It wasn’t as if I could control it. Worse was the thought blooming in the back of my mind: what kind of woman would I be if I just stepped out of his life in a moment like this, a moment where maybe all he needed was a little understanding and comforting? Besides, the two years we had together had been almost perfect, and this was just a small hiccup. I could live with it. I could help him with it.
I embraced him back and felt his muscles relax under my hands. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “We’ll be okay.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, and he squeezed me tighter. “I was so worried you would tell me you don’t love me anymore and send me away.”
Before I could say—or think—anything about it, the oven dinged.
Eric gently pushed me into a chair, smiling. “Dinner is ready.”
Chapter Eight
Eric left late last night, after pampering me with a delicious dinner, good wine, and conversation. He told me all about the upcoming tournament in Florida and how he was preparing for it. Thank God, he didn’t try to stay the night, or sleep with me before leaving, because I wasn’t completely over his scene yet. In fact, I had stayed awake in bed for hours, thinking about his freak out and what I could do to help him never have one again.
Sleeping only a little resulted in a tired me the next day. I dragged myself up and down the ranch, going from chore to chore, barely thinking. Jimmy asked me several times if I was okay and suggested I give in and go take a nap.
When Paul was done with his last class, he helped me put away the saddles and bridles for once. I think even he noticed how tired I was. However, he left before I could try to have him help me with more chores. Jimmy, on the other hand, helped me past his usual work hours.
“I’m going to the stable in the back. Need to feed the horses there.”
“Good idea,” I said.
He walked out of the stable, and I turned to Argus’s stall.
I’d debated taking him out of there and putting him in the stable in the back, but I’d figured keeping him that distant, with fewer horses, would be worse. He had to get used to lots of noise, the other horses, and to the children who came in here all too eager to ride the ponies. For now, he remained in the largest—and recently reinforced—stall in this stable.
I spied inside his stall. He was standing in the back, against the wall, his side glued to the wood, muzzle down, and his bucket still full. Damn, I hoped Leo would get to him once he arrived.
Speaking of which. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. Almost seven. As far as I knew, practice went until five. Two hours to get here? The club was only half an hour from here, and his ranch was not ten miles away. That didn’t sound right, but I tried not to worry. If Leo wanted, he would come. Besides, he had no obligation to come and help me, even though he said he would.
I debated what to do.
I knew only a little about training horses and I felt bad about that method. My father had trainers working all year long on his horses, and they called their method “breaking the horse.” It was brutal. They made the horse afraid of stepping in the wrong direction.
My grandma, however, had her own method, which I knew even less. I had seen her training horses in a much gentler way, but I had never actually learned it. I always thought I had more time with her and eventually, after I graduated from college most likely, I would be able to learn her method.
Now she was gone and I had a damaged horse on my hands. At this point, he didn’t need training, he needed fixing, and the only thing I knew about that was to stand still, with patience, and wait for the horse to come to me in his own time. But what if the horse didn’t want to?
Sure, I could hire someone to come help me, like a true horse whisperer or natural trainer. But, hmm, that would certainly wound my pride. Not that asking Leo for help hadn’t been the same thing.
Sighing, I turned to finish things around the stable and go to the house, but stopped when I heard a car entering the property. With deliberate steps, I walked to the doorway and saw Leo parking his SUV beside my car. He was jumping out of his car when his eyes met mine, and he smiled.
My breath caught.
How he could rock jeans, a striped white and green polo shirt, black boots, and black hat, I would never know. I didn’t want to know.
Whatever I told myself to keep my heart from beating faster, didn’t work, because crap, every time I laid eyes on Leo, I was reminded he looked too handsome to be real.
Swallowing, I trained my face to remain emotionless, which I bet was a failure.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, walking toward me.
“It’s okay,” I replied, feeling suddenly shy. It was not okay. It was late, I was famished and tired, and I had plans of crashing on my bed early. I could go on with the planned session, but in truth, I wanted him to leave so I could crawl into my house. “I was actually thinking we shouldn’t—”
“Work Argus out tonight?” he continued for me. My eyes widened. Then why was he here? “We should just stay with him, make him used to our presence.”
“Oh,” I muttered.
He walked past me, into the stable, and toward Argus’s stall.
“How about we take him out to the arena and stay there with him?”
The idea wasn’t bad.
I ended up nodding and his smile broadened, if that was possible. I averted my eyes before I was sucked into his magic. Seriously, I was in a perfectly happy relationship with a great guy. If the man before me made me feel this way, I could only guess the single girls melted in love puddles at his feet.
Shaking my head, I closed the entrance to the stable and opened the back gate, which led to the fenced arena. I made sure all other possible exits were sealed before Leo unlocked Argus’s stall. Argus remained still.
“Come,” I muttered to Leo, before dashing out. I ran across the arena and sat on top of the fence. Leo followed me out and sat beside me.
And we waited.
Argus would come eventually. I knew he would. We just had to be patient, which wasn’t my most honorable trait.
