Page 33 of Belong With Me

“You don’t need to be.” He headed back towards me. “Savannah wants to head into town and get some groceries. Why don’t you head in with her and stop by the rural traders and order some more feed while you’re there?”

Before he had even stopped talking, I felt Ryder’s hand on my lower back. “Let’s go down this way, the well-mannered horses are kept in the other wing.” He guided me towards the other doors.

I didn’t dare tell him that I enjoyed the feel of his large hand on me.

“See ya later,” I called over my shoulder.

I heard “Later, city girl” just as we walked through the doors and reappeared under the hot-as-hell Texan sun.

He directed me to another door of the same building. It was probably all connected on the inside, but I think he just wanted to get away from his brother. It didn’t escape my notice that as we heard Savannah’s car leave the main house, he visibly relaxed. “This is where we mainly keep the family horses.” He waved at a brown-and-white horse as she poked her head over a stall.

“This is Savannah’s horse, Toffee.” I looked inside the stall at the beautiful creature before me, with chocolate-colored hair interspersed with some lighter colored spots in sections. “She’s nice enough, but she’s got some spirit, so I probably wouldn’t put you on her.”

“How about this one?” I spied a dappled grey horse. “He looks nice.” I offered him my hand and he nipped at it. I jerked my hand away. “Maybe not.”

“That’s Shadow, Wyatt’s gelding.” He was a biter, apparently, so I shook my head. Ryder laughed a little before approaching another pen, housing a gorgeous brown horse.

“This is Cisco.” He rubbed the nose of the horse as he poked it over the gate. “He’s one of our stud stallions.” The horse snorted in his ear, then started to nibble at his hat. “He’s my boy.” Playfully, he pushed Cisco’s nose away, pulled a sugar cube from his pocket and offered it to him. The horse took it eagerly.

“He seems affectionate,” I told him, watching the smile on his face grow even more at the horse’s attention. Just when I thought this cowboy couldn’t possibly get any more damn attractive, he smiled. Not one of those half smiles I was used to, but a fully-fledged, wide-mouthed grin.

Then it appeared. A damn dimple. A sexy-as-hell dimple on his right cheek.

It made me want to throw caution to the wind and lean over to kiss it. The more time I was in his company, the more I was learning that I genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. His company was reassuring, among other things. I had to shake those thoughts free, though, I couldn’t go down that path with him. Not when I had my job to do.

Giving him a moment with Cisco, I noticed a white horse standing quietly near a black one. They seemed to be having a conversation of their own. “What’s this one’s name?” I asked. The mare, I think, was standing quietly as she picked over her hay. Ryder gave Cisco a final pat on his nose as he said, “That’s Ducky.”

“Ducky?” I laughed at the name. “I was expecting something like Snowflake or Starlight or something.”

“He’s Kenzie’s horse.” So definitely was not a mare then. “She was two when he was born and when Dad asked her to name him, she instantly went with Ducky. Probably had something to do with the stuffed animal she used to carry around everywhere.” His blue eyes seemed far away for a moment, engrossed in a memory.

I remained quiet, letting him relive whatever he was enjoying. “He’s on the older side now, but he’s still stubborn as hell. He knows what he wants and goes for it. But he’s a good boy when it comes down to it.”

“And this one?” The massive black horse that stood nearly an entire foot taller than Ducky whinnied at me to get my attention. I laughed. “Let me guess. It’s Colton’s horse?”

He nodded, chuckling softly. “Yep. That’s Diablo. He’s one of the other stud stallions.” He walked further up the laneway. “He’s definitely not one you want to ride. He’s not quite ready for anyone other than Colton yet. I’m not even game enough to get on him.”

This snippet of information caused me to think back on something else he had told me. “I thought you said you were good on a horse?”

I watched him rub a hand on his jeans leg. “I am. But Diablo has only just started responding to Colton. And if I was to get on him right now it might set back what Colton’s aiming to do with him. So, it’s best we all stay away until he gives us the green light.”

His eyes flicked over to me for a moment, a stern look of warning in his eyes, that I could read without much trouble at all. Stay away from this one. I heard it loud and clear without the words even being spoken out loud.

“Does Logan have a horse?” I wondered aloud.

Shaking his head, he said, “He uses Dad’s old horse if he ever comes out. He’s back here, next to Aria’s mare.” A few pens down there was a sleepy-looking brown horse with white and gray peppered in amongst the caramel-colored hair.

“I figured with him being here all the time he would have a horse here too. Does Savannah know how he feels about her, and him about her?”

His head snapped to me immediately and I wondered if I had overstepped the line. “You can see that too?”

“It’s pretty obvious. I mean a blind man could see they both care about each other. Logan’s different with her than he is with Kenzie. Plus, Savannah blushes every time Logan enters the room. Did you see her the other night when he said he loved her? She was almost the color of the tomatoes that were on the roasting tray.”

His eyes remained fixed on me. “Sometimes it’s hard to be honest with the one you care for. The fear of rejection is very real. Especially when you have been hurt in the past.”

Looking into his gorgeous blue-grey eyes, I could see pain reflected back at me, and I knew he wasn’t just talking about Logan and Savannah anymore. His own vulnerability allowed me to show a little of my own. “I know what you mean. Sometimes it’s easier to keep everything locked up inside you, for fear of rejection. But you can’t live life like that. Sometimes you just need to step up to the board and jump right on in. Because if you don’t, you might just miss out on that one thing you’ve been waiting for your whole life.”

Lifting his hat from his head with one hand, he used the other to finger comb his hair, making it appear a shade darker inside the barn. “Very true, Sienna-Grace. Very true.”

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