Hunter (Stud Ranch 2)

Like always, she lingered in front of the mirror no longer than was absolutely necessary after brushing her teeth and making sure her ponytail was straight. She turned and went downstairs.

“Sleeping Beauty awakes,” Reece said from the den when she made it to the bottom of the stairs.

“Wrong fairytale, dumbass,” Liam said. “She’s obviously Snow White. Look at her coloring. Pale, creamy skin. Rose-bud lips. Long black hair.”

“Does that make us the seven dwarves?” Reece asked.

“So good to know they teach math skills to the kids these days,” Mack said. “By my last count, there’s only five of us.”

Jeremiah gave him a sarcastic smile. “But you’re such a clear ringer for Happy.”

Mack flipped him off, then stuffed his scrambled eggs into his mouth. “Let’s go, little girls. You can gossip and braid each other’s hair another time. Those stalls aren’t going to muck themselves.”

The twins and Liam gave him the one-fingered salute in return. Nicholas just kept eating his breakfast, eyes quietly observing everything like always. Isobel gave him a pat on the back. “Morning Nick.”

“Hey Iz. You off on calls with your Dr. Hunter this morning?”

She looked down at him sharply. “He’s not my Dr. Hunter.”

Nicholas didn’t say anything. His eyebrows just went up slightly before he went back to eating.

Crap. She was being a freak. She tried to modulate her voice and sound normal when she said, “Nope, I’m hanging around here. Thought I might go spend some time with Bright Beauty and take one of the others out for a ride.”

She and Beauty had gotten close over the past couple weeks. When Isobel wanted to get away from the noise of the house and the guys’ boisterous heckling of each other, she’d steal away to the barn and spend an hour or two grooming and chatting with Beauty. She was a gentle-natured horse and the strict regimen of rest and massage seemed to be easing her pain as her ligaments healed. She’d never be able to compete again, but there was no reason she could

n’t have a long, healthy life.

Spending time with the horses made her feel calm and collected, just like it always had. Animals were so much simpler than people. You looked in their eyes and you didn’t have to wonder what they were thinking.

Look at me, Isobel. Your climax belongs to me.

She gulped as she put a bagel in the toaster and lifted the lid on the tray of scrambled eggs. She scooped a small spoonful onto her plate.

Yes, she far preferred animals to people.

“So, you and the redhead at the bar seemed to be hitting it off last night,” Liam said. Isobel looked up just in time to see Jeremiah’s face going red.

“I mentioned I was studying history and she said she really loved Game of Thrones. So we got to talking.”

Liam burst out laughing. “She does realize that’s not actual history, right?”

The back of Jeremiah’s neck went a little pink as he picked up his toast. “George R. R. Martin said he based it on the War of the Roses. That’s real history. We talked about that a little.”

Liam winced. “Oh God, tell me you did not bore the hot chick with a history lesson. She was just trying to get in your pants, mate.”

Jeremiah leveled him with a stare. “That’s not all there is to a woman.”

Liam waved his fork in a maybe so, maybe not gesture. “That woman, it’s debatable. The shirt she was wearing barely deserves the title. It was more like an extravagant bikini. And she was all but climbing your leg like a dog in heat while you were boring her with obscure English history.”

Isobel’s bagel popped. She took it and scraped a thin layer of cream cheese over it, then sat down at the table between Nicholas and Jeremiah. Reece and Liam were across the table from them.

Jeremiah was all out glaring now. “She gave me her number.”

Liam laughed. “Of course she did.” Liam leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. “The women in this town are all hard up and we’re fresh dick.” Then he winced and looked Isobel’s way. “No offense.”

She laughed and held her hands up. “None taken. Please, do continue with this fascinating argument. I feel it’s my duty to all womankind to hear you out.”

“Well, take a woman like your redhead. There are only so many options in a town this size. She starts out fucking high school boys. She’s what, twenty-two? Twenty-three? If she went to college, she might have gotten a taste for some good sex. Still, for whatever reason, she ended up back here. Or maybe she never went to college and has been here the whole time. Either way, all that sad high school dick is starting to get mighty old by now.”