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Clyde watched him as he watched Beth take a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge. She handed one to Trey and said, “I figured we could walk around the ranch a little.”
Trey wanted to say, “Sure,” or “Okay,” but nothing came out of his mouth. He let Beth lead the way out the back door, and he paused next to her at the top of the steps on the back porch, just inside the line of shade the roof provided.
“How many horses do you have over there at Bluegrass?” she asked.
“How many do we own? Or how many do we board?”
“Either. Both.” Beth looked up at him, and Trey met her gaze.
“We own something like sixty horses,” he said. “We board and allow on the track probably five times that many. Our track times are full for the next six months.”
“That’s because you only schedule out for six months,” she said.
He grinned at her and slipped his fingers through hers. “True.”
Beth started down the steps, and Trey went with her. The sun wasn’t terribly hot, especially with the breeze and the evening coming earlier and earlier in the day. “Why did you decide to go through with it?”
“With what?”
“With the Sweetheart Classic.”
Trey nearly stumbled, but he managed to stay on his feet without too big of a stutter in his step. “Uh, I don’t know.”
Her fingers tightened in his. “I think you do,” she said, her voice real quiet now. “A man of reasonably sound mind such as yourself would have his reasons.”
“Reasonably sound mind?” He shook his head, his focus on the ground at his feet though it was graveled and flat.
“What I asked you to do was insane.Isinsane,” she said. “You took twice as long to answer me as you said you would. There has to be a reason.”
“There is,” he said. “I just… I got the feeling that I should help you, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m going to help you.” He’d already whispered how he felt about her in her ear, once, a while ago now. Might as well own up to that again. “Plus, remember how I said I liked you?”
“I do distinctly remember that,” she said, plenty of teasing in her voice.
“Plus, we’re neighbors. Neighbors help one another.” Trey kept his voice light, seeing no reason to open himself up for complete ruin. “I’ve been trying to help you for months, so I figured this was a good way to do it. It was something you’d let me do, and hopefully, you won’t argue with me about everything.”
“I don’t argue with you about everything.”
He chuckled. “You literally just argued with me.”
Several steps went by in silence, and Beth stopped at the fence separating the road from a pasture. A black and white horse came toward her, and she released his hand to stand up on the bottom rung of the fence, one hand outstretched toward the animal.
“This is Somebody’s Lady,” she said as the horse arrived at the fence. “I thought you might want to meet the horse that you’re marrying me for.” She stroked her hand down the side of the horse’s face, her smile beautiful.
“She’s a mighty fine horse,” Trey said, holding out his hand too. Somebody’s Lady eyed him for a moment, and all horses had at least a hint of unpredictability in their eyes, at least until they trusted a person.
Somebody’s Lady could bolt or nicker, snap or smile, and Trey wouldn’t know until she did it. She huffed at him, and Trey grinned at her. “Oh, you think you’re so tough,” he murmured.
He ran his hand down the side of Somebody’s Lady’s neck. “Do you know how to run?”
“She does okay,” Beth said. “She’s gonna need some training, I’m afraid.”
“Who’s going to ride her?” Trey asked.
Beth didn’t answer as she got off the bottom rung. “Uh, I haven’t worked out that part yet.”
Trey’s world spun for a moment. “What have you worked out?” he asked.
Beth walked away from him, and he let her go, because he had an inkling of what she’d worked out. Nothing. She’d worked out nothing.
