Patting her hair, she stood and rewarded his thoughtfulness with a smile. “They’re perfect.”
“Ahem.” Somewhere on the other side of the stable, Shooter made a production out of clearing his throat.
Oh. Right. She waved him over. “Ben, you remember Shooter?”
His chin dipped in a single nod.
“And this is Julia.” She stood protectively in front of Ben’s sister. Didn’t want Shooter to get any ideas.
“Nice to meet you, Julia.” He craned his neck to peer around Paige.
“Shooter helped me get everything set up this morning.” Help was a bit of a stretch, but she was feeling generous. Mostly he’d come to badger her about hitting the bar with him later that night. As if she hadn’t learned that lesson.
“Thanks so much.” Julia beamed at him.
But Ben’s chin tilted up as he inspected Shooter, the easiness in his eyes replaced by something harder. “How’s it goin’, Shooter? What’re you up to these days?”
“Whatever I’m told,” he answered like a sulky child.
And they thought she had issues with customer service!
Instead of rolling her eyes and punching his shoulder like she wanted to, Paige gave his back an affectionate pat. “Shooter’ll actually be going on the rafting trip with us.”
Despite the unimpressed smirk that pulled down the corners of Ben’s mouth, he offered Shooter a hearty handshake. “Great. Glad to have the extra help.”
“We’re all here to help,” Shooter said in his affable way. “But my work here is done.” He faced Paige. “I’ll be fishing when you get back. Make sure you put everything away.”
“Of course.” She always put everything away.
“See you around.” Shooter lifted his hand in a wave and left.
Ben watched him walk away, then tilted his head toward Paige. “He seems about as fun as he was the last time I met him.”
She waved him off. “He’s not so bad once you get to know him.” And as long as you didn’t get to know him too well.
“How well do you know him?” Ben’s easy look had returned. His gaze lowered to the collar of her shirt and lingered there before making its way to her eyes again.
A flush crept up her neck. Shoot. Was the cleavage too much? Maybe it was too much. Maybe Ben thought she’d left those buttons undone for Shooter and not for him. “Um. Er. I’ve known him since junior high. Unfortunately.”
“So it’s one of those pesky brother relationships, then?”
“I know all about those,” Julia piped up behind them. “I’ll share all my coping mechanisms later.”
Ben laughed and turned to ruffle his sister’s hair. “Don’t forget, I bought you boots today. Those suckers cost a small fortune, too.”
“At least my brother is an expert at buying my affection,” she said with a smirk.
“I’d take that,” Paige laughed. The only thing Shooter’d ever bought her was a Coors Light after she’d schooled him in a game of pool.
“I bet you would,” Julia quipped, her voice a singsongy tune that made Paige’s cheeks prickle with heat. It was clearly all meant in fun, but it hit a little too close to the truth.
Before either one of them could see her face glow, she pivoted to the horse. “This is Sweetie Pie.” Burn subsiding, she glanced over her shoulder. “I’ve spent hundreds of hours training her, and she’s the best horse in the entire world.”
Julia wheeled herself close enough to reach up and pat Sweetie Pie’s neck. “Hi there.” The wispy mixture of awe and love in her voice swelled Paige’s heart until it felt like it might float right out of her chest. This experience could change Julia’s life. And she got to be part of it. She blinked past the burn in her eyes.
Sweetie Pie gazed down at Julia with those glassy, gentle eyes.
“Here.” She dug another carrot out of her pocket and handed it to Julia. “Carrots are her favorite.”
“Want a carrot, Sweetie Pie?” Julia held her hand flat and lifted the carrot to the horse’s mouth. “God, I’ve missed horses.” She shot an accusatory look at her brother. “Someone doesn’t even let me near the stables.”
“I’m letting you ride, aren’t I?” Ben shot back. “Against my better judgment,” he muttered.
“She’ll do great.” Paige’s hand somehow landed on his arm.
He looked at her hand, then into her eyes. “I know.”
