“Oh, I’m not laughing at her.” Andra tried to bite back her smile, side-passing her gelding away as the horse fought the bit, trying to push his head over the fence. “What’s going on with your, ah, music box saddle?”

He reached back and jiggled the noisy saddlebags, Mary Kay startling and throwing her head before he calmed her once again. Then “Ice Ice Baby” was overlaid by a meeping version of Beethoven’s “Für Elise.” The horse stopped, flicking her ears back to listen.

“Cell phones.” LJ grinned. “They’re all set to go off at different times. Can’t sell your babies to some cowboy who’s gonna get dumped on his behind the first time his girlfriend texts him while he’s out riding.”

She laughed. “Good point.”

She’d seen a few people get thrown because their cell phones rang, but she rarely saw anybody taking the initiative to get colts used to different types of ringing sounds. She liked the thoughtful way LJ approached horses. A few days ago, she’d caught him setting a saddle backward on a yearling. He claimed that animals always thought the saddle felt funny at first, and this way when he turned it forward again, it fit so much better the horse accepted it at once. His gentle, creative training tactics were exactly what she’d been wanting for her ranch’s stock.

“What?” he said, and she realized she’d been staring.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just thinking it’s weird seeing you on top of a horse instead of next to one. That’s good, though. We hired you specifically because Jason doesn’t have the patience for the groundwork the colts need, and I don’t have the time.”

He whistled through his teeth, patting Mary Kay’s neck. “Hear that, girl? The lady is surprised I can ride.” He shook his head. “I’d be offended if I didn’t think it was so funny that you hired me without seeing me on a horse, after all your talk about the ‘extensive interviewing process.’”

She wrinkled her nose at him, caught off guard by how easily he slipped into her flat accent. “Shut up.”

He laughed. “Careful. The Politeness Police are going to come for you any second, sirens blaring.”

“I’m not that polite.”

“Sure you’re not. And I’m not really all that tall,” he drawled.

She rolled her eyes and snorted. After a week of cooking lessons, she was getting used to his teasing. “You know, since you can apparently sit a horse, I should mention we have a rodeo coming up.”

“Thought this was a fancy show barn.” He did jazz hands, scaring Mary Kay and having to take a second to settle her. “Rodeo’s allowed, too?”