“Yes, yes, I am. Flash is an old lady. She’s not going anywhere.”
“Fine.” She advances toward us slowly, stopping when Flash reaches out her nose to sniff the stranger.
It looks like this is not going to be as easy as I thought. I walk over to Aurelia. “Just stick with me. I’ll stay close. If that helps.”
She eyes me for a moment, closes her eyes, and drags in a deep breath like she’s steeling herself for the moment. “Okay.”
I stay by her side, lifting the rope for her to go under.
“You want to approach them from the side. They can’t see that well directly ahead, so you can startle them. Go slow.” I’m standing so close behind her, I can feel her body heat, but she doesn’t protest, so I reach an arm up past her shoulder. “Then you can give her a pat on her neck here.” I run a hand down the horse’s soft neck. “Your turn.”
I wait to see if Aura is going to relax a little and let me teach her, or if she’s going to keep insisting she’s not scared while refusing to even touch the horse. Because if that’s the case, it’s going to be a long six weeks.
Chapter 5
Aura
Myheartispoundingso hard I can hear the blood roaring in my ears, and Quint’s warm breath on my neck sends a shiver down my spine.
“Could you take a step back, please?” I snap.
I hear a shuffle behind me as he steps back. “Sorry about that.”
I probably should have softened my tone. It’s just that men tend to do either of two things around me: keep their distance, frightened by my fame, or get overly handsy. Oddly, Quint doesn’t seem to be doing either. He’s a puzzle, and other than the irritating nickname “Hollywood,” he seems more than happy to treat me like a regular person. I’m not sure what to do with that, to be honest. Which kind of makes me think he might understand. “Look, I don’t really like being touched by strangers. It’s a hazard of the job. People think they knowyou because they’ve seen you on a screen or in a magazine and they want to shake hands or hug or grab at me. It’s not you.”
“Got it. Feel free to tell me to back off anytime.” He takes another step back.
“Thanks.” A lump forms in my throat. He’s making it so easy. No protests or annoyance, just a quiet acceptance of my request. It’s throwing me off balance.
I reach up toward the horse’s neck, nice and slow, but yank my hand back when she stomps a hoof on the ground. I take a huge step back, slamming into Quint’s warm body. His hands fly up to wrap around my waist, steadying me. But he lets go before I can even think of protesting.
He clears his throat. “Sorry again. I didn’t mean to touch you. But don’t worry about her fussing. She’s just trying to scare the flies away. Nothing to do with you.”
I nod. “It’s okay.” And oddly it is. His touch grounded me, helped tame the wild disaster scenarios racing through my head. Maybe it was the way he immediately let go and apologized, maybe it was the way he feels like a safe person already. I’m not sure what it is, but I didn’t spin around and deck him, so that’s a good start.
I can do this. I can do anything.I have to do this.
I shut my eyes, drag in a deep breath, and try to harness my character.I’m Willow Sterling, adopted daughter of the Sterling family. I grew up on this very ranch. Sat on a horse before I could even walk.The real world fades away as I slip into the character, letting her cheerful, optimistic essence seep under my skin. I got this.
Eyes open, I step forward, trying to see the world through Willow’s eyes. This horse is not a terrifyingly large creature with a mind of its own. It’s a friend, a family member.
I reach up, infusing as much confidence in the movement as I can, though I can’t quite control the slight tremor in my hand. First contact. The coat is smoother, softer than I thought it would be. And warm. Like a giant dog. I run a hand down her neck in long strokes, then reach up to scratch under her mane like I saw Quint do before.
The confident mask I slipped into starts to seep under my skin. This isn’t so bad. I can do this.
“Good, good,” Quint says. “Now the first thing you need to do is brush her, get all the dirt out of her coat before we tack up. Although, I think today we’ll stop after the grooming bit and maybe take her out for a graze.”
I pause mid-stroke, twisting around to give him some side eye. “Wait, what? Are we going to save the riding for this afternoon?”
He chuckles. “I think this will be enough for today. You got here. Don’t need to rush anything.”
“Actually, we do. I’ve only got six weeks until the crew descends on the place to get set up. I have to be solid by then. More than solid. I need to look like this is easy.”
Flash shifts on her feet, snorting, and I take a step back.
“Aura, I’m happy to help you, but I’ve still got other responsibilities around the ranch.”
Fuck. I didn’t mean to come across all diva-like. But the fear of losing this job keeps swelling up and tryingto take over. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” Now the anxiety is settling into a pit of dread in my stomach. What am I going to do the for rest of the day? Going back to that foul motel room is the last thing I want to do. How am I going to handle staying there for six weeks? Hopefully something will open up at one of those B&Bs or the ranch where we’re all staying for the shoot.
