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Reluctantly, she walks over to his side and pulls him into a big hug.
When they walk closer to me, she hikes a thumb up at his large frame and gives me an apologetic smile. “This is my older brother.”
Judging by the narrowed gazes of the men, I’m willing to bet my time here isn’t going to go as seamlessly as I had planned when I left this morning with Wren – and it doesn’t help that I’ve still got no clue what we’re doing today.
My only hope is that luck is on my side and I manage to get through it without a hitch.
***
Wren slowly approaches one of the white horses standing tall, its head perched outside the opening as if sensing she was on her way inside. I watch Wren in amazement as she reaches her hand out with a gentle smile on her face, rubbing its snout and leaning into it.
She looks at me from the corner of her eye, then waves me over. “You can approach her, but she’ll be able to sense your anger. When you’re angry, she reacts in the same manner. Just take a deep breath, let it all out, and approach her softly.”
I do as she says, taking a deep breath before steadily making my way over to them. Before I reach my hand out, I look at Wren and wait for her to nod.
“Just center yourself. The calmer you are on the inside, the calmer she’ll be in response,” she says softly.
The horse snorts, then turns its head to me as I approach, and I eye it curiously. “What’s her name?”
“Luna.”
Luna is staring at me, as if looking deep into my soul, and she pushes her snout out to me. I look over at Wren in surprise, fully expecting her to shy away from my touch, and Wren smiles in response.
“She’s always been a very calm and loving horse. Caring for horses is a great way to tame that anger you’ve got inside, so I figured this might be a good idea for today.”
“Why is it great?”
“Horses are very smart and tend to act the way their handler feels. If you’re angry, that’s how Luna will be. As long as you center yourself, push those fears and negative emotions away, then she’ll stay calm.”
I nod, my hand brushing over Luna’s nose with a smile. “She’s pretty.”
Luna makes a noise at that, making me chuckle, and Wren clears her throat. “I wanted to ride today, but I think it’s best to start off slowly before going that far. She seems to be reacting to you fairly easily, considering the circumstances of your emotions. This means you’re making progress, which is great news.”
Making progress.
It’s not a response I thought I’d ever have to worry about hearing, but coming from Wren it feels like I’m on top of the world.
12
Wren
Ryker tosses another hay bale onto the wagon my dad brought along with us, then wipes sweat from his brow with a sigh, and I smirk on the other side of him. “Wishing you’d stayed home right about now?”
He pauses and glances at me, then shakes his head. “Not at all. It’s refreshing, honestly.” My dad and Elias are at the opposite end of the field, doing their own work, and he waves a hand at the grass spread out in front of us. “Your parents got a nice place.”
“As you’ve said multiple times already,” I say with a smile.
Ryker sighs. “I’m trying to get on their good side, but nothing seems to be working.”
He knows as well as I do that the only way to get on their good side is to showcase a different side of himself. As much as I hate to say it, the only version of him that my family has seen is the one that’s plastered all over the internet, and that’s not a very good look for him. Which brings me back to the problem at hand – why am I so worried about him getting on their good side?
He’s a client, nothing more.
I grab another hay bale and toss it into the wagon, then wipe my sweaty hands on the back of my jeans, which are already layered with dirt. “I’m sure it will happen eventually. I guess it’s a good thing you only have to worry about them for another couple of weeks.”
There’s a tense silence at my words, but I don’t bother taking them back. We need to be realistic about this.
I brought him with me today, hoping he would complain for the first five minutes and demand to leave. I hadn’t counted on him enjoying himself out here. I’m willing to bet he’s never done ranch work like this in his life. Is it so bad that I assumed he’d grumble and huff about it the entire time?
