“Ms. Russo?” he asked, looking down at the woman in the house. He had spoken to her by phone, but
hadn’t met her yet.
Emily looked up, trying not to gasp as she saw that the men stood almost two feet taller than her and had
broad shoulders that threatened to bulge out of the dark green, western-style shirt, “Jerry, was it?”
“Please, call me Emily… and you’re a little early, so why don’t you wait in the barn and I’ll be out in a
bit,” she told him, and shut the door when he and his friend headed out toward the rustic barn.
Emily quickly ran a brush through her hair and pulled on her riding gloves before heading out. She
glanced once around the house for Sam, the overseer, but he was still out plowing. Her attackers were all
tall and muscular, and she couldn’t help but wonder if these two were also going to attack her. She took a
deep breath and headed out to the barn, they needed this sale if they were going to buy feed.
“Sorry about that,” she said, and skirted around the two men as she went to the stalls. “Can you ride a
horse?”
Both of them glanced at her nervously. Her scent blew by them with the breeze and they fought to control
their natural instincts as the mere smell made their throats burn with thirst.
