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Daniel placed his boot into the stirrup and in one, swift motion, he landed in the saddle. Deep breaths centered him like nothing else, reminding him where his roots were. Every time he sat up here, he felt like he’d really come home.
Clicks sent the horse forward, darting down a trail until she eased into a gallop that didn’t jostle him. They rode and rode until the house was no longer visible. Until he was surrounded by trees and brush.
Yes, this was his home.
He couldn’t even be mad when he was out here—a thought that had seemed to come out of nowhere. Daniel’s hands tightened on the reins, and he urged Diamond to run faster. Thoughts like those weren’t welcome. He’d made his choice. There was no going back. And even if he wanted to, there wasn’t a job for him here except to be one of his brother’s minions.
Diamond picked up the pace, faster and faster until the breeze no longer felt refreshing but actually bit into his skin. The clouds overhead hung threateningly, as if to tell him if he wasn’t careful, they’d dump their contents all over him.
Well, that was fine. They could pour all day and he’d still count today as a good one.
The trail ahead zigged and zagged, forcing his horse to be quick on her feet. Just around the corner they’d come to a clearing where they’d find a pond and he could already tell that was exactly where Diamond wanted to be.
They rounded the bend only for Diamond to let out a whinny and rear up on her hind legs.
His boots somehow became dislodged, and he tumbled back, nearly doing a full summersault until he landed with a heavy oomph on the hard earth below. A scream happened at some point during all of this, but Daniel couldn’t focus due to the ringing in his ears and the stars swimming behind his eyes. His hat had fallen somewhere. Where was his hat?
“Oh my gosh! Daniel? Is that you?”
Eyes flying wide, he searched for the owner of the voice. The one person he could have prayed he’d never come in contact with while on his ride. Heck, he’d even prefer bumping into his baby sister more than Megan, and yet here she was like a bad cold.
She dropped down at his side, despite the restless horse that pranced a few feet away from him. “Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” She gasped, reaching forward to touch him.
Daniel hissed, flinching away from her. He couldn’t remember hitting his head, and yet there was no other explanation.
“You have a nasty bump.” Her face swam in front of him. Did she actually look concerned? And what was she wearing?
His eyes trailed over her slight frame, noting the skin-tight runner’s outfit and baseball hat. This had to be the most casual he’d ever seen her dressed before. She’d never even come out of her room in her pajamas, for heaven’s sake.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
He winced again. “Do you have to yell so loud?”
“I’m not yelling, Daniel.” She waved her hand in his face. “How many?”
It took a lot more effort to focus on her hand than it should have. He squinted then mumbled, “Three.”
Megan glanced at her hand then at his face.
“What?” he ground out.
“I’m holding up two.”
He squinted again. Sure enough the three fingers had melted into two. Daniel pushed her hand away from his face then attempted to get to his feet. “I’m fine. It’s nothing that hasn’t happened before.”
“Really? You’ve beenconcussedbefore?”
Daniel glowered at her, head pounding. He must have hit the ground harder than he’d thought. His other falls hadn’t felt like this before. Hands grabbed onto him, pulling him to his feet. He swayed once then found his center.
Slowly, everything came into better focus. He glanced over Megan again as she shifted beneath his arm. “What are you doing out here?”
“I went for a run. What areyoudoing out here? Have you gotten tired of our little rivalry?”
He snorted, stumbling toward his horse. “You started it.”
“Me?” She laughed, and the sound seemed to infiltrate his soul. A warmth spread throughout his body and somehow his head didn’t seem to ache as much. She shook her head. “I didn’t start anything. You’re the one who started doing your bottomless coffee Monday promotion.”
“Yeah,” he huffed, “then you did free sample Tuesdays. Of course people will buy a coffee if it means they get to sample the desserts you’ve been cooking up. I’m beginning to wonder if I should team up with Sweet Everything so we can take you down together.”
