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Run into the Wind, is one of my favorite books. It is about Sabrina, a young woman who is in hiding so she dresses up as a boy(Will), to conceal her identity. She falls for Brock, the hot new Sheriff in town, who thinks she's a boy.
Hope you enjoy this excerpt!
Sabrina
was having another bad day. She had
gotten a splinter in her hand when she was closing one of the stalls and her
cramps were not letting up. She sat on a bucket in the sunlight trying to pick
the splinter out with a needle. Suddenly a shadow blocked out the sun.
Irritated,
she poked herself and winced. She glared up at her visitor. Brock. Perfect.
“What
do you want?” she asked irritably.
“I
was stopping by to see if you could help me but it looks like you need some
help,” he said, kneeling next to her to take a look at her hand.
“It’s
just a splinter; I don’t need your help. I’m behind on my work here, so you’re
just outta luck, Sheriff,” she said
emphasizing the last word.
“Will!” A voice sounded from behind her and she
cringed. Jack Swanson came up to them and shook Brock’s hand. Sabrina scowled
even more if that was possible.
“You
do not talk to the good Sheriff or any of my clients that way. I don’t know
what’s come over you lately. You’ve been
as wound up as a rattlesnake. I just
came from the saloon. Mac suggested Sheriff Stafford have you show him
available places, and I think that’s a great idea. Go get some fresh air, boy.”
Gnawing
on her bleeding hand, she shot Brock a dirty look as she moved very slowly to
comply. He just kept popping up like a bad penny and she muttered a string of
curses to herself as she saddled Star. He could saddle his own damn horse.
Sabrina
set a steady pace as they rode out of town. She was familiar with both places
that Mac had suggested and decided to head for the shanty first since it was
farther away. It was a warm day and Sabrina was sweating under the layers of
clothing she wore to hide her curvy figure.
She
refused to acknowledge his attempts at casual conversation as they rode. She
was hot and mad and figured it was better to just not talk at all. She heard
the running brook before she saw it. She slowed to allow Star to drink from the
fresh water. Taking her canteen from her
saddlebag she hopped down to refill it upstream. She swallowed her fill and
refilled it with fresh water. Taking her
bandanna off, she dipped it in the water and washed her face and neck before
wringing it out and wrapping it around her neck. She felt much better.
She
noticed Brock and Troy on the other side and walked over to him in spite of
herself. She took care coming up behind
Star; it was never a good idea to startle a horse. Horses had a mean kick. Even the gentle ones could be spooked.
“In
a hurry?” he asked, referring to the
quick pace Sabrina had set.
“I’ve
better things to do,” she said tartly.
Brock
grinned at her. For some reason he
enjoyed taunting the boy. “Sure is warm; maybe we could go for a swim later. If
my information is correct, I was told there was a swimming hole nearby the
place.” He took his hat off, wiping his face and neck with his own bandanna.
Sabrina
couldn’t help staring at the wet curls clinging to his neck and face. She had
an urge to push them back in place and bit her lip as she looked away,
chastising her thoughts.
“I
don’t swim.” Sabrina mounted Star and nudged her into a trot, using the stream
as a guide.
Brock
easily caught up to her with Troy’s large stride. She had felt like galloping
but didn’t want to labor the horse in the heat.
“I
could teach you if you don’t know how,” Brock offered generously as he rode
next to her.
Sabrina
looked over at him, annoyed to see him smiling at her. “I know how to swim, I just choose not to.”
“Your
loss,” Brock replied, ending the conversation for now. He was surprised a short while later when
Will announced they had arrived.
Built
into the countryside, the “shanty” as Mac had called it, was an earth dwelling.
Three sides were made out of fallen timber that had been cut and hewn to fit
together and the back was packed earth as it was dug out of the hillside. The
earthy cover extended out and over the roof. The house blended in perfectly with
the landscape of trees.
Brock
dismounted and went to inspect the inside. He looked back at Sabrina to see if
she was coming and was surprised to see her still on Star. “Coming?” He asked.
She
snorted, “Those places are always crawling with bugs. I’ll wait here, thanks.”
“Ya
scared of bugs? Aren’t there bugs in the stables?” Brock asked, raising an
eyebrow.
“Of
course not! I bet you couldn’t find one spider in my whole stable. I keep it
clean.”
Brock
grunted something and turned around to enter the house. He moved too quickly
and banged his head on the low door frame. He cursed, checking for blood as he
held his hand over his forehead. Behind him he could hear laughter.
“Watch
out for the low ceilings.”
Gritting
his teeth, he disappeared inside. The inside was actually larger than he had
expected. It had a small stone fireplace and a wooden floor. It would suit his
needs for now but he was thinking of the future. There were cobwebs everywhere
with insect carcasses caught inside. He turned around to head back out the door
and BAM! He hit his head again on a roofing timber. Grumbling as he stooped lower, he crossed it
off his list.
