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A well-manicured sand path leads out through a scraggly strand of trees to the beach. I wiggle in my saddle as my horse carries me that way without hesitation. Cole pulls up beside me, and eyes me, his gaze roving over my legs.
“Are you feeling all right?” he asks.
I flush and nod.
“I’m just getting used to riding. Thank goodness that Beautyberry seems totally unbothered by anything I do.”
He smiles. “As long as you’re having fun.”
Cole clicks his tongue, and urges Laurel into a trot. Beautyberry surges forward, and I grab the pommel of my saddle for dear life. Cole rides through the trees and out onto the beach. I’m close behind, eyes wide, heart rate shooting through the roof.
The swell and wash of the ocean is directly ahead of us. The tide is high right now, but the sky is clear and the waves hit the shore with a steady, soft rhythm. Cole soon slows his horse back to a plodding pace and looks back to me.
Waiting for me. Watching over me.
I catch up to him and then pull the reins back, slowing my horse. Cole grins.
“What do you think so far?”
I exhale a long stream of breath.
“I’m not a total disaster on a horse. So that’s nice.”
“You’re doing great. It might help if you straighten your spine. I know it’s counterintuitive, but riding with your back at the right angle will help prevent you from being sore later.”
Glancing down at my horse, I nod.
“I can definitely see how you could get sore from riding.”
He squints out along the coastline ahead of us. “We won’t go very far. I don’t think we’ll risk any saddle sores.”
“Speak for yourself,” I joke.
“Yeah, yeah,” Cole says with a grin.
“How long have you had horses?” I ask, curious. “I think Sarah said since you had them since you were a kid?”
His smile drops away. “The stables and horses were a wedding present to Sarah from my father.”
“Ah. And I gather that you have some beef with Sarah. Possibly involving the horses?”
“I don’t have beef. I just remember Sarah moving in right after my mom died.” He stares off into the distance. “It felt like I was the only one still mourning Mom.”
“That had to hurt. I bet you felt really isolated.”
He blinks. “I did. I was already pretty mopey at that age. But then my dad marrying Sarah was like throwing kerosene on a fire.”
I can just picture him as a preteen, feeling so mad and sad at the whole world. If I weren’t riding a horse, I would hug Cole.
“God. How awful. I’m really sorry that you had to go through that. It really brings new light to the second time I met you.”
He raises a brow. “New light?”
“Yeah. When I sat down at your table at Gem’s Diner. I remember you saying that your family was blended. And you shared a look with Rex that I didn’t understand. Now I think I’m beginning to get it.”
He gives me a wry smile. “Yeah. It was a huge deal at the time. And Dad made it worse by dropping all this money on Sarah and… one day, I just lost my cool. No one in the family has ever let me live it down.”
I consider this. “I don’t mean to disagree with your story. But… I haven’t heard anything about it. And I’ve spent the last two months all but living with your family.”
