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No more thoughts of the past.
No more thoughts about Hunter or last night.
Time to really start this new chapter of her life.
She squared her shoulders and walked up to the front porch. The outside of the large building and wraparound porch were bright white, like they’d been freshly painted. Several rocking chairs were set up, along with a porch swing, looking out on the gently rolling hills that surrounded the property. It was so idyllic and different from the chic brownstone where she’d grown up in Manhattan that it almost felt like a different planet. But she’d done it. She was really here.
She looked around, trying to take everything in as she rang the doorbell.
Then the front door jerked open and a tall, tan, good-looking guy in his twenties stood there. He was wearing a linen shirt and pants, his dirty blond hair in dread-locks that were then pulled up in a man-bun.
She paused. Um. Maybe it was cliché, but this guy looked more like he belonged at a hippie commune than a horse ranch.
And you’re standing here and staring, Isobel. Not awkward at all.
“Hi,” she blurted, about to hold out her hand and introduce herself.
“Whatever you’re selling, we don’t want any.” Hippie Guy crossed large muscled arms over his chest, a dour look on his face.
“Oh. No, I—” She stumbled over her words. Shit. She’d already made a bad impression and she’d only been here thirty seconds. “That’s not what I— I’m here for—”
“Stop being an arsehole, Reece,” a man’s voice with an Irish accent called out. Then a second guy clapped the first on the back and dragged him away from the door.
But not before Hippie Guy—Reece, did the other one say his name was?—broke into a wide smile and winked at Isobel.
God, he was just joking? She’d about had a hard attack over making a bad first impression.
“What can we do you for, lovely lady?” asked the man with the accent, equally as handsome as Reece, though his hair was dark and his skin pale instead of tan.
He held out his hand and smiled at Isobel, a dimple appearing. “I’m Liam. Ignore my arsehole friend. With only the horses and other blokes except for Mel for company, we all start going a bit feral.”
“I was just kidding with her,” Reece said, shoving his friend out of the way and taking up the whole frame with his body again. He flashed Isobel a bright, dazzling smile. “Everybody needs to loosen up around here.”
Liam pulled the door open wider so she could see both of them. “I’ll show you loose.” He grabbed Reece in a headlock.
“Doorbell! Doorbell!” screeched a little kid voice. Except the child must be small and not good with pronouncing his ‘r’s yet, because it came out sounding more like, “Dow bewl, dow bewl!’
Then a toddler ran full speed into Reece’s legs, asking. “Who at da dow, Wyeece?”
Liam let Reece go and the little boy almost bounced off Reece’s legs due to his momentum. Reece leaned down just in time and swooped the boy off his feet and up into the air. This made the little boy squeal in delight and kick his feet. Isobel didn’t know much about little kids but guessed he was between two and three years old.
Reece settled the kid on his hip and it was bar none the cutest damn thing Isobel had ever seen. Her heart did a little squish in her chest.
“Ah hell, I’ve lost her afore I even had a chance,” Liam shook his head. “They all go gooey when they see him with the baby.”
“Swing,” demanded the child, grabbing fistfuls of Reece’s linen shirt. “Awound. Awound!”
Reece rolled his eyes like it was a chore and he was completely put out by the child’s demands—it was similar to the face he’d made when he first greeted Isobel so rudely at the door. But then his eyebrows jumped up and he shouted, “Boo!” right before turning left, then right, swinging the now-giggling little boy around and around with him.
“Swing!” the boy cried when Reece stopped.
“What?” Reece said, his face going sober again. He leaned down and looked the little boy in the eye. “Do you think I’m your personal swinging jungle gym or somet
hing?”
“Yes!” the boy said ecstatically.
Reece shrugged. “Fair enough.” Then he swung the boy around even faster.
