Page 11 of Boston
He smiled at her and shook his head. “You’ll have to ask Cotton about that. He did most of the packing while I stressed about which horse y’all would ride.”
Cora laughed lightly. “Well, you got it right, so there’s that.”
“Do you always ride Goldie?” He turned back toward the fire pit. “We need to get the food out of the saddlebags on your granddad’s horse.”
She moved with him, her boots crunching over the gravel the same way as his. “Usually, yes, but I would’ve been okay on another horse.”
“Dolphin?”
“Yeah, he’d have been fine.”
“But you prefer Goldie.”
“When she’s not bolting.”
Boston glanced at her, those aqua eyes devouring her in a single second. She wondered what he’d seen yesterday, as she couldn’t quite remember everything that had happened.
He seemed like he might ask her another question, which had her irritation already firing. Then he said, “She’s a good horse,” and grinned at her in a way that made her think perhaps he was flirting with her too.
Could he be? Was that evenpossibleafter she’d whispered threats in his ear after bodying up to him?
“Though none of ‘em beat Coach. He’s a dream.”
“He’sbrown,” Cora said, as if a brown horse was the worst thing possible.
Boston blinked, obviously trying to catch up to her implication too. “So you judge a horse’s worth based on his or her color?”
“Goldie isso pretty,” Cora said, a slight whine in her voice.
Boston’s smile only got brighter, and he shook his head as he undid the buckles on a saddlebag. “Hold this, would you?” He passed her a package of butcher-exclusive hot dogs with gouda, a bag of buns, and a plastic container that looked like it held pasta salad.
Another memory shot forward, and Cora felt like she was beaming starshine from every pore of her body. “Is this that vegetable pasta salad? I loved this stuff as a kid.”
“It came from the kitchen at the resort,” Boston said. “Anne’s a genius, so it’ll be good, even if it’s not the same.”
“I bet it’s the same,” Cora said. “It’s an old family recipe, and it’ssogood.”
Boston loaded up his arms with condiments, a box of granola bars, and a bag of beef jerky. He turned from the horse and took a couple of steps away. “Oh, good. Jeremy has the table set up. I completely forgot about that.”
He glanced at her as she came to his side. “I should’ve done that first.” His neck turned a bit patchy and red, and he sobered right on up as he approached the table and put down the items he’d collected.
“I’ll get the rest. Why don’t you just come enjoy the sunshine and shade?”
Cora couldn’t help feeling dismissed by him, and she didn’t like the pinching in her stomach. She also wasn’t sure why she couldn’t just sit down and chat with her mother, but that didn’t appeal to her either.
Boston went over to Granddad and gave him a granola bar, and when he looked up at Boston, Cora saw the respect and love her grandfather had for the younger man.
That only made Cora like him more, and she turned away from the scene, something part excitement and part hissing snakes filling her gut now.
She didn’t do what he said, though, and she joined him back at the saddlebags to get the utensils, plates, and extendable weenie roasters. He met her eyes for only a moment, and then moved around to his horse to get something else.
When he came back, his arms laden with dripping bottles of water, Cora cleared her throat. This was probably the best place to do this, as they stood as far from her momma and granddad as they could get.
“Listen, I’m totally out of my element, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
Boston paused, his expression serious and giving nothing away.
“I know my mother is going to step down soon, and I’m going to take over Silver Sage.” She hadn’t said those words to anyone, and why she was telling a man she’d barely met, she had no idea. He had kind eyes, though, and a good spirit, and for some crazy reason, Cora felt like she could trust him.