Let go of his arm. Let go. She pried her hand off him and silently swore never to touch him again. It could seriously compromise her better judgment. Whirling away from him, she positioned herself behind Julia’s chair. “Let’s get you settled in the saddle. Ben,” she said without looking at him, “…why don’t you stand in front of Sweetie Pie? Just in case she needs a reminder to be still?” She wouldn’t need a reminder, but he needed to get comfortable with the whole thing.
“Sure.” He backed to the front of the horse, but kept a firm gaze on Julia.
“Up we go.” Paige took the handles and wheeled her up the ramp. On the platform, she locked the wheels in place.
“Wow,” Ben said. “The horse is like a statue. Her ears aren’t even twitching.”
She shot him an I-told-you-so smile. “She knows. Don’t you?” She gave the horse’s rump a love pat. “Okay, Julia. You ready?”
“Sure am.” She scooted forward in her chair.
“I’ll get your legs situated. Then you can take hold of the saddle and we’ll slide you in.” Carefully, Paige tugged Julia’s leg and rested her ankle on the horse’s back. Then she supported Julia around the middle. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Here goes nothing,” Julia said.
Paige glanced up and saw Ben watching, a slight twitch in his mouth. She gave him a reassuring smile as she slid Julia into place. It was a flawless transition, if she did say so herself. She hurried down the ramp and buckled the straps over Julia’s legs. “This’ll help your balance. Let me know if anything feels too tight or uncomfortable.”
“Not at all.” Julia marveled. “That was so easy.”
“And that was the hardest part.” She made her way down the ramp. “Now Sweetie Pie will do all the work. Won’t you, girl?”
Julia looked like a queen up there, face glowing with joy. She could see it reflected on Ben’s face, too.
They shared a smile before she led him to his horse. “Ben, meet Hooligan.”
“Hooligan, huh?” Walking alongside, he scratched his way down the horse’s flank and patted.
Hooligan responded with a bend of his neck, a silent plea for more.
“He’s a beauty,” Ben said with obvious appreciation. He knew a good horse when he saw one.
Paige backed away as he wedged his boot in the saddle and mounted the horse, giving her a nice view of his backside. She should look away. Turn away and hop on Gypsy…
Ben took the reins and straightened himself in the saddle, looking very much like the god of the cowboys.
All the pulse points in her body hummed. Geez. He did things to her. Things that could get her in trouble. Big trouble. Especially when he looked at her that way, with a secretive expression, like there was something private between them.
She turned away. There couldn’t be anything private between them. That’s all there was to it. Much as she enjoyed looking at the man, it would cost her too much.
As she walked around her horse, she quickly buttoned those top three buttons on her shirt. Then she propped her foot in the stirrup and hoisted herself onto the horse’s back. Giving Ben no chance to pull her into his mesmerizing stare, she steered Gypsy toward the doors. “I’ll lead. Ben, why don’t you follow Julia?”
At a distance. In the back. That was the best place for him. When it came to Ben Noble, she needed all the space she could get.
Chapter Twelve
Wasn’t a bad view, really. He might not have the chance to stare at her face, but Paige happened to have a stellar backside, too, so he couldn’t complain. Of course, by assignin
g him to the rear, she’d pretty much made it impossible for him to have a conversation with her. Was that her plan? Just like last night. The second he’d asked her a personal question she’d ducked out on their romantic fireside ambiance and said she had to get to bed early. He’d offered to go with her, but she turned him down. She laughed, though. And he loved her laugh. It was the most unexpected sound, high and breathy. Carefree. Normally she didn’t seem too carefree. But when she laughed, she let go of something. Not that he knew what held her back…
Ah, Paige. Little did she know, putting him off wouldn’t help. He loved a good mystery, but patience wasn’t his virtue.
With a flick of the reins, he eased Hooligan up to his sister’s side. Much as he hated to admit it, she didn’t seem to need him watching over her. Though she hadn’t been on a horse since the week before her accident twelve years ago, it all seemed to come back to her. She held the reins like a professional, and that horse Paige had trained, well…he’d never seen anything like it. It seemed to sense J’s movements. Even with the steady incline they’d been treading for the last twenty minutes, J remained sturdy and still, the horse’s easy gait slow and smooth.
