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A bark of laughter burst from her lips, startling him and the nearby horses.
“I take that as a ‘no’?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t have children. Sometimes I forget that you’re not a local.”
“What does that have anything to do with being a mother?”
Dianna chuckled. “It’s a long story. I don’t have any plans of being a mother any time soon—mostly because I don’t have plans to find and marry anyone. I have other priorities right now.” Her gaze shifted to Mathew and something warm flickered across her face.
“What did you have in mind?”
Her wide gaze shot to his and her cheeks filled with color. “What? I meant my priorities are—”
“No, I mean, what did you mean when you said you had some ideas in mind to help Mathew stay?”
She worried her lower lip. The color in her cheeks deepened and she offered him a small smile. “Oh. Well, my sister pointed something out to me this morning. I’m not certified in education, but I was always really good at school. I could help tutor Mathew if you wanted to enroll him in an online school or try homeschooling.”
His brows shot up. He hadn’t even considered doing something like that. All of Mathew’s support team was back home. Granted, this would be temporary. He could see about finding therapists out in this area if Mathew needed additional help, but knowing that they didn’t have to return home right away was a very attractive option to have at his fingertips.
“Of course, you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. I’m sure we could find a tutor—”
“That’s a great idea. Like I told Shane, Mathew really took a liking to you yesterday.”
Her brows pulled together and she nibbled on her lip once more as if she didn’t believe a word he was saying.
Tristan smiled. “Seriously. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working. I still don’t know if he’ll be comfortable enough to let you tutor him, but he likes you.”
She dipped her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. Whether she wasn’t used to compliments or getting them made her uncomfortable, he couldn’t be certain. Regardless, it was refreshing to see someone who didn’t automatically act like they were better than everyone around them.
Dianna cleared her throat and peeked at him. “Well, if you’d like to move forward with that plan, I suppose you’ll need to contact his school and talk to Shane.”
“I’ll go ahead and do that after our session. I want to be here in case Mathew needs me.”
Dianna nodded. “That works too. Seeing as it’s cold outside, I think we’ll stay in the barn today and work on getting to know the horse and the tools we use when riding.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
She hovered for just a moment before she headed toward Mathew. His son was standing outside of the stall, his eyes bright and a smile on his face. It almost looked like he was talking to the animal, but when they drew closer, he didn’t hear anything coming out of his lips.
Dianna opened the stall door and let Mathew in. She shot a glance in Tristan’s direction and smiled. The tension in the air had lessened and it felt more natural to be here and observe.
Immediately, she picked up a brush and held it out to Mathew. He reached for it with his free hand, his horse still clutched to his chest. Dianna dropped down to his side and gestured toward his toy. “Did you know that we have a special place for your horse? We wouldn’t want him to get lost or stepped on. And sometimes Molasses likes to chew on things he’s not supposed to.”
Mathew’s eyes widened and he glanced at Tristan.
Tristan nodded to Dianna. “Sounds like she’s got a plan for you, bud. How about we find out where we need to put it.”
He shook his head, clutching it even harder than before.
Uh-oh. This was it. The moment Dianna wouldn’t be able to figure out what to do with Mathew. His son wouldn’t be happy with that, and their budding relationship wouldn’t continue. Tristan nearly stepped in, but Dianna gestured behind him.
“Behind your dad there are some aprons. I bet we can find one that will fit you and you can put your horse in the pocket. Then your hands would be free to work. What do you think?”
Mathew’s expression relaxed and a smile spread across his face.
Dianna met Tristan’s gaze and nodded to the hooks he’d only just noticed. “Would you mind finding the smallest one you can? We might have to tighten it up a little, but I bet we can make something work.”
The aprons were leather. He imagined they were used by stable hands, veterinarians, or even trainers. His fingers trailed across the set until he found one that looked to be the shortest. It only wrapped around the waist so there would be nothing weighing on Mathew’s shoulders. Tristan grasped the apron and held it over the stall door for Dianna to take.
