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I leaned forward and hooking a finger under her chin, tilted her face back to me. She had teared up but was fighting them back.
“Why can’t you help out with the horses anymore? What happened?”
“I rent my trailer from the older couple who own the ranch with the horses. Their son has recently returned home, and, well, long story short, he pulled some shit tonight and now I’m banned from the barn.”
I ran my gaze over her face, noting the sadness in her brown eyes. She was gutted at the ban.
“I’m real sorry, darlin’. Is that why you came here tonight?”
She nodded slightly, not saying a word as though she didn’t trust her voice.
“Well, I’m about to get real busy with calving, but I’m sure I can make some time for you to come over and meet my horses, if you want. Triton, my stallion, can be a bit high strung, but Stormy and Bolt will love you the moment you give them a few apple slices.”
Her eyes lit up, and I knew I’d said the right thing. I was going to be busy as hell and dog tired for the next few months, but I would push all that aside to make time for this woman.
“Are you serious?”
“Wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it, Gabs. Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in. Let me know the next time you have a few hours free, and I’ll see if I can make it work.”
She pulled from my touch, slipped her phone from her pocket, unlocked the screen then handed it over. I quickly tapped in my number, saved it, then sent a text to my phone so I had hers. When I handed the phone back, the grin she gave me was like a rising sun.
I’d be willing to do just about anything to see it again.
When a slower song started, I gave her a smile. “How about we take a turn on the dance floor? I’ll do my best to not trample your toes.”
Still smiling, she rose to stand and when I reached for her hand, she slid hers into mine. I ignored Jack and Liam, who were both doing a really bad job of trying to hide their snickering at me. They could do and say whatever the hell they wanted. I was the lucky one heading to the dance floor with the silver-haired beauty holding my hand.
Monday 22 January 2018
Gabs
Sunday passed in a blur and when Monday rolled around, I was still floating on cloud nine, thinking about Boone. Even with that distraction, my anger at Royce preventing me from spending time with the horses—especially Whiskey—still burned bright. The beautiful liver chestnut mare had bonded with me just as I had with her over the last two years.
I’d been trying to think of a way around Royce’s dictate, sure his father didn’t know about what he’d done. I needed to get John alone, but I hadn’t seen him at all over the weekend. Which had me worried for more than one reason. If he and Kate were seriously ill, I wasn’t sure Royce would call in medical help for them. I had wondered if calling them would connect ush, but I didn’t want to risk Royce answering the phone.
I didn’t want to get evicted from my home, which I feared Royce was spiteful enough to do. Maybe I could sneak over to the barn in the early morning. It was a huge risk and if Royce did catch me, I knew he’d definitely kick me out of my trailer.
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I drove to work, thinking over the issue.
Not being able to spend time with Whiskey and the other horses was an ache in my soul. Thankfully, I had memories of Boone from Saturday night to keep me sane. Like the way he’d laid the sweetest goodnight kiss on my lips when we’d finally left The Barn in the wee hours of the morning.
I’d wanted to call him so many times yesterday but resisted the urge, not wanting to ruin things by coming across as being desperate. Even if I was feeling that way about my sexy cowboy.
When I arrived at Silky Ink, I was still lost in my daydreaming. I hummed as I headed straight to the counter to check the appointment book to see what my week looked like, hoping I had an evening or two clear, so I could meet up with Boone. Calving season was an insanely busy time on a ranch and dragged on for months, but I didn’t want to have to wait till it was all over to see him again. Even if it meant I’d have to help him with work.
“What happened over the weekend that has that look on your face?”
I glanced over at Silk, who’d just come through from the rear of the shop. She reached the counter and stood beside me, looking over my shoulder at the appointment book. She was already mentally moving on from her question even though I hadn’t answered her yet.
I blinked back the sudden sting of tears as I shrugged. “Just in a good mood this morning.”
There was a time, not long ago, that I would have told Silk all about Boone. Hell, before she’d met Eagle and settled into marital bliss, she’d have been my first phone call once I’d gotten home, no matter how late it was. Well, considering we’d lived together back then, I wouldn’t have needed to actually call her. If she hadn’t been with me when I went out, I would have gone straight to her room and told her all about how awesome Boone was.
But that felt like a lifetime ago now. Silk was married and had a son. Raven was the cutest little thing. Five months old, he was all sweet smiles and big eyes. At least, to the outside world that’s how he looked. I could tell just looking at Silk, she wasn’t getting enough sleep. Raven was teething and not happy about it.
I didn’t begrudge my friend her life. Not at all. But I was a little envious. She had everything I’d always craved, always planned to have. Things she’d often said she didn’t need in her life. It didn’t seem fair that fate had handed it all to her while skipping over me. But that wasn’t Silk’s fault. I was happy for her, truly. I just missed my best friend. Missed having someone I could talk to about anything. I was also sad that we weren’t going through this stage of our lives together. We were supposed to settle down and have families at the same time.
My thoughts went back to Boone. He’d been wonderful Saturday night, asking about my life, looking worried when I’d told him about not being able to see Whiskey anymore. Could he be who I needed? Would he think I was too much or clingy if I started telling him everything? Or would he see me in the same light, letting me be his go-to person too?
He volunteered with the SPCA. That had to mean he saw all sorts of horrible cases of animal abuse. Who did he go to when he needed to decompress from that? Was that what The Barn was for him?
Shaking all those thoughts from my mind, I looked back to the schedule. I had a fairly full week, but I might be able to rearrange things on Wednesday to be able to give myself an early night. I pulled my phone out and before I could talk myself out of it, sent a text off to Boone, letting him know when I was going to be available this week.
Donny and SeVen came through from the back, chatting to each other at the same time the first clients for the day came in the front door. My phone buzzing in my pocket made me smile. I couldn’t look at it yet but knowing Boone responded so quickly had me smiling.
As I led my first client back to the piercing room, I sent up a little prayer that things would work out with the handsome cowboy, even if every other part of my life was a mess at the moment.
