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Slowing to a crawl, he drew alongside.
“Hi.”
They looked at him and then stopped. Her giggle was so sweet, he had to grit his teeth to stop himself telling her.
“You have your pony with you.”
“Is that his? I saw the posters,” Mr. Goldhirsh said, stroking Monica’s forehead.
“She’s not mine. I’m looking after her until her owners want her back,” Nash said. “She won’t let me leave without her. I’m hoping the vet finds her owners soon, because she brought her friend the duck to the cabin this morning.”
He usually didn’t speak two words, and now he was like this regular Chatty Cathy. It was her, of course; he liked it when she smiled.
Luna had sweat running down her neck, and her white shirt had damp patches. Her shorts were the same ones she’d worn before. Sexy as hell, Nash thought.
“You have a duck now too?”
“Monica has a duck.”
“You called her Monica!” Luna kissed the pony’s forehead. “Hello, beautiful girl.”
She’s not the only one who is a beautiful girl.
“She’s not staying.”
“Right. You keep telling yourself that. Did you give her a haircut?”
“She needed it to see.” He felt like an idiot.
“Right, of course she did.”
“You bring Monica out to meet the others, Nash. Some of Jack’s horses will love her, and Rory has her donkey. They could be great friends,” Mr. Goldhirsh said, his tone a lot friendlier than it had been the day before. He was jogging on the spot. Luna looked exhausted.
“He kicking your ass again?”
“And then some.”
“Okay, see you round.” Nash made himself drive away. It made no sense to him that he’d disliked that woman on sight, and now he was what? Like a nervous schoolkid who couldn’t shut the hell up around her?
“It stops now, Monica,” he said. The pony snorted.
He drove down the drive to his family’s home. The place he’d been born and raised. He loved it here and had ridden over every inch of it. The house came into view. High pitched roof, built of cedar and stone, it had been big enough to raise the three Winter siblings without living on top of each other. He’d had some of the best moments of his life within those walls.
Continuing past, he tooted to his mom, as he did every day. She’d be in the office already working on the accounts and other things that the ranch needed to run as well as it did.
Pulling up outside the first of the large outbuildings, he found his father and Ford outside.
“What the hell is that?” his brother said, opening the door for Monica to jump down.
“It’s a pony who turned up on my doorstep and won’t let me leave the property without her. I’m hoping her owners come and get her real soon.”
Monica wandered off into the stables.
“Glad to see you settling in, son, and getting yourself a companion,” his father said. He was what Ford would look like when he’d added on a few years. He was also the best man Nash knew besides his brother.
“Very funny.”
They talked about what needed doing, and then Nash mounted up. He rode out with his father and Ford to check on fences and stock. Monica was happy to stay with Larry, one of the hands who was working in the stables.
