He gave her a squeeze and shifted even closer to her. They rode onward for awhile, Ryan seeming unconcerned that Annabelle and Brianna had left them in their dust.
Holly looked far ahead and saw her baby sister on a horse, riding beautifully, almost sailing across the pastureland. She was leaning forward, urging the horse faster, and even from a distance, she saw when Brianna tossed her head back and laughed with delight.
When she finally slowed, Annabelle pulled up beside her. Holly could tell they were talking to one another. They were two women clearly at home on a horse.
“Brianna is a natural,” Ryan whispered in her ear.
“I can see that.”
“Would you like to take the reins now?” he asked.
She turned in the saddle, to make eye contact. When she shook her head ‘no’, she saw no judgment in his eyes. “You’re doing great,” he told her. “In no time, you’ll ride as well as your kid sister.”
“I doubt it,” she told him.
“I’m happy to instruct you,” he said, his breath warm against her ear. “Anytime.”
She met his eyes and saw them turn liquid dark. Their eyes held briefly and seemingly of their own accord, her eyes did a pass over his face, so close, so handsome. They lit on his lips, full, masculine, inviting.
She forced herself to turn away. She took a deep breath, to still her pounding heart. She felt tremendous relief when Brianna appeared from out of nowhere, passing them and then bringing her horse around to join them. Only a second or two later, Annabelle also pulled alongside.
“Hey, you two,” Annabelle greeted them, and then smiled widely. “Brianna can ride,” she declared. “It’s like she never stopped riding. She really is a natural.”
“That’s what Ryan said too,” Holly replied.
“Really?” Brianna cried. “You both really think I’m good?”
Ryan pinned her with a knowing look. “Are you fishing for compliments, young lady? You have to know you’re an awesome horsewoman.”
She grinned and sat even taller in the saddle. “I’m a horsewoman,” she said, sounding pleased with herself.
“I’m thrilled to see you’re an accomplished rider,” Annabelle told her. “I can really use you around here. Lately, I just don’t have enough time to devote to my horses. They’re just not getting the exercise they need. If I give you a schedule for riding them, do you think you can stick to it?”
“Absolutely,” Brianna said.
“One thing,” Annabelle added. “You are a terrific horsewoman—but…”
“What?”
“I want your promise that you won’t ride hard and fast when I’m not here with you. If something were to happen to you…” She shook her head, as if the idea of her suffering an injury was just too horrible to contemplate.
“Brianna, do you understand?” Holly reiterated. “Annabelle has to be able to trust that you won’t push yourself or the horse and potentially injure either one of you. She won’t be able to keep you on if you don’t obey her rules.”
Holly hated to be so stern, but she understood the danger involved if Brianna didn’t adhere to the McGraw’s rules. They were entrusting her with a big job, and even Holly was worried it might be too much for her sister. Frankly she was surprised the McGraws were opening themselves up to the liability of hiring a teenager.
The horses were huge and she felt fearful of being so close to them. What if one of them bucked, or even kicked Brianna when she was nearby? She suddenly wondered if she’d agreed to this arrangement a bit too soon.
“It’s all right,” Ryan whispered, as if sensing her fear. “We’ll all keep an eye on her. I think this will be good for her. She loves horses and this will meet that need she has to engage with them.”
Holly nodded. He was right. And she couldn’t expect Brianna to sit around the house for the remainder of the summer, bored out of her mind.
“Holly,” Brianna said fearfully. “You’re not changing your mind, are you? Please give me this chance. I promise I’ll be very careful and follow all the rules.”
“Okay, we’ll see how it goes.”
Brianna gave a relieved sigh, and turned to Annabelle. “Can we ride some more?”
“Absolutely.”
The two women rode away. Holly watched after them, proud of Brianna for her riding skills. She really did handle a horse like a pro. She, on the other hand, was quaking in her borrowed cowboy boots.
“You want to head back?” Ryan asked. “We can get a head start on our sight-seeing.”
Once again, she turned in the saddle. “If you’re busy, we can skip the sight-seeing. I got the impression you were coerced into agreeing to show me around.”
He gave a gasp of surprise. “The truth is, I was glad Annabelle brought it up. I was going to ask you myself, but she beat me to it.”
“Are … you sure? I really don’t want to impose.”
“No imposition,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
She turned to face forward and sighed when she felt his arm tighten around her. “Hold on. We’re going to pick up our pace a bit.”
She nodded.
“Git!” he called out to the horse, which complied immediately.
As they rode together, in synchronization with the movement of the trotting horse, she finally found herself relaxing. By the time they reached the barn, with its rows of pristine stalls, she found herself wishing the lesson hadn’t ended so soon. Unfortunately, she had to admit to herself, it wasn’t the horse that had held her interest, but instead, it was the rider sitting behind her.
Chapter Nineteen
“There’s so much to see here,” Holly commented, as she stared in awe at Mt. St. Helens, framed within the windshield of Ryan’s truck. The mountain loomed so large before her eyes, she felt as if she could reach out and touch it. “It’s startling how close it seems,” she commented with a wince.
