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“Thank you, both,” Robin said. She scooped up a stack of boxes and turned toward Grayson. “I know this was a stretch to fit into your busy schedules.” The sarcasm was thicker than the glaze on her cinnamon rolls.
“Do you need help loading up?”
“No. You two can head out.” She waved them off. “We’ve got this.”
Grayson grabbed his keys and turned to Beth. “I can walk you out.”
“Sure,” she answered.
“Don’t forget to put that trail ride on your calendar for tomorrow afternoon.”
Like she could turn down the opportunity to saddle up, sans campers, and ride the unknown, uncharted trails with Grayson?
She nodded. “Of course.”
Okay, so they weren’t exactly unknown or uncharted, because he did have a map of them—but no one else had been on them in a year. That kind of made them unknown and uncharted in her book.
Kind of like whatever this was with Grayson.
She should run, fast, in the opposite direction.
His eyes stayed on her, soft, focused as he listened and, shoot. It made her feel a little unstoppable. Made her crave the raw edge of adventure.
And when his eyes paused on her lips for a moment, then met her own upward glance, it made her want to draw him into a kiss far more now than when she’d had a teenage crush.
But she played it safe. And kissing Grayson was anything but safe for her heart.
eleven
Only one weekin and the rhythm of camp could settle into Grayson’s bones, lulling him. Luring him. Making him forget that he had a life and a plan far beyond the spruce forests and lakeshore lookouts of Trinity Horse Camp. And of Deep Haven.
It felt a little indulgent to spend his Saturday alone with Beth at the camp, riding the trails. It was work, though.
Yep. Work. They had trails to check.
He could ride with Beth every day, even if it meant plopping green kids on the backs of babysitters.
Or the ordinary activity of eating cinnamon rolls with Beth and working in the bakery. Sharing glimpses of who they were behind the images the rest of the world saw of them.
And he’d almost kissed her.
I can’t leave my dad.
He’d known that, right? It hadn’t been a surprise. And yet it had left him with this vast expanse of sadness that had dogged him the rest of the evening.
The passing thought of his vacant lot gave him pause. No, that was crazy. He was in the middle of buying his own ranch in Oregon.
But he had missed several of Nathan’s calls and hadn’t had it in him to return any of them.
He urged Maverick into a lope down the arena panels, the wind lifting his spirits, letting his soul soar. They rounded the short end and galloped down the far side. The horse’s body reached full extension with each stride, the power propelling them forward as one.
Every day, they’d had their two crews of kids, eager for their two-hour ride through the forests in the morning and afternoon. And between him and Beth, all of them had managed to go home safely at the end of the day.
Maybe just barely the day before, but they’d done it.
He slowed Maverick when he saw Beth leading Rex from the hitching post. He hadn’t expected her to say yes when he’d invited her to check the trails, but then, maybe he hadn’t misread that look on her face in the bakery. When he’d been nearly certain she’d wanted him to kiss her.
She wore a blue T-shirt with her jeans and had her hair hanging loose under her hat.
