Page 17 of Sunrise & Serenity

Her eyes light up. “Great. Holden will drop you off here when he’s done showing you around, and we’ll drive in.”

“Let’s get this done then.” Holden’s tone is clipped as he pours the last of his coffee into the sink.

I choose to down the rest of mine. Something tells me I’ll need all the caffeine I can get to make it through the next few hours.

CHAPTER 5

HOLDEN

The moment I step outside, I breathe deeply. Feels like the first time I’ve been able to since walking into the kitchen. “This way,” I say, already moving.

I don’t want to be stuck looking after Sage, but I can’t argue with Dad’s logic. He’s right. I haven’t been around much. They can spare me.

I’m twenty yards from the house before I realize I’m alone. In my rush to get this over with, my rapid strides have left Sage behind.

As tempting as it is to just keep going, I can’t bring myself to do it. Slowing my pace, I allow her to catch up.

“Before I forget,” she says a little breathlessly, “can you give me the phone number for the mechanic so I can check on my car?”

Maybe she’s hoping to get out of this situation as much as I am.

“I left a message for him last night. He’ll let me know once he’s had a chance to check it out.” Before she can respond, I point out our destination. “Down here are the barns and training corrals.”

Her huff is barely audible.

Glad I’m annoying her as much as she’s annoying me.

She bounces back quickly. “So that’s where you keep the horses?”

I tilt my head toward the distant meadows where the main herd is grazing. “Most of them are kept out at pasture.”

I keep walking, but I know the second she lifts her camera. Something about the quiet pause. Like when she took that photo from the front of the house. The stillness about her as she looked through the viewfinder drew me in.

For a moment, she seemed grounded in this place in a way I hadn’t felt for a long time.

Even now, the loose tendrils of hair fluttering in the slight breeze are the only things about her that move.

The click of the shutter breaks the spell, and she’s moving again.

“How many horses do you have?” she asks as she catches up.

“Around a hundred and fifty.”

“Is that a lot?”

I shrug. “We’ve got breeding stock as well as horses we’re training for the new riding program. We also board up to ten at a time. Their owners leave them with us for breaking and training.”

We come to a stop at the fence of the nearest round pen, where my second-oldest brother, Chance, is working one of the new colts on a long line.

“Pretty,” she says.

I’m not sure whether she’s talking about the glossy chestnut trotting in steady circles or my brother.

When she raises her camera again, I barely refrain from rolling my eyes. Chance would be more than happy to have his photo taken. Hell, not too long ago, I wouldn’t have minded either. I’ve had more photos taken of me during my career than I can count.

It’s those last ones that are stuck in my head.

So yeah, I have no interest in having her lens pointed at me.