It took him over twenty minutes to poke his muzzle through the back gate, but once he did, his eyes widened, and he neighed and dashed into a beautiful run. He galloped close to the fence, as if looking for a way out. When he approached us, he stepped away, leaving a wide berth between us, then continued his surveillance. I shook my head.
The horse circled the arena six times before he stopped. Far away from us, of course.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but be aware of Leo beside me. He seemed relaxed and focused, his eyes on Argus. I dared spy him from the corner of my eyes. His chin was high, showing off his perfectly sculpted jaw. His hair curled around his neck, and I wondered if it was on purposed or if he was just too lazy to get a trim. Either way, it looked so damn fine on him.
Crap, I had to stop thinking of him like that. He was just someone—not even a friend—who was here to help me with Argus. That was it. No beauty, hotness, or breathtaking stares involved.
“After we left the club yesterday,” Leo started, “Beatriz complained that you made her sit through a tea or whatever it was. She was furious, in a funny kinda way.”
I smiled, remembering her mortal glare. “I told her I was sorry about that, but I don’t regret it. In fact, the whole thing became more bearable with her there.”
He frowned. “Sim, she said something about it.”
“About what?”
“How you looked uncomfortable there, and how you barely talked to any of the women, even though they wouldn’t shut up. Bia was pretty impressed actually, because she hates pompous people, and apparently you do too. So, let’s say you’re ranking better on her meter now than you were yesterday morning.” I laughed, but he didn’t. “Can I ask you a question?”
“It depends on the subject,” I said.
“About what Bia said.”
“Go on.”
“Why were you so uncomfortable there? I mean, y
ou were raised among them, weren’t you? You are supposed to be like … What’s her name again?”
“Who?”
“The girl with blond hair and brown eyes. She’s always with her mother, and they look like Xerox copies of one another, though, you know, minus the wrinkles.”
I laughed. He was cute when he babbled as well. “Megan.”
“Sim, that one. She’s one annoying girl, huh? She keeps inventing excuses to follow my brothers and me everywhere around the club.”
“Yes, that would be Megan.”
“Bom, like I was saying, you’re not like her. I can’t imagine a girl like Megan wearing this.” He gestured to my clothes as his eyes raked down by body.
Suppressing a shiver, I looked at my clothes. Cutoff jean shorts, a dark orange tank top, brown cowboy boots, and my hat was hanging around here somewhere. Yeah, no way Megan would ever wear this.
“So,” he prompted.
I glanced into his eyes, and it took me a minute to focus on the question again. I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He frowned. “Desculpa. Sorry. I shouldn’t be prying.”
“It’s okay.” I sighed. “I used to be more comfortable among them. It’s just … I don’t know. My grandma was a simple woman. After my grandpa made our family money, she didn’t change. They ended up divorcing because of that. Anyway, being with her on this ranch was my favorite thing to do, my favorite place to be. I guess her simplicity influenced me a little.”
“That’s good,” he said.
“And what’s your story?” I asked, surprising even myself. But then curiosity took hold of me and I really wanted to know. “I mean, you’re filthy rich too, I think, but you go to the club in jeans and a T-shirt. I don’t know how they haven’t expelled you from there yet.”
A hint of a smile—a mischievous one, good Lord—appeared on his lips. “We’re simple too. We spent most of our lives on ranches, helping, taking care of horses and cattle, dealing with peões.” His nose scrunched. “Hmm, don’t know how to translate this word. It’s like cowboys, but it’s for the men who work at the ranch.”
I grinned like a silly teenage girl. “I get it.”
“Anyway, we really don’t mind getting dirty in mud or cow poop. Besides, suits and ties are nice for balls once in a while, but I’m more of jeans-and-boots kind of guy.”
Oh, I could see that. And that style looked too damn good on him.
To push back those dangerous thoughts, I broke his burning stare and searched for Argus.
Leo jumped off the fence and turned to me, offering me his hand. I stared at him, breathless. Crap.
“Come on,” he said. “He won’t get used to us if we stay far from him.”
He was right, of course.
For some childish reason, I ignored his hand and jumped off the fence by myself. I didn’t want to look like a proud brat, but I was already confused and I was afraid of what touching him would cause within me.
As if nothing had happened, Leo and I approached Argus with slow steps.
I glanced up. The sun was setting, and I could see the faded moon on the other side of the sky, ready to take over. The lights outside the stable were already on, but once the sun was gone, they wouldn’t do much to illuminate the arena. That didn’t bother me, but it could bother Argus.
I lowered my eyes and once again my gaze fell on Leo, who was two steps ahead of me. He looked so intent and serious, focused on Argus.
“Why are you helping me with Argus?” I didn’t mean to ask that out loud, but the words were out before I could filter them through my brain.
Abruptly, Leo turned around and looked at me. I skidded to a stop, almost bumping into him. His brows hunched together, and a pained look haunted his sea-like eyes. “Because … my father put down a horse before, many years ago, a horse I was growing attached to.”
