d be inside right now, making peanut butter sandwiches, or whatever five-going-on-six-year-olds ate, while she watched proudly from the kitchen window as he performed outside. Then Josh would come home for lunch, and they’d sit around the table, with the sun streaming in the window and talk about nothing...and everything.
    What was wrong with her? Why didn’t she dream about marrying a movie star or winning the lottery? Either one was more likely to happen than living happily ever after with the most confirmed bachelor in the entire state of Nevada.
    She didn’t have enough to do, that was her problem. That was the reason for these erratic thoughts. Who said she wanted to get married, anyhow? Who would want a ready-made family? Who would want to be a stepmother with all the grief that entailed? Who would give up a promising career to spend the rest of their life in some small town nobody’d ever heard of instead of a big city where she could be Somebody? She bit her lip to keep from calling out the answer. She would.
    If she hadn’t been sitting in her car daydreaming instead of driving out of the ranch, she would have missed Josh. But suddenly there he was in her rearview mirror, galloping toward her on a wild mustang. If she’d been smart she would have put her car in gear and driven away as fast as she could, but now it was too late. The hoofbeats of his horse rang through the dry air. Closer and closer he came until he filled her mirror, her mind and her thoughts. Now he would think she’d come to see him. He would think she couldn’t wait until his father’s birthday party, she had to come out here today.
    “Where are you going?” he called as he pulled up alongside of her and swung out of his saddle. His hair was matted to his head, beads of sweat dripped off his forehead, and his dirty jeans were molded to his legs. She wondered for the hundredth time what made her heart thud wildly every time she saw him. What made her hands shake so much she had to grip the steering wheel so he wouldn’t notice. He was handsome, yes. But so were many other men. He was rugged, he was strong and he was good at what he did. He was also sexy. So? So were lots of other men. It was more than that. So much more.
    “Going? Going back to town. I was just, you know, taking some pictures,” she said. “I didn’t want to disturb you again, so—”
    “So you snuck in here while I wasn’t looking.”
    “I didn’t sneak. I drove in. I took some pictures. Max showed me around and was very helpful.”
    “Didn’t it occur to you that you should wait for me?” He braced his arms against her car and leaned forward until his sun-bronzed face was framed in her open window. Oh, Lord, this was just what she’d wanted to avoid.