Ryan smiled. “Oh, it’s a good ways away. Looks can be deceiving.”
For whatever reason, Holly turned toward him and frowned. ‘Looks can be deceiving.’ She suddenly felt uncertain, and had no idea why. She forced away the uneasiness, since the day spent with Ryan had been wonderful.
They’d visited a park on the nearby Lewis River, walked a path around Battle Ground Lake, and had driven through a small town called Amboy, on their way to one of several manmade reservoirs on Mt. St. Helens. They had waded at Saddle Dam, on Yale Reservoir, and Holly had been enchanted by the beauty of the recreational area so close to home.
“I need to make a quick stop by a friend’s place, if you don’t mind,” he said, and then smiled. “After, we’ll head back home. I promised Annabelle I’d join her, and her intended, for dinner tonight.”
Holly nodded and resumed staring out the window. She found herself more enchanted by the beauty around her with each passing moment.
When Ryan steered his truck down a long lane and toward a brick home, she watched with mild interest as a man walked out of his garage and met them in the gravel driveway. Ryan started to climb out of the truck, but stopped and turned toward her. “I’ll be just a minute. Unless you’d like to come…”
She shook her head. “I’m fine here.”
He nodded and walked off with the older man. A moment or two later, he returned carrying a saddle. After carefully placing it in the bed of the truck, he rejoined Holly in the cab. “Dan repaired the saddle for Annabelle,” he explained.
“Has Annabelle always had such a love for horses?” she asked.
“Seems like she’s been enthralled by them since she could walk.” He smiled, as if recalling a fond memory. “I remember I was six or seven and she’d barely turned two. We were outside for a barbecue and I’m afraid my parents became distracted with cooking. Anyway, she wandered off and we found her in the horse barns. She was determined to open the stall of a rather temperamental stallion.” He shook his head ruefully. “Dad scooped her up and she kicked and screamed all the way back to the house.”
“Wow, she is definitely a horse person then,” Holly said.
“I suspect your sister is cut from the same cloth,” Ryan commented.
“I’m afraid you may be right,” she mused.
Ryan chuckled. “And you…?”
“Well, I’m not sure how I feel about them as yet,” she admitted. “I enjoyed riding,” she was quick to add. “But I don’t think I have her passion.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have hers, or Annabelle’s passion, for them either,” he said. “I enjoy a leisurely ride now and then, but I just don’t have the time to devote to them.”
“What do you do for a living?” she asked, realizing she had no idea. He’d never told her.
He sighed. “Well, I own my own company.”
“Oh. What sort of company? Do you make a particular product I might know?”
“No, mine is a consulting firm.”
“And whom do you consult?”
“I often serve as an … advisor to other companies.”
“That sounds … interesting. What sorts of advice do you give?”
He laughed—somewhat self-deprecatingly—and turned to her briefly. “In a nutshell, I advise failing companies as to how to become profitable.”
“So, you recommend they make … cuts … in … certain areas.”
He nodded. “Yes. Sometimes cuts play a large role in helping a company remain solvent.”
She considered his words. She remembered it was just such a company that had advised her stepfather’s employer to lay off workers. Inevitably, they had slashed the jobs of older employees who cost the company the most in retirement and medical benefits. Many of the jobs had been outsourced, leaving her beloved stepfather unemployed and ultimately, broken.
Unsure how to respond to Ryan’s disclosure, she simply nodded. So he wasn’t a horseman, she realized. He was a shark.
“I’ve taken a bit of a sabbatical from work,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
“Your trip…”
“Yes. I guess I needed time to think.” He laughed without humor. “Annabelle tells me my mid-life crisis came early.”
He turned to Holly and read something in her eyes— Disapproval? Surely he was mistaken. Why would she have any sort of reaction to his line of work, unless…
“Are you going back to work soon?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He forced a smile and then focused on the roadway. “Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about your work.”
“Not much to tell, really. I work as a teacher at a preschool in town. I was really fortunate to find the job.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“I love kids, but I had always hoped to earn a teaching degree and work as an elementary school teacher.”
“Why didn’t you? Earn a degree, that is.”
“I started college, but during my freshman year, my stepfather passed away. I left school to help my mother out.” She gave a shrug. “I guess time got away from me.”
She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that finances had precluded her from returning to college. Although she had earned a partial scholarship, it simply wasn’t enough to cover both tuition and her living expenses on campus.
Later, she did continue attending night classes at the local community college and had earned a two-year transfer degree. She’d intended to attend night classes at a nearby university to finish off her degree, but when her mother became ill, it became too difficult to both work and help with her care. As her mother’s illness progressed, and Holly’s focus shifted entirely to her, all thoughts of finishing college had been forgotten.
“We have a satellite campus of Washington State University close by,” Ryan told her. “Who knows? Maybe you can finish your degree there.”
