"He's beautiful," she said, meaning it.
"He's the best partner I've ever had." Dustin stroked the horse's neck with gentle hands. "Four years we've been together, and he's never let me down."
"What happens to him when you retire?"
The question slipped out before she could stop it, and she saw Dustin's hand still on Thunder's neck.
"That's the plan I haven't figured out yet," he admitted. "Horses live a long time, and Thunder's only eight. He's got a lot of good years left in him."
A lot of good years. She thought about her own life, about the plans she'd made that were falling apart, about the future that had seemed so certain just a month ago and now felt like it was written in sand.
About the man standing next to her who'd become more important than any plan she'd ever made.
"Can I touch him?"
Dustin's eyes met hers, and she saw recognition there. Like he understood what she was really asking. Like he knew this wasn't just about the horse but about whether she could fit into his world. Whether he wanted her to.
"Yeah," he said, and his voice had gone lower. "Yeah, you can."
He guided her hand to Thunder's neck, his fingers covering hers as he showed her how to stroke the horse's coat. The animal was solid and real under her palm, muscle and bone and life in a way that was both foreign and oddly comforting.
But it was Dustin's hand over hers that made her breath catch. The way he was standing so close she could feel the heat of him. The way he was looking at her like this moment mattered.
"He likes you," Dustin said, his voice low and close to her ear. "Horses can tell when someone's afraid, and when someone's genuine. You're not afraid."
She wasn't afraid of the horse. But she was terrified of what was happening between them, of how much she wanted this, of how devastating it was going to be when he left.
Except maybe he wouldn't leave. Maybe he'd stay. Maybe he felt this same crazy pull, this same sense that they'd stumbled onto things neither of them had been looking for but both of them needed.
Thunder nickered and pushed his nose against her shoulder, and she laughed, surprising herself with the sound.
"I think he's adopted you," Dustin said, and when she looked up at him, there was hunger in his eyes that made her forget how to breathe.
Like he was feeling exactly what she was feeling.
Chapter 6
Dustin
Watching Vanessa had gone from nervous city girl to someone who moved around Thunder like she'd been doing it her whole life. Her shoulders had relaxed, the control she usually wore like armor had melted away, and she was laughing at the way Thunder kept trying to investigate her pockets.
He was falling harder with every passing second. And getting harder watching her move in those jeans.
"She's got good instincts," Beth had commented earlier, watching Vanessa walk Thunder through his paces. "Most people either freeze up or try to muscle the horse around. She's listening to him. She's just... there with him"
Just there with him. That described a lot of things about Vanessa that had been messing with his head since she'd agreed to rent to him. The way she made coffee for both of them in the mornings without being asked. How she'd started leaving job rejection emails open on her laptop like she needed someone to witness her disappointment. The fact that she'd changed out of her business clothes to come meet his horse without complaining about barn dirt or the smell of hay.
The way she fit into his life like she'd always been there.
Right now she was standing in the middle of the arena with Thunder's lead rope in her hands, talking to the horse like he was listening to every word. Which he probably was. Thunder had always been a good judge of character, and apparently he'd decided Vanessa was worth paying attention to.
His horse had better taste than half the people Dustin had ever met.
"He likes me better than he likes you," she called out to where Dustin was leaning against the fence rail.
"Don't let it go to your head. He likes anyone who brings carrots."
"I didn't bring carrots."
