AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Five years, Bill had said, which meant there had been some water under the bridge. But grief didn’t have a time limit, she knew that all too well, and sometimes the years were eons, and sometimes they were the blink of an eye.
So no, she couldn’t be angry.
She’d be understanding and empathetic and careful instead.
Finn got the gate open and headed back to the truck, climbing back in and driving it through, onto the driveway. Then he got back out again to close the gate behind him, and all without a word.
Beth decided not to push it, so she sat there silently as Finn drove the truck up the winding gravel drive to Clint’s horse farm, looking out the window and admiring the view instead.
It really was in a pretty location, set on the green hillside, with lots of farmland around and some bush—black and silver beech mostly, which was common in South Island forests—creeping up the hills behind the house. The views over the lake and the mountains beyond were spectacular, reminding her a bit of Deep River.
Not that she was homesick. How could she be homesick for a place she couldn’t wait to leave?
Finn pulled the truck up into the big gravel turnaround next to a cluster of farm buildings that also included the stables, then turned the engine off.
“Evan is difficult,” he said unexpectedly.
Beth stared at him, surprised that, first, he’d actually spoken, and second, that it was something useful.
“Like you, you mean?” she said, teasing.
His expression was opaque. “I suppose I deserve that.”
Beth was about to tease him again by telling him he absolutely deserved it when old Clint came out of the stables and headed for the truck, a big German shepherd trotting at his heels.
Finn gave her one last enigmatic look before he turned away, getting out and going over to greet both the old man and the dog.
Beth stayed where she was, uncertain about what to do now she was here. She’d said hello a couple of times to Clint, but she didn’t know him, and despite what she’d told Finn, she didn’t know much about horses either. Her affinity was with sparkly things rather than livestock.
She watched Finn and Clint chat for a moment before both of them headed toward the stables. Then she frowned as Finn abruptly stopped and turned around, striding back to the truck.
He pulled open her door. “Come on,” he said shortly. “Come and see the horses.”
Surprise rippled through her. “Me? But I’m only here to—”
“I’m going to be a while and I’m sure you don’t want to sit by yourself in the truck for the next hour.” His eyes gleamed in a way that made something fizz and spark inside her. “Anyway, didn’t you say you love horses?”
Heat climbed in her cheeks, both because of the way he looked at her and by the total lie she’d given him about the damn horses. “Oh, I don’t mind sitting—”
“Beth.” His voice was softer this time and very low. “Come on.”
The way he said her name, the deep timbre of the word, set off a small electric charge inside her.
She didn’t know what was happening. Attraction was something she hadn’t looked for and didn’t want, still less having that attraction for a man as complicated as Finn Kelly.
Simple, that’s what she wanted. That’s why she’d come here. Simple and easy was the path to happiness, not complicated and dark and difficult.
Not a man still grieving.
She needed lightness and charm, which meant if she was that hard up for some uncomplicated, sexy fun, she should be looking at Levi. He was a man who was certainly up for that kind of thing, not Heathcliff over there.
Ignoring the fizz and pulse inside her, Beth put on her usual cheerful mask and grinned. “Well, okay. But only if you help me with Evan.”
“You just don’t give up, do you?”
“Nope. Alternatively…” She drew out the moment for effect. “I’d settle for proof that Finn Kelly knows how to smile.”
A muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. “I know how to smile. I just don’t smile at you.”
