Western Spark

Not a Sweet Talk Kind of Woman

Here is a deleted scene from Western Heat. I  originally pulled it because I wanted to let Liz and Jake stew a bit longer before I brought them back together with a further acknowledgement of their feelings and what happened when Jake slept overnight at Liz's place for the first time. So it does not follow the story line as it stands in the book now.

I also pulled it because it added a side story that wasn't necessary, and more about Baron and Brady could wait for his book, if it made it in.

This scene really shows some of Liz's character, and her thought process, and I think readers who have read Western Heat will really enjoy the brief look into her skill with horses, and her character growth in dealing with heavier subjects.

Enjoy!

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Liz let out a frustrated growl, threw the square hay bale against the wall, then picked up the next one, flinging it just as hard. The string snapped while it was in the air, and flakes of hay showered out in a semi circle, covering the floor.

"Fuck," she muttered and stooped to gather it up, stacking it on top of the small pile in the hay storage room. Just like the damned hay, her thoughts were scattered like chaff, and even mentally sweeping them into a pile was not helping. This morning had not gone the way either she or Jake had wanted, and the gnawing feeling in her gut wouldn't go away while she stewed.

Jake had looked at her like she'd kicked his puppy when he'd left this morning.

It wasn't really the end of the world, she had thought to placate herself, but she really didn't believe it. She'd been secretly hoping he would stay the night when she woke up to turn off the TV and he was stretched out and snoring. Waking up beside him had been much less dread inducing that she thought it would be and then—

She jerked the broom off the wall hook near her, sweeping with short, quick strokes, then scooped the rest of the loose hay into the wheelbarrow nearby. Satisfied it was clean enough, she flopped down onto a bale and scowled at the emergency numbers poster, her train of thought derailing back into this morning instead of what was next on her chore list.

How in the hell was she going to deal with what happened? When he'd left like that, just storming out, tears pushed at the back of her eyes and she'd kept herself busy all damned day to keep the emotion locked away. It hadn't worked, and she dwelled on how confused her heart had been when he'd said that he wanted to make love to her.

Well, more than her heart. When he said it, her chest seized like it did when she was thrown from a horse and had the wind knocked out of her and she didn't know what to say. Make love... What did he mean by that? Was he trying to be romantic and sweet suddenly? He knew she didn't like that kind of stuff.

Her mother's words also rang in her ears, and for the first time, she wondered if what she'd said wasn't partly true. She wasn't getting comfortable and falling for him, was she? Was that it?

"Fuck," she muttered again, and whacked her head gently against the wall. He was trying to show he cared and she'd pushed him away like a damned idiot. Romantic or no, he was a good man and she was applying her time with Darren onto him.

Not fair to Jake—or to her—for that matter.

A muffled whinny from one of the nearby paddocks pulled her out of her frustrated navel gazing and she rose from her seat, dusted herself off and headed towards the feed room. Normally one of the stable crew would have set afternoon feeds, but she needed to keep her hands busy and decide to beat them to it. Trevor wouldn't mind, he had his hands full today with the three year olds he was working today, plus his regular lessons this evening.