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Mom looked over at me and then beamed when she saw Elizabeth. “Hi, honey!” Mom gushed, quickly wrapping her up in a hug. Elizabeth swallowed thickly before returning it, her eyes shutting. Mom held her an extra bit longer, and my heart squeezed in my chest. Elizabeth held her just a tiny bit tighter.
When was the last time Elizabeth had known a mother’s love?
“Why don’t you two go find something to do while I finish up dinner?” Mom asked once she released Liz from her hold. “It’ll be a little while yet before I have dinner ready.”
“Sounds good.” I grabbed Elizabeth’s hand in mine. “Come on. I want you to try something.”
She arched a brow at me in question but followed me from the kitchen, nonetheless. A smile tilted her lips as I led her out the back door and onto the patio, her eyes raking in the view. The sun was already beginning to set, casting the land in various shades of orange, red, and yellow. Cows were munching on grass and hay in the pasture to the west, and our two newest horses were out in the small pasture to the east, running around.
“It’s so beautiful and peaceful,” she whispered. It was almost like she was afraid to speak too loudly, like she might break the peacefulness of it all if she did.
“This land is all I’ve known,” I told her, gently squeezing her hand. “It’s all I want to know. Working out there, riding a horse, tending to cows, or even mucking stalls—I feel most at peace. It’s just me and nature.”
I led her off the patio and headed out toward the horse stalls. Surprisingly, she wasn’t afraid, and she walked right up to the first one, trailing her fingers along the horse’s nose before rubbing her neck. “That’s Sunflower,” I told her, my chest tightening at how perfect she looked surrounded by all that I loved. “She’s our oldest and kindest mare. My father rescued her. Her old owners were pretty abusive, but we thankfully got her young, and Dad was able to work with her and help her keep her trust in humanity.”
“Why Sunflower?” Elizabeth asked, still rubbing her hands along Sunflower’s neck. She was a natural at this, so in her element.
I smiled at the memory. I was probably ten at the time when Dad rescued her, but it felt like it only happened yesterday. “When Dad brought her home, he had sunflowers planted behind the house. She laid right in the middle of them. Mom called her Sunflower, and it just became her name.”
Elizabeth looked up at me. “Can I ride her? I haven’t ridden a horse before, but I’d like to try.”
I grinned at her, loving how brave she was being. Most people were terrified of animals bigger than them. “A girl after my own heart,” I teased. But hell, she already had it.
I worked on getting Sunflower saddled up before saddling my own horse, Rubix. He was a black stallion and the biggest horse I’d ever seen. But he and Sunflower worked well together.
“Jesus!” Elizabeth exclaimed when I led Rubix out of his stall. “Why is he so big?”
I laughed. “Just his breed, baby girl.” I tied him up and then showed Elizabeth how to lead Sunflower out by her reins. Once she was out, I moved in behind Elizabeth, sliding my hands along her hips. She jumped in surprise, her breath hitching in her throat. My body reacted much of the same way, blood heading south straight to my dick. But now wasn’t the time to be trying to get inside of her. I wanted to show her everything I loved and hoped she fell in love with it, too.
“Grab the saddle horn, and then put your foot in the stirrup,” I quietly instructed.
“This?” she asked, reaching up and grasping the saddle horn.
“That’s it,” I assured her. I held her steady as she put her foot in the stirrup. “Now, keep holding on, but swing your other leg over her back.”
She began shaking, and she looked over her shoulder at me with wide eyes. “What if I fall?” she squeaked.
I tightened my hand on her hips, reminding her I was still holding on to her. “If you fall, I’ll catch you,” I promised her. “I’d never let anything happen to you, baby.”
She sucked in a deep breath before doing as I instructed. She laughed in disbelief once she was settled on Sunflower’s back. “I did it!” she exclaimed.
I chuckled. God, she looked so beautiful up there. I knew I’d be sneaking in a pic of her before we rode back up here and put them away. She was a fucking natural; I could already see it. This place, everything I loved, was made for her. It only made sense the girl I loved fit in here.