He edged closer to his sister. “Whoa. Slow down there, Trigger. You’re fixin’ to leave me in your dust.”
“That’s the idea,” she chirped.
“Red boots. Genuine Italian leather,” he reminded her.
She slid her gaze sideways. “I might need a pair in blue, too. Maybe yellow.”
“Damn, woman. I’ll have to get another job to support your shoe habit.”
She laughed.
He loved to hear her laugh, too. For so many years it had been a rare sound. Looking at her face now—radiating with joy—he realized he had to take part of the blame. He’d done his best to keep her safe, but that didn’t exactly allow her to have much fun, either.
He thought about the time she’d begged him to take her paragliding. It was right after he’d earned his certification in Aspen. She’d watched him take off the side of the mountain over and over, then begged him to take her on a tandem run. He’d said no, of course. He’d said no when she begged him to take her skiing, too, even though he knew there was special equipment. His gut twisted. Paige was right. J was far more capable than he’d given her credit for.
Reaching over, he latched his hand over hers and slowed Sweetie Pie. “Seriously, J. Forgive me. Please. I never meant to hold you back from the things you loved.”
She tugged the horse to a stop and turned her head. “I forgave you a long time ago.” An unusually serious expression hardened her face. “I’m not the only one who hasn’t been living, Ben. Maybe you need to forgive yourself.”
Yeah. That was easier said than done.
“Everything okay back there?” Paige had stopped her horse a few yards ahead of them and turned around.
“Everything’s amazing.” J fluffed the reins and Sweetie Pie responded with a gentle swagger that didn’t rattle her at all.
Ben nudged Hooligan with a clip of his heels. “I’m having a hard time keeping up with you ladies.” Unless he missed his guess, that was Paige’s plan. Keep him on the outside. Good luck with that. They were about to spend a whole day together in the great outdoors. It’d be impossible for her to avoid him then.
He fell in step behind Julia and Sweetie Pie as the evergreens and aspens thinned. Patches of sun lit the tall green grass and hundreds of white and purple wildflowers, making them glow. The terrain grew steeper. Hooligan snorted and chugged, but not Sweetie Pie. The horse didn’t utter a single sound. She simply bent her head down and eased Julia up, up, up as they crested a small ridge.
At the top, Julia gasped. “Oh, wow. Oh, Ben…look at that.” She pointed to the horizon, her hand reaching like she wanted to grab the view and take it home with her.
He looked in that direction, and that same appreciation washed over him. Off in the distance, mountain peaks soared to the blue sky, stretching down into a glistening green valley dotted with trees. Like back home, the sky was vast and overpowering, but the rest of the landscape held more color, more dimension than the Texas prairie. And with Julia situated in front of it, he wanted to remember it forever. Yanking Hooligan to a stop, he dug his phone out of his pocket. “Smile. I’ll take your picture.”
She didn’t just smile. She beamed like she’d seen the eighth wonder of the world.
“Cheese!” She stretched her arms out on either side of her, giving his gut a good blow.
“Careful,” he called.
Her glare scolded him. And reminded him. No more hovering. No more helicoptering. No more holding her back. This whole letting-her-have-freedom thing would take some getting used to.
But she sure did look free without that chair confining her…
Paige trotted back to him and held out her hand. “Give me your phone. I’ll take your picture together.”
Taking his time to enjoy another view of her—the best view—he handed it over. It was a shame she’d buttoned up those top three buttons.
“Go over by your sister,” she said, obviously flustered that he liked to look at her. What could he say? He’d never been one for subtlety.
With a pointed raise of his eyebrows, he trotted over to Julia’s side and slung an arm around her. On any other horse, he would’ve kept his distance, but Sweetie Pie didn’t seem to mind Hooligan encroaching on her space. “Say cheese, sis.” He shot Paige his best grin.
“I’ll take a couple,” she called as she maneuvered her horse with one hand like a natural cowgirl.
