Out Rider. Lindsay McKenna
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and timothy hay made Dev inhale deeply. It was like perfume to her. She spotted the open door at the end, on the right stall. The other enclosures were all filled, probably with either USFS-owned horses or horses privately owned by some of the rangers.
It was warmer in the barn due to the body heat of the ten animals. The breeze was cold, flowing in and out of the barn. Dev was pleased to see thick cedar shavings in Goldy’s new stall. To her left was a steel watering bowl that had a heater in it to keep the water from icing up when below freezing. Hanging in a net in the corner near the bars at the front was a flake of timothy hay. Goldy eagerly stepped up into the roomy stall, plunging her nose into the large watering bowl.
Looking around, Dev wanted to see if there were any nails or other items that could accidentally injure her mare. The stall was bright, large and airy with a second window opposite the sliding door. Horses hated being in dark stalls. They got depressed just like a human without adequate light. Slipping the snap off Goldy’s halter, she pulled the door halfway shut and slowly examined every oak panel in the stall. She could feel Sloan’s silent interest, her back prickling lightly where his gaze rested upon her. Before Gordon’s attack, Dev wouldn’t have reacted to any male interest with anxiety, but now, she did. Moving her hand along the wall, fingertips skimming the sanded, honey-colored hardwood, Dev told herself that Sloan was not Gordon. Or was he? Looks were so damned deceiving. Feeling guilty because Sloan did not deserve this kind of paranoid reaction from her, Dev turned and walked to the other side of her mare, who was lifting her muzzle from the bowl, water dripping from it.
“This is nice,” Dev said, pointing to the water dish. “Not only self-filling, but with the temperature gauge in there, it will keep ice from forming over the top of it.”
Sloan leaned against the stall and nodded. “I think you’ll find everything in the stall in shipshape. Charlotte is a nice lady, but she’s strict about keeping the animals clean and safe, too. She’s a good supervisor and I think you’ll like meeting her.”
Pushing her hair away from her face, Dev patted Goldy on her broad wither one more time and then slid the door open and stepped out. The horse next to her, a big gray gelding with a black mane and tail, had his nose pressed between the iron bars, wanting to say hello to Goldy. But Goldy was more interested in that clean-smelling timothy hay in the hanging net after sating her thirst.
“I have an appointment to officially meet her tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.,” Dev said. Glancing at her watch, she said, “Next order of business is to find my new apartment. I leased it over the phone after going on the internet and looking at what was available in this area.”
Sloan took the heavy oak door and slid it closed, and then latched it so the mare couldn’t possibly get out. “I’ll bet you had sticker shock on the prices of an apartment and condo here in Jackson Hole.”
Groaning, Dev said, “Yes. Even worse, I have a dog and most places don’t allow you to have a pet, so it got pretty worrisome.” She rubbed her hands down the thighs of her Levi’s and hung Goldy’s red nylon lead on a horseshoe that was attached to the door.
“There are two places that allow pets,” Sloan said. “The Pines, where I live, and a condo group known as Winterhaven. Which did you rent at?”
Dev walked slowly down the aisle toward her truck at the other end. “I took a two-bedroom apartment at The Pines. It was a lot cheaper. I mean, it wasn’t really cheap at all, just less than Winterhaven.”
“That’s a good choice. It’s a nice place. I live there with my dog, Mouse.”
She smiled a little, feeling a sense of protection coming from Sloan as he walked at her shoulder. He’d pulled his gloves off and stuffed them in his back pocket. The male grace of the man told her he was in top shape, although pretty much hidden from the waist up with his utilitarian Carhartt heavy canvas jacket. She could always tell a real rancher or farmer from the wannabes. That particular line of clothing was built tough for hardworking men and women. Instead of buttons, they were fastened with rivets. Dev had a dark brown Carhartt jacket packed away in her suitcase and would always be wearing it anytime she was working in the barn or around Goldy when it was cold. “What were the chances we’d meet each other on that highway? And that you’d be a ranger like myself? And then we end up living at the same apartment complex?”
Sloan shrugged and slanted her an amused look. “Dharma? Or Karma, depending upon how you take it all in.”
“Kismet,” Dev said. His low, husky teasing flowed through her and touched her heart. She chided herself inwardly for thinking Sloan was a wolf in sheep’s clothing just like Gordon. The warmth dancing in Sloan’s blue eyes made her feel safe. And since the assault, Dev had not felt safe at all. Anywhere. With any man. Except Sloan. Frowning a little, she tucked her feelings away, concentrating on leaving the barn. Above, some sunlight managed to peek through the gray fluffy clouds gathering with what looked like rain or snow.
Sloan lifted his Stetson, ran his fingers through his short hair and settled it on his head. “I’m going that way. Got to get out to the Triple H to shoe some of their horses. Want to follow me?”
“Yes, you’re really being a guardian angel for me, Sloan.”
“Okay, but first, back your trailer over there.” He pointed to five other trailers that sat in a neat row east of the barn.
Dev was used to hauling and backing up her horse trailer. It wasn’t hard to do, but one had to know how to turn the wheels on the truck to back the trailer straight and next to the red-and-white one at the end. “Got it.”
“I’ll help you.”
“I appreciate it,” she murmured, climbing into the cab of her truck. Horsemen usually helped one another and Sloan wasn’t disappointing her at all. She turned on the truck’s engine and then drove around the circle, jockeying her truck and trailer. Within minutes, thanks to Sloan’s hand signals, she had her trailer parked. By the time she got out of the truck, he had lifted the trailer hitch off the truck and had it standing and ready for the next time she would want to hook it up.
“You’re going to spoil me,” Dev said, smiling up at him. “Thanks.” She saw that gleam come to his eyes again, and she swore she could feel his care and protection once more.
“Horse people always help one another,” Sloan said, shrugging a bit. “What building and apartment are you in, do you know? There are three units to The Pines.”
Frowning, Dev pulled out a note from her jacket pocket and opened it up. “It says ‘unit two, apartment 224.’” She saw his brows rise, and a surprised look come to his face. “Why? Is this not a good apartment?”
A grin edged Sloan’s mouth. “You aren’t going to believe this, but I’m in the same unit and my apartment is directly across from yours, 225.”
Her lips parted and Dev wasn’t sure she felt good or bad about that news. “Well...uh...this is really something, isn’t it?”
“I guess so,” Sloan said, shaking his head with amusement. “Look at it this way. If you need to borrow a cup of sugar, I more than likely will have it on hand. It’ll save you a trip to the grocery store.”
“At least I’ll know one person in Jackson Hole,” Dev said, stunned by the development. When Sloan smiled that slow, lazy smile of his, heat flooded her lower body. The reaction surprised the hell out of her. The man was not flirting with her. He was simply being a gentleman, trying to help her out, her heart told her. He was a ranger, and so was she. Sloan was just doing his duty was all. But the heat in his gaze for a split second unnerved her. Dev wasn’t even sure she’d seen it. Maybe she wished she had? God, she didn’t know—her emotions were still a tangled mess within her since Gordon’s attack.
“Come on,” Sloan urged. “I’ll get you over to the manager’s office at The Pines and then I’m going to skedaddle down the road to go shoe those Triple H horses.”
Without thinking, Dev reached out and briefly touched the sleeve of his jacket. “Thanks...really. I truly appreciate