Page 40 of Worth the Trouble

“Didn’t think it did.” He studied her as he always did, and he saw more than she wanted him to. Then he pulled her against him and held on, and she let him, because it was easier than the truth and she hated that it was.

“Are you going to tell me?” he said into her hair.

“Not today.” She leaned back to see his face. “Today I want the world to go away for a while. Can we just enjoy the time together?”

“For you, Cece? Anything.”

She’d packed a blanket and a few snacks from the minibar. They found a flat spot above the creek and sat together enjoying the view. He didn’t ask again, and she couldn’t decide whether that made it better or worse.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jason stopped in the barn doorway and watched Tate work for a second. The wedding, the honeymoon, and the move into Rylee’s farmhouse seemed to all happen in a flash. Now here he was, back like the tide, whistling.

“Morning,” Tate said. “Figured I’d take the Colton kids first thing, if that works. What’d I miss?”

Jason had been waiting for that question. He’d decided that when it finally came he wasn’t going to soften the answer.

“Sixty-one lessons,” he said. “Nine cancellations, two of them the Baileys, who rescheduled twice and then wanted a discount for the inconvenience. Brent worked his days off. The feed order changed because the mill stopped carrying the pellets, so I switched us to the supplier out of Billings, which is cheaper anyway. The gate on the east paddock is fixed. Onyx picks up his feet now.”

Tate had stopped saddling at about the Baileys. He stood there with the cinch strap in his hand and let the rest of it land. To his credit, he didn’t reach for a joke.

“That’s what you missed,” Jason said. “I’m not asking for anything. You were exactly where you were supposed to be. But you asked, and you deserved the whole answer.”

“Jason.” Tate hung the strap over the rail. “I’m sorry. I kept saying tomorrow.”

“You said it quite a few times.”

“I know I did.” He dragged a hand down his face, and when it came away he was the brother Jason had run a business with for six years instead of a man floating two feet off the ground. “What do you need?”

And there it was. The opening Jason had been walking toward. “I need you to take the client list back. Because I’m starting the horse work. I registered the business.”

Tate blinked. “You registered it.”

“Paperwork’s on the desk. Insurance quote’s under it. I’ve got two horses lined up, Onyx and a mare out at the Bailey place, which is half of why they get to be rude about scheduling a while longer. Brent keeps his hours. You take back the lessons. I’ll carry my share of the mornings until the training pays for itself.”

“You’ve been busy,” Tate said.

“You told me in the summer to build a client base.” Jason shrugged. “I got started on it.”

A grin started in the middle of Tate’s face and took over the rest of it. “You really did it.”

“I really did.”

“I’m proud of you, man. You know that?”

“You mentioned it once.” Jason picked up the saddle Tate had abandoned and swung it onto the rail. “There’s one more thing you should know. And I’d rather you hear it from me, standing here, than from anybody else in this town.”

“Okay.”

“I’m seeing someone. It isn’t new, and it isn’t casual.” He breathed out. “Her name is Cecelia Williams.”

The barn went very quiet. A horse stamped down the row.

“Williams,” Tate said.

“Reginald Williams is her father. She runs his public relations. You’ve met her.”

“I’ve met her.” Tate had gone flat and careful. “In a hotel lobby, on the worst week of my life. She talked me out of doing something stupid, and I never even thanked her for it.” He looked at Jason for a long moment. “How long?”