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Leila jerked her head around, and Adler peered at her, his expression hot. Her breath caught in her throat. He reached out and ran his fingers through a lock of her hair and rested his hand behind her neck. Her heart beat out of her chest as he slowly closed the space between them. She passed her tongue over her bottom lip and could feel his breath on her face.
“Adler,” a voice called out.
“Shit.” Adler dropped his head. “Looks like you’re meeting Jonathon and Carla, our stable managers.”
Jonathon was the epitome of a cowboy. He was a tall, thin, older man who wore jeans, a plaid shirt, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. His wife Carla had shoulder-length brown hair and a wide grin on her face.
“Hi, Adler. I hope we didn’t interrupt anything.” Carla wrapped Adler in a hug.
“Nothing that hasn’t been interrupted before,” answered Adler as he moved next to Leila.
A blush crept up Leila’s neck and over her face, and Jonathon let out a deep, hardy laugh.
“Jonathon, Carla, this is Leila. Leila, these are the best barn managers around.”
Jonathon shook Leila’s hand with a pat on her arm. “Let us know if you want to hear any embarrassing stories about this one. We have a bunch.”
“Okay, Jonathon. Be nice.” Carla pushed her husband away and shook Leila’s hand. “Ignore him. It’s nice to meet you, Leila.”
“Thank you. Nice to meet you both, and I might have to take you up on that offer one day.”
“Okay, enough of this. I have horses to introduce her to. Come on, Leila.” Adler wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her through the barn doors.
As they entered the barn, the rich earthy scent of hay enveloped them. Leila was instantly enthralled with the comforting atmosphere. At each end of the barn where the doors were open, golden sunlight snuck through, casting a warm glow that danced through the dusty and musty air. Adler clicked his tongue and was answered by a couple horses up and down the aisle. “Are you the horse whisperer?” Leila asked softly.
Adler’s face lit up. “Guess I could be. I grew up in this barn. These horses are like my family.” He stopped in front of a huge midnight black horse. The horse stuck it’s nose over the gate of its stall, and Adler scratched it. “Meet Thunder.”
“Thunder?” He was huge and, she couldn’t lie, a bit intimidating.
“He might be big, but he’s really a gentle giant. Go ahead and scratch his nose.”
Leila bit her bottom lip and reluctantly scratched his nose. Thunder shook his head and let out a soft nicker.
“See, he’s gentle.”
Leila wasn’t quite sure she agreed with that but didn’t want to say anything negative. She thought she’d heard something about horses being able to sense fear and taking advantage of it. Better to say nothing and act confident.
She followed Adler as he introduced her to more of the horses, then they stopped in front of a brown horse who was not anywhere near as majestic as Thunder. “Leila, meet Dandelion.”
“Now, that’s a sweet name that seems to agree with this one.” Leila confidently scratched Dandelions nose, and Dandelion nudged her lovingly.
Soon they had the two horses saddled and ready to go. Adler gave her a lift onto Dandelion, and he hopped up on Thunder.
“Ready?” Adler asked.
“Where’re we going?”
“Just follow. Dandelion knows this land well. She’ll follow behind Thunder. Enjoy the scenery.”
And that she did. The sky seemed endless against the green hills thick with velvety tall emerald grass. Again, she noticed some gray clouds in the distance, but she wasn’t worried about storms. She wasn’t worried about anything. Birds swooped over the field, and bees buzzed in the wildflowers growing throughout the pastures. She breathed in deep, and grass and fresh air filled her lungs.
She and Dandelion caught up to Adler and Thunder, and when they stopped at the top of a hill, her breath caught in her chest. The hills led to an iconic scene stolen from a painting. There was a pond in the center of the meadow with a large oak tree which was reflected in the calmness of the pond. Next to the tree was an old log cabin whose wood was rustic, yet well cared for.
“It’s amazing,” she said breathlessly.
“It is.” Adler looked up at the sky. “And I think we may actually get some of that rain after all. Come on.” He kicked Thunder to a walk.
Leila glanced at the sky, and he was right. What was once blue sky and puffy white clouds a minute ago now churned with thick gray clouds.
