by Erin Wright
But the more they talked in the truck, the more she noticed small things about him – the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, despite the freezing temperatures outside. The way his hands were gripping the steering wheel like it was the only thing keeping him from going completely insane.
And then she had an epiphany – Wyatt was nervous. Wyatt Miller, the King of Swagger. The no-bullshit-from-anyone man. He was nervous to talk to her.
It was that adorable nervousness wrapped up in a shield of pride that made her open up to him about finances. She didn’t go around blabbing about money to just anyone; she wasn’t even sure she talked much about it with Chloe. But she had a feeling that if she just opened herself up a little, if she just made herself vulnerable to Wyatt in a small way, that he’d lower his defenses, too.
She didn’t say that she totally understood him yet, but when they arrived at Adam’s place and hopped out, the smile he sent her was friendly…and heart-stopping.
Of course, just being around Wyatt was bad for the heart. She wouldn’t be surprised if the doctor put her on arrhythmia medication at the rate she was going.
Adam came hurrying over, a big smile splitting his face. “Wyatt, you old dog, you! You didn’t tell me you were going to be bringing a good lookin’ helper with you today. How did you manage to con someone like Abby to come here with you?” Adam and Wyatt shook hands and then Adam gave her a hug and peck on the cheek.
“She started looking sickly and I realized that she hadn’t spent much time around horses lately. I figured we’d better inoculate her with some horse time real soon or she was bound to keel over on us.”
Abby stuck her tongue out at him playfully, but inside, she was surprised to hear him joke around like this. Was this what he was like around his friends? The only other person she’d ever seen him truly relax around was Declan.
Which, come to think of it, Adam and Declan were his two closest friends, so that stood to reason.
She filed that tidbit of info away for future reference.
“Well, c’mon then!” Adam said, turning and heading towards the indoor riding arena. “The kids just got here and are probably scaling the walls without me there to watch ‘em.”
They headed towards the arena, the open door letting a stream of pale light out onto the ground in the weak wintry afternoon. The sun was lost behind an overcast sky, and Abby wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t make an appearance for another week, or even month. Long Valley wasn’t the place for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder, that was for sure.
As they walked into the arena, Abby watched Adam’s hips move in that loose-limbed way that every cowboy seemed to have. How was it that she wasn’t attracted to Adam? He was handsome, established, and a real sweetie. She should be madly in love with him.
Of course, he was madly in love with Chloe, even if Chloe couldn’t see it, and that definitely put a damper on things. But since when had her heart only done the logical thing?
No, if it was going to make logical choices, Wyatt wouldn’t be anywhere on the list.
And yet…
“Hey everyone, come gather ‘round!” Adam called out. The kids, who had been climbing on every horizontal and vertical surface in the building, came tumbling over. There were only about ten of them – maybe fifteen? She couldn’t tell because they seemed to be vibrating with energy, making it hard to keep track of them – but as a whole…they were quite the group. She could see why Adam would appreciate some extra hands on board.
Once everyone was quieted and mostly looking their direction, Adam said, “Ms. Connelly—”
“Abby,” she said, interrupting him. She got called Deputy Connelly enough at work. She didn’t need to add formality here too.
“Abby is going to be helping us out today. Can you say, ‘Hi, Abby’?”
“Hi, Abby!” the chorus of voices rang out.
“Awesome. Now, remember what we talked about yesterday when it comes to brushing a horse. Do you brush from its head to its tail, or from its tail to its head?” He demonstrated the question over a fine-looking roan who was standing nearby. She noticed that when he went backwards, he didn’t actually touch the horse but instead brushed the air just above. Thoughtful to the very last.
“Head to tail!” The group was nothing if not enthusiastic.
“Good job. All right, go find your brushes or curries. Always let the horse smell you before you start brushing them, and only one child per horse!”
The kids scattered, grabbing brushes and curries before hurrying to their favorite horses. Abby decided to just wander around and keep her eye on the kids to see if anyone needed some guidance.
After settling a squabble between two kids who wanted the same horse, she found herself drawn to an adorable little girl with hair in long brown braids. She squinted up at Abby through her coke-bottle glasses and then broke out into a grin that revealed a mouth full of metal. They were obviously in the middle of fixing her teeth. She had Down Syndrome, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Abby could tell she wasn’t letting that hold her back.
“Hi Abby, I’m Genny. With a G. This is Sonny. Want to help brush him?”
“Sure,” Abby said, accepting the soft brush thrust into her hands. She stood off to the side of Sonny so he could get a good look at her, and then put her hand out for him to sniff. He snuffled against the palm of her hand, obviously hoping for a treat. She laughed and ran her hand down his neck. “I don’t have anything for you right now, you big beggar,” she said. “Maybe later.”
She turned to Genny with a G. “Remind me how to brush Sonny again?”
She wanted to see Genny’s technique, but the question worked just how she’d wanted it to. Genny’s face lit up at the importance of showing a grown-up how to do something.
“You have to start here,” she said, snagging the brush from Abby and positioning it over Sonny’s neck, “and brush him down to here.” She drug her arm all the way across Sonny’s body until she got to the hindquarters.
