Page 53 of The Tycoon

“Can I pat him?”

“Of course.He’ll love you forever if you scratch around his ears.”

She stood on tiptoe and reached for the animal’s ears.

At the same time Satan lowered his head.

Regan dropped from the balls of her feet to stand flat-footed and scratched all around his ears.“He’s beautiful.I love the white blaze down his head.Against his black coat it’s mesmerizing.”

“He is beautiful.When he gets a little older, I have a mare I want to breed him with.Sugarplum’s a registered thoroughbred, too.Come see her.”

In the next stall was a solid chestnut-colored horse.Her reddish-brown coat shone in the light in the barn.

Suddenly, the back barn door opened.A cowboy sauntered through.“Oh, hi there, Boss.”

“Hi Chet.How are my lovelies behaving today?”

The weathered-looking old cowboy took his hat off and slapped his thigh with it.“Real good.Sugarplum did her laps around the track in ninety-seven seconds.She’s getting a little faster every day.‘Course, she couldn’t beat Satan.He did it in ninety flat.”

Cole grinned broadly.“That’s great news, Chet.That new jockey must be working out.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s a real pistol for being such a tiny thing.”

Regan lifted her brows.She knew female jockeys were extremely rare, almost as much as a female Ranger.“Your jockey is a woman?”

“Yeah.She’s just out of high school and already has two years of racing under her belt.Her name is Kimberly Swift.Get it, Swift?”He poked Regan in the sides with his elbow.

She chuckled.“Yeah, I get it.”

Just then, a small blonde woman in purple-and-white racing silks walked into the barn.“Oh, hi, Cole.I see you brought a friend.”She walked over to Regan.“I’m Kim.”

“Regan.”The woman was quite confident, for being so young.

“Hey, I heard Mason talking about you when he was down here a couple of days ago.You’re Cole’s bodyguard.”

“Yes, well, we’re working on eliminating that position.”Cole placed an arm around Regan’s shoulders.

She didn’t mind.Regan liked it when he touched her.She put an arm around his waist and leaned into him.Getting closer simply felt right.

“We’d all best go.Mrs.Underhill will have lunch ready in about fifteen minutes,” said Cole.

“Mmm, yeah.She’s making chicken and dumplings today, my favorite.”Kim rubbed her non-existent belly in a circle.

Regan chuckled.“It’s one of my favorite meals, too.”She looked up at Cole.“Come on, I don’t want to be late.”

“It’s okay, if we’re a little late.”Cole squeezed her shoulders.

Regan shook her head.“Nope, not even a little if it’s chicken and dumplings.I want some of the first batch and probably the second, too…if she makes a second.”

Cole laughed.“Oh, she’ll definitely make a second batch, with Kim being here.She can eat all of us under the table when this is on the menu for lunch.But where will you put all that food?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”She winked.

“Actually, I would, though I’m afraid of the answer.”

Regan cackled and then stopped herself and grinned.

“You sounded like the Wicked Witch of the West from theWizard of Oz.”