“Maybe someday I’ll go back to school…” Her words trailed off. Maybe she would pursue her degree someday. Brianna was nearly sixteen and it wouldn’t be too long before she would be on her own. Thanks to her uncle, she didn’t have the burden of a house payment—or at least she hoped not. If only the attorney would call her and provide all the details she needed, in order for her to make more concrete decisions about her future.
Ryan noticed the frown on her face. “Are you okay?”
“I was just thinking that it would be nice if I could finally meet with my uncle’s attorney.”
“Is there … something on your mind?”
“No, well… To be honest, I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.”
“A bad feeling…?”
She gave a shrug. “Oh, I’m probably being silly. I’m so grateful for my new home.” She turned toward him and smiled. “Maybe I’m just still so stunned by my good fortune it’s difficult to believe it’s really true. I keep expecting the other shoe to drop.”
***
Later, after Ryan took Holly home, he couldn’t help but replay their conversation in his mind. First, he’d detected a slight shift in her manner toward him after he’d told her about his job. She wouldn’t be the first to turn on him after learning about the nature of his work. It bothered him to think she might have altered her opinion of him, though in truth, he had no idea what she thought about him—of even if she did.
He was even more disturbed to hear she was worried about the status of her home ownership. She needn’t worry about that—the home was hers free and clear—it was the land beneath it that belonged to someone else. Him and Annabelle.
As he drove toward his home, he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He should have told Holly about the land issue from Day One. She struck him as a woman of integrity—a woman who might not like this particular truth, but who would certainly prefer it to duplicity.
The thing was, he wasn’t deliberately being dishonest…
Who was he kidding? Of course he was being intentionally dishonest. An omission of the facts was a lie, plain and simple.
He considered turning his truck around and returning to Holly’s place. He would come clean and set about trying to help her figure out her next move.
Whoa!
It wasn’t his responsibility to help a virtual stranger sort out her problems. It wasn’t his fault she had moved across country without knowing the vital pieces of the puzzle. She should have done her homework.
He sighed. It hadn’t occurred to her that the land on which the home sat didn’t belong to Ben. Why would it have? And why didn’t the attorney notify her via phone or letter that taking ownership of the home meant moving it to another plot of ground?
He felt sick to his stomach. When Holly—and Brianna—finally heard the news, they were going to be devastated. Understandably, they were going to view him as complicit—why hadn’t he simply told them the truth from the get-go.
And why hadn’t he? He groaned aloud. He hadn’t told because he’d quickly developed feelings for both. Protectiveness for the kid sister, and something entirely different for Holly—protectiveness sure, but something more...
Chapter Twenty
“Are you ready to go?” Holly called to Brianna, who was still primping in her bedroom.
“Almost,” she answered back.
When she stepped out of her room moments later, in a floral print dress borrowed from Holly, Holly couldn’t help but gasp. Her little sister looked beautiful. She had already forgone applying her eyeliner in thick, Goth fashion, but this morning, had rejected makeup entirely—save a clear gloss on her full lips.
“Brianna, you look beautiful,” Holly gushed.
The girl looked uncertain. “Are you sure I look all right. I can’t remember when I last wore a dress, and…”
“Trust me, you’re gorgeous,” Holly cut in with a smile, that quickly morphed into a frown.
“What i
s it?” Brianna asked worriedly. “It’s the dress, huh? I do look ridiculous. And I need makeup, huh?”
Holly shook her head to clear it. “You don’t look ridiculous and you don’t need makeup,” she mused.
“Then what is it?”
“I’m anticipating the reaction of the teenaged boys in this town when they get a look at you. Oh, Lord, help me,” she prayed earnestly.
Brianna giggled. “Do you really think … boys will … notice me?”
“Oh, Lord,” she repeated. “Heaven help me.”
She hurried to the kitchen and took a seat at the island. She patted the seat beside her.
Brianna grinned sheepishly as she crossed the room to take a seat beside her. “What?”
“Okay, so… Listen…”
“Holly, we’re going to be late.”
“Yes, you’re right. We’ll leave in a moment. But first…” She took a deep, shoring breath. “Did your parents ever talk to you about the birds and the bees?”
Brianna gave a burst of laughter. “No, but I learned all about sex in school.”
“Oh, okay, well… Listen, hon, it’s just…”
“I’m not ready for that sort of thing,” Brianna said decisively. “I’m not even sixteen.”
Holly practically crumpled with relief. “Oh, okay. Good. I’m really happy to hear that.” She brightened considerably. “Okay, well, we’ll pick up this line of conversation later, because we’re going to be late if we don’t leave for church now.”
“We wouldn’t want to be late,” Brianna said with a smile, though it quickly faded.
“What’s wrong?” Holly asked.
“I’ve never been to church before. I don’t know what to expect.”
“We’ll talk a bit about that in the car,” Holly told her.
Soon, they were in the car and driving to the church according to the directions Brianna had found on her smart phone. Holly explained to her about the service, noting it included both song and prayer, and finished by telling her the church had a youth group she might consider attending.
By Summer's End (Christian Fiction) Page 12