"But she was trying to lead my horse out of the stable under some false claim of getting Midnight away from a bee!  I didn't see any bees.  All I saw was this one . . . . ."<br/><br/>Nathan jerked her wrists up in the air once more, forcing her to bend at the waist while he untied those wrists.  She made a squawk of protest at the ill treatment, but he wasn't having any of it.<br/><br/>". . . . . trying to make off with my horse."<br/><br/>Normally, he didn't act this way towards women.  The girl was kind of cute in a street urchin sort of way.  He might have been inclined to offer to pay for her meal, since she looked like she hadn't had anything to eat in awhile.  But Midnight had been with him longer than any female had.  There was a strong bond between the two of them.  So, for someone to try and steal his horse was unforgivable.<br/><br/>And no sooner was she untied than Abia was serving her tea.  TEA!  To him, it seemed like Abia was letting her soft-spot get the better of her judgment.  He was wondering if he was going to need to sleep with his horse for the night to make sure he didn't lose her.<br/><br/>Nathan grumbled as Abia suggested he make conversation with the girl.  Of course the girl was hiding something.  There were other customers out front who were also hiding something.  But none of them were trying to make off with his horse.<br/><br/>"I'll need another scotch, then," he replied as Abia left the kitchen for the bar.