“You’re pretty good at this,” Abby said to her with a smile. “What happens if you try to brush here?” she asked, indicating the belly of the horse.
“It tickles them!” Genny said, nodding to emphasize. Just then, Wyatt came around the corner with a small bucket of oats.
“Oh, and we get to feed them oats every day!” Genny said, squealing and grabbing the bucket from Wyatt.
“What do you say to Wyatt?” Abby asked.
“Thank you, Wyatt,” Genny said sincerely, then spun back towards Sonny. She dipped her hand into the bucket and pulled out a huge handful of oats, letting Sonny snuffle and suck the oats right out of her hand like a vacuum cleaner on high. Abby hid her grin behind her hand. There was nothing more fun than feeding a horse some oats, except maybe watching the cutest little girl she ever did see feed a horse some oats.
Wyatt was still standing next to her, and she turned and grinned up at him. He grinned back and her damn heart did that irregular rhythm thing again. She gulped hard. If she was going to guard her heart against Wyatt Miller, she needed to start by not wanting to be around him.
She wasn’t entirely sure that was possible.
After another couple of hours of working with the kids on how to bridle a horse and lead them around the arena, eventually the parents and foster parents began arriving to pick up their kids. Genny threw her arms around Abby when her mother came walking up. “Are you going to come back again, Abby? Please oh please oh please?”
Her mother, an older woman with a permanently tired look on her face, reached out for Genny’s arm. “Now don’t go bothering this nice lady—”
“It’s okay,” Abby said, breaking in gently. She knelt down in front of Genny so they could give each other a proper hug. “I will definitely be back,” she whispered into Genny’s ear. “Thanks for showing me how to brush a horse.”
Genny smacked a kiss loudly on her cheek. “I’m the best at brushing,” she announced, and then, grabbing her mom’s hand
, they walked towards the front door. Her mom was busy trying to get Genny into her winter coat, while Genny was just as busy telling her mom about every horse in the arena, punctuating the comments with hand gestures. It looked a bit like the mom was trying to wrestle a calf into submission, which probably accounted for the permanently tired look on her face.
Abby shot Wyatt a grin and he smiled back. “You sure are good with kids,” he said, as they made their way towards the arena doors.
Abby shrugged. “They’re easy to get to know. They all want to be your friend, and they all think you’re cool because you’re an adult. It isn’t until they hit their teenage years that they become impossible.”
Wyatt threw his head back and laughed. “That’s about the long and short of it,” he agreed dryly.
After saying goodbye to Adam, they climbed into Wyatt’s truck to head back home. She stared out the passenger side window, a stab of pain running through her.
Yeah, she loved kids, a whole lot. But unfortunately, that didn’t mean a damn thing.
Just like loving Wyatt would never go anywhere.
Chapter 25
Wyatt
They arrived at Abby’s house. Always the gentleman, Wyatt hurried around to open the truck door for her. She slipped out past him smelling of lemon, but also of horses and oats and the great outdoors. He’d thought she’d smelled good before, but now…
“Are you wanting to come back with me tomorrow?” he asked as they made their way up the frozen path towards her house.
“I would, but I don’t get off until four tomorrow. Is that too late, you think?” She looked up at him questioningly, biting her lower lip.
She’d unlocked her front door but hadn’t opened it yet. He couldn’t quite make out the expression on her face because their breaths were making clouds in the frosty air, blocking his view.
That’s the reason that he gave for leaning forward towards her. Just so he could see her face a little better. Nothing more.
“If we only get you for an hour or two, it’s totally worth it,” he said softly. “I think Adam will be happy to have you for however long you can be there.”
Which was probably true, but they both knew that Adam wasn’t who he was thinking about just then. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and nibble on that lower lip that she currently had snagged between her teeth. He wanted to bury his hands in her hair and kiss her until she couldn’t speak.
He wanted…her.
“Okay,” she whispered softly. He was just inches from her. She gulped hard and then felt for the doorknob behind her back. “I must go now. Goodbye,” and then she was twisting the knob and practically falling into the house, shutting the door behind her with a whispered “click” that sounded like a cannon in the cold winter air.
Wyatt jerked back and stared at the door. He had to get himself under control. It was ridiculous for him to crave someone like he craved Abby, if she didn’t feel the same way about him.
The thing was, he couldn’t quite convince himself that she didn’t feel that same way about him. She was a mess of contradictions, and was confusing the ever-livin’ hell outta him.
He headed back to his truck and threw it into gear. He needed to go for a long, punishing ride on Elvis. Get his head screwed on straight. Get a deep breath back into his lungs.
Get Deputy Abby Connelly out of his system.
Chapter 26
Abby
Today was going to be a good day.
Today was going to be an awesome day. She was going to have fun with the kids and she was going to spend some quality time around horses and she was absolutely, positively not going to flirt with Wyatt. Or stare at him. Or let her heart get all weird around him.
She just wasn’t going to allow it.
And that was final.
