No, she didn’t want to keep running. But she didn’t want to go back, either. She had put so much into her career already, and had so much more to prove. To the company and to herself. She knew she’d chosen a deliberately hard path, but the payback from every small success was worth a thousand times more than any easy life back in Ireland. Only a few more days and she would get her next big break—or not. It was all to play for—and she was damned sure she was going to give it her all.
She tugged the reins ever so slightly. Time to get going again. Another gallop around and then she’d head back. She was pretty sure she could find her way. If those thunderous-looking clouds hadn’t rolled in so quickly she’d have a glimpse of the sun to give her her bearings.
The pony picked up her heels and they started to canter. The noise above her continued to grow. She twisted her head—a helicopter. They were so common here. Like a four-door saloon, everyone seemed to have one. It seemed to circle above her, and then flew away.
She was thirsty—should have taken a drink at the stream herself. She looked around, trying to see where it was. It should be on her right, and if she could find it she could follow its path most of the way back.
A slight sense of unease gripped her. Grasses swayed in the breeze in every direction. The wind was picking up. More low clouds swollen with summer rain had now rolled right overhead, darkening the day and filling the air with warning. There was not a landmark to gift her any sense of where she was or where she should go.
The pony seemed quite content to trot on, but she was beginning to worry that it would trot on forever. Her legs were beginning to chafe on the saddle and a huge wave of tiredness washed over her.
Suddenly, as fat raindrops landed on her legs, her bare arms and then all about her, she thought she saw movement off to her left. She turned the pony round, sure she knew now which way to go.
The rain exploded in sheets of grey. She could barely see a foot in front of her. Her lashes dripped; rain ran down her face. She slid in the saddle and dipped her chin down to try and deflect what she could. She looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings, but couldn’t see anything except wave after wave of summer storm.
She tried to look for shelter—anything, even a tree—but there was nothing except the oceans of grass and rain. Rain didn’t fall like this in Ireland. This was vicious, relentless, unforgiving.
Suddenly the pony was frisky. Movement again—and a figure appeared, riding right at her. She pressed her thighs, willed the pony on, but the pony was too excited. And in a heartbeat Frankie realised why.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
Rocco. Like a freight train through the night he rode right at her. She tried to move away, but he pulled on his reins and spun to a stop at her side. The wildness, the rage on his face stole her breath. She pushed her soaked hair out of her eyes and bit back the shock and the swollen lump in her throat.
‘What does it look like I’m doing?’
He jumped down and grabbed her reins.
‘Get down.’
‘Don’t speak to me like that!’ she yelled back. ‘You’re not my damn father.’
The rain was still lashing in sheets around them. She could barely see the planes of his tanned face but his eyes flashed fire through the silvery air.
‘For the first time I realise what it must have been like to be your damn father!’
He circled her waist with his arm and heaved her off the horse. Landing against his side, she shoved him away.
‘Get your hands off me. Stop treating me like a child.’
Her throat was sore from swallowed emotion, but she would not give him a hint of it.
He moved to reach for her, but then stopped. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his jaw was rigid, his mouth a grim slash. But his voice when he spoke was quietly, menacingly calm.
‘You caused me to send out a helicopter when a storm was coming in. You caused panic at the estancia. You stole a horse and—’
‘I did not steal—’
He held his hand up to silence her and she was so taken aback she stopped.
‘You stole—’ he emphasised the word again ‘—a twenty-thousand-dollar horse. A horse that is part of our genetics programme. Without a thought about anyone but yourself you took off into the country. And that’s not behaving like a child?’
She heard his words, saw his fury and felt such a wave of shame.
‘I didn’t mean any harm.’
He stared at her.
‘Look at you.’ He reached across, roughly cupped the back of her soaked head, wiped his thumb hard across her cheek. ‘Soaked to the skin … Lost …’
She dug her teeth into her lip. She would not cry. Would not.
‘I wasn’t lost. If the storm hadn’t come in I would have been fine.’
She could feel the ache between her legs from hours in the saddle, her skin was beginning to chill, and despite herself her teeth began to chatter.
He regarded her with such contempt—as if she was the most infuriating thing he’d ever had to deal with. Then he reached back to his own saddle to a blanket that lay beneath. He yanked it free and held it out.
‘Here. You need to get rid of those clothes—for what they’re worth.’
She looked at him.
‘What? And then you’ll wrap me up and make me ride home side-saddle in a blanket? This isn’t some damned John Wayne film! I’m not your weak little woman!’
She grabbed the reins out of his hands and tried to climb back on the horse. Immediately she felt his arms around her, spinning her to face him.
‘Weak little woman? You’re as far from that as it’s possible to be. God knows, you might want to try it some time.’
He stared down at her, his fingers gripping her shoulders. She looked into those eyes, at that mouth. She felt the tug of desire and desperately, desperately wished that she didn’t. She knew that she wanted to slide her arms around his strong neck, wrap herself up in his hard, warm body. How could this physical draw be so strong? So irresistible? But she wouldn’t give in—no way, not this time.
She turned her cheek. He tugged at her chin.
‘Look at me,’ he ordered.
She tensed, but slid her eyes back.
‘Look at you? Now? Because it suits you?’ She shoved at him. ‘But from the moment I woke up at your town house, and then in the car, the last thing you wanted me to do was look at you. Or at your damned photo!’
‘I was busy. I have to take care of so many things,’ he growled out.
‘You’re not the only one with a life. With a past.’
He looked away, as if expecting the horses to agree that this was the most exasperating nonsense he’d ever had to endure.
‘Frankie—I don’t do this with women. I don’t explain myself … I don’t fight.’
‘No? Well, maybe that’s the problem. Maybe you should try explaining yourself once in a while!’
She knew she sounded shrewish and shrill. She knew her voice was wobbling with unspilled tears. She knew if she stood another second in his company she would submit to whatever he wanted—just so she could feel that soothing sense of completeness he gave her.
But where would that leave her?
‘I’ll follow you back to the ranch,’ she said to the wind. ‘And then I’ll make