“Tomorrow,” Lucas said softly.
“Tomorrow, what?”
“I’ll leave tomorrow, when the rental agency sends a replacement for my car.”
“You are not spending the night on this ranch!”
“Somehow, I doubt that is your decision to make.”
The stallion snorted and stamped a powerful hoof.
“Bebé’s upset,” the woman said.
“So am I.”
“He can be dangerous, especially if he thinks I need protection.”
“I assure you, amada, I can be far more dangerous than the horse.”
He let the softly spoken words hang in the air, watching with grim satisfaction as they had their desired effect.
At last, she took a deep breath.
“Whatever you’re thinking—”
“I suspect I’m thinking the same thing you are,” Lucas said with a thin smile.
He could almost see her in frantic debate with herself. Part of her wanted to spit in his eye but another part—the wiser part—was reminding her that this was not a good situation.
“Look,” she finally said, “I didn’t try to ride you down on purpose. Bebé is fast. And I was bent over his head, talking to him—”
“What?”
“He’s high-strung. Listening to me soothes him. Horses respond to a person’s voice.”
“They respond better to riders who can control them.”
“What could you possibly know about horses?”
Lucas grinned. “Perhaps a little something.”
“Really?” She stood glaring at him, one booted foot tapping the wide-boarded floor, and he knew the wiser part of her had lost the argument. “For instance? What ‘little something’ do you know?”
“I know that this so-called ranch is on its last legs.”
Color swept into her face. “Really.”
“I know that you have no stock, aside from that creature you call Bebé.”
Her chin jerked up. “So?”
“So,” Lucas said coldly, “that is the reason I was asked to come here.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean, you were asked to come here? By whom?”
“By the owner. I was told there was a mare for sale.”
“A mare?”