Page 24 of His Wilde Little
“Jeez, where did you think I was living? Nobody thought I was the wicked witch, they weren’t chasing people out of the village for practicing hoodoo.”
He laughed again, harder, startling a neigh from one of the horses. I pressed a finger to his mouth. “Oh,” he let slip through my finger.
“It’s ok,” I said removing my finger as he took hold of it. “We should turn the lights out in here and close this place up to keep it warm.”
“I thought they needed around the clock watching,” he whispered back. His hand squeezed on my finger, and I was beginning to wonder if this was akin to holding his hand.
“They do. I’ll be staying in here with them. You should go home and get something to eat, and if you could fill another thermos with soup and a little bread, I’d be very grateful,” I said. “And then I’ll probably haul up in here for the night. I’ve got plenty of blankets.”
Jace licked his lips before sinking his top teeth into them gently. “Do you need me to stay here overnight as well?”
“No, it should be fine,” I said. “And if you could grab me a pillow or something from my bed, that would also be good for me.” I knew I could leave them, but I didn’t want them to for even a second call out and think they weren’t being heard, even for Mary. She had three new friends, albeit unruly and malnourished ones. If she wanted, she could’ve taken on a mothering role to them.
***
A month went by in the blink of an eye taking care of the horses had occupied nearly all of my time. The horses were bulking out, their coats growing back in and looking a little glossier. It was raining a lot more, not quite storming, which I was grateful for because a spooked horse was the worst type of horse.
Working with Jace meant we were constantly together, and while we hadn’t done anything else besides kiss that once, we were occasionally brushing up against one and other, holding eye contact for longing amounts of time, and even letting our hands caress when passing objects between each other.
The horses, including Mary had grown closer which was nice because it was something I’d felt Mary had been missing out on was socializing. They also gone from eating small handfuls of feed to needing a lot more, and much to Olivia’s annoyance, she still placed the orders. It was obvious she had a crush on me, and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t used that to my advantage.
Jace had also grown a little more confident around the horses, he could be around them, which he could already do, but now, he wasn’t pushing himself up against walls or trying to hide behind other things.
Each morning and evening, I took out of the horses out alone on a walk around the stable and then getting closer to the barn and coop where they could see the other animals. It wasgoing to be a while before they were completely comfortable, I knew that, but these small steps were necessary.
“I think there’s a conspiracy involving the horses and me,” Jace said as I got Bramble fitted with the bridle for her guided tour. “It’s just the way they look at me.”
“They look at you weird because they’re trying to figure out why you keep a couple paces away from them at all times,” I told him. “They’re not going to bite atcha, well, not anymore.” They might’ve tried when they first arrived, but they were doing much better since then.
He hummed. “Likely story, is that what they’re telling you?”
“No, they’re actually just happy to be getting better.” I gave Bramble some head pat. She was like a big dog, leaning into the comfort of my touch. “Come on,” I said, gesturing him over. “Give her a stroke.”
“You promise she’s not gonna bite,” he said.
He was fixated on them biting as if they were land sharks. “I promise,” I said, making room for him in front of me. “Come on, let me show you.” I placed my hand on his and reached up above to the horse with it. His fingers trembled as mine slipped between his, interlocking. “You’re not getting out of it like that.”
“Did you just want to hold my hand?” he asked through a heavy breath catching in the back of his throat.
“You’re restarting that, are ya?” I asked. I’d be lying if I hadn’t thought what might’ve happened if we’d had more physical contact. Maybe we would’ve kissed again, or maybe we would’ve done something very silly in here, because there hadn’t been a moment when we were both out of the stables since they arrived.
“I’m not starting anything,” he said, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. “I’ve barely even thought about that.”
“About what?” I asked, and in the distraction, I’d managed to get him to press the palm of his hand against Bramble’s face, rubbing it softly alongside the natural pattern of her coat, growing in nice and glossy now. “Come on,” I continued, hoping to keep him distraction. “About what? I wanna know.”
It was so quiet that I thought for a second, I’d heard his heart throbbing right out of his chest. There was a pulse of heat radiating off him, and I returned fire, feeling hot under my shirt collar.
“I did it,” he let out. “Do I get a reward?” He pulled his hand and my arm away.
Near our legs, the space heater was on, and the source of the now uncomfortable heat, trapping us. “Next step is you actually doing it without my hand holding yours.”
“I can do it,” he protested. “I have done it before.”
He wasn’t lying. He had stroked the horses when they were in their stalls and he wasn’t fearing the worst, almost like he’d watched a failure compilation filled with horses doing the worst to their owners. “Then next step is you taking one of them out for a walk.”
Jace choked back a little, stuttering. “I—I—I—well, I—”
“I’m kidding, I think you’re a bit far from doing that just yet, but never say never, I think you’ll be ready in no time.”
