AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Still want to go riding?” he asked. “We don’t have to.”
“No, I want to try.”
“Brave girl.” Gwen dropped the treat into Warrior’s stall before Dominic led her back to Honey. He had her stand to one side as he led the horse out of the barn.
She followed, her stomach rolling with nerves.
“How do I actually ride? Like, should I have taken a test first? Is there a video? Can you give me like a list of things to do?”
Shoot. She felt so unprepared. She was never unprepared for things like this.
Dominic led Honey to stand not far from a really big, black horse. Whoa. He was riding that horse. Damn.
“Okay, first of all,” he said, turning to her. “Take a breath. In. That’s it. Now out. And another. In. Now out.”
She felt some of her anxiety melt away. “Sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t needed,” he said calmly. “Now, tell me why you’re so worried?”
“Because I don’t know what I’m doing.” Wasn’t that obvious?
“And you always know what you’re doing?”
“I try to be prepared.”
“Nothing wrong with being prepared. I’m going to tell you what you need to know, okay? I won’t let you go in blind.”
“Okay.” She let out a breath. “But, um . . .”
“What is it?”
“What if I’m no good at it?” she asked in a rush. Would he be disappointed? Upset? “I mean, I’m sure I’ll get better with practice.”
“Hey. Look at me.”
She raised her gaze to his, knowing that he would wait until she did.
“This is just about having some fun, darling girl. There’s not going to be a test at the end or a report on your performance. It’s about fun.”
“Right. Fun.”
“When was the last time you did anything for fun?”
“I went out with you yesterday. And before that, I participated in a Trivia Night.”
“Which you were worried about messing up and not winning.”
Right. Because she didn’t want to disappoint anyone.
“If you don’t like riding, if it’s not for you, then you never have to do it again.”
“But you like it.”
“I do. And I won’t stop riding. That doesn’t mean you have to like it. We don’t have to like the same things. Or do everything together. You might have something you like doing that I won’t.”
“Like shopping for shoes?”
“Hmm. Although, if we’re shopping for shoes for you, I might enjoy that. And I make an excellent donkey.”
“What?” she asked, startled.
“A donkey, carrying your bags around.”
She grinned. “I could get used to that.”
“Now, are you going to come for a ride and a picnic, darling girl?”
“Yes. I am.”
20
“I am never going riding again,” Gwen groaned as Dominic led her up the steps and onto the porch of his cabin at Sanctuary Ranch. It had two bedrooms with an open-plan kitchen and living room. Suited him just fine and it was private.
He had the fire on. It grew cooler here in the late afternoon and he wanted her to be warm.
“You didn’t enjoy it?” he asked.
“I loved it,” she replied enthusiastically. “It was so much fun.” She sat on the small bench by the door and groaned as she reached down for her boots.
He crouched and brushed her hands away as he undid her boots.
“But I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.”
“Well, I might have a way to help with that.” He removed both of her boots, and then stood.
“How do you get up and down so easily?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“If I crouched down on the ground like that, it would take a crane to pull me back up.”
“Gwen,” he said warningly as he took his own boots off, then held out his hand to her.
“Because of my old bones,” she told him.
“You don’t have old bones.” He drew her up, pulling her against him. Holding her with one arm around her waist, he gave her two sharp slaps on the ass.
“Ouch!” She gave him a pouting look. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“Neither is you calling my darling girl old. Come inside. It’s getting cold and you need dinner and to drink some water.”
“Coffee too?” She gave him a hopeful look.
“I think I can manage that.”
She looked around curiously as they entered the cabin, and he wondered what she thought. It probably wasn’t anything like where she lived.
“This is gorgeous.”
“You like it?” He couldn’t help but keep the shock from his voice.
“You didn’t think I would?” she asked.
“I wasn’t sure. It’s probably very different from where you live.”
“Where I live is a shoebox. I mean, I was never there much so there didn’t seem much point in paying for somewhere nice.”
He frowned at that statement. “But it was in a safe neighborhood?”
“Hmm, debatable.”
“Gwen, I don’t like the sound of that. You need to be safe.”
She gave him a surprised look. “It’s not a terrible neighborhood and I was always careful. I have my Mace.”
He shook his head, still not liking it but knowing he couldn’t dictate where she lived.
