“You scared her with your bellowing,” Eve protested. “We were getting along fine before you arrived on the scene. I’ve already taken her around the corral several times, and she’s been an angel.”
“She can also be a devilishly uncooperative female when the mood strikes.” He was no longer talking strictly about the mare, and Eve knew it, if the sudden spark that lit in her gray eyes was anything to go by.
“Maybe it depends who’s on her back.”
Ignoring that zinger, he blew out an exasperated breath. “I’m not going to argue the point with you. Why don’t you just get down and we’ll drop the subject?”
“I don’t plan on arguing, either,” she promptly informed him. “It would be wasting time better spent taking Sable for a real ride outside this corral.”
He counted to five under his breath, then ten. And his temper still got the better of him. “You want to take a real ride? Okay.” Reaching up, he tugged the rim of his black Stetson low on his forehead in a gesture as challenging as an Old West gunfighter’s. “Cody, saddle up Lucky. Miz Eve and I are going to tour the ranch.”
And he’d do his best to make sure she came to no harm, he told himself, even though he was now certain whose neck he wanted to wring.
EVE GRIPPED THE SADDLE with tender thighs and issued a quiet sigh. Although an hour and several miles had clipped by since their confrontation in the corral, she had no trouble recalling how she’d watched Ryder mount up for their ride with such effortless grace, or how the soft curse she’d muttered under her breath had been directed as much at herself as at a wide male back. She’d been well aware of the mistake she’d made. Rather than attempt to compromise as she usually tried to do, she’d dug in her boot heels. And look where it had put her.
Not only was she spending time with someone she’d been going out of her way not to spend time with, she was doing it on horseback when parts of her had already been headed toward saddle sore before they’d even started out. Still, she’d never so much as considered backing down at any point, and on that she remained firm. Pride was on the line and she was seeing this through, no matter what.
No Complaints and No Regrets. That was her motto for the moment. Besides, without the physical discomfort, she knew she’d be totally enjoying the ride.
Sable had resumed her angelic ways, responding to the slightest tug on the reins. Not that Ryder was impressed, Eve noted with a sidelong glance. He continued to watch the mare like a hawk, clearly waiting for a devilish side to appear. An occasional word or two was all he’d offered so far, which was fine with Eve. The lack of conversation as they rode side by side allowed her to concentrate on her surroundings, and what she saw all around her made that effort more than worthwhile.
The desert, far from barren as some believed it to be, was a starkly beautiful place. The variety of cactus alone, from short and squat to tall and stately, created a constantly changing landscape. Trees, delicately green paloverdes and darker, gnarled mesquites, also flourished, along with a surprising amount of animal life.
The cattle were expected, of course, and every now and then groups could be glimpsed in the distance, Herefords with white faces and rusty-brown coats. But there were other animals, as well. Big-eared rabbits, tiny lizards, bushy-tailed prairie dogs, chattering birds. They were all here if one looked carefully, before they darted away as the horses got too close.
Something Eve had suspected she might see, and was very grateful not to have seen so far, was anything slithering along the ground. She’d never considered herself a coward, but the mere thought gave her the shivers. She’d rather face a hungry lion than a…
Snake!
Without warning, it was there, coiled near the side of the narrow dirt trail they rode down. Instinctively reacting to the sudden sight, she let out a small shout, jerked back on the reins, and almost instantly found herself airborne as Sable shot up on two legs to paw at the sky.
Ryder’s curse, brief and graphic, followed a thump as Eve landed on her rear and rolled—right into the snake! Something pierced her upper thigh before she scrambled up and lunged back toward the trail, only to come up against a solid chest.
Strong arms wrapped around her, held her so close she could feel Ryder’s heart pounding and knew her heartbeat matched his. “Good Lord, are you hurt?”
She sucked in a breath and raised her head. “No, I don’t think so.” Then she remembered the instant of piercing pain she’d experienced and realized the spot still smarted. Her eyes went huge.
“Oh, my God. I may have been bitten by the snake. I almost rolled on top of it.”
Dark brows snapped together. “What snake?”
“It was on my side of the trail, just coiled there. Scared the living daylights out of me. That’s why I yelled.”
He eased her an arm’s length away, ran his gaze over her. “Where did it get you?”
She twisted slightly and pointed to a spot high on her outer left thigh, noting a jagged tear in the denim fabric there.
Plainly seeing it, too, Ryder cursed again while he maintained his grasp on one arm and led her to a short, rounded boulder located on the opposite side of the trail from where she’d fallen. “I have to get a better look,” he told her, then made quick work of unbuckling her belt and shoving her jeans nearly to her knees. That done, he urged her into a makeshift seat on the boulder and crouched down beside her.
“It’s a puncture wound, and it’s not bleeding much,” he said after a moment, taking a snowy white handkerchief from his back pocket to pat it against her skin. He tipped his hat back and gazed up at her, his expression sober. “I want a good look at that snake.”
Her blood went cold. “What if it’s poisonous?”
He snagged her left wrist, pressed her palm on the soft cloth to hold it in place before getting to his feet. “It could be totally harmless, but even if it isn’t, there’s rarely a grave danger when the victim is a healthy adult. I just need to make sure exactly what we’re facing here.”
She fought for control, took a steadying breath and managed to achieve it. “Okay.”
He launched a probing glance. Apparently satisfied that he didn’t have a hysterical woman on his hands, he turned away and headed for the place where she’d landed on her rump.
Left alone and prompted by a gentle breeze gliding over bare skin, she became fully aware of her exposure. Granted, the long front and back tails of her ecru cotton shirt covered more than short shorts would have. Still, enough flesh remained on view to make something inside her clench at the unbidden thought of a certain male mouth sucking venom from a wound that was scant inches from other parts of her.
Back to reality, Eve, she told herself briskly, fairly sure modern medicine frowned on that technique. If it turned out she was in any sort of danger, the head honcho would probably put his take-charge attitude to good use by hauling her off to the nearest hospital. And she’d be grateful, despite the fact that no one had taken charge of her since she’d gone off to college.
At the sound of footsteps Eve raised her gaze and watched Ryder approach, swinging something from one large hand—something that had her shuddering before she realized it was too stiff, too rigid as it cut a path through the air, to be what she’d thought it was. At the same time, it was something she recognized all too well.
He stopped directly in front of her and held up the object. “Is this the snake you saw?” he asked mildly. Too mildly.
She knew she was on very shaky ground. “It looks like a snake,” was all she could come up with to say.
“It’s an old, wind-twisted mesquite branch. A sharp edge must have pierced your skin when you rolled into it.”
“It looks like a snake.”
“It’s