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“What are you doing?”
Buddy’s demanding question brings my head around. Heart racing, I try to find my voice again. “I noticed this horse looked sore. I was checking his back.”
“And you’re qualified to do that?”
“I—I was taught how, yes.”
“By who?”
It feels like a trap. I can’t answer that without giving away more information than I want to.
“Dad, do you mind helping me with this?” Carl’s voice beckons the patriarch from the barn. “I’m having trouble finding the right rack. Did you move it?”
Grumbling, Buddy leaves me to help his son in the barn. Whether Carl actually needed help, or he was rescuing me, I’m grateful. I turn my attention back to the gelding, rubbing my hand over his withers then back along his spine looking for the same tender reaction.
“He can go back now.” Weston pulls the rope from the hitching rail and starts to lead him away.
“Was he sensitive today? Maybe a little moody?”
Weston looks at me across the horse’s back. “Yeah, he didn’t want to move out. Made me look bad in front of Buddy and Rhett.”
“Are you riding in new tack?”
Weston frowns, eyebrows furrowed. “How’d you know that?”
“His back, the saddle must be pinching. He’s sore. You’ll need to give him a couple day’s rest.”
It clicks in his mind and his palm comes up to rub his horse’s neck. “I’m sorry, Ransom. Lucky dog, you get a couple days off.”
It warms me to see him connected to his ride. Too many times I’ve seen nothing but heartless reactions, telling me the horse will get a day off when they feel it necessary.
“If you tell me who you plan to ride tomorrow, I’ll make sure your saddle will fit.”
Surprised, Weston nods. “Better yet, let’s do it right now.”
I lead Ransom to the corral. Tomorrow I’ll work on his back, but only once I know Silas won’t see me. It’s best to leave everyone thinking I’m just a lowly groom.
Rhett
One of Getty’s best characteristics is that he doesn’t have to fill silence. He’s more than happy to let it rest. And yet, just his presence calms me. He’s steady as the ocean on a sunny day. Days where I’m feeling turbulent, he’s exactly the force I need to anchor me.
I called Nick about the bug. He’s meeting me in an hour on the beach. I’m hoping I can pull Sunny away without too much trouble. I don’t need the rest of them knowing all her dirty secrets. Chance picks up his pace knowing we’re close to the barn. Lucky for him, his day is through. I’ll take the truck to meet Nick.
“What do you think is happening there?”
I follow Getty’s gaze to the staging area in front of the barn. A horse stands on the rail, despite the close of the day. While she’s fully saddled, the two fiddling with him don’t look like they have any intention of riding.
All day I wrote away any attraction I might have felt toward Sunny last night as a passing whim, but seeing her again, it all floods back. There’s no denying it, she’s truly beautiful. What that means for me and my world, I don’t know. With everything going on in her life, I doubt she’s looking for a relationship, for all I know, she’s married.
I catch Getty watching me just about as intensely as I’ve been staring at Sunny.
“What?” It’s dumb to ask. I know what he’s going to say. No measure of pretending my innocence will set me free.
“Nothing.” He looks away, smirking and shaking his head. “Nothing at all.”
I groan. “Just say it and get it over with.”
Getty laughs. “All day you’ve been acting like you’ve done this noble act, that’s all. Giving this gal a job.”
