Page 18 of Worth the Trouble

He waited until she was folding up her paper towel. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything. I’m family now. You’re stuck with me.”

“If a man wanted to impress a woman.” He kept his eyes on Onyx’s stall door instead of her face. “What would make a first date something to remember?”

The silence lasted exactly as long as it took her grin to arrive. “Jason Dennison.”

“Forget it.”

“No, no, no. You don’t get to un-ask that.” She hopped up to sit on the workbench, delighted. “Who is she?”

“That wasn’t the question.”

“It’s my question.”

“Flowers, dancing, dinner?” he pressed on. “A movie? What works?”

Rylee studied him for a long moment, and was merciful. “Honestly? None of that matters. If you really want to impress her, all you have to do is be yourself. Do what makes you comfortable, what makes you happy. That’s what girls are attracted to.” She reached over and flicked the brim of his hat. “And for the record? Whoever she is, she’s doing better than she knows.”

“That’s not information you need.”

“I’ll find out. Everything in this town finds its way to me eventually.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to speed it up.”

She was still laughing when she drove off, and Jason went back to the water buckets with the strangest feeling that he’d just been given permission for something he’d already decided to do.

“When I said name a time and place, I didn’t think it would be in the middle of the night at a barn,” Cece whispered.

Jason reached for her hand and tugged her into the barn. This was his favorite place. It was where he was most himself. If Rylee was right, this was where he’d be able to show Cece who he was.

He led her toward the back of the barn where their horses were kept. There were five horses they cared for. And for the most part, all but one was very well behaved. The fifth horse was one Tate had saved a while back. His owners couldn’t handle him anymore, and Tate had thought Jason could work his magic.

Cece gasped when they stopped at the last stall. The horse in question was solid black. His coat normally glimmered in the sunlight, and he’d been purchased as a show horse. But when he couldn’t be controlled, everything went sideways. “She’s beautiful,” Cece murmured.

Jason smiled at her. “Yes, he really is.”

She dipped her chin with a laugh. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. You didn’t know.” He nodded toward the beast. “This is Onyx.” Jason clicked at the animal but Onyx bobbed his head, huffing at the intrusion.

When Cece reached toward him, Jason snatched her wrist. He shook his head. “Careful,” he whispered, “he bites.”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t pull away from Jason. “Really? Then how do you keep your fingers?”

He glanced at Onyx again. “I’m working with him. He’s a little mean-spirited, but I think he’s just misunderstood.”

She nodded, turning her attention to the animal. “Aren’t we all?”

Jason went still and let that sink in. She was right. On some level, everyone was misunderstood. That was the reason for wars that started over what could be considered nothing. It was the reason hatred existed. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

Cece smiled and spoke low, with a soothing lilt. “Hey, pretty boy. Aren’t you the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.”

Onyx watched her warily, but he didn’t move. He snorted and chuffed, but he didn’t show his threatening side at all. Jason couldn’t be prouder of the animal. He’d been working with him more lately and his efforts were paying off.

“So, who else do we have here?” Cece pulled free of his grasp only to slide her fingers between his and tug him toward another stall.

“This is Angel. She belongs to my sister.”