Page 9 of Christmas with a Cowgirl

Like before when she’d handed him the keycards, their fingers touched. A short electrical current passed between them. His eyes met hers.

Did she feel it too?

Or was it all in his head?

Probably the latter. Hadn’t she said she wasn’t interested in anything besides her work right now? He was just reading into it too much.

Besides, to allow himself to get close to someone right now wouldn’t be wise. They didn’t live here. He was just feeling impressed by her ability to communicate with Mathew. From what Shane had mentioned, Dianna didn’t have any education in working with children. She had the usual training that would be needed to work at Owens Therapeutic Horsemanship, but that was it. Her training allowed her to work with several people who needed therapeutic services.

That was why he was so interested in her abilities. If she didn’t have the training, he wouldn’t think she’d be doing this well. Her natural talent drew him in, making him curious about how the rest of this trip would go.

That was it.

Yes, she was objectively attractive, but he wasn’t attracted to her inthatway.

Tristan leaned against the stall door and observed as Dianna once again chatted with his son about how to help a horse trust him. “Now, Molasses is generally very trusting. He’s also been trained to sense anything you need or anything you might do. That way he won’t get nervous around you. But that doesn’t mean that you can just do whatever you want. We still have to show him that we deserve his trust.”

Dianna placed a step stool on the ground and hovered close enough to make sure Mathew wouldn’t fall from it. He got to the top of the stepstool and immediately started brushing.

“Hold on, buddy. We need to go slow. Usually, a horse really likes it when you talk to them. It makes them feel more at ease. But I can help with that for now.” She moved closer to Molasses’s head and rubbed his nose. “Hey, Molasses. This is Mathew. He’s going to brush you down so your coat can be all shiny and clean.” Her gaze dipped to Mathew and she let out a little laugh. “See? Like that.”

Mathew grinned, and this time his brushing was less aggressive.

Dianna must have felt Tristan’s eyes on her because she shot a quick look in his direction. Their gazes locked. He couldn’t tear his focus from her even if he had wanted to. Her warm brown eyes were soulful and soft. She didn’t wear any makeup, and her chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. She wore a knit hat to cover her ears, but she’d removed her coat at some point. She had a trim form beneath a turtleneck sweater, and she wore jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. But the one thing he liked the most was the freckles across the bridge of her nose.

She broke eye contact and pointed at the next spot for Mathew to brush. “We want to get Molasses completely brushed down. You should always brush down your horse before and after a ride. Do you know why?” Dianna didn’t even wait for him to respond before answering. “When you do it before, you’re making sure he doesn’t have any dirt that could irritate him under the saddle. You’re also making sure the tack sits properly on his back.”

Mathew was soaking up every single thing she’d said.

“When you brush him down after a ride, you’re soothing his itchy and sweaty skin and getting rid of any dust or dirt you might have come in contact with while on the ride.” Her smile widened and she winked at him. “Besides, they like it a lot, so it’s kinda like a reward for them.”

Mathew returned her smile and continued to brush the horse down, then ran his hand over the animal’s back.

She moved away from the horse and pressed her back against the stall door. The wood was the only thing that separated them and he could smell her floral perfume in the air. A knot tightened in his stomach. Anything he was feeling for her was all in his head. It was a known fact that impressive actions cause people to develop an attraction for others. Dianna was just exceeding his expectations, and for some reason, his heart was interpreting it in such a way that it was messing with his head.

Tristan moved away from her, edging to the far side of the door, but that only allowed for about a distance of three feet. He cleared his throat, causing her to glance his way. “You’re really good with him. You make it look so easy. I don’t know how you do it.”

She returned her focus to Mathew. “It’s like I said yesterday. I’m not putting any overwhelming expectations on him. I’m teaching him in a way that helps him learn. And I figure just because he’s not saying anything, doesn’t mean he isn’t soaking it all in.”

“But that’s just it,” he said. “The typical person doesn’t usually understand that. Even I don’t get it half of the time. Sometimes, he’ll be fine one minute, then have a meltdown the next. And when he refuses to speak to someone to tell them what made him feel upset, how are they supposed to know what went wrong?”

She lifted a shoulder, her arms folded across her chest. “I guess I’ve just got good instincts.”

5

Dianna

Dianna could empathize with what Tristan was saying; shecould. But when he pointed out how good she was with Mathew, it didn’t feel quite right. He probably meant well. She could tell he was trying to pay her a compliment.

She should just accept it and move on.

There was just one small thing she couldn’t stand. It was like an itch she couldn’t scratch. Everything she was doing was just how she would have liked to be treated when she was younger. Granted, she didn’t have to grow up in the public sector. She knew most everyone in Copper Creek, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable around them. But had their family moved after her mother passed, she might not have fared so well. It was easy to slide under the radar here.

That fact alone almost made her want to recommend that Tristan consider moving to Copper Creek. He hadn’t made any comments regarding a job to get back to, which forced her to assume that his career was likely remote. From what Shane had mentioned, his wife was out of the picture, but that was all he said.

If he didn’t have anything or anyone to get home to, this place would be a great one to settle down in—especially considering that Mathew loved horses.

Tristan’s presence was starting to get to her in a way she hadn’t anticipated. Of course she knew he would be around during their sessions. And that hadn’t bothered her in the slightest. But after their strained conversation and all the events that followed, she was becoming more and more aware of him. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was. It could be the way she continued to catch him staring at her like she was going to do something wrong.

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