My heart clenched in sympathy. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No. It’s okay.” He reached with his thumb to his ring finger and began turning his black band. I could see it was an unconscious act. “It had to be done. At the time, I didn’t understand that. I was too young and believed any horse, any animal, could be saved. But now I do understand. That poor horse had to be put down.” Sighing, he glanced over his shoulder to where Argus stood. “Argus will need lots of work and patience, but he can be saved.” His eyes returned to mine. “And I want to help you save him.”
My eyes watered. I knew firsthand how much it hurt to lose a horse. Leo had lost one too. And, even though it probably pained him to be near Argus, as it did me, here he was, fighting his own demons to help this broken horse.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He nodded and turned to Argus. I took in a big swallow of air, willing my heart to calm down. He’s here for Argus. Nothing more. Just Argus. Maybe if I repeated those words for three days nonstop, I would actually believe them.
The horse had his head down as if he hadn’t seen us, but he had and he was aware of every movement we made. He looked ready to bolt.
Apparently knowing this, Leo raised his arm to his side, right in my path. I almost bumped into it. I wouldn’t have minded, but again, I was afraid of what it might do to me.
I cursed myself.
“Just … stand there,” Leo whispered.
I didn’t dare move a muscle. We just stood there, like he said. And Argus didn’t move either. His head was down, his muzzle on the grass, but it was obvious he wasn’t actually munching anything. He was observing us like we were observing him. Poor animal. His defenses were constantly up, and he seemed exhausted and still scared. I wanted to reach to him and tell him that we wouldn’t hurt him.
Which led me to wonder what method Leo used for training horses. Well, he had trained horses before, hadn’t he?
Leo stepped forward in a bold attempt to get closer to Argus.
I leaned closer and asked, “You’re not adept at breaking horses, are you?”
Leo stopped mid-step and his head whipped to face me, his expression confused. “What?”
“If you’re adept at breaking horses to train him, I will take back my request and ask you to leave.”
It took him a moment to catch up with my busy mind and me. “I’m seriously opposed to anything that goes against the horse’s nature, and that includes breaking him. That …… is just brutal.”
“I think so too, but there are a lot of people out there who still use those methods.”
“I think the large majority still use and prefer breaking the horse.” He shook his head. “I wish I could put those people through one session like that. They would never do that to their horses again.”
Noticing we were lost in conversation, Argus took a few steps in the opposite direction, gaining some distance from us. Leo sighed.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered.
“It’s okay. We wouldn’t be able to get close to him anyway. I was just testing it.” He played with his ring again, his eyes on mine. “I’m a fan of the Buck Brannaman and late Ray Hunt’s way.” Those names weren’t strange to me, but I couldn’t pinpoint them. “They are horse trainers and practitioner of natural horsemanship, which is working with the horse, not against it.”
That rang a bell and I remembered grandma talking about them. “Horse whisperers.”
“Exactly. The real ones. According to their philosophy, the horse is a friend, not a slave. The animal doesn’t need to live in fear of being punished if he doesn’t do the right thing. He should want to do the right thing; he should want to learn and be your friend.”
“Now that you say that, I remember grandma saying that the horse can make mistakes, like anyone else, but it’s wrong when he starts dreading mistakes because he’s afraid of being punished.”
“Yup. And I believe that wholeheartedly.”
I grinned on the inside. So good to know we were on the same page here. “Perfect.”
He leaned closer, his stare more intense, and I sucked in a breath. “I
ndeed,” he said in a low tone.
When he looked at me this way, I felt like I was about to lose it. Somewhere in me, there was this thing called respect—for Eric, for Leo, for me—and I searched for it. When I found it, I grabbed it with both hands and sunk my nails in it, so it would hurt if it tried to escape me again.
I retreated and turned to where Argus stood.
For the next thirty minutes or so, Leo and I walked around the arena, chasing Argus—in silence. Every time we approached him, he dashed away. This way, he would be forced to be close to us, even if only for a few seconds, and I had hopes that later, when we stopped, he would be tired and hungry.
When the sun was gone, Leo and I came at Argus from opposite sides, giving him only one option of where to go. He trotted to the stable and into his stall.
Leo closed the back gate while I checked on Argus’s water and food. Ignoring me and the grain, Argus lay down on the ground, his back to me, his head low.
I sighed.
“Patience,” Leo said, standing by my side.
“I know. I just don’t want to see him die of malnutrition.”
“He won’t.”
I turned my head to Leo and found him too close, looking at me with those mesmerizing eyes. My heart sped up.
How could he be sure? I wanted to ask him, but I was afraid of starting more conversation I wasn’t supposed to be having.
I averted my eyes. “Well, thank you.”
“De nada,” he said. “Though, we barely started. I’ll be back tomorrow evening.”
“No!” I shrieked. God, no. Eric would probably be here tomorrow evening, and if he saw Leo here, he would think the worst thing possible and would never let me explain. Eric would kick Leo’s ass and argue with me. I wanted to avoid all that. I cleared my throat and tried again. “No. I can’t.”
His brow knitted together, and I was sure he knew why I couldn’t.
Leo played with the band on his finger. “My practice doesn’t start until 10 a.m. tomorrow. If you’re up for it, I can come early.”
I looked back at him. “Early?”
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