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He scratched the horse’s nose. “What a beauty. Do you ride her often?”
Giving the horse a good pat on the jaw, she leaned her head against the animal and whispered, “Sorry Cab, I didn’t bring you any carrots.” Turning to face him, she shook her head. “Not nearly as often as I’d like.” With her back to the stall, the horse moved her head, her nose at just the right height to give Paige a nudge.
Biting back a smile, Daniel reached out to scratch the horse’s neck. “I don’t think she’s going to let you get away with no treat.”
Paige took a few steps across the way to the tack room, stuck her hand in a tub and returned, handing one chunk to Daniel, and feeding the other to Cabernet. “I know it’s not the same, girl, but here you go.”
“She doesn’t seem to mind.” He watched as the horse finished nibbling on the chunk Paige had given her and then, clearly content, rubbed her head gently against Paige’s shoulder.
“I know, girl. I love you too. Ready for a ride?”
To his surprise, the horse bobbed its head. “Which horse do you want me to ride?”
A grin on her face as wide as the barn, beamed at him. She pointed to the stall next door. “Get acquainted with Comet.”
“Comet?” Daniel glanced at the gray gelding and back.
“Don’t get too full of yourself. We’ve had him since long before Houston developed an interest in your hockey team. But the name’s fitting, don’t you think?”
Tugging Paige close, he grabbed her other hand and looking down at her, ignored what he really wanted to do and settled for kissing the tip of her nose. “I wish I could change how things are panning out, but mine isn’t the final word. For what it’s worth, despite everything, I do think Houston is the better choice.”
“I know.” Still holding onto his hands, she took a short step in retreat. “We know it’s not your fault. Don’t let it worry you. We’re Barons. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“From anyone else, I wouldn’t hold out much hope, but from your family,” he chuckled, “I just don’t know.”
She shrugged and let go of his hands.
Wishing he could keep her in his arms, he too stepped back, moving to the stall where Comet had stuck his head out. Holding his hand out flat in front of the curious horse, he fed him one of the tablets that Paige had given him when she’d fed Cabernet. “Hey there.” The large animal snuffled at him, and he scratched his chin. “I hope this means we’re going to be friends.”
With the help of one of the stable employees, it hadn’t taken long to have the horses saddled and ready for their riders. Daniel was tall enough that he could place one foot in the stirrup and swing himself up and over without help. Paige had done the same, Cabernet being a couple of hands shorter than Comet.
Out of the barn, and slowly walking across the dirt drive and stopping at the top of the crest, he would have sworn he could see all the way to Louisiana. The ranch name, Paradise Ridge, suited the countryside perfectly.
Paige loosened the reins, made a tsking noise with her mouth, and the horse trotted away.
Easily keeping pace, Daniel relaxed his hold on the reins and fell into step beside Cabernet. “I can’t imagine having grown up on a spread like this.”
“Funny, I can’t imagine having spent much of my youth anywhere else.”
He understood she needed a little time to make peace with the unexpected turn of events. The city of Houston, with the help of the Barons, had put an excellent bid together. It hadn’t hurt any that the locals, without any influence from the family or the committee, had shown him that hockey fans were plentiful. Unfortunately, in the business world, money did most of the talking.
“You doing okay?” Paige cocked her head in his direction.
“Fine.”
“You did well mounting Comet. You’ve ridden before?”
“A little.” It had been decades since he and his brother had spent their summers at their grandfather’s mountain cabin, mostly on horseback.
They’d covered a lot of rolling hills in the half hour or so since they’d left the barn. Few words were spoken, and that was fine with Daniel. For the first time ever in his life, he understood the meaning of comfortable silence. Until a rumble sounded above.
“Where did that come from?” Paige held a steady gaze, studying the black clouds rolling much too quickly in their direction.
It didn’t take a genius or a great horseman to understand that out in the middle of open country, with lots of very tall trees, was no place to be with a nasty storm moving in at the speed of a jet plane. “We should probably head back, don’t you think?” He couldn’t imagine those heavy clouds were the kind that would roll by in a few minutes.
“Definitely.” Paige turned around, pointing Cabernet toward the ranch house when a bolt of lightning zigzagged its way from a cloud to the ground.
The explosive clap of thunder that accompanied the flash of light set Cabernet into a frenzy. Rearing high on her hind legs, Cabernet left Daniel with visions of the horse sending Paige flying into the stormy air and landing on the ground in broken pieces.
