The Whisperer
Loving him could destroy her…High school teacher Cilla Stevens has always been different, especially in how she connects with animals. When she calms a stray dog during an incident at school, she’s asked to help a nearby farm with a difficult horse.Cameron Rahl has had a very different relationship with animals since his mother died in a horse riding accident. But now he's inherited his family’s farm, he's determined to never let anyone affect him that way again.Until he meets Cilla. He tries to stay away from the gorgeous horse whisperer with the potential to tame him, but something keeps pulling him close. And as much as Cilla tells herself she can keep it casual, she knows they're too connected to be 'just a fling.'Will Cilla's heart win out? Or will it take history repeating itself for Cameron to realise just how much he needs her?
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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2017
Copyright © Elsa Winckler 2017
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Elsa Winckler asserts the moral right to
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © March 2017 ISBN: 9780008226558
Version: 2017-02-09
To our son, Johan, who showed me there is life outside the box
Table of Contents
“A what!” A loud voice thundered. “Are you f …”
Something fell, drowning out the rest of the word but it wasn’t difficult to figure out what the man was saying.
“… ing insane?”
Wow. A lot of aggression here. Cilla squared her shoulders and walked around the corner of the building. Two men were standing in front of the stables, glaring at each other. She knew Ken, the one who was facing her. His son was in the grade twelve class she taught. Ken was the reason she was here. Apparently the owner had a difficult stallion. But from where she was standing, the horse didn’t seem to be the one with the problem.
The other man’s back was towards her; his hands were on his hips and he was leaning forward menacingly.
“I want to use the damn horse, we need help to calm him down, to make him less aggressive, not cast a blasted spell on him. The last thing I need is a bloody woman whispering to my horses!”
Ken put a placating hand on the other man’s shoulder. “She is going to communicate with the horse so that we can find out what the problem is. No one is casting a spell! And it is not so strange – there are thousands of people all over the world who use animal communicators. Try and think outside the box for a change!”
A loud noise from within the stables again drowned out most of what the other man was saying.
“… uck the box!” were the only words she heard, but it was clear he had cussed again. Apparently his vocabulary consisted mainly of swear words that began with an f.
Ken laughed and patted the man on the shoulder. He noticed Cilla and motioned her to come closer.
“Here she is now. Stop throwing such a tantrum before this beautiful lady decides to turn around and flee. Miss Stevens, let me introduce you to this grumpy young man.”
The man turned around quickly and Cilla blinked. Everything around them became quiet. She had known exactly what he was going to look like even before he’d moved. She’d known his eyes were the colour of the deep blue sea, she’d known his hair was brown and curly, combed backwards, and she’d known about the one unruly curl on his forehead that just didn’t want to toe the line.
Slowly everything returned to normal. Kind of. Cilla inhaled and tried to focus on what Ken was saying. The man looked so familiar … she shook her head. Probably only her imagination.
“Cameron, this is Cilla Stevens, teacher and animal communicator, horse whisperer if you wish. And this skeptic, Miss Stevens, is the owner of the farm, Cameron Rahl. As I’m sure you’ve concluded by now, he is not very happy about your visit,” he teased, his eyes full of merriment.
Warily, Cilla put out her hand. Cameron had not taken his eyes off of her, neither had he said anything. His eyes were cold. That he didn’t want her here was crystal clear. Defiantly, she lifted her chin. She hadn’t asked to be here, she was invited. What a rude man. It’s no wonder his horse had a problem.
Eventually he took her hand, but only briefly. Strong fingers closed around her hand, engulfing it in his larger one. Disturbed, she looked down at their hands. She’d known exactly what his fingers would feel like, had known where the callouses would be. But how was that possible?
Quickly she stepped back and nodded her head without looking at him again. She turned to Ken.
“Where is the horse?”
Before Ken could answer, Cameron frowned.
“Cilla …” he began and his eyes narrowed. “What the hell kind of a name is that anyway?”
