Page 69 of The Moments You Were Mine
I set the coffee down and stepped away, hoping to put distance between me and the smell.
“I can take the beginner trip,” I told him. I had a list of thingsto do today, not the least of which was to finish going through the employee files to try to figure out if it was one of them, rather than JJ or Ace, who’d slaughtered my cow and burned down my cabin. But taking the group up to the caves and back would put distance between me and my humiliation.
Kevin scratched his chin. “You sure? You’ve already got a lot on your plate.”
“Don’t we all? That’s the way it’s always been here, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” I told him. And it was the truth. I loved the pace and the level of activity and how it challenged me every single day. I’d just allowed myself to forget it for a few years.
Kevin grinned. “Me either.”
“I can help out.” The soft voice had me jumping nearly out of my skin. I whirled to find Chuck at the stall door.
“Jesus, you scared the daylights out of me.”
He looked as he always did, like a gawky kid who needed to grow into his body, but there was something sad about his eyes today. “I know I haven’t been here as long as the other guides, but I know all the stories. And I’ve learned a lot about the plants and wildlife. I can do this.”
Kevin and I shared a look, and he took the lead in responding. “Thanks, Chuck, but we don’t put anyone out on their own with guests until we’re sure they can handle it.”
Chuck looked so devastated that it even made me feel sad.
“Why don’t you come with me on this ride? You can record some of my conversations and take notes. After, you can write down what you’d say if you took a group out on your own and present it to Kevin. If he likes it, we’ll see about getting you trained.”
The teen’s face lit up. “Really?”
I nodded. “Of course. We want our employees to love being here, to want to share that love with our guests. Seems like you’ve proven that to us several times this summer.”
“I’ll get Daisy saddled up for you.” He looked at Kevin and asked, “Can I take Henry the Fifth out?”
That horse had a temper if not managed right, but I didn’t know Chuck’s riding skills the way Kevin did, so when heagreed, I didn’t say anything. I just let the kid go and get the horses ready, while I went over the list of guests and their riding experience with Kevin.
An hour later, I was just putting the final guest up on one of our gentlest horses when Parker found me. He was scowling as he let go of Theo’s hand, and the boy ran straight toward the barn, shouting about the puppies Teddy had left there last night.
I could feel Parker glowering at me as I finished with the guest and sent her to join the others waiting for me at the end of the drive. Chuck was already with the group, and he said something that made them all laugh. Maybe the kid had more to him than anyone knew.
I had my hand on Daisy’s pommel, ready to mount, before I risked looking directly at Parker. “I’m about to head out. What can I do for you?”
His hand landed on top of mine, and the tension that drifted between us had Daisy shifting and stomping a back hoof. She was the calmest horse I’d ever known, but she could read my moods better than most of the humans in my life.
“What part of being your bodyguard did I leave unclear?” he growled. Not a hair of the laughter and teasing we’d shared yesterday afternoon was left in his tone. That was just fine with me. It was easier for me to put my guard up, to not offer myself up on a silver platter, when he was grouchy and snarling.
My jaw tightened. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Don’t treat me like I’m a damn guest. I’m here to protect you.” I wasn’t sure what he was more pissed about—that I’d snuck out without telling him or that I’d ordered room service to be delivered so he and Theo would have breakfast this morning.
“Letting you and Theo sleep in was just common courtesy.”
“Bullshit.” He leaned in, and I had nowhere to go with my back up against my horse. He lowered his voice in a way that caused it to rumble through my chest and stoke those fires I was attempting to bury. “You left because of what happened last night.”
My eyes darted to his mouth and back up. “Nothinghappened last night.”
“When will you realize, me turning you down isn’t because I don’t want you?” As soon as the words were out, he looked likehe’d swallowed a bug. He stepped back, face shuttering completely.
“You’re forgetting, I didn’t offer you a damn thing.” I glared at him, hating that we both knew it was a lie.
He crossed his arms over his chest and shoved his chin in the direction of the group waiting for me. “Who from security is going with you on this little adventure?”
“I have Chuck with me.”
“The teenager?” Parker snapped in disbelief.
