Tally stared at Cash in amazement. “You can’t give me a horse.”

“I can do anything I want to, sweetness. So, Mason is it?”

“You’re crazy.”

He flicked her hair over her shoulder, his fingertips softly scraping her neck. “Crazy for you. Sure I can’t tempt you with Shadow?”

She laughed. “Think I’ll pass. But Cash, seriously, I know horses. He’s worth a fortune. You can’t just give him away.”

“But if he was yours, it would give you another reason to have to visit,” he said. “After all, you couldn’t abandon him.”

She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I have enough reason right here.”

The kiss she gave him was soft and gentle, but when someone wolf whistled, she broke away, a hot flush stealing across her cheeks.

“Come here,” Cash said, reaching for her. “Ignore them.”

His mouth slanted over hers, and he had such a tight hold she wouldn’t have been able to break away even if she’d wanted to. Blood rushed to her head, and the catcalls and whistles faded into the background. When the two of them broke apart, her legs seemed unable to anchor her properly, and she clung to Cash’s arm for support.

“You have to stop worrying so much,” he said. “I’m crazy about you, and I don’t care who knows it.”

Her face burned even hotter, and she focused instead on Mason, rubbing the white diamond-shaped blaze on his forehead. Cash slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Let me give him to you. It would make me happy.”

She leaned into him, allowing her head to fall back against his broad chest. No matter how tense she was, Cash’s arms always relaxed her.

“Thank you,” she said, knowing it was pointless to fight him when he’d made up his mind. “He’s the most precious gift I’ve ever been given. I’ll treasure him.”

Cash kissed her hair. “Let’s grab his tack, and then we can get going.”

She followed Cash to the tack room, ignoring the pointed stares and furtive whispers. Reading everyone’s reactions, she hazarded a guess that she was the first girl Cash had brought there. The thought was immensely comforting.

Mason’s name was embossed in gold on a mahogany plate above a dark-brown saddle and bridle with a martingale attached.

“Why do you have him in a martingale? Does he throw his head a lot?”

Cash lifted down a jet-black saddle and tucked it into his hip. “On occasion. Nothing too bad, but before I had him in a martingale, he gave me more than one bloody nose.”

“I don’t really like the restriction of a martingale. I’d like to try him without.”

Cash shrugged. “It’s your nose.”

“Are you riding Kachina?”

“I had planned to, but Shadow needs a workout. See him pawing the floor?”

“Doesn’t your livery include exercise?”

“Yes, but given his problems, Marcie is the only one who rides him, apart from me, so if she’s busy and I’m away, he doesn’t always get the exercise he needs.”

Tally unfastened the martingale and hung it on a nearby hook. She mirrored Cash, hooking the bridle over her shoulder and tucking the saddle into her hip. As Cash disappeared inside Shadow’s box, she paused outside to listen. He began to hum softly while Shadow’s hooves scraped against the concrete floor. She peeked around the stable door. Cash had stacked the tack in a corner and was stroking Shadow’s neck, all the while continuing to hum. Shadow’s head began to drop, and after a minute or so, Cash picked up the bridle and, without any fuss, slipped it over Shadow’s nose and ears. He fastened the chinstrap, rewarding him with a tug on his ear and a piece of carrot.

“Good boy,” he whispered. He grabbed the saddle and, with extreme care, positioned it on Shadow’s back. The stallion’s front hooves rose off the floor in a semirear, and Tally held her breath, fearful that at any moment the giant animal would crush Cash. Shadow pawed the ground and flattened his ears but allowed Cash to tighten the girth. Even though she now knew what an awful history he’d had, she was relieved she didn’t have to ride him.

She left Cash speaking soothingly to Shadow and moved onto Mason’s box. He whinnied as she slipped inside. In minutes, she had him saddled up and ready to go. Excitement unfurled inside her. It had been ages since she’d found the time to ride, and the fact she was going to share it with Cash made the day all the more special.

She led Mason outside, his steel shoes making a clopping sound on the concrete. Cash was already mounted when she realised she didn’t have a riding helmet. Or boots.

“Here, I’ll hold Mason,” Cash said, reaching down for her reins. “Marcie has a spare hat and boots for you. She said to go on up to the house when you’re ready.”

She grinned. “You read my mind.”

She ran over to the house, where Marcie soon had her kitted out in a pair of riding boots and a hat that fit her freakishly small head, although Tally did have to tighten the chinstrap onto the last notch.

Jogging back to where Cash was waiting, she mounted Mason, unable to keep the smile off her face. It had been too long since she’d had a horse beneath her.

“Ready?” Cash asked.

“You bet.”

“Good. Let’s go. It’s going to be a great day.”

As he wheeled Shadow around, she knew that the greatest day of her life was the day she’d met him.