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He hands me the leathery straps. “When have I ever made fun of you?”
He hasn’t. Not once. Even when I did things wrong before all of this… this complicated thing we have going on, he didn’t. He was blunt. And maybe a little judgmental but never made fun.
We work in tandem, fluently, and for a moment it’s like I’ve been doing this forever until I realize that’s not true and take out my notebook to check everything. He’s patient with me, doesn’t intervene to hurry me along but let’s me learn at my own pace. I need to double-check everything on the notes I made with Grant and Georgie.
I close the notebook and glance up, he lifts his eyebrows. “You got it.”
I pat Fred, the chestnut horse beside me. “I got it,” I say with both pride and a hint of surprise I actually remembered how to put the contraption on right.
Our Belgians, Fred and Wilma, are finally tacked up, and just when we finish, a young voice calls out behind me.
“Uncle Dash!”
A girl of about thirteen or fourteen comes running over. Dash opens his arms, she reaches him and he scoops her into his embrace.
“Hey, Evie Bean.” He faces the sleigh. “Good as you thought it would be?”
She puts her hands up to either side of her face. “Oh my gosh. It’s better!”
Dash nudges her around to face me. “You’ve got Molly here to thank.” He smiles.Smiles.Like beaming, sincerely happy, gorgeous smiling. Guess he wasn’t lying when he said his niece brings it out of him. “Molly, this is Eve. Eve, Molly.”
“Nice to meet you,” she says.
I hold out my hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Can I hug you?” Eve asks.
Dash has told me lots about his niece with Down syndrome. He talks about her with the greatest warmth and affection. Apart from one friend, Mateo, as far as I know, she’s the only other person who can ask him to hang out with her and he says yes.
He also told me she’s really big on hugs but is still learning about personal space. So, I guess she wants my permission, which is fine by me because I love hugs.
I open my arms to Eve. “I’d love that.”
A smile tugs my cheeks in her embrace. She squeezes me pretty damn hard, and I just love that even though this is our first hug, it’s a proper one. Now I know why even Dash can’t resist grinning when he’s with this sweet ball of energy.
Behind her, Colt approaches the barn with his arm around a beautiful blonde who can only be the infamous Sam. In fact, I think I recognize her from that first night out at Sly’s back when I arrived in the Canyon. Colt seemed to lose his shit with some cowboy and led a flaxen-haired bobbed woman out of the bar, never coming back to say goodbye. It must have been some night for him to forget his manners. Colt is so charming, it makes you ache to be on the receiving end of a yes ma’am.
Sam’s hair isn’t in a bob now, but it must be her. Dash and Jolie have both told me about Sam. They describe her as fair but fierce, and not somebody to mess with.
But Sam wastes no time offering me a hug, too, not quite as tight as Eve’s but sincere nonetheless. “Molly! Jojo has told me so much about you.” She peels back with both arms on my sides. “Thanks for letting us break in your sleigh.”
Mysleigh. Since coming to Starlight Ranch, I’ve had ownership of things. I’ve never been a needy or greedy person, but it’s the responsibility I love. It’s the faith placed in me that gets me glowing. It’s amazing what happens inside when someone believes in you. I glance at Dash and can still remember the exact feeling when he gave me that clipboard to sign for the Belgians, and I hardly contain the sigh escaping my chest.
Sam, Colt, and I get to talking, and Dash is by the horses with Eve. I dart my eyes over periodically. He teaches her how the harness works. They stroke and pat the creatures she hasn’t had a chance to meet yet. With her, he’s so different. His energy completely shifted from guarded to open… he softens. He makes eye contact. And he makes my core go wild wondering how he’d be as a dad.
Goddamn it, I just let my mind wander on warp speed to a place it doesn’t belong.
I resume my conversation, away from him, when he laughs out loud, and I can’t help but twist around again. Sam and Colt do as well, so I feel less obvious looking this time. Eve clearly just said something that set him off, and his laugh is so rich and full and fucking delightful.
When my gaze is back on Sam and Colt, Sam raises an eyebrow.
“Not used to hearing Dash laugh, eh?”
Damn. This woman is switched on.
“Yeah, just thought I’d record that in my memory for times to come.”
“I hope he’s being nice to you,” Colt says.