She quickly changed out of her deputy uniform and then headed over to Adam’s place. They’d already be in gear and working because she was so late getting there, but it’d be fun to go anyway. She turned up the country western music on the radio and sang at the top of her lungs on the drive over, trying to give herself something else to do that didn’t involve thinking about Wyatt.
Because she totally wasn’t going to think about Wyatt today.
She parked off to the side and walked into the arena, the bright lights a wonderful, warm welcome.
A couple of the kids came running over to say hello, including Genny, but Abby couldn’t help searching Wyatt out. It didn’t seem like she was really “there” until she’d made eye contact with him. Which totally went against her resolutions made just five minutes before.
A contradiction she was totally going to ignore.
He caught her eye and smiled. As she walked with the chattering kids over to the horse Wyatt was working with, she only listened with half an ear to the updates since yesterday. They’d been allowed to put a saddle blanket on the horses today, and this was apparently the highlight of everyone’s life thus far. As one kid, Juan, said, “Those things are heavy! Wyatt only had to help me a little, though.”
Wyatt winked at him. “Well, when you get as tall as me, you’re not gonna need anyone’s help then.”
Juan nodded seriously at his words, and Abby bit back her smile. She could tell Juan had a lot of pride. A lot like someone else she knew.
Wyatt sent her a knowing smile and winked at her, too. She felt a flush work its way through her body and tried to stifle her groan. She couldn’t.
Couldn’t.
Couldn’t.
Couldn’t.
As the kids scattered, heading back to their horses, Wyatt and Juan began discussing when to use a soft brush versus a metal-toothed curry, and Genny slipped her hand into Abby’s. “Wanna see Sonny? I haven’t fed him any oats yet today because no one would give them to me.”
Translation: I want you to give me oats so I can feed Sonny.
Abby laughed. Wyatt wasn’t the only one to have a mini-me in the group. “Oh, we better make sure he gets a little,” she said, patting Genny on the shoulder.
Genny grinned up at her and then asked, “But why can’t we just feed the horses lots and lots of oats? Why can we only feed ‘em a little?”
“Well, oats are good for a horse, but only in moderation. Hold on, let me get you a bucket.” She’d watched Wyatt the day before, and knew where to get the small buckets and oats from. She filled one up and brought it back to Genny who was waiting as patiently as her little body would let her.
Genny grabbed at the bucket, and Abby said quietly, “What do you say, Genny?”
She paused for a moment, scrunching up her nose. “Thank you, Abby.”
With a smile, Abby let go of the bucket and Genny bounced over to Sonny, shoving a fistful of oats into his muzzle.
“Think about it like this,” Abby said, returning to the oats discussion for a moment. “Apples are good for you, right?”
“Yeah,” Genny said, eagerly feeding the eager horse. They were certainly two peas in a pod.
“But you don’t just eat apples all day every day, right?”
“Ohhhhh…” Genny looked at her, understanding dawning. “Sonny has to eat lots of things, then?”
“Yeah. He needs hay in his diet along with other grains so he gets lots of different nutrients, not just oats all day long.”
She thought she’d made Genny understand, but she wasn’t appreciating how single-minded she was, until Genny asked, “So, can I feed him hay too? I want to feed him all the food!”
Which made Abby bust up laughing. Genny had been bitten by the horse fever, there was no doubt about it. She was just like Abby had been at her age. She would’ve slept in her horse’s stall each night if her parents would’ve let her.
“Doc Whitaker has the feeding part under control. He has to make sure that Sonny won’t eat too much. Horses will eat and eat and eat until they get sick if you let them.” Another trait horses shared with small children.
“Darn,” Genny said, her face falling.
Abby helped her pick out a brush and they spent time brushing Sonny’s coat to a shine. Thank God Adam had great taste in horses, and Sonny was as gentle and calm as a summer afternoon. He seemed to love Genny’s attention almost as much as Genny loved giving it to him.
Yup, Abby was pretty sure she would sleep in Sonny’s stall if her parents let her.
After a tearful farewell and more extracted promises about coming back again, Genny left with her harried mother, talking a mile a minute about how you can’t just feed horses apples all day long. Which Abby figured was just as good a lesson as any to learn.
She hadn’t been able to talk to Wyatt much that day, which was of course exactly how she wanted it. She wasn’t going to spend a lot of time around Wyatt or thinking about Wyatt or talking to Wyatt.
Which meant she should be happy that she hadn’t talked to Wyatt much that day. Totally and completely…
Unhappy.
“Hi.” His deep voice in her ear surprised her, and she jumped a foot in the air with a startled yelp.
He reached out and put a steadying hand on the small of her back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you,” he said.
Clutching the brush to her chest, she turned towards him with an over-bright smile. “I was just lost in my own little world, I guess. I didn’t hear you sneaking up on me.”
Sonny had stood placidly in front of them throughout it all, not even shying away when she’d screamed and jumped into the air.
Yeah, Adam had done a real good job picking out horses to work with small children, that was for sure. And jumpy deputies of Long Valley County. She knew better than to react like that around horses. It could’ve ended up with a kick to the head around a more skittish horse. But Wyatt…