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“Lucien, why are we here?”
“You’ll see.” The driver came around and opened the door for us. Lucien held out his hand to me. I took it and exited the car.
A woman hurried over to greet us. “Mr. Marchesi?” Lucien nodded his assent. “I’m Cathy. We spoke on the phone earlier.”
Lucien shook her offered hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Can we see them now?”
Cathy smiled. “Of course.”
Them? Maybe he wanted me to choose from a few different ponies. I didn’t want him to feel like he had to keep buying me things, but I had to admit part of me was thrilled by it. He made me feel special, and even though he’d already done far too much, the more he gave me, the more I felt bound to him. If I were honest with myself, though, the gifts might make me feel indebted to him, but it only took his presence to hold me there. When I was around him, I forgot all the reasons why I should never have agreed to stay.
Cathy led us into the barn, and the second I saw the Shetland pony in the first stall, I fell in love. She was a deep rich brown with a blonde mane and tail, exactly like the stuffed animal I’d had.
“What do you think?” Lucien asked.
“She’s perfect.” I reached out my hand, and she walked over and stuck her nose over the low stall door. I scratched her ears, and she leaned into my touch.
“Her coloring is just like the stuffed pony I had. How did you know?” I was sure I hadn’t mentioned those details the night I’d confessed my childhood longing.
“I called your uncle, and he told me.”
I didn’t know what shocked me more, the fact that Lucien would call my uncle to ask about a stuffed animal I’d had as a kid or the fact that my uncle remembered it that clearly.
“I… Thank you. This is…” I squeezed my eyes shut. I was not going to cry. “I know a lot of people would be more excited by the other things you’ve given me, and I do appreciate them, but this… I’ve never received a better gift.”
“You’re welcome.” He laid a hand against my back. “If you can tear yourself away from Clover for a few minutes, I have something else for you to see as well.”
I gave the pony a pat on her neck and told her I’d be back before following Lucien down the aisle to where Cathy stood in front of another stall.
“This is the other pony we discussed,” she said. “As you can see, he’s much larger. He stands fourteen hands high. Fourteen point two is the tallest an animal can be and still be classified as a pony. He’s calm and perfect for a beginning rider. His name is Prince, but of course you could change that if you wanted to.”
I stared at the Palomino pony. The name fit him perfectly. “He’s beautiful, but I don’t need—”
“You won’t be able to ride Clover,” Lucien reminded me. “If you’re going to frequent the stable, you might as well learn to ride, so I’m getting you a second pony. I’ve arranged for you to have lessons here where the horses will be boarded until I can have a stable built at my family’s house in Weston.”
I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. It was one thing for him to buy me a Shetland pony. I knew money wasn’t an issue for him, and I was sure he’d spent more on all the clothes he’d bought me, but a second pony and riding lessons? That was too much. And the idea that he would have a stable built just for me. “Do you or Angelo ride?”
He shook his head.
“Are you going to learn?”
He gave the gelding a wary glance. “No. It’s not my thing.”
I realized something then. Lucien—a man I’d seen interrogate and then kill men who’d tried to undermine his power, a man who stood down my attacker with no sign of fear—was afraid of horses. Yet, he was buying two of them for me.
Cathy’s gaze bounced between us. “If you’d like, I can bring him out and ride him around the corral so you can see him in action. I can put the Shetland on a lead line too.”
“Clover is perfect,” I said, and Cathy smiled.
“I’m so glad you like her. I’m excited to see her go to someone who will really love her.”
I would love her, but was it right for me to have her? She deserved an owner who would be there for her, and I didn’t know when Lucien might tire of our arrangement. I would have no way to keep her if he wasn’t paying for boarding. If he decided to send me away, I would lose my job, and I wouldn’t even be able to pay my rent, much less take care of a horse.
