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“I should go and talk to Tally,” I say to Hudson, who remains silent beside me.
He clears his throat. “I think you should leave her be for a little bit. She seems to be having a harder time than the rest of us with you coming back and now this.” He gestures to the house.
“This?Hey, her name is Olive,” I bite back.
He throws his hands in the air. “Whoa, take it easy. I didn’t mean my words in a bad way. It’s just a lot to take in.” He removes his hat and runs his hand through his hair, then returns the hat back to his head.
“Let’s get the rest of these horses out and settled. I wasn’t planning on just bombing you guys with her. I did plan to tell you. There’s so much more I want you to know, but maybe now isn’t the time.” I test my leg out and move to the back of the trailer again, where two more horses wait to be unloaded.
“Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
I throw him a half-smile over my shoulder. “I know. I appreciate it. Now, let’s get these boys settled. I’m going to have to put in some hard work with the girl. She’s feisty. I might lead them down to the smaller training ring and barn. That way, they’re not disrupting the other horses.” I latch on the lead and move the black beauty out of the trailer. He’s so tall but needs some work. “This one here is quite scared of people. It took a bit of coaxing to get him on the trailer. The other one seems like an anxious little thing, but he’s beautiful as well. His molten colors are so different.”
“They’re stunners. Are we keeping these or planning to sell them?”
“That’s up to you and Dad, I’m guessing. I’ll do the work, and then you two can decide.” The horse’s hooves clack on the metal ramp, and once he’s down, I hand the lead to Hudson and grab the other boy’s lead.
“Well, I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how they go with training.”
“Yeah, sounds like a good plan.” I lead the other one out and then take the lead from Hudson. “Okay, I’ll take these boys down to the other barn and then come back for the golden storm in there.” I nod to the big red barn where the worker took Diamond earlier.
“I can take her for you,” he offers.
“No, it’s okay. I need a few moments to myself. Thanks, though.”
“What about Olive?”
I give him a warm smile. “Trust me, if no one wants to cuddle her, Harley will, or Isla will take her.”
“Does Isla know everything?”
I suck in and bite my bottom lip, then say, “Yes, she does because she never judged.” I shrug.
Hudson nods, a sullen look passing over his features. “I get it. I suppose we all need to work on the communication side of things, yourself included.”
“You’re right with that statement.” The black beauty jerks my arm as I grip the rope. “All right, buddy, let’s get you settled. Okay, I’ll be back shortly.”
I head off down the dirt road toward a smaller barn where I used to work with the horses and train them. Did Dad close that one off as well like he did the library in the house?
Taking in my surroundings, I lead the boys. I forgot how big this place is. In my mind, it’s small, but over the years I’ve been gone, so many new buildings and areas have popped up. There are people playing games on a grassy patch to the right of me and a barbecue area where a family is currently cooking up something that smells amazing. It causes my stomach to grumble. It seems as though the coffee has worn off.
After fifteen minutes or so, the little shack comes into view, and I’m suddenly whipped into the past. This was the first place I met Eli. He was only supposed to be passing through town but ended up staying. When I unhook the latch and pull the door open, the musty scent hits my nose. Nope, it hasn’t been used.
I get the horses into a pen and come out to discover a pile of hay in one of the back corner stalls. It’s fresh. Who would’ve put that there? I break one bale apart and throw it into the stalls, and I notice they have been cleaned recently as the water troughs are washed out as well. Was this Hudson’s doing? Whoever it was, I owe them a thank you. It saves me some time.
I head out the back through the gate and into the training pen. It’s clear it hasn’t been used, but I’ll change that. This ring is going to get a great workout with these horses. They have amazing potential.
“How’s your leg?”
I whirl around to find Sebastian standing on the other side of the fence. A stabbing pain shoots up my thigh at the sudden movement, causing me to stumble but not fall, thank goodness. I don’t need to embarrass myself on top of everything else.
“Are you all right?” He makes a move to climb through the fencing.
I quickly wave him away and hobble around until I find my feet. Stopping, I clutch my chest. “My goodness, don’t sneak up on me like that. I’m not sure my heart could handle it more than once.” I laugh and move closer to where he stands with his arms resting on the bar of the fence. I stop and put mine on the bar as well. He’s even more gorgeous in person. In a racing suit, he’s magic, but right here in front of me, it’s another story. He sports the shadow of an unshaved beard. It’s not long enough to be annoying, but it makes him look hotter than most of the men on this ranch.
He chuckles. “Sorry, I just saw you here. We’re staying over in that cabin, and I wanted to come by to make sure you were okay. My girls were tired, so I put them down for a nap and turned on the baby monitor.” He holds his hand up, showing me a video of his girls asleep, one on a single bed and the other in a crib.
“Wow, they went down pretty quickly. I wish my daughter would do that.” I straighten and smooth my hands over my torso, already feeling the heat of the day beneath my long-sleeve shirt.
