She quickly sidestepped and held up her hands. “Oops. Sorry. I forgot.”

“If you forget the safety procedures around horses, you’re going to get hurt. I know I’ve told you how to safely approach a horse from behind at least a half dozen times now.”

“I know, I know. They have a blind spot, and I need to talk to them and touch their butts. I’ve got it.”

“If you’ve got it, why did you just do the exact opposite?” Wyatt found a stone in the gelding’s frog and dislodged it with his pick. As he lowered the animal’s leg back to the ground, he straightened and moved toward Erin. He guessed his face mirrored his anger, because she fell back a step. “I think we need to take a walk.”

She blinked. He tried not to notice how cute she looked in a red ball cap with her wealth of dark hair poking out the hole in back. She wore a dingy T-shirt over mud-streaked jeans, and her cheeks were rosy from exercise. He knew she’d been working her tail off, which made him feel even worse about what he had to say to her. Damn it. Wyatt cared about Erin. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings or fire her, but her determination to outdo everyone had to stop before she ended up hurt or possibly lame for the rest of her life.

“I—um—don’t really have time for a walk,” she said. “If you have something you need me to do, I will, of course. But otherwise I should help the other guys get their work finished. With Kennedy gone today, there’s a lot more for us to do.”

Wyatt brushed past her and put his hand on the top rail of the gate, which she’d forgotten to close after she rushed in. He had the horse tethered, so it wasn’t that big a deal. This time. But what if the animal hadn’t been tethered? Erin might have startled it, and it could have taken off for tall timber.

“I just told you what I want you to do,” he said. “We’re taking a walk.”

“But I—”

“No buts. What I have to say to you shouldn’t be overheard by the others.”

He waited for her to step through the opening and then secured the barrier. “The next time you enter an occupied stall, close the gate.”

He struck off for the wide front opening of the barn, measuring his strides so she could catch up with him. When she didn’t, he turned to see what the holdup was. She was just standing there with a mutinous expression on her face, and he had a bad feeling this conversation wouldn’t go well.

She finally sighed in defeat. He knew that because he saw her shoulders slump. She took long, slow strides toward him. When she finally reached him, he struck off for the creek.

When they reached the log, Wyatt gestured for her to sit down. She glared at him. “If you’re going to talk to me, just spit it out. I didn’t come down here with you for a cozy visit.”