Sabrina
snickered as he came out covered with cobwebs and holding his sore head.
“A
bit small,” he mumbled as Sabrina laughed out loud. She leaned down and grasped
a piece of cobweb trailing from his hair.
Her hand accidentally brushed his cheek and he looked up at her,
catching her eyes for an instant. He
frowned as he watched Will. The boy
seemed embarrassed for some reason. Brock wiped his face again; it was hot.
Brock spied a glint of light dancing on the
surface of a pond partially hidden in the trees. “Let’s eat before we head off, “ he said. He
took Troy’s reins and walked over as Sabrina followed on Star.
“I
didn’t pack anything to eat.”
“I
had Mac pack enough for two,” Brock said, tying Troy to a nearby tree.
Her
eyes narrowed at his response. “So you just assumed I would volunteer to go
with you?”
He
shrugged “Ordered, Volunteered, what’s the difference?” Brock took his hat off
and hung it on his saddle horn. He then started undoing his shirt. Sabrina
looked on in horror as his intentions sank in.
“Wh…what
are you doing?” she asked, not sure if a real boy would look away or not. Of
course, a real boy would not ask someone what he was doing when it was quite
obvious what he was doing. During her
moment of indecision, Brock had stripped down naked. He had thankfully turned his back to her as
he removed his pants.
This,
of course, gave her a great view of the backside of his body. She stood staring
unabashed at his smooth bronze skin stretched taut over his back and buttocks.
He was bronze all over just slightly darker on his arms where he was exposed to
more sun. He either skinny dipped a lot
or…
“You’re
an Indian?” she found herself asking in surprise continuing to stare at his
naked form as he waded into the cool water.
She was grateful and dismayed at the same time as Brock ignored her
question and dove into the water. He popped up in the middle of the pond a few
seconds later. He tossed his head back
to clear the hair out of his eyes as he grinned at her. The water weighed down
his curls and they hung straighter and longer just curling a bit at the tips.
“Sure you don’t wanna take a quick dip?” Brock
asked.
“I
don’t have time to splash around in the water.
I need to get back to work and so do you. Banks probably getting robbed as we speak.”
She swatted irritably at the small annoying insects circling her
head.
The
water looked so cool and refreshing, she was sick with envy. She felt a drop of
sweat roll down her back to be absorbed in the bundling she wrapped in to cover
her breasts and make her waist straight. Defeated, she sank into the grass
swatting at the gnats she’d stirred up.
A
thought suddenly popped into her head.
She probably stank. That’s why he wanted her to go swimming. She
probably smelled of sweat and horses and poo. It was hard for her to sneak off
and bathe undetected. Plus, boys didn’t
normally go for bathing very often. It had never bothered her before but all of
a sudden, she wanted to bathe, to smell good, to be noticed, and all because of
him. Sighing she gave herself a sniff. A bit sweaty but not too bad. What the heck does one expect in Oklahoma in
the middle of summer?
After
several minutes of swimming Brock regretfully swam over and climbed out.
Sabrina forced herself to look away this time. Brock pulled on his pants and
Sabrina took note he didn’t wear any under garments. Leaving his shirt off so
he could dry off in the sun, he pulled lunch from his saddlebags.
As
he sat down across from her, she tried not to stare at his bare chest and
muscular arms as he divided the food.
Mac had packed his specialty: roasted chicken and corn on the cob.
Sabrina’s stomach growled as the wonderful aroma was carried to her by the
light breeze.
To
distract herself, she tore into the food.
She felt she had never been so hungry before. It was as if her body
craved food since she wasn’t satisfying its other needs. In addition, she
figured with her mouth full she could not say anything stupid, right?
Wrong.
“How
can you have curly hair if you’re an Indian?”
Brock
raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think I’m an Indian?”
She
blushed at this; she couldn’t help it. “Um..well---you’re tan all over. I grew
up with Indians; I must have been daft not to notice before.”
“I’m
half Comanche.”
“Which
half?” Sabrina asked, wondering curiously how he came to be.
Brock
laughed at that. “I’ll tell you another time.
What do you mean, you grew up with Indians?”
Sabrina
smirked back at him. “I’ll tell you another time.” Finishing her food, she
stood up and stretched. Questions were bringing on more questions.
“Why
do you pretend to be white?”
“I
never said I was white. People see what they want to see.”
She
nodded at that; she knew all about people making assumptions. It is what she’d
counted on to keep her secret safe for the last couple of years. “You’ll like
the McAllister place much better. It’s closer to town and has a barn that’s big
enough to house several horses.” She picked up her pace, now eager to show him
the place. Brock stared after her, a
thoughtful expression on his face.
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