Don't Dare a Diamond - Stacey Joy Netzel Page 0,1

all.

She stepped inside the barn and scanned for Reyes, only to find the place deserted. Initial relief was quickly replaced by disappointment, until she realized just because she didn’t see him didn’t mean he wasn’t around. Shelby had said he lived in an apartment above the barn.

Squaring her shoulders, she held her chin high as she ventured farther inside. Like at home, the aisles were immaculate, and a deep inhale filled her lungs with the beloved scents of horse, hay, and leather. Heads turned her way, delicate ears swiveling and perking up as pairs of curious brown eyes watched her approach.

She stopped in front of a stall halfway down the aisle and studied the bay thoroughbred inside. The gelding’s shiny coat was a rich red, complimented by a silky, jet-black forelock, mane, and tail. He was a big boy like Fire, his withers the same height as her five feet, two inches, putting him at almost sixteen hands tall.

He turned his head with a soft whicker, and she stepped back when he moved forward to extend his head over the stall door. She let him sniff her hand, then stroked his neck as he lipped at her palm.

“Hello, gorgeous.” While rubbing his forehead and laying her cheek against his velvety soft black muzzle, she glanced at the engraved name plate on his stall door.

RazMaTaz.

“Tell me big guy, do they call you Raz, or Taz?” she mused out loud.

“That’s Taz.”

Her breath caught as she whirled around to see an older gentleman step through a door off to her right. He carried an English saddle over one arm, and a bridle in the other hand.

“Raine?”

“That’s me,” she confirmed with a smile.

“Hi. I’m Estefan. Janine called and said you were looking for a mount.”

Earlier, she’d heard Shelby tell Merit’s girlfriend Estefan was Reyes’ father. She could also see the resemblance to his son in his olive-toned features and brown eyes from their Spanish heritage. The elder Torrez had a mustache peppered with gray in comparison to his son’s neatly trimmed goatee.

“Can I ride him?” she asked hopefully as she stroked the bay’s nose. Forget going for a trail ride, she’d love to see what the horse could do on a course.

“Taz is my son’s horse,” he advised with a hint of apology in his tone. “No one rides him but Reyes.”

She blinked in surprise to learn he had his own horse here. None of their employees kept their horses at the Diamond stables in Texas. Not to mention, the gelding looked to be easily worth twenty grand. Maybe more.

“I’ll be saddling Stimpy for you. He could use some exercise.”

Stimpy?

Did he not know what she did for a living? She smoothed out her wrinkled nose as she turned, anticipating an old, gentle gelding for beginners.

Estefan slid the stall door open, giving Raine a good look at a regal chestnut with a mass of wavy, reddish-brown mane. Smaller than Taz, the more delicate build and refined features pointed toward Arabian, and she grinned with anticipation. Okay, she could definitely live with Stimpy—which upon a closer look at his nameplate, looked to be short for Rumplestiltskin.

“Your aunt assures me you can handle some fire?”

“Of course.” She gave Taz a final, longing stroke along his muzzle before crossing the aisle. “I’ve been riding my Trakhener, Diamond Fire, since I was seventeen, and I can assure you, he lives up to his name.”

He nodded, clearly well-versed with the athletic attributes of her jumper’s breed.

“Is it okay for me to take Stimpy out on the trails? Just for an hour or so.”

“You remember them?” he asked with an arch of his brows.

“I do. I know it’s been a while,” she said with a shrug, “but as long as they haven’t changed…”

“No, no changes,” he assured her. “Warm him up in the arena, get a feel for how he handles, and you should be good.”

He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t know, but she nodded anyway. “Thanks.”

Used to taking care of her own mounts, she stepped forward to saddle the gelding, but Estefan would hear nothing of it. Minutes later, he gave her a leg up and a few tips on the Arabian’s personality, then left them with, “Enjoy your ride.”

She didn’t remember him.

Reyes knew the moment Raine Diamond gave him that warm, interested smile up at the main house, she didn’t remember treating him like a smear of manure on the heels of her polished English riding boots during a summer visit ten years ago. His sixteen year old