When the photo shoot was done, she slapped his phone back in his hand without making eye contact and practically galloped away. “We should head back. I’m sure your mother’s expecting you for lunch.”
“Do we have to?” J whined. “I love it here. This view is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
He had to admit, it was pretty incredible, but he kept getting distracted by the scenery in front of him. Every time Paige’s rear popped off that saddle, he nearly fell off his horse.
Digging his heels into Hooligan’s wide girth, he urged the horse after Paige. When he’d finally caught up, he cut off her path. “We’ve got time. Let’s let J enjoy the view for a few more minutes.”
Paige’s eyes narrowed, analyzing him like she wanted to decipher his motives.
But he wasn’t one to keep secrets. Didn’t like playing games, much, either. He surely hadn’t kept his interest in her to himself. Just in case, he leaned close. “That’ll give us a chance to talk. Lord knows, I’ve been waiting for that chance all morning.”
She didn’t look at him. “I really should keep an eye on Julia.” Wrenching the reins, she maneuvered the horse past him.
“Good idea. We can both keep an eye on her.” Not that she needed either of them, at the moment. She was steering Sweetie Pie back and forth across the meadow, videotaping the scenery on her phone.
Though Paige seemed intent on outmaneuvering him, he kept stride alongside her. “So how’d you get into equine therapy?” he asked in a purely innocent voice.
Those hazel eyes flashed at him. “Just so you know, it’s against company policy to have a fling with a customer.”
“Who said anything about a fling?” He backed Hooligan in front of her so she could see his eyes. Well…that and so she couldn’t gallop away again. “I’m not looking for a fling, Paige. I’ve had enough of those.” Too many. And every one left him emptier than the last. “I want something real. Someone real.” He’d learned enough to recognize it when it stood right in front of him. “I’m not making a pass at you. I’m asking you a question. An innocent question.” It was probably the most innocent conversation he’d ever had with a woman. “But it’s because I want to know you. Not because I want to sleep with you.”
She glanced past him, presumably at J, who was now adding commentary to the video.
“Ben’s so pigheaded he almost didn’t let me come on this amazing ride, but he finally
came to his senses…”
So the whole world would know he was an ass, if that fact wasn’t already obvious.
Paige looked at him again, this time with a smile playing at the corners of her full lips.
Thankfulness for J swelled in his chest. Somehow she showed his ignorance in the best light. She was the best sister in the world. “So.” He tried again with Paige. “How did you get into equine therapy?”
Her gaze lowered to the horse. She smoothed her hand down its mane. “I spent a lot of time with my grandma when I was little. She practically raised me.” Her eyes dared a look into his. “She loved being outdoors. Fishing, hiking, kayaking. But when I was ten, she got diagnosed with MS. It went fast. Within a few months, she couldn’t get around anymore. It killed her not being able to spend time out here.” Pain edged into her voice. “Eventually she lost the will to live.”
A breeze blew, carrying her hair away from her face, which had flushed with emotion. Her eyes had grown hard, unyielding. He recognized that look. The look of steeling yourself against the deepening pain of a loss that still haunted your life. If she hadn’t been sitting on a horse so far away, he would’ve touched her to bring her back, to remind her she’d made it past that time. The same way he had to remind himself sometimes. But he couldn’t offer any words of consolation because he knew. You make it past, but you never really feel whole. You cope but you don’t forget.
It always used to piss him off when people would gloss over J’s new reality. After her accident, after his father died. I’m so sorry. You’re in our thoughts and prayers. Were there more generic words in the entire English language? Something told him Paige hated those words, too. So he said what he’d always wished people would say to him. Something to acknowledge the person he’d lost, or the part of J they’d lost. “I bet you’re a lot like your grandma.”
Her face relaxed into an open-mouthed smile that tugged at the corners of her eyes. “I am, actually. More like her than anyone else in my family.”
“She’d be proud of you.” He watched J trot to the edge of the meadow, laughing and patting Sweetie Pie’s neck. “You changed her life, you know. I can’t remember the last time I saw her this happy.” Which only proved that he was, indeed, a complete ass.
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