The teen that Roxy suggested had unfortunately experienced a run-in with a skateboard and is out of commission for a few more weeks.
“Okay, if I agree to this,” I say to Troy, “you have to do something for me in return.”
He nods. “All right, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
“You don’t want to know what it is first?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“You’re going to clean Lady and Scoundrel’s stable. Every. Single. Day. Come rain or come shine.”
He shrugs, not at all surprised by my request. He already saw it coming.
“Make that two demands you agree to.”
He sighs, an okay-lay-it-to-me sound. “You will play nice with Noah. Like I said before, he’s my friend.” Who I’m hoping to have more sex with if I’m going to be stuck in Copper Creek for three months.
“Sure, no problem. Any other demands?”
I look over at Noah. “Is there anything you can think of?”
There’s an unmistakable twitching at the corner of his mouth. “Nope, sounds like you have it all covered.”
Reaching across the table, I hold my hand out to Troy. “All right, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
God, I really hope I’m not going to regret this.
“So when do we get started?” I ask.
“How about after breakfast? You and I need to discuss your vision for the place, then figure out exactly what needs to be done to meet it.”
I shake my head. “You’re going to be cleaning the stable first after breakfast, stable boy. But don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do it before I start my morning yoga practice.” I’m practically dancing with glee at how I’ll no longer have to deal with the horse poop.
Noah pushes away from the table. “And on that note, I need to return to my ranch since I have morning chores to do.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I tell him. Then to Troy I say, “I’ll be back in a minute—then I can give you a tour of the stable and show you what you’ll need to do. You aren’t by any chance afraid of horses, are you?”
“Not particularly. Should I be?”
“Not when it comes to Lady and Scoundrel. They’re real sweethearts.”
Troy nods as if to say, “If you say so,” and I walk with Noah to the front door. He stops to pull on his boots, and we step outside onto the porch.
“So you think Lady and Scoundrel are sweethearts?” Noah asks, a cocky grin on his face.
I grin back at him. “I’m still alive to be able to make the comment, so yes, they are.”
“And so now that you’re staying in Copper Creek for the next three months, when are you planning to ride those two sweethearts?”
“Ride them?”
“Yes, ride them. As in put saddles on their backs and take them out for some exercise on one of the local trails.”
I feel my eyes widen. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not? You’re already capable of putting their halters on and leading them to and from the pasture.”
“But that’s different. That doesn’t involve me actually getting on the back of one of them.”
