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She just laughs harder. “Well, if you want me to be your assistant, it seems like it should come with some perks. What will you give me?”
I think for a second. “Well, there’s my incredibly sexy body, for one. And my brains and charm. And my grandmother, but some people think that’s a downside.”
“Oh, shut your mouth.” I hear water splashing, and I imagine her standing at her sink, washing dishes and loading the dishwasher. My heart pounds, and I realize that I would love to share that kind of cozy, domestic routine with her. “Ruthie is a gem. She invited me to tea in a few days. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.”
“Really?” I ask. Ruthie hadn’t mentioned that.
“Really,” Hazel answers. “She—well, she’s a widow, too. It’s nice to have friends who understand it, even if she’s older.”
“That’s how she is,” I tell Hazel. “She finds people she likes and kind of keeps them. It’s a good thing. Agreatthing.”
Hazel’s voice is quiet. “Yeah, it really is. It feels good to belong.”
You belong with me,I want to say. But instead, what comes out is, “So will you come with me to see Goldie?”
“I’d love to,” she answers almost immediately, and I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. “I’ll be ready for you.”
At John Morelli’s ranch, Goldie’s leg is still swollen and angry, but she doesn’t protest as I gently examine her. Hazel stands in front of Goldie, gently rubbing her nose and giving her handfuls of sweet feed to distract her. She’s pretty good with horses for a novice, I notice. Not intimidated or tentative at all.
“Looks like the anti-inflammatories are helping,” I tell John as I stand up again after the exam. “I’d like to hand-walk her for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure,” John says. He gestures out the door. “Paddock over there should be in decent shape, not too much snow and the ground is nice and even.”
I loop a lead rope around her neck and hand it to Hazel. “Just walk,” I tell her. “Goldie knows what to do. If she crowds you, just push back.”
I hang back for a second to watch them walk, examining Goldie’s leg and gait, then shifting my gaze over to Hazel’s curvy legs, visible under her thigh-length winter coat. She’s bundled up and so goddamn cute that I wanted to kiss her on the spot when she climbed into my truck.
“What’s your job like usually?” she asks me as we walk to the small paddock. “I mean, you must have an office.”
“I do,” I tell her as I open the gate. “I work with an equine practice, but I don’t own it. I spend a lot of my time traveling, going to reining shows and equestrian events, visiting ranches, that kind of thing. I’m in the office some of the time, but I like to keep moving, for the most part.”
“So you just work out of your truck?” she says. “Isn’t that exhausting?”
“Sometimes,” I answer. I take Goldie’s rope from Hazel and start leading her myself. Hazel falls into step at my side and we slowly pick through the snow-covered paddock. “But mostly, I love it. This job is so tough, but so much fun and so rewarding. Like Goldie here? She’s in pain. A hundred years ago, she probably would have been put down because she would have been worthless after this. But now I can help her get better. John’s granddaughter will get to ride her again. Even on frustrating days, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world because I get to roam around the country and take care of animals.”
“That’s beautiful,” Hazel says, then grins ruefully. “Nobody says that kind of stuff about being an accountant.”
I laugh. “Don’t undersell yourself. Accountants keep the earth turning on its axis. Your hard work supported you and Tom. Seems pretty good to me. And anyway, I think women who are good with numbers are sexy.”
We stop, and she leans against the white painted fence as she stares at me with those bright hazel eyes. I loop Goldie’s lead around a post and move in closer.
“Watching you take care of an animal that can’t even talk is—well, I felt like I saw into your heart,” Hazel says. “I met this funny and charming and flirty version of you, then I see this brilliant and deeply sensitive guy who tries so hard to not cause a horse any more pain. Who just wants to make her healthy for her family again.”
For once, I struggle to find the right words to say back to her. “She’ll be okay,” I tell Hazel. “It’s not a big deal, really—just normal stuff for a guy in my line of work.”
She shakes her head and reaches out to rest her hand on my chest. “You’re wrong. It means the world.”
Her fingers curl in the collar of my coat and she pulls me closer. I see her eyes drift down to my lips and I don’t hesitate—I lean down and softly press my mouth to hers. Her lips are soft and warm, a delicious contrast to the chilled tip of her reddened nose as it brushes against me. Her hand slides around my neck and weaves into the short hair that pokes out underneath my wool Stetson.
I don’t push the kiss too far, just a gentle slide of my tongue into her mouth. Softly, sweetly, we explore each other. There’s no rush to our movements as we savor this first intimate touch. The first of many, I hope.
I pull away and smile down into her shining eyes. She grins back at me as she gathers Goldie’s lead rope up again. I take her other hand in mine, and we walk back to the barn together, just like that.
Hazel Summers might not know it just yet, but she’smine.
And I kick myself one more time, after we part with another sweet kiss and I drive away, that I forgot—again—to ask about whatever it is she wanted to give me.
Chapter 5
