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wasn’t going to go away, Lauren was more than willing to meet him halfway. They were going to have to work together. It made more sense to be friends than enemies. She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Wade.”
    He took her outstretched hand in a grasp that was warm and all-too-brief. Even that quick brush of callused fingers across softer skin was enough to send a jolt of awareness through her. Work-roughened hands had always been more appealing to her than the manicured hands of most of her male costars. Hands with the texture of sandpaper could bring the skin alive. Just the thought was enough to make her tremble the way Midnight had earlier.
    Wade studied her with a knowing look. “Cold?”
    “No. I’m fine,” she said, embarrassed at having been caught reacting to his touch. “So, what’s the plan? I assume you have one.”
    “Grady says I should let you try whatever you like with the horses, as long as you don’t get yourself killed. Since that’s not a notion that’s real popular with me either, how about going for a ride with me? Let me see how you handle yourself on a horse. Maybe I’ll be more reassured than I was yesterday.”
    She chafed at the test, but she understood it. If she were in his position, she’d do the same thing. And since it was clear that Grady had tried to smooth things over, she owed it to him to give Wade at least a passing show of respect.
    Still, she couldn’t resist a taunt. “Shall I take Midnight?” she inquired innocently.
    He regarded her soberly, his gray eyes cool and assessing. “Only if you don’t care about coming back,” he said, not giving away by so much as a blink whether he was serious.
    “Then I’ll save him for next time,” she said. “Since you know the animals better than I do, you choose one today. And don’t go with the slowest nag in the barn, or I’ll make you regret it.”
    “How about we compromise?” he suggested, though it looked as if the word stuck in his craw.
    “Now there’s a novel idea. I’m surprised you’re familiar with the concept.”
    To her surprise, he winked at her. “Oh, you’d be amazed at the things I’ll do given the right incentive.”
    She laughed. “That must mean Grady’s offered you a huge bonus for putting up with me.”
    “Not a dime,” he insisted. “But he did lead me to believe that you weren’t a tenderfoot and that I owed it to you and the ranch to give you a fair chance.”
    “Okay, then, what’s the compromise?”
    “You pick your own horse, subject to my okay.”
    Lauren nodded. “Fair enough.” She’d ridden almost every horse in the Blackhawk barn at one time or another.
    A half hour later, they’d saddled up. Once Wade had explained that they might as well ride up into the hills to see if they could locate some wild horses that had been reported, Lauren abandoned her plan to go into town. Instead, she took the time to pack a couple of thick ham-and-cheese sandwiches and some of Gina’s extraordinary cheesecake along with a thermos of iced tea. If Wade thought he was going to put her through her paces, she was at least going to be well fortified for the experience.
    “Maybe, if you’re as good as Grady says, you can talk those mustangs into coming back with us,” he taunted when she returned from the kitchen with their lunch. “I’m always looking for new stock at a good price. Can’t beat free.”
    “Very amusing. I think Grady may have oversold my skill, if he has you believing I’m capable of sweet-talking a few wild stallions down into the corral.”
    Wade’s gaze traveled over her from head to foot in an assessment deliberately meant to rile her. “You could always practice on me, see if you can tame me.”
    Lauren’s heart thumped erratically at the suggestion. “Something tells me that you’re tougher than any horse I might tangle with.”
    “Probably so, which is part of the challenge,” he agreed, then grinned as he shoved a battered Stetson on his head.