Herd That (The Valentine Boys 1)

Today… no, today was completely different.

The moment I came within sight of Ace, I knew I needed to turn around.

A man like Ace was devastating without chaps.

With chaps… well, let’s just say the vision was worthy of awards.

Maybe even Nobel prizes… or the Presidency.

Both would work just fine, because with one look at Ace in those chaps that spanned across the front of his thighs, down both legs to stop at just the top of his boots, leaving the seat of his ass open, meant I lost any and all ability to make sense of my words.

Ace was riding a bronco, one he’d purchased at the auction when I’d gotten Scooby.

I hadn’t realized that the bronco was as crazy and angry as he was, but it was apparent with the way he was trying to buck Ace off that he had plenty of both, and some to spare.

Ace was holding on with one hand, his other hand up high in the air and keeping his body steady.

His thick, muscled thighs were twitching and bunching, anticipating the bronco’s movements before he’d even made them.

Banks and Callum were both leaning against the piped fence, watching their brother work… or whatever it was that he was doing.

I’d say playing, but I’d heard Ace mention to another man while at the auction that the bronco would be tamed and bred with a couple of his other mares.

I rode Poppy up to the edge of the fence and stopped her just shy of rubbing my thigh and calf up against the pipe.

My arrival caught Banks’ and Callum’s attention, causing them both to look over at me.

My eyes, however, were still on Ace.

He pulled back on the reins, his body going forward.

Then the bronco reared back, his eyes going wild as they settled in my general direction.

Ace cursed, his body going forward with no other recourse.

Poppy shifted her weight to the side, and not expecting it, I fell.

Right over the fence.

Directly under the bronco’s upraised hooves.

“Fuck me,” I heard Ace curse.

Callum and Banks scaled the fence, and I started to backpedal on my hands and feet like a crab would do.

Ace bellowed and threw himself from the horse’s back, taking such a firm hold on the reins that the horse was forced down to his front feet.

I got up and scaled the fence, Callum’s and Banks’ hands on my ass pushing me over.

I fell to the other side on my back and stared up at the sky in confusion as I made sense of the last twenty seconds.

“Poppy, you bitch!” I yelled at my horse who was happily eating grass two feet away.

I heard Ace curse as he jumped, his large booted feet landing on the opposite side of the fence from me.

My head turned in the dirt, and I stared at him.

Or his feet, anyway.

They were nice feet.

Big. Thick. Long.

Those feet scaled the fence with angry, precise movements, causing me to roll over and hurry to my feet.

Before I could get my legs underneath me, though, Ace was there.

His hands were underneath my arms, hauling me to my feet so fast and hard that I had no other option but to stand straight and stare at him.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted.

Ace’s eyes were angry and brutal as he stared at me with barely contained fury.

“You could’ve gotten killed. You have no business being on a farm if you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing.” Ace stalked forward.

I went back on instinct, trying to keep as much distance in between the two of us as possible.

The problem with that idea, though, was that I didn’t factor in Ace’s brothers who were just as angry as I was.

“I didn’t mean to!” I yelled. “And I damn well know how to handle myself on a horse. It’s just that Poppy’s a fucking whore and doesn’t like me!”

“Then why’d you ride her?” Callum asked, annoyance tingeing his voice as well.

“Because she was giving me big whiny eyes,” I replied. “I couldn’t not take her.”

“Sure, you could have,” Ace said. “You just don’t ride her if you can’t handle her.”

I glared at him, then pushed out from between the three men, making my way to my bitch of a horse.

“Jesus, Poppy. Why you always got to make me look bad?” I asked her, coming up to her side and trying to mount her.

She moved, pushing me off balance.

I started to fall, but Ace’s harsh hands caught me before I could make an even bigger fool of myself.

“Maybe I should just walk,” I muttered, grabbing Poppy’s reins and starting in the direction of home.

“Maybe,” Ace shot back.

I glared at him over my shoulder, coming to a stop when my reins caught, indicating Poppy had no intention of moving.

Apparently, she liked the grass better over here.

And the male companionship if the bronco’s sudden change in demeanor had anything to say about it.