Unbridled (Unlikely Lovers) Read Online Free PDF Page B

screaming.”
    “ She should have said something,” he grumbled. “If I’d known she was worried about her grandmother, I wouldn’t have yelled at her.”
    “ She could have, but women usually don’t volunteer that kind of information. Men will tell you up front when they feel like shit. You have to ask a woman, and you have to ask her nicely.”
    He shook his head . “I don’t know if I can do that.”
    “It ’s not that hard, Nigel. A simple Are you okay? will usually do it. Not, What the hell’s the matter with you?”
    “I guess so. ” He blew out an exasperated breath. “It’s these silly young girls, Miranda. I don’t deal well with them.”
    “No shit ,” she said dryly. “You see yourself as their instructor, but they see you as their ticket to equestrian stardom. You’re their hero, Nigel, and when your hero screams at you…well, let’s just say it’s not a good thing, especially for a young girl.”
    She glanced at Travis, who had stopped hammering and appeared to be listening.
    “ Now, me, I mostly laugh when you yell. You’ve never made me cry and I doubt you ever will. I’m too old to compete in the Olympics, but the young ones still have the dream, and it means more to them. Some days they can take the yelling and screaming because they know you can teach them what they need to know, and some days they can’t. It’s up to you to know the difference.”
    He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
    “Then you ’ll have to stick to teaching older women and leave the young ones to someone else.”
    “There ’s nothing wrong with older women,” Travis chimed in. “They give really good hugs.”
    Miranda chuckled. “Yeah, right, Travis. Those young ones would probably cry when you hit them with your nippers.”
    His jaw dropped. “I didn’t hit you, did I?”
    “No ,” she admitted. “But you squeezed me pretty hard. I probably have nipper marks on my back.”
    “Let me see .” He put down his hammer and walked toward her, a funny little half-smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “Turn around.”
    “Oh, Travis, I was kidding and you know it.” Laughing, she held up both hands to fend him off. “I’m sure you didn’t leave a mark.”
    Nigel snickered. “Maybe he wants to kiss it and make it better.”
    The mere thought of Travis kissing her on the back—or anywhere else—sent a quiver of anticipation running down her spine. Too bad he hadn’t been the one to suggest it.
    Giving herself a mental shake, s he nodded at Nigel. “That’s another thing men do. They always want to fix things. Sometimes a woman simply needs to talk about what’s bothering her and all the man has to do is listen. Most of the time, she already knows what she needs to do. She’s just reluctant to go through with it. Pointing out the obvious solution makes her seem stupid.”
    “L et me get this straight,” Nigel said. “I have to ask what’s wrong—nicely, of course—listen to the problem, and then not try to fix it? That doesn’t make sense.”
    “ I never said it made sense,” she said patiently. “But if you’re dealing with women, it’s something you need to remember.”
    He shrugged and went back to raking. “If you say so.”
    Miranda rolled her eyes and went over to get Kira. She’d snapped a lead rope to the mare’s halter and was unhooking the cross-tie when she felt a hand pressed between her shoulder blades.
    “No nipper marks,” Travis said, giving her a gentle massage. He seemed perkier than he’d been earlier, his funny little smile now a full-blown grin. “I figured you secretly wanted to know that.”
    “Thanks, Travis .” Trying to ignore the flood of goose bumps racing over her skin, she resisted the urge to lean back against his hand. “I’m sure I would’ve lost sleep over it.”
    Laughing, he waved goodbye. “See you next week.”
    Although s uch a simple touch rarely affected her, she was still tingling as she loaded up her mare and went