AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He clasped his hands together and leaned on the desk. “I wanted your opinion. After visiting with Mathew yesterday, what would you suggest?”
Dianna froze. This wasn’t her decision to make. He shouldn’t be putting her on the spot like this either. She’d had a solution if Tristan wanted to make it work, but that was only if he had his heart set on staying. “Oh, I don’t think I’m equipped to make any recommendations. I’m just here to help facilitate his therapy with the horses.”
“But you have a connection with him. That’s been established.”
She shook her head. “With all due respect, this is a decision only his father can make.” There went her plan to tell Shane about her idea. He shouldn’t be pushing Tristan into anything he wasn’t prepared for. She could feel Tristan’s eyes on her, and once again, her chest tightened. He was probably making more judgments about her regarding her responses. Dianna shot another look toward Tristan. “Ultimately, you need to do what’s best for you and Mathew. If you want to stay, I’ve got some ideas on how to make it easier.”
Dianna got to her feet. “You can let me know if you decide that you’d like to stay. But if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find Mathew. I assume he’s around here somewhere?”
Tristan nodded. “I had him set up in a booth with a book.”
She offered Tristan a small smile, then glanced at Shane who appeared to be on the edge of his seat—probably curious about the ideas she’d mentioned. Neither one of them stopped her from leaving.
The moment she was out of that office, she felt like she could breathe easier. She shook out her hands as she strode down the hallway toward the main area of the club. Her focus scanned the room and landed immediately on a little tuft of black hair barely visible behind the booth chair.
Dianna strode across the room and slid into the booth across from Mathew. He startled, his eyes flying up to meet hers. A small smile touched his lips before he dipped his focus once again to his book.
She craned her neck around and stared at the pages. Bright, detailed, and colorful images of horses filled the pages. There was tiny print in small paragraphs all over the pictures. Dianna grinned. “When I was little, I liked looking at pictures of horses, too. I’d even draw them sometimes.” She got up and walked around the booth. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
He nodded, not looking up at her.
The leather seat creaked as she settled beside him and pointed at the picture on the page. “That’s an appaloosa. They’re Idaho’s state horse, and most of the time, they’re spotted. Sometimes they even have striped hooves.” She grinned at Mathew. “Their spots are actually a genetic mutation. Isn’t that crazy?” She pointed to another picture and read the description beneath it. Then another and another until a figure approached their booth.
Dianna lifted her gaze, but she already knew who had approached. There was something about Tristan that she could sense before he even got into her line of vision. He set his gray eyes on her and she squirmed as if she had been pinned by it.
“Looks like your dad is ready to take you to your first lesson.” She faced Mathew and gestured toward the book. “Let’s gather your things so we can get out to the barn. I bet Molasses can’t wait to see you.”
4
Tristan
Once again, Dianna had surprised Tristan. This time in more ways than one. With the way she’d chastised him yesterday about his parenting skills, he had expected that she’d side with Shane about staying.
He hadn’t decided what he wanted to do yet, but it was looking more and more like he would end up staying if only to put Mathew through the entire program. Walking away from an opportunity like this felt wrong on so many levels. He was Mathew’s parent, and as such, he needed to be the one to help him in any way possible.
Right now, money wasn’t a problem. He was able to work remotely and the therapy was free. Mathew’s schoolwork would need to be figured out, but he’d found someone he liked as a tutor already.
The second Dianna left, Mathew asked when she’d be coming back. Their conversation revolved around how much she knew about horses, how nice she smelled, and the fact that she’d told him he could ride Molasses soon. Mathew was smitten.
When Tristan found the two of them seated in the booth, he’d half-expected Dianna to just sit quietly with him, waiting for Tristan to finish up his meeting.
Instead, she’d taken it upon herself to read to his son, connecting on a level he’d only ever seen happen one other time—with his parents.
Tristan couldn’t tear his focus from her as he wandered in her wake. She strode beside Mathew all the way to the barn, chatting about the animals she had on her ranch. She was so at ease with Mathew it almost made Tristan worry that when the time came to leave, Mathew wouldn’t be able to without a major meltdown.
They entered the barn and Mathew ran ahead, his hand trailing along the stalls as he went. Tristan moved up to walk beside Dianna, but the words he’d rehearsed in his head wouldn’t come. He needed to break the ice somehow. They’d be working together for the next several weeks and he couldn’t stand the tension that had built between them.
“I wanted to apologize,” she said quietly, not meeting his gaze.
Tristan slowed his gait. “What?”
She clasped her gloved hands together, then broke them apart and let them swing at her sides. “I shouldn’t have said what I did yesterday.”
“But you made a good point,” he said. Why was he arguing with her? She was apologizing for something she’d said. He should just accept her apology and move on.
“Oh, IknowI was right. I just shouldn’t have said it in a way that could be construed as judgmental. You’re obviously a great father. Raising Mathew on your own can’t be easy.”
Her words rammed into him, knocking down every defense he’d managed to erect before getting the nerve up to speak to her. What was he supposed to say to any of that? “Thanks,” he muttered. It was a lame response. But his mind was blank. He could blame it on the traveling they’d done or the exhaustion she’d mentioned. But the truth was, she had thrown him off balance. “Do you have children?”
