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“Very helpful, Mr. Greyson.” Paisley quirked a light brow, half a tease, half in question.
“It’s the least I can do since you’re here,” I rumbled soft.
Her expression turned the same. “I’m glad that I am.”
“Me, too.” Gratitude was something I didn’t feel often. I trusted few. Cared about fewer. But I felt it right then.
For a moment, the woman just…stared at me…unsure before she turned her head away and showed Evelyn how to properly latch the buckles and secure them.
“All ready.” Paisley patted the saddle.
Evelyn danced on her feet, the most excitement I’d ever seen from the child radiating from her spirit. She clapped her hands. “I can’t even wait for a second.”
Paisley went to pick her up, but I stepped in between them. “Here, let me help you.”
I scooped Evelyn up from under the arms, my throat thick as I met her gaze, those brown eyes the same as Kimberly’s and full of a joy that had been missing. I tried to ignore it as I settled her onto the saddle. “Be careful, Evelyn, and listen to everything Ms. Dae tells you.”
“I’m a great listener,” she lisped.
I looked at Paisley, mouthed, “Be careful with her.”
“I promise,” she whispered.
Then she turned to Evelyn, breaking the connection that kept trying to pull taut between us.
“Hold onto the reins like I showed you…firmly but don’t yank or pull unless you’re guiding her.”
I followed them out then leaned against the railing as I watched Paisley begin to lead them around.
Trusting her.
Something that never came easy.
Giggles floated on the warm breeze, Evelyn squealing as she sang, “Oh, she’s moving. She’s really moving, Ms. Dae.”
“That’s right because you’re riding her. There you go. Just hold onto the reins,” Paisley encouraged.
“I’m doing it.” Evelyn’s little voice touched my ears, curled into my senses, her joy so potent.
I felt it trying to pierce the dead spots.
The blackened hole that throbbed in the place where my sins reigned.
A place that men like me would never be free of.
“That’s right, you are. You’re doing a fantastic job. Pretty soon you’ll be running through the fields.”
I cringed at the visual of the horse galloping over the grass-covered pastures and disappearing into the woods with Evelyn barely hanging on.
“You really think I can be that super fast?” Evelyn asked.
“Well, maybe not this year, but once you and Mazzy both grow a little bigger, you’ll be riding her all over the place.” A sliver of amusement cut into Paisley’s tone.
“I can wait until then, and then we’ll get big together, and she’s going to be my best friend.”
“She’ll definitely be. You just love her, and she’ll love you right back.”
“That’s really very good because I love her all the way to the moon. With all my favorites. Will you still ride with me?”
Hesitation brimmed in Paisley for a bare beat before she answered with a slight, “I hope so.”
I remained rooted while their conversation floated around me, growing distant the farther away they got. I had a million things to do before I left for Seattle tomorrow, but somehow, I couldn’t pry myself from the spot.
They hadn’t gone far before they turned and headed back my direction.
In the distance, I watched as Paisley laughed. She tossed her head back, white curls bouncing around her bare shoulders, the woman glowing golden in the backlight of the sun.
“Did you see me?” Evelyn shouted as they made it back to the corral.
My tangled guts fisted. “I saw you. You did a great job, Evelyn.”
Shyness blazed on her cheeks, though she looked at me in a way she never had before.
With trust and faith.
Turbulence bounced through my insides, the air rough and my uncertainty thick.
I wanted to be better. Right for her. Give her every good thing possible. But how would I be worthy of that?
“She is a natural.” Paisley patted Evelyn’s knee, sending me a glance before she returned her attention to the child still sitting on the horse. “Aren’t you?”
“Only if you say so because you are the professional.”
Paisley laughed. “I’m not sure anyone has ever called me that before, Evelyn. I’ll take it.”
“I’ll give it to you if you want.” Evelyn hiked an innocent shoulder, missing the jab I was pretty sure was directed at me.
Amusement tugged at the edge of my mouth. God, there was something about Paisley Dae that lit the darkened places, a fucking light that speared through the shadows. Through the torment and grief.
A ray of hope in the impossibility.
“Okay, we’d better get Mazzy back into her stall so she can get some water. We’ll go even farther on Wednesday.”
“I won’t even see you tomorrow?” It was the closest thing to a whine I’d ever heard come from Evelyn.
Paisley chuckled. “No, not tomorrow.”
“Can you stay for lunch then because two days is really very far, and I don’t want you to leave. Can she?” Evelyn turned her question to me.
