Page 52 of Slow Burn

“I can move in these. I ride in these.”

“Okay. Well then let’s do it.”

I invite all the guests to find a mat on the lawn, and because I didn’t have enough money to hire a yoga instructor for today, I position myself on the mat facing the group.

Everyone follows my instructions to find a comfortable position on the mat, and start by taking some cleansing breaths.

“Inhale peace and calm, exhale worry,” I say, leading them through three breaths before moving on to the rest.

I put together an easy enough flow for everyone to follow, no crazy balancing poses, and nothing that requires a Cirque du Soleil level of flexibility. That’s why, by the fifth cue I give, I’m already trying to stifle my laughter as Beck struggles getting himself into a downward facing dog. His feet are slipping, legs crunched up as if they’ve never been straight before, and his face is turning red from the inversion.

The bunny from earlier hops over, settling in the spot directly under Beck’s face, the ears brushing against his nose. He mutters something under his breath, so I wander over to help him.

I let the rest of the group hold the pose for a moment longer, while I scoop the bunny up and move it back onto the grass where it munches happily.

“If you space your hands further apart and spread your fingers wider, it’ll help give you more stability,” I say, keeping my voice low so only he can hear. I’m sure Beck is not the type of man who enjoys being corrected in front of all of his friends.

Despite all of his stubbornness, he does as he’s told, so I give him another cue, this time with my hands. I use a feather light touch on his hips to show him how I want him to move them up and back.

“Good,” I murmur. “Remember to breathe.”

His body is solid and firm in my hands, but I feel him let out a long, measured exhale as he lifts his hips up. The hem of his shirt falls slightly, giving me a glimpse of his abs. From what I can see at this angle, they’re well-defined from all the physical labour he does every day.

I snap my eyes away from the rigid lines and hard edges of his body, and remove my hands from his waist.

As I finish up the yoga flow, I try to think about anything but Beck. I have everyone do lion’s breath, opening their mouths wide and sticking out their tongues for a very unsexy exhale. I think about bunnies. Cute, innocent, sweet little bunnies.

Still, my mind betrays me, my eyes wander, and they always land back on him.

My body is on fire by the time we finish with the bunny yoga, and it wasn’t from the exercise. I spent most of my time wandering around through the yard, helping to correct postures. To my surprise, Wade had the most flexibility of anyone, and when I asked him about it, he credited his physiotherapist at the cardiac clinic, adding a suggestive wink that I made a mental note to ask him about later.

Halfway through the session, clouds start forming overhead, and a light breeze picks up, cooling everyone down. The flush creeping up from my chest has more to do with the surly cowboy who, while stiff and somewhat uncoordinated, threw himself into the yoga with everything he had. Beck doesn’t do anything half-assed, I’ll credit him that. So he tried, he really did. And by the end of it, I swear I could visibly see the tension leaving his body, I could feel his energy softening, relaxing.

I thank the woman who came from the rescue and I help her put some of the bunnies in their cages. She informs everyone before leaving that any of the bunnies today are available to take home, and Nash took two–a brown one with black-tipped ears, and a small cream coloured dwarf bunny that he told me he couldn’t resist.

Once all the bunnies are loaded up, save the ones Nash now holds in his arms, and the yoga mats rolled and put away, we head back inside the house and with perfect timing, too. Heavy raindrops have started falling, and people quickly retreat under the covered porch or inside the house.

Nash brings his new pets inside and sets them down on the floor in the living room. Everyone helps themselves to the food and snacks spread out on the dining room table, milling about and chatting, most of them still talking about how much they enjoyed the yoga.

The party is a hit overall, and inside, I’m elated. Every so often, my eyes are drawn to wherever Beck is standing across the room. Currently, he’s standing in the living room talking to my brother.

He’s worn a wide range of emotions on his face today, everything from annoyance, to horrified, to humiliated.

But in this moment, he also looks happy.

And the smile on his face makes my elation turn into pure joy.

Chapter 21

Beck

“I didn’t know you were so flexible,” Austin says, giving me a slap on the back of my shoulder.

I let out a soft huff of a laugh and flash him an eye roll. “Wasn’t my first choice for an activity.”

“Well you’re a lot more chilled out, I think all your chakras are aligned,” he says, giving me a once over.

I take a swig of my beer, not wanting to outwardly admit that the bunny yoga actually did help release some of the stress and tension I’ve been carrying. Something about those velvet soft ears tickling my face as I contorted myself into all sorts of weird inverted positions was kind of… relaxing? It was at least a distraction from everything else that’s been on my mind.