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Dianna
Dianna let out a heavy breath as she forced herself to move forward toward Shane’s friend Tristan and the little boy at his side. This was what she wanted, right? A new lease on life, something to give her purpose. She loved children and Shane’s idea to try out his services with those struggling with autism had warmed her heart.
Shane was the kind of guy who selflessly continued to give and give. She couldn’t think of one occurrence when he’d been involved in something just for himself. Word got around town about how he’d given jobs to those who needed money, and how his equine therapeutic center had been planned way before the country club.
He had enough money to come into Copper Creek and do whatever he wanted—and it turned out he was far more genuine than anyone she’d met in town. If she was ready to date someone, she might have swooned over him like most of the other women who lived in the area.
But the truth was, she wasn’t ready for anything.
Brielle said it was because none of her sisters had been given the opportunity to explore relationships due to their father’s strict rules. She didn’t know what Brielle was talking about. Dianna was perfectly content to sit back and let her older sisters have all the dating fun and deal with all the drama that seemed to come along with it.
Only now, there were no rules. Her father had finally had some sense talked into him about his strict dating rules. She could date anyone she pleased. And now she felt like the whole town was staring at her and expecting her to find love at the snap of her fingers.
Well, if they expected her to fall in love with someone that fast, they would be terribly disappointed.
Her steps slowed and she avoided looking directly at Tristan. She’d heard enough about him from Shane. College friend. Single father whose wife didn’t want to stick around.
He probably didn’t want her pity. Not to mention, he’d brought his son here to get him some support. They’d probably both agree that the little boy was her priority.
She stopped a few feet away from the boy and got down at his eye level. “Hi, I’m Dianna.”
“Mathew doesn’t really talk much to anyone but me,” Tristan interjected. “Even his speech therapist thought he was nonverbal for almost a whole year until Mathew warmed up to him.” He offered her a crooked smile and Dianna’s stomach twisted unexpectedly.
Still crouched with snow around her, Dianna smiled broadly at Mathew, who eyed her with distrust. “You know what? You’re really lucky. Because I didn’t like talking that much either when I was your age. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. You’re here to ride horses, right?”
He nodded but remained close to his father.
“Wonderful.”
He held something clutched tightly to his chest and her focus dipped to examine it.
“Is that a Belgian Warmblood?”
Mathew’s eyes widened and he pulled the horse away from his body a few inches to gaze at it before he glanced at her once more.
“Sure looks like it,” Dianna said. “Around here, we have special events and those are the horses I see the most.”
He hugged his horse once more but still refused to speak.
She got to her feet and gestured toward the side of the club as she met Tristan’s gray eyes. “I know you probably have a lot to do to get settled, but how about we take a quick tour so you can be ready for the full day ahead of us tomorrow?” Dianna tore her gaze away from his intense stare and looked down at Mathew as Tristan placed a hand on his shoulder.
While deep and full of authority, Tristan’s voice was also gentle and patient. “How does that sound? Do you want to go see the horses?”
Another nod.
Dianna beamed at them. “Come on. I’ll show you around. Maybe you can even pick the horse you want to ride tomorrow.”
Tristan fell into step next to her with Mathew on his other side. He leaned closer to her, his words soft as if he didn’t want his son to hear. “I appreciate your willingness to help us out, but I wanted to give you a heads up that Mathew might take a long time to warm up to you, if he does at all.”
A small smile touched her lips. “I’m not here for my benefit, Mr. Wood. I’m here for Mathew. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. He doesn’t have to.”
His brows creased and his whole body stiffened. A frown marred his features as he said, “Isn’t that what we’re here for? To help him with his social skills?”
They arrived at the barn and Dianna turned to Mathew. “Hey, buddy. How about you find your favorite horse and wait by his stall for me? I’m going to talk to your dad about some of the more boring stuff.”
Mathew glanced from Dianna to his dad, then reluctantly wandered down the aisle.
